Spatial CSS Interest

[joshinch]

Hey everyone,

We've been exploring how spatial UI patterns might be expressed with web standards and would appreciate feedback on prior art, use cases, and the best venue for discussion.

• There’s growing platform support for 2.5D spatial UI XR devices, and we’re interested in whether similar capabilities could be made accessible to web authors.

• One idea we’re considering is whether CSS could provide simple authoring primitives that allow elements to visually extend beyond the page plane into the user’s environment supporting interactions that feel spatial while remaining grounded in existing HTML, CSS, and accessibility models.

• This builds on prior work such as the “detached” explainer from @cabanier and others,

We’d love to learn from folks who have explored adjacent approaches or constraints such as

• Authoring ergonomics and layout/interactions when elements appear “off-canvas” or “off-plane”
• Input modalities (hover/proximity/focus) and how they map to existing web interaction models
• Accessibility implications and expected semantics for spatial behaviors
• Integration with existing CSS layout/painting/compositing models

We’re not proposing changes here right now. We are seeking the right forum, prior art, and interest from the community. If there’s a CSS WG, Immersive Web CG, or other venue where this conversation belongs, we’re happy to draft an explainer and continue the discussion there.

Thanks, and looking forward to learning from your experience and perspectives.

[AdaRoseCannon]

I think this would be a great topic to talk about at the face to face @zachernuk and I have been working on this for a while a now and we have been working with colleagues within the CSSWG to make sure it is something that makes sense.

We've been thinking about wider Spatial CSS through out the whole web but we also have been thinking about a subset of the features for an element which uses a subset of the features to place elements spatially which would act as both a proving ground for the concepts but also a developmental stepping stone to the wider spatial web.

I think I would like to present what we have been thinking about, I would really love to see you present on your idea also this would be a really good topic to discuss.

/facetoface

[joshinch]

Awesome. I'd love to hear more about what you are working on within the CSS WG, are there any issues you could point me at the meantime? The framing of establishing a set of primitives for a proving ground of spatial elements sounds like a good idea and the good aproach.

and yes, lets discuss in more detail at the F2F we can bring this topic as well.

[AdaRoseCannon]

we haven't presented anything externally yet this would be the first time we talk about it

[joshinch]

Should we add a separate f2f topic for our presentation in this area?

[AdaRoseCannon]

I'll allocate a big time slot to make sure there is time for both and lots of discussion, I think this is going to be an interesting topic

[cabanier]

We spent quite a bit of time discussing this during the face-to-face but I'm unsure what the next steps are.
Apple also mentioned some problems (ie security) with @joshinch 's proposal. it would be nice to understand what those are.

/agenda