Facebook to cope with the changing working method, increasingly oriented towards remote and flexible solutions, has decided to present its new VR function Horizon Workrooms , available in open beta for Oculus Quest 2.
Workrooms is the new experience that allows people to get together to work in the same virtual room, no matter how physically distant they are. It can be used in both virtual reality and on the web and has been designed to improve team collaboration and communication skills.
The experience generated is considered different due to features such as desk and keyboard tracking in mixed reality, hand tracking, remote desktop streaming, video conferencing integration, spatial audio and the new Oculus Avatars. In fact, users can decide to participate in the meeting using their virtual alter ego or their video camera.
Its characteristics are detailed below as described in the press release.
Horizon Workrooms
- Bring your desk, computer and VR keyboard : Working in VR doesn’t mean you have to give up your usual tools. Workrooms is a hybrid reality experience, allowing you to take your physical desk and tracked and compatible keyboard with you to the virtual room, where you can see them on the virtual meeting table in front of you. Combined with the new Oculus Remote Desktop app for Mac and Windows, you’ll have quick one-click access to your computer from VR. You can take notes during your meetings, take your files to VR, and even share your screen with colleagues if you want. Read here for details on compatible devices;
- Feel like you are together with the avatars and spatial audio : Feel more connected and have more natural conversations using our new and improved Oculus avatars and spatial audio technology. Our new avatars, which we launched earlier this year, offer a huge variety of customization options that make them more expressive and natural, helping you feel like you are really there with your colleagues. Conversation is more realistic too: With our high-quality, low-latency spatial audio, you’ll hear people around you based on where they’re sitting, just like they would sound in a real room, making conversations smooth;
- A virtual whiteboard as big as your ideas : Each Workrooms room offers infinite space for the whiteboard, so you can sketch things out together in real time. For the first time, you can use your controller in a new way, by turning and writing with it like a pen, either on the physical desk in front of you or by going to the whiteboard. You can also pin pictures from your computer to the whiteboard and then mark them and review them with colleagues. Your whiteboards stay in Workrooms for as long as you need, so you can come back at any time and continue working in the same room. And once finished, you can export any whiteboard from VR to share as an image on your computer;
- A room for each task : You can configure the virtual room layout to suit your needs. Whether you’re focused on collaboration, conversation, or presentation, there’s a seating arrangement for every occasion, and the whole room fits the size of your group;
- Join in VR or via video call : Not everyone will always have a VR headset handy, so you can also connect to a room from your computer via video call. You can also invite guests to connect by simply sharing a link to the meeting. Participants will appear on a screen in the virtual room, just like in a real conference room. Up to 16 people in VR are supported at the same time, and up to 50 people in total in a call, including video participants;
- Designed to use your hands : Workrooms is one of our first experiences that was designed from the start to use hands, not controllers, as the primary input. This helps create a more natural and expressive social experience and allows you to more easily switch between physical instruments like the keyboard and controllers when needed. (To ensure the best experience, you need to enable hand tracking to use Workrooms);
- Meeting notes, file sharing, calendar integration and chat : The Workrooms web application, offered in countries where Facebook is available, makes it easier to collaborate both in VR and on the computer. Each room in Workrooms comes with a place on the web to capture the notes and activity lists you’re in a meeting, share links and files, and chat with your team. You can also sync your Outlook or Google Calendar to make it easier to schedule meetings and send invitations.
Considerable importance has been given to privacy . In fact, Workrooms will not use your work conversations and materials to inform Facebook ads and other people will not be able to see the computer screen in Workrooms unless it is shared, and the permissions granted to the Oculus Remote Desktop app are used only to allow streaming from your computer to your headset.
Download the Horizon Workrooms app from the Oculus Store to your Quest 2 and enjoy the experience. In case of doubts and questions you can consult the section FAQ made available by Facebook.
