Can ARKit (or ARSession) keep running in the background?

Question

My question is - Can ARSession run in the background - basically I need the ARKit running and all the per frame information and camera incentrics but I DONT want to render the camera feed on the screen - As happens in the ARSCNView .

Not specifically in the background thread or process.

Basically I just want to use the Tracking information(Images + Camera Pos + Camera Euler Angles etc) from the ARKit and dont want to render anything in AR per se or the camera feed.

Before everyone jumps on me - I know that Apple restricts GPU process in the background - case in point :

Execution of the command buffer was aborted due to an error during execution. Insufficient Permission (to submit GPU work from background) (IOAF code 6)

But there should be a way to use the ARKit or ARSession without the camera feed and only with the tracking information, right?

Answer 1

There is no way to do what you want to do, as soon as the ARSCNScene or ARSKScene is fully covered AR tracking stops. There are a couple reasons for this.

First, ARKit is for Augmented Reality, not tracking operations. If you aren't displaying reality (the camera feed) on the screen then you cannot augment reality.

Second, and most important, Apple cares about user privacy and if you could access the camera without showing the feed onscreen the user would have no way of knowing when the camera was in use. This would leave open the possibility of apps spying on users without their knowledge. Apple will never allow this. Ever.

Also, AR hits the battery hard so it only runs when its actually being used.

Based on your comments it seems as though you don't actually want to create an AR experience anyway so there may be a better way to get what you are after through Heading information and the Accelerometer.