Meta teased its next virtual reality (VR) headset, codenamed Project Cambria, at last year’s Connect conference. In the following months, the company has released further snippets such as its enterprise, rather than gaming focus, and that it won’t be cheap. Today, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has showcased Project Cambria in action, or at least the mixed reality (MR) part.
In the promo video, the actual headset has been blocked out so there’s no cheeky reveal of its physical aesthetics. What Zuckerberg is demonstrating is the full-colour pass-through cameras the enterprise headset will feature, rather than the black and white experience you get on the Meta Quest.
To demonstrate Project Cambria’s mixed reality (MR) capabilities Meta created an app called The World Beyond using its Presence Platform. The platform is a set of machine learning and AI tools designed to help developers create MR experiences that utilise natural hand and voice interactions. The World Beyond looks to be a virtual pet simulator, where you can throw toys and pet your digital companion – which looks very similar to Oppy, who made an appearance at Connect 2021.
Better yet, this might be a Presence Platform demo but The World Beyond is coming to Meta Quest’s App Lab very soon, Zuckerberg mentions. The app will be open source so developers can use it to help them build their own experiences for Project Cambria,
That’s it in terms of Project Cambria news, unfortunately. Meta did release an interview between Zuckerberg and Schell Games’ CEO Jesse Schell where they discussed all things VR but there was no accidental slip of specs, price or availability.
Those details are likely to arrive during Connect 2022 later this year. Meta has confirmed Project Cambria will arrive in 2022, keep it on track to release a reported four devices by 2024 if rumours are to be believed. As further details regarding Cambria are released, gmw3 will keep you updated.