Why You Should Adopt a WebXR Solution
While the idea of spatial computing has been around for a number of years, the disruption caused by the global pandemic has reinvigorated and accelerated the interest of many to search for alternative solutions to remote work and learning.
Some of these solutions are fully immersive in that they require that you have a VR headset, while others are flexible to allow you to experience a spectrum of immersion on both a VR headset and/or your browser.
The XR landscape is still in its wild west days and is rapidly changing, so making a decision to invest in VR headsets in an ever-changing hardware environment can be tricky.
But lack of a VR headset shouldn’t discourage you from accessing immersive technologies. In fact, you can strategically position yourself for the spatial computing revolution by adopting a webXR solution.
What is WebXR?
Before we get to what “webXR” is, what is “XR”?
2020 has shown us that regular reality can be extremely confusing, let alone all these new virtual, augmented, and mixed realities.
XR is an umbrella term that encompasses all the realites (i.e., virtual, augmented, mixed and any that may appear in the future).
WebXR, then, allows XR compatibility via web technologies like HTML, CSS, and Javascript. There is a wonderful Immersive Web Working Group that is working diligently on creating a standardized framework for integrating XR technologies into our browsers. This means that webXR content will be accessible and compatible across browsers, operating systems, and devices:
If you want to learn more about and support the development of webXR, there are a lot of great resources online.
WebXR: A Stepping Stone to VR
For many innovators and changemakers within organizations, it can be extremely difficult to convince the decision makers to invest time and money into emerging technologies when the landscape is changing so quickly. VR in particular is one of these things that you need to experience. in order to really understand and fully grasp the value it could add to your organization.
No amount of histrionic gestures and clever metaphors will ever be able to effectively convey the qualitative feelings of place illusion, immersion, and presence to another person. At the same time, it is not really viable for most people to just walk into their boss’ office and strap a VR headset on their head to show them the power of VR (but I am sure many have thought about trying and wondered what would happen):
The beauty of webXR solutions like Wonda is that it is a great stepping stone to VR. It gives you access to the full spectrum of immersion, some of which is accessible right on your browser without a VR headset. You can build 360° prototypes and use-cases to eventually get buy-in from stakeholders by convincing them that webXR is a good long-term growth strategy. In fact, Wonda has a no-code editor to help you easily create immersive experiences without having to learn how to code.
WebXR & Long-Term Growth: Flexibility, Adaptability, and Dependability
As mentioned above, webXR solutions are accessible on a VR headset (which we can think of as fully immersive 3D) and/or on your desktop’s browser (which we can think of as 2.5D), granting you the flexibility to access XR however you feel like it.
Don’t feel like putting on a VR headset today during your brainstorm meeting? Forgot to charge your headset before your meeting? Not a problem, you can synchronously join a webXR based solution like Wonda via your web browser just by accessing the webpage:
Concerned about the policies of a particular VR headset manufacturer? Not a problem, when a better competitor comes along, you can seamlessly switch because with webXR you are not tied to a hardware ecosystem. There are no gatekeepers and you are not beholden to the whims of any company and/or their app store.
Another benefit is that you can add some interactivity to your collaborative meetings by simply dragging and dropping images or 3D assets into the web browser (these assets are even persistent and will still be there until you remove them):
If you are interested in experiencing webXR through Wonda sign-up for a free trial.
