The Evolving Landscape of VR Technology

TLDR; The VR world is buzzing with updates: improved hand tracking, brain-computer interface progress, PC VR support for PSVR2, and new VR headsets. Plus, a hilarious fake Valve headset announcement.

🧠 Brain Computer Interfaces

The intersection of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and virtual reality is evolving rapidly.

Meta's Control Labs bracelet, a wrist device for neural input in VR, is making strides.

It enables full typing finger tracking and more, bridging the gap between the mind and technology.

BCI technology is reaching a consumer level, with Meta announcing the bracelet as a shipped product within the next few years.

This technology is paving the way for the next few updates that have come to Quest over the past few weeks, including the wide motion mode and multimodal mode.

👋 Wide Motion Mode

Meta introduced wide motion mode, expanding hand tracking volume on Quest significantly, making hand tracking a more viable control method.

The mode uses Inside Out upper body tracking to estimate hand location even when outside the tracking volume, enhancing the user experience.

This improvement is part of Meta's recent updates that are enhancing hand tracking on the Quest.

🤝 Concurrent Hands and Controllers (multimodal)

Multimodal mode allows hand tracking and controllers to be used together, offering a fully tracked upper body with a wider tracking volume for hand tracking and separately tracked controllers.

This opens up numerous possibilities, from using controllers to track objects to potential full-body tracking by strapping controllers to different body parts.

The combination of hardware and body input is a unique feature that no other platform currently offers, providing a powerful tool for developers.

🖥️ Quest UI Overhaul

Meta is reworking some of the core UI infrastructure for the Quest, signaling an exciting refresh to the Quest UI and UX in the near future.

This overhaul is seen as one of the more important updates for the Quest in the immediate future, addressing the challenges of navigating the current system.

🎮 PSVR2 ON PC!

Sony has officially announced PC VR support for the PlayStation VR2, a development that has been eagerly anticipated.

While concrete details are still scarce, this move is a significant step in the right direction, potentially allowing the PSVR2 to be used as a PC headset, offering a wider range of functionality.

🎉 Valve Prism

Valve's new headset, the Valve Prism, was humorously revealed to be a prank, despite garnering attention and looking like a legitimate product.

Additionally, new headsets like the Huawei Vision and 6's fitness-focused hardware have emerged, showcasing a diverse range of offerings in the VR space.

🔍 Huawei Vision

The Huawei Vision, featuring near 4K Sony micro OLED panels, aims to compete with Apple's offering at a lower price point, introducing healthy competition in the VR headset market.

🥊 6's VR Fitness Hardware

6, a well-known VR developer, is venturing into hardware with a fitness-focused headset and gloves designed specifically for VR fitness.

The gloves are designed to track movements accurately, offering an interesting take on the diverse landscape of VR hardware.