New versions of the Gecko Wolvic 1.9 and Chromium Wolvic 1.3 web browsers, designed for use in augmented and virtual reality systems, have been released. These browsers provide a 3D interface for navigating websites using a 3D headset and, in addition to traditional flat pages, enable web developers to create 3D web applications for virtual reality systems using the WebXR, WebAR, and WebVR APIs. The difference between the browsers is that Gecko Wolvic uses the GeckoView web engine, while Chromium Wolvic uses the Chromium engine.
Navigation in the browser interface is accomplished using VR controllers or eye tracking, while data entry in web forms is accomplished using a virtual keyboard or voice input system, allowing users to fill out forms and submit search queries using the evolving speech recognition system. 360-degree spatial videos can be viewed in the browser. The browser's start page provides an interface for accessing featured content and navigating through a collection of head-mounted games, web applications, 3D models, and spatial videos.
Ready-made assemblies are generated for the platform Android and support 3D headsets such as Huawei VR Glass, Huawei Vision Glass, VIVE Focus, Lynx R1, Lenovo A3, Magic Leap 2, Meta Quest 2/3/Pro, Oculus Quest, and Pico 4/4E. In testing mode, it is possible to run on a regular Android-smartphone without a 3D headset. Wolvic's code is written in Java and C++ and is distributed under the MPLv2 license.
Changes in the new releases include:
- The ability to add and use your own search engines by default has been provided.
- A new speech recognition engine is used for voice search and transcription. The engine utilizes automatic speech recognition models from the Vosk project, which are downloaded as needed and take up less than 50 MB. Recognition occurs on the device without relying on external services. English, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, French, and Russian are supported.
- Correct interaction with services such as Google Earth that require a separate app has been implemented. For such programs, Wolvic now reverts to the web version.
- Added four new virtual environments, enabled via the "Settings > Environment" dialog.
- The browser state is now preserved after an update—all tabs open before the update are now saved.
- Expanded widget capabilities for selecting date and time.
- Support for the Lynx-R1 3D headset has been restored.
- Gecko browser engine and Mozilla components for Android updated to version 140, which corresponds to Firefox 140 (previous releases used Mozilla versions Android Components 128 and Gecko 128).
Source: opennet.ru
