Brontosaurus 3D Viewer vs AR Apps
Brontosaurus 3D Viewer runs Late Jurassic sauropod WebGL in the browser with no account and no room-scale AR - use a phone AR app when you need the silhouette in your space, and a museum when you want real bone.
Brontosaurus options side by side
These rows compare what the Brontosaurus viewer actually ships against typical phone AR apps, a museum hall visit, and a still photo:
| Aspect | In-browser 3D viewer | Phone AR app | Museum / static image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install / download | 0 MB app install; three.js vendored and cached after first load | Often 50 to 500 MB store download | Travel time; or 0 MB for a photo |
| Time to first view | Seconds - one page load; engine lazy-loads after paint; optional glTF may swap in after | Minutes - install, permissions, tracking setup | Hours for a visit; instant for a photo |
| Place in a physical room | No - orbit on a flat screen only | Yes - true AR placement when tracking works | Hall scale in person; none in a photo |
| Desktop without a phone | Yes - current browser with WebGL | Usually no | Photo yes; museum no |
| Published size figures on hand | Yes - about 21-23 m (Size vs human uses 22 m); 15-20 t range; shoulder about 5-6 m; 156-146 Mya; Marsh 1879; Tschopp et al. 2015 | Varies by app | Labels vary; photo rarely carries full sheet |
| Reconstruction honesty | Procedural skin artistic; optional CC0 glTF (WeaponGuy via OpenGameArt) is stylized, not a laser scan; silent procedural fallback on load failure; does not claim synonymy with Apatosaurus after 2015 | Often sells one settled silhouette | Bones are real; mounts show scale in person |
When the Brontosaurus browser viewer fits
Pick the Brontosaurus browser viewer when you want drag-orbit on a reinstated Late Jurassic sauropod with Size vs human at the honest 22 m length ratio, and click facts on head, neck, body, leg, or tail - without installing anything. Nothing about the visit is sent to a server - good for a classroom laptop or a quick desktop check of the published ranges and the optional CC0 model credit.
When a phone AR app or museum fits better
A phone AR app wins when you need the silhouette on your living-room floor; this viewer never claims room placement. A museum wins for walking beside Morrison Formation sauropod mounts. A static image wins only when you need a single shareable frame with no interactivity.
What this Brontosaurus comparison is not
This Brontosaurus comparison is a trade-off table for the shipped viewer - it is not a ranking of commercial AR brands, it does not invent AR features the page does not have, it does not invent one precise length or weight beyond the disclosed about 21-23 m / 15-20 tonne ranges, it does not claim Brontosaurus equals Apatosaurus after 2015, it does not claim the optional glTF is a scientifically exact reconstruction, and it does not invent game score or win states. For the control walkthrough see how to view Brontosaurus in 3D. For the length and weight numbers beside a 1.8 m person see Brontosaurus size comparison.
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