LogInOn Lex Fridman Podcast, discussing the next versions of Quest, Mark Zuckerberg shared that face and eye tracking are currently "a big focus" of the company.
On Saturday, during Lex Fridman's computer scientist podcast, Mark Zuckerberg shared that face and eye tracking may be one of the main focuses for the next version of Quest.
Meta CEO pointed out that the human brain is wired to read facial cues. Therefore, speaking of designing the next versions of Quest, he noted that Meta is considering eye contact "which isn’t really something that you can do over video conference". So, face-tracking and eye-tracking are currently "a big focus" of the company.
Later this year, Meta is set to release its high-end VR and AR hybrid headset codenamed Project Cambria that will also feature face and eye tracking. However, while announcing it in October, Mark Zuckerberg pointed out that the upcoming device "isn’t the next Quest". So, apparently, talking to Fridman, Zuckerberg was referring to Quest 3 rather than Cambria.
Zuckerberg also added that although face and eye tracking could add some weight to headsets, Meta will still give priority to the technologies. "You could totally see another company taking the approach of 'let’s just make the lightest and thinnest thing possible'", he commented. "But I want us to design the most human thing possible that creates the richest sense of presence because so much of human emotion and expression comes from these micro-movements."
Speaking of the next versions of Quest, Zuckerberg hasn't provided any details on the Quest 3 release date. But it's probably not going to be launched any time soon as according to Meta Quest Consulting CTO John Carmack, "Quest 2 will have a long life" as well as Meta seems to be focused on Cambria's launch later this year.
You can learn more about the next versions of Quest along with various other topics Mar Zuckerberg discussed with Lex Fridman by watching the podcast. Also, don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.