With our new Cardboard VR button, Sketchfab has become the easiest way to view your designs in Virtual Reality.
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In this post originally published on the Sketchfab Blog as " How to set up a Cardboard VR scene for Sketchfab," Bart Veldhuizen explains what designers can do to make their models as VR-friendly as possible. At the same time, it's worth bearing in mind that creating a model for VR may take some extra consideration. At ArchDaily, we think this is a huge step in defining how we will view and share architectural design in the future, and one of the best things about the new feature is how seamlessly it blends into Sketchfab's existing model sharing platform. Image adapted from screenshot of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane model by Matthew BrennanĮarlier this month, Sketchfab announced a new feature which would allow any 3D model on their platform to be viewed in virtual reality on a device such as Google Cardboard. Read on to find out more about the possibilities and advantages that come with point cloud modelling. However, the advantages of keeping the scan in point form are what makes it great the file sizes are much smaller, and the porosity of the point clouds make it possible to see through walls and surfaces, accessing "hidden" spaces and uncommon views of seemingly familiar surroundings. This data can then be converted into a polygonal model that can be rendered like any other 3D model. The collection of data points is generated by a 3D scanner that rotates while emitting a laser that measures the distance to points on surrounding surfaces. Point clouds are made up of a set of points located in a three-dimensional coordinate system, that when put together merely give an impression of the surface of an object, or the façade of a building. As a part of our Selected by Sketchfab series, Sketchfab has their eye on a more efficient, increasingly common method of capturing architectural spaces namely, point clouds. If you need help to create 3D models or to optimize existing models, reach out to our content creation partners.Traditional 3D models made up of surfaces have for a long time aided us in visualizing buildings and spaces, but they often come at a cost: large models require a lot of storage and processing power, and can become incredibly complex to the point where they are difficult to navigate.
You can find more information on how to prepare 3D models here.
Creating custom content designed for your specific use case is always the best option. The way you create/prepare your 3D asset depends greatly on the intended use case of the Sketchfab viewer (configurator, eCommerce, landing pages, advertising, social media). The lower you keep these numbers, the faster the viewer will load and the better it will perform. As a general rule, aim to have as few separate materials, geometries (meshes), textures, and polygons (triangles, quadrangles, etc.) as possible in your model. The main factors that impact load time are (1) the size of the 3D meshes (number of polygons) and (2) the size and number of textures (if your model uses textures). This is even more important to consider for mobile users.
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If a model takes a long time to load, the user experience will suffer and users may close their browser windows rather than wait. When our partners optimize models for performance on the Sketchfab player, one of the main criteria they focus on is loading time.