A new industry initiative is aiming to create an open-source web browser engine for spatial computing applications including augmented reality, robotics, AI agents, and digital twins.
The Metaverse Standards Forum, a non-profit industry coordination group made up of technology companies, standards bodies, and universities said that Sneeze aims to replicate the open architecture of the web for 3D environments, making it easier to build and connect 3D digital services across devices.
The engine has been developed through the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative (OMBI) in collaboration with RP1 and is available immediately under the Apache 2.0 licence via the Forum’s GitHub repository. The project aims to provide a common technical foundation for “spatial services” that can operate across devices and platforms without proprietary constraints.
Positioned as the spatial equivalent of a web browser engine such as Blink, WebKit, or Gecko, but re-engineered for 3D environments rather than 2D documents, Sneeze introduces a Scene Object Model (SOM) for multi-origin 3D scene composition, alongside WebAssembly-based sandboxing intended to isolate services within shared environments. The system also supports proximity-based discovery, allowing spatial content to be surfaced automatically based on a user’s physical location.
Neil Trevett, president of the Khronos Group and chair of the Metaverse Standards Forum, said the initiative was intended to catalyse interoperability across what is currently a fragmented ecosystem. “Building the spatial web will need a constellation of standards,” he said, adding that Sneeze was designed to help prototype and validate them in implementation.
The initiative reflects growing industry investment in augmented reality hardware and digital twin infrastructure, particularly in logistics, healthcare, and industrial operations, where organisations are deploying real-time spatial data systems. Backers argue that without a shared open standard, companies risk dependence on proprietary platforms that could be discontinued or locked down.
RP1, which leads the engineering work on Sneeze, said the engine was built after encountering the limits of conventional web architecture when developing early metaverse browser prototypes. “Web browsers were not designed for proximity-based content or multi-operator 3D scenes,” said Sean Mann, co-founder and chief executive of RP1, and a board member of the Metaverse Standards Forum.
Under the model proposed, organisations host their own “spatial fabrics”, analogous to websites, while Sneeze manages composition, networking, and rendering across devices including AR glasses, VR headsets, mobile devices, and desktop systems.
The engine is built on existing open standards from bodies including the World Wide Web Consortium and Khronos Group, including WebAssembly, OpenXR, and glTF, as well as core internet protocols. Documentation is available at omb.wiki/sneeze, and the source code is hosted on GitHub at github.com/MetaverseStandards/Sneeze.
Alongside the launch, the University of Rochester has established the Open Metaverse Academic Alliance, intended to bring universities into standards development and contribute to research on spatial computing systems. The group says it will also support workforce development in the sector and encourage cross-industry collaboration on open infrastructure.
Barry Silverstein, director of the Centre for eXtended Reality at the University of Rochester, said the effort echoed the early development of the web in academia. “The open web was built in universities, and the metaverse should be too,” he said.
The initiative will be formally discussed at AWE 2026 in Long Beach, California, where OMBI participants are scheduled to present technical sessions on Sneeze and its architecture.
