AR and VR Using the Webxr API

Gain an in-depth knowledge in immersive web development to create augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications inside web browsers using WebXR API, WebGL, Three.js, A-Frame, and Babylon.js. This project-based book will provides the practice and portfolio content to make the most of what the futures of spatial computing and immersive technology have to offer.

Beginning with technical analysis of how web browsers function, the book covers programming languages such as WebGL, JavaScript, HTML, and TypeScript, working toward a complete understanding of the WebXR lifecycle. You'll start by exploring the code-level manner in which contemporary web browsers work, from HTML to WebAssembly (the machine language of the web). You'll then see how to set up a local development server and then use it and the Visual Studio Code IDE to create 3D animation in the WebGL programming language.

With a familiarity of the web-rendering pipeline in place, you will venture on to introductions to WebGL abstractions such as the Three.js JavaScript library, Mozilla's A-Frame XR Framework, and Microsoft's Babylon.js game engine, which streamlines communication between a developer and the graphics processing unit (GPU) used by WebXR to create high-end visual effects.

The final project of the book empowers you to experience the unity between client, server, and cloud architecture as it applies to location-based AR.

Game engines have become common-place for the creation of mixed reality content. However, developers not interested in learning entirely new workflows may be better suited to work within a medium almost universally open to all--the web; AR and VR Using the WebXR API will show you the way.

What You'll Learn

- Master the creation of virtual reality and augmented reality features for web page- Prepare to work as an immersive web developer with a portfolio of projects in sought-after technologies- Review the fundamentals of writing shaders in WebGL

Who This Book Is For

Aspiring immersive web developers and developers already familiar with the fundamentals of web development who want to further explore topics such as spatial computing, computer vision, spatial anchors, and cloud-computing for multi-user social experiences.