Creating VR experiences for Rhino 3D models

We just released a new tutorial showing how to create advanced #VR (virtual reality) experiences for #Rhino3D models, using SimLab Composer

Please view the tutorial at the following link

We will appreciate your feedback.

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I am very interested in your VR work, and think that it looks like the most promising way for me to get my Rhino models into a VR environment. However, many of my clients don’t have access to HTC Vive or Oculus. I like that you have a mode for navigating using a mouse and keyboard, but I’m looking for one other feature. Can you render photospheres? I find these to be quite useful with our laser scanning software and have wanted the ability to render them from various viewpoints of my model.

This is a great question.

When we started working on the VR solution - which will have huge impact on all 3D designers - we wanted a solution that works for the different type of users, our strategy was simple that you define the experience once (materials, lists, actions, navigation, …etc), then you share it and you give the user the best possible experience.

  • Users of HTC Vive and Oculus rift they get to live inside the model (already available)
  • Users without any of the two devices can use the Desktop viewer (already available)

We will complete this in Composer 8.1 to be released during this month:

  • Users more busy and who do not want to download the viewer can get the experience as 3D PDF
  • The scene can be shared on mobile viewer (3D or AR)
  • The user can render photospheres image of the model

The following 360 image was rendered using SimLab Composer 8.1 alpha

With a complete solution you will have be sure that you are providing the best experience possible without re-doing the work.

Thanks for your response, it sounds like you really have all the bases covered. I’m really seeing Composer as a great one-stop solution for sharing our ideas (Rhino models) with clients in a variety of ways.

I downloaded your image to my phone and it didn’t work at first as a photosphere. After Google Photos recognized it the next day, I was able to view it correctly as a photosphere in the Photos app, and also in the Cardboard app. It looked fantastic, thanks for the example.

One Item that has bothered me for some time with all 3dPDFs is that the navigation is geared towards looking at objects, not navigating through spaces. We work with large ships, and the exterior view is a small aspect of our design work. Do you have any solutions for 3dPDF that helps navigate through spaces, or is that a limitation of Adobe?

3D PDF focuses on product design not on large scene viewing, and that is why its default navigation is not suitable for large scenes.

We added a new navigation mode that you can select from the 3D PDF settings, which was optimized for better navigation of large scenes.

Any thoughts in optimizing workflow/export for AR using Apple’s AR kit?

We are testing the integration with Apple AR kit, the biggest issue we see is how it will support Android, we hope to have a solution that works on all phones.

In SimLab Composer 8.1 to be released soon, we will release a free AR viewer with simple export, with quality that should be much better than what you will get from most viewers due to the light baking technology to be included.

But I do not expect Apple AR solution before SimLab Composer 9.0

Biggest issue for Who? Why? I can tell you most of my clients (95% of them) are iPhone users. This is not a religious request, but rather a business one.

What about your clients? …that’s all it matters. Market share as a whole is quite irrelevant IMO.

G

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I was talking about our customer base, we do not have an accurate numbers but based on the old CAD viewer we released on iPhone and Android, they are close to 45% iphone, 55% android.

That is why supporting Android is important.

Also we are investigating what is the additional value we get from Apple RT compared to unreal engine, until now we are not seeing enough advantage to go with Apple RT, when we can do almost the same for iOS and Android based on unreal engine.

After the game, then. Game control with the touch pad is not easy. Because I have to raise my arms. Play violent games Need to find partners to share. In addition, the tool holder is extremely hot. (The test machine is S7) Approximately half an hour a warning message will appear. If you play alone, it’s not a problem, because half the hike is a relaxing retreat. However, if many players such as Minecraft may need to make an appointment in advance.

The latest Yacht VR experience is available here.

I hope that it will be interesting for Rhino boat designers.

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Hi @Ashraf

Neat demo! We are looking intoSimlab as well, as we have both HTC Vive and Oculus available. One of the things we’ve been looking forward is the Standalone version of Daydream, as it could potentially be a very affordable and mobile (compared to Vive and Oculus) alternative. Are you at Simlab considering adding Daydream to the “line-up” - perhaps as an app that can load files exported from Composer VR?

TIA, Jakob

Hello,

Yes, we are working on a mobile VR version that should work with the different mobile VR gears.
The experiences created today should work with the mobile VR.

Ashraf

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We just released SimLab Composer 8.1

new features that should interest Rhino designers include

360 rendering
Navigating large VR scenes
Cloud showroom for sharing VR experiences
New Android viewer based on unreal engine
Alpha emitter rendering
Roughness map rendering
HDR Creation

Details are available here

This is something I had hoped would be developed years ago. Glad to see work being done on this front. I work with point clouds of scanned job sites and the ability to see stereoscopic views would be helpful. Point clouds can be difficult to work with because, unless it’s rotating, it’s hard to judge depth. Is this system able to be used as a 3D “wearable screen” when modeling surfaces in Rhino?