Capabilities of XR Technologies

XR technologies are establishing themselves as a new norm. It’s the human-machine interface of the future. Technology giants like Meta, Microsoft, Samsung, and Apple are making aggressive investments to capture the untapped markets of the XR space. Hardware is becoming increasingly more affordable and accessible to the masses. This lesson lists the characteristics and features of some of the renowned XR headsets.

HMDs

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) are head-worn units that cover our vision to offer a 3D experience. We have head-mounted displays that offer AR, MR, and VR experiences. The two most notable features offered by HMDs are eye tracking and hand tracking. Most of the latest headsets support inside-out tracking. They don’t require external sensors to track users’ head, body, and hand/controller movements. These headsets have cameras installed on the HMD to support tracking.

Meta Quest 3

Meta has released its mixed reality headsets, i.e., Meta Quest 3, with high processing power and features. The Meta Quest 3 is Meta’s latest mixed-reality VR headset. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip and offers a resolution of 2,064 x 2,208 pixels per eye.

The headset features immersive 3D audio and comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It also has six camera sensors that power color mixed-reality as well as six-degrees-of-freedom tracking. The Meta Quest 3 also comes with redesigned Quest 3 Touch Plus controllers.

Meta Quest 2

Unveiled in 2020, the Meta Quest 2 is the most popular VR headset on an Android operating system. It’s a standalone headset but can also be used with a cable connected to a desktop. What distinguishes it from other headsets is its price-to-quality ratio. It’s significantly cheaper than most high-end VR headsets, making VR more accessible.

Following are the key highlights of Quest 2: