I'm trying to make an ARKit application where an SCNNode, in this case a box, is placed in front of the camera, facing the camera. As the user moves the camera around, objects are placed when a certain distance has been moved. This would leave you with a series of nodes facing the camera in a line, equally spaced.
I have this working to a certain extent, but my problem is with the rotation. I'm currently taking all axes of rotation, so as the user re-orients their phone, the rotation of the node matches. I want to restrict this to just the rotation around the y-axis. The ideal outcome is a domino-trail like look, with all the objects having the same x and z rotations, but potentially different y rotations.
I hope I've explained this clearly enough!
Here's the code I'm currently using:
func createNode(fromCameraTransform cameraTransform: matrix_float4x4) -> SCNNode {
let geometry = SCNBox(width: 0.02, height: 0.04, length: 0.01, chamferRadius: 0)
let physicsBody = SCNPhysicsBody(type: .dynamic, shape: SCNPhysicsShape(geometry: geometry))
physicsBody.mass = 1000
let node = SCNNode(geometry: geometry)
node.physicsBody = physicsBody
var translationMatrix = matrix_identity_float4x4
translationMatrix.columns.3.x = 0.05 // Moves the node down in world space
translationMatrix.columns.3.z = -0.1 // Moves the object away from the camera
node.simdTransform = simd_mul(cameraTransform, translationMatrix)
return node
}
I've tried different combinations of extracting values from the second column of the cameraTransform and setting them as eulerAngles, rotation and simdRotation, but to no avail.
I've also tried extracting values from the pointOfView of the current sceneView and assigning them to the same values as listed above, but again, no luck.
Any help would greatly appreciated!
I know a little bit about this, but am really just starting out with SceneKit and 3D transformations/matrices so be gentle with me!
I think I know what your trying to do, basically automatically drop each new domino so its evenly spaced following the camera.pointOfView trail.
You can update the new nodes euler angles y-axis to the same as the cameras pointofView eularAngles.y. So as you move the camera around the next node you are placing is always facing towards the camera (only rotating around the y-axis).
The renderer function updateAtTime below gets called everytime
the camera moves
func renderer(_ renderer: SCNSceneRenderer, updateAtTime time: TimeInterval) {
// You set the camera’s pointOfView’s eularAngle for y-xis to the node you are
about to place.
node.eulerAngles.y = (sceneView.pointOfView?.eulerAngles.y)!
I had this working in a playground so it does work.
Edit: This solution above angle was having a gimbal lock problem (as you went around in a circle in would reset its angle back to the axis.
So I found this approach using SCNBillboardConstraint works without experiencing the gimbal lock problem as you go around in circle.
let yFreeConstraint = SCNBillboardConstraint()
yFreeConstraint.freeAxes = .Y
node.constraints = [yFreeConstraint]
node.eulerAngles = node.presentation.eulerAngles
node.position = position
I’m using ARKit with SceneKit. When user presses a button I create an anchor and to the SCNNode corresponding to it I add a 3D object (loaded from a .scn file in the project).
The 3D object is placed facing the camera, with the same orientation the camera has. I would like to make it look like the object is laying on a plane surface and not inclined if it is that way. So, if I got it right, I’d need to apply a rotation transformation so that it’s rotation around the X and Z axis become 0.
My attempt at this is: take the node’s x and z eulerAngles, invert them, and rotate that amount around each axis
let rotationZ = rotationMatrixAroundZ(radians: -node.eulerAngles.z)
let rotationX = rotationMatrixAroundX(radians: -node.eulerAngles.x)
let rotationTransform = simd_mul(rotationTransformX, rotationTransformZ)
node.transform = SCNMatrix4(simd_mul(simd_float4x4(node.transform), rotationTransform))
This works all right for most cases, but in some the object is rotated in completely strange ways. Should I be setting the
rotation angle to anything else than just the inverse of the current Euler Angle? Setting the angles to 0 directly did not work at all.
I've come across this and figured out I was running into gimbal lock. The solution was to rotate the node around one axis, parent it to another SCNNode(), then rotate the parent around the other axis. Hope that helps.
You don't have to do the node transform on a matrix, you can simply rotate around a specific axis and that might be a bit simpler in terms of the logic of doing the rotation.
You could do something like:
node.runAction(SCNAction.rotateBy(x: x, y: y, z: z, duration: 0.0))
Not sure if this is the kind of thing you're looking for, but it is simpler than doing the rotation with the SCNMatrix4
Well, I managed a workaround, but I'm not truly happy with it, so I'll leave the question unanswered. Basically I define a threshold of 2 degrees and keep applying those rotations until both Euler Angles around X and Z are below the aforementioned threshold.
func layDownNode(_ node: SCNNode) {
let maxErrDegrees: Float = 2.0
let maxErrRadians = GLKMathDegreesToRadians(maxErrDegrees)
while (abs(node.eulerAngles.x) > maxErrRadians || abs(node.eulerAngles.z) > maxErrRadians) {
let rotationZ = -node.eulerAngles.z
let rotationX = -node.eulerAngles.x
let rotationTransformZ = rotationMatrixAroundZ(radians: rotationZ)
let rotationTransformX = rotationMatrixAroundX(radians: rotationX)
let rotationTransform = simd_mul(rotationTransformX, rotationTransformZ)
node.transform = SCNMatrix4(simd_mul(simd_float4x4(node.transform), rotationTransform))
}
}
I am trying to set up a simple scene (one spherical node and the default camera) in a square SceneView. Currently I set up the scene as below:
let scene = SCNScene()
let planet = SCNSphere(radius: 1.0)
let planetNode = SCNNode(geometry: planet)
scene.rootNode.addChildNode(planetNode)
To certain views, I also rotate the node as such:
let rotationNode = SCNNode()
rotationNode.addChildNode(planetNode)
scene.rootNode.addChildNode(rotationNode)
rotationNode.rotation = (SCNVector4: SCNVector4(x: 0, y: 0, z: 1, w: some_amount_of_radians))
What I noticed, however, is the objects that get rotated are smaller than the ones that don't get rotated. I am not really sure what the ratio is, but it seems to be dependent on how much rotation is added, to a point.
In the below screenshot, Earth is rotated 45 degrees, and the other 2 are not rotated. If I rotated it 90 degrees instead, there is no difference, which leads me to believe there is a square bounding box around the sphere and the default camera is forcing its point of view to contain this box.
I have also tried to change the euler angles, position, and scale of the rotated nodes to compensate, but no transormations I apply seem to have any effect. Any pointers for solving this camera issue would be perfect.
I am making a fist person camera in Scenekit and the character is not moving relative to the rotation. Instead it is moving relative to the world axis. I want my game to be so when the player swipes forward, the character moves forward on its own x axis. Not along the x axis of the world. I tried to compensate of this with sine and cosine but it did not work. Here is my code:
func lookGestureRecognized(gesture: UIPanGestureRecognizer) {
let velocity = gesture.velocityInView(sceneView)
let rotationAngle = heroNode.presentationNode().rotation.w * heroNode.presentationNode().rotation.y
var impulse = SCNVector3Make(Float(velocity.x)/50, 0, Float(velocity.y)/50)
impulse = SCNVector3(x: impulse.x * cos(rotationAngle), y: 0, z: impulse.z * sin(rotationAngle))
heroNode.physicsBody?.applyForce(impulse, impulse: true)
}
This is still making the character move in the wrong direction of the swipe. Does anyone know how to make the character move relative to its rotation?
Thanks, please ask for clarification if needed
the rotation property is made of a rotation axis and a rotation angle. If you want to retrieve the rotation along the x axis you can use the eulerAngles property.
I am trying to applyTorque to a node in my scene. The documentation states:
Each component of the torque vector relates to rotation about the
corresponding axis in the local coordinate system of the SCNNode
object containing the physics body. For example, applying a torque of
{0.0, 0.0, 1.0} causes a node to spin counterclockwise around its
z-axis.
However in my tests it seems that Physics animations do not affect actual position of the object. Therefore, the axis remain static (even though the actual node obviously moves). This results in the torque always being applied from the same direction (wherever the z axes was when the scene was initiated).
I would like to be able to apply torque so that it is always constant in relation to the object (e.g. to cause node to spin counterclockwise around z-axis of the node's presentationNode not the position node had(has?) when the scene was initiated)
SceneKit uses two versions of each node: the model node defines static behavior and the presentation node is what's actually involved in dynamic behavior and used on screen. This division mirrors that used in Core Animation, and enables features like implicit animation (where you can do things like set node.position and have it animate to the new value, without other parts of your code that query node.position having to working about intermediate values during the animation).
Physics operates on the presentation node, but in some cases--like this one--takes input in scene space.
However, the only difference between the presentation node and the scene is in terms of coordinate spaces, so all you need to do is convert your vector from presentation space to scene space. (The root node of the scene shouldn't be getting transformed by physics, actions, or inflight animations, so there's no practical difference between model-scene space and presentation-scene space.) To do that, use one of the coordinate conversion methods SceneKit provides, such as convertPosition:fromNode:.
Here's a Swift playground that illustrates your dilemma:
import Cocoa
import SceneKit
import XCPlayground
// Set up a scene for our tests
let scene = SCNScene()
let view = SCNView(frame: NSRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 500, height: 500))
view.autoenablesDefaultLighting = true
view.scene = scene
let cameraNode = SCNNode()
cameraNode.camera = SCNCamera()
cameraNode.position = SCNVector3(x: 0, y: 0, z: 5)
scene.rootNode.addChildNode(cameraNode)
XCPShowView("view", view)
// Make a pyramid to test on
let node = SCNNode(geometry: SCNPyramid(width: 1, height: 1, length: 1))
scene.rootNode.addChildNode(node)
node.physicsBody = SCNPhysicsBody.dynamicBody()
scene.physicsWorld.gravity = SCNVector3Zero // Don't fall off screen
// Rotate around the axis that looks into the screen
node.physicsBody?.applyTorque(SCNVector4(x: 0, y: 0, z: 1, w: 0.1), impulse: true)
// Wait a bit, then try to rotate around the y-axis
node.runAction(SCNAction.waitForDuration(10), completionHandler: {
var axis = SCNVector3(x: 0, y: 1, z: 0)
node.physicsBody?.applyTorque(SCNVector4(x: axis.x, y: axis.y, z: axis.z, w: 1), impulse: true)
})
The second rotation effectively spins the pyramid around the screen's y-axis, not the pyramid's y-axis -- the one that goes through the apex of the pyramid. As you noted, it's spinning around what was the pyramid's y-axis as of before the first rotation; i.e. the y-axis of the scene (which is unaffected by physics), not that of the presentation node (that was rotated through physics).
To fix it, insert the following line (after the one that starts with var axis):
axis = scene.rootNode.convertPosition(axis, fromNode: node.presentationNode())
The call to convertPosition:fromNode: says "give me a vector in scene coordinate space that's equivalent to this one in presentation-node space". When you apply a torque around the converted axis, it effectively converts back to the presentation node's space to simulate physics, so you see it spin around the axis you want.
Update: Had some coordinate spaces wrong, but the end result is pretty much the same.
Unfortunately the solution provided by rickster does not work for me :(
Trying to solve this conundrum I have created (what i believe to be) a very sub-standard solution (more a proof of concept). It involves creating (null) objects on the axis i am trying to find, then I use their position to find the vector aligned to the axes.
As I have a fairly complex scene, I am loading it from a COLLADA file. Within that file i have modelled a simple coordinate tripod: three orthogonal cylinders with cones on top (makes it easer to visualise what is going on).
I then constrain this tripod object to the object I am trying to apply torque to. This way I have objects that allow me to retrieve two points on the axes of the presentationNode of the object I am trying to apply torque to. I can then use these two points to determine the vector to apply the torque from.
// calculate orientation vector in the most unimaginative way possible
// retrieve axis tripod objects. We will be using these as guide objects.
// The tripod is constructed as a cylinder called "Xaxis" with a cone at the top.
// All loaded from an external COLLADA file.
SCNNode *XaxisRoot = [scene.rootNode childNodeWithName:#"XAxis" recursively:YES];
SCNNode *XaxisTip = [XaxisRoot childNodeWithName:#"Cone" recursively:NO];
// To devise the vector we will need two points. One is the root of our tripod,
// the other is at the tip. First, we get their positions. As they are constrained
// to the _rotatingNode, presentationNode.position is always the same .position
// because presentationNode returns position in relation to the parent node.
SCNVector3 XaxisRootPos = XaxisRoot.position;
SCNVector3 XaxisTipPos = XaxisTip.position;
// We then convert these two points into _rotatingNode coordinate space. This is
// the coordinate space applyTorque seems to be using.
XaxisRootPos = [_rotatingNode convertPosition:XaxisRootPos fromNode:_rotatingNode.presentationNode];
XaxisTipPos = [_rotatingNode convertPosition:XaxisTipPos fromNode:_rotatingNode.presentationNode];
// Now, we have two *points* in _rotatingNode coordinate space. One is at the center
// of our _rotatingNode, the other is somewhere along it's Xaxis. Subtracting them
// will give us the *vector* aligned to the x axis of our _rotatingNode
GLKVector3 rawXRotationAxes = GLKVector3Subtract(SCNVector3ToGLKVector3(XaxisRootPos), SCNVector3ToGLKVector3(XaxisTipPos));
// we now normalise this vector
GLKVector3 normalisedXRotationAxes = GLKVector3Normalize(rawXRotationAxes);
//finally we are able to apply toque reliably
[_rotatingNode.physicsBody applyTorque:SCNVector4Make(normalisedXRotationAxis.x,normalisedXRotationAxis.y,normalisedXRotationAxis.z, 500) impulse:YES];
As you can probably see, I am quite inexperienced in SceneKit, but even I can see that much easier/optimised solution does exits, but I am unable to find it :(
I recently had this same problem, of how to convert a torque from the local space of the object to the world space required by the applyTorque method. The problem with using the node's convertPosition:toNode and fromNodes methods, is that they are also applying the node's translation to the torque, so this will only work when the node is at 0,0,0. What these methods do is treat the SCNVector3 as if it's a vec4 with a w component of 1.0. We just want to apply the rotation, in other words, we want the w component of the vec4 to be 0. Unlike SceneKit, GLKit gives us 2 options for how we want our vec3s to be multiplied:
GLKMatrix4MultiplyVector3 where
The input vector is treated as it were a 4-component vector with a w-component of 0.0.
and GLKMatrix4MultiplyVector3WithTranslation where
The input vector is treated as it were a 4-component vector with a w-component of 1.0.
What we want here is the former, just the rotation, not the translation.
So, we could roundtrip to GLKit. To convert for instance the local x axis (1,0,0), eg a pitch rotation, to the global axis needed for apply torque, would look like this:
let local = GLKMatrix4MultiplyVector3(SCNMatrix4ToGLKMatrix4(node.presentationNode.worldTransform), GLKVector3(v: (1,0,0)))
node.physicsBody?.applyTorque(SCNVector4(local.x, local.y, local.z, 10), impulse: false)
However, a more Swiftian approach would be to add a * operator for mat4 * vec3 which treats the vec3 like a vec4 with a 0.0 w component. Like this:
func * (left: SCNMatrix4, right: SCNVector3) -> SCNVector3 { //multiply mat4 by vec3 as if w is 0.0
return SCNVector3(
left.m11 * right.x + left.m21 * right.y + left.m31 * right.z,
left.m12 * right.x + left.m22 * right.y + left.m32 * right.z,
left.m13 * right.x + left.m23 * right.y + left.m33 * right.z
)
}
Although this operator makes an assumption about how we want our vec3s to be multiplied, my reasoning here is that as the convertPosition methods already treat w as 1, it would be redundant to have a * operator that also did this.
You could also add a mat4 * SCNVector4 operator that would let the user explicity choose whether or not they want w to be 0 or 1.
So, instead of having to roundtrip from SceneKit to GLKit, we can just write:
let local = node.presentationNode.worldTransform * SCNVector3(1,0,0)
node.physicsBody?.applyTorque(SCNVector4(local.x, local.y, local.z, 10), impulse: false)
You can use this method to apply rotation on multiple axes with one applyTorque call. So say if you have stick input where you want x on the stick to be yaw (local yUp-axis) and y on the stick to be pitch (local x-axis), but with flight-sim style "down to pull back/ up", then you could set it to SCNVector3(input.y, -input.x, 0)