Published on February 16th, 2017 | by Guest

Google Brings Virtual Reality Directly to Your Web Browser

There is good news for all virtual reality fans as now Google chrome web browser supports the WebVR virtual reality platform that enables its users to experience 360-degree photos, videos, and other content originally designed for VR headsets on their desktops or laptops. This is indeed good news and a great new way for people to enjoy without paying any extra price for what they could only go and see in cinemas or after buying the right equipment. Taking the VR out of the headset and bringing it in the Chrome browser is a big step forward as it makes the technology more accessible to the common man who cannot afford the latest technology like others. It is hardly the first step as Mozilla has been working on something similar for Firefox, and WebVR has already been included in beta versions of Chrome but as Google is so popular and commonly used by people, it will now help millions of people experience what virtual world is all about and how they can experience it.

WebVR is has been specifically designed to unify the VR experience across devices with varying degrees of computing power. It means that photos and video should look as smooth on the browser as they do in a Google Daydream View or with help of Samsung Gear. this was the case with the demos Google offered in a blog post this week, including a collection of more than 300,000 celebrity homes, museums, canyons, and iconic architecture. Google has provided extensive developer resources, including guidelines like the all-important frame rate, which can give viewers motion sickness if it is too low. WebVR content on mobile Chrome browsers should have a minimum rate of 60fps, while desktop browsers should not be below 90fps, according to Google.

According to the information provided for its develop support page by Google, assuming a non-VR environment first developers can maximize the reach of their experiences, and ensure that they are providing the best possible experience no matter what setup the users have and how they choose to view the virtual world. It is necessary to know that the frame rates for Google are consistent with Mozilla as it has been telling its developers about it too. They need to know that despite the diversity of hardware, WebVR is theoretically capable of supporting, the users will not be able to experience actual VR in Chrome unless they are using Daydream with a compatible phone. This means iOS and other Android users are left out and they will not be able to view the virtual world.

Users should be happy to know that escaping into virtual is now as easy as typing URL in the browser and Google has announced that VR experiences will be more widely available on Chrome. Once they have they the new update, it has become easy for the users to inside Air Force One as it is to access your favorite webpage. The update is all about WebVR, which allows VR experiences to be hosted on websites. WebVR is supported by technology giants like Firefox, Samsung, Facebook and Microsoft in addition to Google. Adding it to Chrome has been a huge step as it gives VR creators a larger platform to showcase the experiences they design and brings them closer to millions of users to display what their creations.

Users just need a Daydream-ready phones and a Daydream View headset, and they can just browse to a VR experience of their choice, select the VR option and put the phone in the headset. If they do not have a headset, they can watch VR content on any phone or computer with Chrome and interact using their finger or mouse too. There are already a number of VR enabled websites where users can go for experience like offered by Bear 71 that explores the intersection between humans, animals and technology, as well as Matterport, the largest VR library of real-world places. However, with Google stepping in the VR and offering users directly access to virtual world in web browser, it has bridged too many gaps and brought millions of people closer to this technology right in their homes.

Google has been on the forefront and has been helping people embrace new technology whether it is by just talking about it or even by being a part of it and in case of VR technology too, Google has played a key role by introducing it in its web browser so that more and more people have access to it, even those who cannot afford the expensive smartphones or the VR gear that is available in the market. This is especially beneficial for people living in places where they still have problems accessing too many things. The best thing about this new WearVR in google chrome is that it will be giving new and better ideas to developers for coming up with websites that support VR and it will turn the website designing and development into something entirely new with the passage of time as everyone will want to be at the top and enjoy better visibility on the web.

If this becomes a reality, the users would be able to enjoy watching and viewing with help of their android devices very easily as bringing VR experience is what Google has always dreamed of for its users. A Google Chromium specialist, Francois Beaufort posted in his Google Plus account and shard that they are currently working hard to add more and more features to effectively enhance the WebVR capability. “The development team of Google Chrome is just starting to bring VR to the web, and there’s a lot more to come.” If Francois Beaufort is too believed then it is good news for Google users because they will be able to now enjoy some of the most pleasurable and unique experience without going outside or paying more than what they actually spend on their regular entertainment, all thanks to Google that brings virtual reality directly to web browser.

Author Bio:

Sheraz Khan Baloch is a social critic and working with The Academic Papers UK. He loves to look at the changing social trends closely and criticize accordingly. He is a computer graduate. However due to his interest in writing and sharing thoughts with others, he writes articles for different blogs.

Tags: Browser, google, reality, virtual, vr, web