VirtualReality
Another step towards virtual reality in daily work Quest Pro – 1: Hands On with Immersed
This post is the first in a series of articles I’m doing on my current experiments with my new Meta Quest Pro. I’ve been excited about virtual reality for a few years now, and I’m always looking for ways to use it in everyday work, especially with a focus on end user computing so that any normal office worker can use it. So my idea to replace real screens with virtual ones and make any place in the world an office, no matter how little space you have. My first post on this blog was 4 years ago, where I tried to work on a remote desktop with my first 3DoF VR glasses, the Oculus Go, using the Citrix Workspace app. After that, I also explored the virtual worlds with the successor models Quest 1 and Quest 2. In the meantime, a lot has happened and I have been in possession of a Quest Pro for a few days now. This VR headset is now the headset for professional use according to Meta, the parent company of Facebook which acquired Oculus back in 2014.
Not everyone has access to a virtual desktop environment, be it VDIs or DaaS, whether Microsoft with Windows 365 or AVD or Citrix with their solutions, which I encounter in my daily work. Actually, it is a bit too crass to work on a virtual desktop in a virtual world, a bit too much “inception” – that’s why we start here with the possibility to simply use the VR headset as a virtual screen. There are already various solutions for this, Meta itself pushes their Horizon Workrooms, in the following video I tested an alternative solution with the free app “Immersed”. See for yourself, a video says more than words and pictures:
In this scenario I have a normal work day, as I’m always multitasking I’m working on my connected company virtual desktop and I’m also learning new things about Citrix in a Youtube HowTo video. I need a coffee and I can go in my kitchen and brew one without stopping watching the how to video.
Yes, this video shows some personal details about my flat and living situation … some chaos on my dining table and an open bathroom … sorry about that … but that how real live is …
Links and explanations:
3DoF: This term means three dimensions of freedom, with this kind of VR headset you can look around, you have a virtual work around you but you can’t move in it. More about difference between 3DoF and 6DoF you will easily find when you use Google.
MetaQuest Pro: https://www.meta.com/ch/en/quest/quest-pro/
Immersed: https://immersed.com/ works also on other Platforms than Meta Quest!
Immersed Meta Quest Link: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/app/2849273531812512
YouTube Video which I’m watching in this Demo: Tech Insight – Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Service
If you’re thinking about getting a Quest yourself, use my referral link to get a $30 software voucher: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/sachat1981 By the way, the Quest 2 costs a third of the Pro and you can use Immersed with it too.
No Computer, no wires – a very short Oculus Quest Review
This blog article is slightly different from all others. As you can imagine tech is for me always fun, even when it’s from my professional life as a System engineer for virtualization. But this article is only about fun, with no professional aspects … today …
More than a year ago, I posted the article about using the Oculus Go VR headset to access Citrix virtual Desktop session: http://blog.sachathomet.ch/2018/11/25/virtual-virtual-workplace-or-my-first-vr-experience-with-citrix-and-oculus-go/
Yesterday I created a short video for my friends to let dem understand what I mean when I tell them that I gambled in VR instead of a morning workout 🙂
Here you can see what a VR Player sees and how awkward this looks from outside:
The reason why Oculus Quest is the breakthrough for VR?
Price and easy as pie technology:
The Oculus Quest gives you access to the world of virtual reality for less than 500.- Swiss francs (about 500.- US $), and you don’t need a high-performance gaming Computer. In contrary to the predecessor Oculus Go the Quest is not limited to one point in the room where you stand or sit, you have real 6DoF. 6DoF means you can move across a room, you have Six Dimensions of Freedom. Other existing VR Headsets need for that a permanent Setup in the room with “Lighthouses” that the Headset knows where you are. The Quest has only 4 integrated cameras and will build the virtual Guardian with those. Before you start to play you define your field when you are running to the edge of the field during the game you can see that as a grid.
More recordings here on YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDX-0d_gd9OdXmL24Aj-c2ZtA0plOqzXG
