Meta Quest is now the undisputed leader in consumer VR technology, as it is a completely standalone, affordable entry-level system. Based on its success, parent company Meta (formerly Facebook) has invested heavily in VR research, and recently published patents provide a glimpse into the potential future of virtual reality.
The most affordable option for out-of-the-box VR, Metaquest is quickly monopolizing the consumer side of the market by releasing exclusive products and lowering competitors’ prices. Meta is now dominating the affordable VR space, while other companies are looking to improve.
A recent patent application filed by Meta describes a plan for a VR device that allows you to see a person’s face while wearing it. The way it provides views is complex, and there are some iterations of the idea in the patent document. You can also use the headset’s camera to output a 3D model of a human face to the screen outside the headset. This is as effective as wearing a scuba mask or snorkel and framing the subject’s eyes with a headset.
The results may not look natural, but it’s an interesting way to make facial expressions readable by outside viewers, even without a headset. The actual usage of this technology is not specified in the documentation, but such specific changes to the VR headset may be applicable for testing purposes. Devices that can display player reactions in more detail may provide useful data for testing the game, and as technology evolves, the actual usage of this may be more accurately defined.
Research on Meta’s VR technology is important and promising, but patenting will give us an edge over our competitors. Other devices in the equivalent price range, such as the Lynx R1, do not have access to their own Meta Quest library, making it even more difficult to create affordable devices that operate completely standalone.
It’s no secret that Meta’s intensive data acquisition is the real price to pay, especially since Meta’s VR development runs at huge losses. Facebook has a lot of money to invest to be the best option, even if it does so through anti-consumer means such as platform monopoly or needing an account for tracking purposes. Hopefully, true innovation will occur when competition catches up with Meta’s current near-monopoly.