Meta Quest 3 can now capture photorealistic VR environments
Hyperscape Capture is a new feature for Meta Quest 3 that transforms real spaces into photorealistic, walk-in VR environments.
A bakery that was digitized with and for Meta Quest 3.
(Image: Meta)
A year ago, Meta presented six photorealistic VR environments captured with a smartphone with the Hyperscape demo for Meta Quest 3 and 3S.
Now Meta is taking the next step: with the new VR app "Hyperscape Capture", users can digitize rooms with the VR headsets and later visit them in virtual reality. Soon it will also be possible to invite friends with Quest 3 or 3S into the photorealistic VR environments, such as your own living room.
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Rooms are captured in three steps. First, the user moves through the room with the Quest headset to create a rough 3D grid of the surroundings. This is followed by the detailed work: as the user walks around, the VR headset's cameras capture the details of the surroundings. This second step can take five minutes or longer. Finally, the headset uploads the data to Meta's server for further processing. After two to four hours, the user receives a notification that the finished Hyperscape environment is ready in the VR headset.
Hyperscape: launch soon outside the USA
The rendering technology used is Gaussian Splatting, which now offers fascinating experiences on Meta Quest 3. Meta also relies on cloud rendering and streaming to relieve the VR headset of computing load and reduce the amount of data required locally. Compared to last year's "Hyperscape Demo", the display quality is said to have improved significantly once again.
Meta is planning a multiplayer function for the near future: users will be able to invite friends into their digitized environments via a private link. In the long term, Meta is likely to integrate Hyperscape into its own Metaverse platform "Horizon Worlds".
The Hyperscape Capture beta is currently being distributed in the USA, but will soon be launched in other countries. Using a VPN, we were able to access both Hyperscape Capture and the Hyperscape Preview VR app, which replaces the year-old Hyperscape demo and includes new examples to try out. However, Hyperscape Capture could not (yet) be downloaded, while Hyperscape Preview is currently still not working.
(afl)
