View a point scene layer from a scene service.
Use case
Point scene layers can efficiently display large amounts of point features. While point cloud layers can only display simple symbols, point scene layers can display any type of billboard symbol or even 3D models, as long as the location of the symbol can be described by a point. Points are cached and automatically thinned when zoomed out to improve performance.
How to use the sample
Pan around the scene and zoom in. Notice how many thousands of additional features appear at each successive zoom scale.
How it works
- Create an
ArcGISScene. - Create an
ArcGISSceneLayerwith the URL to a point scene layer service. - Add the layer to the scene's operational layers.
- Add an elevation source to the scene's base surface.
- Display the scene in a
SceneView.
Relevant API
- ArcGISScene
- ArcGISSceneLayer
- ArcGISTiledElevationSource
- SceneView
About the data
This dataset contains more than 40,000 points representing world airports. Points are retrieved on demand by the scene layer as the user navigates the scene.
Additional information
Point scene layers can also be retrieved from scene layer packages (.slpk) and mobile scene packages (.mspk).
Tags
3D, layers, point scene layer
Sample Code
/* Copyright 2025 Esri * * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. * You may obtain a copy of the License at * * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 * * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and * limitations under the License. * */ package com.esri.arcgismaps.sample.addpointscenelayer.components import android.app.Application import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf import androidx.lifecycle.AndroidViewModel import androidx.lifecycle.viewModelScope import com.arcgismaps.geometry.Point import com.arcgismaps.geometry.SpatialReference import com.arcgismaps.mapping.ArcGISScene import com.arcgismaps.mapping.BasemapStyle import com.arcgismaps.mapping.Surface import com.arcgismaps.mapping.Viewpoint import com.arcgismaps.mapping.layers.ArcGISSceneLayer import com.arcgismaps.mapping.ArcGISTiledElevationSource import com.esri.arcgismaps.sample.sampleslib.components.MessageDialogViewModel import kotlinx.coroutines.launch class AddPointSceneLayerViewModel(app: Application) : AndroidViewModel(app) { // Add the airports point scene layer val sceneLayer = ArcGISSceneLayer( uri = "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/V6ZHFr6zdgNZuVG0/arcgis/rest/services/Airports_PointSceneLayer/SceneServer/layers/0" ) // Add an elevation source to display elevation val elevationSource = ArcGISTiledElevationSource( uri = "https://elevation3d.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D/ImageServer" ) val viewpoint = Viewpoint( Point( x = -98.6, // longitude y = 39.8, // latitude spatialReference = SpatialReference.wgs84() ), scale = 1e8 ) // Scene with world airports point scene layer val arcGISScene by mutableStateOf( ArcGISScene(BasemapStyle.ArcGISImagery).apply { // Set initial viewpoint to show the world initialViewpoint = viewpoint operationalLayers.add(sceneLayer) baseSurface = Surface().apply { elevationSources.add(elevationSource) } } ) // Message dialog for error handling val messageDialogVM = MessageDialogViewModel() init { viewModelScope.launch { arcGISScene.load().onFailure { messageDialogVM.showMessageDialog(it) } } } }