VRDevice

This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.

The VR Device interface of the WebVR API represents a generic VR device connected to the user's computer.

An array of all connected VR Devices can be returned by invoking the Navigator.getVRDevices() method. There are two specific classes of VR device, both of which inherit the VR Device interface:

  • PositionSensorVRDevice: A position sensor camera, which returns information such as head orientation and absolute position.
  • HMDVRDevice: A VR head mounted display.

Properties

VRDevice.hardwareUnitId Read only
Returns the distinct hardware ID for the overall hardware unit that this VRDevice is a part of. All the devices that are a part of the same physical piece of hardware have the same hardwareUnitId.
VRDevice.deviceId Read only
Returns the ID for this specific VRDevice. The ID shouldn’t change across browser restarts, allowing configuration data to be saved based on it.
VRDevice.deviceName Read only
A human-readable name to identify the VRDevice.

Examples

The following snippet (see our VRDevice example) returns an array of all the VR devices connected to your computer via Navigator.getVRDevices(). For each connected device, it then prints out the hardwareUnitId, deviceId, and deviceName.

var list = document.querySelector('ul');
var info = document.querySelector('p');
if(navigator.getVRDevices) {
  navigator.getVRDevices().then(function(myDevices) {
    reportDevices(myDevices);     
  });
} else {
  info.textContent = 'WebVR API not supported by this browser.'
}

function reportDevices(devices) {
  for(i = 0; i < devices.length; i++) {
    var listItem = document.createElement('li');
    listItem.innerHTML = 'Device ' + (i+1)
                 + ': <strong>Hardware ID</strong>: ' + devices[i].hardwareUnitId
                 + ', <strong>VD Device ID</strong>: ' + devices[i].deviceId
                 + ', <strong>VR Device Name</strong>: ' + devices[i].deviceName
                 + '.';
    list.appendChild(listItem);
  }
}

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
WebVR
The definition of 'VRDevice' in that specification.
Editor's Draft Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
Basic support (Yes)[1] 39 (39)[2] No support No support No support
Feature Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) Firefox OS (Gecko) IE Phone Opera Mobile Safari Mobile Chrome for Android
Basic support No support 39.0 (39)[2]
44.0 (44)[3]
No support No support No support No support No support
  • [1] The support in Chrome is currently experimental. To find information on Chrome's WebVR implementation status including supporting builds, check out Bringing VR to Chrome by Brandon Jones.
  • [2] The support for this feature is currently disabled by default in Firefox. To enable WebVR support in Firefox Nightly/Developer Edition, you can go to about:config and enable the dom.vr* prefs. A better option however is to install the WebVR Enabler Add-on, which does this for you and sets up other necessary parts of the environment.
  • [3] The dom.vr* prefs are enabled by default at this point, in Nightly/Aurora editions.

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: chrisdavidmills, rolfedh, Sebastianz, gbharatwaj
 Last updated by: chrisdavidmills,