Abstract

Welcome to the 28th International ACM Conference on 3D Web Technology – Web3D 2023! Similarly to the previous edition, we are pleased to hold the Web3D 2023 conference in a hybrid format, with both face-to-face and online participation. We still believe this format will be the new standard for the future.
Web3D 2023 is sponsored by ACM SIGGRAPH and organized by Vicomtech in cooperation with the Web3D Consortium.
The goal of the conference and of the Web3D community is to bring together a diverse group of individuals to share innovative and infl uential thoughts on how the metaverse can revolutionize the future of communications. This includes topics such as 3D applications and services accessible through a wide range of devices, from simple mobile phones to more complex systems such as AR/VR headsets, and heavily populated virtual worlds, especially those connected through highspeed, low-latency networks.
The conference also addresses the evolution of the initial hype surrounding the Metaverse concept in 2021. Since then, many different virtual worlds and platforms have emerged where users can interact with each other and virtual objects. To achieve widespread adoption, the Metaverse must overcome several challenges, such as creating realistic virtual environments, improving user-friendly interfaces, ensuring reliable connections between users and metaverses, addressing financial issues such as access costs, and creating stable revenue streams to support growth. Addressing these challenges requires long-term, focused, and consistent solutions.
This year, authors from several countries across the globe present 22 high-quality scientifi c research papers (15 full and 7 short papers) as well as 4 posters at the conference. Each submission was double-blind reviewed by three to four members of the Web3D 2023 International Program Committee composed of renowned researchers. Th e review process has enabled publications covering cutting-edge 3D graphics topics, new proposals and improvements to the underlying Web standards, online visualization, 3D processing, and VR applications in various domains.
In addition to the technical paper program, 3 Keynote presentations, 3 Tutorials, 3 Workshops, and an Industry Session have been organized, providing a variety of insights about recent 3D web technologies to all attendees. An interactive panel addressing the current status of the Metaverse completed the program.
We would like to thank all the authors for their contributions, as well as our keynote speakers: Mel Slater from the University of Barcelona, Marius Preda from Institut MINES-Télécom, and Francois Daoust from W3C, and all those who have been involved in the preparation of this year’s outstanding program. In particular, we would like to thank all the Organizing Committee Members, International Program Committee Members, and our Sponsors: 3DMD, Khronos Group, and Vicomtech without whom the organization of this event would have been much more challenging. We would like to express our gratitude to the “Ayuntamiento de Donostia - San Sebastián” local administration and to the Basque Government for their invaluable support in making this conference a reality.