Facebook Details Experimental Mixed Reality and Passthrough API

Facebook shared some details about its experimental Passthrough API to enable new kinds of mixed reality apps for Oculus Quest 2. UploadVR reports: The feature may also serve as the foundation for the company's long-term efforts in augmented reality, effectively turning Quest 2 into a $299 AR developer kit. When asked if the feature is coming to the original Oculus Quest, a Facebook representative replied "today, this is only available for Quest 2." The new feature will be available to Unity developers in an upcoming software development kit release "with support for other development platforms coming in the future." Facebook says apps using the API "cannot access, view, or store images or videos of your physical environment from the Oculus Quest 2 sensors" and raw images from the four on-board cameras "are processed on-device."

The following capabilities will be available with the passthrough API, according to Facebook: "Composition: You can composite Passthrough layers with other VR layers via existing blending techniques like hole punching and alpha blending. Styling: You'll be able to apply styles and tint to layers from a predefined list, including applying a color overlay to the feed, rendering edges, customizing opacity, and posterizing. Custom Geometry: You can render Passthrough images to a custom mesh instead of relying on the default style mesh -- for example, to project Passthrough on a planar surface."

Seems too limiting

[SuperKendall]

Facebook says apps using the API "cannot access, view, or store images or videos of your physical environment from the Oculus Quest 2 sensors" and raw images from the four on-board cameras "are processed on-device."

Look, I'd be the first one to be concerned about Facebook being able to see the inside of my house.

But they thing is, they can already do that anyway with the Quest 2 hardware - it's constantly scanning around you as part of the underlying OS to let you know when you are too close to the edge o

Who cares?

[memory_register]

No one with a sane thought in their head would add any new Facebook products or data streams to their life. Most people are trending towards zero interaction with the company anyways.

My opinion

[Ikatruna]

The new feature with support for other development platforms is actually really interesting. I like the fact that Facebook's software developments have such useful additions. I personally care about the web development of my website, and this service https://fireart.studio/web-portal-design-company/ [fireart.studio] helps me a lot with that. It also improved my website's design, so now it attracts more people.