Python Console Interface
There is a console interface to the arena-py library. This is designed to have a way to inspect the program from the console, without having to send a heartbeat or write your own command/response interface.
You can also interact with it from /programs:
Debugging ARENA Web Browser Visually
When running programs in Python or Unity, you have a plethora of debug tools at your disposal to debug lines of code. For debugging the visual elements of the Browser view, here are some other tools to help.
Debug your scene with A-Frame Scene Inspector
Since the ARENA’s rendering uses the A-Frame web 3D rendering engine, you can open the A-Frame Scene Inspector on any scene to examine and manipulate any of the A-Frame elements in your scene. Try this now from your example scene by typing <ctrl> + <alt> + i on most systems.
Examine the list of elements on the left side. Each element or object you select will show it’s details and attributes on the right side. You may edit any attributes here you wish, however, remember that the A-Frame Scene Inspector will not persist any changes to the persistence database. We do have a way to visually manipulate objects and save changes that we will share next.
tip
While in the A-Frame Inspector view, press the H key to pull up a list of super-useful A-Frame Inspector commands.
WebXR API Emulator
Since ARENA’s web view runs on WebXR, we can use the WebXR API Emulator to test Immersive VR (headset) features without a headset.
- Go to the addon stores to install (Firefox, Chrome)
- Open your ARENA scene web view and the ARENA detects that you have a XR device (emulated) and it will let you enter the immersive (VR、AR) mode.
- Open the
WebXRtab in the browser developer tool (Firefox, Chrome) to control the emulated devices. You can move the headset and controllers, and trigger the controller buttons.
AR Builder, visual content authoring
We also have a Python program, AR Builder (ARB), which you can use to create and edit objects for your scene. You can use it in VR (virtual reality) as a way to edit your scene and save changes to the persistence database. Importantly, you can use it in AR (augmented reality) in combination with supported browsers and localization techniques to anchor scene objects in physical space. See our section on miXed Reality (XR) for details.
note
Check out the Platforms Section for details on browsers and platforms that support XR in ARENA.
In either case, ARB allows any user in the scene to edit, so it can be used collaboratively by multiple users remotely as VR, in person as AR, or as XR (miXed Reality), a combination of both.
goal
Use a tool like A-Frame Inspector to navigate a real-time ARENA scene graph and seek out an object to discover its properties and feel free to change them and observe the rendered changes.