Sceneform-android-sdk: Sceneform for non-AR app?

Created on 14 May 2018 · 13Comments · Source: google-ar/sceneform-android-sdk

My understanding is that Sceneform is a powerful render engine which is orthogonal to AR (kinds of Google's version of Apple's SceneKit?). So can I use it for non-AR app?

For example, if I am currently using Ogre for a 3D game. Is it possible to switch to Sceneform to enjoy its physical based rendering on phones that do not support ARCore?

feature request

Source

rongguodong

👍1

Most helpful comment

So has anyone actually tried using sceneform without arcore.

shaileshiyer on 12 Oct 2018

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All 13 comments

Thanks for the question @rongguodong. Currently we're focused on AR applications, but we definitely interested in expanding it beyond AR.

claywilkinson on 14 May 2018

Hope Sceneform can decouple with ARCore soon, so that I can enjoy it on phones not supporting ARCore for apps which do not need tracking ability.

rongguodong on 14 May 2018

Is there any workaround to use Sceneform on non-ARCore-compatible phones right now?

rongguodong on 14 May 2018

Thanks for the comment. I'll pass along the comment as a feature request - I agree it would be nice!

Unfortunately, at this time, an ARCore session is required to start rendering.

claywilkinson on 14 May 2018

Hi! How is it going? Can we use for non AR purposes?
Thanks!

iRYO400 on 24 Sep 2018

Hi! How is it going? Can we use for non AR purposes?
Thanks!

Something related:

They open sourced Filament (https://github.com/google/filament), which seems to be the low layer rendering part of Sceneform.

rongguodong on 24 Sep 2018

Filament is currently the underlying rendering engine. Sceneform adds to the rendering simplifying the interactions with ARCore when developing AR applications. The other part that is added is management of 3D models, known as renderables. You can use Sceneform without ARCore by using the Sceneview class.

claywilkinson on 24 Sep 2018

@rongguodong yeah, currently downloading it

@claywilkinson is this possible to use SceneView to render 3D models without ARCore installed on phone(currently it doesn't support HTC's flagships)?

iRYO400 on 24 Sep 2018

So has anyone actually tried using sceneform without arcore.

shaileshiyer on 12 Oct 2018

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@shaileshiyer yes. It works. But still has uncovered areas.
Check official documentation page.

iRYO400 on 12 Oct 2018

I am working on publishing an article about how to use Sceneform in non-AR mode. You can take a peek at the project in my Personal GitHub Project. I basically create a fragment to hold the SceneView view.

If you have specific issues it's probably best to open a new issue vs. commenting on this closed issue. Broader questions are more appropriate for Stackoverflow

claywilkinson on 12 Oct 2018

I am working on publishing an article about how to use Sceneform in non-AR mode. You can take a peek at the project in my Personal GitHub Project. I basically create a fragment to hold the SceneView view.

If you have specific issues it's probably best to open a new issue vs. commenting on this closed issue. Broader questions are more appropriate for Stackoverflow

Thanks! Nice example with using Poly.
Please can you check the latest issue I posted here #376

iRYO400 on 16 Oct 2018

I am working on publishing an article about how to use Sceneform in non-AR mode. You can take a peek at the project in my Personal GitHub Project. I basically create a fragment to hold the SceneView view.

I haven't found this article, is it somewhere ? I've been looking into "PolySampleARCore" on your github. It's not completely clear for me : Can the app run on devices not supporting arcore ? Not sure how I'll do this, but my plan is to modify/simplify the app to test a simple .obj file rendering.
For my project I'll need to render the camera preview in background. It seems there's also a discussion about it here https://github.com/google-ar/sceneform-android-sdk/issues/274

[edit] I can confirm that PolySampleARCore doesn't work on a device that is not ARCore supported. The app starts with "This device request the latest version of ARCore", then it redirects to the playstore where it is written that the device is not compatible with ARCore.

[edit2] Actually, it's because the app starts in ARMode, you have to modify the code and call initializeNonArMode() instead of initializeARMode() in PolyGalleryActivity.java. And the app will not prompt "you need latest version of ARCore". Awesome, thanks.