Now, iPhone users can fire up the program and project a strikingly realistic and detailed rendering of a human cadaver on a horizontal surface, such as a tabletop. The company had recently dropped the price of its popular anatomy atlas to 99 cents and was preparing to flip the switch on new AR capabilities.

Pokémon Go and a few other apps have shown the promise of the technology for the mass market, but the more advanced versions of AR had been well beyond the capability of most phones and tablets.īowditch and his twin brother and cofounder, Matthew, had been anticipating Apple would go big on AR, and their 35-person outfit had already been experimenting with new applications.īy the time Apple called, Visible Body was ready. Visible Body makes software that allows users to explore highly detailed visualizations of human anatomy, often for use in medical education, and Bowditch said his company has often shared its product plans with Apple as the electronics giant prepares to release new devices.Ī bit lost in the noise around the September release of the new iPhone was Apple’s decision to include in its latest operating software a more powerful engine for augmented reality, which superimposes digital images and representations on real-life settings. The call wasn’t entirely out of the blue.