Virtual Reality Web Browser and Social VR

When Facebook bought the company Oculus in March of 2014 it sent shockwaves throughout the tech industry. The $2 billion US deal changed virtual reality forever. Oculus, a leader in the field of VR, currently has one of the best-selling VR headset on the market with their Oculus Rift product. Now, about two years after the industry shaking deal, Facebook and Oculus have unveiled what they’ve been working on. Developers at both companies have been working on developing VR’s own World Wide Web.

Web VR

Facebook and Oculus are designing the framework for Web VR to be a standard for all VR devices. As of now, devices from different companies and developers run apps that are built specifically for their device. These apps are downloaded from app stores that are unique to each device. Web VR aims to bridge the gap between devices and offer content available to everyone, regardless of the headset you own.

Web VR’s current capabilities include instantly playable experiences on Web VR; for example 360 video. Web VR is designed to make VR experiences available to a wider audience.

Carmel Browser

A type of internet browser codenamed Carmel is also in the works. This browser’s full capabilities are not yet known and it is unclear why a separate web browser is needed to access Web VR.

What We Know 

• Will allow users to browse the web on their headsets 
• Set to work on any Oculus device 
• VR will not be confined to standalone apps and games

According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg early previews will be made available to VR developers in the near future.

Social VR

The next step in Facebook’s plan for WebVR and their Carmel browser is to create social VR software.

At the Oculus Connect 3 event co-founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg said, "Virtual reality is the perfect platform to put people first, because of presence. You feel like you're really there, in another place, with people." (2016)

In the video above we can see Mark Zuckerberg showcasing some of Facebook and Oculus' early social VR capabilities.

Michael Booth, Head of Facebook’s Social VR team who was also featured in the demo above had this to say about social VR, “In the videogame industry, we focused all of our energy on ‘we’re gonna create an experience for you.’ This is turning that completely around. It’s all about putting people first—connecting with your friends. I think we’re getting pretty close to that." (2016)

At Oculus Connect 3, Oculus also announced its plans for social VR. New avatars and social hang out rooms will be available on the platform in the coming months.

Resources:

Sathe, G. (2016, 7 October). Facebook Carmel Is a Web Browser for VR. Retrieved October 13, 2016 from

 http://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/facebook-carmel-is-a-web-browser-for-vr-1471582

Colaner, S. (2016, 6 October). Web VR: Oculus, Facebook Pushing VR For All With React VR, 'Carmel' Browser. Retrieved October 13, 2016 from

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/web-vr-oculus-facebook-carmel-react-vr,32822.html

Rubin, P. (2016, 7 October). Mark Zuckerberg’s VR Selfie Is a Bigger Deal Than You Realize. Retrieved October 13, 2016 from

https://www.wired.com/2016/10/oculus-facebook-social-vr/