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Facebook Horizon is the next generation VR platform that is going to be launched by Facebook in 2020. Now this VR platform might seem just like any other but it probably is Facebook’s biggest social endeavor besides the actual social network itself.

Virtual Reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are two fields that pretty much every major tech company wants to get in on. We initially had Google Glasses, although everyone was talking about them but they eventually turned out to be a product that Google shelved. AR and VR are actually very difficult to get right. This is because we are just in the initial phase of this crazy but very impressive technology.

Facebook knows that if it wants to be the king of social media for decades to come it needs to be at the forefront of immersive technology. AR and VR are the most immersive tech that is being developed right now. Although there are many devices with AR and VR capabilities right now but most of them fall short of being spectacular.

Facebook’s Immersive VR

This is eventually going to change. Especially with the development in faster processing but more importantly with increased adoption of 5G. The next generation cellular network which promises crazy speeds and low latency. Both the speed and low latency are super important for social VR.

If you are going to create true immersive social interactions, there is nothing better than AR and VR. Facebook knows this and that is why it bought Oculus back in 2014. Oculus is already shipping three VR devices and it is increasing the way we will be able to interact with virtual objects. It recently announced hand tracking for its Quest devices.

Facebook has the hardware, which it will eventually improve even further in the future but the software still lacks for a true social VR. Hence, enter Facebook Horizon.

During Oculus Connect 6 (OC6), Facebook unveiled to the world how it thinks people will interact in the future. Through VR & AR, and that too on Oculus devices, namely the Quest and Rift.

“Horizon is the first step into an ever-expanding world of connection and exploration where anything becomes possible.” Or in more simple terms, a place where you can do pretty much anything you want because you are in VR. According to Facebook

How It Works

Although Facebook has not launched Facebook Horizon at the time at which this article is published. However we have a pretty good idea on what exactly is going to happen.

Once you launch Facebook Horizon on your Quest or Rift, you will be launched into creating your avatar. Facebook mentions that you will be able to completely customize your avatar depending on what you like. Once you are done finishing up the avatar, you will be launched into a town hall. This will be done via what is called a telepod, a fancy way of saying teleport.

Horizon’s Telepods

In Facebook’s Horizon town hall you will be able to meet different people from around the world and hang out with them. You will have many options on what you can do besides just talking to people. If you want to, you can also play games with your friends and family.

Games and other activities are in different parts of Facebook Horizon. Therefore you will need to use a Telepod to get there. Currently Facebook only has one game for launch and that is Wing Strikers, a game where you jump in a plane and collect various things. Facebook has not given many details on this.

Facebook Horizon World Builder

The thing that makes Facebook Horizon truly unique is its world builder. Think of world builder as a tool that lets you create worlds within Horizon. According to Facebook there are no requirements such as coding as there will be options for simple drag and drop. However coding knowledge will give you the ability to customize even more.

The worlds you create in Horizon will be up to you. Whether its a Saharan dessert or jungles of the Amazon, there are no limits. But Facebook does mention that everything that gets created will need to meet some requirements. Although no requirements are mentioned at the moment.

It seems similar to what Minecraft offers with its World Edit feature but it’s too early to tell how exactly you will use the world builder on Facebook Horizon.

Facebook plans to give an early beta access to people with Quest and Rift users. If you have any one of these devices, you can sign up for the early Facebook Horizon beta access.

Some people might question Facebook’s ability to pull off such an immersive VR platform without it being a fad. But Mark Zuckerberg during an internal meeting at Facebook clearly mentioned that VR and AR are going to be massive parts of Facebook in the future.

We’re trying to make AR and VR a big thing in the next five years to 10 years Mark Zuckerberg

VR and AR are both going to be major parts of our lives in the future and Facebook’s Horizon platform is the exact thing Facebook needs. A place where billions can come together and interact in a VR world. To us it might seem crazy now but only a couple of years down the road, this will be the norm.

Check out the official video on Facebook Horizon from Oculus.

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