Facebook’s metawares follow in the footsteps of Ready Player One, with gloves that simulate touch. A section of the social network provided a prototype of haptic gloves. Will it come out as soon as Steven Spielberg’s movie?
Meta’s Metawares – the new name of the Facebook team – will only be on display by wearing a virtual reality headset: the experience is touch-based, with haptic equipment. This is the direction in which the social network wants to go, as evidenced by the provision of a more experimental pair of gloves.
The idea behind these haptic gloves is to give the public the impression of manipulating physical objects with their hands as they evolve into a virtual and imaginary universe. If a person takes an apple in his hand, while he is in the metawares, the glove should copy the size and weight of the fruit and provide resistance to the fingers.
This is the direction in which the American company has long wanted to go. ” Recreates complex and subtle sensations for the wearer such as pressure, structure and vibrations “. Its purpose is to give stability to the metawares and credibility to immerse themselves in this continuous world.
Making such equipment will make the interactions between the members of Metawares more realistic: it will feel like putting a plate on one’s shoulder, while being able to aim well with the glove. Of course, this is for friendly use. What if users try to use it to harass others? We know that moderation in meta can be an important issue.
The model, which was released by Meta on November 16th, continues its development. Its design and appearance are likely to grow significantly in the coming months and years so that these gloves can be made industrially, marketable and easy to use by the general public.
According to Facebook, this work should also be used to improve human-machine communication. Reality Labs, which is responsible for making these devices, understands the wearer’s hand movements as accurately as possible and makes them reflect the system. This work can have other implications beyond entertainment.
This first step in integrating touch into Facebook’s metawares will lead to other subsequent improvements: if gloves can be designed, it is possible to create an outfit from head to toe. Work in this direction already exists and it is difficult to imagine the social network ignoring the design of other similar devices.
For those who have seen the science fiction movie Ready player one, With meta’s metawares, virtual reality headsets and haptic gloves, meta’s announcements that his future virtual and static universe is heading in that direction. In this movie, the heroes escape from reality and reach the world outside the world, thanks to the combination of Oasis, virtual reality and haptic.
However, the arrival of Metawares is not for tomorrow. The themes of the Facebook project already exist: Released in 2019 Horizon, A concept of a social and playful universe in virtual reality, which in 2021 created virtual reality as an alternative to video conferencing. But metawares don’t come for many years. It remains to be seen whether the public will follow suit.
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