3D animations in augmented reality: bring your products to life
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Why animate your products in 3D
A static 3D model already lets your customers examine your product from all angles, appreciate its dimensions and materials. It's a considerable improvement over a simple photo. But an animated 3D model goes much further: it shows your product in action, as it works in reality.
Imagine a piece of furniture whose doors open and close, revealing the interior layout. An industrial robot whose articulated arm executes its movement sequence. A transformable toy whose pieces unfold and reposition. Packaging that unfolds to reveal the product inside. All these animations tell a story that photos or a static model simply cannot convey.
Les animations 3D apportent trois avantages majeurs pour la vente. Premièrement, elles démontrent le fonctionnement du produit de manière immédiate et intuitive, sans nécessiter d'explication textuelle. Le client comprend instantanément comment le mécanisme fonctionne, comment les tiroirs se rangent, comment les pièces s'assemblent. Deuxièmement, elles captent l'attention et augmentent le temps d'interaction. Un modèle animé est naturellement plus engageant qu'un modèle statique — les études montrent une augmentation de 40% du temps passé sur les viewers 3D intégrant des animations. Troisièmement, elles réduisent les questions et les doutes. Un client qui a vu le tiroir s'ouvrir en 3D ne demandera pas « est-ce que le tiroir s'ouvre sur roulement ou sur glissière ? ».
In augmented reality, animations take on an even more spectacular dimension. The customer sees the animated product directly in their real environment: a piece of furniture whose doors open in their own living room, a machine whose parts move in their own workshop. The realism effect is striking and the impact on purchase decisions is significant.
Supported animation types
The GLB format, used by Visuality for 3D visualization and augmented reality, natively supports several types of animations. These animations are created in 3D modeling software and embedded directly in the GLB file, requiring no additional configuration in Visuality.
- Skeletal animations: This animation type uses an internal skeleton — a set of bones and joints — to deform and move parts of the model. It's the most versatile technique, ideal for doors that pivot on hinges, articulated arms that unfold, drawers that slide, or characters and mascots that move. Each bone in the skeleton can be animated independently, enabling complex and realistic movements.
- Morph targets (blend shapes): Morph targets progressively deform a mesh from one shape to another. This technique is used for fluid deformations: a cushion compressing under weight, packaging inflating, a soft material changing shape. It's also the technique used for facial expressions on 3D characters.
- Transform animations (translation, rotation, scale): These are the simplest but also the most common animations. An object moves (translation), rotates (rotation), or changes size (scale). For example: a sliding door that glides sideways, a turntable performing a 360-degree rotation to show the product from all angles, or an unfolding mechanism whose parts spread apart to reveal the interior.
In practice, most product animations combine these techniques. An animated piece of furniture will use skeletal animations for door hinges and translations for sliding drawers. An industrial machine will combine rotations for gears and translations for pistons. The result is a smooth, realistic animation that faithfully reproduces the real product's behavior.
Here are concrete examples by product category:
- Furniture: Wardrobe doors opening, dresser drawers sliding, convertible sofas unfolding, extendable tables lengthening, recliner chair mechanisms tilting.
- Machines and industry: Robotic arms in motion, rotating conveyors, hydraulic cylinders in action, ventilation systems with spinning blades, animated assembly lines.
- Toys and figurines: Articulated figures in action poses, transformable robots, construction toy mechanisms, miniature vehicles with spinning wheels.
- Packaging and presentation: Boxes opening to reveal contents, packaging unfolding, gift boxes with lifting lids, rotating display stands.
How to prepare an animated 3D model
3D animations are created in modeling software such as Blender, 3ds Max, Maya, or Cinema 4D, then exported to GLB format with the animations embedded. The process is as follows:
- Model your product: Create the 3D model of your product with moving parts separated. For example, for a piece of furniture with doors, model the body and each door as distinct elements. This separation is essential to animate each part independently.
- Create the skeleton or rig: If your animation requires joints (doors on hinges, articulated arms), add a skeleton to the model. Each rotation or pivot point corresponds to a bone in the skeleton. For simple animations (translation, rotation of an entire object), a skeleton isn't necessary — you can animate the objects directly.
- Animate the movements: Create your keyframes to define the start and end positions of each movement. The software automatically interpolates intermediate positions to create smooth motion. You can adjust interpolation curves for more natural movements: acceleration at the start, deceleration at the end.
- Export to GLB format: During export, make sure to include animations in the GLB file. In Blender, enable the 'Animations' option in the glTF/GLB export settings. The resulting file contains the 3D model, textures, and all animations in a single file ready to be imported into Visuality.
For a detailed guide on creating and exporting animations, see our technical documentation dedicated to 3D animations.
Animation controls in the viewer
Once your animated 3D model is imported into Visuality, animations are automatically detected and made available in the 3D viewer. Your customers can interact with animations in several ways:
- Play and pause: The viewer displays a play button to launch the animation. The customer can pause the animation at any time to examine a specific position of the mechanism. A second click resumes the animation from where it stopped.
- Progress bar: A timeline lets the customer navigate through the animation by sliding the cursor. They can move forward or backward in time to observe each step of the movement at their own pace. This is particularly useful for complex animations where the customer wants to examine a specific moment of the mechanism.
- Combined 3D interaction: During animation playback, the customer can simultaneously rotate the model, zoom in, and move around the object. They can observe a door opening from any angle, zoom into a moving mechanism, or step back to see the entire animation in context.
In augmented reality, animations work the same way. The customer launches the animation from the AR interface and sees the product animate directly in their real environment. The effect is spectacular: the furniture doors open in the customer's living room, the machine starts moving in the technician's workshop. This immersion considerably strengthens the emotional impact and product understanding.
Use cases by industry
3D animations find applications across all industries that sell products with moving parts, mechanisms, or features that deserve to be shown in action.
- Industry and equipment: Machine manufacturers use animations to show how their equipment works without conducting physical demonstrations. A compressor with a moving piston, a production line with rotating conveyors, a robot whose arm executes its trajectory — these animations replace hours of on-site demonstrations and are shared instantly via link or QR code.
- Furniture and interior design: Animations showcase hidden furniture features. A convertible sofa with an animated folding mechanism, a kitchen with soft-close sliding drawers, an ergonomic desk whose surface rises and lowers — each animation demonstrates added value that justifies the product price and reassures the customer about mechanism quality.
- Automotive and transport: Manufacturers and equipment suppliers animate hoods opening to reveal the engine, seats folding to show cabin modularity, suspension systems in action. These animations are powerful sales tools that highlight the vehicle's engineering and design.
- Toys and games: Toy manufacturers animate articulated figures, remote-controlled vehicles, and construction sets. A child (or parent) can see the toy in action before buying: the walking robot, the car with spinning wheels, the castle whose drawbridge lowers. Animation transforms a static image into a concrete and exciting play promise.
- Architecture and landscaping: Animations show motorized blind systems deploying, automatic gates opening, bioclimatic pergolas with adjustable slats. The customer sees the mechanism operating in their own space through augmented reality, considerably facilitating the purchase decision for these significant investments.
Try 3D animations
3D animations are natively supported by the Visuality viewer. If your GLB file contains animations, they will be automatically available to your customers, both in the web viewer and in augmented reality. No additional configuration is needed.
Import an animated 3D model from your dashboard, share it via QR code or link, and let your customers discover your products in action. Animations add an extra dimension to the viewing experience that differentiates your offering and accelerates purchase decisions.
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