4 ms·

The more important question would be why does your web browser _ever_ need to be aware of your motion sensors?

sofixa 3y ago
Same as webUSB, webGPU, etc. - to allow for web-based applications that make use of motion sensors without having to develop a full-on mobile application. A good example was the Stadia flashing software which is just a website that uses webUSB.
- FireInsight 3y ago
  An example for the sensors is AR; I've built web-based AR experiences and the underlying toolkit usually requires some access to device sensors.
- Zambyte 3y ago
  > without having to develop a full-on mobile application It sounds like you have developed a full-on mobile application at that point.
  - sofixa 3y ago
    Without all the hassle of a developer account (which costs money for Apple's walled garden), having to pass through reviews, updates being slow to roll out, etc. And I'm fairly sure it's easier to write an HTML page with a couple of lines of JS using webUSB than it is to develop a mobile all with all the boilerplate.
bombcar 3y ago
https://experiments.withgoogle.com/lightsaber-escape https://experiments.withgoogle.com/lightsaber-escape
- mbork_pl 3y ago
  What is it supposed to do?
  - bombcar 3y ago
    It's a web version of those lightsaber games that were super popular early in the app store's life.
    - mbork_pl 3y ago
      Sigh. What are "those lightsaber games that were super popular early in the app store's life"?
      - jezzamon 3y ago
        You hold your phone like a lightsaber handle, when you swing it, it makes a light saber sound effect. (Bonus: when you accidentally drop it while swinging, you get to buy a new iPhone!)
        bombcar 3y ago
        That's it, but damned if I can find any ten year old references to what was a huge thing back then.
        tentacleuno 3y ago
        The beer drinking ones were good, too.
bluGill 3y ago
Because browsers are the modern operating system. Many people write applications for the browser because it is cross platform meaning you can target windows, mac, linux (on all of those weird CPUs it supports), freebsd, some student class project, and so on. Anything you can think of that needs a sensor could be done in the browser.
qingcharles 3y ago
This awesome demo: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37026592 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37026592

Same as webUSB, webGPU, etc. - to allow for web-based applications that make use of motion sensors without having to develop a full-on mobile application. A good example was the Stadia flashing software which is just a website that uses webUSB.

FireInsight 3y ago
An example for the sensors is AR; I've built web-based AR experiences and the underlying toolkit usually requires some access to device sensors.
Zambyte 3y ago
> without having to develop a full-on mobile application It sounds like you have developed a full-on mobile application at that point.
- sofixa 3y ago
  Without all the hassle of a developer account (which costs money for Apple's walled garden), having to pass through reviews, updates being slow to roll out, etc. And I'm fairly sure it's easier to write an HTML page with a couple of lines of JS using webUSB than it is to develop a mobile all with all the boilerplate.

bombcar 3y ago

https://experiments.withgoogle.com/lightsaber-escape https://experiments.withgoogle.com/lightsaber-escape

mbork_pl 3y ago
What is it supposed to do?
- bombcar 3y ago
  It's a web version of those lightsaber games that were super popular early in the app store's life.
  - mbork_pl 3y ago
    Sigh. What are "those lightsaber games that were super popular early in the app store's life"?
    - jezzamon 3y ago
      You hold your phone like a lightsaber handle, when you swing it, it makes a light saber sound effect. (Bonus: when you accidentally drop it while swinging, you get to buy a new iPhone!)
      - bombcar 3y ago
        That's it, but damned if I can find any ten year old references to what was a huge thing back then.
      - tentacleuno 3y ago
        The beer drinking ones were good, too.

bluGill 3y ago

Because browsers are the modern operating system. Many people write applications for the browser because it is cross platform meaning you can target windows, mac, linux (on all of those weird CPUs it supports), freebsd, some student class project, and so on. Anything you can think of that needs a sensor could be done in the browser.

qingcharles 3y ago

This awesome demo: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37026592 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37026592