Mark Zuckerberg planted a flag in the sand for virtual reality. Speaking to reporters from a room decorated with decals of California, Montana, and Hawaii (all states where he owns homes), Zuckerberg led a show andtell of Meta's virtual reality research and prototyping. This is what it will take to build the next- generation displays for virtual and augmented reality.
The names of the devices were dreamy. A level of visual realism that is indistinguishable from reality is achieved by overcoming four elements of the human visual system. This is called the "visual Turing test."
The devices are not as realistic as they look. The technology won't be viable for consumers for a long time. Meta didn't give any information about cost or timelines or the challenges of cooling these devices.
The point seems to be that. Meta wants to be ahead of the competition, according to several statements made during the presentation.
"I think we are the company that is the most serious and committed to looking at where virtual reality and augmented reality need to be 10 years from now, what are the problems that we need to solve, and just systematically working on every single one of them in order to make progress," stated "Our team is certain that passing the visual Turing test is our destination and that nothing in physics appears to prevent us from getting there," said the director of display systems research.
It is years away from hitting the market so why share it with the press now? Meta wants policymakers, regulators, developers, and researchers to be aware of the developments coming down the line, according to Kate Mitchell. Policymakers, regulators, developers, and researchers were not invited to the presentation that was advertised as a media roundtable. Don't make of that what you will.
The next thing to do is the tech. There were presentations about focus, resolution, distortion, and high dynamic range technology from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Lanman, and Reality Labs' Chief Scientist Michael Abrash.
Four iterations of the Half Dome prototype. Credit: Meta/ Reality Labs
Reality Labs explained how their research has improved focus. The technology adjusts the clarity of an object based on its distance from you. Current virtual reality systems have a focus of about five feet in front of the wearer, meaning objects closer than that remain out of focus.
According to Meta's user testing, varifocal tech results in less fatigue and blurry vision, and is generally preferred over the fixed focus of our current headsets.
The tech was supposed to be ready for prime time in 2020 but hasn't been incorporated into a Meta headset.
"I think it's going to be great," he stated. It can be difficult to get the first version of a shipping product. We're positive that that will happen soon.
The 20/20 clarity of Butterscotch in comparison to the Rift and Quest 2. Credit: Meta/ Reality Labs
Meta wanted to explore how resolution affects experience. You can see the vision line on an eye chart in virtual reality.
What's the catch? The team at Reality Labs decided to shrink the field of view to less than half that of Quest 2 due to the lack of display panels that support that resolution.
Zuckerberg holds a prototype of the unwieldy Starburst in his hands. Credit: Meta/ Reality Labs
Meta created a system that is believed to be the first high definition virtual reality system.
The preferred number for peak brightness on a TV is 10,000 nits according to research. The TV displays are thousands of nits. The maximum level of nits is about 100. The prototype is so heavy that it requires two external handles to hold in place and is impractical.
A side profile of Holocake 2. It is a tethered device, though no wire is pictured. Credit: Meta/ Reality Labs
There is a fully functional headset prototype called the Holocake 2. It's sleek, closer to glasses than the hulking systems we currently use, and it runs any existing PC virtual reality or app.
The curved lens of the Quest 2 have been replaced with a flatter one that affects incoming light in the same way. The physical headset is slimmer because of the reduced distance between the display and the eye.
According to Maimone, Holocake 2 is the first headset that has holograms.
Zuckerberg tries on the prototype of Holocake 2. Credit: Meta/ Reality Labs
The light source was needed to make that frame. Finding the right laser at the right price is a challenge.
The jury hasn't made a decision on a suitable laser source. There will be a path to sunglasses-like virtual reality displays if that proves tractable.
Getting Holocake into the hands of consumers is one of the challenges. It's not a freestanding device because it's a PC tethered. It wasn't mentioned that Holocake 2 supports varifocal and eye- tracking.
There is a screen combo on the left, a pancake lens in the middle, and a laser combo on the right.
The refractive lens and screen combo of Quest 2 is on the left, pancake lens iteration in the middle, and the holographic lens and laser combo of Holocake 2 on the right. Credit: Meta/ Reality Labs
A mixed-reality concept called mirror lake combines the Holocake tech with multi-view eye- tracking, electronic varifocal modules, pass-through technology, and thin prescription attachment to eliminate the need for contacts or eyeglasses. It has a display that lets nearby people see a realistic representation of the headset wearer's eyes and face.
It does not yet exist. Maimone said the idea of a mirror lake is promising. It will be a big deal for the virtual reality experience.
We will not see it for a long time.
Meta organized the presentation for the press. My bet is that they're looking to get out ahead of a competitor like Apple, hoping to be able to point to these prototypes and say "we did it first".
We asked Meta's Kate Mitchell what a Holocake tasted like. What was her response? It tastes good.
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