Azure Spatial Anchors Alternative: Private, Self-Hosted VPS at Sub-5 cm

Microsoft retired Azure Spatial Anchors in November 2024. The migration path to a self-hosted VPS at sub-5 cm, with persistent shared anchors.

Shadnam Khan

MultiSet AI

When Microsoft switched off Azure Spatial Anchors (ASA) on November 20, 2024, thousands of HoloLens and Unity teams suddenly lost the backbone that kept their AR content “stuck” to the real world. Forums lit up with the same urgent question: What’s the fastest, most enterprise-ready replacement?

Below is a step-by-step guide to evaluating alternatives and a concrete migration path to MultiSet AI’s Visual Positioning System (VPS) - the only platform that delivers private deployment, scan-agnostic mapping and a proven sub-5 cm median accuracy indoors.

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Why ASA’s Sunset Hurts So Much

Azure Spatial Anchors wasn’t just another SDK; it solved three critical jobs:

Persistent anchors – cloud-stored feature maps let content survive app restarts.
Cross-device sharing – iOS, Android and HoloLens could see the same anchor.
Enterprise-grade identity – easy to bolt onto existing Azure AD networks.

The retirement pulled all three pillars out at once. Without a new anchoring layer, apps default to local ARKit/ARCore anchors that drift or vanish after a single session. That’s a show-stopper for maintenance overlays, guided training, or warehouse navigation that must be reliable for years.

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Decision Checklist for an Azure Spatial Anchors Alternative

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Requirement	Why It Matters	MultiSet AI at a Glance
Centimeter-level accuracy	Industrial procedures and holographic work-instructions demand <10 cm error budgets.	Vision Fusion pipeline delivers sub-5 cm median indoor error even in dynamic scenes.
Scan-agnostic mapping	Enterprises already own LiDAR, Matterport, NavVis or drone photogrammetry. A new VPS must ingest them.	Accepts E57, textured meshes, point-clouds, GLB/OBJ or a quick scan with the free iOS Mapper app.
Infinite scale & map stitching	Warehouses, stadiums and multi-floor campuses break most anchor clouds.	MapSet stitching merges maps into a single coordinate frame - tested beyond 50 000 m².
Private / on-prem deployment	Factory data and military sites can’t leave the firewall.	One-click Kubernetes helm chart or fully offline device mode.
Cross-platform SDKs	Teams run mixed fleets - phones, tablets, HMDs, browsers, robots.	Native iOS & Android, Unity, WebXR, ROS, Meta Quest.
Transparent pricing & free tier	ASA’s per-anchor model was predictable; competitors hide numbers.	10 maps + 10 000 localizations free, usage-based metering after.

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Capability Snapshot

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Capability	MultiSet AI	Provider A	Provider B	Provider C
Median indoor accuracy	sub-5 cm	10 cm+	10 cm+	15 cm+
On-prem / offline mode	Yes	No	Limited	No
Accepted scan formats	LiDAR, E57, meshes, point-clouds, photogrammetry	Camera-only	LiDAR + camera	Camera-only
Map size limit	Unlimited via stitching	1 km cells	200 m × 200 m	100 m radius
Pricing transparency	Free tier + usage	“Contact sales”	Multi-tier SaaS	“Contact sales”
Supported SDKs	iOS, Android, Unity, WebXR, ROS	Unity	iOS, Unity	Unity, Web

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Data compiled from public docs, AREA benchmarking and vendor FAQs.

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4-Step Migration Guide

Time to first anchor: under a week for most teams

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‍Export ASA anchor data

Use the ExportSpatialAnchors.ps1 PowerShell script (or Unity editor tool) to dump anchor IDs, world poses and metadata to JSON.

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Capture or import scans

1. Option A: walk the space with MultiSet’s iOS Mapper (LiDAR-enabled) and upload automatically.
2. Option B: drag-and-drop any third-party scan - E57 point-clouds, textured OBJ/GLB, Matterport MatterPak, NavVis MTP - into the console. Vision Fusion converts them into a localization-ready map.

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Replace SDK calls

// BEFORE (ASA)

var anchor = await cloudSession.CreateAnchorAsync(localAnchor);

// AFTER (MultiSet)

var anchor = await msSession.CreateAnchorAsync(localPose, "MyTag");

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Drop-in wrappers are available for Unity, iOS Swift and Android Kotlin. Typical replacement ratio: 1–2 lines per anchor operation - true Azure Spatial Anchors alternative.

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Validate & publish

Use the Explorer app to walk test paths. Sub-10 cm alignment (green status) means you’re production-ready. Switch your app to msSession.Production = true and deploy.

ASA’s shutdown created a once-in-a-decade migration wave. Choosing a scan-agnostic, private VPS now will future-proof every AR workflow you build - today on HoloLens, Vision Pro or Meta Quest.

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➡️ Spin up your free MultiSet workspace (10 maps & 10 000 localizations) and receive a zero-obligation migration consult with an AR engineer. You’ll have your first anchor live before your coffee gets cold.