Facebook has recently launched a test of a new virtual reality remote work app, which may set the precedent for the future of online meetings.
Called “Horizon Workrooms”, the app enables users to attend meetings as avatar versions of themselves. It is accessed via a headset that has been specially designed for this purpose.
Facebook has described the product as its “flagship collaboration experience” which is designed to let people come together to work in the same virtual room. It works across both virtual reality and the web, and is designed to improve the experience of the video meeting.
In a recent news briefing, the company showed how Workrooms users can design avatar versions of themselves to meet in virtual reality conference rooms and collaborate on shared whiteboards or documents – whilst still interacting with their own physical desk and computer keyboard.
Up to 16 people can join together in the virtual reality environment, but others (up to 50 people) can join as video conference participants. People without a headset can join with a video call.
The app itself is free, but the headsets that are needed to make it work, cost around US$300.
It is perhaps too early to second-guess whether this form of meeting will be embraced by the business world, or whether it is better suited to consumers. However, other key technology players including Microsoft have indicated that they are looking at how their companies might also move into the realm of virtual reality.
Perhaps a future feature of Microsoft Teams, then, for your business meetings? Watch this space!