Meta wants to make it clear that it is still not giving up on the high-end VR experience. So, on a rare move, the company is scattering the beans on several prototypes of VR headphones at once. The goal, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is ultimately to create something that passes the “Turing visual test” or the point where virtual reality is virtually indistinguishable from the real world. This is the Holy Grail for VR enthusiasts, but for Meta critics, it’s another worrying sign that the company wants to own reality (even Zuckerberg says it doesn’t want to fully own the metaverse).
As Zuckerberg and Michael Abrash, chief scientist at Meta’s Reality Labs, explained, creating the perfect VR headset involves refining four basic concepts. First, they need to reach a high resolution so that you can have a 20/20 VR vision (without the need for prescription glasses). In addition, the headphones need variable focal depth and eye tracking, so you can easily focus on near and far subjects; as well as correcting optical distortions inherent in current lenses. (We’ve seen this technology in Half Dome prototypes.) Finally, Meta needs to bring HDR or high dynamic range to the headphones to provide more realistic brightness, shadows and color depth. More than resolution, HDR is a major reason modern TVs and computer monitors look better than LCDs from a decade ago.
The goal
And of course, the company needs to wrap all these concepts in headphones that are light and easy to carry. In 2020, Facebook Reality Labs unveiled a pair of concept VR glasses using holographic lenses that looked like large sunglasses. Based on this original concept, the company unveiled Holocake 2 today (above), its thinnest VR headset to date. It looks more traditional than the original pair, but Zuckerberg in particular says it’s a fully functional prototype that can play any VR game while connected to a computer.
“Displays that meet the full capacity of human vision will unlock some really important things,” Zuckerberg told a news briefing. “The first is a realistic sense of presence, and it’s the feeling of being with someone or somewhere, as if you’re physically there. And given our focus on helping people connect, you can understand why it’s such a big deal. He described testing photorealistic avatars in a mixed-reality environment where his VR satellite looked as if it were standing right next to it. While “presence” may seem like an esoteric term these days, it’s easier to understand once headphones can realistically connect you with distant friends, family and colleagues.
Meta’s upcoming Cambria headphones seem to be a small step towards achieving a true VR presence, the brief glances we saw in its technology make it look like a small upgrade from Oculus Quest 2. While acknowledging that the perfect headphones are far away, Zuckerberg showed prototypes , which demonstrated how much progress Meta’s Reality Labs have made so far.
The goal
There is a “Butterscotch” (above) that can display a resolution near the retina, allowing you to read the bottom line of an VR eye test. To achieve this, Reality Labs engineers had to halve Quest 2’s field of vision, a trade-off that would definitely not work in a finished product. The Starburst HDR prototype looks even wilder: It’s a package of wires, fans and other electronics that can produce up to 20,000 nits of brightness. This is a huge leap from the 100 rivets of Quest 2 and is even a few leagues ahead of the super bright Mini-LED displays we see today. (My eyes water with the thought of putting so much light close to my face.) Starburst is too big and clumsy to hang on your head, so researchers have to peek through it like binoculars.
The goal
Although the Holocake 2 appears to be Meta’s most polished prototype to date, it doesn’t include all of the technology the company is currently testing. This is the goal of the Mirror Lake concept (above), which will offer holographic lenses, HDR, mechanical variofocal lenses and eye tracking. There is no working model yet, but this is a decent look at what Meta is going on for a few years to come. It looks like a pair of high-tech ski goggles and will be powered by laser-backed LCD displays. The company is also developing a way to show the eyes and facial expressions of outside observers with an external display in front.
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