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WebXR, A-Frame and Networked-Aframe as a Basis for an Open Metaverse: A Conceptual Architecture

Giuseppe Macario

TL;DR

The paper tackles fragmentation in XR by proposing a WebXR-based, cross-platform architecture that leverages A-Frame and Networked-Aframe to enable an open, browser-based metaverse. It defines spatial web apps, outlines a layered technology stack, and details persistence, real-time concurrency, CV, and geolocation within a WebXR-driven ecosystem. A prototype demonstrates feasibility across devices with favorable user feedback, while identifying performance and scalability challenges that inform future work. Overall, the work argues that open web standards and browser-based tools can underpin an interoperable metaverse accessible to a wide audience, aligning with Tim Berners-Lee's vision of the Web as an open platform.

Abstract

This work proposes a WebXR-based cross-platform conceptual architecture, leveraging the A-Frame and Networked-Aframe frameworks, in order to facilitate the development of an open, accessible, and interoperable metaverse. By introducing the concept of spatial web app, this research contributes to the discourse on the metaverse, offering an architecture that democratizes access to virtual environments and extended reality through the web, and aligns with Tim Berners-Lee's original vision of the World Wide Web as an open platform in the digital realm.

WebXR, A-Frame and Networked-Aframe as a Basis for an Open Metaverse: A Conceptual Architecture

TL;DR

The paper tackles fragmentation in XR by proposing a WebXR-based, cross-platform architecture that leverages A-Frame and Networked-Aframe to enable an open, browser-based metaverse. It defines spatial web apps, outlines a layered technology stack, and details persistence, real-time concurrency, CV, and geolocation within a WebXR-driven ecosystem. A prototype demonstrates feasibility across devices with favorable user feedback, while identifying performance and scalability challenges that inform future work. Overall, the work argues that open web standards and browser-based tools can underpin an interoperable metaverse accessible to a wide audience, aligning with Tim Berners-Lee's vision of the Web as an open platform.

Abstract

This work proposes a WebXR-based cross-platform conceptual architecture, leveraging the A-Frame and Networked-Aframe frameworks, in order to facilitate the development of an open, accessible, and interoperable metaverse. By introducing the concept of spatial web app, this research contributes to the discourse on the metaverse, offering an architecture that democratizes access to virtual environments and extended reality through the web, and aligns with Tim Berners-Lee's original vision of the World Wide Web as an open platform in the digital realm.
Paper Structure (50 sections, 3 figures)

This paper contains 50 sections, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. Metaverse
  4. WebXR
  5. A-Frame
  6. Networked-Aframe
  7. Previous work
  8. Spatial web apps
  9. Conceptual architecture
  10. Features of a WebXR-based metaverse
  11. Immersive browsers
  12. Persistence
  13. Centralized storage
  14. Client-side storage
  15. Distributed storage
  16. ...and 35 more sections

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: VR button in the lower right corner of an A-Frame scene
  • Figure 2: "Hello world" in visionOS and WebXR
  • Figure 3: Technology stack of a WebXR/ Networked-Aframe spatial web app (abstraction layers in ascending order)

Theorems & Definitions (3)

  • Definition 1: Metaverse
  • Definition 2: Metaverse
  • Definition 3: Spatial computing