Web browsing through XR enables users to navigate and interact with traditional web-based content as well as immersive Web XR experiences. This session will explore the technical challenges and design opportunities of creating a Web browser designed specifically for XR devices. Join us as we discuss the building of Wolvic, a multiplatform and open source Web browser for XR. Attendees are encouraged to engage in the presentation, ask questions, and join the project of this web browsing project for XR. (c) AWE EU 2023 24-25 Oct, 2023 Vienna (Austria) https://www.awexr.com/eu-2023/

1. Web browsing
through XR
Juan J. Sánchez
1

2. Presentation
• Juan J. Sánchez
Co-founder of Igalia. Product & project management for Wolvic
jjsanchez@igalia.com
• Igalia
Open source consultancy. Contributors to WebKit, Chromium and Firefox
https://www.igalia.com
2

3. Outline
• Challenges and opportunities of Web browsing on XR:
- Traditional web browsing
- Immersive experiences
• Wolvic as an Open Source Web browser for XR devices
3

4. The traditional Web

5. Traditional Web browsing
• On desktop PCs and portable devices
• Windows and tabs, back/forward navigation
• Bookmarks, downloads, history
• Password management
• Support DRM media playback
• Extensions, private mode, etc.
• Some Web APIs need to be speci
fi
cally implemented for XR
5

9. Input methods
• Typically, XR devices use handheld controllers and/or hand gestures
Other methods are supported by some devices (eye tracking)
Good voice input support is critical
• But most of the Web is made for desktops and touchscreens
• Websites may use input modes which can not be replicated easily with XR
controllers, like pinching and dragging, or keyboard shortcuts
• In Wolvic, we usually “pretend” to be a touchscreen or a desktop;
we are also working to integrate external keyboards and mouses
9

11. Readability
• Reading content is the most basic way to use the traditional Web
• On XR, the reading experience is impacted by the resolution of the headset
• In Wolvic, one can use a large window size with optimized text
• The screen can not be too large: it would cover the user’s
fi
eld of vision
• Limitations will be mitigated by hardware improvements
11

13. Productivity
• The large virtual space provides great
fl
exibility to the UI
• We can arrange content to leverage spatial thinking and memory
• We can experiment with richer ways to present information to the user
• XR has the potential to become a productive and
fl
exible way of working
13

15. Video and entertainment
• Usually provided as regular 2D video; also 3D stereoscopic video
• Popular streaming video platforms
Platform must provide playback functionality via the Web (not only app)
DRM media content must be supported by the browser engine
Examples: Youtube, Disney+, HBO Max, Prime Video, Apple TV,…
15

16. Disney+: Spider-Man: into the…

17. YouTube: 3D Trailer • Avatar 2

18. The immersive Web

19. Immersive video
• Served over the Internet as a regular media
fi
le
Can be distributed via YouTube, etc.
The video needs the right metadata so it can be displayed correctly
• The XR browser displays the video according to a speci
fi
c geometry
Monoscopic: same image for both eyes
Stereoscopic: one image for each eye
Field of view: 180º, 360º
19

20. YouTube: Santorini, Greece (AirPano)

21. YouTube: Cancun, Mexico (AirPano)

22. Hellblade - delight-vr.com

23. Immersive experiences: WebXR
• WebXR is a collection of Web APIs that allow the development of immersive
XR experiences on the Web
https://immersiveweb.dev
https://immersive-web.github.io
https://www.w3.org/immersive-web
https://github.com/immersive-web
• In Wolvic, WebXR is mostly implemented by the Web engine, which we
integrate with our graphical layers, input, etc.
23
WebXR

24. sprayspace.art

25. Brush Work

26. Education
• Both immersive video and interactive content
• XR is the best way to experience immersive information
• The Web makes it very easy to distribute this content
No need to create a separate app, release it on each app store, etc.
• Even existing platforms like YouTube and WikiMedia can be used
26

27. YouTube: 360° Airline Pilot's View

28. anzcrewdg.360vr.world

29. magische-spiegelungen.de

30. accessmars.withgoogle.com

31. Gaming
• One of the most popular use cases for WebXR
• Challenges:
- Removing limitations to deliver large assets
- Achieving performance comparable to native applications
• Creative indie game developers (Wonderland Engine, heyVR.io)
31

32. Moon Rider - moonrider.xyz

33. Boulderworld - heyvr.io

34. The Wolvic project

35. Wolvic: origins
• Wolvic started as Firefox Reality
Initial release September 2018
Goal: bring Firefox to standalone VR headsets
Support the traditional Web plus immersive experiences
Part of a wider “mixed reality” initiative at Mozilla
• Handed over to Igalia in 2022
• https://wolvic.com
35

36. Components overview
• Custom 3D library (based on GLES2)
• Android UI components
• Web engine (Gecko, Chromium)
• Mozilla mobile Android components (browser functionality)
• OpenXR to access device capabilities
• Some platform-speci
fi
c libraries
36

37. Web engines
• Web engine: the component that interprets and renders Web content
• Gecko
Used by Mozilla Firefox
Provides a standalone Android library
• Chromium
Used by Google Chrome
Demo here at AWE Europe 2023. First release soon
37

38. Multiplatform
• Wolvic uses OpenXR as abstraction layer to access most XR functionality
• Device-speci
fi
c work:
- Speci
fi
c work arounds and bug
fi
xes
- Different device formats: VR headset, AR goggles, phone-tethered glasses…
- Different platforms provide different APIs and functionalities: hand tracking
• Currently supported: Oculus Quest 2/3, Pico 4/4E, Huawei Glasses
• Work in progress: Lenovo A3, Lynx R1
38

39. Wolvic’s UI revamp
39

43. Developed in the open
• Mozilla Public License Version 2.0
• GitHub (code and issues):
https://github.com/Igalia/wolvic
• Funded through Partnerships and OpenCollective
https://wolvic.com/en/pack/ https://opencollective.com/wolvic
• Distributed in app stores: Huawei, Meta Quest, Pico XR
• Side-loading packages: https://wolvic.com/dl/
• Public roadmap: https://github.com/Igalia/wolvic/wiki/Roadmap
43

44. Conclusions

45. Conclusions
• Web browsing on XR has great potential for a wide range of use cases, from
education and productivity to entertainment and gaming
• The Web lowers the cost of experimentation and distribution
• The Web can be a venue for innovation and creativity in the XR
fi
eld
• Wolvic is an open source, multi-device, XR oriented Web engine
45

46. Thank you!
jjsanchez@igalia.com
https://wolvic.com
https://igalia.com