Oculus Quest is getting its latest update which includes, among others, Space Sense. A feature that will prevent users from unintentionally hitting anyone or anything within the Guardian range.
Playing a virtual reality game comes with its own risk of accidents that involve users randomly hitting on objects out of sheer immersion. This has been an inherent issue with the product, especially given the lack of a feature that offsets such danger. A case that is inevitably accentuated in conditions of limited space and presence of nearby physical objects, such as in homes.
Facebook, soon Meta, may have taken the time to realize a solution to the problem. But as of the most recent v34 update, this problem should be resolved following the launch of the Space Sense functionality.
Enhanced safety
As per official Oculus Blog, “Space Sense enables you to see when objects or people intrude on your Guardian bounds”. The Guardian of which speaks to a specified space around the user which the headset can monitor for safety concerns. An important feature considering how VR has the power to absorb users into a completely different world, while not detaching from the physical.
“Other people, large pets, a chair that’s been dragged out of its usual spot—these objects and more should now be highlighted in your headset, surrounded by a pink-ish glow.”
With a broad range reaching as far as 9 feet, Space Sense makes for an ideal complement to the Guardian system for better safety. One that could prevent, say, incidentally hitting a child that wander into your established playing field.
Other features
Aside from Space Sense, there are other functionalities that are making their way into the VR experience. Namely, Android phone notifications, improved Voice Commands, and the developer-oriented Passthrough API.
For some time, the Oculus Quest VR headsets were able to sync with iPhones, which lets users view notifications as they arrive. This feature was introduced just back in May with v29, but was sorely lacking for Android. With the v34 update, this same functionality can now also be enjoyed among Android smartphone users.
Another exciting feature to come with the latest patch is also a better response to audio-input commands. Essentially an easier navigation to Oculus Quest’s interface, the enhanced capability allows for an extension in what can do. For example, answer queries, open the Settings tab, or show/hide Move stats.
A feature introduced earlier this year, the Passthrough API is now seeing practical application. As this is targeted towards developers, this meant for the development of applications that taps on the framework’s extended capabilities.
Image used courtesy of Oculus/YouTube Screenshot