Orbify publishes a curved-space navigation demo for browsers

A browser demo of curved-space navigation

Norwegian company Orbify has published the second version of a demo that runs entirely in the browser and shows what it calls curved-space navigation: a single frame in which a street-level perspective and an aerial view of the route exist at the same time. The demo (Demo 2, build v72) is built on the PlayCanvas engine and renders a Gaussian-splat scene of Hamilton Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario. The model was published on superspl.at by Justin Eastman under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

It is controlled from the keyboard and mouse: W, A, S and D move the camera, dragging with the left button pans the view and the right button rotates it. The result is a curved map in which near geometry stays in perspective while distant geometry gradually bends towards an overhead view — an effect reminiscent of the folded cityscapes in the film Inception.

How the curved view works

According to Orbify's technical description, the system warps a 3D map model onto a curved surface and produces a single 2D image that contains both the perspective view and the aerial overview, with no switching between modes. The company says this answers a long-standing problem in car navigation: drivers move between 3D perspective, 2D overhead and street-level views, and every switch destroys spatial context.

The system receives position data in real time and returns a 2D image of the warped model centred on the user's location, updated continuously as they move. Route markers and waypoints stay in the same frame, and the layout is portrait-first, designed for the tall screens used in modern vehicles and on phones.

SDK, markets and patent status

Orbify plans to license the technology as a software development kit that plugs into existing map data pipelines and rendering stacks. The company states that no proprietary map data is required and that open and licensed sources work equally well. It names automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers as the primary market, alongside marine navigation, mapping platforms and defence applications.

The company says the method is covered by a pending European (EPO) and international patent application, PCT/EP2026/058725, and that a prior art search found no existing patents on the approach. Orbify adds that it is open to pilot projects, technology collaborations and conversations with investors.