Manipulate PLY models in real time
Development of a Java viewer able to load PLY models and apply zoom, rotation, translation, lighting and colour changes in real time.
- Context
- University project
- Role
- Java development and interface design
- Status
- Completed
- Loading and reading PLY files
- Real-time transformations and recentering
- Lighting, colours, fills and outlines
Make a technical format visible.
Challenge
Reading a model was not enough: its structure had to become immediately interactive, remain fluid and expose visual controls without obscuring the scene. The project combined file processing, geometric transformations and desktop interface design.
Mission
Build the viewer, load PLY files, manage real-time transformations and provide controls for lighting, colours, outlines and model recentering.
From file to direct manipulation.
- 01
Read the geometry
Extract points and faces from the PLY file to reconstruct a usable representation in the JavaFX scene.
- 02
Build the scene
Display the model, materials and lighting while keeping its main information accessible in the interface.
- 03
Manipulate without delay
Apply zoom, translation and rotation through direct controls with immediate rendering updates.
- 04
Offer several views
Enable colours, lighting, fills or outlines to inspect the same model from different visual perspectives.
A tool where every control acts on the scene.
This project taught me to connect a mathematical representation to tangible interaction. Transformations, scene management and the interface cannot be designed separately: the viewer’s quality depends on how they respond together to every action.
- Loading multiple models from a file tree.
- Simultaneous viewing from several orientations.
- Geometric transformations applied in real time.
- Separate controls for materials, lighting and outlines.