The Open Metaverse Academic Alliance (OMAA) is an initiative led by the University of Rochester’s Center for Extended Reality (CXR), dedicated to shaping open standards for spatial computing — the infrastructure that will underpin augmented reality, mixed reality, and the next evolution of the internet.
Open standards matter. Just as HTML, CSS, and HTTP enabled anyone to build and access the web without permission from a single gatekeeper, spatial computing needs open, interoperable standards to ensure the next computing era remains accessible, competitive, and built for everyone. Without them, the emerging spatial internet risks fragmenting into proprietary silos — locked to specific hardware, platforms, and vendors.
OMAA brings together universities, researchers, educators, and professionals to participate in this standards-formation process: contributing use cases, conducting research, evaluating emerging proposals, and building the academic voice that standards bodies need to hear.
Our current focus includes the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative (OMBI), an open-source project under the Metaverse Standards Forum developing the foundational architecture for a spatial web browser.
