Check VPS availability at the device's current location
Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
The Geospatial API uses a combination of VPS and GPS data to generate high-accuracy Geospatial transforms. The API can be used in any place where the device is able to determine its location:
In areas with low GPS accuracy, such as indoor spaces and dense urban environments, the API will rely on VPS coverage to generate high-accuracy transforms.
In outdoor environments with few or no overhead obstructions, the Geospatial API may be able to use available GPS location data to generate Geospatial transforms with high accuracy.
You can determine VPS availability at a given horizontal position before the AR session starts and use it to create more specific experiences — for example, to present an "Enter AR" button only when VPS is available.
Enable the ARCore API
Your app must enable the ARCore API to check VPS availability.
Check VPS availability in your app
The Geospatial API can be used in any place where the device is able to determine its location. If your AR experience hinges on VPS coverage, you can use GARSession#checkVPSAvailabilityAtCoordinate:completionHandler: to obtain a GARVPSAvailabilityFuture, an asynchronous task that checks the VPS availability at a given horizontal position.
Once you have the GARVPSAvailabilityFuture, you can obtain its result by polling or through a callback.
Poll the result
Use GARFuture.state to obtain the state of the Future. There are three different states:
GARFutureStatePending: The operation is not yet complete, so no result is known.
GARFutureStateCancelled: The operation has been cancelled by GARFuture#cancel. Any registered callback will never be called.
You may continue checking GARFuture.state until the task is complete.
Obtain the result through a callback
You can also obtain the result of a Future through a callback. Use GARSession#checkVPSAvailabilityAtCoordinate:completionHandler: and supply a completionHandler. This completionHandler will be called on the Main thread soon after the Future has state GARFutureStateDone.
Cancel the Future
Use GARFuture#cancel to attempt to cancel the Future. Due to thread parallelism, it may be possible that your cancel attempt does not actually succeed.
GARFuture#cancel returns YES if this attempt was successful, and NO otherwise.
Use the Geospatial API without VPS coverage
The Geospatial API can also be used in areas that do not have VPS coverage. In outdoor environments with few or no overhead obstructions, GPS may be sufficient to generate a pose with high accuracy.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-07-14 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe Geospatial API leverages VPS and GPS data to provide highly accurate location information, enabling AR experiences in various environments.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDevelopers can confirm VPS availability at a specific location before initiating an AR session, allowing for tailored experiences like displaying an "Enter AR" button only when VPS is available.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe API offers flexibility by allowing the retrieval of VPS availability results through polling or a callback mechanism.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eEven in areas without VPS coverage, the Geospatial API can still function by relying on GPS data, particularly in outdoor settings with clear skies.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAfter confirming VPS availability, developers can obtain the device's Geospatial pose to pinpoint the user's real-world location and build immersive AR experiences.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Check VPS availability at the device's current location\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nThe Geospatial API uses a combination of [VPS](/ar/develop/geospatial#global_localization_with_vps) and GPS data to generate high-accuracy Geospatial transforms. The API can be used in any place where the device is able to determine its location:\n\n- In areas with low GPS accuracy, such as indoor spaces and dense urban environments, the API will rely on VPS coverage to generate high-accuracy transforms.\n- In outdoor environments with few or no overhead obstructions, the Geospatial API may be able to use available GPS location data to generate Geospatial transforms with high accuracy.\n\nYou can determine VPS availability at a given horizontal position before the AR session starts and use it to create more specific experiences --- for example, to present an \"Enter AR\" button only when VPS is available.\n\nEnable the ARCore API\n---------------------\n\nYour app must enable the [ARCore API](/ar/develop/ios/geospatial/enable#enable_the_arcore_api) to check VPS availability.\n\nCheck VPS availability in your app\n----------------------------------\n\nThe Geospatial API can be used in any place where the device is able to determine its location. If your AR experience hinges on VPS coverage, you can use [`GARSession#checkVPSAvailabilityAtCoordinate:completionHandler:`](/ar/reference/ios/interface/GARSession#checkvpsavailabilityatcoordinate:completionhandler:) to obtain a [`GARVPSAvailabilityFuture`](/ar/reference/ios/interface/GARVPSAvailabilityFuture), an asynchronous task that checks the VPS availability at a given horizontal position.\n\nOnce you have the [`GARVPSAvailabilityFuture`](/ar/reference/ios/interface/GARVPSAvailabilityFuture), you can obtain its result by polling or through a callback.\n\n\n### Poll the result\n\nUse [`GARFuture.state`](/ar/reference/ios/interface/GARFuture#state) to obtain the state of the `Future`. There are three different states:\n\n- `GARFutureStatePending`: The operation is not yet complete, so no result is known.\n- `GARFutureStateCancelled`: The operation has been cancelled by [`GARFuture#cancel`](/ar/reference/ios/interface/GARFuture#cancel). Any registered callback will never be called.\n- `GARFutureStateDone`: The operation is complete. Use [`GARVPSAvailabilityFuture.result`](/ar/reference/ios/interface/GARVPSAvailabilityFuture#result) to obtain the result.\n\nYou may continue checking [`GARFuture.state`](/ar/reference/ios/interface/GARFuture#state) until the task is complete.\n\n### Obtain the result through a callback\n\nYou can also obtain the result of a `Future` through a callback. Use [`GARSession#checkVPSAvailabilityAtCoordinate:completionHandler:`](/ar/reference/ios/interface/GARSession#checkvpsavailabilityatcoordinate:completionhandler:) and supply a `completionHandler`. This `completionHandler` will be called on the Main thread soon after the `Future` has state `GARFutureStateDone`.\n\nCancel the `Future`\n-------------------\n\nUse [`GARFuture#cancel`](/ar/reference/ios/interface/GARFuture#cancel) to attempt to cancel the `Future`. Due to thread parallelism, it may be possible that your cancel attempt does not actually succeed.\n\n`GARFuture#cancel` returns `YES` if this attempt was successful, and `NO` otherwise.\n\nUse the Geospatial API without VPS coverage\n-------------------------------------------\n\nThe Geospatial API can also be used in areas that do not have VPS coverage. In outdoor environments with few or no overhead obstructions, GPS may be sufficient to generate a pose with high accuracy.\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- [Obtain the device camera's Geospatial pose](/ar/develop/ios/geospatial/obtain-device-pose) to determine the exact location of the user's device in the real world."]]
