Whatever Happened to VRML?

Question

Back in the late 1990s, when I was at grad school VRML was going to take over the world. My peers and I built all manner of useful and interesting things with it by hooking it u

Answer 1

I would like to answer this question as an engineer to make new Web3D library.

But actually, I'm not familiar with VRML since that technology was born before my birth. But surely, I have been researching around that technology.

I don't think WebGL library currently used is not so similar to VRML. Nowadays, 3DCG on the web is much easier and much faster compare to the days when VRML was born. But, I guess they forget to redefine "Web" by themselves.

In my opinion, VRML wanted to change "What is Web?". They would see the web technologies as the tool to make application not just show information. Nowadays, Web engineering technologies are well grown. They enable us to use a lot of methods to achieve rich interfaces. All the technologies containing architecture, network or environment for coding enable us to make our application more interactive.

However, the era when VRML was born was just after Mozaic was appeared. In that era, only text,images or styles are used as media in HTML. But, now we can use video,music and WebGL also.

I guess VRML noticed first that "3DCG" is also assets in the web. But they noticed that too early. They would not think there is such a lot of mobile devices. And these devices have not enough power to use 3DCG in the web.

As some answers says, three.js , A-FRAMES or something other Web3D libraries are kind of solution for 3D in the Web. But, I don't think this is what VRML wanted to do. Cuz, these libraries are not intended to use 3D as "Assets" but something "Programmables".

Answer 2

A-Frame is an open-source Web3D/WebVR framework in the same veins. It is a Javascript library rather than trying to be a standard. Like X3DOM, it allows you to author 3D scenes with HTML, although its entity-component-system pattern makes it much more extensible. While it has a focus on VR, it also functions as a general-purpose (three.js) 3D framework.