Facebook Working on 'Reverse Pass-Through Glasses' for VR and AR Devices
The Meta Quest is undeniably leading consumer VR technology at the moment, as it is an affordable entry-level system that can run entirely self-contained. Riding on its success, parent company Meta (formerly Facebook) is investing a lot into VR research, with a recently-publicized patent revealing some insight into the potential future of virtual reality.
As gaming-ready VR's most affordable option by a long shot, the Meta Quest is quickly monopolizing the consumer side of the market by releasing exclusives and undercutting the prices of its competition. Other companies are aiming to improve, but for now Meta dominates the affordable VR space.
Rumored Valve VR Headset Possibly Revealed in New Patent
A recent patent filing from Meta details plans for a VR device that would allow people to see a subject's face while they are wearing the device. The way it provides the view is convoluted, and several iterations of the idea are included in the patent documentation; one of them goes so far as using a camera inside the headset to output a 3D model of the subject's face to a screen outside the headset. This results in an effect comparable to wearing a diving mask or a snorkel, where the subject's eyes are framed with the headset.
The result may not look natural, but it is an interesting way to make facial expressions readable by an external viewer without a headset on. The documents do not specify an actual use for the technology, but such specific changes to VR headsets would probably be applicable for testing purposes. A device allowing for more detailed displays of player reactions could provide useful data for playtesting games, and as the technology develops, the actual use for it may become more defined.
While Meta's research
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