Virtual reality is the next hot thing that is taking the technology industry by storm. No one is certain where things might end up in the future, but Facebook and Oculus VR appear to be extremely confident.
At the recently held Oculus Connect developer conference, Facebook shows that it is not just a company moving to deliver a headset, but also an entire platform.
We do know Facebook and Oculus VR are planning to have the Oculus Rift be a stand-alone device that is not tied to Windows. Chances are, the whole platform idea will blend well with this new push.
During the conference, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made it clear that Oculus Rift is a platform and not just a headset. He talked much about the software behind the device, and some of the cool things the company is working on right now.
One of those cool things is the ability to make video calls using the Oculus Rift. The ability is also there to create and customize avatars, along with a new framework known as "React VR." For those who are wondering what React VR is, well, it should enable developers to create VR content for the web.
We'll need a web browser to take advantage of all the VR content to come in the future. Facebook knows this, which is why it talked about a new web browser it's working on that is called "Carmel."
Carmel is designed to run on any Oculus device, though we're not certain if plans are in place to make it available for other VR headsets.
If everything continues down this path, then there's a good chance the Oculus Rift may very well become similar to other platforms such as PlayStation, Xbox or even Facebook for that matter.
Bear in mind that Oculus VR is working on a stand-alone version that won't require to be connected to a Windows computer. That's a system designed to share more with video game consoles than anything else.
Outside of all the platform talk, Facebook and Oculus are planning to spend more than $250 million on VR content, education and diversity, in addition to the $250 million already invested in VR development. Of the new pledge, $10 million will be allocated for Oculus’ NextGen program to bring the technology to universities. Another $10 million will go toward funding diversity programs.
Now, when it comes down to creating actual VR content, there are a lot of risks involved. With this in mind, Facebook is willing to pay for developers' Unreal Engine royalties if their content earns up to $5 million in revenue.
Mobile gaming will be an important aspect if VR is to ever succeed. Facebook has a plan to help developers with $50 million. We see a lot of action surrounding mobile VR devices such as the Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard, so clearly, Facebook cannot abandon this aspect despite the devices not being powerful enough when compared to the Oculus Rift.
