Late final 12 months, Meta teased a complicated VR headset codenamed “Mirror Lake.” Whereas particulars about this future headset are nonetheless fairly sparse, we do now at the very least have an image of what it’d seem like within the type of a render — and a promise that it is “sensible to construct now.”
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The brand new render was proven off by Douglas Lanman, Meta’s director of show methods analysis, as he was giving a chat known as “Easy methods to Cross the Visible Turing Take a look at in AR/VR” at The College of Arizona. And whereas the headset is truthfully a little bit creepy at first look, it guarantees some important developments.
What instantly catches your eye is how slim and open the headset is. Bulk and weight have been among the many greatest complaints about VR headsets up to now, however Meta’s Mirror Lake exhibits off a a lot smaller heft than something earlier than it.
The headset appears to be like extra like a pair of ski goggles than the VR headsets we’re used to (within the model of the Imaginative and prescient Professional from Apple, however smaller nonetheless), and the wearer’s face isn’t solely seen from the aspect (which means air can movement freely), however a reverse passthrough system shows a picture of the wearer’s eyes on the entrance simply as Apple’s EyeSight does on the Imaginative and prescient Professional.
A demo of Meta’s reverse passthrough system. Meta
Older VR headsets out there used refractive optics, or lenses set at a distance aside (the most important think about a headset’s dimension), however the newest technology — together with the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional — use pancake lenses that shorten the optical path. Mirror Lake would take that even additional by utilizing what Meta calls “HoloCake” lenses. These lenses are a lot thinner than those seen in different headsets, they usually have a full digital varifocal system, which means customers can see clearly with out prescription lenses.
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After all, that is removed from a practical machine. It isn’t even a tool that is in design or recognized with a particular future product. However, it’s a have a look at expertise that is apparently not simply an concept however possible. Commenting on the headset final 12 months, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned a product like this may very well be seen within the “second half of the last decade.”
