The draco-loader is a NiiVue plugin that converts draco (.drc) files into mz3 meshes. While draco enables compact, fast-transferring files, it remains uncommon in neuroimaging. Additionally, supporting draco introduces dependencies. Specifically, here we use the draco3d library installed as a npm package. Be aware that draco optimizes mesh indices, and therefore converting a mesh from another format to draco will disrupt the ability to load vertex color overlays (statistical maps, thickness maps, curvature). Further, FreeSurfer meshes use a hierarchical order that allows subdivision that will be impaired. While draco provides extreme compression, the deployment and features are not as mature as other formats, and this loader should be seen as experimental. A more popular way for using this compression method is in concert with the glTF .glb format - for more details see the glb-loader.
To illustrate this library, glb2mz3 is a node.js converter that can be run from the command line:
git clone [email protected]:rordenlab/draco-loader.git
cd draco-loader
npm install
node ./src/glb2mz3.js ./tests/testData/mesh.glbYou can also embed this loader into a hot-reloadable NiiVue web page to evaluate integration:
git clone [email protected]:rordenlab/draco-loader.git
cd draco-loader
npm install
npm run devDraco is still an emerging format. You can convert meshes from other formats (.ply, .stl, .obj) to Draco using the draco_encoder command line tool. Note that the output meshes will be much smaller than the input meshes, reflecting the impressive compression abilities.
git clone https://github.com/google/draco.git
cd draco
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build . --config Release
./draco_encoder -i input.stl -o output.drc