WebVR

WebVR is an experimental JavaScript API that provides support for virtual reality devices, such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard, in a web browser.^[1]

Design

The WebVR API exposes a few new interfaces (such as VR Display, VR pose) that allow web applications to present content in virtual reality, by using WebGL with the necessary camera settings and device interactions (such as controllers or point of view).

History

WebVR was first conceived in spring 2014 by Vladimir Vukićević from Mozilla. The API's contributors include Brandon Jones, Boris Smus and others from the Mozilla team.^[2] On March 1, 2016, the Mozilla VR team and the Google Chrome team announced the version 1.0 release of the WebVR API proposal. The resulting API refactoring brought many improvements to WebVR.^[3]

Support

WebVR still relies on a special browser version with the API enabled in a special settings screen that most users would not be able to find easily.^[4] WebVR is currently supported in Firefox Nightly Build and custom build Chrome. WebVR v1.0 is in Android Chrome behind a flag. Until WebVR is actually supported most browsers still support part of the API through a polyfill.

Brandon Jones announced in May 2016 during a San Francisco HTML5 presentation on WebVR that the API would be introduced in Chrome 54, slated for fall 2016.^[5] Microsoft announced in September 2016 that it had started development of WebVR in Edge.^[6]

Notable uses

Space Disaster: browser VR game made with WebGL and Blend4Web

Below are some notable companies or projects related to WebVR:

• A-Frame (VR) is an open-source web framework for building VR experiences with HTML from Mozilla. ^[7]
• Archilogic has successfully used WebVR to produce 3D models that can be visited in virtual reality.
• Blend4Web is used for authoring WebVR-based applications such as heritage reconstruction and games.^[8]
• Goocreate: Goo Create is a cloud based 3D WebGL content creation editor. It can be used to create games, ads, campaign websites product showcases and scientific visualizations that run in a web browser.
• PlayCanvas: PlayCanvas is an open source 3D game engine/interactive 3D application engine.
• Vizor: Vizor is a platform for creating and sharing VR content on the web.
• Sketchfab: allows people to display and share 3D content online. It provides a 3D model viewer that allows to display 3D models on any mobile, desktop webpage or VR headset.

Similar technologies

Although WebVR is unique as an API, there are native applications on most hardware allowing for networked experiences and access to web content. Several key tools, such as Unity and Blender, are also able to export for the web and provide users a way to use their content without installing a dedicated application.

See also

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox

References

1. "WebVR API". Mozilla Developer Network. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
2. "WebVR - Bringing Virtual Reality to the Web". webvr.info. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
3. "Introducing the WebVR 1.0 API Proposal ★ Mozilla Hacks – the Web developer blog". hacks.mozilla.org. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
4. "Using WebVR: pros and cons - Archilogic". Archilogic. 2016-07-07. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
5. SFHTML5 (2016-05-25), Introduction to WebVR 1.0 (Brandon Jones), retrieved 2016-07-08
6. Bringing WebVR to Microsoft Edge, 2016-09-09, retrieved 2016-09-09
7. "A-Frame". aframe.io.
8. "Blend4Web 16.06 LTS Released". Blend4Web.com. Retrieved 2016-07-12.