I worked on VR for a week. But mostly it was terrible… – Cointelegraph Magazine

I’ve been working on virtual reality all week using the new Meta Quest 3. The experience was still mostly crappy, but it gave me newfound optimism about VR in the workplace.

When I grabbed Ron’s outstretched virtual hand for a handshake, my real hand in the real world clumsily hit the side of the desk.

Ron began laughing as his avatar’s animated facial expressions mimicked his real face, thanks to the device’s eye and face tracking technology.

Ron, a project manager at Microsoft, said he would get used to it in the future. He has been working at Metaverse for over a year.

A few days later, I met Heather, a mother who had been working in virtual reality for several months. She likes to jump into the metaverse and work when the kids are in school and the house is quiet.

Then there was Miguel, a recruiter at Netflix and an “OG” user of the virtual reality app Immersed, who has been using it at work for the past two years.

The biggest questions are: Why would you want to do that?

My eyes start to sting after just 2 hours.

As impressive as it all sounds, after working on the metaverse myself for a week, I’m not sure how anyone could do it for much longer.

I spent most of the seven days commuting to and from work through Immersed, a virtual collaboration app. Immersed can be found on the Meta Quest store, but is also available for download on other platforms.

Most of the time, I would be joined by up to a dozen other VR users, depending on the time of day and the public workspace I chose. (The ‘Cafe’ setting seems to have been the most popular.)

We initially planned to spend a week using Meta’s homegrown Horizon Workrooms, but quickly switched to Immersed after realizing that Horizon Workrooms didn’t support shared workspaces and lacked important quality-of-life features like mobility features. Adjust screen size and distance.

In both cases, setup wasn’t that difficult. When you first put on the Meta Quest 3 headset, the device scans your surroundings to determine where you are in the room (in my case, my office) and where certain obstacles are, such as bookshelves, desks, and chairs. This is so you can be warned if you get too close to a wall or obstacle when immersed in VR.

To interact with your computer in virtual reality, you’ll need to install a companion app on your PC. This app allows you to retrieve the information you need from your computer and transfer it to your headset via cable or Wi-Fi. This is the same way most remote desktop apps work.

Immersed lets you rotate, resize, and move your virtual screen wherever you want. You can also choose to work in mixed reality, superimposing a virtual screen onto your real world environment.

But it didn’t help much. At the end of each day, I endured excruciating headaches and tried to wash away the extreme strain in my eyes. My neck was always stiff due to the strain from the bulky headset.

And for what? Most days I struggled to achieve the same level of output compared to my usual days in front of the PC.

My experience is by no means unique. In 2022, Dr. Jens Grubert, a researcher at the University of Applied Sciences Coburg in Germany, gathered 18 people to participate in a study on the effects of VR tasks for a week.

Two people dropped out within the first few hours due to nausea, anxiety and migraines, while others who managed to finish the week reported increased levels of frustration and anxiety.

They also reported a significant decrease in their perceived productivity compared to working in the real world. All suffered from eye strain, but these symptoms seemed to lessen over time.

Last April, research firm Forrester found that while there’s a lot of hype about the potential of VR work, not much of it happens in reality (virtual or otherwise).

A Forrester study found that only 2% of respondents said they preferred using mixed reality devices for work. Hardware is still too cumbersome for long-term use, according to JP Gownder, senior analyst on Forrester’s Future of Work team.

Yes, some parts are impressive.

But despite all the annoyances, eye strain, and headaches, there were a few times when I was genuinely impressed by the experience.

Working in a virtual environment next to other like-minded people has transformed my regular remote, isolated working life into being much less lonely.

During my week in VR, I sat down and worked with a digital marketer from Canada, a software developer from the United States, and a salesperson from a company that provides e-commerce solutions. We talked about sports and our respective jobs. It felt like real networking.

“The biggest advantage is that you can communicate very easily with people from all over the world. I work from home with no one around,” explains Pat, a digital marketer.

“With VR, you can also choose whether to chat with others, mark yourself as ‘Do Not Disturb’ or get a private room.”

Microsoft’s Ron also said he often prefers working in VR and has to carry the headset with him everywhere, including his home office, customer offices, and sometimes reporting to the tech company’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington.

And he points out that virtual reality isn’t limited by cabin weight or size restrictions, and with the headset, you can essentially take five monitors with you wherever you go.

Even conducting meetings can be a game-changer in virtual reality.

There is something very strange and natural about being able to shake hands with someone who is over 10,000 miles away, even if you lack the physical form. This is something that Zoom meetings can never replicate.

Other times, I was impressed by how focused my virtual reality colleagues were, and it inspired me to do the same.

I also had the freedom to transform my “office” environment from a space station orbiting the Earth to a cozy chalet on a snow-capped mountain to a fireplace quietly crackling in the corner.

Maybe Zuckerberg was right?

Metaverse skeptics raised their eyebrows after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg touted his lofty vision for the metaverse at the 2021 Connect event.

“We will be able to feel like we are with people no matter how far away we actually are,” Zuckerberg said.
Many people laughed when the tech giant poured tens of billions of dollars into research and development for its loss-making Reality Labs division. Seemingly, Meta’s Horizon Worlds were producing legless, googly-eyed monsters.

But the laughter becomes quiet. Last September, Zuckerberg showed us that this technology is much more advanced than we thought.

In a face-to-face conversation with computer scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, Zuckerberg showed off the latest version of Codec Avatars, one of Meta’s longest-running research projects aimed at creating realistic Metaverse avatars.

The technique drew awe from onlookers, including Fridman himself.

“I’ve already forgotten that you’re not real.”
However, the technology requires special equipment and will be at least three years away from being available to consumers. Zuckerberg said he hopes the scanning process could eventually be completed with a smartphone.

Meta’s latest VR version is wider and thinner than its predecessor, yet offers a wider field of view, using a self-contained, standalone headset that displays stereoscopic images on an LCD screen through “pancake” lenses. Motion and hand tracking are achieved using a mix of accelerometers, gyroscopes and four external cameras, while another two cameras are used to display colored “passes” that are useful when engaging in mixed reality experiences.

Meanwhile, there are significant expectations for Apple’s Vision Pro, which is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2024. It comes with eye tracking, 4K resolution, and Apple EyeSight to help you shape the future of work. The eye-catching $3,499 price tag.

Apple says the “spatial computing” device will allow users to “set up the perfect workspace.”

So, is VR work ready for prime time?

As I reflect on my week in virtual reality, I find myself enjoying my coffee not in a virtual coffee shop in Sydney’s western suburbs, but in a very real place.

Sometimes I miss my VR work friends and the tranquility of my cozy virtual chalet.

But until technology gets smaller, lighter, and less clunky, I’ll probably stick with my Slack huddle and my trusty PC on my wooden desk.

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Felix yes

Felix Ng first began writing about the blockchain industry in 2015 through the perspective of a gambling industry journalist and editor. Afterwards, he began covering the blockchain field full-time. He is most interested in innovative blockchain technology to solve real-world problems.