VRSUN

Hot Virtual Reality News

HOTTEST VR NEWS OF THE DAY

horizon

Horizon Workrooms Update Adds Beach Environment, Desktop Streaming Audio

From uploadvr

Horizon Workrooms 1.3 is now available, adding a new environment, high-fives and improvements to the remote desktop capability.

A relatively minor update, the big draw of the latest update for Meta’s remote collaboration software is a beach environment that places your workspace in a tropical, relaxing seaside enclosure.

As you can see in the video above, the environment looks very Greek in its design. If you can’t be in Santorini on holiday, I guess working in a virtual room that looks somewhat similar is the next best thing?

Besides the beach environment, you’re also now able to high-five colleagues in Workrooms — doing so will display a new effect.

Other significant changes in this update are found in Workrooms’ remote desktop functionality. Most notably, Workrooms now supports streaming desktop audio to your workspace while using remote desktop with your PC or Mac. Previously you could only stream a video feed of your desktop, without accompanying audio. This change should be useful for presenting videos and the like to a group of colleagues, depending on the latency between the video feed and the audio.

Audio streaming aside, Meta also notes that it’s made other improvements to Workrooms’ remote desktop features, particularly in relation to “discovery and connectivity, as well as general app stability.”

This update for Workrooms follows on from 1.2, which added more room customization, room themes, custom graphics for walls and a lectern for presenting to a group of people.

Still on the horizon (you decide if the pun was intended) is support for native integration of Zoom meetings into Workrooms, announced in September as part of a new partnership.

Horizon Workrooms 1.3 is available now for Quest headsets.

Meta AI Concept: Create VR Worlds By Just Describing What You Want

From uploadvr

Meta today showed off an AI powered ‘concept’ for creating VR worlds with your voice, called Builder Bot.

Instead of picking objects from a user interface and placing with controllers, Builder Bot lets you create by simply describing out loud what you want. In the demo, Mark Zuckerberg asks for a beach, then for a specific type of clouds, then props like trees and a picnic. His colleague is even able to ask for specific ambient background sounds and Zuckerberg asks the stereo to play a music genre.

Zuckerberg describes Builder Bot as a “concept”, warning that “there are a lot of challenges we still need to solve”. The delay between giving a command and seeing it actualized in the demo seems impossibly short. Further, Meta didn’t make clear how much of the demo is actually real, nor whether the 3D models are dynamically generated or picked by the AI from a labeled library.

Meta says Builder Bot is possible thanks to self-supervised learning (SSL), a relatively new way to train AI models the company has helped pioneer in recent years. Most AI today uses supervised learning (SL) requiring vast amounts of data carefully labeled by humans. But that’s obviously not how humans or animals learn, and Meta’s researchers say relying on human labelling is a bottleneck for AI advancement. With SSL, AI can get a deeper understanding of a concept from far less data that doesn’t need to be labeled. Existing projects like OpenAI’s DALL·E use SSL to generate images you describe with text, but this is the first time we’ve seen this idea applied to virtual world creation.

With Horizon Worlds (which this demo seems to be based on) Meta is already trying to lower the barriers to creating VR experiences. Like Rec Room, Worlds lets you build inside VR by using your controllers to place & manipulate shapes and using a visual scripting system to add dynamic functionality. But not everyone is comfortable using console-like controllers to navigate intricate menu systems. Projects like Builder Bot hint at a future where just like in Star Trek, anyone can create their own VR worlds with just their voice.

Meta’s ‘Horizon’ Social VR Platform Surpasses 300,000 Users in 3 Months

From roadtovr

Meta opened its Horizon Worlds social VR platform in December, rolling out its proto-metaverse project to Quest users in the US and Canada. During an all-hands company call this past week—where CEO Mark Zuckerberg dubbed Meta employees ‘metamates’—the company announced its Horizon platform has now exceeded 300,000 users.

Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox made a statement during the call regarding Horizon World’s user growth, saying that the social VR platform’s userbase had ballooned by a factor of 10 since its closed beta, now accounting for 300,000 users. The news was broke by The Verge’s Alex Heath, who was first to reveal the contents of the call.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed that number, stating that it includes the base social platform Horizon Worlds and live event viewing app Horizon Venues, but not the work-focused app Horizon Workrooms.

It’s not exactly clear what the number signifies in terms of actual Horizon users; it could refer to unique visitors over the lifetime of the project since launch, or monthly active users. Still, the milestone undoubtedly highlights the sort of immediate reach Meta has as the Quest platform holder.

Meta’s deep pockets also ensured that everyone at the Super Bowl could see Horizon in action, visually telling the story of a Chuck E. Cheese-style animatronic dog who is cast away from his pals and then meets back up with them in VR, underlining the tech’s ability connect people and share unlikely experiences.

300,000 is a big number any way you slice it for a VR app, although here’s some perspective. Rec Room—arguably Horizon World’s largest competitor—announced in early 2021 that it had broken one million monthly active users in VR, half of which used Quest 2.

Like Rec Room, one of the big draws to Worlds is the ability to create custom rooms using in-app tools, to which Meta says its users have now created over 10,000 worlds. Prior to securing a $145 million funding round, valuing Rec Room at $3.5 billion, the kid-friendly platform announced in 2020 its was hosting over three million user-created levels. Meta clearly has some ground to cover.

Some of that catch-up strategy will likely entail opening Horizon up to the rest of the world, and not just Quest users in the US and Canada. It’s still not certain when that will happen.

Eventually, Meta also hopes to fuse all of its Horizon apps to make them more accessible, which could even include the ability to connect with non-VR users too. That would put Meta much closer to its goal of running its own metaverse—what you might define as an interconnected, immersive experience that allows for persistent identity, items, avatar, etc.

While that day hasn’t come yet, with Meta’s (née Facebook’s) recent pivot to the metaverse, it may arrive sooner than you think. Shareholders are counting on it.

Horizon Worlds & Horizon Venues Hit 300,000 Monthly Active Users

From uploadvr

Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues together have 300,000 monthly active users, Meta confirmed to The Verge.

Horizon is Meta’s brand for its suite of “metaverse” social VR apps: Horizon Worlds, Horizon Workrooms, Horizon Venues, and the soon-to-launch Horizon Home. Each uses your Meta Avatar and each requires an active Facebook account for access.

Worlds is similar to platforms like Rec Room, allowing users to create their own social experiences inside VR by using controllers to place & manipulate shapes and using a visual scripting system to add dynamic functionality. It was renamed from just ‘Facebook Horizon’ in October and launched to US & Canadian adults in December after a two-year closed beta. While it’s currently only available on the Quest and Rift VR systems, Meta plans to bring it to smartphones later this year.

Venues is a social live events platform, letting users watch 180-degree livestreams together including NBA matches, concerts, and VR esports. Venues is exclusive to Quest, but many of its livestreams are also available through Facebook.

A source of The Verge within Meta told the outlet that employees were told during a meeting that Horizon Worlds & Horizon Venues combined have 300,000 monthly active users, and The Verge says a Meta spokesperson confirmed the statistic.

For comparison, Rec Room reported more than 1 million monthly VR headset users six months ago, with millions more on non-VR platforms like Xbox and smartphones. VRChat and AltspaceVR do not report such statistics.

On Sunday Meta ran a Super Bowl ad for Horizon Worlds and Quest 2, depicting the new “Questy’s” World designed as a showcase of the platform’s lighting, physics, and scripting system. It’s not clear when we might get the next update on Horizon’s user base, and Meta hasn’t announced a timeframe for bringing Worlds to countries outside North America.

Meta Plans To Bring Horizon To Smartphones This Year

From uploadvr

Mark Zuckerberg told investors Meta plans to launch “a version of Horizon on mobile” this year:

“Horizon is core to our metaverse vision. This is our social VR world-building experience that we recently opened to people in the US and Canada. And we’ve seen a number of talented creators build worlds like a recording studio where producers collaborate or a relaxing space to meditate.

And this year, we plan to launch a version of Horizon on mobile too, that will bring early metaverse experiences to more surfaces beyond VR. So while the deepest and most immersive experiences are going to be in virtual reality, you’re also going to be able to access the worlds from your Facebook or Instagram apps as well, and probably more over time.”

The remarks were made during Meta’s Q4 earnings call, where the company reported more than $2 billion revenue from Quest and Portal.

Horizon is Meta’s brand for its suite of “metaverse” social VR apps: Horizon Worlds, Horizon Workrooms, Horizon Venues, and the soon to launch Horizon Home. Each uses your Meta Avatar and each requires an active Facebook account for access.

Based on Zuckerberg’s mention of creators building worlds, he’s seemingly referring to the flagship app Horizon Worlds, which was renamed from just ‘Facebook Horizon’ in October and launched to US & Canadian adults in December after a two year closed beta. Worlds works similarly to Rec Room, allowing users to create their own social experiences inside VR by using controllers to place & manipulate shapes and using a visual scripting system to add dynamic functionality.

But it’s unclear exactly how Horizon Worlds, an app designed specifically for VR, would work on a smartphone lacking tracked controllers. Meta could follow Rec Room in porting mechanics to mobile, but this would be a significant effort and could compromise future features – ideas could be squashed by designers wondering “but how will this work on mobile?” It’s also possible “a version” of Horizon means mobile users will be spectators unable to create content or engage in all interactions – the mobile version would then also act as marketing for the full VR experience.

Further, it’s unclear what Zuckerberg means by saying “you’re also going to be able to access the worlds from your Facebook or Instagram apps as well”. Will these apps balloon in size with a 3D rendering engine, will Meta use cloud streaming, or does this simply mean in-feed links to a separate Horizon Worlds mobile app?

Horizon Worlds Beta Goes Public In US & Canada With 18+ Age Requirement

From uploadvr

After years of waiting, the Horizon Worlds beta is opening to anyone in the US and Canada, with no invite required.

Meta announced the change today, which moves the beta from an invite-only system to a public beta with no invite requirement. Anyone who is in the US and Canada and over 18 can download Horizon Worlds and try it out from today.

UploadVR asked Meta for clarification on how the 18+ age requirement will be verified, to which a spokesperson responded: “When you log into Horizon Worlds with Facebook, you’ll be able to use the app in VR if your age on Facebook is over 18.”

Horizon Worlds is the social hub and creation tool created by Meta as part of the wider Horizon brand, which also includes Horizon Venues and Horizon Workrooms. It was announced all the way back in 2019, then known as Facebook Horizon, and displayed similar social, world-building functionality as VR apps like VRChat and Rec Room.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has emphasized Horizon Worlds’ priority within the company’s VR/AR efforts, hoping it might start the ‘social fabric’ of VR. Likewise, Meta Consulting CTO John Carmack has stated that he wants the next iteration of the company’s annual Connect conference to be held inside Horizon apps.

We first tried Horizon Worlds at Oculus Connect 6 in September 2019. A Closed Alpha began in March 2020, followed by a transition to an invite-only closed beta in August. It was then that we were able to go hands-on with Horizon Worlds for a second time, which left us feeling that the app had good foundation but didn’t necessarily feel like the full picture of Meta’s social VR puzzle.

In October, Meta rebranded Facebook Horizon to Horizon Worlds and announced a $10 million fund to encourage Horizon creators, despite still being in closed beta at the time.

Now, more than two years after it was announced, the beta will be open to those in the US and Canada. There is no word on other regions at the moment, but expect to hear more as the open beta progresses towards (hopefully) a full launch in the future.

Horizon Worlds beta is open to anyone aged 18+ in the United States and Canada from today on the Quest and Rift platforms. Support for the original Quest 1 will end January 13, 2022.

Horizon Workrooms 1.2 Adds Customization, New Themes, Lectern

From uploadvr

Horizon Workrooms 1.2 is available now, bringing more customization to rooms and a lectern for easier presenting.

Originally announced back at Connect 2021, the new update lets users upload custom posters and logo graphics to display in the room, as well as pick a room theme.

When Workrooms launched, there was only one room available (the ‘Lakes’ room). Now there are two room locations available, each with two different themes: Lakes – Cabin, Lakes – Vibrant, City – Bright and City – Sleek.

The latter Vibrant and Bright themes feel a bit more casual, while the Sleek and Cabin themes take on a slightly more professional tone, especially the former.

The City room is a nice change of pace from the standard offering, but the view does look a little close to the ‘The World If’ meme skyline for my liking. Nonetheless, you can make it feel a little more homely by uploading custom graphics and decorating the walls.

To upload custom graphic files to Workrooms, you’ll need to ensure that both your Workrooms Quest app and the Oculus Remote Desktop app are updated to version 1.2. Oculus Remote Desktop doesn’t update automatically, so you’ll need to head over to workrooms.com and download the latest version.

Once everything is updated, head to the Room tab in Workrooms in VR, then scroll down until you find the option that lets you customize the room’s graphics. Clicking on the plus icon for each graphic will open a link in the browser of your connected computer, where you can upload the poster and logo graphics.

Once uploaded, apply them to your room and feel a little bit more at home. We managed to get our UploadVR logo into the City – Sleek theme, as pictured above, and it definitely makes the space feel a little more personal.

The last new feature is a lectern, to be used when presenting so that you still have access to your desk area while speaking to the audience.

Will you be customizing your Workrooms environment? Let us know in the comments.

Zuckerberg Announces Facebook Company Rebrand To Meta

From uploadvr

Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook’s company title will be renamed to Meta. 

Facebook Becomes Meta

The social media platform Facebook will keep its name, as will other company services and apps, while Meta will become the official name for the umbrella company that oversees Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Reality Labs and all its other subsets. 

The official announcement follows on from a report from The Verge last week that indicated the change might be incoming and announced officially at Connect.

As we remarked last week, the move is not dissimilar to Google’s 2015 decision to rebrand their company title from Google to Alphabet. This was done to distinguish Google from the search engine and provide a more encompassing name for the umbrella company managing all of its services and products. 

For Meta, the new name signals a shift towards the metaverse, which has been a big focus of Facebook’s recent VR/AR efforts and today’s Connect keynote. Currently the company brands its own social VR applications on platforms like the Oculus Quest as ‘Horizon’, including Horizon Home, Horizon Workrooms and Horizon Worlds.

What do you make of the new Meta name? Let us know in the comments below!

Facebook’s Metaverse Takes a Baby Step with Customizable ‘Horizon Workrooms’ Environments

From roadtovr

Facebook launched Horizon Workrooms back in summer, bringing to Quest a new enterprise-focused virtual collaboration platform that connects both VR and video chat users in the same place. Soon the app will let you choose from different environments which will be customizable to some degree—a prescient step on the way to Facebook’s vision of its metaverse.

“Later this year we’ll introduce customizable rooms in Workrooms, giving you the ability to choose from a wide variety of different environments to get work done, and place your own company logos or team posters in your rooms,” the company said today during its annual Connect dev conference. “This will let people adapt their virtual workspaces to match individual company styles, cultures, and branding guidelines.”

So far Horizon Workrooms has only offered a few standard boardroom spaces. That isn’t changing terribly much with the ability to do things like modify colors, decorations, and import company logos and posters, however the ostensibly conservative update coming to the app later this year is definitely another bid to make Facebook and its VR hardware more attractive to companies looking to stay distanced and distributed. You know, the ‘new normal’.

Facebook surprise-launched Horizon Workrooms back in August, which lets VR and video chat users work and physically collaborate in the same virtual space. Since then it’s included support for things like Zoom Meeting and Zoom Whiteboard for better cross-platform collaboration, and also included more intuitive whiteboards, instant Remote Desktop connection, and AR keyboard labels in its v1.1 release.

And customizable Workrooms environments aren’t the only thing on the agenda this year either, as Facebook continues to refine its expansion into enterprise VR to make it cheaper and more attractive. It’s building towards the 2023 release of dedicated ‘Work Accounts’ which will essentially let companies adopt the consumer Quest hardware instead of having to buy the more expensive Quest for Business kit for $800.

This comes on the tails of a Facebook hiring spree that will see an additional 10,000 people added to its ranks in effort to build its version of the metaverse, or what you might define as a connect platform of virtual experiences and worlds that share some level of connectivity, interoperability, and identity.

Horizon Home Replaces Quest Home, Adding Social Integration & Parties

From uploadvr

Announced today at Facebook’s annual Connect conference, Horizon Home will replace Oculus Home on the Oculus Quest platform, bringing new social integration with multiple users. 

“Launching soon as an update to the existing Home experience, this is our early vision for your Home in the metaverse,” Facebook explains on the Oculus Blog Connect recap. “A social space where you can bring friends to hang out, watch videos together, or jump into POPULATION: ONE with your squad.”

The ability to build and customize your home environment, akin to the tools available on Oculus Home for Rift on PC, will arrive “in the future” according to Facebook. Customization is on the way, but is “a little further out” than the new social integration features launching soon. 

Speaking on a call earlier this week, Facebook’s VP of VR/AR (and 2022’s incoming CTO) Andrew Bosworth discussed how Horizon Home will be the new landing point for any Quest headset, replacing and building on the current Oculus Home system with more features. 

“Horizon Home is the first thing you’re gonna see when you put on your Oculus Quest,” he said. “Previously there was Oculus Home when you put it on, but our goal is to actually make it Horizon Home [and] make it more social so you can invite your friends to join you as avatars.”

Facebook did not specify what video services would be supported to “watch a video” with friends in Horizon Home. The promotional video, embedded above, showed support for “Oculus Originals” 360 video experiences and a tab with “Your Media”, which might indicate support for local media files stored on the headset. 

Other existing first-party services, like Oculus TV and Facebook Watch, are likely bets as well. However, it remains to be seen whether existing media streaming options (such as using web streaming services through Oculus Browser) will support multiple users in Horizon Home. 

Likewise, there was no word on any new partnerships with major third-party content providers, such as Netflix, Disney+ and more, which could provide better and/or native social viewing integration with Horizon Home. 

Facebook also announced that, starting later this year, Quest will support Messenger audio calls in VR, allowing you to call your Facebook friends from within your headset.