Babylon React Native

Usage

This quick overview will help you understand the constructs provided by Babylon React Native and how to use them in a React Native application.

Dependencies

This package has several peer dependencies. If these dependencies are unmet, npm install will emit warnings. Be sure to add these dependencies to your project.

The react-native-permissions dependency is required for XR capabilities of Babylon.js (to request camera permissions automatically). Be sure to follow the react-native-permissions instructions to update your Podfile and Info.plist (iOS) and/or AndroidManifest.xml (Android).

Android Configuration

The minimum Android SDK version is 18. This must be set as minSdkVersion in the consuming project's build.gradle file.

iOS Configuration

The minimum deployment target version is 12. This must be set as iOS Deployment Target in the consuming project's project.pbxproj, and must also be set as platform in the consuming project's podfile.

Platform Native Packages

Babylon React Native platform native packages must also be installed for the platforms and React Native versions being targeted. This is only needed for apps using Babylon React Native, not for libraries (React Native packages) building on top of Babylon React Native.

	React Native 0.63 - 0.64	React Native 0.65 - 0.66	React Native 0.69	React Native 0.70
Android	@babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-64	@babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-65	@babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-69	@babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-70
iOS	@babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-64	@babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-65	@babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-69	@babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-70
Windows	@babylonjs/react-native-windows-0-64	@babylonjs/react-native-windows-0-65	@babylonjs/react-native-windows-0-69	@babylonjs/react-native-windows-0-70

useEngine

useEngine is a custom React hook that manages the lifecycle of a Babylon engine instance in the context of an owning React component. useEngine creates an engine instance asynchronously which is used to create and configure scenes. Typically scene initialization code should exist in a useEffect triggered by an engine state change. For example:

import { useEngine } from '@babylonjs/react-native';
import { Engine, Scene } from '@babylonjs/core';

const MyComponent: FunctionComponent<MyComponentProps> = (props: MyComponentProps) => {
    const engine = useEngine();

    useEffect(() => {
        if (engine) {
            const scene = new Scene(engine);
            // Setup the scene!
        }
    }, [engine]);

    return (
        <>
        </>
    );
}

EngineView

EngineView is a custom React Native view that presents a camera from a Babylon scene. A camera therefore is assigned to the EngineView. For example:

import { useEngine, EngineView } from '@babylonjs/react-native';
import { Engine, Scene, Camera } from '@babylonjs/core';

const MyComponent: FunctionComponent<MyComponentProps> = (props: MyComponentProps) => {
    const engine = useEngine();
    const [camera, setCamera] = useState<Camera>();

    useEffect(() => {
        if (engine) {
            const scene = new Scene(engine);
            scene.createDefaultCamera(true);
            setCamera(scene.activeCamera!);
            // Setup the scene!
        }
    }, [engine]);

    return (
        <>
            <EngineView style={{flex: 1}} camera={camera} />
        </>
    );
}

Also the EngineView has a boolean isTransparent flag which defines whether the background of the scene should be transparent or not.

e.g.

<EngineView style={{flex: 1}} camera={camera} isTransparent={true} />

To configure anti-aliasing, a property called antiAliasing can be changed to a value of 0 or 1 (disable anti-aliasing, default), 2, 4, 8 or 16 (anti-aliasing samples).

e.g.

<EngineView style={{flex: 1}} camera={camera} MSAA={4} />

Note: Currently only one EngineView can be active at any given time. Multi-view will be supported in a future release.

The Android specific androidView property can help set the type of the view used for rendering. Depending on user needs and performance, refer to the table below. TextureView can be inserted anywhere in the view hierarchy, but is less efficient. SurfaceView can only be full above or fully below the rest of the UI, but is more efficient.

isTransparent	androidView	Description
False	TextureView	Opaque TextureView.
False	SurfaceView	Simple surfaceView (default when no androidView set with isTransparent=false).
False	SurfaceViewZTopMost	SurfaceView with ZTopMost set to true.
False	SurfaceViewZMediaOverlay	SurfaceView with ZMediaOverlay set to true.
True	TextureView	Transparent TextureView.
True	SurfaceView	SurfaceView will stay opaque
True	SurfaceViewZTopMost	SurfaceView with ZTopMost set to true. Transparent but top most. (default when no androidView set with isTransparent=true)
True	SurfaceViewZMediaOverlay	SurfaceView with ZMediaOverlay set to true. Only Transparent on top of other SurfaceViews.

More infos on TextureView Vs SurfaceView performance here: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/TextureView