xrdesktop: turn your keyboard into a virtual reality space

xrdesktop It will allow you to turn your desktop into a virtual reality space thanks to the update that Collabora has brought. The free and open source project compatible with Linux and to bring a VR space, will now allow to place windows on top of each other, have a virtual keyboard, etc.

An incredibly promising project and in which many efforts have been put in to improve the possibilities of the virtual reality on the GNU / Linux desktop. There have even been contributions from people who got involved in the xrdesktop project from Google Summer of Code (GSoC) with very diverse results.

The main improvement of xrdesktop is your new virtual reality keyboard. Since OpenXR, the API on which it is based, does not expose a text input, its creators had to implement their own system. It was a developer who implemented this system with support for emojis, with 56 available languages, etc. That also necessitated adding Unicode support to the LibInputSynth library. Now it is also possible to change all keyboard layout to adapt it to what you need.

But that is not the only novelty that has been provided. Other work has also allowed adding loading and rendering of GLTF models which its creators say would allow xrdesktop to use assets such as virtual reality controller models and 3D environments.

Some fantastic contributions that will not be the last, far from it. The development of xrdesktop continues unabated, and much remains to be seen. The augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality is the future, and Linux cannot be allowed to be denied such a future. Projects like this one from Collabora, among others, are taking very important steps for VR to arrive, both for leisure and for other applications.

More information about the xrdesktop project – GitLab Official Site