
A-Terrain - a cartography component for A-Frame - janettewc
https://blog.mozvr.com/introducing-a-terrain/
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bryik
Cool project!

A year or two ago, I used A-Frame to visualize some of NASA's Martian terrain
data[1]. The hardest part was processing it. QGIS could not understand the
projection, so slicing out a parcel of land and lining it up with a texture
was messy. The best output format was obscure (ENVI) and required arcane GDAL
commands to produce. For a GIS noob, it was a lot to handle.

But with this component, all you need to do is specify lat and lon--can't get
much easier than that! The repo suggests that different data sources can be
used[2], I wonder how hard it would be to standup a Martian terrain source?

1 - Github: [https://github.com/bryik/aframe-terrain-model-
component](https://github.com/bryik/aframe-terrain-model-component) Example:
[https://www.wsundine.com/misc/noctis-
terrain](https://www.wsundine.com/misc/noctis-terrain)

2 -
[https://github.com/anselm/aterrain/blob/master/src/TileServe...](https://github.com/anselm/aterrain/blob/master/src/TileServer.js#L8)

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profblair
Having played with geospatial a lot in the past, both "manually" and using
libraries like cesium.js (which a lot of this is based on), my gut reaction is
"I have no idea how hard it is." ;)

Joking aside, I'm not sure. As you know, the math in the libraries and the
datasets are tightly coupled to the projection model (e.g., on earth, things
come back to ECEF coordinates, what cesium calls FIXED, and models of the
planet like WGS84). So, I would suspect that this work could serve as a model,
but a bunch of the internal math would need to change. Assuming there is a
well defined model of Mars that can be used, akin to WGS84, and you can
massage all the datasets into a form that can be reliably mapped to it, like
AGI/Cesium has done with the geospatial data we are using, it should be
possible.

I know we would love to see someone do this, inspiring projects like this is
one reason we release things in the open. Heck, you could imaging a new set of
options for the a-terrain component that specified the globe model somehow
("WGS84, MARS18") and a base URL for the data server ...

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ngokevin
Hey, I'm one of the creators and current maintainers of A-Frame.

We (the creators of A-Frame) started Supermedium as part of YC W18 to continue
to push VR on the Web, and we recently released a WebVR application on top of
A-Frame to craft VR worlds inside of VR inside a browser
([https://supermedium.com/supercraft](https://supermedium.com/supercraft)).

Let us know if you have any questions about WebVR or A-Frame!

~~~
mad_hominem
Hi, we see an over 10x performance penalty for the same scene in webVR vs
native application. Also, there's constant sickening object flickering
(basically what's described here: [https://github.com/toji/chrome-webvr-
issues/issues/119](https://github.com/toji/chrome-webvr-issues/issues/119))
when the object count rises over, say, 50. What's the solution here?

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avaer
Performance of WebXR/WebVR in Chrome+FF is the main reason I started Exokit
([https://github.com/webmixedreality/exokit](https://github.com/webmixedreality/exokit)),
which is a HTML/WebXR->OpenGL binding as a node module that runs fast.

It's early days and I can't speak to any particular performance issue, but
making WebXR run like native is certainly a problem I'm trying to solve.

~~~
ngokevin
It runs like native mostly fine for the most part, doesn't call for a rebuild
from scratch. Our VR browser engine is based off of FF for now, and it's on
Steam VR and Oculus Stores without anyone noticing.

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growlist
I see this as part of a trend where we'll see geo capabilities available more
and more as a plug in, whereas it used to be that it was its own separate and
self contained domain.

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atomical
Is there a way to incorporate a map into something like Final Cut Pro using
the GPS data from the footage?

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627467
What are the plans for the lower end VR such as Oculus Go an GalaxyVR?

