WebXR, CAVEs, and the Balance of XR Platform Agnosticity Versus Performance in Immersive Scientific Visualization

This position paper explores the potential of WebXR compatibility for increased impact from large-scale visualization environments housed in immersive visualization laboratories. In a rapidly evolving landscape of highly performant extended reality (XR) head-mounted displays (HMDs), the ability to develop software which can meaningfully utilize relative strengths of different visualization tools is paramount. We explore how use of standards such as WebXR for broadly platform-agnostic immersive visualization compares to traditional methods of more tailored development, noting costs and benefits of each approach.