Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Reality Labs chief scientist Michael Abrash, along with other Reality Labs members, presented their work at a virtual round table last week. The event focused on what Meta refers to as “time machines”: massive proofs of the idea intended to test a particular feature, such as an extremely bright backlight or an extremely high-resolution screen. “I think we are in the middle right now for a big step towards realism,” Zuckerberg told reporters. “I don’t think it will take long before we can create scenes with basically perfect fidelity.” Screen technology is not the only unsolved piece of this puzzle, but it is an area where Meta’s intensive VR hardware research gives it a leg up. A wall of original designs from Meta Reality Labs Zuckerberg reiterated plans to ship a high-tech handset codenamed Project Cambria in 2022, following his initial announcement last year. Cambria supports full virtual reality as well as augmented reality, thanks to high-resolution cameras that can stream video to an internal monitor. It will also be available with eye tracking, a key feature for future Meta headphones. From there, Zuckerberg says, Meta is planning two series of VR headphones: one that stays cheap and consumer-oriented, like today’s Quest 2, and one that incorporates the company’s latest technology, aimed at a “consumer or professional quality “. . This is followed by reports that the company is already planning updates for Cambria and Quest 2, although these prototypes were not discussed in the call. The original Butterscotch high definition headset. Meta headphones are located next to a separate line of smart augmented reality glasses, which are designed to project real-world images instead of blocking them with a screen. Meta has recently reduced the circulation of its first generation AR glasses and in general, VR screens have reached consumers much faster than AR holograms. But Meta prototypes show how far the company believes it has to go. The Butterscotch is an attempt at a near-retina headphone display – something you can find in high-tech headphones from companies like Varjo, but not in the current Meta range. The design is “non-shipping” and required approximately half the 110-degree field of view of Meta Quest 2. But it offers about 2.5x the resolution of 1832 x 1920 pixels per eye in Quest 2 (somewhat) and allows users to read the 20/20 line of sight in an eye chart. Zuckerberg says it offers about 55 pixels per degree of field of view, slightly smaller than Meta’s standard 60-pixel-degree retina and slightly lower than Varjo’s 64-pixel-degree. The original Starburst headset set. Starburst may ship even less than Butterscotch, but it is experiencing a similarly impressive upgrade. The bulky design uses a powerful lamp – which requires handles to support its weight – and produces high dynamic range (HDR) lighting with 20,000 nits of brightness. “It’s extremely impossible to think of it as a product line for the first generation, but we use it as a testing ground for further research and study,” says Zuckerberg. “The goal of all this work is to help us identify which technical paths will allow us to make significant enough improvements so that we can begin to approach visual realism.” “The jury is still at a suitable laser source.” The Holocake 2 is moving in the opposite direction, exploring Meta’s options to make VR headphones thinner and lighter. It is the successor to a 2020 design based on holographic optics, a light reflection technique that allows an almost flat panel to stand for a thick refractive lens. The result could be as subtle as sunglasses, but Meta is still working on developing a standalone light source that will power them – almost certainly a laser, not the OLEDs commonly used today. “We will need to do a lot of engineering to achieve a consumer-friendly laser that meets our standards: safe, low-cost and efficient, and that can fit a slim VR headset,” says Zuckerberg. “Honestly, as of today, the jury is still at a proper laser source.” The presentation also discussed the Half Dome, a long-running series of prototypes that can change focal levels depending on where users look. These varifocal optics started as a clumsy mechanical system in 2017 and were later transformed into a series of liquid crystal lenses and according to internal Meta research, can create a more convincing (and of course comfortable) depth illusion in VR. The original Holocake 2. Meta described Half Dome technology as “almost ready for the moment” in 2020, but today Zuckerberg was more measured. “These things are a long way off,” he said when asked about the “prime time” comment. “We are working on it, we really want to put it in one of the upcoming headphones, I’m sure we will do it at some point, but I’re not going to announce anything today.” Reality Labs will discuss more research, including how you can capture more accurate real-world augmented reality footage at the SIGGRAPH trade show in August. The above designs exist as real material that Zuckerberg showed for a while during the event. But Meta also unveiled a prototype, called the Mirror Lake, which is essentially ambitious and has never been built. The design looks more like a pair of ski goggles than Meta’s bulky material, and will incorporate Holocake 2’s slim look, Starburst HDR capabilities and Butterscotch analysis. “It shows what a complete next-generation display system could look like,” Abrash said. In addition to these features, the Mirror Lake will include an outward-facing screen that projects an image of the user’s eyes, reducing the sense of natural separation for people outside the headset. Meta introduced this slightly odd feature in a prototype last year and may not be the only company interested in the concept: Apple reportedly has considered a similar feature for its rumored headphones. The idea is adapted to a mixed reality world where Meta has been betting much of its future – but today, the company is focusing on gradual steps along the way.
