Meta suggests Quest 2 wont get full-body tracking - but Project Cambria might be

Date:
Thu, 17 Feb 2022 10:52:51 +0000

Description:
The vice president of Meta Reality Labs suggests Quest 2 won't be getting
body tracking - but we think Project Cambria might.

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Full-body tracking wont be coming to the Meta Q uest 2 anytime soon according to a statement from the vice president of Meta Reality Labs, Andrew Bosworth.

In a recent Q&A Bosworth hosted through Instagram (via RoadToVR ), he explained that the Quest 2s design isnt suited for tracking someones legs and feet.

Body tracking is super tricky because the camera thats on your face - it cant see your legs very well, Bosworth explained, adding that as Meta tries to
make the headsets form factor smaller, It gets even worse, [the cameras] cant even see past your cheek sometimes to your upper body.

Bosworth later explained that the Quest 2s hand and head tracking data can be extrapolated to accurately determine where a persons torso and arms are, however the same isnt true for legs and feet. Analysis: Is body tracking coming to Project Cambria?

These remarks seem to contradict a leak from earlier this month that
suggested f ull-body tracking support had been added to Metas Software Development Kit (SDK) . However, Bosworth referenced this leak in his Q&A calling it a little premature but [full body tracking]s something that were always looking at and have in mind for sure.

As a result, while it seems unlikely that the feature is coming to the Quest 2, Bosworths statements lead us to believe the upcoming Project Cambria headset could be the device to take advantage of full-body tracking instead.

Thats because, as Bosworth explained, the main issue is hardware. The Quest 2 and its accessories arent built to accommodate full-body tracking. If Meta
did want to implement this feature, Bosworth believes Meta would have to
forgo its inside-out tracking method and borrow cues from headsets that use outside-in tracking.

Essentially, rather than having the headset do all the work, itd need to rely on external cameras to help track users movements. (Image credit: Boumen
Japet / Shutterstock)

For the Quest 2, a device that has thrived on being cheap and simple to use, adding external cameras into the mix could bring the headsets incredible popularity growth to a halt.

However, a new headset like Project Cambria - that Meta has already explained is aimed at experienced users who are willing to pay extra for a high-end VR performance that its Quest devices cant deliver - could more easily work external camera towers into its design.

Given that the device is expected to launch this year, that would also
explain why Metas VR SDK has been updated with full-body tracking - whats the point of launching hardware with awesome new capabilities if theres no software to take advantage of it?

Unfortunately, for those of you on a budget, we dont anticipate that the
Quest 3 will include the same kind of tracking - unless Meta releases expensive add-on accessories - but it could surprise us.

For now, well have to wait and see what Meta announces when it finally
unveils the full capabilities of its Project Cambria headset, however, we wouldnt be surprised to see fully-tracked VR avatars as one of its main selling points. Check out: the cheapest Oculus Quest 2 price and deals in February 2022



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/meta-suggests-quest-2-wont-get-full-body-tracki ng-but-project-cambria-might-be/


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