3DFormate

3DFormate is a cross-platform 3D data format designed for efficient storage, streaming, and interchange of three-dimensional content among applications, game engines, and visualization systems. It is defined as an open standard that combines geometry, appearance, animation, and scene metadata in a single container, with both a compact binary encoding and a human-readable JSON-based representation.

Origin and development: The format emerged in the early 2010s from a collaboration among universities and industry partners seeking a unified alternative to ad hoc interchange formats. The formal specification was published with reference implementations and test assets, and the project has operated under an open governance model to encourage broad participation and ongoing evolution.

Technical overview: 3DFormate uses a hierarchical scene graph to organize nodes, meshes, lights, cameras, and animations. Geometry is stored as indexed meshes with optional per-vertex attributes. Materials describe physically based rendering properties and textures. The format supports multiple levels of detail, instancing, skeletal animation, morph targets, and metadata such as units and provenance. Networking-friendly features include chunked streaming, partial loading, and optional compression to reduce bandwidth and memory usage.

Encoding and tooling: The binary form emphasizes compactness and fast parsing, while the JSON form prioritizes readability and toolchain compatibility. A manifest describes asset packages and dependencies. Tools and libraries provide importers/exporters for major engines, validators, and format converters in languages such as C++, JavaScript, and Python.

Adoption and reception: 3DFormate remains a niche format, with use in simulation, architectural visualization, and web-based viewers. It competes with established formats such as glTF, OBJ, and FBX, and its adoption depends on community support, tooling, and governance.

See also: 3D data formats, glTF, OBJ, FBX.