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Singer Jewel Is Offering Mental Health Support In VR

From vrscout

Mental health support is just a headset away.

Do you remember Jewel, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter who graced us with such memorable songs as “Who Will Save Your Soul” and “You Were Meant For Me”? Well, she’s back, and she’s dishing out some much-needed mental health support to the VR community.

Recently, the multiplatinum music artist appeared on the news show CUOMO to chat about Innerworld, a VR metaverse she co-founded that offers evidence-based mental health tools and peer-to-peer support to those struggling with various mental complications, from anxiety and depression to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).



The platform offers a variety of beneficial resources and is monitored by a team of human operators as well as an artificial intelligence (AI) system that keeps a lookout for keywords that may indicate immediate self-harm.

“What I’ve done in the Foundation for the past 20 years is a peer-to-peer model, and we actually see a lot more profound results than one-on-one,” said Jewel. “I think psychotherapy is great, but it isn’t something everybody has access to. And meditation is incredibly important and there are so many great meditation apps out there but what I’ve learned is that meditation puts you in position to change, but then you need behavioral tools to start to change actual habits.”

Credit: Innerworld

“I had been tasking myself to come up with solutions that were genuinely scalable. And for me, VR was really where I was focusing,” she added. “We have a lot of people who use this as a supplement to their therapeutic work and we have people who don’t have access to therapeutic or other traditional service. They are getting incredible results, and there are people from all over the world—which is what’s so amazing about VR.”

Innerworld is available for free in VR on Meta Quest, PC, and iOS devices. For more information visit inner.world.

Feature Image Credit: Henry Laurisch

A New VR Film For Quest Honors Women Astronauts

From vrscout

These high-flying women are literally out of this world.

In honor of International Women’s Day, the Emmy Award-Winning Felix & Paul Studios has released Women In Spaceflight, a new VR film celebrating the many accomplishments of female spacefarers. Available now on Quest headsets, the six-minute 360-degree special feature pays homage to the late great Jerrie Cobb, an American aviator who paved the way for female astronauts.

The official description states: “Discover the awe-inspiring achievements of female astronauts throughout history. Learn all about the trailblazing women, who have defied the odds and dared to explore the outer limits of our world. An inspiring journey that pays homage to pioneer Jerry Cobb and all the women who changed spaceflight forever and are paving the way for the next steps in space exploration.”

Credit: Felix & Paul Studios

“We wanted to celebrate the pioneering spirit and groundbreaking achievements of women in space flight, from Jerry Cobb to those currently paving the way for deep space exploration such as Jessica Meir and Christina Koch,” said Katarina Soukup, Vice-President Production at Felix & Paul Studios, in an official release. “‘Women in Spaceflight’ is an inspiring journey that honors their contributions and highlights the importance of gender diversity in the field of space exploration.”

Women In Spaceflight is a part of Felix & Paul Studios’ award-winning Space Explorers series, which offers viewers an inside look into the lives and work of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. Other notable works include Traveling While Black, a VR documentary highlighting the history of restriction of movement for black Americans, and Strangers with Patrick Watson, an intimate performance from the Montreal-based singer-songwriter.



Women In Spaceflight is available to watch now on Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets for free via the Meta Quest TV app. You can check out Felix & Paul Studios’ other VR projects over at felixandpaul.com.

For more information on Women in Spaceflight visit here.

Feature Image Credit: Felix & Paul Studios

This VR App Lets You “Step Inside” Your Memories

From vrscout

Those interested can join the waitlist now.

Imagine being able to physically step inside your favorite memories at the exact locations in which they occurred. That’s the idea behind Wist, an upcoming mobile app from the California-based VR startup Wist Labs that turns 2D video into 3D scenes you can watch in augmented reality (AR) or VR.

According to the official website, Wist utilizes sensors available on the latest mobile devices to capture 3D data, allowing you to move around and inspect the virtual scene from different angles. You’ll have the ability to “replay” these memories in AR using a compatible iOS device or in VR using a Quest headset.

Wist Labs is conducting a closed beta for a select group of users at the moment. Those interested can join the waitlist here. No word yet on an official release date for either the VR or mobile app.

Moving forward, the company plans on introducing additional features such as real-time multiplayer and various other processing and artificial intelligence (AI) improvements. The latest update, v0.4.2, introduced experimental support for Quest Pro with passthrough.

Credit: Wist Labs

Needless to say, this sort of technology could prove useful in a number of different scenarios. Wist Labs provides a small collection of examples on its official website. This includes everything from an intimate birthday celebration with friends to an adorable capture of a sleeping pup. There’s even a 3D scene depicting a real-life sonogram session.

For more information visit the company’s official website or Twitter.

Feature Image Credit: Wist Labs

Horizon Worlds VR Metaverse Coming To Web & Mobile

From vrscout

Meta has also begun testing “members-only worlds” featuring exclusive content.

Meta this week announced that it has given a select group of users the ability to grow and moderate their own communities by creating “members-only worlds.” These closed spaces feature exclusive VR content accessible by a hand-picked group of Horizon Worlds users.

According to an official press release, creators can invite up to 150 members to each world as part of the alpha test. Each members-only world can support up to 25 concurrent visitors at one time. Here users can engage in a variety of multiplayer activities, such as organizing a book club, attending a support group, meeting up with friends and family, and more.

Credit: Meta

“Every community develops its own norms, etiquette, and social rules over time as it fosters a unique culture. To enable that, we’ll provide the tools that allow the creators of members-only worlds to set the rules for their communities and maintain those rules for their closed spaces,” said the company in an official release.

“Creators can choose whether or not to share their moderation responsibilities with other trusted group members and decide if they’ll allow members to visit the world without a creator or moderator present,” they added. “Everyone will always have the ability to report worlds to Meta and report others for behavior that violates our Code of Conduct for Virtual Experiences.”

Credit: Meta

In addition to members-only worlds, Horizon Worlds will also be expanding to additional platforms beyond VR. Meta’s social VR metaverse will soon be available on the web as well as mobile devices, allowing those without a Quest 2 or Quest Pro VR headset the ability to jump into the action.

As previously mentioned, Meta is partnering with a select group of Horizon Worlds users as part of the ongoing alpha test. This test is designed to confirm that creators have the tools required to properly moderate and grow their members-only worlds.

For more information check out the official release here.

Image Credit: Meta

Eli Roth’s BE MINE: A VR Valentine’s Slasher Revealed

From vrscout

The horror icon is back with yet another immersive experience for Quest headsets.

Eli Roth, director of iconic horror films such as Hostel and Cabin Fever, is returning to VR with a new horror experience. Written by Roth and directed by Adam MacDonald, Eli Roth’s BE MINE: A VR Valentine’s Slasher tells the story of Becca (played by Peyton List), a young girl being stalked by a murderous psychopath wearing a Cupid mask.

According to Meta, the combination 180 and 360-degree film is around 30 minutes long and will be available on Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets via Meta Quest TV and Horizon Worlds, Meta’s own social VR metaverse. Meta will be hosting a special premiere event in Horizon Worlds at 7pm PT on February 10th. You’ll also be able to watch the short film on Facebook and Instagram.

“I had the most incredible experience making Trick-VR-Treat with Meta, and we wanted to push the experience even further with BE MINE, creating a true narrative experience where you’re at the center of a slasher film,” said Roth in an official release.

“I wrote BE MINE knowing what worked best in VR, but pushing the boundaries with new ideas and techniques, and the results are nothing short of thrilling. We have created a true immersive horror experience. I have been a huge fan of Adam MacDonald for a long time, and what he and the incredible cast brought to life is something unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I think horror fans are going to absolutely love it. Get ready, it’s a bloody good time.”

Eli Roth’s BE MINE: A VR Valentine’s Slasher premiers at 7pm PT on February 10th on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets. The film was produced by Crypt TV and Roth in collaboration with Cream Productions. For more information visit here.

Image Credit: Meta

MLK: Now Is The Time Is Available Now On Meta Quest

From vrscout

You can also watch The March 360, a “digital reenactment” of the 1963 March on Washington.

Available now on Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets, MLK: Now is the Time allows you to experience Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech like never before. Brought to us by TIME Studios and Flight School Studios, the thought-provoking VR experience combines real footage of the historic speech with interactive elements designed to teach you more about the issues raised by Dr. King.



Each topic is represented as an interactive vignette designed to hit you on an emotional level while educating you on important subjects such as housing inequality, voting rights, and policing.

“That speech is a calling on the country to consider a baseline for all its citizens,” said Director Limbert Fabian. “I didn’t want you to only stand and listen to his words—I wanted to start you off with them and then lead you into a discussion about how they feel today. And I wanted to find that with each moment in the speech, we were getting closer to him.”

“One of the amazing things about VR and our metaverse work is that it creates opportunities for transformative learning in a way we’ve never experienced before,” added Roy L. Austin Jr, Meta’s vice president of Civil Rights and Deputy General Counsel. “We can simultaneously document, educate, and experience history in a way that furthers our understanding and progress today.”

“At TIME Studios, we believe immersive storytelling allows us to bring powerful moments in history to new audiences while also illuminating larger societal and global issues,“ said Loren Hammonds, Co-Head of Documentary at TIME Studios. “We are proud to bring the words and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to a new generation with this groundbreaking VR experience, created alongside Meta and in collaboration with IPM, the exclusive licensor of the MLK Jr. estate.”

MLK: Now is the Time is available now on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets. You can also watch The March 360, a “digital reenactment” of The March on Washington. For more information check out the official announcement here.

Image Credit: Meta

Meta to Resume Quest Sales in Germany Following 2-year Antitrust Case

From roadtovr

Over the past two years Meta hasn’t sold its VR headsets in Germany due to an ongoing antitrust suit in that country that alleges the forced linkage between its virtual reality products and Facebook was an anticompetitive practice. Now it seems that’s about to change, as regulators have intimated that Meta may be free and clear soon to resume sales in Germany.

As reported by German VR publication MIXED, residents of Europe’s largest economy will soon be able to order Quest 2 and Quest Pro, which are both set to be available in-country by the end of this year.

After the sales halt in September 2020, Germany-based customers had to import Meta VR devices, which was typically done by buying from online retailers based in neighboring European countries, such as France’s Amazon.fr or Italy’s Amazon.it.

Resuming sales in Germany is directly linked to Meta’s backtracking on forced Facebook logins in August. Andreas Mundt, President of Germany’s Federal Cartel Office which is tasked with antitrust enforcement in that country, calls this a “welcome development,” although the process is still not concluded.

Here’s Mundt’s full statement, translated to English:

With Meta’s digital ecosystem created with a very large number of users, the company is the key player in the social media space. Meta also has a significant position in the growing VR market. If the use of VR glasses were only possible for Facebook or Instagram members, this could severely affect competition in both areas. Meta has responded to our concerns and offered a solution by setting up a separate Meta account to use the Quest glasses. Despite this welcome development, we are not concluding the process today. First of all, we want to continue to accompany the actual design of the options for users as well as topics of the merging and processing of user data from the various meta-services.

Although a Meta spokesperson tells MIXED that both Quest 2 and the new Quest Pro will be available in-country at some point this year, the exact date is unclear.

Thanks to our reader Blaexe for pointing out that it wasn’t a block, but an anticipatory halt on Meta’s part during the ongoing antitrust suit. We’ve changed wording to reflect this.

Qualcomm Says Multiple Snapdragon XR2+ Devices Will be Announced by Year’s End

From roadtovr

Semiconductor giant Qualcomm says its latest XR chipset, the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 1, will find its way into multiple virtual and mixed reality (MR) headsets by the end of 2022.

We know of at least two headset that already feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon XR chipset: the recently launched Meta Quest Pro and Lenovo ThinkReality VRX, both of which are VR standalones capable of augmented reality interactions thanks to color passthrough cameras (aka ‘mixed reality’).

Announced on October 11th alongside Quest Pro, Snapdragon XR2+ boasts better heat dissipation, providing it the ability for 50% higher sustained power and 30% improved thermal performance over the previous Snapdragon XR2 introduced in 2019, which you’ll find in many VR and AR headsets today.

Meta Quest Pro | Photo by Road to VR

“This allows more concurrent multimedia and perception technologies to be utilized simultaneously enabling full-sensory interactions, like creating life-like human expressions in the metaverse, without compromising form factor,” the company says.

Qualcomm says Snapdragon XR2+ introduces a new image processing pipeline providing less than 10ms latency for the sort of full-color passthrough seen in Quest Pro and ThinkReality VRX.​ It also supports 8K 60fps 360-degree video, low latency Wi-Fi 6, head, hand and controller tracking, 3D reconstruction, automatic room mapping, and high pixel density displays.

The company says “[m]ultiple OEMs have already committed to commercializing devices powered by Snapdragon XR2+ that will be announced by the end of 2022,” which means we’re due for a deluge of higher-end headsets which is slated to bring more competition to the prosumer and enterprise space.

Tech Demo Shows the Real Power of Quest Pro Face Tracking

From roadtovr

Quest Pro’s face-tracking capabilities will be quickly put to use to make Meta’s avatars more expressive, but next-gen avatars stand to benefit much more from the new tech.

One of Quest Pro’s big new features is a face-tracking system that uses internal cameras to sense the movement of your eyes and some parts of your face. Combined with a calibration-free machine learning model, the headset takes what it sees and turns it into inputs that can drive the animation of any avatar.

Key Quest Pro Coverage:

Quest Pro Revealed – Full Specs, Price, & Release Date

Quest Pro Hands-on – The Dawn of the Mixed Reality Headset Era

Quest Pro Technical Analysis – What’s Promising & What’s Not

Touch Pro Controllers Revealed – Also Compatible with Quest 2

In the near-term, this will be put to use with Meta’s existing avatars. And while it certainly makes them more expressive, they still look somewhat goofy.

This is likely the result of the current Meta avatar system not being built with this level of face-tracking in mind. The ‘rigging’—the underlying animation framework of the model—seems not quite fit for the task. Grafting Quest Pro’s face-tracking inputs onto the current system isn’t really doing justice to what it’s actually capable of.

Luckily Meta has built a tech demo which shows what’s possible when an avatar is designed with Quest Pro’s face-tracking in mind (and when almost all of the headset’s processing power is dedicated to rendering it).

Yes, it’s still a bit shaky, but every movement you’re seeing here is being driven by the user making the same motions, including things like puffing out the cheeks or moving the mouth from one side to the other. On the whole it’s a much more complete representation of a face that I’d argue manages to avoid entering into the uncanny valley.

I got to try this demo for myself in my recent hands-on with Quest Pro where I looked into the mirror and appeared as this character (which Meta calls Aura). I came away really impressed that, even with no special calibration, the face I saw in the mirror seemed to mimic whatever motions I could think to make with my face.

I was especially drawn to the detail in the skin. If I squinted and scrunched up my nose I could see the skin around it bunch up realistically, and the same thing when I raised my brow. These subtle details, like the crease in the cheeks moving with the mouth, really add a lot to the impression that this is not just an object in front of me, but something that’s got a living being behind it.

Whether or not the expressions actually look like me when I’m the one behind the mask is another question. Since this avatar’s face doesn’t match my own, it’s actually tough to say. But that the movements are at least plausibly realistic is a first important step toward virtual avatars that feel natural and believable.

Meta says it will release the Aura demo as an open source project so developers can see how they’ve attached the face-tracking inputs to the avatar. The company also says developers will be able to use a single toolset for driving humanoid avatars or non-human avatars like animals or monsters without needing to tweak every avatar individually.

Meta says developers will be able to tap a face-tracking API that uses values corresponding to FACS, a well recognized system for describing the movement of different muscles in the human face.

This is an effective system not only for representing faces, but it also forms a useful privacy barrier for users. According to Meta, developers can’t actually get access to the raw images of the user’s face. Insead they get a “series of zero-to-one values that correspond with a set of generic facial movements, like when you scrunch your nose or furrow your eyebrows,” Meta says. “These signals make it easy for a developer to preserve the semantic meaning of the player’s original movement when mapping signals from the Face Tracking API to their own character rig, whether their character is humanoid or even something more fantastical.”

Meta claims even the company itself can’t see the images captured by the headset’s cameras, either internal or external. They are processed on the headset and then immediately deleted, according to the company, without ever being sent to the cloud or to developers.

Quest Pro Revealed with Snapdragon XR2+, Face-tracking, & More; Ships October 25th for $1,500

From roadtovr

Today during Meta Connect the company finally revealed its high-end Quest Pro headset (formerly called Project Cambria). Priced at $1,500, the headset packs a new Snapdragon XR2+ processor along with a bevy of sensors for tracking the user’s expressions and the world around them for improved passthrough AR capabilities. Alongside new and improved controllers, the company also revealed the full Quest Pro specs, pre-order date, and release date.

Key Quest Pro Coverage:

Quest Pro Hands-on – The Dawn of the Mixed Reality Headset Era

Quest Pro Technical Analysis – What’s Promising & What’s Not

Touch Pro Controllers Revealed – Also Compatible with Quest 2

Quest Pro was just announced and is already available for pre-order starting today in 22 countries. Priced at $1,500 and with a release date of October 25th, Quest Pro is fully compatible with Quest 2 content while bringing improvements that will enhance passthrough AR functionality and social interactions thanks to face-tracking capabilities. Let’s take a look at the on-paper specs:

Quest Pro Specs
Resolution 1800 × 1920 (3.5MP) per-eye, LCD (2x)
Refresh Rate 72Hz, 90Hz
Lenses Pancake non-Fresnel
Field-of-view (claimed) 106ºH × 96ºV
Optical Adjustments Continuous IPD, contiguous eye-relief
IPD Adjustment Range 55–75mm
Processor Snapdragon XR2+
RAM 12GB
Storage 256GB
Connectors USB-C
Weight 722g
Battery Life 1–2 hours
Headset Tracking Inside-out (no external beacons)
Controller Tracking Inside-out (headset line-of-sight not needed)
Expression Tracking Yes (eyes, face)
On-board cameras 5x external, 5x internal
Input Touch Pro controllers (rechargeable), hand-tracking, voice
Audio In-headstrap speakers, dual 3.5mm aux output
Microphone Yes
Pass-through view Yes (color)
MSRP $1,500

Compact Optics & Form-factor

Image courtesy Meta

From a resolution and field-of-view standpoint, Quest Pro is actually quite similar to Quest 2, boasting an almost identical resolution of 1800 × 1920 (3.5MP) per-eye, but with a much more compact optical pipeline thanks to the use of ‘pancake’ lenses which moves the headset more toward a ‘goggle’-like form-factor than the old box-on-the-face of its predecessor. At 722g, Quest Pro is heavier than Quest 2, but may actually be more comfortable thanks to a rear-mounted battery for balance and a rigid headstrap.

And while the resolution isn’t higher, Meta claims Quest Pro has better clarity thanks to the headset’s new optics: a 25% improvement in sharpness at the center of the field-of-view, and a 50% improvement across the periphery (meaning larger ‘sweet-spot’ of clarity). As of now we’re not sure if those claims are merely about the lenses, or if they include the display as well, though we’ve reached out to Meta for clarity (pun intended).

Image courtesy Meta

Meta also claims Quest Pro includes a 500-element local dimming backlight which enables improved contrast up to 75% compared to Quest 2, while also allowing for a 1.3 times larger range of color.

New Controllers & Capabilities

Image courtesy Meta

Quest Pro’s controllers, which Meta is calling Touch Pro, are similar in shape but majorly upgraded under the hood. Gone are the tracking rings, which are instead replaced by three cameras which allow the controller to perform its own inside-out tracking. Not only does this make the Touch Pro controllers more compact, it also means they don’t need line-of-sight to the headset in order to maintain their position.

What’s more, the Touch Pro controllers feature improved haptics and new capabilities. The thumb rest of the controller has been angled and now includes a pressure sensor which allows for a natural pinch-like gesture. The controllers come with stylus tips which can be attached to the bottom, allowing you to flip the controller over to use like a bulbous white-board marker. The stylus even has a pressure sensor to determine how hard or soft you’re pushing against a surface.

Despite the new capabilities, the Touch Pro controllers maintain the same button and trigger layout as the Quest 2 controllers for full backwards compatibility with Quest 2 content. Touch Pro controllers are also the first from Meta that are rechargeable.

Though they are included with Quest Pro, the Touch Pro controllers are compatible with Quest 2 and can be purchased as an accessory for $300 starting later this year.

Better Sensing, Inside and Out

Image courtesy Meta

Quest Pro doesn’t just bring improved form-factor and controllers, the headset is also equipped with a bevy of sensors for better integrating the real world into the user’s experience, and better integrating the user into the virtual world.

Quest Pro packs five external sensors for passthrough AR capabilities, offering a higher resolution color view with improved depth-detection, making the headset better at understanding the geometry of the room around the user, and allowing it to more convincingly merge the virtual and real world.

The headset also includes five internal sensors for tracking the user’s eyes and face. In addition to using eye-tracking as input (potentially for things like foveated rendering), the sensors track much more information about the user’s face, allowing for significantly more expressive avatars than what’s possible on Quest 2.

Powered Up Processor

Given all the new and processing happening on Quest Pro, it’s a good thing the headset also sees both a processor and RAM upgrade. Quest Pro uses the newly revealed Snapdragon XR2+, an upgraded version of the processor that’s in Quest 2 but with better cooling, allowing for 50% more processing power. The headset also doubles the RAM over Quest 2 from 6GB to 12GB. As of now it isn’t clear how much of this increase in performance will be available to developers vs. how much will be retained for system functions like tracking.

More Features, Less Battery

Though Quest Pro includes a heap of enhancements over Quest 2, it comes with a cost… and not just in price. Meta says users can expect 1–2 hours of Quest Pro battery life. Luckily the headset includes a charging dock for both the headset and controllers, hopefully ensuring it’s ready to go whenever you are. Meta says the headset can charge to full from the dock in about 2 hours.

Complement Not Replacement, Says Meta

Image courtesy Meta

Meta says Quest Pro represents the company’s first entry in a line of “high-end” headsets, while Quest 2 and its progeny will continue to co-exist as an entry-level option.

Quest Pro is fully compatible with Quest 2 content, and while the headset is designed with an emphasis on passthrough AR (with an open peripheral view to keep users more grounded in their environment), the headset also includes magnetically attachable peripheral blinders to dial up the immersion for VR. A separate ‘full light blocker’, which blocks out even more of the surrounding view is available as a separate accessory.

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Quest Pro is priced at $1,500 and pre-orders are available today, with headsets poised to ship starting on October 25th.