WebXR Hit Testing & Depth Sensing

For AR experiences to feel real, virtual objects need to interact with the physical world. They should sit on tables, be occluded by walls, and respond when the user taps a surface. WebXR provides two APIs for this: Hit Testing (where does the user point?) and Depth Sensing (what's the shape of the real world?).

Hit Testing Fundamentals

Hit testing answers a simple question: given a ray from the user's controller or gaze, where does it intersect a real-world surface?

Requesting Hit Test Support

const session = await navigator.xr.requestSession('immersive-ar', {
  requiredFeatures: ['hit-test']
});

Creating a Hit Test Source

There are two types of hit test sources:

Non-transient — tied to a fixed reference space. Best for gaze-based interaction:

const hitTestSource = await session.requestHitTestSource({
  space: viewerReferenceSpace
});

Transient — tied to an input source (controller, hand). Updates as the input moves:

const transientSource = await session.requestHitTestSourceForTransientInput({
  profile: 'generic-trigger',
  offsetRay: new XRRay({
    x: 0, y: 0, z: 0  // origin, direction
  }, {
    x: 0, y: 0, z: -1, w: 0  // -Z = forward
  })
});

The offsetRay parameter lets you adjust where the hit test ray originates relative to the input source. For controllers, the default is along the controller's pointing direction. For hands, you might want to offset to the palm or index finger tip.

Performing Hit Tests

function onXRFrame(time: number, frame: XRFrame) {
  // Non-transient hit results
  const nonTransientResults = frame.getHitTestResults(hitTestSource);
  for (const result of nonTransientResults) {
    const pose = result.getPose(referenceSpace);
    if (pose) {
      // pose.transform.position = intersection point in world space
      // pose.transform.orientation = surface normal
      renderHitMarker(pose.transform.position);
    }
  }

  // Transient hit results
  const transientResults = frame.getHitTestResultsForTransientInput(transientSource);
  for (const result of transientResults) {
    const inputSource = result.inputSource;
    const pose = result.results[0]?.getPose(referenceSpace);
    if (pose) {
      // Intersection tied to this specific input source
      handleInputInteraction(inputSource, pose);
    }
  }
}

Each hit test result contains:

• getPose(referenceSpace) — the intersection point and surface normal
• result.inputSource — for transient results, which input source triggered it

Interpreting Results

function renderHitMarker(position: DOMPointReadOnly, normal?: DOMPointReadOnly) {
  marker.position.set(position.x, position.y, position.z);

  if (normal) {
    // Orient marker to match surface normal
    const up = new THREE.Vector3(0, 1, 0);
    const surfaceNormal = new THREE.Vector3(normal.x, normal.y, normal.z);
    const quat = new THREE.Quaternion().setFromUnitVectors(up, surfaceNormal);
    marker.quaternion.copy(quat);
  }

  marker.visible = true;
}

Depth Sensing

While hit testing tells you where surfaces are at specific points, depth sensing gives you a full depth map of the environment.

Requesting Depth

const session = await navigator.xr.requestSession('immersive-ar', {
  requiredFeatures: ['depth-sensing'],
  depthSensing: {
    usagePreference: ['cpu-optimized', 'gpu-optimized'],
    dataFormatPreference: ['luminance-alpha', 'float32']
  }
});

Reading the Depth Buffer

Depth information is available per-view (left and right eyes):

function onXRFrame(time: number, frame: XRFrame) {
  for (const view of frame.views) {
    const depthInfo = frame.getDepthInformation(view);
    if (!depthInfo) continue;

    // Raw depth values in meters
    const depthData = depthInfo.getDepthInMeters();

    // Buffer dimensions
    const width = depthInfo.width;    // e.g., 256
    const height = depthInfo.height;  // e.g., 176

    // Access a specific pixel (center of frame)
    const centerU = Math.floor(width / 2);
    const centerV = Math.floor(height / 2);
    const centerDepth = depthData[centerV * width + centerU];
    // centerDepth is distance in meters from the camera

    // Convert depth pixel to world position
    const worldPos = depthInfo.getDepthInWorldPosition(centerU, centerV);
    if (worldPos) {
      // worldPos is a DOMPointReadOnly in the reference space
    }
  }
}

CPU vs GPU Depth Access

Method	Access Pattern	Best For
getDepthInMeters()	CPU — Float32Array	Spatial queries, physics
getDepthInWorldPosition()	CPU — DOMPointReadOnly	Converting single pixels to world space
Depth texture (via XRWebGLBinding)	GPU — WebGL texture	Occlusion rendering, shader effects

Converting Depth to World Space

The raw depth buffer is in the camera's clip space. Converting to world space requires the projection matrix:

function depthUVToWorld(
  u: number, v: number,
  depthInMeters: Float32Array,
  width: number, height: number,
  view: XRView
): THREE.Vector3 | null {
  const depth = depthInMeters[v * width + u];
  if (depth <= 0) return null;

  // Normalized device coordinates
  const ndcX = (u / width) * 2 - 1;
  const ndcY = (v / height) * 2 - 1;

  // Using the view's projection matrix inverse
  const projMatrix = new THREE.Matrix4().fromArray(view.projectionMatrix);
  const invProj = projMatrix.invert();

  const clipPos = new THREE.Vector4(ndcX, ndcY, -1, 1);
  const worldPos4 = clipPos.applyMatrix4(invProj);
  worldPos4.multiplyScalar(1 / worldPos4.w);

  // Scale to actual depth
  const direction = new THREE.Vector3(worldPos4.x, worldPos4.y, worldPos4.z).normalize();
  const worldPosition = direction.multiplyScalar(depth);

  // Transform by view transform
  worldPosition.applyMatrix4(
    new THREE.Matrix4().fromArray(view.transform.inverse.matrix)
  );

  return worldPosition;
}

Alternatively, use the convenience method (available on some runtimes):

const worldPos = depthInfo.getDepthInWorldPosition(u, v);

Occlusion Rendering

Occlusion is what makes AR look realistic — virtual objects disappear behind real surfaces. Without occlusion, objects always render on top of the real world, breaking the illusion.

GPU-Based Occlusion with Depth Texture

The most performant approach samples the depth texture in the fragment shader:

// Fragment shader
uniform sampler2D uDepthTexture;
uniform mat4 uProjectionMatrix;
uniform mat4 uViewMatrix;
uniform mat4 uModelMatrix;

varying vec3 vWorldPosition;

void main() {
  // Transform fragment world position to clip space of the depth camera
  vec4 clipPos = uProjectionMatrix * uViewMatrix * vec4(vWorldPosition, 1.0);
  vec3 ndc = clipPos.xyz / clipPos.w;

  // Convert to UV coordinates
  vec2 uv = ndc.xy * 0.5 + 0.5;

  // Sample the real-world depth
  float realDepth = texture2D(uDepthTexture, uv).r;

  // Compare with the fragment's depth
  float fragDepth = ndc.z;

  // If fragment is behind the real surface, discard it
  if (fragDepth > realDepth + 0.005) {
    discard;
  }

  // Otherwise render normally
  gl_FragColor = vec4(1.0);
}

Three.js Integration

For Three.js, create a custom shader material:

const occlusionMaterial = new THREE.ShaderMaterial({
  uniforms: {
    uDepthTexture: { value: depthTexture },
    uProjectionMatrix: { value: new THREE.Matrix4() },
    uViewMatrix: { value: new THREE.Matrix4() }
  },
  vertexShader: `
    varying vec3 vWorldPosition;
    void main() {
      vec4 worldPos = modelMatrix * vec4(position, 1.0);
      vWorldPosition = worldPos.xyz;
      gl_Position = projectionMatrix * viewMatrix * worldPos;
    }
  `,
  fragmentShader: `
    uniform sampler2D uDepthTexture;
    uniform mat4 uProjectionMatrix;
    uniform mat4 uViewMatrix;

    varying vec3 vWorldPosition;

    void main() {
      vec4 clipPos = uProjectionMatrix * uViewMatrix * vec4(vWorldPosition, 1.0);
      vec3 ndc = clipPos.xyz / clipPos.w;
      vec2 uv = ndc.xy * 0.5 + 0.5;

      if (uv.x < 0.0 || uv.x > 1.0 || uv.y < 0.0 || uv.y > 1.0) {
        gl_FragColor = vec4(1.0);
        return;
      }

      float realDepth = texture2D(uDepthTexture, uv).r;
      float fragDepth = ndc.z;

      if (fragDepth > realDepth + 0.005) discard;

      gl_FragColor = vec4(0.5, 0.8, 1.0, 1.0);
    }
  `,
  transparent: true
});

Performance of Occlusion

Approach	Quality	Performance	Complexity
Depth texture shader	Good	✅ Best	Medium
CPU depth read + stencil	Medium	❌ Slow	Low
Mesh reconstruction	Excellent	✅ Good (once built)	High

The depth texture approach is the recommended starting point — good visual quality with minimal overhead.

Mesh Reconstruction

Some runtimes (Quest 3, ARKit) provide mesh reconstruction — a full triangle mesh of the environment:

// Check for mesh reconstruction support
const meshSet = frame.worldInformation?.meshSet;
if (meshSet) {
  for (const mesh of meshSet) {
    const geometry = new THREE.BufferGeometry();
    geometry.setAttribute('position',
      new THREE.BufferAttribute(mesh.positions, 3)
    );
    geometry.setIndex(mesh.indices);
    // Use for occlusion, physics, or navigation
  }
}

Mesh reconstruction is the most accurate form of environment understanding, but it's also the most computationally expensive. Use it sparingly and with geometry Level of Detail (LOD).

Practical Combination: Placement + Occlusion

The real power comes from combining all these features:

class ARPlacementSystem {
  private hitTestSource: XRHitTestSource;
  private depthTexture: WebGLTexture | null = null;

  async placeObject(frame: XRFrame): Promise<boolean> {
    // 1. Find surface via hit test
    const results = frame.getHitTestResults(this.hitTestSource);
    if (results.length === 0) return false;

    const pose = results[0].getPose(referenceSpace);
    if (!pose) return false;

    // 2. Place the object
    const anchor = await frame.createAnchor(pose.transform, referenceSpace);
    this.attachObjectToAnchor(anchor);

    // 3. Enable occlusion for the placed object
    this.enableOcclusion(frame);

    return true;
  }

  private enableOcclusion(frame: XRFrame) {
    for (const view of frame.views) {
      const depthInfo = frame.getDepthInformation(view);
      if (depthInfo) {
        // Update the depth texture uniform
        // ... (GPU depth texture binding via XRWebGLBinding)
      }
    }
  }
}

Series Cross-References

• Building a WebXR App with Three.js — Full application scaffold with hit test and depth integration
• WebXR Anchors & Plane Detection — Combine hit tests with anchors for persistent placement
• WebXR Hand Tracking — Use hand gestures as hit test input sources

References

• WebXR Hit Test Spec (W3C)
• WebXR Depth Sensing Spec (W3C)
• Meta Quest: Depth API