React 360 is a framework for creating 3D and VR user interfaces. Based on React – a library that simplifies the creation of complex user interfaces – React 360 allows you to use familiar tools and concepts to create immersive 360 content like a 3D configurator on the Web.
React 360 is optimized for creating user interfaces that enable multimedia experiences like a 3D configurator. It provides the tools necessary to create high-quality interfaces and provides a solid foundation for applications based on 360 and 3D content. The techniques and tools used in React 360 are similar to those used by Oculus and Facebook in developing their desktop and mobile VR applications, and are the result of years of research into best practices.
React 360 is about bringing interactivity into 360-degree spaces. Applications that combine 2D or 3D interfaces are easy to spot. Photo and video viewers, 360-degree tours, classic adventure games, and 3D board games are examples of things created with React 360.
Differences to React VR.
In early 2017, Facebook and Oculus released a JavaScript library called “React VR” for creating 3D and VR experiences in the web browser. At the same time, Oculus began using a native C++ version of the framework to develop its own first-party applications. Over time, the APIs of the two projects diverged as Facebook’s development team began to address the different needs of the framework. To avoid confusion between the two systems, the open source framework was renamed “React 360”, better reflecting its use case: the creation of immersive 360-degree experiences that can be used across PC, mobile, and VR devices.
If you’ve used React VR before, you’ll find that React 360 is very similar. Many of the most common workflows have been simplified, such as placing 2D UI elements in 3D space and optimizing performance for these use cases. If you want to migrate an older React VR application to use the new tools, follow these instructions.
Differences to A-Frame.
A-Frame is a framework for building VR worlds with declarative HTML-like components. It has an extensive collection of available components from a lively community and is ideal for creating complex 3D scenes that can be viewed in VR. It can be assumed that React 360 covers another use case that is optimized for applications based on user interfaces or event-driven.
Are you trying to figure out which framework is right for you? Here you can find a short test. If your application is user-driven and has many 2D or 3D interface elements, React 360 provides the tools you need. If your application consists of many 3D objects or depends on complex effects such as shaders and post-processing, A-Frame provides better support. Either way, you’ll have great, immersive experiences that are VR-enabled.
Differences to ThreeJS.
Three.js is a library for 3D rendering in the web browser. It is a much less multi-faceted tool than React 360 and requires control over raw 3D meshes and textures. React 360 is designed to hide much of it from you unless you need it so you can focus on the behavior and appearance of your application.
Currently, React 360 relies on Three.js for some of its rendering work. However, the appropriate APIs are being opened, so React 360 developers will soon be able to use the 3D rendering library of their choice, including raw WebGL calls.
We hope we have been able to give you a brief introduction to working with React 360. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact our technical experts in our forum.
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