Opening a Twin
Overview
Section titled “Overview”realvirtual WEB opens an industrial digital twin directly in your browser. A twin can arrive as a shared link, a local GLB file, or an example in the public demo. You do not need to install a viewer or create an account to open the public demo or a prepared delivery link.
The preferred delivery format is GLB with rv_extras metadata. It keeps geometry, hierarchy and realvirtual component information together in one self-describing file.
Browser does not mean cloud
Section titled “Browser does not mean cloud”The most common misunderstanding about realvirtual WEB is that “runs in the browser” implies “runs on somebody’s server”. It does not. The browser is the runtime, not the location — and the same viewer runs in four places, with the same file and the same behaviour:
| Where | What it needs | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| On your own computer | Nothing but the browser — drag a GLB in, or run realvirtual CONNECT, which serves the viewer on localhost | Engineering, service calls, a machine on an isolated network |
| Static hosting | Any web server or CDN that can serve files — no application server, no database, no runtime | Intranet, customer portal, your own domain |
| Hosted by realvirtual | An account for the hosted features | Trying things out, sharing a scene |
| Air-gapped or frozen | A copied folder | Delivery with a machine, ten-year documentation duty |
Two consequences worth stating plainly:
- Rendering and simulation happen on your device. There is no remote render service, no upload of your model, and no round-trip to a server for the animation. A local file never leaves the browser.
- The viewer is open source under AGPL-3.0. You can host it yourself, keep it running after any subscription ends, and inspect what it does — the source is on GitHub. What the open licence asks in return is described under licensing the viewer.
That combination is the point: an interactive machine model that opens like a document, survives ten years in an archive, and needs no service in the middle to keep working.
Ways to open a model
Section titled “Ways to open a model”- Shared link or URL — Open the address supplied with the twin. The link can select a prepared model and workspace.
- Local GLB file — Drag a
.glbfile from your computer onto the viewer to open it locally. - Public demo — Open the realvirtual WEB demo to explore a prepared twin without supplying a file.
- Served by the gateway — Start realvirtual CONNECT on the machine PC and open
http://localhost:5100. The viewer comes from the gateway itself, with live signals attached and no internet connection involved.
System requirements and privacy
Section titled “System requirements and privacy”Use a current browser with JavaScript and WebGL enabled. realvirtual WEB supports desktop and tablet use; the available performance depends on the device and the size of the model.
Rendering runs on your device rather than on a remote rendering service. A local file stays in the browser while you view it. When you open a hosted link, the browser downloads the twin from the host selected by its provider; a live setup exchanges only the machine data configured for that connection.
Quick Start
Section titled “Quick Start”- Open the URL supplied with your twin, or open the public demo.
- To use your own file, drag the
.glbfile onto the viewer and wait for the model to fit into view. - Confirm that the scene appears, then select a component or open the hierarchy to start exploring.
- If the model does not load, verify that JavaScript and WebGL are enabled and try the file or link again in a current browser.