Is there a way to pass a ModelEntity to ARQuickLook preview controller? - ios

Question

I'm working on a project where I have to download a USDZ file from a URL, preconfigured with white materials, then customize it in runtime and finally view it in AR with ARQuickLook.
At the moment, I thought the best way was to download the asset using the ModelEntity download method, change its properties and then show it with the ARQuickLook preview.
Currently, I am completely stuck in the last step where I am looking for the way to pass the modified model entity to the ARQuickLook preview controller, but it only accepts a URL and no other data types.
A simple code example below:
var modelURL: URL?
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
self.downloadUSDZ()
}
#IBAction func arQuickLookButtonPressed(_ sender: Any) {
guard modelURL != nil else { return }
let previewController = QLPreviewController()
previewController.dataSource = self
present(previewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
func downloadUSDZ() {
modelURL = URL(string: "https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/quick-look/models/drummertoy/toy_drummer.usdz")!
guard let entity = try? ModelEntity.loadModel(contentsOf: modelURL!) else {
print("Entity download failed")
return
}
for child in entity.children {
var newMaterial = SimpleMaterial()
newMaterial.color.tint = UIColor.cyan
child.model?.materials = [newMaterial]
}
}
func numberOfPreviewItems(in controller: QLPreviewController) -> Int { return 1 }
func previewController(_ controller: QLPreviewController, previewItemAt index: Int) -> QLPreviewItem {
let previewItem = ARQuickLookPreviewItem(fileAt: modelURL!) //<---- HERE I NEED TO DISPLAY THE MODIFIED MODEL ENTITY
previewItem.canonicalWebPageURL = URL(string: "https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/quick-look/models/drummertoy/")
previewItem.allowsContentScaling = false
return previewItem
}
Can anyone give me some advice on how to proceed?
Other ways to reach the goal are also accepted.

Answer 1

I'm not sure if this is doable with ARQuickLook. But we can use either SceneKit or RealityKit ARView and modify the ModelEntity at runtime. You could do something like this, Using ARView in RealityKit:
#IBOutlet var arView: ARView!
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
let modelURL = URL(string: "https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/quick-look/models/drummertoy/toy_drummer.usdz")!
guard let entity = try? ModelEntity.loadModel(contentsOf: modelURL!) else {
print("Entity download failed")
return
}
for child in entity.children {
var newMaterial = SimpleMaterial()
newMaterial.color.tint = UIColor.cyan
child.model?.materials = [newMaterial]
}
let anchor = AnchorEntity(plane: .horizontal)
anchor.addChild(entity)
arView.scene.addAnchor(anchor)
}
Please keep in mind that you will have to manually add the transform/scale actions that you get automatically with ARQuickLook.