Tag: frak

We have improved our 3D rendering engine. Thanks to better memory management we got 10..20% performance increase in FPS with larger 3D models.

We updated our WebGL javascript engine – FRAK – in 3D Wayfinder. Many memory management functions have been improved in the new version. With the new FRAK engine 3D Wayfinder provides better loading speed performance for larger 3D models, that use more memory. With smaller 3D models, the increase in speed is not noticeable.

Testing with one really large shopping mall floor plan we got increase in performance in average 15%. In idle mode we recorded 16 frames per second (FPS) increase, jumping from 44 FPS to 50 FPS. While actively showing path we recorded a 7 FPS increase, jumping from 38 FPS to 45 FPS. In normal use, 3D Wayfinder is limited to 30 frames per second.

WebGL issues are fixed with Android 6.0. 3D Wayfinder is running again on latest Android.

We discovered WebGL issues with Android Lollipop 5.1.1 version, that was available for Google Nexus devices on August. Now Google has started to roll out Android 6.0 Marshmallow to existing Nexus devices. With 6.0 the WebGL issues seemed to be fixed.

See the Nexus 5 with 3D Wayfinder video on Youtube.

We have added full screen mode to FRAK WebGL engine. Now it is possible to create 3D Wayfinder templates that can open 3D floor plans in full screen.

Full screen with browsers is being used for watching videos, using map application, playing games etc. Usually wayfinding applications are configured to run in full screen by default. So there will be no need for separate full screen mode from browser. When embedding 3D Wayfinder in web-pages or web based applications, going full screen can be really useful. This gives the possibility to experience 3D content through the whole screen when needed. Also in normal state 3D canvas can be mixed with other HTML content keeping the 3D area smaller and it needs less performance.

To use full screen mode with FRAK engine you have to make following API call:
Engine.requestFullscreen(useUpscaling)

Exiting full screen:
Engine.exitFullscreen()

Engine.requestFullscreen() has to be called by a user interaction (i.e. click on a button), as browser need user action for going full screen.
If “useUpscaling” is set to true the canvas is resized to screen dimensions, but rendering will continue at the original resolution. This allows for faster rendering, but the image quality will suffer.

Full screen is required for stereoscopic rendering, this we will also add to 3D Wayfinder soon to provide real-time 3D experience with 3D Wayfinder. Stay tuned!

We have released a new version of FRAK WebGL engine with support for JSON 3D model format. This decreases the browser-side loading time as browsers’ native JSON parser is faster, than parsing binary models in Javascript, as we used to do so far. Of course we will continue to support binary models also.

FRAK JSON model specifications can be found from FRAK Github repository.

Initial testing shows, that compressed JSON files are the same size as binary files, but browser side parsing is many times faster.

Here are testing results for parsing with different 3D geometry:

RGB box (12 poly)
With binary format: 250 ms
With JSON: 10-60 ms

Axis Test (3440 poly)
Binary: 300 ms
JSON: 36-60 ms

Wayfinding demo ground level (20069 poly)
Binary: 1265 ms
JSON: 50-70 ms

Browser side parsing time varies a bit, but even with larger models it should be less than 100 ms.

Support for JSON models will be available in 3D Wayfinder in near future. This will probably make the 3D Wayfinder application (with models) loading time smaller about 50%. Of course it will depend on the project size, textures, internet connection etc.