OpenGate XR

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  OpenGate first mixed reality builder no-code

Inspiration

We kept seeing the same pattern with museums, events and training centers: they loved the idea of Mixed Reality, but every project meant a new custom Unity build, long timelines and high costs. Simple changes to content required a developer. We wanted to flip this model and turn the headset itself into a no-code MR editor that anyone could use on Meta Quest and Horizon OS, connected to a web app to manage content and teams. Cutting developement time and cost!

What it does

OpenGate XR is a no-code Mixed Reality builder for Meta Quest and Horizon OS. Creators put on the headset, see their real room in passthrough, and:

• import assets (.glb, .fbx, .mp4, .mp3, .png, .jpg, .pdf)
• place and scale them in space using hand tracking or controllers
• save layouts to the cloud, with persistence of positions and settings between sessions
• invite others into the same scene with multiplayer to co-create or review A companion webapp lets teams manage projects, upload assets and configure AI Assistants: ReadyPlayerMe avatars powered by OpenAI that act as in-experience guides, answering questions based on custom knowledge (docs, PDFs, FAQs) linked from the web. We also ship an updated, Quest-optimized UI and a built-in Free Assets library so anyone can prototype a space in a few minutes, even without their own 3D models.

How we built it

OpenGate XR is built in Unity with the Meta XR All-in-One SDK for passthrough, anchors and MR features. We added:

• a hand-tracking interaction layer for grabbing, rotating and scaling content and for UI interaction
• a persistence system that stores object transforms and states in the cloud and restores them reliably in space across sessions
• a lightweight multiplayer layer to synchronize transforms and basic interactions between users The webapp is built on a modern web stack and serves as a control center: asset management, project settings and AI Assistant configuration. Each Assistant is a ReadyPlayerMe avatar connected to OpenAI APIs (for EU GDPR compliance); the webapp manages knowledge sources and passes them to the in-headset client.

Challenges we ran into

The main challenges were:

• Making hand tracking precise enough to feel like a “professional tool”, not a toy.
• Ensuring stable persistence across different room setups and lighting conditions.
• Keeping the UI simple for non-gamers while still exposing powerful features.
• Optimizing multiplayer so co-creation feels smooth even on less-than-perfect networks.
• Integrating AI Assistants in a way that feels proactive and helpful

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Cutting setup time in a new physical space from minutes to seconds thanks to the new MR calibration and persistence flow. Cutting developement time and cost! Delivering a full hands-only creation mode, so even first-time users can place and edit content without controllers. Supporting a broad range of file types so teams can bring in 3D, video, audio, images and PDFs from their existing workflows. Shipping in-headset AI Assistants that already connect to the webapp and use custom knowledge to guide users inside MR. Seeing non-technical users (event organizers, curators, educators) build their first MR scenes independently.

What we learned

We learned that most users don’t think like level designers. They want guided flows, clear defaults and immediate feedback. Hand tracking dramatically lowers the psychological barrier to MR creation, but it requires very clear affordances and UI states. We also learned that AI is most useful when it is embedded in the experience (an assistant inside the scene) and backed by the organization’s real documents, not just generic answers.

What's next for OpenGate XR

Next steps include: deeper Horizon OS integration and social features, GIFs integration, more robust analytics on how scenes are used over time, additional templates (museum, classroom, training, trade show) ready out of the box, smarter AI-assisted layout and asset suggestions based on the user’s goal a community template library so creators can share and remix OpenGate XR scenes.

Our goal is to make OpenGate XR the fastest way to go from an empty room to a persistent, AI-assisted, multi-user Mixed Reality experience on Meta Quest.

Built With

• unity