Quickstart for Android

Set up your development environment

Open the sample project

This quickstart uses Sceneform, a 3D framework for that makes it easy for Java developers to build ARCore apps without OpenGL. To use ARCore in your app without Sceneform, review the Enable ARCore documentation.

To continue with Sceneform, get the sample projects. You can either:

  • Download and extract the Sceneform Samples

    -or-

  • Clone the repository with the following command:

    git clone https://github.com/google-ar/sceneform-android-sdk.git

In Android Studio, open the Hello Sceneform sample project, located in the app subdirectory within the sceneform-android-sdk directory.

Prepare your device or emulator

You can run AR apps on a supported device or in the Android Emulator:

There are additional requirements to run Sceneform apps in the emulator:

  • You need Android Emulator version 27.2.9 or later.

  • OpenGL ES 3.0 or higher must be supported and enabled in the Android Emulator.

    • Make sure your emulator is configured to use the latest version. In the Extended controls panel (More on the Toolbar), select Settings > Advanced > OpenGL ES API level > Renderer maximum (up to OpenGL ES 3.1), and then restart the emulator.

    • Run the emulator, briefly interact with the emulated deivce, then check whether OpenGL ES 3.0 or higher is being used:

      adb logcat | grep eglMakeCurrent

      If you see ver 3 0 or higher version, then you can run Sceneform apps. If you see a lower version, then your desktop GPU does not support OpenGL ES 3.0 and you must use a supported device to run Sceneform apps.

Run the sample

Make sure your Android device is connected to the development machine and click Run in Android Studio. Then, choose your device as the deployment target and click OK.

Android Studio builds your project into a debuggable APK, installs the APK, and then runs the app on your device. For more information, see Build and Run Your App.

You may be prompted to install or update Google Play Services for AR if it is missing or out of date. Select CONTINUE to install it from Google Play Store.

The Hello Sceneform app lets you place and manipulate Android figurines on flat surfaces.

Add Sceneform to an existing project

To use Sceneform in an existing project:

  1. Follow the steps to Enable ARCore in your app

  2. Add the Sceneform library to your app's build.gradle file:

    android {
    // Sceneform libraries use language constructs from Java 8.
    // Add these compile options if targeting minSdkVersion < 26.
    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility 1.8
        targetCompatibility 1.8
    }
}

dependencies {
    …

    // Provides ArFragment, and other UX resources.
    implementation 'com.google.ar.sceneform.ux:sceneform-ux:1.14.0'

    // Alternatively, use ArSceneView without the UX dependency.
    implementation 'com.google.ar.sceneform:core:1.14.0'
}

Next steps