Immersed in VR

In 2021 Facebook announced the establishment of Meta as parent company for their existing businesses (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus). Their logo is a VR headset stylised as a play on the infinity sign - so it's pretty clear where they see the future. Facebook originally acquired Oculus VR Inc for US$2B in 2014. It's taken a while for them to really gain momentum in this space, but growth has been steady. Oculus first released their prototype headset in 2012 and were well known for their Rift CV1 headset that was released in 2016 for US$599. Their latest headset, the Quest 2 retails for US$299 and is self-contained. The Quest 2 is streaks ahead of the Rift, which is no longer sold or well-supported.

Microsoft was a little later in coming to the party and released the Hololens developer kit in 2016 at a retail of US$3000. Microsoft cut straight to the chase with mixed reality, being the capability to overlay virtual aspects over the real world. The Hololens 2 is now available for US$4000+ which is a hefty price but they are targeting commercial customers, especially those with industrial applications. There's no doubt this is some serious kit suited to serious use cases.

The latest headsets from Varjo and Meta allow for a mixed experience. That is to say that the user can determine how much of the real world they wish to integrate into their experience. A good example of the practical applications of this technology is how an application like Immersed can allow the user to define real world portals in the virtual experience. This allows passthrough of your computer keyboard, a coffee cup or a doorway.

Hand-tracking is becoming more common in VR experiences meaning the user can do away with their controllers and buttons and simply use their hands to execute commands through movement and gestures. Hand tracking works by using the inside-out cameras on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest (and other devices). The headset will detect the position and orientation of your hands and the configuration of your fingers. Once detected, computer vision algorithms are used to track the movement and orientation of your hands.

One of the applications that has really embraced some of the newest advancements in hand-tracking and augmented reality is Immersed. The Immersed application runs on the Meta Quest headset in combination with your PC, Apple Mac, Linux and/or mobile phone. Immersed brings your computer and mobile phone into the virtual world, allowing you an incredibly expansive experience across five virtual screens in endless configurations and environments. If you own the right keyboard then Immersed will pass through a representation into VR, along with your virtual hands on that keyboard in real time. One of the previous barriers to virtual desktops was most people cannot touch type, and even if you can then your keyboard being not visible can be a real barrier to productivity. Immersed has fine-tuned this virtual interface to the point where there is little degradation compared to the real work experience.

Immersed claim a performance improvement of 400% over real world but based on my time working in the "Metaverse" I'm not convinced as yet. I'm blown away by the experience and the possibilities but 400% is a push at this stage. Currently the biggest pull for me is the ability to be able to sit in any physical location but have 2 100" virtual displays at my disposal (I find five a bit overwhelming). I've literally sat myself on the couch beside my family whilst working on two huge displays, in a virtual cafe somewhere the Metaverse. Sitting on a plane or in the airport would attract a few funny glances as you pinch and manipulate the void in front of you, with an odd-looking pair of huge goggles on your face.

Immersed and Meta Horizon Workrooms also presents opportunities to work in group spaces. Each provides you access to virtual whiteboards and Horizon allows you to run meetings natively with VR and non-VR attendees. The whiteboard experience is something in which I can see potential as not many people have a huge whiteboard at home or access to real world collaborative whiteboard technology.

My attempts have resulted in me trying to "draw" on the blinds in my office with the virtual pen, writing illegibly on my desk and running out of real world space for diagrams. However, some of the benefits have been the ability to drag in mixed media and no chance that someone was going to wipe away all my hard diagramming work. I have tried some other more specialist whiteboard apps that seem to be closer to a usable experience, which include features like tactile feedback and 3D drawing.

I'm seriously enthused by the leap in technology that we've seem over the last few years, the focus that companies like Meta are exhibiting and the pure possibilities that XR and the Metaverse present are exhilarating. I can see the home-working experience becoming an office in the Metaverse with your workmates in varying states between physical and virtual. Collaboration will be enhanced through custom-built meeting spaces with boundary-less workspaces, much like being inside a Miro board. Planned events will become completely immersive in the Metaverse with the ability to run product demos, presentations and seriously interactive experiences.