With Meta’s Quest SDKs, developers can now place digital objects seamlessly onto real-world surfaces without the need for scene scanning, while also offering a passthrough view of any connected keyboard. Additionally, the platform enables discovery and pairing with nearby headsets via Bluetooth, streamlining the process of setting up multiple devices in close proximity.
With version 71 of Meta’s Blended Reality Utility Package (BRUP) and Meta XR Core SDK, developers can now leverage On-the-Spot Placement and Keyboard Monitoring capabilities, as well as access Colocation Discovery features.
On the spot Placement
Blended reality apps often superimpose digital objects onto real-world surfaces, such as your desk or wall, utilizing the Scene Mesh generated through the optional blended reality room setup process available on Quest 3 and Quest 3S devices.
If an application attempts to utilize the Scene Mesh feature in a room where no scan has been performed by the user, they will probably feel obligated to initiate the scanning process, which can take up to 60 seconds and requires the user to slowly pan their head around the room.
With significant friction eliminated from the user experience, MRUK’s innovative On-the-Spot Placement feature aims to seamlessly determine the location of a desk or wall, streamlining navigation for users.
Without using the Scene Mesh, On-the-spot Placement taps into the Depth API’s capabilities, casting a ray from a controller or hand to a hidden location within a 3D environment, enabling the instantiation of a virtual object or interface on a surface.
Notwithstanding this constraint, nonetheless, it is crucial to recognize that such an approach is only suitable for generating straightforward inanimate objects and interfaces. Even if team members need to collaborate or move around the room, a cohesive and functional Scene Mesh remains essential.
Keyboard Cutout
For years, Meta’s software development kits (SDKs) have featured a capability to render a digital representation of select supported tracked keyboards.
While attempting to model each possible Bluetooth keyboard can be a losing battle, the latest update of Quest’s Horizon OS Meta in version 71 offers a more practical solution: tracing any keyboard and bypassing it through passthrough, rather than rendering a model of it.
Now, the functionality is also accessible to app developers as part of the Microsoft Reactor UK (MRUK). Any VR application seeking to integrate with desktop functionality can easily access the user’s physical keyboard via a passthrough cutout, particularly useful for productivity software.
For months, Digital Desktop has relied on manual processes to track the performance of supported keyboards through real-time monitoring. In the future, the developer could potentially expand this technology to integrate it with any standard keyboard.
Bluetooth Colocation Discovery
For more than a year, Quest headsets have enabled seamless same-space native multiplayer experiences through their Shared Spatial Anchors API, facilitating colocation capabilities.
A significant hurdle in facilitating co-located gaming experiences is the requirement to adopt an identical user interface to online multiplayer platforms, which often necessitates a series of menus and invites, typically involving contact codes or room keys?
The Quest 2’s latest software update enables seamless shared-area native multiplayer experiences for select titles, elevating the VR gaming landscape.
Quest 2 enables seamless collaboration in shared workspaces by facilitating colocated teamwork. In computing, colocation refers to the simultaneous presence of multiple devices, typically headsets, occupying the same physical space and possessing identical digital coordinates. Facebook confirmed the development of an “area scale” prototype for this feature as far back as late 2018, but did not deploy it on a headset until late last year.
With the release of Meta XR Core SDK version 71, Meta introduces a groundbreaking Colocation Discovery API. Underneath its sleek exterior, this technology cleverly exploits the headset’s Bluetooth capabilities to enable transmission of up to 1024 bytes of data to nearby devices, effectively establishing a seamless communication channel for coordinating session settings.
The concept suggests that developers should be able to create a straightforward native multiplayer user experience, where one headset initiates a session and nearby headsets automatically join without requiring additional setup or configuration.
