Metaverse

Facebook to Create 10,000 European Jobs to Build its Metaverse

October 18, 2021 From vrfocus

Mark Zuckerberg has been very vocal about turning Facebook into a metaverse company, having previously announced initiatives like a dedicated metaverse product group and that $50 million investment program. The latest step in that vision was revealed over the weekend with plans to create 10,000 new jobs at Facebook across Europe.

In a blog post, Nick Clegg, VP Global Affairs, and Javier Olivan, VP Central Products said that: “Europe is hugely important to Facebook. From the thousands of employees in the EU to the millions of businesses using our apps and tools every day, Europe is a big part of our success, as Facebook is invested in the success of European companies and the wider economy.” Hence why the company wants to create so many jobs in the region over the next five years.

Facebook has yet to detail its overall metaverse vision, simply reiterating that its: “a new phase of interconnected virtual experiences using technologies like virtual and augmented reality,” and that: “No one company will own and operate the metaverse. Like the internet, its key feature will be its openness and interoperability.”

It does however have a couple of products already in beta, the recently renamed Horizon Worlds and Horizon Workrooms. Both serve different purposes in that fact that Horizon Worlds is a more community-driven platform where you can build your own worlds. Whilst Horizon Workrooms is purely designed for remote collaboration, with upcoming features including the integration of Zoom.

These are just going to be the tip of the iceberg as Facebook heavily invests in all aspects of the metaverse, with more “Horizon” products highly likely. The next could even be shown at Facebook Connect next week?

With all the hardware announcements going on last week Facebook also got in on the action, showcasing several prototypes including one with a retina display. As the company continues to reveal its metaverse plans, VRFocus will keep you updated.

Facebook To Hire 10,000 Across The EU In Metaverse Push

October 18, 2021 From uploadvr

Facebook today announced plans to hire 10,000 people across the European Union over the next five years to work on its take on the metaverse.

The social networking giant announced as much in a new blog post authored by Nick Clegg, VP Global Affairs, and Javier Olivan, VP Central Products. New details about exactly what Facebook’s interpretation of the metaverse will be were not revealed, but the company said it would work with governments to “find the right people and the right markets” for the recruitment drive.

Facebook’s Metaverse Team Expanding

The metaverse is a broad term used to describe a virtual online environment where people could meet up as digital reflections of themselves and interact with others.

Currently, Facebook has several such experiences on its Oculus Quest platform. In August it launched Horizon Workrooms, allowing VR and non-VR users to meet in virtual offices to collaborate. Work also continues of the recently rebranded Horizon Worlds, which lets users make their own VR experiences with others.

In July, Facebook announced it was setting up a “Metaverse product group”. We speculated on what exactly that means right here. Around the same time, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook would be a “metaverse company” in the next five years.

“No one company will own and operate the metaverse,” today’s blog post reads. “Like the internet, its key feature will be its openness and interoperability. Bringing this to life will take collaboration and cooperation across companies, developers, creators and policymakers.”

Next week sees Facebook host its annual Connect developer conference for VR and AR technologies. We’ll be bringing you all the latest on the company’s announcements at the show.

Facebook Announces XR Programs And Research Fund, $50 Million Investment

September 28, 2021 From uploadvr

Facebook announced a $50 million investment in a newly-established XR Programs and Research Fund with plans to support research and collaborative efforts aimed at ensuring VR and AR technologies are “developed responsibly.”

The blog post is authored by Andrew Bosworth, Facebook’s VP of VR/AR and soon-to-be Facebook CTO, and Nick Clegg, VP of Global Affairs. The focus of the post is on building the metaverse — which Facebook describes as “a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you” — and how it can be done responsibly over the next 10-15 years.

Facebook aims to work with experts across industry, government and academia to think through the opportunities and problems that the concept presents.

“The metaverse isn’t a single product one company can build alone. Just like the internet, the metaverse exists whether Facebook is there or not. And it won’t be built overnight. Many of these products will only be fully realized in the next 10-15 years. While that’s frustrating for those of us eager to dive right in, it gives us time to ask the difficult questions about how they should be built,” the blog post reads. “Success depends on building robust interoperability across services, so different companies’ experiences can work together. We also need to involve the human rights and civil rights communities from the start to ensure these technologies are built in a way that’s inclusive and empowering.”

It’s a two-year, $50 million investment and there are already a few partners lined up. The Organization of American States will work on “job training and skills development for students, creators and small business owners.” Africa No Filter, Electric South and Imisi3D will “support creators who have been pushing the boundaries of digital storytelling using immersive technology” across Africa. In Europe, Women In Immersive Tech are “supporting women and underrepresented groups driving Europe’s virtual, augmented and mixed reality sectors.”

Facebook also says it is “facilitating independent external research” with academic institutions across the world, as part of the fund. This includes research into safety and ethics at universities in Seoul and Hong Kong, along with research into privacy and data use at institutions in Singapore and research into diversity in IT at Howard University in Washington D.C..

The last few months have seen an increase in Facebook’s use of the ‘metaverse’ term — back in July, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg even proclaimed that the company will be ‘a metaverse company’ in 5 years time. But while the term is being used more and more, it’s not exactly clear what Facebook’s metaverse will look like. The XR Programs and Research Fund doesn’t clarify too much in that regard, but it does give us some insight into how Facebook is bringing external influences into the fold. You can read more details over on the Facebook blog post and expect to hear more about Facebook’s metaverse plans at at Facebook Connect next month.

New Social VR Platform Debuts With an Immersive Muse Concert You Can Watch with Friends

September 21, 2021 From roadtovr

Stageverse is a new social VR platform debuting this week with a two-hour immersive capture of the Muse: Simulation Theory concert. The platform allows multiple viewers to experience the concert together through 360° 3D footage captured from multiple angles around the venue. In addition to Oculus Quest, Stageverse also supports iOS and Android devices.

Founded initially back in 2017, Stageverse is making its debut this week after purportedly raising $7.5 million in venture capital. The company has built a social VR platform that it hopes will be home to entertainment and social interactivity. You can find the app for Oculus Quest, iOS, and Android.

At the outset the company is focused on building out a virtual concert venue, and has partnered with the hit band Muse to debut the platform with an immersive two-hour capture of the band’s Simulation Theory concert.

“Simulation Theory has always been about creating experiences that redefine the human role in programming and technology,” said Muse frontman and co-founder Matt Bellamy. “We can’t wait for our fans to be able to truly immerse themselves in our Simulation Theory world and take full advantage of everything that the Stageverse experience will offer.”

The Simulation Theory Concert was captured in 360° 3D in 2019. Users can meet up in a social hub space in the app then watch the concert together in avatar-form from any one of 16 viewpoints.

Part of the Stageverse social hub | Image courtesy Stageverse

The concert is available now in Stageverse, free for a limited time, with shows starting at 7PM ET (your timezone here) on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. An on-demand preview of the concert can be seen at any time.

Although the Muse concert is clearly the keystone content at launch, Stageverse says the platform is capable of more than just concerts. Founders Tim Ricker and Claire Seidler see the platform extending to host all manner of immersive social experiences. In October the company plans to launch an immersive art exhibit by visual artist Shantell Martin that will be seamlessly integrated into the platform alongside the Muse concert.

Stageverse is also hoping to create an “NFT economy and marketplace” built around avatar clothing and customization that will “unlock community capitalism to the fullest extent.” To kick off that effort the platform has also partnered up with Parisian fashion house Balmain to offer up a small set of avatar fashion items. Though it isn’t yet clear what kind of prices the company will be asking for, nor precisely how its NFT ownership model will work.