Alpha Outdoors' Red-Point: Rock climbing for the masses with .NET MAUI, Unity, & Azure

In early 2023, passionate rock climber Martin Mora founded Alpha Outdoors following a harrowing near-fall due to misjudging a climbing route's difficulty. This incident highlighted the need for an app to make climbing safer and more accessible, sparking the initial idea for their .NET MAUI mobile application Red-Point. Martin partnered with Matthew Robbins, a seasoned .NET developer with a background in creating successful apps and the much-loved MFractor extensions for Visual Studio. Together, they embarked on a mission to revolutionize the climbing experience.

A Digital climbing companion

Before Red-Point, climbers relied on physical guidebooks, which were often cumbersome, difficult to interpret, and prone to degradation in harsh outdoor environments. Red-Point digitized this information, offering GPS-based navigation and detailed 3D route visualizations that could be accessed offline to reduce the risk of climbers embarking on incorrect or dangerous routes.

Innovative data collection with drones

There are more than 500 climbing areas on Red-Point and each of those areas begin as 3D scans to capture detailed topographical data of each climbing route. These drones capture high-resolution images of the rock faces, which are then processed to generate detailed 3D models. The use of drones allows for precise mapping of climbing areas and offering climbers valuable insights to plan their climbs more effectively.

Red-Point data ingestion process works

• 3D Scanning: Drones alongside LiDAR cameras and iPhones scan the climbing sites, capturing comprehensive visual data.
• Data Processing: The collected data is processed to create precise 3D models of the climbing areas.
• Integration with the App: The 3D models are integrated into the Red-Point app using Unity and .NET MAUI. Climbers can interact with these models to plan their climbs, assess route difficulties, and enhance their safety.

This approach ensures that climbers have access to the most accurate and current information, significantly improving their climbing experience.

Technology choices and usage

Initially, the team experimented with Unity to create a proof-of-concept app, but quickly realized it was not ideal for the user experience they envisioned. Robbins, with his expertise in .NET and Xamarin.Forms, proposed integrating Unity's 3D capabilities with .NET MAUI for a more native feel. This hybrid approach allowed them to leverage Unity's strengths for 3D rendering while utilizing .NET MAUI for seamless integration with native UI components and other functionalities.

Key technology components used:

• .NET MAUI: For building the app’s core functionalities and native user interface.
• Unity: To handle 3D rendering for detailed route visualizations.
• Azure: For authentication, data management, and cloud services.

The integration of .NET MAUI and Unity in the Red-Point app has been crucial for delivering a high-performance, seamless user experience. .NET MAUI handles core functionalities like data management and authentication, leveraging its robust library ecosystem and Azure services for backend processes. Unity excels in rendering detailed 3D environments, essential for visualizing rock-climbing routes and 3D scanned cliff data. Matthew Robbins described their setup as a client-server relationship within the app, with Unity communicating via a data channel with .NET MAUI components. This architecture ensures efficient data exchange and a responsive user interface, combining the best of both frameworks to enhance app performance and user experience.

Interoperability between .NET MAUI and Unity

The integration of .NET MAUI with Unity has been a cornerstone in the development of the Red-Point app, providing a unique blend of capabilities that enhance both performance and user experience. The decision to combine .NET MAUI for the app's core functionalities with Unity for its 3D components was driven by the strengths of each platform. .NET MAUI handles data management, synchronization, authentication, and UX, leveraging its robust library ecosystem and seamless integration with Azure services. This allows for rapid development and easy management of backend processes. Unity, on the other hand, excels in rendering the complex 3D environments necessary for the detailed rock-climbing routes and 3D scanned cliff data visualization.

Matthew Robbins described the setup as a client-server relationship within the app, where the Unity instance communicates across a data channel with the .NET MAUI components. This architecture facilitates efficient data exchange and instruction processing between the two frameworks, ensuring a smooth and responsive user experience. The use of .NET MAUI allows the team to utilize advanced .NET features such as asynchronous programming and parallelism, which are less mature in the Unity ecosystem. Additionally, the extensive .NET libraries available through NuGet significantly streamline the development process, enabling functionalities like real-time data visualization and complex data operations with minimal overhead.

Benefits of .NET MAUI

.NET MAUI allowed Alpha Outdoors to optimize Red-Point's performance in several key areas.

• Efficient resource management: The team focused on efficient resource management to prevent the app from consuming excessive memory or processing power. This involved optimizing code, reducing unnecessary background processes, and ensuring that the app's features were lightweight and responsive.
• Asynchronous programming: By utilizing asynchronous programming techniques, the team was able to improve the app's responsiveness and reduce the likelihood of performance bottlenecks. This approach allowed the app to handle multiple tasks concurrently without causing delays or interruptions.
• Caching and data compression: To enhance data retrieval speeds and reduce load times, the team implemented caching mechanisms and data compression techniques. This ensured that frequently accessed data was readily available and minimized the amount of data that needed to be transferred over the network.
• Performance monitoring and testing: The team conducted regular performance monitoring and testing to identify and address any potential issues. This involved using profiling tools to analyze the app's performance, conducting stress tests to simulate high user loads, and gathering feedback from beta testers to identify areas for improvement.
• Optimized user interface: The team paid special attention to optimizing the user interface to ensure smooth animations, quick transitions, and minimal input lag. This involved using hardware acceleration where possible and optimizing the rendering pipeline to deliver a fluid and responsive user experience.

Scaling with .NET and Azure

.NET MAUI provided the foundation for creating a responsive, high-performance app capable of handling complex tasks such as real-time route rendering and data synchronization. Its extensive library support and integration capabilities with other Microsoft services were instrumental in overcoming initial technical challenges. Azure played a crucial role in managing content delivery ensuring the app remained reliable and performant, even as the user base rapidly expanded.

Success milestones:

• Rapid growth: Post-launch, Red-Point gained significant traction, growing from 200 to 10,000 users in a matter of weeks, driven by social media virality.
• User adoption: The app quickly climbed the ranks on the iOS App Store, highlighting its market demand and the effectiveness of its technology stack.

Conclusion

By leveraging the comprehensive suite of .NET technologies and Azure services, Alpha Outdoors not only built a sophisticated app but also positioned themselves for continuous growth and innovation in the rock-climbing community. The success of Red-Point underscores the power of integrating innovative technology with a clear vision to solve real-world problems. Alpha Outdoors plan to leverage .NET as they build out Red-Point point further and aspire to incorporate more community contributions into their climbing routes.