WebGL: Bringing 3D to Your Browser
It seems that 3D is all around us, wherever entertainment is concerned, that is. Movies such as Up, Final Destination, Toy Story, Ollie the Otter, and other titles have come out or are coming out in 3D. Even classics like Piranha and Night of the Living Dead, as well as all-time favorites such as Toy Story, are being rehashed into 3D releases.
And box office sales are showing that these 3D movies are raking in the money both from the sheer number of people watching it and the higher cost of admission being charged on patrons who want to watch them. It seems that people are not only interested in watching 3D content; they are also willing to pay more for the movie experience.
So it is not a surprise that people are also craving for 3D in different areas of entertainment like Blurays and 3D TVs. More and more, we are hearing about 3D TVs coming out, while TV programs in 3D are also being lined up.
How about 3D for the Internet? Surely, the online world is not getting left behind. In the past few months, the popular video sharing site, YouTube, has come up with a way to view and tag 3D videos on its site. With the tag, searchers would be able to easily find and watch 3D videos posted on this video sharing site.
Web browsers have also just taken up 3D technologies. First, it was Google’s Chrome coming up with its own proprietary 3D technology for its Sketchup service. Google’s Sketchup allowed users to create 3D images on the Web, and even allows them to export these images into different 3D file formats if you pay for it. The search giant is also currently working on O3D for its Chrome browser. O3D is a Web-based 3D graphic rendering standard. The fact that it is an open source, rooted in JavaScript, and endorsed by Google makes it a strong competitor in the emerging Web 3D technology’s market.
Mozilla, however, has other plans for its widely popular Firefox browser. Early in October, Mozilla announced that Firefox now has native 3D capability with the WebGL technology. WebGL is a product of both Mozilla and the Khronos Group. Khronos is the company behind the OpenGL graphics interface, which allowed programmers to write applications both in 2D and 3D. OpenGL is widely used in a lot of 3D applications like computer-aided design, simulations, visualizations and even video games.
Now those who download the latest builds of Mozilla’s Firefox can render and view 3D graphics without having to download and install plugins.
What’s more, WebGL seems to be the browser 3D standard that most other browsers are developing and adopting into its fold. Apple is said to be building WebGL into its Safari browser and Google has just announced that despite its Sketchup service, it will also join the fray and build WebGL support into its latest WebKit browser.
If for anything, WebGL is the first Web standard for 3D. As such, there are more developers looking at it for 3D content over the World Wide Web. The fact that it is compatible with current 3D technologies used in popular offline desktop programs like AutoCAD and other 3D graphics software further strengthens its foothold. The fact that Google was not able to discount WebGL as a 3D platform for the Web, even with its own proprietary technology in existence, is a strong indicator that WebGL could become the standard for 3D Web graphics.
What do all these mean for ordinary Web browsers and users? For one, it would create a richer online experience. Soon, you would be able to watch 3D movies and videos on your browsers without the need for those special 3D glasses and certainly without the headaches. In addition, Web users can look forward to interactive 3D screens. They can also have ads and product demos all in 3D. The most obvious improvement would be seen in online games. With the richer 3D and a robust rendering technology, games would be both highly visually stunning and fast!
Soon, 3D will not only be exclusive to movies and TV programs. We would soon be looking at Web pages with great visually stunning three-dimensional graphics that may also be interactive.