Embedding.js is a work-in-progress JavaScript library by Beau Cronin that makes it more straightforward to create data-driven environments. Think virtual reality and rotating areas in the browser.

From Cronin:

[I]t’s not just about 3D — we’ve used various depth cues in windowed visualization settings for some time, and in some cases these techniques have been put to good use. But something altogether different happens when we inhabit an environment, and in particular when our sensory inputs change immediately and predictably in response to our movements. Real-world perception is not static, but active and embodied; the core hypothesis behind embedding is that data-driven environments can deliver greater understanding to the degree to which they leverage the mechanisms of exploration and perception that we use, effortlessly, in going about our daily lives.

A case where virtual immersion led to greater understanding doesn’t come to mind right away, but maybe ease-of-use is a step towards getting there.

Tags: JavaScript, VR