Category: google chrome

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Google Brings Web-based AR to Chrome in Latest Beta

Last week Google released a beta of Chrome 81 for Android, Chrome OS, Linux, macOS, and Windows, which means a stable version is just around the corner. One of the most important updates to arrive in Chrome 81 is the ability to use web-based AR apps.

Google first included WebVR, the VR-focused predecessor to the WebXR API, in Chrome 66 back in April 2018. Debuted in Chrome 79 at the end of 2019, WebXR Device API came to devices without AR support.

Now, the stable version of Chrome 81 is expected to release sometime next month, which will carry with it the ability to display web-based AR content.

According to Google’s Chromium blog, the upcoming stable version of Chrome will also include support for the WebXR Hit Test API, an API for placing digital objects in a physical world view. Google says the new API captures both the location of a ‘hit test’, or where the user taps on the screen, and the orientation of the point that was detected.

Image courtesy Google

Appealing to developers, Google says that if you’ve already used the new API to create virtual reality apps, there’s very little new to learn to use AR.

“This is because the spec was designed with the spectrum of immersive experiences in mind. Regardless of the degree of augmentation or virtualization, the application flow is the same. The differences are merely a matter of setting and requesting different properties during object creation, ” the company says.

Chrome 81 is also slated to include web-based NFC (Near Field Communications), which allows a web app to read and write to NFC tags.

If you want to try out the beta, simply download the Chrome Beta app on your preferred device. When you do, make sure to play around with a few examples first..

The post Google Brings Web-based AR to Chrome in Latest Beta appeared first on Road to VR.

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Mozilla Launches New Introductory WebXR App, ‘Hello WebXR’

Mozilla launched a new WebXR app called ‘Hello WebXR’, which is compatible with most headsets that use web browsers such as Oculus Browser on the Quest or Google Chrome on PC VR headsets. The app acts an an introductionary experience for those who are new to VR, showcasing the different types of content and interactions available on the platform.

The experience will work on any WebXR compatible browser on a headset, including Mozilla’s own VR browser Firefox Reality. Other browsers, such as the Oculus Browser on Oculus Quest or Google Chrome on Oculus Rift, also support WebXR and should work with the Mozilla Hello WebXR site.

The main hall environment is where you start Hello WebXR, and features a bunch of different objects to interact with. You can play the xylophone, look at some paintings, look at a Twitter feed displaying any tweets using #hellowebxr, and even spray some graffiti on the walls. The main hall also has some globes that will transport you to 360 degree panoramic scenes.

Three doors will teleport you from the main hall to other locations, where you can experience positional audio, look at some classic sculptures and walk around the top floor of a skyscraper.

Mozilla stated in a blog post that they expect the experience to grow over time, and develop it into “a sandbox that we could use to prototype new experiences and interactions.” To try out Hello WebXR for yourself, just head to this page on your WebXR-compatible headset.

We also recently interviewed an engineer from Mozilla, Diane Hosfelt, in our UploadVR virtual studio, where we talked about whether privacy is possible in VR’s future. Hosfelt also appeared as a guest on Episode 11 of The VR Download.

The post Mozilla Launches New Introductory WebXR App, ‘Hello WebXR’ appeared first on UploadVR.

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Chrome 67 For Android Released, Bringing APIs For AR And VR Experiences

Good news for Android users as Chrome 67 has started to roll out bringing with it a host of new features and APIs that allow developers to enable virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experience.

The new version of Chrome on Android comes with a new WebXR Device API that is aimed at enabling web-based AR and VR experiences. The new API is still under testing but within it’s release developers will be able to start using it and seeing the benefits that it brings to the mobile platform. Designed to specifically support mobile devices and desktops the API is aimed at unifying experience across AR-enabled devices, mobile-based VR headsets such as the Google Daydream View and desktop-hosted headsets, including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.

In addition to the new WebXR Device API, Chrome 67 brings the Generic Sensor API with it that allows developers a means to easily obtain sensor data to create web applications for us in immersive gaming, fitness tracking, and AR or VR experiences. Both the WebXR Device API and Generic Sensor API were announced back in April of this year, now being made available for use within Chrome 67.

Google Logo

Developers will need to sign up for the origin trial programmer to begin working with the WebXR Device API, but the benefits it will begin are sure to be worth getting hands on with earlier. For everyday users it means that more mobile AR and VR experiences will be made available as developers get hands on with the new API’s, offering more ways to get immersive within content and Google Chrome.

Elsewhere in Chrome 67 is the inclusion of being able to toggle a horizontal tab switcher, rather then using the original vertical tab switcher. This can be enabled by visiting this link within Google Chrome on Android devices.

Google have of course run out updates to Chrome on Android in the past to allow for more VR and AR applications, including adding support for the Oculus Rift back in April of this year. As the Chrome team continue to bring new features to the browser to enable more VR and AR uses, VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest.

 

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Google Adds Oculus Rift Support To Google Chrome For VR Web Browsing

If you are a Google Chrome user then you will be happy to know that the latest version of the web browser now supported the Oculus Rift headset, meaning users can now browse the web in virtual reality (VR).

The feature means that users with an Oculus Rift headset and Google Chrome version number 66 will be able to turn on the new feature and enjoy a complete VR, web browser experience. This feature was found by a user on Reddit who noticed that there was an option to turn on ‘Oculus hardware support’ on the “Experiments” section of Google Chrome. It has since be confirmed to work by a number of people and has been met with positive praise.

Until now, VR web browsing experiences have been mostly limited to the mobile version of Google Chrome, taking advantage of 360-degree videos and content. Google mentioned last year how they were planning to make it possible to experience VR content without needing to move to a separate app on mobile devices, ensuring that content could be enjoined within Google Chrome. This became a reality when Google released the Cardboard platform and later went on to release the Google Daydream platform. These platforms allowed mobile users the chance to enjoy immersive VR content on their mobile device.

Now with the support for Oculus Rift built into the Windows 10 version of Google Chrome users have a new way to immersive themselves in a high-end, VR solution. Though most of the internet is not designed for VR viewing, a fair amount of websites and content is available, with the content growing as time passes. Of course, with Google and third-parties focusing on the mobile applications of VR, things have been slow to kick off on the desktop side of things but with this support now in Google Chrome this could all be about to change.

Support for Oculus Rift in Google Chrome is another step towards including the WebVR standard into browsers, allowing developers to deploy VR applications over the web without the the need for any downloads. As Google continue to focus on bring this to reality within Google Chrome, users will be sure to see some exciting developments in the coming months. VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on Google Chrome’s VR movements in the future, so stay tuned for more.

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Google Daydream Meets A Virtual Web In New WebVR Update

Users of the Google Daydream will now be able to view any website they like in virtual reality (VR), regardless of if it has any specific VR content. This is thanks to the latest Google Chrome update, and WebVR.

WebVR is an open VR standard developed by a group of engineers for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), featuring experts from many VR stakeholder companies such as Google, Apple, Mozilla and others. Google added WebVR support to Google Chrome earlier this year, but the new update allows for a more seamless experience, as users no longer need to find specific VR content, they can simply load a webpage, slip their mobile device into the Daydream headset and browse.

Google’s François Beaufort said: “So far this allows users to view and interact with any website in VR, follow links between pages, and move between 2D and immersive viewing for sites that support WebVR.”

Users will need to ensure they update Google Chrome to version 61 before attempting to use this particular function. Mozilla Firefox also recently introduced support for WebVR, so analysts are expecting that this free VR browsing will come to that browser soon. Apple has also shown some interest in WebVR, with three Apple engineers joining the WebVR community group earlier this year, leading to speculation that Safari would also be adding WebVR functionality at some point in the future.

For those looking for web-based content to try, the BBC have also begun using the WebVR standard to showcase some VR and 360-degree videos, with experiences such as the opportunity to explore the Edinburgh festivals available with the WebVR standard.

VRFocus will bring you further news on WebVR as it becomes available.

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Daydream’s Chrome Browser Will Soon Let You Seamlessly Navigate From 2D to Web-based VR Content

Announced during the second day of Google’s annual I/O developer event, Daydream VR will soon have access to the Android Chrome web browser. Because of Chrome’s official support for WebVR, this means that users will be able to navigate their way to their next VR-optimised web experience without having to remove the headset.

Google has actively worked on bringing web-based content to VR for some time, having co-authored the WebVR specification (enabling rich VR content to be written with JavaScript and WebGL) three years ago, but the user experience has felt incomplete without proper browser support.

Soon, the Chrome browser will be available within Daydream, and it is the same application; sharing the same bookmarks, history, and login information as the ‘2D’ version you would normally use on your phone. The Daydream controller will enable easy navigation on any normal web page, and as soon as you hit WebVR content, it will launch into a more immersive mode. Eventually, the transition between 2D web pages and VR-optimised web content should become more seamless.

AR features are also expected to make their way into the landscape of web browsing, starting with an experimental build of Chromium launching on GitHub today, which has WebAR features enabled. Andrey Doronichev, Product Director of VR and AR apps at Google, explained how it should work similarly to WebVR, “being able to easily integrate AR features into your existing websites so that as a developer, you don’t have the friction of teaching the user new behaviours or making them download a new app”.

As an example, he showed a shopping experience running in WebGL and Javascript from a Wayfair website, which allows the user to mark out their room space and then place a virtual item (only the ones that fit), such as a coffee table, to see if it suits the room before they buy.

The post Daydream’s Chrome Browser Will Soon Let You Seamlessly Navigate From 2D to Web-based VR Content appeared first on Road to VR.

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Google Brings VR to the Web on Chrome for Daydream

Access to virtual reality (VR) content is getting easier and easier, with multiple head-mounted displays (HMDs) now available and a wealth of apps and services now supporting the medium. Today Google has announced WebVR support on Chrome for use with Daydream View and Daydream-ready smartphones like Pixel or ZTE’s Axon 7.

This update will allow users to surf the web and when they find a VR experience they want to view, simply pop their device into the headset to enjoy the immersive experience. Even if they don’t have the headset they’ll be able to view and control it using their finger.

Sketchfab - Webvr - spacedome

While there’s not masses of WebVR content available Google has highlighted some of the best to get users started. For those interested in architecture, celebrity homes, museums and more there’s Matterport.  Award-winning content creator Within has a mixture of documentaries, short films and other 360-degree experiences. Or for user generated 3D models and scenes there’s Sketchfab. Utilising the Daydream remote for a range of gameplay option is the WebVR Lab from PlayCanvas. Or checkout the Bear 71 interactive documentary, produced by the National Film Board of Canada, which blurs the lines between the wild world and the wired one.

WebVR is set to be a big part of VR’s future, enabling views ways to explore content. Other companies working on WebVR applications include Oculus with its Carmel browser. Supporting both Rift and Gear VR, Oculus launched a developer preview for the mobile headset back in December, available as a Gallery app on the Oculus Store.

For all the latest WebVR and Daydream news, keep reading VRFocus.