A Technical Evaluation of the WebXR Device API for Developing Augmented Reality Web Applications

Sammanfattning: The aim of this project was to explore the WebXR Device API to find out the extent of its usefulness for creating augmented reality (AR) applications, as well as determine whether it is a valid platform independent alternative to the frameworks ARKit and ARCore. Exper- iments were conducted to measure its precision (the ability to persistently maintain virtual objects relative to the real world), its battery consumption and its frame rate stability. The results from the experiments are fairly positive, with the exception of some outliers among the precision and frame rate measurements. However, a number vital features are miss- ing from the API, and in its current state it only runs on Android in a specific version of Google Chrome. Thus, it is concluded that the API has potential, but it needs further de- velopment before it can be used commercially and be seen as a serious alternative to ARKit and ARCore.