Preface: This is largely thought experiment that plays with the similarities to 'physically nearby' and 'virtually nearby' at this point rather than a concrete suggestion. Maybe it could be an interesting input for some design decisions in the future.
Hypothetical scenario: I'm an avid user of a Local Peer-to-Peer API powered tool. In the meantime, all the investments in Spatial Compute have taken off and one day I visit a virtual trade fair. I meet someone in AR/VR and, as an un-initiated user (read: unhindered by an understanding of how the low level technology works), I feel like I'm 'nearby' the other person in the AR/VR session. Just like I always do: I pull up my cool Local Peer-to-Peer API powered tool and try to connect.
Naturally, this scenario requires quite a bit of different tech (Rendezvous, hole punching, ...) compared to being on the same LAN or wireless connection. I'm not suggesting to tackle all that complexity. However, I do feel it's interesting to think about. Maybe there are design choices that can be made to favor providing building blocks that are agnostic to different network configurations. Similarly, maybe there are design choices that favor leaving definitions of 'nearby' to browser/device manufacturers instead of listing them all out in a spec.
Preface: This is largely thought experiment that plays with the similarities to 'physically nearby' and 'virtually nearby' at this point rather than a concrete suggestion. Maybe it could be an interesting input for some design decisions in the future.
Hypothetical scenario: I'm an avid user of a Local Peer-to-Peer API powered tool. In the meantime, all the investments in Spatial Compute have taken off and one day I visit a virtual trade fair. I meet someone in AR/VR and, as an un-initiated user (read: unhindered by an understanding of how the low level technology works), I feel like I'm 'nearby' the other person in the AR/VR session. Just like I always do: I pull up my cool Local Peer-to-Peer API powered tool and try to connect.
Naturally, this scenario requires quite a bit of different tech (Rendezvous, hole punching, ...) compared to being on the same LAN or wireless connection. I'm not suggesting to tackle all that complexity. However, I do feel it's interesting to think about. Maybe there are design choices that can be made to favor providing building blocks that are agnostic to different network configurations. Similarly, maybe there are design choices that favor leaving definitions of 'nearby' to browser/device manufacturers instead of listing them all out in a spec.