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The Virtual Reality Modeling Language

Annex D
(informative)

Examples

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+D.1 Introduction and table of contents

This annex provides a variety of VRML examples.

D.1 Introduction and table of contents
D.2 Simple example
D.3 Instancing (sharing)
D.4 Prototype example
D.5 Scripting example
D.6 Geometric properties
D.7 Prototypes and alternate representations
D.8 Anchor
D.9 Directional light
D.10 PointSet
D.11 Level of detail
D.12 Color interpolator
D.13 TimeSensor  
         D.13.1 Introduction
         D.13.2 Click to animate
         D.13.3 Alarm clock
D.14 Shuttles and pendulums
D.15 Robot
D.16 Chopper
D.17 Guided tour
D.18 Elevator
D.19 Execution model

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+D.2 Simple example

This example contains a simple scene defining a view of a red sphere and a blue box, lit by a directional light:

Figure D.1: Red sphere meets blue box

 

#VRML V2.0 utf8
Transform {
  children [
    NavigationInfo { headlight FALSE } # We'll add our own light

    DirectionalLight {        # First child
        direction 0 0 -1      # Light illuminating the scene
    }

    Transform {               # Second child - a red sphere
      translation 3 0 1
      children [
        Shape {
          geometry Sphere { radius 2.3 }
          appearance Appearance {
            material Material { diffuseColor 1 0 0 }   # Red
         }
        }
      ]
    }

    Transform {               # Third child - a blue box 
      translation -2.4 .2 1
      rotation     0 1 1  .9
      children [
        Shape {
          geometry Box {}
          appearance Appearance {
            material Material { diffuseColor 0 0 1 }  # Blue
         }
        }
      ]
    }

  ] # end of children for world
}

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.3 Instancing (sharing)

Reading the following file results in three spheres being drawn. The first sphere defines a unit sphere at the origin named "Joe", the second sphere defines a smaller sphere translated along the +x axis, the third sphere is a reference to the second sphere and is translated along the -x axis. If any changes occur to the second sphere (e.g. radius changes), then the third sphere, will change too:

Figure D.2: Instancing

 

#VRML V2.0 utf8
Transform {
  children [
    DEF Joe Shape { geometry Sphere {} }
    Transform {
      translation 2 0 0
      children    DEF Joe Shape { geometry Sphere { radius .2 } }
    }
    Transform {
      translation -2 0 0
      children    USE Joe 
    }

  ]
}

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser. (Note that the spheres are unlit because no appearance was specified.)

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+D.4 Prototype example

A simple table with variable colours for the legs and top might be prototyped as:

Figure D.3: Prototype

 

#VRML V2.0 utf8
PROTO TwoColorTable [ field SFColor legColor  .8 .4 .7
                      field SFColor topColor .6 .6 .1 ]
{
  Transform {
    children [
      Transform {   # table top
       translation 0 0.6 0
        children
          Shape {
            appearance Appearance {
              material Material { diffuseColor IS topColor }
            }
            geometry Box { size 1.2 0.2 1.2 }
          }
      }

      Transform {   # first table leg
       translation -.5 0 -.5
        children
          DEF Leg Shape {
            appearance Appearance {
              material Material { diffuseColor IS legColor }
            }
            geometry Cylinder { height 1 radius .1 }
          }
      }
      Transform {   # another table leg
       translation .5 0 -.5
        children USE Leg
      }
      Transform {   # another table leg
       translation -.5 0 .5
        children USE Leg
      }
      Transform {   # another table leg
       translation .5 0 .5
        children USE Leg
      }
    ] # End of root Transform's children
  } # End of root Transform
} # End of prototype

# The prototype is now defined. Although it contains a 
# number of nodes, only the legColor and topColor fields 
# are public. Instead of using the default legColor and 
# topColor, this instance of the table has red legs and 
# a green top:


TwoColorTable {
  legColor 1 0 0 topColor 0 1 0
}
NavigationInfo { type "EXAMINE" }      # Use the Examine viewer

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.5 Scripting example

This Script node decides whether or not to open a bank vault given openVault and combinationEntered messages. To do this, it remembers whether or not the correct combination has been entered. The Script node combined with a Sphere, a TouchSensor and a Sound node to show how is works. When the pointing device is over the sphere, the combinationEntered eventIn of the Script is sent. Then, when the Sphere is touched (typically when the mouse button is pressed) the Script is sent the openVault eventIn. This generates the vaultUnlocked eventOut which starts a 'click' sound. Here is the example:

#VRML V2.0 utf8

DEF OpenVault Script { 
    # Declarations of what's in this Script node:
    eventIn SFTime openVault
    eventIn SFBool combinationEntered
    eventOut SFTime vaultUnlocked
    field SFBool unlocked FALSE

    # Implementation of the logic:
    url "javascript:
        function combinationEntered(value) { unlocked = value; }
        function openVault(value) {
        if (unlocked) vaultUnlocked = value;
    }"
}

Shape {
    appearance Appearance {
        material Material { diffuseColor 1 0 0 }
    }
    geometry Sphere { }
}

Sound {
    source     DEF Click AudioClip {
             url       "click.wav"
             stopTime 1
    }

    minFront   1000
    maxFront   1000
    minBack    1000
    maxBack    1000
}


DEF TS TouchSensor { }

ROUTE TS.isOver TO OpenVault.combinationEntered
ROUTE TS.touchTime TO OpenVault.openVault
ROUTE OpenVault.vaultUnlocked TO Click.startTime

Note that the openVault eventIn and the vaultUnlocked eventOut are of type SFTime, which allows them to be wired directly to a TouchSensor or TimeSensor.

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.6 Geometric properties

The following IndexedFaceSet (contained in a Shape node) uses all four of the geometric property nodes to specify vertex coordinates, colours per vertex, normals per vertex, and texture coordinates per vertex (note that the material sets the overall transparency):

#VRML V2.0 utf8

Shape { 
    geometry IndexedFaceSet {
        coordIndex [ 0, 1, 3, -1, 0, 2, 3, -1 ]
        coord Coordinate { 
            point [ 0 0 0, 1 0 0, 1 0 -1, 0.5 1 0 ] 
        }
        color Color {
            color [ 0.2 0.7 0.8, 0.5 0 0, 0.1 0.8 0.1, 0 0 0.7 ] 
        }
        normal Normal {
            vector [ 0 0 1, 0 0 1, 0 0 1, 0 0 1 ] 
        }
        texCoord TextureCoordinate { 
            point [ 0 0, 1 0, 1 0.4, 1 1 ]
        }
    }
    appearance Appearance { 
        material Material { transparency 0.5 }
        texture  PixelTexture { 
            image 2 2 1 0xFF 0x80 0x80 0xFF 
        }
    }
}

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.7 Prototypes and alternate representations

VRML 2.0 has the capability to define new nodes. The following is an example of a new node RefractiveMaterial. This node behaves as a Material node with an added field, indexOfRefraction. The list of URLs for the EXTERNPROTO are searched in order. If the browser recognizes the URN, urn:inet:foo.com:types:RefractiveMaterial, it may treat it as a native type (or load the implementation). Otherwise, the URL, http://www.myCompany.com/vrmlNodes/RefractiveMaterial.wrl, is used as a backup to ensure that the node is supported on any browsers. See below for the PROTO implementation that treats RefractiveMaterial as a Material (and ignores the refractiveIndex field).

#VRML V2.0 utf8

# external protype definition
EXTERNPROTO RefractiveMaterial [
    exposedField SFFloat ambientIntensity
    exposedField SFColor diffuseColor
    exposedField SFColor specularColor
    exposedField SFColor emissiveColor
    exposedField SFFloat shininess
    exposedField SFFloat transparency
    exposedField SFFloat indexOfRefraction  ]
[
  "urn:inet:foo.com:types:RefractiveMaterial",
  "http://www.myCompany.com/vrmlNodes/RefractiveMaterial.wrl", 
  "refractivematerial.wrl",
]

Shape {
    geometry Sphere { }
    appearance Appearance {
        # Instance of a RefractiveMaterial
        material RefractiveMaterial {               
            ambientIntensity  0.2
            diffuseColor      1 0 0
            indexOfRefraction 0.3
        }
    }
}

The URL http://www.myCompany.com/vrmlNodes/RefractiveMaterial.wrl contains the following:

#VRML V2.0 utf8

PROTO RefractiveMaterial [            # prototype definition
    exposedField SFFloat ambientIntensity  0
    exposedField SFColor diffuseColor      0.5 0.5 0.5
    exposedField SFColor specularColor     0 0 0
    exposedField SFColor emissiveColor     0 0 0
    exposedField SFFloat shininess         0
    exposedField SFFloat transparency      0
    exposedField SFFloat indexOfRefraction 0.1 ]
{
    Material {
        ambientIntensity IS ambientIntensity
        diffuseColor     IS diffuseColor
        specularColor    IS specularColor
        emissiveColor    IS emissiveColor
        shininess        IS shininess
        transparency     IS transparency
    }
}

Note that the name of the new node type, RefractiveMaterial, is not used by the browser to decide if the node is native or not; the URL/URN names determine the node's implementation.

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.8 Anchor

The target parameter can be used by the anchor node to send a request to load a URL into another frame:

Anchor { 
  url "http://somehost/somefile.html"
  parameter [ "target=name_of_frame" ]
  children Shape { geometry Cylinder {} }
}

An Anchor may be used to bind the viewer to a particular viewpoint in a virtual world by specifying a URL ending with #viewpointName, where viewpointName is the DEF name of a viewpoint defined in the world. For example:

Anchor { 
  url "http://www.school.edu/vrml/someScene.wrl#OverView"
  children Shape { geometry Box {} }
}

specifies an anchor that puts the viewer in the someScene world bound to the viewpoint named OverView when the box is chosen (note that OverView is the DEF name of the viewpoint, not the value of the viewpoint's description field).

If no world is specified, the current scene is implied. For example:

Anchor { 
  url "#Doorway"
  children Shape { geometry Sphere {} }
}

binds the user's view to the viewpoint with the DEF name Doorway in the current scene.

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+D.9 Directional light

A directional light source illuminates only the objects in its enclosing grouping node. The light illuminates everything within this coordinate system including the objects that precede it in the scene graph as shown below:

#VRML V2.0 utf8

Group { 
    children [
       DEF UnlitShapeOne Transform {
            translation -3 0 0

           children Shape { 
               appearance DEF App Appearance {
                   material Material { 
                       diffuseColor 0.8 0.4 0.2 
                   }
               }
               geometry Box { } 
           }
        }

       DEF LitParent Group {
           children [
               DEF LitShapeOne Transform {
                    translation 0 2 0

                   children Shape {
                       appearance USE App
                       geometry Sphere { }
                   }
               }

               # lights the shapes under LitParent
               DirectionalLight { } 
               DEF LitShapeTwo Transform {
                    translation 0 -2 0

                   children Shape {
                       appearance USE App
                       geometry Cylinder { }
                    }
                }
           ]
       }

       DEF UnlitShapeTwo Transform {
            translation 3 0 0

           children Shape { 
               appearance USE App
               geometry Cone { }
            }
       }
    ]
}

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.10 PointSet

This simple example defines a PointSet composed of 3 points. The first point is red (1 0 0), the second point is green (0 1 0), and the third point is blue (0 0 1). The second PointSet instances the Coordinate node defined in the first PointSet, but defines different colours:

#VRML V2.0 utf8

Shape { 
    geometry PointSet {
        coord DEF mypts Coordinate { 
            point [ 0 0 0, 2 2 2, 3 3 3 ] 
        }
        color Color { color [ 1 0 0, 0 1 0, 0 0 1 ] }
    }
}

Transform {
    translation 2 0 0

    children Shape {
        geometry PointSet {
           coord USE mypts
           color Color { color [ .5 .5 0, 0 .5 .5, 1 1 1 ] }
        }
    }
}

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.11 Level of detail

The LOD node is typically used for switching between different versions of geometry at specified distances from the viewer. However, if the range field is left at its default value, the browser selects the most appropriate child from the list given. It can make this selection based on performance or perceived importance of the object. Children should be listed with most detailed version first just as for the normal case. This "performance LOD" feature can be combined with the normal LOD function to give the browser a selection of children from which to choose at each distance.

In this example, the browser is free to choose either a detailed or a less-detailed version of the object when the viewer is closer than 10 meters (as measured in the coordinate space of the LOD). The browser should display the less detailed version of the object if the viewer is between 10 and 50 meters and should display nothing at all if the viewer is farther than 50 meters. Browsers should try to honor the hints given by authors, and authors should try to give browsers as much freedom as they can to choose levels of detail based on performance.

#VRML V2.0 utf8

LOD { 
    range [ 10, 50 ]
    level [
        LOD {
            level [
                Shape { geometry Sphere { } }
                DEF LoRes Shape { geometry Box { } }
            ]
        }
        USE LoRes,
        Shape { } # Display nothing
    ]
}

For best results, ranges should be specified only where necessary and LOD nodes should be nested with and without ranges.

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.12 Color interpolator

This example interpolates from red to green to blue in a 10 second cycle:

#VRML V2.0 utf8

DEF myColor ColorInterpolator { 
    key        [   0.0,    0.5,    1.0 ]
    keyValue   [ 1 0 0,  0 1 0,  0 0 1 ] # red, green, blue
}

DEF myClock TimeSensor {
    cycleInterval 10.0      # 10 second animation
    loop          TRUE      # infinitely cycling animation
}

Shape {
    appearance Appearance {
        material DEF myMaterial Material { }
    }
    geometry Sphere { }
}

ROUTE myClock.fraction_changed TO myColor.set_fraction
ROUTE myColor.value_changed TO myMaterial.set_diffuseColor

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.13 TimeSensor

D.13.1 Introduction

The TimeSensor is very flexible. The following are some of the many ways in which it can be used:

  1. a TimeSensor can be triggered to run continuously by setting cycleInterval > 0, and loop = TRUE, and then routing a time output from another node that triggers the loop (e.g.,, the touchTime eventOut of a TouchSensor can be routed to the TimeSensor's startTime to start the TimeSensor running).
  2. a TimeSensor can be made to run continuously upon reading by setting cycleInterval > 0, startTime > 0, stopTime = 0, and loop = TRUE.

D.13.2 Click to animate

The first example animates a box when the user clicks on it:

#VRML V2.0 utf8

DEF XForm Transform { 
    children [ 
        Shape {
            appearance Appearance {
                material Material { diffuseColor 1 0 0 }
            }
            geometry Box {} 
        }
        DEF Clicker TouchSensor {}

        # Run once for 2 sec.
        DEF TimeSource TimeSensor { cycleInterval 2.0 } 

        # Animate one full turn about Y axis:
        DEF Animation OrientationInterpolator {
            key      [ 0,      .33,       .66,        1.0 ]
            keyValue [ 0 1 0 0, 0 1 0 2.1, 0 1 0 4.2, 0 1 0 0 ]
        }
    ]
}
ROUTE Clicker.touchTime TO TimeSource.startTime
ROUTE TimeSource.fraction_changed TO Animation.set_fraction
ROUTE Animation.value_changed TO Xform.rotation

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

D.13.3 Alarm clock

The second example plays chimes once an hour:

#VRML V2.0 utf8

Group { 
    children [
        DEF Hour TimeSensor {
            loop          TRUE
            cycleInterval 3600.0 # 60*60 seconds == 1 hour
        }

        Sound {
            source DEF Sounder AudioClip {
                url "click.wav" }
            }
        }
    ]
}

ROUTE Hour.cycleTime TO Sounder.startTime

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.14 Shuttles and pendulums

Shuttles and pendulums are great building blocks for composing interesting animations. This shuttle translates its children back and forth along the X axis, from -1 to 1 (by default). The distance field can be used to change this default. The pendulum rotates its children about the Z axis, from 0 to 3.14159 radians and back again (by default). The maxAngle field can be used to change this default.

#VRML V2.0 utf8

PROTO Shuttle [ 
    field        SFTime  rate      1
    field        SFFloat distance  1
    field        MFNode  children  [ ]
    exposedField SFTime  startTime 0
    exposedField SFTime  stopTime  0
    field        SFBool  loop      TRUE
] {
    DEF F Transform { children IS children }
    DEF T TimeSensor {
        cycleInterval IS rate
        startTime IS startTime
        stopTime IS stopTime
        loop IS loop
    }

    DEF S Script {
        field    SFFloat    distance IS distance
        eventOut MFVec3f    position

        url "javascript:
            function initialize() {
                // constructor:setup interpolator,
                pos1 = new SFVec3f(-distance, 0, 0);
                pos2 = new SFVec3f(distance, 0, 0);
                position = new MFVec3f(pos1, pos2, pos1);
            }",
    }

    DEF I PositionInterpolator {
        key [ 0, 0.5, 1 ]
        keyValue [ -1 0 0, 1 0 0, -1 0 0 ]
    }

    ROUTE T.fraction_changed TO I.set_fraction
    ROUTE I.value_changed TO F.set_translation
    ROUTE S.position TO I.set_keyValue
}

PROTO Pendulum [
    field        SFTime  rate      1
    field        SFFloat maxAngle  3.14159
    field        MFNode  children  [ ]
    exposedField SFTime  startTime 0
    exposedField SFTime  stopTime  0
    field        SFBool  loop      TRUE
] {
    DEF F Transform { children IS children }
    DEF T TimeSensor { 
        cycleInterval IS rate
        startTime IS startTime
        stopTime IS stopTime
        loop IS loop
    }
    DEF S Script {
        field    SFFloat    maxAngle IS maxAngle
        eventOut MFRotation rotation

        url "javascript:
            function initialize() {
                // constructor:setup interpolator,
                rot1 = new SFRotation(0, 0, 1, 0);
                rot2 = new SFRotation(0, 0, 1, maxAngle/2);
                rot3 = new SFRotation(0, 0, 1, maxAngle);
                rotation = new MFRotation(rot1, rot2, rot3, 
                                          rot2, rot1);
            }",
    }
    DEF I OrientationInterpolator {
        key [ 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1 ]
        keyValue [ 0 0 1 0, 
                   0 0 1 1.57, 
                   0 0 1 3.14, 
                   0 0 1 1.57, 
                   0 0 1 0 ]
    }

    ROUTE T.fraction_changed TO I.set_fraction
    ROUTE I.value_changed TO F.set_rotation
    ROUTE S.rotation TO I.set_keyValue
}

Transform {
    translation -3 0 0
    children Pendulum {
        rate 3
        maxAngle 6.28
        children Shape { geometry Cylinder { height 5 } }
    }
}

Transform {
    translation 3 0 0
    children Shuttle {
        rate 2
        children Shape { geometry Sphere { } }
    }
}

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

These nodes can be used to do a continuous animation when loop is TRUE. When loop is FALSE they can perform a single cycle under control of the startTime and stopTime fields. The rate field controls the speed of the animation. The children field holds the children to be animated.

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+D.15 Robot

This example is a simple implementation of a robot. This robot has very simple body parts: a cube for his head, a sphere for his body and cylinders for arms (he hovers so he has no feet!). He is something of a sentry--he walks forward and walks back across a path. He does this whenever the viewer is near. This makes use of the Shuttle and Pendulum of D.14.

#VRML V2.0 utf8

EXTERNPROTO Shuttle [ 
    field        SFTime  rate
    field        SFFloat distance
    field        MFNode  children
    exposedField SFTime  startTime
    exposedField SFTime  stopTime
    field        SFBool  loop
]
"exampleD.14.wrl#Shuttle"

EXTERNPROTO Pendulum [
    field        SFTime  rate
    field        SFFloat maxAngle
    field        MFNode  children
    exposedField SFTime  startTime
    exposedField SFTime  stopTime
    field        SFBool  loop
]
"exampleD.14.wrl#Pendulum"

Viewpoint {
    position 0 0 150
}

DEF Near ProximitySensor { size 200 200 200 } 

DEF Walk Shuttle {
    stopTime 1
    rate 10
    distance 20

    children [
        # The Robot
        Transform {
            rotation 0 1 0 1.57
            
            children [ 
                Shape {
                    appearance DEF A Appearance {
                        material Material { 
                            diffuseColor 0 0.5 0.7
                        }
                    }
                    geometry Box { } # head
                }
                Transform {
                    scale 1 5 1
                    translation 0 -5 0
                    children Shape {
                        appearance USE A
                        geometry Sphere { } 
                    } # body
                }
                Transform {
                    rotation 0 1 0 1.57
                    translation 1.5 0 0
       
                    children DEF Arm Pendulum {
                        stopTime 1
                        rate 1
                        maxAngle 0.52 # 30 degrees
       
                        children [ 
                            Transform {
                                translation 0 -3 0
       
                                children Shape { 
                                    appearance USE A
                                    geometry Cylinder { 
                                        height 4
                                        radius 0.5
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        ]
                    }
                }
       
                # duplicate arm on other side and flip so 
                # it swings in opposition
                Transform {
                    rotation 0 -1 0 1.57
                    translation -1.5 0 0
                    children USE Arm
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

ROUTE Near.enterTime TO Walk.startTime
ROUTE Near.enterTime TO Arm.startTime
ROUTE Near.exitTime TO Walk.stopTime
ROUTE Near.exitTime TO Arm.stopTime

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

Move closer to the robot to start the animation.

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+D.16 Chopper

This example of a helicopter demonstrates how to do simple animation triggered by a TouchSensor. It uses an EXTERNPROTO to include a Rotor node from the Internet which does the actual animation.

#VRML V2.0 utf8

EXTERNPROTO Rotor [ 
    field        SFTime  rate
    field        MFNode  children
    exposedField SFTime  startTime
    exposedField SFTime  stopTime
]
"rotor.wrl"

PROTO Chopper [ 
    field SFTime rotorSpeed 1 
] {
    Group {
        children [
            DEF Touch TouchSensor { } # Gotta get touch events
            Inline { url "chopperbody.wrl" }
            DEF Top Rotor {
                # initially, the rotor should not spin
                stopTime 1 
                rate IS rotorSpeed
                children Inline { url "chopperrotor.wrl" } 
            }
        ]
    }

    DEF RotorScript Script {
        eventIn  SFTime startOrStopEngine
        eventOut SFTime startEngine
        eventOut SFTime stopEngine
        field    SFBool engineStarted FALSE

        url "javascript:
            function startOrStopEngine(value) {
                // start or stop engine:
                if (!engineStarted) {
                    startEngine = value;
                    engineStarted = TRUE;
                }
                else {
                    stopEngine = value;
                    engineStarted = FALSE;
                }
            }"
    }

    ROUTE Touch.touchTime TO RotorScript.startOrStopEngine
    ROUTE RotorScript.startEngine TO Top.startTime
    ROUTE RotorScript.stopEngine TO Top.stopTime
}

Viewpoint { position 0 0 5 }
DEF MyScene Group {
    children DEF MikesChopper Chopper { }
}

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.17 Guided tour

VRML provides control of the viewer's camera through use of a script. This is useful for things such as guided tours, merry-go-round rides, and transportation devices such as buses and elevators. These next two examples show a couple of ways to use this feature.

This example is a simple guided tour through the world. Upon entry, a guide orb hovers in front of the viewer. Click on this and a tour through the world begins. The orb follows the user around on his tour. A ProximitySensor ensures that the tour is started only if the user is close to the initial starting point. Note that this is done without scripts thanks to the touchTime output of the TouchSensor.

#VRML V2.0 utf8

Group { 
    children [
        Transform {
            translation 0 -1 0

            children Shape {
                appearance Appearance {
                    material Material { }
                }
                geometry Box { size 30 0.2 30 }
            }
        }
        Transform {
            translation -1 0 0

            children Shape {
                appearance Appearance {
                    material Material { 
                        diffuseColor 0.5 0.8 0 
                    }
                }
                geometry Cone { }
            }
        }
        Transform {
            translation 1 0 0

            children Shape {
                appearance Appearance {
                    material Material { 
                        diffuseColor 0 0.2 0.7 
                    }
                }
                geometry Cylinder { }
            }
        }

        DEF GuideTransform Transform {
            children [
                DEF TourGuide Viewpoint { jump FALSE },
                DEF ProxSensor ProximitySensor { size 50 50 50 }
                DEF StartTour TouchSensor { },
                Transform {
                    translation 0.6 0.4 8

                    children Shape { 
                        appearance Appearance {
                            material Material { 
                                diffuseColor 1 0.6 0 
                            }
                        }
                        geometry Sphere { radius 0.2 } 
                    } # the guide orb
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

DEF GuidePI PositionInterpolator {
    key [ 0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 0.9, 1 ]
    keyValue [ 0 0 0, 0 0 -5,
               2 0 -5, 2 6 -15
               -4 6 -15, -4 0 -5,
               0 0 -5, 0 0 0
    ]
}

DEF GuideRI OrientationInterpolator {
    key [ 0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 0.9, 1 ]
    keyValue [ 0 1 0 0, 0 1 0 0, 
               0 1 0 1.2, 0 1 0 3, 
               0 1 0 3.5, 0 1 0 5, 
               0 1 0 0, 0 1 0 0, 
    ]
}

DEF TS TimeSensor { cycleInterval 30 } # 60 second tour

ROUTE ProxSensor.isActive TO StartTour.set_enabled
ROUTE StartTour.touchTime TO TS.startTime
ROUTE TS.isActive TO TourGuide.set_bind
ROUTE TS.fraction_changed TO GuidePI.set_fraction
ROUTE TS.fraction_changed TO GuideRI.set_fraction
ROUTE GuidePI.value_changed TO GuideTransform.set_translation
ROUTE GuideRI.value_changed TO GuideTransform.set_rotation

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

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+D.18 Elevator

This is another example of animating the camera by depicting an elevator to ease access to a multi-storey building. For this example, a 2 storey building is shown and it is assumed that the elevator is already at the ground floor. To go up, the user just steps onto the elevator platform. A ProximitySensor fires and starts the elevator up automatically. Additional features such as call buttons for outside the elevator, elevator doors, and floor selector buttons could be added to make the elevator easier to use.

#VRML V2.0 utf8

Transform {
    translation 0 0 -3.5

    children Shape {
        appearance Appearance {
            material Material { 
                diffuseColor 0 1 0 
            }
        }
        geometry Cone { }
    }
}

Transform {
    translation 0 4 -3.5

    children Shape {
        appearance Appearance {
            material Material { 
                diffuseColor 1 0 0 
            }
        }
        geometry Cone { }
    }
}

Transform {
    translation 0 8 -3.5

    children Shape {
        appearance Appearance {
            material Material { 
                diffuseColor 0 0 1 
            }
        }
        geometry Cone { }
    }
}

Group { 
    children [
        DEF ETransform Transform {
            children [
                DEF EViewpoint Viewpoint { jump FALSE }
                DEF EProximity ProximitySensor { size 2 5 5 }
                Transform {
                    translation 0 -1 0

                    children Shape {
                        appearance Appearance {
                            material Material { }
                        }
                        geometry Box { size 2 0.2 5 }
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

DEF ElevatorPI PositionInterpolator {
    key [ 0, 1 ]
    keyValue [ 0 0 0, 0 8 0 ] # a floor is 4 meters high
}
DEF TS TimeSensor { cycleInterval 10 } # 10 second travel time

ROUTE EProximity.enterTime TO TS.startTime
ROUTE TS.isActive TO EViewpoint.set_bind
ROUTE TS.fraction_changed TO ElevatorPI.set_fraction
ROUTE ElevatorPI.value_changed TO ETransform.set_translation

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+D.19

This example illustrates the execution model example described in 4.10.3, Execution model.

#VRML V2.0 utf8
DEF TS TouchSensor { }
DEF Script1 Script {
    eventIn  SFTime touchTime
    eventOut SFBool toScript2
    eventOut SFBool toScript3
    eventOut SFString string
    url "javascript:
        function touchTime() {
            toScript2 = TRUE;
        }
        function eventsProcessed() {
            string = 'Script1.eventsProcessed';
            toScript3 = TRUE;
        }"
}
DEF Script2 Script {
   eventIn  SFBool fromScript1
   eventOut SFBool toScript4
    eventOut SFString string
    url "javascript:
        function fromScript1() {
        }
        function eventsProcessed() {
            string = 'Script2.eventsProcessed';
            toScript4 = TRUE;
        }"
}
DEF Script3 Script {
   eventIn  SFBool fromScript1
   eventOut SFBool toScript5
   eventOut SFBool toScript6
   eventOut SFString string
    url "javascript:
        function fromScript1() {
            toScript5 = TRUE;
        }
        function eventsProcessed() {
            string = 'Script3.eventsProcessed';
            toScript6 = TRUE;
        }"
}
DEF Script4 Script {
    eventIn SFBool fromScript2
    url "javascript:
        function fromScript2() {
        }"
}
DEF Script5 Script {
    eventIn SFBool fromScript3
    url "javascript:
        function fromScript3() {
        }"
}
DEF Script6 Script {
    eventIn  SFBool fromScript3
    eventOut SFBool toScript7
    eventOut SFString string
    url "javascript:
        function fromScript3() {
            toScript7 = TRUE;
        }
        function eventsProcessed() {
            string = 'Script6.eventsProcessed';
        }"
}
DEF Script7 Script {
    eventIn  SFBool fromScript6
    url "javascript:
        function fromScript6() {
        }"
}
ROUTE TS.touchTime TO Script1.touchTime
ROUTE Script1.toScript2 TO Script2.fromScript1
ROUTE Script1.toScript3 TO Script3.fromScript1
ROUTE Script2.toScript4 TO Script4.fromScript2
ROUTE Script3.toScript5 TO Script5.fromScript3
ROUTE Script3.toScript6 TO Script6.fromScript3
ROUTE Script6.toScript7 TO Script7.fromScript6

# Display the results
DEF Collector Script {
    eventOut   MFString string
    eventIn SFString fromString
    url "javascript:
        function initialize() { string[0] = 'Event Sequence:'; }
        function fromString(s) {
            i = string.length;
            string[i] = '    '+i+') '+s+' occurred';
        }"
}
Transform {
    translation 0 2 0
    children Shape {
        appearance Appearance {
            material Material { diffuseColor 0 0.6 0 }
        }
        geometry Sphere { }
    }
}
Shape { geometry DEF Result Text { } }
Viewpoint { position 7 -1 18 }
ROUTE Script1.string TO Collector.fromString
ROUTE Script2.string TO Collector.fromString
ROUTE Script3.string TO Collector.fromString
ROUTE Script6.string TO Collector.fromString
ROUTE Collector.string TO Result.string

Click here to view this example in a VRML browser.

Clicking on the green sphere should display a text string for each eventsProcessed event. The two possible correct displays for this example are:

Event Sequence:
  1) Script1.eventsProcessed occurred
  2) Script2.eventsProcessed occurred
  3) Script3.eventsProcessed occurred
  4) Script6.eventsProcessed occurred

or

Event Sequence:
  1) Script2.eventsProcessed occurred
  2) Script1.eventsProcessed occurred
  3) Script3.eventsProcessed occurred
  4) Script6.eventsProcessed occurred

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Questions or comments.
Copyright © 1997 The VRML Consortium Incorporated.
http://www.vrml.org/Specifications/VRML97/part1/examples.html