Facebook has launched what it thinks is an answer to the office-versus-home working debate for companies and staff.
Its ‘Horizon Workrooms’ is a virtual reality platform that lets people ‘meet’ for work by strapping on Facebook’s VR headset, the Oculus Quest 2. Once worn, the user can ‘sit’ around a virtual table and ‘see’ their colleagues’ virtual gestures and body language.
Users can also share laptops screens while associates who don’t have a VR headset can dial into the virtual room using a normal videoconferencing service which will be displayed in the virtual room.
Facebook says that it is using the system itself for meetings within the social networking giant’s corporate operations.
“Working without colleagues around you can feel isolating at times, and brainstorming with other people just doesn’t feel the same if you’re not in the same room,” said the company of the new service, which will be free.
The Oculus Quest 2 headset typically costs around €400 to buy.
The Workrooms virtual environment will allow hand movements to be visible without a controller, as well as facial orientation. It means that participants will be able to tell who is paying attention to them and who has drifted off to do something else.
They can also scan in their own physical desk, which then becomes interactive for other users, who can share documents by virtually dropping them there.
And the use of ‘spatial audio’ means that users hear people around the ‘room’ based on where they’re seated. This, says Facebook, is meant to replicate what “they’d sound in a real room, making conversations flow smoothly”.
Meanwhile, collaboration tools such as whiteboards will also be included, while Facebook says that users will be able to choose from a wide range of avatars.
The company’s virtual move comes as large companies continue to put off bringing people back to offices on a pre-Covid basis. The tech giant, which employs over 5,000 people in Ireland, now says that it is delaying a full return until January 2022 at the earliest. Other companies are starting to push office-attendance dates back, as a combination of the Delta variant and health advice from Nphet makes a full return in 2021 look increasingly unlikely.
Virtual reality has seen sluggish growth in recent years, despite Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg predicting that it would be the next major computing platform, rivalling laptops and smartphones.
Inhibitors to takeup of the technology include clunky headsets, limited non-gaming applications and lingering problems with motion sickness that are still experienced by some people who try the technology.
“We’ve been using Workrooms to collaborate here at Facebook already, and we think it’s one of the best ways to work if you can’t be physically together,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
“Combined with the new Oculus Remote Desktop companion app for Mac and Windows, you’ll have fast one-click access to your entire computer from VR. You can take notes during your meetings, bring your files into VR, and even share your screen with colleagues if you choose.”