The Luciad signature hybrid view is now available for Android.
About ten years ago, the Luciad development team abandoned developing separate 2D and 3D views for our products. Since then, every major platform upgrade has featured the signature hybrid 2D/3D view. The last platform lined up for this upgrade was Android, and now we proudly announce LuciadCPillar for Android, a Java for Android SDK designed for development in Java or Kotlin. The hybrid view uses GPU hardware acceleration, now standard on Android phones.
One code path for 2D and 3D
In LuciadCPillar for Android, there is only one view implementation. Depending on the reference attached to the view, the data is automatically displayed in either 2D or 3D. For a 3D view, you must specify a geocentric reference, like EPSG:4978. For a 2D view, you may choose EPSG:4326, for example.
So, creating your map view would look like this, regardless of whether you start it as a 2D or 3D map:
val map by lazy { Map.newBuilder().reference(coordinateReference).build() }
Having one map implementation also implies that for every data type, the API also contains only one layer implementation. Supported data types are features, raster (imagery or elevation), and 3D tiles (point clouds and 3D meshes). If you create a feature layer, the layer is defined once and will automatically render your features correctly, both in 2D and 3D. This is what we refer to as “one code path for 2D and 3D.”
Great developer experience
LuciadCPillar for Android supports Google’s recommended development setup; you can program in either Kotlin or Java. The API supports the Null safety of Kotlin. You can use Android Views or Jetpack Compose to create your Graphical User Interface (UI).
We wrote the LuciadCPillar for Android samples in Kotlin and used Jetpack Compose for the UI. The sample design is map-centric, with on-screen components and slide-out panels. You can directly open the sample code in Android studio and run it on a device or emulator.
The documentation of LuciadCPillar is now “language aware.” Based on language that you choose to apply, the documentation automatically adapts with relevant articles and appropriate code snippets.
The developers are served. But what about the users of the solution embedding LuciadCPillar for Android?
Field service technicians don’t need greenfield development
When you are working in the field, you need reliable software. LuciadCPillar for Android includes our cross-platform rendering engine. LuciadRIA has used it since 2016, and LuciadCPillar for Desktop since 2020. The engine runs within deployed operational systems. As part of LuciadRIA, it has been tested on all common browsers, running on desktop and mobile systems. Your field service technicians can assuredly rely on their map views.
Supported fields of application
LuciadCPillar for Android is fit for various domains.
- For the military, the product includes support for military symbology standards, a flexible camera API, and a fluent track display. Special forces can benefit from terrain data, point cloud scans, and 3D city models.
- For civil security, there are 3D city models and the ability to display building information models (BIM) via 3D tiles.
- For maintenance of infrastructure, BIM and 3D CAD models can be displayed via 3D tiles.
Flexible integration
LuciadCPillar for Android provides the foundations for high-performance tactical and location intelligence applications thanks to the clean, modular structure and powerful visualization capabilities. The components are easy to integrate. Furthermore, using the configurable API, you can add support for custom data sources, add your own symbology, or match user interaction and look and feel to your company’s unique needs and style.
How can we better illustrate this than with testimony from one of our pilot customers?
“Our new version of DELTA SUITE integrating LuciadCPillar for Android is very stable, and its performance meets the requirements of the French Special Forces,” said Stéphane Juigné, IMPACT founder and CEO. “We were impressed by its performance and how easily we could integrate its capabilities into our application. With the addition of LuciadCPillar for Android, DELTA SUITE will undoubtedly become a game changer for the Special Forces.”
To learn more about LuciadCPillar for Android, visit the product page.
