Facebook’s Oculus virtual reality (VR) headset is expected to ship in early 2016, according to the latest news from the US-based company. The device has certainly come a long way since it was bought by Facebook, as the new design looks a lot more appealing and slick than the early versions that were demonstrated at the CES show several years ago.
Oculus will eventually look like a regular pair of glasses
However, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that the ultimate aim is to make the Oculus unit indistinguishable from a regular pair of glasses. The real potential, he said during a public “townhall” Q&A session this week is when Oculus “stops looking like goggles or big headsets, but instead it just looks like normal glasses”.
Zuckerberg is also confident on Oculus’ potential for virtual reality and augmented reality. Virtual reality is basically when your whole vision is taken up by computer-generated imagery, whereas augmented reality is where computer images are overlaid onto video of the real world.
Companies like Microsoft are already working on augmented reality products, such as the much-hyped prototype, the HoloLens, which was recently demonstrated at the company’s BUILD conference.
Zuckerberg believes the ideal version of the Oculus headset isn’t an overnight process, but getting there will take anywhere from five to twelve years, he said.
SOURCE: Business Insider.
Larry Banks is a keen follower of technology and finance. He has worked for a variety of online publications, writing about a diverse range of topics including mobile networks, patents, and Internet video delivery technologies.