Facebook now ‘Meta’, with lots more hardware.
What’s happening: Facebook will now be known as Meta. The rebrand is part of the company’s efforts to shift gears away from being known as just a social media company and focus on Zuckerberg’s plans for building the metaverse -- a future vision of the internet that is a persistent shared digital space (and includes AR or VR hardware).
Some background: Facebook (err, 'Meta'), has a growing hardware portfolio that includes a video-chat device, smart-glasses, AR/VR headsets, an upcoming smart-watch, and rumors of a phone. This isn't to say they haven't faced challenges with hardware development in the past -- in 2018, Facebook essentially shut down their hardware R&D lab, Building 8. Facebook's own hardware engineers have exclaimed skepticism around the VR push, saying "this is going to take a long time, ie breakthroughs in physics, etc". Zuck seems determined, though, announcing at their Q3 earnings call that 2021 operating profits would fall by ~$10B because of the company’s huge investments in VR and metaverse-related hardware.
Details:
Some background: Facebook (err, 'Meta'), has a growing hardware portfolio that includes a video-chat device, smart-glasses, AR/VR headsets, an upcoming smart-watch, and rumors of a phone. This isn't to say they haven't faced challenges with hardware development in the past -- in 2018, Facebook essentially shut down their hardware R&D lab, Building 8. Facebook's own hardware engineers have exclaimed skepticism around the VR push, saying "this is going to take a long time, ie breakthroughs in physics, etc". Zuck seems determined, though, announcing at their Q3 earnings call that 2021 operating profits would fall by ~$10B because of the company’s huge investments in VR and metaverse-related hardware.
Details:
- Meta announced Project Cambria, a high-end Mixed Reality headset built for the metaverse. Meta feels that it will have a product ready next year.
- “Meta” name: While obviously tied to the “metaverse,” Zuckerberg already owned the URL meta.org for his medical philanthropic arm.
- Zuck demo’d what metaverse life may look like: including virtual fitness, exploration, and workplace activities.
Dive Deeper: AR/VR tech
Detailed breakdown of the Oculus Rift CV1 VR headset
inspectAR uses Augmented Reality for PCB debug and rework
A primer on LED's in VR headsets from Texas Instruments
Detailed breakdown of the Oculus Rift CV1 VR headset
inspectAR uses Augmented Reality for PCB debug and rework
A primer on LED's in VR headsets from Texas Instruments
