With the Virtual Camera (VCam) feature in Twinmotion, you can view and navigate inside your 3D scenes with a virtual camera from an Android or iOs handheld device. You can place the virtual camera anywhere in the scene, and control it from the handheld device.
The VCam removes the gap between visualization and real-world camera use. With the VCam, you can navigate your Twinmotion scenes from a first-person perspective, which provides a greater sense of accuracy and perception when viewing your projects.
To use the VCam feature, you need to download the Unreal VCam app, install it on your handheld device, and then connect it to Twinmotion using your computer's IP address.
Once you connect the VCam app to Twinmotion, a virtual camera is placed in the scene, and you can view and move around the scene using your handheld device. You can control the viewport camera in a more intuitive way, experiment with camera settings—such as focal length, exposure, and depth of field (DOF)—, explore and frame shots with absolute photographic accuracy, and take snapshots that are saved as images in Twinmotion, all from your handheld device.
Creating videos or sequences with the VCam is not supported.
Prerequisites
The prerequisites for using the VCam feature are the following:
You must have a compatible iOS or Android device.
iOS device system requirements:
iPadOS 15.0 and later
Support for ArKit
iOS 15.0 and later
Android device system requirements:
ARCore Support
Android 24 (Nougat) or higher
You must download the Unreal VCam app from the App Store or Google Play Store. When you open the VCam app for the first time, you must accept the license agreement to use the app.
The VCam functionality is available in Twinmotion only on the Windows operating system. VCam is not supported on macOS.
The handheld device and the computer running Twinmotion must be on the same network.
Configuring the VCam Feature
To start using the VCam feature, do the following:
In the Twinmotion viewport, click the View menu icon, then click VCAM to view the VCam options. From here you can start and stop the VCam, and view the IP address you need to use to connect the VCam and Twinmotion together.
Click Start VCam.
Launch the VCam app on your handheld device.
When you launch the VCam App, you need to create a new connection and enter your computer's IP address. Once you enter the IP address, the VCam user interface appears in Twinmotion.
Performance considerations
The Twinmotion VCam streams the entire Twinmotion user interface to the handheld device. Screen resolution and network speed can create streaming bottlenecks, leading to lags and inconsistent quality.
To improve performance, you can do the following:
Use a wired or high-speed Wi-Fi connection.
If possible, lower the resolution of your computer's monitor. For example, if the display resolution of your computer's monitor is 4K, the Twinmotion user interface is also streamed at 4K to the handheld device. Lowering the resolution of your display also lowers the streaming resolution.
Reduce the size of the Twinmotion application window.
Adjust the streaming quality of the VCam according to your setup. You can do this in the Quality tab of the Twinmotion Preferences panel. In the Vcam settings section, you can choose between Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. By default, Medium is selected.
Using the VCam Feature
When the Vcam starts for the first time, a mini tutorial invites you to move through the screen with your finger. It will showcase the activation of the virtual joystick.
Swiping on the left part of the screen activates a round joystick you can use to manipulate the orientation of the camera.
Swiping on the right part of the screen activates a square joystick you can use to manipulate the position of the camera.
Swiping horizontally constrains the camera to horizontal moves.
Swiping vertically constrains the camera to vertical moves.
Controls
The following table lists the controls on the screen.
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
1 | VCam App settings and their status (whether or not they are activated). |
2 | Virtual Camera settings. |
3 | The Tools menu. For more information, see the Tools menu section below. |
4 | Status information about camera values. |
5 | ( + ) Add image button to capture snapshots. |
Vcam Settings
The majority of configurable settings within the VCam app are located on radial dials, positioned on the left and right sides of the interface. These radial dials sometimes include an inner and an outer dial.
To view the settings and their values, drag your finger along the radial dial in either direction. Any changes you make to the settings in the radial dials are reflected in Twinmotion in real time.
Virtual Camera Settings
The following Virtual Camera settings are located on the left side of the VCam app. If you tap a value on the left-side radial dial, a panel panel opens where you can enter a new value.
Lens Settings
Sets the lens size of the virtual camera. By default, the value corresponds to the field of view (FOV).
If you are using the virtual camera in the viewport, the value is expressed in degrees.
If you select an image in the Media dock, or if you take a snapshot with the ( + ) Add image button, the value is expressed in millimeters.
Depth of field (DOF)
Provides information about the focus distance (the distance between the VCam lens and the item on which the Vcam is focusing) and the aperture of the camera.
Exposure
Settings to manage how the exposure of the virtual camera is managed.
Tools Menu
The following table lists the settings in the Tools menu, located on the right side of the screen. This menu contains settings and toggles you can use to adjust how you interact with the handheld device and the virtual camera in the Twinmotion scene.
| Icon | Dial Name / Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | Hold | Toggles whether the location and rotation of the virtual camera is frozen. You can use this to reposition the handheld device without losing the position of the virtual camera in the scene. |
 | Kill Roll | Toggles whether the rotation of the virtual camera along the X-axis is disabled, which keeps the camera level when you move around while the handheld device is moving in a physical space. |
 | Scale and Gain Settings | Contains settings to configure how movement of the handheld device works with the Twinmotion scene. This includes the movement sensitivity of the device in a physical space, and the joystick sensitivity. |
 | Tile Offset | This setting applies a random offset to the Tilt of the virtual camera, which makes holding shot angles more comfortable. When this setting is enabled, the Tilt HUD value displays a + symbol. |
 | Zero to Parent | Reverts the virtual camera's position to its initial position at initialization time. |
 | Local Space Flight Mode | If enabled, the forward joystick movement follows the forward direction of the camera, instead of the world. If you look up or down, the camera moves in that direction when you push a joystick forward. If disabled, the camera can freely look around the scene, but can move forward without moving in the direction in which the camera is pointed. |
VCam Snapshots and Twinmotion Images
When you use the VCam feature, clicking on the thumbnail of an image in the Media dock does the following:
When you start the VCam, all the panels and docks in the Twinmotion interface close to maximize the viewport. To reopen a panel or a dock, click the icons in the Twinmotion footer.
The position of the virtual camera in the scene does not change.
All the Ambience settings applied to the image are transferred to the VCam.
To take a snapshot of the scene from the VCam, click the ( + ) Add image button.
Taking a snapshot from the VCam does the following:
The camera settings defined in the VCam app are applied to the image.
The snapshot is automatically saved as an image in the Media dock.
Further Information
For more information on how to use the VCam in Twinmotion, see the Virtual Camera video tutorial.