[blink-dev] Intent to Continue Experimenting: WebVR

[Megan Lindsay]

Contact emails

baj...@chromium.org, meganl...@chromium.org

 

Spec

https://w3c.github.io/webvr/

 

Summary

An Origin Trial for WebVR was originally launched in Chrome 56, and renewed for M59-M61 with changes based on feedback and the long term spec direction. The results of that experiment to date have been reported and we feel it's been a productive experience that has proven popular with developers.

 

As a result of the origin trial we've received excellent feedback that has triggered large scale changes in the WebVR spec. Those changes are still in progress and you can check out the WIP here (explainer, spec draft). During the current trial we have identified several API changes based on developer API usage and spec progress that we would like to implement in a new trial, to run from M62-M64. These are potentially breaking changes that also apply to the WIP spec, which is why we would like to get developer feedback on this now.

 

Link to the original “Intent to Implement” blink-dev discussion

https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!topic/blink-dev/m32Yy87Ggt0

 

Goals for experimentation

• Ensure that the proposed functionality limitations and changes do not adversely affect developers.

• Guide developers to best practices compatible with future API revisions.

Summary of changes

• Require Feature Policy for VR.

• Restrict use of GetFrameData to VRDisplay rAF loop.

• Tie window.requestAnimationFrame to page visibility while presenting on Android.

• Remove ‘cardboard compatible’ click event while still solving use cases that require a user gesture

 

Experimental timeline

Enabled:

• Aug 31st: Chrome 62 Branch to Dev

• Oct 12th: Chrome 63 Branch to Dev

• Oct 17th: Chrome 62 Stable*

• Nov 30th: Chrome 64 Branch to Dev

• Dec 5th: Chrome 63 Stable*

• Jan 23rd: Chrome 64 Stable*

 

Disabled:

• Jan 18th 2018: Chrome 65 Branch to Dev

• Mar 6th 2018: Chrome 65 Stable*

 

* Stable dates are estimates: https://www.chromium.org/developers/calendar.

 

Any risks when the experiment finishes?

Unless the API transitions to stable, sites will lose the ability to interact with VR hardware. Given that hardware availability is limited we are encouraging developers to write responsive content that can account for its absence, but anything that relies on VR features would stop working.

 

Ongoing technical constraints

None.

 

Will this feature be supported on all five Blink platforms supported by Origin Trials (Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, and Android)?

The WebVR API will be available on all platforms. However, Chrome will continue to only expose VR device(s) on Android at this time. Work to expose devices on Windows is underway, but the exact timeframe is unknown. Other platforms can be supported in the future, but at this time there is no significant VR hardware at this time that supports Mac, Linux, or Chrome OS. We do intend to evaluate support on any platforms that gain VR hardware support in the future.

 

OWP launch tracking bug

http://crbug.com/670502

 

Link to entry on the feature dashboard

https://www.chromestatus.com/feature/4532810371039232

[Chris Harrelson]

LGTM

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[Megan Lindsay]

Related, we would like to request an extension to the end date for the WebVR M59-61 origin trial. It is currently due to expire on 10/17/2017 when M62 will begin to roll out. 

As we are continuing to experiment with WebVR in M62 we would like to extend the M61 expiration by 4 weeks to 11/14/2017 in order to account for the M62 rollout time and to avoid a confusing gap between trials for developers.

LGTM

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[Philip Jägenstedt]

That makes sense. +Jason Chase, should accounting for the rollout time simply be the default for origin trial dates? It's hard to imagine a situation where such a gap would be intended.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/458d5dcb-1e19-4063-a4c4-30eae9246e59%40chromium.org.

[cha...@google.com]

Yes, we're going to figure out how to generally handle rollout time. Most likely as part of the origin trial timeline.

Thanks,

Jason