insertAlongUV operation

Syntax

• insertAlongUV(uvSet, filePath, height)
• insertAlongUV(uvSet, filePath, height, heightDirection, heightAlignment)

Parameters

1. uvSet—float
   Number of texture coordinates set (integer number in [0,9]). The numbering corresponds to the texture layers of the material attribute, see also Texturing: Essential knowledge.
2. filePath—string
   File path of the geometry asset to insert. See Asset Search for information about search locations. The remarks about supported asset formats for the insert operation also apply here.
3. height—float
   The height of the inserted geometry in the world coordinate system.
4. heightDirection—selector
   • scope.y—The height is projected along the scope's y axis (default). Use for example alignScopeToAxes or alignScopeToGeometry to adjust the y axis.
   • vertex.normal—The height is projected along (interpolated) vertex normals of the current shape.

     Note:

     Vertex normals are always calculated from the geometry of the current shape; existing vertex normals are discarded. If faces are disconnected, duplicate vertices must be merged in order to compute vertex normals using adjacent face normals.

5. heightAlignment—selector
   • alignPosition—The asset is placed onto the current shape's faces (default).
   • keepPosition—The asset's position along the height dimension is placed relative to its origin.

Description

The insertAlongUV reads a geometry asset (3D model, polygon mesh) from a file and inserts it along the current shape's uv coordinates by mapping the width and depth of the asset to the chosen uv-set. Specifically the following: the x-span of the asset is mapped to u in [0,1] and is repeated, the z-span is mapped to -v, the y-span is set to the chosen height parameter.
The asset is cut and bent to a new geometry that fits into the uv space of the initial shape. On a shape with a uv-set assigned, use split and texturing operations such as normalizeUV, rotateUV, and scaleUV to setup the uvs according to your needs.

Note:

The asset is only mapped onto triangles and quads of the current shape.

Considerations

• The new geometry does not inherit the vertex normals of the asset. You can recompute vertex normals using setNormals or softenNormals.
• The asset is cut in order to fit it onto the uv space. This creates coplanar edges and collinear vertices which can be removed using cleanupGeometry.
• Unlike the insert operation, the creation of a new geometry breaks instancing. Furthermore, trimming is not applied automatically.

Related

• insert operation
• normalizeUV operation
• projectUV operation
• resetGeometry operation
• rotateUV operation
• scaleUV opeation
• setupProjection operation
• tileUV operation
• translateUV operation

Examples

Streets

A road barrier asset is inserted along the uv coordinates of street shapes. const width = assetInfo("barrier.obj", sx) const height = assetInfo("barrier.obj", sy) Street --> split(v, unitSpace, 0) { width : InsertBarrier | ~1 : Street. | width : InsertBarrier | ~1 : Street. | width : InsertBarrier } InsertBarrier --> rotateUV(0, 90) normalizeUV(0, u, collectiveAllFaces) insertAlongUV(0, "barrier.obj", height)
If the asset is oriented with x corresponding to the u direction, rotateUV() is not necessary, and the following changes produce the same result as above. const width = assetInfo("barrier.obj", sz) InsertBarrier --> normalizeUV(0, u, collectiveAllFaces) insertAlongUV(0, "barrier.obj", height)
Using alignScopeToAxes(y) ensures that the guard rail asset remains vertical as it is inserted along the uv coordinates of uphill street shapes. tileUV causes the asset to repeat. const width = assetInfo("guardrail.obj", sx) const height = assetInfo("guardrail.obj", sy) const depth = assetInfo("guardrail.obj", sz) Street --> alignScopeToAxes(y) split(v, unitSpace, 0) { depth : rotateUV(0, 180) InsertGuardrail | ~1 : NIL | depth : InsertGuardrail } InsertGuardrail --> normalizeUV(0, v, collectiveAllFaces) tileUV(0, ~width, 0) insertAlongUV(0, "guardrail.obj", height)

Repeating geometries

A planar shape is split along its uv coordinates, and a sphere asset is inserted at each split node. A similar result can be achieved by transforming the uv coordinates and inserting the sphere asset along the uv coordinates. In contrast to the first example, only one leaf shape is created. Example1 --> split(u, uvSpace, 0) { '0.25 : split(v, uvSpace, 0) { '0.25 : s('1, 2.5, '1) i("sphere.obj") Sphere. }* }* Example2 --> scaleUV(0, 4.0, 4.0) insertAlongUV(0, "sphere.obj", 2.5) setNormals(auto)

A tree model is inserted per uv-range, and its trunk is extracted using a component split. Lot --> setupProjection(0, scope.zx, '0.25, '0.25) projectUV(0) Texture insertAlongUV(0, "Orange_Tree_Analytical_0.obj", 25) comp(g) { 0 : set(material.opacity, 0.1) Foliage. | 1 : Trunk. } Texture --> texture("builtin:uvtest.png")

Curved surfaces

The insertAlongUV operation can also be used to create curved windows. By using the vertex.normal option, the window asset curves around the cylinder. The keepPosition option places the asset relative to its origin. const asset = "windowAligned.obj" const sy = assetInfo(asset, sy) const sx = assetInfo(asset, sx) const sz = assetInfo(asset, sz) Lot --> primitiveCylinder(32, 2, 4) comp(f) { side = Side | all = Endcaps. } Side --> split(u, unitSpace, 0) { sx : Split | ~1.5 : Wall. }* Split --> split(y) { ~1: Wall. | sz: Window | ~1: Wall. } Window --> normalizeUV(0, uv, collectiveAllFaces) insertAlongUV(0, asset, sy, vertex.normal, keepPosition) color("#804000")

In this example, both 2D and 3D assets are repeatedly inserted on a curved surface. Note that the height parameter is set to positive, zero, and negative values. Sphere --> primitiveSphere() scaleUV(0, 10, 10) split(y) { ~1 : insertAlongUV(0, "pyramid.obj", 0.5, vertex.normal, alignPosition) color(1,0.5,0.5) Pyramids. | ~1 : insertAlongUV(0, "circles2D.obj", 0, vertex.normal, alignPosition) color(0.5,1,0.5) Circles2D. | ~1 : insertAlongUV(0, "circles3D.obj", -0.5, vertex.normal, alignPosition) color(0.5,0.5,1) Circles3D. }