HoloLens is a head-mounted augmented reality device from Microsoft that is supported in Unreal Engine through the OpenXR APIs. This page describes how HoloLens is supported in Unreal Engine, and how to set up your environment to develop with HoloLens. Refer to Supported XR Devices for the full list of supported XR devices in Unreal Engine.
Microsoft provides an emulator for developing and testing apps without a physical HoloLens device. Refer to Microsoft's documentation on Input Simulation for more details on how to use the in-editor emulation.
Currently, you can develop for HoloLens devices by using the OpenXR plugin and the Microsoft OpenXR Plugin plugin.
- When you develop a project with the OpenXR plugin, your application can run on any device that supports the OpenXR APIs.
- To use HoloLens specific features, such as HoloLens remoting, you need to download and install the Microsoft OpenXR plugin from the Marketplace.
The Windows Mixed Reality plugin is no longer supported and should be disabled before you start developing your HoloLens project.
Refer to the Developing with OpenXR APIs section below for more details.
Developing with OpenXR APIs
To develop for HoloLens using OpenXR in Unreal Engine you must perform the following steps:
- Ensure your hardware and software are up to date. Refer to Microsoft's Installation checklist for more information
- Enable Developer Mode on your HoloLens device
-
Install the OpenXR Runtime for HoloLens
-
Enable the following plugins in your Unreal Engine project:
- OpenXR
- HoloLens
- OpenXREyeTracker
- OpenXRHandTracking
- OpenXRMsftHandInteraction
- XRVisualization
- Install the Microsoft OpenXR plugin from the Marketplace
Once you're set up for developing with OpenXR, you can use the OpenXR APIs to develop for not only HoloLens devices but any device that supports the OpenXR APIs. Refer to Developing for Head-Mounted Experiences with OpenXR for more details.
Getting Started with Development
After setting up your project, follow these guides to get started with XR development in Unreal Engine.
Profiling
The following guides show how to profile your XR application and what to consider when you need to improve performance.