Mozilla partners with Khronos Group to bring glTF format to Blender

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Mozilla has announced a collaboration with Khronos Group and developers of existing open source Blender tools, to bring GL Transmission Format (glTF) import and export add-on for Blender. This release supports the upcoming release of Blender 2.8 which will feature physically-based rendering (PBR) and improved user interface.

The glTF format is the foundation for interoperable 3D tools and services. Basically, it’s the “JPEG of 3D”. It is royalty free and coordinated by the Khronos consortium. With gITF support for Blender, mixed reality developers, designers, and creators anywhere in the world, can create, edit, and remix glTF models without having to purchase the specialized software.

How did the collaboration come to be?

Mozilla’s Mixed Reality (WebXR) Team conducted a joint ecosystem analysis focusing on content creators, their motivations, current pain points, and the expected impact of tools that could empower them. After the joint ecosystem analysis Khronos, UX3D, and Mozilla decided to co-fund the development of the Blender importer and exporter tool. Airbus was also declared as one of the partners in the development of the Blender glTF tools. They are using the glTF format internally to visualize their Blender created mock-ups in VR and AR.

They came up with an ecosystem partners model to accelerate the advancement of the glTF standard and the WebXR ecosystem. The team hopes that “the Blender tools will unleash the creativity of the global community.”

The glTF Blender import and export tool will be released and ready for beta testers around the time of the Blender conference in late October. Mozilla will also be sharing detailed analysis of the tool on Mozilla’s Hacks blog in the coming weeks. Read more about the collaboration on Medium.