Virtual reality technology is a computer-generated environment usually accessed via head-mounted displays. Since its beginnings, poor accessibility and high costs have played a large role in the way it was popularized. Web-based VR bridges that gap with wide access on most modern devices with installed browsers. It removes the need of app installations and most importantly – it offers a new form of social interactions on the internet. Web browsers along with internet protocols allow the possibility of shared networked environment presented in virtual reality on any website. In order for all forms of cross reality technologies to become widely established and offer innovation opportunities, it is necessary to assess the systems in which we want to integrate them. How do web-based VR frameworks differ in terms of development? Which devices support them? What complexity and level of communication do they offer?
In order to answer these questions, this thesis focuses on presenting most of the available web-based VR frameworks, optimization techniques and network architectures available to developers. The experimental setup addresses the effects of complex geometry, number of draw calls, types of shading, and the network architecture on the performance of A-Frame application on multiple devices (mobile phone, laptop and standalone VR set). Optimization of these four elements is implemented through a simple use case. A virtual reality portfolio is proposed that allows designers and artists to display their work in a shared VR room. Optimization results suggest that web-based virtual reality is still progressing in terms of good performance across all platforms. Its adaptation requires basic knowledge of graphics pipeline operations, 3D modeling and programming.
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