Importance of VR to Facebook

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VR – One among of 3 major pillars

Facebook is one of the biggest tech-giants of the world. They hold a developer’s conference each year with the name of F8. In the conference’s this year iteration, held on April 12 and 13, 2016, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the world what they can expect off of Facebook in the next 10 years. While it left everyone asking for more, the goals that Facebook lined up have more potential to serve the world than we can expect or fathom given the details. They aim to accomplish all of their goals in the coming decade, and with the current development scenario flourishing at Facebook, there are no doubts to be had.

Facebook hints towards the fact that there are three major pillars which will support the company’s growth in the next 10 years. They are Connectivity, artificial intelligence and virtual reality / augmented reality. Tech firms and developers around the globe, panning different areas of expertise have been working on the first two of the list for quite some time, but developments in the field of virtual reality are in their infancy. There is a lot to be done to evolve and improve the technology, which opens new areas to work in and exploit the full benefits of VR. Once made available to the masses it can be put to use for the betterment of the world.

VR’s importance to Facebook can be understood by the fact that Mark Zuckerberg announced that the audience would be getting Samsung Gear VR headsets and compatible Samsung smartphones to power the VR headset. This was just to be the beginning. In his keynote address, Zuckerberg went onto reveal the company’s roadmap and vision for the next 10 years.

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VR gadgets from keynote address

Facebook introduced a high-end 360-degree camera and called it the Facebook surround. This is a 17- wide angled camera array in the shape of a disc with 14 cameras on the sides, 2 cameras at the bottom, and one fish-eye variety camera on top to capture images all around. The camera was very much the next logical step post $2 billion investment in Oculus. The camera would come in handy to create whole lot of content for the VR platform. The camera would be priced mostly less than half the price of a Nokia Ozo 360-degree camera.

This was not the only device that was mentioned. There was a reference to the touch controllers that are being developed to complement the VR headset. The promise is to take the immersion to a whole new level and provide an unparalleled experience to the users. The most important and the exciting announcement was about utilizing VR capabilities in the world of social networking. This leaves us guessing how would it be to be on a networking platform a few years down the line.Importance of VR in according to mark.

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Mark’s Vision on VR- Importance of VR

In the event organized by Facebook, Zuckerberg said, “When we get to this world, a lot of the things we think about today as physical objects, like a TV, will be $1 apps in an AR app store,” he said. “It’s going to take a long time. But that’s our vision.” The world that he referred is a time when use of VR/AR has reached everywhere and with everyone, and it is no longer a clumsy device rather is disguised as a classic wearable like spectacles.

During the keynote at Facebook’s F8 conference, Zuckerberg talked about Oculus, the virtual-reality company Facebook bought in 2014 for $2 billion, that it would eventually be able to shrink down the size of its hardware so that it can be viewed through traditional-looking eyeglasses. He believes that this technology could be one which will connect people and inspire new forms of communication in the not-so-distant future. Virtual reality is quickly becoming popular and it has immense potential to become the most social platform in technology because it lets users meet and experience communication with other real people, offering a more personal and close experience while catching up with your relatives abroad or your beloved pet when you are away.

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VR’s journey so far & Road ahead

In less than a decade virtual reality has travelled form a hi-fi device seen in movies to a wearable device, which everyone can use at their homes. There are a lot of choices for the buyers form the device in the niche category like the Oculus to its cheaper alternatives manufactured by companies like Lenovo. Right now Facebook has revealed what it plans to achieve with the Virtual Reality technology. At this pace, soon you will see integration of VR with other fields of technology including AI and Communication systems that will work collectively to ensure collaborative growth.

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Image Credits:

www.wired.co.uk
www.techjuice.pk
www.virtualrealitytek.com
www.pcmag.com

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I am a person interested in technology and automobiles. I thoroughly believe in the fact that technology can be used to solve all problems faced by human race and at the same time can be one of the best sources of entertainment as well. Automobiles are more of a fascination for me. Hence, I love writing my views about technology and automobiles.