VRDisplay.requestAnimationFrame()

Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

The requestAnimationFrame() method of the VRDisplay interface is a special implementation of Window.requestAnimationFrame containing a callback function that will be called every time a new frame of the VRDisplay presentation is rendered:

Note: This method was part of the old WebVR API. It has been superseded by the WebXR Device API.

  • When the VRDisplay is not presenting a scene, this is functionally equivalent to Window.requestAnimationFrame.
  • When the VRDisplay is presenting, the callback is called at its native refresh rate.

Syntax

var handle = vrDisplayInstance.requestAnimationFrame(callback);

Parameters

callback

A callback function that will be called every time a new frame of the VRDisplay presentation is rendered.

Return value

A long representing the handle of the requestAnimationFrame() call. This can then be passed to a VRDisplay.cancelAnimationFrame() call to unregister the callback.

Examples

var frameData = new VRFrameData();
var vrDisplay;

navigator.getVRDisplays().then(function(displays) {
  vrDisplay = displays[0];
  console.log('Display found');
  // Starting the presentation when the button is clicked: It can only be called in response to a user gesture
  btn.addEventListener('click', function() {
    vrDisplay.requestPresent([{ source: canvas }]).then(function() {
      drawVRScene();
    });
  });
});

// WebVR: Draw the scene for the WebVR display.
function drawVRScene() {
  // WebVR: Request the next frame of the animation
  vrSceneFrame = vrDisplay.requestAnimationFrame(drawVRScene);

  // Populate frameData with the data of the next frame to display
  vrDisplay.getFrameData(frameData);

  // You can get the position, orientation, etc. of the display from the current frame's pose
  var curFramePose = frameData.pose;
  var curPos = curFramePose.position;
  var curOrient = curFramePose.orientation;

  // Clear the canvas before we start drawing on it.

  gl.clear(gl.COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | gl.DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);

  // WebVR: Create the required projection and view matrix locations needed
  // for passing into the uniformMatrix4fv methods below

  var projectionMatrixLocation = gl.getUniformLocation(shaderProgram, "projMatrix");
  var viewMatrixLocation = gl.getUniformLocation(shaderProgram, "viewMatrix");

  // WebVR: Render the left eye’s view to the left half of the canvas
  gl.viewport(0, 0, canvas.width * 0.5, canvas.height);
  gl.uniformMatrix4fv(projectionMatrixLocation, false, frameData.leftProjectionMatrix);
  gl.uniformMatrix4fv(viewMatrixLocation, false, frameData.leftViewMatrix);
  drawGeometry();

  // WebVR: Render the right eye’s view to the right half of the canvas
  gl.viewport(canvas.width * 0.5, 0, canvas.width * 0.5, canvas.height);
  gl.uniformMatrix4fv(projectionMatrixLocation, false, frameData.rightProjectionMatrix);
  gl.uniformMatrix4fv(viewMatrixLocation, false, frameData.rightViewMatrix);
  drawGeometry();

  function drawGeometry() {
    // draw the view for each eye
  }

    ...

  // WebVR: Indicate that we are ready to present the rendered frame to the VR display
  vrDisplay.submitFrame();
}

Note: You can see this complete code at raw-webgl-example.

Specifications

This method was part of the old WebVR API that has been superseded by the WebXR Device API. It is no longer on track to becoming a standard.

Until all browsers have implemented the new WebXR APIs, it is recommended to rely on frameworks, like A-Frame, Babylon.js, or Three.js, or a polyfill, to develop WebXR applications that will work across all browsers [1].

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
requestAnimationFrame
No
15-79
55
Windows support was enabled in Firefox 55.
64
macOS support was enabled in Firefox 64.
No
?
No
No
56-80
["Only works in an experimental version of Chrome. (Other builds won't return any devices when Navigator.getVRDisplays() is invoked.)", "Daydream View supported in Chrome 56.", "Google Cardboard supported in Chrome 57."]
55
?
No
6.0
Google Cardboard supported in Samsung Internet 7.0.

See also

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/VRDisplay/requestAnimationFrame