We’re seeing a lot of companies working to bring virtual reality to the web thanks to a project called WebVR. At its heart, WebVR is an experimental JavaScript API for a website that can access VR devices like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard and Daydream View. It was first conceived in spring 2014 by Vladimir Vukićević from Mozilla, and both Mozilla and Google have been working on it a lot lately.
Version 1.0 was introduced back in March of this year, and a month later Samsung announced that WebVR was supported on their Gear VR headset. Early demos from the Chrome team showed they were able to maintain 90 FPS rendering with it, making it a viable platform for virtual reality. Google has been working to make it available to the public and says they are on schedule for a release in early 2017.
For now though, it’s currently limited to the beta version of Chrome 56. Google just announced that web developers can access the new API by signing up for Origin Trial. Once enabled, not only will you be able to access the WebVR API, but you can also use the GamePad API extension as well. The WebVR API will give the developer access to the input and output capabilities of the virtual reality devices mentioned above.
The developer will even have access to the device’s position and orientation, which can enable web apps to render a stereoscopic 3D scene on the headset’s display. The GamePad API extension is what the developer needs in order to access input from motion controllers so the user can interact with the VR environment. Google reminds us that the WebVR API is still evolving and that we should expect changes based on developer feedback. As mentioned, WebVR is scheduled to launch with the stable channel of Chrome 57, slated for a release in early 2017.
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