Category: Firefox Reality

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VR Browser Firefox Reality now Supports Oculus Quest

Ever since the launch of Firefox Reality by Mozilla last year the company has been gradually scaling up the project by adding new features and support of devices like Microsoft’s HoloLens 2. Two of Oculus’ headsets support the virtual reality (VR) browser, Oculus Go and Gear VR, and today a third has been added to that list, Oculus Quest.

Firefox Reality

The Firefox Reality VR web browsing experience has been tailored to Oculus Quest’s performance capabilities so that you can use its 6 degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) control for anything on the app, whether that’s watching an immersive video or meeting up with friends in Mozilla Hubs.

Firefox Reality has a range of features such as Enhanced Tracking Protection which blocks sites from tracking you, collecting personal data for ad networks and tech companies. The option is enabled by default with Janice Von Itter, Staff Program Manager at Mozilla saying in a blog post: “We strongly believe privacy shouldn’t be relegated to optional settings. As an added bonus, these protections work in the background and actually increase the speed of the browser.”

And to make sure Firefox Reality can be enjoyed by as many people as possible the app currently supports 10 different languages, including Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Wider language support is on the way, plus Firefox Reality can be voice-controlled to search the web instead of typing, generally making the process faster and easier.

Firefox Reality

There’s also more on the way. In 2019 Mozilla plans on rolling out support for the WebXR specification, multi-window browsing, bookmarks sync and SteamVR. The latter was announced back in April, which would allow any headset compatible with SteamVR to use the app, such as Oculus Rift/ Rift S, HTC Vive and Valve Index. This addition is expected this summer.

This week has seen several other updates for Oculus Quest including Oculus Venues and improved tracking accuracy for the Oculus Touch controllers.

Firefox Reality is available for free via Oculus Store for Oculus Quest, Oculus Go and Gear VR; Viveport for HTC Vive Focus and the Google Store for Daydream View. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Firefox Reality, reporting back with Mozilla’s latest updates.

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VR Web Browser Firefox Reality is Coming to SteamVR

Being able to view the internet entirely in virtual reality (VR) is one of the next big steps to make the technology more widely accepted. Mozilla is pushing this initiative forward with its Firefox Reality browser. Today, as part of the announcements around Valve Index, Mozilla has confirmed it’s working on a version compatible with SteamVR.

Firefox Reality

Mozilla has been working with Valve to bring Firefox Reality to the platform, which would allow any headset compatible with SteamVR – including Valve Index – to be able to use the immersive browser. It’s not available just yet, however, in the next few months SteamVR users will be able to install Firefox Reality via a new web dashboard button, launching a browser window over any OpenVR experience.

“With a few simple clicks, users will be able to access web content such as tips or guides or stream a Twitch comment channel without having to exit their immersive experiences,” says Andre Vrignaud, Head of Mixed Reality Strategy in a statement. “In addition, users will be able to log into their Firefox account once, and access synced bookmarks and cookies across both Firefox and Firefox Reality — no need to log in twice!”

Adding SteamVR support should allow Firefox Reality to reach more users and further improve its headset compatibility. The browser is already compatible with headsets such as Vive Wave devices, Oculus Go and Google Daydream View, as well as an early developer preview for Magic Leap One. Back in February during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 event in Spain, Mozilla revealed a collaboration with Microsoft to bring Firefox Reality to the new HoloLens 2.

Firefox Reality header

Firefox Reality saw a public release in September 2018 as a means to deliver 3D web and immersive content to VR headset users, updated in the following months to include 360-degree video support as well as additional languages. Firefox Reality also happens to be the default web browser across HTC Vive’s entire range of headsets.

Valve and Mozilla plan on releasing Firefox Reality for SteamVR this summer. It can be Wishlisted on the Steam store, and when further details are released VRFocus will let you know.

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Mozilla’s Firefox Reality Browser Will Natively Support HoloLens 2

Tomorrow sees the start of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 event in Barcelona, Spain. Today, Microsoft kicked things off with a bang officially announcing at its pre-show press conference the next generation HoloLens 2 mixed reality (MR) headset, which it previously teased a few weeks ago. To add to the announcement, Mozilla has just revealed a collaboration with Microsoft to bring Firefox Reality to the new headset.

Microsoft HoloLens 2Using Firefox Reality the company is aiming to open up WebVR to multiple platforms, with support already available for virtual reality (VR) headsets such as Vive Wave devices, Oculus Go and Google Daydream View, as well as an early developer preview for Magic Leap One. The version for HoloLens 2 is currently a prototype at the moment.

Via Mozilla’s Mixed Reality programme developers can ensure that users have a safe, private experience with open, accessible technology thanks to a focus on making the best browsers, services, and tools available.

“In the coming months, we will be working with the Rust community to bring the language and runtime that enable us to deliver a more secure experience to the HoloLens platforms,” said Lars Bergstrom, Director of Engineering for Mixed Reality at Mozilla in a statement. “And we will then build on our previous work on AR headsets to bring our next generation web platform, Servo, to the HoloLens 2 when it is available this summer.”

Mozilla Firefox Reality

Mozilla only launched Firefox Reality in September last year as a means to deliver 3D web and immersive content to VR headset users, using the same Quantum engine that the latest version of desktop Firefox is using. Since then the browser has been updated to include 360-degree video support as well as additional languages. Mozilla has also collaborated with HTC Vive, making Firefox Reality the default web browser across the headset manufacturers entire product range.

How Firefox Reality will differ on an MR headset rather than a VR headset has yet to be showcased. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Mozilla’s Firefox Reality and Microsoft HoloLens 2, reporting back with the latest announcements.

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Mozilla Announces ‘Firefox Reality’ AR Web Browser for Hololens 2

Today at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain Mozilla announced a collaboration with Microsoft to bring the Firefox Reality web browser to the recently revealed Microsoft HoloLens 2.

While Mozilla hasn’t mentioned a release date yet, the company says they’re currently working with community developers of the programming language Rust to bring “the language and runtime that enable us to deliver a more secure experience to the HoloLens platforms.”

Mozilla says they’ll build on previous efforts—namely their work on the developer build Firefox browser for Magic Leap One—and then bring their web platform Mozilla Servo to HoloLens 2 when it is available this summer.

Image courtesy Mozilla

Much like Apple’s WebKit for Safari, Servo is an open source browser engine that will form the foundation of the company’s next generation WebXR Firefox Reality web browser.

First announced back in April 2018, Mozilla developed Firefox Reality to be a cross-platform, open sourced web browser not only capable of delivering VR/AR headset-users standard web pages, but also immersive games, videos, environments, and experiences from around the web.

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3 Impressive WebVR Examples Worth Checking Out With Firefox's New Support for Vive and Rift

At the time of this writing, Firefox for Magic Leap One currently only offers support for standard 2D web pages, so there’s undoubtedly still work to be done before a firm release date can be set for ‘the full Firefox XR experience’ on HoloLens 2, which would necessarily include the burgeoning 3D web as well.

“Building on Microsoft’s years of experience with the current HoloLens among enterprises and consumers, we will work together to learn from developers and users about bringing AR content to the web,” says Lars Bergstrom, director of engineering at Mozilla’s mixed reality program.

Mozilla says they’re continuing their focus with Firefox Reality to deliver a “safe, private experience with open, accessible technology.”

The company will be detailing new builds of Firefox Reality for HoloLens 2 via their blog. Interested developers can also get involved in Mozilla projects by taking part in the company’s Servo Starters program.

The post Mozilla Announces ‘Firefox Reality’ AR Web Browser for Hololens 2 appeared first on Road to VR.

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HTC Vive, Amazon & Mozilla Take VR Web Integration to the Next Level

One of the important factors when helping virtual reality (VR) go mainstream is its ability to browse the web. Being online and navigating the digital world has become part of everyday life for billions of people around the world, so it makes sense that being in VR shouldn’t hinder that ability. It’s only recently that browsing the web in VR has ventured away from viewing your normal monitor through a headset, and now HTC Vive wants to push that even further by announcing several new collaborations.

Mozilla Firefox Reality

The first collaboration is with Mozilla, with HTC Vive announcing that Firefox Reality will now become the default web browser across the product range, including Vive Pro and the upcoming Vive Cosmos.

Intertwined with HTC Vive and Mozilla is Amazon Sumerian, enabling HTC Vive developers to concept, test and publish VR-optimized websites, without requiring specialized programming experience.

“We’ve set out this year to bring everyday computing tasks into VR for the first time,” said Michael Almeraris, Vice President of Partnerships and Content, HTC VIVE in a statement. “Through the collaboration with Mozilla and Amazon Web Services, we’re closing the gap in XR computing, empowering Vive users to get more content in their headset, while enabling developers and businesses to quickly create content for these consumers.”

HTC Vive Cosmos

“Many industries are adopting XR technologies for a wide range of uses, including training simulations, virtual concierge services, enhanced online shopping experiences, virtual tours, and more,” said Kyle Roche, General Manager, Amazon Sumerian, AWS. “Until now, creating realistic XR experiences required developers to have specialized programming skills and learn unique specifications and deployment procedures, adding complexity to the process. Together with HTC and Mozilla, we’re making it easier for developers to more quickly build and distribute VR applications using nothing more than a browser and a URL.”

To help showcase both of these partnerships, Fidelity Investments has created a prototype VR website designed to allow financial customers to immerse themselves in their investments using data visualization tools, being displayed at HTC Vive’s CES Showcase.

As furthers developments from the partnerships are announced, VRFocus will let you know.

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Firefox Reality VR Browser Gets Support For 7 New Languages, Bookmarking, And More

Firefox Reality VR Browser Gets Support For 7 New Languages, Bookmarking, And More

Mozilla has announced the first major update for Firefox Reality, its open source cross-platform browser for AR and VR headsets, ushering in support for 7 new languages in addition to a handful of other new features.

By way of a brief recap, Mozilla first unveiled Firefox Reality in April, pitching it as an easier way for manufacturers not only to integrate a browser into their headsets, but adapt it to suit their needs. At launch Firefox Reality supported the HTC Vive Focus and HTC Vive Wave platforms, but was later offered as a download for HTC Viveport, Oculus Go, and Daydream.

Thus far, Firefox Reality has supported English only, but with version 1.1 of the browser it will also cater to French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Japanese, and Korean.

Thus far, Firefox Reality has supported English only, but with version 1.1 of the browser it will also cater to French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Japanese, and Korean.

Above: Firefox Reality: Choose your language

Additionally, Firefox Reality will now support voice search in these seven languages too, while it also sports an upgraded theater viewing mode that works with 360-degree videos.

Above: Firefox Reality: Voice search

Elsewhere, the new Firefox Reality browser now also offers search suggestions in the URL bar, and it supports bookmarking.

While most of the main headset manufacturers already offer their own browsers, Firefox Reality may be appealing to some users for cross-platform syncing, meaning they can access the same bookmarks and browsing history inside their Oculus Go as they do on their phone or laptop. For now, the bookmarking functionality inside Firefox Reality is limited to saving and viewing locally; however, Mozilla said that cross-device syncing will be arriving soon.

Above: Firefox Reality: Bookmarking

Growing market

The global AR and VR markets are estimated to be a $18 billion industry this year, according to IDC — around double the figure of 2017 — and this could rise to as much as $100 billion by 2023.

We’re seeing significant investment and resources expended on next-gen devices spanning VR, AR, and mixed reality. Amazon-backed North recently launched $999 Alexa-powered holographic glasses, and Acer introduced a detachable OJO 500 Windows Mixed Reality headset with built-in speakers. Elsewhere, Finnish startup Varjo raised $31 million for a industrial VR headset with human-eye resolution, while Mojo Vision launched its “invisible computing” AR platform out of stealth with more than $50 million in funding.

And that is the environment that Mozilla is trying to adapt Firefox to. The platforms of the future are leaning heavily toward VR, AR, and mixed reality, with “voice” playing a pivotal part of the interface interactions.

In the future, Mozilla said that it’s looking into supporting content-sharing across browsers, multiple windows and tabs, and other features that you’ll no doubt be familiar with from Firefox on other platforms.

Firefox Reality 1.1 is rolling out for Viveport, Oculus, and Daydream headsets.

This post by Paul Sawers originally appeared on VentureBeat.

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The post Firefox Reality VR Browser Gets Support For 7 New Languages, Bookmarking, And More appeared first on UploadVR.

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Mozilla Updates Firefox Reality With 360 Video and Improved Language Support

In September web browser developer Mozilla launched its dedicated virtual reality (VR) browser to facilitate seamless movement between the 2D web and the immersive web, Firefox Reality. Today, the company has announced the first major update to the app, adding new features whilst improving others.

Firefox Reality

With the release of Firefox Reality 1.1 new features included are 360 video support with a new dedicated theatre viewing mode, additional language support in the form of Chinese (Mandarin – simplified and traditional), French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese and Korean, plus expanded voice search support to the new localised languages.

Local bookmarks have also been added (cross-device syncing is coming soon) alongside automatic search and domain suggestions in URL bar. The 2D UI performance has been improved as well.

In an expansion to the Firefox Reality content feed, Mozilla has added cult director/designer Keiichi Matsuda’s video series, including his latest creation, Merger. 

“Keiichi’s work explores how emerging technology will impact our future lives,” a press statement explains. “His earlier video HYPER-REALITY presents a provocative and kaleidoscopic new vision of the future, where physical and virtual realities have merged, and the city is saturated in media. His new film Merger is about the future of work. Set against the backdrop of AI-run corporations, a woman finds herself caught between virtual and physical reality, human and machine. As she fights for her economic survival, she finds herself immersed in the cult of productivity, in search of the ultimate interface. This short film documents her last 4 minutes on earth.”

Firefox Reality

Firefox Reality 1.1 is now available for download in the Viveport, Oculus, and Daydream app stores, supporting Vive Wave devices, Oculus Go and Google Daydream View respectively. You’ll find the full release notes on Github, and for further updates keep reading VRFocus.

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‘Firefox Reality’, Mozilla’s VR Web Browser, Launches on Major Standalone Headsets

Mozilla today launched its made-for-VR web browser, Firefox Reality. The company says the browser is “designed from the ground up” for standalone VR headsets, and today it becomes available for the Oculus Go, Lenovo Mirage Solo, and Vive Focus (and other Vive Wave headsets).

Mozilla has been an early supporter of VR. As a key collaborator on WebVR—which makes it possible to run VR experiences from the web across many devices—the company continues to focus considerable effort into making VR a first-class citizen on the internet. As such, their new Firefox Reality browser is built with WebVR in mind, supporting both basic 2D browsing and immersive VR experiences accessible through the web.

In addition to having a home screen which highlights fresh WebVR content, the company has made VR considerations for basic browsing tasks, including voice-search and a private browsing mode. Mozilla says that the browser is based on the Quantum engine for mobile, the same engine that powers their speedy Firefox Quantum browser on desktop.

Image courtesy Mozilla

For developers interested in building WebVR content, Mozilla recently published a Firefox Reality Developers Guide. The company also suggests that developers reach out to the company to get their content highlighted through the browser.

While Mozilla is calling this the 1.0 launch of Firefox Reality, some key features are still missing—like bookmarks and support for 360 videos (an essential function to pair with the private browsing mode)—though the company says those functions will be coming soon, along with more “at a steady pace.”

“We are in this for the long haul. This is version 1.0 of Firefox Reality and version 1.1 is right around the corner. We have an always-growing list of ideas and features that we are working to add to make this the best browser for mixed reality. We will also be listening and react quickly when we need to provide bug fixes and other minor updates,” said Sean White, Mozilla’s Chief R&D Officer, as part of the launch announcement.

Image courtesy Mozilla

Firefox Reality is available as of today on standalone VR headsets including Oculus Go, Lenovo Mirage Solo, and Vive Focus (and other standalone headsets based on the Vive Wave platform). The browser is not currently supported on smartphone shell headsets like Oculus Go or Daydream View.

While the dedicated Firefox Reality browser isn’t available for PC headsets, the latest  Firefox desktop browser supports WebVR content via the Rift, Vive, and Windows VR headsets.

The post ‘Firefox Reality’, Mozilla’s VR Web Browser, Launches on Major Standalone Headsets appeared first on Road to VR.

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Updates on the Decentralized Metaverse: WebXR, A-Frame, & ‘Supermedium’

dmarcosI visited Mozilla’s offices last October to chat with A-Frame co-creator & co-maintainer Diego Marcos about the current state of WebVR. Marcos has since left Mozilla in order to work on the Supermedium WebVR browser, which creates a desktop VR browser designed for the Vive or Oculus to easily go in and out of viewing WebVR content as a seamless VR experience. Supermedium is a breath of fresh air to be able to seamlessly traverse amongst a curated set of WebVR proof of concepts, and the link traversal and security paradigms of WebXR are still open questions.

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE VOICES OF VR PODCAST

The open metaverse is going to be built on web standards like the WebXR Device API (formly WebVR), but the larger community of web developers has been waiting to fully commit to building immersive WebVR experiences until there’s universal support in all web browsers. The browsers that have implemented the WebVR 1.1 spec include Firefox Release 55, Oculus Browser, Samsung Internet, & Microsoft Edge. But Google Chrome and the WebVR developer community has been waiting for the official launch of what was being referred to as the WebVR 2.0 spec, but was recently renamed to WebXR Device API in December 2017, which is explained in more detail here.

Mozilla announced their Firefox Reality mixed reality browser last week, which is targeting the standalone VR headsets, primarily the Vive Focus and Oculus Go. It’ll also work on Daydream as well as Gear VR, but it’s going to be designing the immersive web browsing experience where there isn’t a context switch between the 2D screen and context switching into a VR HMD. Firefox Reality hasn’t implemented any WebVR features yet, and it’s currently a proof of concept for showing what browsing 2D web content in VR will look like. The increased resolution of these latest generation mobile VR headsets and upcoming standalone headsets makes reading text a lot easier than it was in previous iterations.

I’ve talked about Firefox Reality in the previous episodes of #350, #471, & #538 when it was still being referred to as the Servo experimental web browser built using the Rust programming language. Firefox Reality is currently the only open source, cross-platform mixed reality browser, and I’m curious to track the development more once they get more of the WebXR features implemented.

In my conversation with Marcos, I’m struck by how many open and unresolved issues still have to be resolved including link traversal, a security model that prevents spoofing sites, the portal mechanics of traversing multiple sites, and the potential of moving beyond a black box WebGL into what would be more like a 3D DOM elements but that has to deal with the additional privacy aspects of gaze and physical movement biometric data that having a 3D DOM would introduce.

It’s been a long journey to the official launch of WebVR, and here’s some of the previous conversations about WebVR since the beginning of the podcast in May 2014.

Support Voices of VR

Music: Fatality & Summer Trip

The post Updates on the Decentralized Metaverse: WebXR, A-Frame, & ‘Supermedium’ appeared first on Road to VR.

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Updates on the Decentralized Metaverse: WebXR, A-Frame, & ‘Supermedium’

dmarcosI visited Mozilla’s offices last October to chat with A-Frame co-creator & co-maintainer Diego Marcos about the current state of WebVR. Marcos has since left Mozilla in order to work on the Supermedium WebVR browser, which creates a desktop VR browser designed for the Vive or Oculus to easily go in and out of viewing WebVR content as a seamless VR experience. Supermedium is a breath of fresh air to be able to seamlessly traverse amongst a curated set of WebVR proof of concepts, and the link traversal and security paradigms of WebXR are still open questions.

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE VOICES OF VR PODCAST

The open metaverse is going to be built on web standards like the WebXR Device API (formly WebVR), but the larger community of web developers has been waiting to fully commit to building immersive WebVR experiences until there’s universal support in all web browsers. The browsers that have implemented the WebVR 1.1 spec include Firefox Release 55, Oculus Browser, Samsung Internet, & Microsoft Edge. But Google Chrome and the WebVR developer community has been waiting for the official launch of what was being referred to as the WebVR 2.0 spec, but was recently renamed to WebXR Device API in December 2017, which is explained in more detail here.

Mozilla announced their Firefox Reality mixed reality browser last week, which is targeting the standalone VR headsets, primarily the Vive Focus and Oculus Go. It’ll also work on Daydream as well as Gear VR, but it’s going to be designing the immersive web browsing experience where there isn’t a context switch between the 2D screen and context switching into a VR HMD. Firefox Reality hasn’t implemented any WebVR features yet, and it’s currently a proof of concept for showing what browsing 2D web content in VR will look like. The increased resolution of these latest generation mobile VR headsets and upcoming standalone headsets makes reading text a lot easier than it was in previous iterations.

I’ve talked about Firefox Reality in the previous episodes of #350, #471, & #538 when it was still being referred to as the Servo experimental web browser built using the Rust programming language. Firefox Reality is currently the only open source, cross-platform mixed reality browser, and I’m curious to track the development more once they get more of the WebXR features implemented.

In my conversation with Marcos, I’m struck by how many open and unresolved issues still have to be resolved including link traversal, a security model that prevents spoofing sites, the portal mechanics of traversing multiple sites, and the potential of moving beyond a black box WebGL into what would be more like a 3D DOM elements but that has to deal with the additional privacy aspects of gaze and physical movement biometric data that having a 3D DOM would introduce.

It’s been a long journey to the official launch of WebVR, and here’s some of the previous conversations about WebVR since the beginning of the podcast in May 2014.

Support Voices of VR

Music: Fatality & Summer Trip

The post Updates on the Decentralized Metaverse: WebXR, A-Frame, & ‘Supermedium’ appeared first on Road to VR.