Virtual & Augmented Reality and 3D News - Page 3

Mark Zuckerberg's multi-billion project called Horizon Worlds is facing some real problems as internal documents leaked online have revealed its seemingly failing in slow motion.

The leaked internal documents on Horizon Worlds were obtained by The Wall Street Journal and revealed that Meta put forward a goal of getting as many as 500,000 monthly active users within its metaverse by the end of 2022. However, that goal has fallen incredibly short, with the company now reining back its goal to just 280,000 monthly active users. The only problem is that Horizon Worlds is still yet to hit 200,000 active users, with one of the documents even describing the experience within Meta's metaverse as an "empty world".

It was only recently that Zuckerberg outlined that Horizon Worlds will be designed in such a way that creators can build their own worlds and profit from the experiences they provide players via services, merchandise, etc. However, these player-built worlds require visitors for this to be a worthwhile prospect, and according to the leaked documents majority of player-built worlds didn't pass more than 50 users. This point on relying on online purchases for profit was further illustrated by Zuckerberg when he explained that Meta would be breaking-even on the initial sales of its flagship VR headset, the Meta Quest Pro.

Meetings will soon be converted to holograms, according to Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Mark Zuckerberg inside of virtual reality

The Meta CEO recently appeared on a podcast interview with Stratechery's Ben Thompson, where he explained that meetings such as the podcast that they were currently conducting would eventually be done in augmented reality via augmented reality glasses, enabling new ways of online communication such as handing 3D-rendered objects to each other. Zuckerberg said that "there is nothing that I think would stop us" from getting there just five years from now.

The Meta CEO explained that hologram meetings would mean that Thompson, who is located in Taiwan, would appear as a hologram within Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California, United States. The Facebook founder said that having a hologram meeting such as a podcast will mean it's much more than just a binary video call where two or more people can see each other and that augmented reality users will actually be able to interact with each other and things together.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has recently defended his decision to price the Meta Quest Pro at just $1,500.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO and Facebook founder

The Meta CEO and Facebook founder recently appeared on a podcast with Stratechery's Ben Thompson, where he sat down to discuss various topics such as Meta's upcoming projects and how he believes the metaverse will be the next big thing that people adopt. When asked about the pricing of Meta's products, in particular, the Meta Quest Pro, Zuckerberg took the opportunity to subtly throw shade at Apple through a comparison between his company's pricing and Apple's.

Zuckerberg went on to say that companies typically build hardware and attempt to make a profit off the initial sale of that hardware, but in Apple's case, according to Zuckerberg, "you charge as much as you can for it". As you might've already expected, Zuckerberg explains that Meta is taking a different approach to hardware sales by only trying to "break even".

Meta stuns the still-emerging mixed-reality market with a $1,500 headset aimed at pioneering productivity in the metaverse.

Meta's new Quest Pro VR headset isn't just for gaming. The new $1,500 wearable is Meta's first real push into productivity and aims to provide virtual access to a workspace full of apps. The Quest Pro is something out of science fiction; put on the headset and you're transported to a digital world where a simple empty desk turns into a multi-screen workspace.

The Quest Pro has a hefty boost in power, too. The headset is the first to use the new Snapdragon XR2+ and runs at 50% more power. The controllers have self-tracking sensors complete with haptic feedback and built-in Snapdragon processors.

Apple is expected to release its next truly revolutionary product with its upcoming AR glasses, but now we're hearing that the price could be $2500+ and that it "may be the next revolutionary consumer electronics product after the iPhone".

In a new post by industry insider Ming-Chi Kuo, we get an idea of what to expect in terms of new products in 2023 which obviously we know will be the AR/MR headsets. Kuo has expectations of Apple shipping less than 1.5 million units of its AR/MR headset, but said it's expected that Apple will release its new AR/MR headset "as soon as January 2023".

Apple is expected to price its AR/MR headset at $2000 to $2500 or more, which Kuo says will "affect shipments" but notes that the high price will "verify the existence of market demand, rather than price/shipment. If the market demand is verified to exist, under the improvement of production, technology and cost, the price will be gradually reduced in the future, which will facilitate the rapid growth of shipments".

Surgeons have successfully used virtual reality to separate the brains of conjoined twins after a lengthy 27-hour operation.

The two 3-year-old Brazilian conjoined twins Bernardo and Arthur Lima were born fused at the head and brain. The pair recently underwent a 27-hour operation that included nearly 100 medical staff and Great Ormond Street Hospital paediatric surgeon Noor ul Owase Jeelani.

According to Jeelani, teams of surgeons in both London and Rio spent several months using virtual reality projections of the twins skull and brain. These projections were based on CT and MRI data and allowed for surgeons to practice in a "virtual reality room" where they could perform the practice surgery together. The British neurosurgeon described the virtual reality technology as "space age," and that there is extreme benefit for surgeons to be able to "see the anatomy and do the surgery before you actually put the children at any risk."

Apple has just filed a patent for what looks like some interesting VR gloves that would let you use your hands and fingers to do things like move a cursor, scroll, open a document, select things, and so much more.

The upcoming Apple AR glasses would let you use the VR-style gloves with skin-to-skin contact, meaning full-on finger and hand gestures. Apple should be using a camera or radio frequency-based system on the headset, so that it can track the finger movement of the user, using these new gloves.

Apple's new patent would see two Apple Watch-like products that would be capable of detecting skin-to-skin contact, where the one of the wearables can sense, while the other handles gestures. Apple's patent also details a ring that would be in place of the watch, and would work with the VR gloves for particular actions.

Google has revealed that a few dozen "Googlers" and trusted testers will be using the company's new augmented reality glasses in the real-world.

Augmented reality (AR) is imposed computer-generated images onto the real-world, and is undoubtedly going to cause a tectonic shift in the technology industry once the development reaches a point where the mainstream adopts it. Google has now taken to its blog to reveal that a few select individuals will be wearing an "early AR prototype" in the real-world as the company wants to see how the device handles real-world scenarios such as a busy intersection while trying to provide navigation information to the user.

Google writes that the prototype glasses have only been tested within Google's labs and features an in-lens display, microphones, cameras, and more. Notably, Google states these prototypes will have "strict limitations" and won't support photography or videography. However, the glasses will be capable of using image data "to enable experiences like translating the menu in front of you or showing you directions to a nearby coffee shop."

Samsung Display is courting both Apple and Meta for next-gen Micro-OLED panels for their future AR and VR headsets, according to the latest from The Elec.

The company hasn't been making Micro-OLED panels so far because profits aren't great, but with the future augmented and virtual reality headsets relying on Micro-OLED panels, Samsung Display is stepping up to the plate. However, Sony will be the "first supplier" of Micro-OLED panels for Apple's "first MR device" reports The Elec.

The Elec reports: "Samsung Display had received requests from its customers to develop a MicroOLED panel, something which it had been avoiding so far due to expected low profitability. Up to now, Samsung Display had a few research staff working on MicroOLED and didn't pay much attention to it".

Apple's first-generation AR/MR headset is still a while away, and the second-generation AR/MR headset is even further away... but now analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is coming out with some shipping estimates that Apple "may reach" 10 million units "as soon as 2025 or 2026".

The key optical component of the Apple AR/MR headset are the high ASP Pancake lens, which the analyst says "directly affecting the visual experience and form factor design". But it will be the second-generation Apple AR/MR headset that "may have more high-end and more-affordable models".

Apple's second-gen AR/MR headset will reportedly launch in the first half of 2025, with component suppliers to begin shipping in the second half of 2024 says Kuo. The first-gen Apple AR/MR headset will use Pancake lens supplied by Genuis (the main supplier) and Young Optics (the second supplier). Kuo says that GIS is the "Pancake lens lamination supplier" while the "above suppliers are expected to be in the second-generation supply chain'.