WebVR is the Next Generation of Virtual Reality Web Technology

There has been a constant proliferation in the growth and development of technology. With such high increase in the technical segment, one can now easily say that the future is here and with these huge leaps in terms of technological platforms and software systems. The virtual reality is now indeed heading its way to becoming an actual reality. Gaming, 3D VR movies and all other kinds of environments that are usually created with the help of simulators are now attracting and enticing people towards this new concept.

Building a virtual reality technology is the job for the experts. Traditionally, having the knowledge of WebGL has always been a prerequisite for adding and assembling the components of web virtual reality. Mozilla, which also bought Netscape to the web developers has launched an A-frame and this A-frame can be referred to as a Web VR framework which can be used to build the base platform of this virtual reality. It is very easy to understand, acknowledge and put it in the practical use at no time. For the first time, even those web developers who have little or no knowledge of WebGL can easily work and get hands-on experience of working on this Web VR framework.

This HTML-based frame is incredibly easy for web developers, and they can use it to create different environments and scenes. Even those developers who are not skilled enough or proficient in creating a complex element using WebGL can actively use A-frame which is HTML based to make all types of complex elements with much ease and without any hassle. It has actually bought ECS (Entity Component System) to DOM. To sum it up and elaborate in the simplest words, A-frame is Web VR framework which helps developers in creating different types of virtual reality experiences in a way that stands different from the traditional approach and makes the work look far more realistic. A user needs to wear a Google gadget for experiencing this, and once the gadget is on, experience stands to be way more realistic and delightful.
Why is webVR considered as the future or the next generation of VR?
There are many reasons behind considering this as the next generation of VR and picking up a few factors is difficult but to understand that, we should first look at the specifications for a detailed understanding of the capabilities.
It offers an unlimited access to APIs and JavaScript and thus extensibility rises much beyond the expectations.
It is a free and open source framework which uses Hyper Text Markup Language.
Increased composition offers a great combination of multiple tools for ease of work.
Use of HTML makes it fairly straightforward, and with it, there is no need to install any additional files, reduction of work for the developers makes it far more compelling.
A-frame scenes can be easily manipulated by using the traditional JavaScript concepts.
It can handle all the aspects of VR, building on different kinds of platforms like PCs, Android, iPhones, etc.

Objects can easily be placed within scenes by just placing primitive elements. Even when this HTML is copied to any other scene, that scene still behaves normally without any distortion or hurdle, and hence a developer’s task becomes easy.
The existing tool ecosystem is entirely compatible with the A-frame which further increases the extensibility.
Game engines usually use and incorporate ECS pattern which this Web VR framework also puts in active use. This allows the mix and match of different components. Unlike 2D, 3D scenes are usually more complex and complicated. Thus, the composition matters more than the inheritance, and this is exactly what ECS does to the entire system.
It uses a simple entity where components can be plugged into an entity to create a new scene. With full access to JavaScript and APIs, the job is now fairly simple.
A frame registry collects the different components created and published by web developers. As this is an open source framework, other developments have access to these components. These can be installed through channels like A frame inspector. This, in turn, is a visual tool used both for editing and inspecting the scenes.
A frame inspector is an interactive tool which allows changes in scene and that scene can then be viewed from all angles, and one can also return to the edited scene.
It then has A painter using which one can paint within the browser. It is a highly effective tool for multiple purposes.
A simple HTML code calls up WebGL to create complex scenes, and this can be used to create figures, and shapes, etc. Right from the portion of creating the pages, creating the scenes, to gaming; this framework has far-reaching uses and is not limited to a particular range of applications.
To give an example, a developer can add a code for a shape, add the element of distance and desired angle. One can also add a code for recommended color, an element of fog or mist, rotation, etc.
It is an open community where developers help each other, and no single company owns it. As this serves as an open source environment, it is highly preferred by the developers and other technical experts.
Hardware specifications must be mentioned separately -Rift and vice recommended requirements for Oculus Rift and HTC Viva respectively. For iOS at least an iPhone and for Android minimum that is required is Galaxy 6.
Talking about the features, this is quite a promising platform towards the endeavor of building a realistic virtual reality, which is undoubtedly continually improving and ameliorating. The latest update has some additional features making it more user-friendly. One of them is the text component which supports custom fonts, spacing, alignments, etc. Then there are bug fixes on the basis of feedbacks of the customers and users. This update significantly enhances the user experience. Users earlier had some issues and impediments with multiple smartphones and iOS devices which have all been addressed and taken care of in this new update. This is the USP of this A-frame as it is an open source framework with a great community, suggestions quickly gets heard, and new upgrades and improvements keep on happening regularly to enhance the overall working quality. The inspector tool also sees many more enhancements. The modules are easily transmittable over the web.
How does it feel like to use this Web VR framework
It is extremely simple to use for web developers even with little or no knowledge of the WebGL. It uses simple Java codes to create different scenes. For example, a very simple code can be used to create a shape like a square, rectangle, circle or even a cube or cuboid. On the browser, two screens open where one of the screens has the codes which a developer can type or even copy and paste wherever needed. The other screen shows the scene with elements. This is the screen that displays the size, and the positions of the elements and one can quickly scroll up and down. You can quickly load it into the virtual reality headset. A frame allows developers to create different virtual reality scenes using simple codes and hence a designer finds no hindrance working here.
Using a virtual reality device and VR frameworks, 3D websites can be created, 360° scenes have now become a reality. The interesting fact here to note is that we can still consider the existing era as the early days in the concept of building virtual reality into a surprising realistic existence. With the further advent in the technical advancement, we can easily expect virtual reality scene that it is going to get larger, stronger, realistic and omnipresent. It can be considered as the right time to be here and be an active part of this scene with something like Web VR framework. (You must use VR headsets like Google cardboard or others and VR goggles for a better and complete experience)
When getting started with the A-frame, you can go with code pen, boilerplate, J"s build, or install from NPM(node package manager) With codepen.com, you don"t have to install anything else and can easily edit JavaScript and HTML directly with no supporting software or applications. With boilerplate, use a local server and grab it either with a.Zip file or fork on GitHub. You can also include JS build. Installing from NPM is a recommended option for the advanced users.
Though it focusses and emphasizes more on the VR, it does support the flat experiences. But different practices are to be deployed for this flat experiences and VR. Users need to follow the new set of practices and protocols for building VR experiences. All in all using the recommended set of practices and following the important recommendations, using this particular Web VR framework for building VR scenes is quite astonishing and can be an amazing & delightful experience.

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