Android 3D Engine

A lightweight, modular OpenGL ES 2.0/3.0 engine for Android. This library provides a component-based architecture to load and render 3D models with support for animations, lighting, and various file formats.

News (11/04/2026)

Version 2.0.1 *

• Source split. Now the parsers are plugins that can be included or not.

Features

• Compatibility: Android 7.0+ (API 24+), targeting API 35.
• Graphics API: OpenGL ES 2.0 and 3.0.
• Modular Architecture: The engine is decoupled from specific file formats. You only compile and include the parsers you actually use.
• Supported Formats (Optional Plugins):
  • OBJ (Wavefront)
  • STL (Stereolithography)
  • DAE (Collada) - Support for skinning and animations.
  • GLTF (GL Transmission Format) - PBR-ready structures, skinning, and animations.
  • FBX (Filmbox) - High-performance native parsing via ufbx.
• Core Capabilities:
  • Skeletal and Property Animations.
  • Directional and Point Lighting.
  • Normal Mapping.
  • Skybox support.
  • Collision Detection (Ray-casting & Octree optimized).
  • Stereoscopic/VR Rendering (Anaglyph & Side-by-Side).

Modular Configuration

To keep your APK small and build times fast, you can enable only the loaders you need in your gradle.properties file:

# Enable specific 3D format plugins
org.the3deer.android.engine.includeObj=true
org.the3deer.android.engine.includeStl=true
org.the3deer.android.engine.includeGltf=true
org.the3deer.android.engine.includeDae=true
org.the3deer.android.engine.includeFbx=false  # Set to false to exclude FBX and its native C++ code

Documentation

Detailed technical documentation regarding the engine's architecture, Scene Graph, and API can be found here: doc/README.md

Usage

1. Add as a Submodule

git submodule add https://github.com/the3deer/android-3D-engine.git engine

2. Configure Gradle

Add the module to your settings.gradle:

include ':engine'

And add the dependency to your app/build.gradle:

dependencies {
    implementation project(':engine')
}

2. Register Loaders

In your application initialization (e.g., MainActivity or Application class), register the plugins you want to use:

// Register only the formats your game uses
LoaderRegistry.register("obj") { uri, listener -> WavefrontLoaderTask(uri, listener) }
LoaderRegistry.register("gltf") { uri, listener -> GltfLoaderTask(uri, listener) }
LoaderRegistry.register("glb") { uri, listener -> GltfLoaderTask(uri, listener) }

Documentation

Detailed technical documentation regarding the engine's architecture, Scene Graph, and API can be found here: doc/README.md

Credits & License

• The3Deer: MIT License
• STL Parser: GNU LGPL v2.1 (Dipl. Ing. P. Szawlowski)
• GLTF Parser: MIT License (javagl/JglTF)
• EarCut: ISC License (Mapbox)

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Developed with assistance from Gemini AI.