Back in 2015, when I registered my freelance business, I specified product design for Virtual Realtime applications in the job description. To the surprised inquiry, "Exciting, there is such a thing?", I was able to confirm that the content of my work is focused precisely on this area. Today, I am more than happy about my decision, because this perspective has brought me all the way to my own company. Today, Virtual Realtime applications or "Metaverse applications" are known worldwide and have a growing market volume.
In this post, I would like to take a closer look at the topic of 22' XR innovations from my perspective, with a focus on the new possibilities for VR, AR, and XR. Lets explore the XR User Experience Progress in 2022.
Why is the "metaverse "a catalyst for innovation?
Mark Zuckerberg has renamed Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms, setting a clear direction and statement for the company's vision. The name change was announced at Facebook Connect on October 28, 2021. The potential of such a merger lies primarily in the seamless connection of the applications, and this is precisely what is happening at the moment. Meta, along with Google and Microsoft, is one of the strongest drivers of innovation when it comes to the development of new software and hardware.
Not all companies and institutions see the development of "metaverse applications" as a decisive innovation factor. For Meta, this factor is definitely also a risk. Such a big step towards the "metaverse" requires new investors and a willingness to take risks.
XR hardware is selling more, availability increases massively
A huge advantage, however, is that the XR hardware market is pushed by this factor.
In 2021, the number of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices shipped worldwide reached 9.86 million units, with forecasts suggesting that this is set to rise to 14.19 million units in 2022.statista.com
The best XR-HMD's
- The Meta Quest 2
- For consumers the best choice
- Applications can run mobile and via wireless / cable from the PC
- AI based hand tracking is great for gesture control
- Black and white XR Inside Out view
- Meta Quest Pro
- Coloured XR Inside Out view
- VIVE Focus 3
- Used largely for VR arcades
- with wrist trackers the hand tracking becomes very precise
- Varjo XR-3
- For super high end PC driven XR applications.
- Ideal for automotive
- Magic Leap 2
- High-end, price starting from $3299!
- Nreal Light, Nreal Air
With new hardware comes new software, so the user XR-experience can constantly make use of new possibilities. The mixed reality options are particularly noteworthy.
XR-UX Design 2.0
The time of complete isolation from reality is over. Augmenting virtual objects, i.e., spatially inserting digital content into the real world with "more immersive devices," can finally achieve true use of both spaces. With this new virtual interaction blended in with the real world, the age of productivity applications is finally born. Meta simply calls this "mixed reality." Physical interaction is combined with notes, text and images.In addition, interacting without a controller has been further developed. Hand tracking 2.0 and native integration is now available on more and more devices. If this new interaction with the PC or cell phone is really effective and useful, the classic monitor on your desk could soon be history.
XR interaction using AR techniques
For UX design, the overlayed reality can work in a very similar way to augmented reality. This means that all the tricks already known from AR applications - QR codes, image-based anchors and spatial tracking - can be implemented. In contrast to the usually rather weaker virtualization, through mobile devices, the full power of the connected PC can now be used for the calculation.
Mixed Reality for WebXR
The update of WebXR or rather the link for XR headsets to most internet browsers has amazed me. You can see a very successful application in this context in the clip and test it directly via the link. The best thing about it: via a link! - No installation!
Spacial Fusions WebXR demo @spatialfusion.io
The demo, from the video above, was developed by Meta, PHORIA and LUSION and demonstrates the use of passthrough in WebXR. Web developers can enable Meta Quest Pro's high-resolution, full-color passthrough, identify room surfaces, and anchor virtual objects to the physical world. MR for the Web is also available for Quest 2 (Quest 1, Quest Pro) in the own Oculus Browser!
XR interaction with your reality UI, GUI, VUI
Since the first google glasses, a lot of development time has gone into the watch. For voice user interfaces (VUI) and the interaction by means of speech to text, we are now in a completely different time. With the Magic Leap 2, system functionality "wake" in-application voice intent and text-to-speech is enabled, which, along with gestures and the one-handed controller, makes for a fairly simple but effective user experience. What should be mentioned in particular is the possibility to use eye tracking and the amazing field of view.
Sources and references
Meta
Magic Leap
Nreal
Statista
