WebVR Destroys Barriers to Virtual Reality Access

Reading, PA — Neo Pangea and National Geographic proved that WebVR is the new face of virtual reality with Genius: A Virtual Reality Thought Experiment. The browser-based Virtual Reality experience won two Cablefax Digital Awards for Virtual Reality Content and Supplemental Web Content, beating out Discovery (Discovery TRVLR), SyFy (Battle of Mars), and AMC (The Walking Dead VR).

This “genius” WebVR experience uses browser-based virtual reality and 360 degree technology to place any viewer with a smartphone inside Einstein’s famous thought experiments. “You don’t need a native app, headset, or special hardware to experience this,” said Brett Bagenstone, Neo Pangea founder and fearless Baron of Pixels. “Anyone can pick up a phone and have open access. WebVR allows your audience to engage with your content in ways that were never before possible. You can tell your story in 360 degrees and give the audience total control, unlike video which is passive and linear.”

Accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop devices, the average user spends 50% longer within the experience than it takes to complete. That means visitors are experiencing Genius more than once and taking their time to enjoy it. It’s this on-demand accessibility and ease of use that remove the barrier to entry to virtual reality for the masses.

Here’s what Cablefax had to say: “With supplemental web content, it’s hard to avoid repetition. National Geographic succeeded brilliantly by presenting web visitors something not only unique, but also educational and enlightening. Using 3D graphics and an engaging graphical approach, Einstein’s theory of relativity is explained through recreations of the thought experiments that led to the great discovery. The presentation could be experienced in full virtual reality, using WebVR and the most widely available VR Headset platform: Google Cardboard via a user’s smartphone. Without a headset, the VR experience works in ‘magic window’ mode on mobile, or browser.” See the full list of winners here.

Being at the forefront of innovation allows opportunity for attracting earned media stories, social sharing, and garnering awards. Genius is not the first project Neo Pangea has created for National Geographic. Make Mars Home is another WebVR experience that includes five different space simulations like navigating a ship through an orbital entry and landing a rocket on the surface of Mars. Each simulation can be experienced on any device and browser, from Google Chrome on a desktop to Safari on an iPhone in a cardboard VR viewer.

Looking to use Web VR or AR for your project? Take a peek at these Web AR Examples and the best use cases for Web-AR across Industries.