Will Facebook Soon Be Offering VR Meeting Rooms for Workplace?

Another step forward for the Virtual Office

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Published: October 23, 2017

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

We’ve seen several brands beginning to explore the potential of virtual reality for business applications lately. From the Cisco Spark VR beta to exciting new opportunities from Zoom, it seems that the meeting space of the future could be more immersive than we ever had the scope to imagine.

Now, Facebook appears to be throwing its hat into the virtual reality game, with investment into a brand-new oculus product that doesn’t require a computer for operation. This means that you can get a more “mobile” experience from your VR strategy, in comparison to the previous Oculus Rift Product that was established by Facebook a couple of years ago.

Introducing the New Oculus “Go”

The concept for the Oculus Go, Facebook’s new adventure into the virtual reality world, was announced by founder Mark Zuckerberg at a virtual reality conference for developers. Zuckerberg said that the upcoming device would likely arrive sometime in the early part of next year, following up on the already significant investment that Facebook has made into the virtual marketplace.

Oculus Go
Designed with breathable fabrics, Oculus Go is comfortable and fully adjustable. It can even be used with glasses

Since acquiring Oculus back in 2014 for $3 billion, Facebook has shown a particular interest in the VR market and making it more accessible to the market. In fact, during his announcement at the virtual reality conference, Zuckerberg claimed that the Oculus Go would be the “most accessible” kit created by the industry yet. With a low price point and plenty of mobility to offer, it’s easy to see how the Oculus Go could easily evolve into a powerful tool not just for the consumer market, but for the meeting room space too.

Zuckerberg even went as far as to address the potential connection between VR and the office, when he suggested that one day, Facebook believes that everyone will be using virtual reality to improve how they “work” and play.

A Simple Start for the Meeting Room Revolution?

Huddle RoomAlthough the Oculus Go is currently billed to be a simpler solution for those interested in virtual reality than the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive, that doesn’t make it any less appealing to companies who are considering creating more immersive meeting room experiences for their remote and dispersed workers. In fact, the ease-of-use and practicality of the Oculus Go could actually mean that it’s more naturally adopted in the modern work environment – particularly since you don’t need to be at a desktop to operate the system.

Alongside the delivery of the new Oculus Go product, Facebook has also started to explore a new type of software that would work perfectly for the meeting room of the future. Facebook Spaces is a solution that’s designed to allow friends, and colleagues to meet together in virtual meeting rooms, and Facebook has claimed that they will soon be adding live video into the mix too.

During the virtual reality conference, Facebook said that they will soon be releasing new technology that allows users to create better-customised avatars for their Facebook Spaces experience. Combined with the new Oculus Go solution, this could mean that we’re seeing the start of a comprehensive virtual office, designed and implemented by Facebook.

 

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