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Sceneform overview

Sceneform makes it straightforward to render realistic 3D scenes in AR and non-AR apps, without having to learn OpenGL. It includes:

This page explains key concepts by exploring the code in the Hello Sceneform sample app. Note:

  • This sample uses Sceneform and ARCore.

    To use Sceneform without ARCore, follow the steps below while ignoring the ARCore dependency and CAMERA permission requirements. Use SceneView in your app's layout as described in Build the Scene.

  • This sample app is written as an AR Required app.

    To learn more about AR Optional vs. AR Required apps, see Enabling ARCore.

Getting started with Sceneform and ARCore

To get started with Sceneform and ARCore in your project you'll need to:

  1. Import the Sceneform plugin
  2. Configure your project's build.gradle files
  3. Update your AndroidManifest.xml
  4. Perform runtime checks and create a scene view
  5. Create renderables
  6. Build the Scene

Import the Sceneform plugin into your project

Once installed, the Sceneform plugin lets you import, view, and build 3D assets in the Sceneform SDK for AR apps in Android Studio. It requires Android Studio versions 3.1 and above.

To install the plugin:

  1. In Android Studio open the Plugins settings:

    • Windows: File > Settings > Plugins > Browse Repositories

    • macOS: Android Studio > Preferences > Plugins

  2. Click Browse repositories, and install the Google Sceneform Tools (Beta).

Configure your project's build.gradle files

  1. Make sure your project's build.gradle includes Google's Maven repository:

    allprojects {
    repositories {
        google()
        …

  2. Update your app's build.gradle to add the latest ARCore and Sceneform UX dependencies, and ensure that your project settings are compatible with both libraries.

    android {
    …
    defaultConfig {
        // Sceneform requires minSdkVersion >= 24.
        minSdkVersion 24
        …
    }
    // Sceneform libraries use language constructs from Java 8.
    // Add these compile options if targeting minSdkVersion < 26.
    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    }
}

dependencies {
    …
    // Provides ARCore Session and related resources.
    implementation 'com.google.ar:core:1.13.0'

    // Provides ArFragment, and other UX resources.
    implementation 'com.google.ar.sceneform.ux:sceneform-ux:1.13.0'

    // Alternatively, use ArSceneView without the UX dependency.
    implementation 'com.google.ar.sceneform:core:1.13.0'
}

Update your AndroidManifest.xml

Modify your AndroidManifest.xml to indicate that your app uses (AR Optional) or requires (AR Required) ARCore and CAMERA access:

<!-- Both "AR Optional" and "AR Required" apps require CAMERA permission. -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />

<!-- Sceneform requires OpenGL ES 3.0 or later. -->
<uses-feature android:glEsVersion="0x00030000" android:required="true" />

<!-- Indicates that app requires ARCore ("AR Required"). Ensures the app is
     visible only in the Google Play Store on devices that support ARCore.
     For "AR Optional" apps remove this line. -->
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera.ar" />

<application>
    …
    <!-- Indicates that app requires ARCore ("AR Required"). Causes the Google
         Play Store to download and install Google Play Services for AR along
         with the app. For an "AR Optional" app, specify "optional" instead of
         "required".
    -->
    <meta-data android:name="com.google.ar.core" android:value="required" />
</application>

Perform runtime checks and create a scene view

The easiest way to get started using Sceneform and create a scene view is by using an ArFragment, which automatically handles ARCore session management after performing necessary ARCore runtime checks:

  1. Checks whether a compatible version of Google Play Services for AR is installed, prompting the user to install or update as necessary

  2. Checks whether the app has access to the camera, and asks the user for permission if it has not yet been granted

If your app needs to request additional permissions, or would like to customize how and when the AR session is created, you can instead:

  • Subclass ArFragment to request additional permissions.

  • Use or extends ArSceneView directly. Your app must perform the ARCore version check and call setupSession() to create the ARCore session manually, as demonstrated in the Solar System sample.

Once the checks pass, ArFragment creates:

  1. An ArSceneView, accessible via getArSceneView(), that:

    • Renders the camera images from the session on to its surface

    • Renders a built-in Sceneform UX animation that shows users how they should move their phone to activate the AR experience.

    • Highlights detected Planes using the default PlaneRenderer

  2. An ARCore Session, accessible via getSession()

To use ArFragment in your app, add it to your activity's layout, as demonstrated in activity_ux.xml in the Hello Sceneform sample:

<fragment android:name="com.google.ar.sceneform.ux.ArFragment"
    android:id="@+id/ux_fragment"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent" />

Create renderables

A Renderable is a 3D model that can be placed anywhere in the scene and consists of Meshes, Materials and Textures.

Renderables can be created from:

The sample app creates a renderable from a 3D andy.obj asset file. When this asset is imported, the Sceneform plugin updates the app's build.gradle to apply the plugin and add a sceneform.asset() entry for the imported model:

apply plugin: 'com.google.ar.sceneform.plugin'

sceneform.asset('sampledata/models/andy.obj', // 'Source Asset Path' specified during import.
                'default',                    // 'Material Path' specified during import.
                'sampledata/models/andy.sfa', // '.sfa Output Path' specified during import.
                'src/main/res/raw/andy')      // '.sfb Output Path' specified during import.

The res/raw/andy resource is used to create a ModelRenderable:

private ModelRenderable andyRenderable;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    …

    ModelRenderable.builder()
        .setSource(this, R.raw.andy)
        .build()
        .thenAccept(renderable -> andyRenderable = renderable)
        .exceptionally(
            throwable -> {
            Log.e(TAG, "Unable to load Renderable.", throwable);
            return null;
        });
}

Build the Scene

The ARSceneView has a Scene attached to it. The scene is a tree-like data structure that holds Nodes that are the virtual objects to be rendered.

Here the andy renderable is attached directly to root Scene node:

Node node = new Node();
node.setParent(arFragment.getArSceneView().getScene());
node.setRenderable(andyRenderable);

Each node contains all the information Sceneform needs to render it (including its position, orientation, and renderable object) as well as interact with it (including its collision shape and event listeners).

Nodes can be added to other nodes, forming a parent-child relationship. When a node is a child of another node, it moves, rotates, and scales with its parent—like how your arms move when your body moves. A node can have multiple children, but only one parent, thus forming a tree-like structure. This structure is known as the scene graph.

Each frame, Sceneform renders the scene graph from the Camera's point of view (guided by ARCore motion tracking). Your app can interact with the scene by listening for touch and gesture events, performing hit tests against nodes, and placing anchors. For more info, see Build and Interact with the Scene.