Facebooks future of AR / VR
The AR / VR team at Facebook helps people around the world collapse physical distance, come together, and connect by building world-class consumer hardware and bleeding-edge virtual and augmented reality software.
Augmented Reality
While modern-day VR headsets fully immerse people in 3D virtual environments, augmented reality takes computer-generated images and overlays them on your view of the world. Today, that’s typically accomplished using the camera on your smart phone, tablet, or other mobile device, and we’re hard at work to bring the vision of lightweight, stylish AR glasses to life.
Virtual Reality
Through cutting-edge graphics, best-in-class hardware, and artistically rendered experiences, VR lets us explore new worlds, defy obstacles, and attempt the impossible. And thanks to the magic of presence — the feeling that you’re sharing the same space with others — we can do all of it together.
Virtual Reality, Real Benefits
VR has enormous potential to transform how we play, work, learn communicate, and experience the world around us. It’s already changing the face of education and professional training in healthcare and beyond.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen VR come into its own as a medium — and it continues to earn critical and commercial attention.
By incorporating interactivity and the viewer’s literal point of view, VR experiences reimagine the role of the audience as co-conspirator and active agent rather than simply a passive participant.
You can explore outerspace and connect with friends. And we can leverage this technology to social change. We’ve to better understand how VR can positively impact the way we learn, we’r in libraries and schools — and we’re just getting started.Facebook operates five research facilities around the world to drive AR/VR technology into the future.
Hardware Highlights
Today, VR spans three different hardware categories — PC, All-in-one, and mobile — each with their own strengths.
PC VR
By leveraging high-end graphics cards and the full compute power of a laptop,PC VR headsets like Oculus Rift deliver the most immersive experience possible. Fully tracked Touch controllers with six degrees of freedom bring your own hands into virtual space for an even greater sense of presence.
All-in-One VR
No PC? No problem. Standalone headsets like Oculus Quest and Oculus Go deliver untethered and high-quality VR experiences in an all-in-one form factor. With best-in-class optics, top-notch media and gaming content, and an affordable price point, they deliver some of the most accessible VR options on the market today.
Mobile VR
Lightweight and low-cost, these headsets use the screen of your smartphone to deliver a quick and affordable entry point to VR. For owners of a compatible Samsung device, SamsungGear is the fastest and easiest way to explore what VR has to offer.
Facebook Reality Labs
While VR and AR may seem like distinct experiences today, over time they’ll converge and allow us to combine real and virtual worlds freely. And Facebook Reality Labs is focused on helping to build that future.
Facebook Reality Labs brings together a world-class team of
researchers, developers, and engineers to create the Future of AR VR, which together will become as universal and essential as smartphones and personal computers are today, changing how we work, play, and connect.
We’re developing all the technologies needed to enable breakthrough AR glasses and VR headsets, including optics and displays, computer vision, audio, graphics, brain-computer interface, haptic interaction, full body tracking, perception science, and true telepresence.
