Heena Sharma Blog

  Facebook has launched Oculus Quest 2, its next generation of all-in-one virtual reality headset that starts at $299. Weighing less than the original Quest, it comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Platform processor and 6GB memory. The headset offers newly redesigned controllers for better ergonomics and longer battery life, the social network said during its virtual 'Facebook Connect' conference on Wednesday. "Pre-orders open today and Quest 2 will ship October 13," it announced. Oculus Quest 2 is a culmination of years of collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies and Facebook to create the most advanced and immersive gaming VR experiences for consumers to date. Purpose-built for extended reality (XR), the Snapdragon XR2 Platform unlocks staggering improvements including twice the CPU and GPU performance compared to its predecessor. Read More

Facebook-owned Oculus on Tuesday said it is buying the studio behind hit virtual reality game " Beat Saber " as it looks to expand VR technology to wider audiences. Oculus, which makes Rift and Quest VR headgear, did not disclose financial terms of the deal to acquire Prague-based Beat Games. "Beat Games is joining us in our quest to bring VR to more people around the world," Oculus director of augmented and virtual reality content Mike Verdu said in a blog post. "Beat Games' accomplishments are already impressive, but Facebook and the Beat Games team know that there is so much more that can be done across VR, games, and music." Verdu assured players that the studio would continue to ship content and updates for "Beat Saber" on platforms where it is already available. In the virtual game, players use light sabers to slash oncoming, large cubes to the beat of music, sometimes twisting or ducking to avoid oncoming walls. "

HTC, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, is pushing its efforts in the virtual reality (VR) headset business. The company introduced on all-new Vive Pro Eye at the ongoing CES 2019. The successor to the current Vive Pro, the Vive Pro Eye comes with a built-in eye-tracking mechanism which makes VR headset experience, a little more realistic. One of the biggest advantages of using eye-tracking into VR headset means foveated rendering that adjusts which parts of a virtual scene get priority when processing graphics, Gizmodo reported. By making the headset prioritise graphics based on eye movements, the overall graphics requirements needed to run VR apps is reduced. The technology also allows for an easier gaming experience. You no longer require additional controllers to navigate. Simply look at an option and the cursor will appear as if the headset knows exactly what you intend to do. Read More Business Standard

Facebook is rolling out 3D photos in News Feed and Virtual Reality (VR) to enable users to view and create 3D photos with life-like dimensions including depth and movement. Users would have choices to adjust and experiment with creating multiple layers, contrasting colours and textures in order to create photos in 3D. "Everyone will be able to see 3D photos in News Feed and VR today, while the ability to create and share 3D photos begins to roll out today," the Facebook 360 team wrote in a blog post on Thursday. The technology behind 3D photos captures the distance between the subject in the foreground and the background. "Just take a photo in 'Portrait' mode using your compatible dual-lens smartphone, then share as a 3D photo on Facebook where you can scroll, pan and tilt to see the photo in realistic 3D," The social networking giant would also allow users to view 3D photos in VR using the "Oculus Go" browser or Firefox