Folks are already browsing the web with their virtual reality headsets, and soon enough web-based VR could become a fully smooth 90 fps experience, at least in the Chrome browser.
Specifically, we are talking about the WebVR platform, which is currently capped to rendering at 60 fps in Google's Chrome web browser thanks to technical constraints. As you're probably aware, mainstream VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive offer 90 fps experiences, and the extra smoothness is vital in terms of realism and avoiding the likes of nausea attacks.
However, at the third ever SVVR (Silicon Valley Virtual Reality) show, Road to VR reports that Boris Smus, a software engineer at Google, showed off fresh efforts with Chrome which pushed up to 90 fps for a fully fluid WebVR experience.
Smus used a custom build of Chrome to show a 90 fps WebVR demo with the HTC Vive headset, tracking both the headset and controllers independently (i.e. this is the full room-scale experience).
Good to go
The hope is that this technology will soon find its way into the release version of Google's browser – although how long that might take is anyone's guess. Smus told the assembled virtual reality enthusiasts: "WebVR performance is now good enough to deploy real things."
But when (or perhaps we should say if) Chrome does get support for 90 fps, obviously that will make for some pretty impressive VR websites, and will put virtual reality content within easy and immediate grasp of anyone with a headset and a browser, without having to download or install anything.
Of course, the caveat is you'll need a solid graphics card to cope with the workload of rendering WebVR content. Also, WebVR obviously still won't be equivalent to native VR apps in terms of performance, when it comes to things like sophisticated games.
That said, the world of virtual reality on the web will get a hell of a lot more exciting if this stuff does come through for Chrome, and we can expect some revolutionary VR experiences when it comes to things like online shopping.
Back at the start of the year, we also heard about HP's plans to bring compelling web-based VR experiences to its relatively low-spec Chromebooks.
Via: Ars Technica
- Also check out our roundup of the best VR web browsers
