The company wants to create a device in which virtual reality is almost indistinguishable from the real world.
In mid-June, Meta held a private demonstration of VR headset prototypes for journalists. The company demonstrated several experimental models of helmets, in each of which specialists implemented one or another technology that is not available in most modern devices.
Mark Zuckerberg said that by creating these prototypes, the company wants to develop a VR headset in which virtual reality will be almost indistinguishable from the real world. According to him, the samples will help to pass the so-called "visual Turing test".
As part of the presentation, the executive also confirmed that the launch of the premium VR headset, codenamed Project Cambria, is still scheduled for 2022. Zuckerberg did not share details about the device.
Holocake 2
In the second-generation Holocake prototype, engineers use holographic optics and a special light-bending technique that replaces a thick refractive lens in a VR headset. As a result, the sample is significantly thinner than modern virtual reality helmets.
Mark Zuckerberg emphasized that this is only a prototype and the company still needs to do a lot of research to make such a device safe, inexpensive to manufacture and efficient to operate.
starburst
One of the largest prototypes created by the company. The heavy and bulky VR headset, which must be held by the handles during use, provides a high dynamic range image with brightness up to 20,000 nits. According to Mark Zuckerberg, the company is using this prototype as a test bed. In addition, engineers are looking for ways to make the design smaller and heavier.
Butterscotch
The screen resolution in the prototype is 2.5 times greater than that of Quest 2 - 1832x1920 pixels for each eye. To achieve this, the specialists had to reduce the field of view of the user of the VR headset. This resolution is a record for devices in the Quest line, but some manufacturers of premium virtual reality helmets, including Varjo, have already released devices with more advanced screens.