Oculus Quest Becomes the First VR Headset With Hand Tracking

A good VR experience can make you feel like you could reach out and touch things in the virtual world. You can’t of course, but the Oculus Quest is getting you one step closer with full hand tracking technology. You can set down the controllers, and the headset will follow your hands, rendering them in the virtual world with the help of its cameras.

With the newest software update, you might be able to ditch the controllers completely… in certain situations. The headset has four built-in cameras, and it uses those to identify your hands, allowing the software to incorporate them into the virtual landscape. Theoretically, that will allow you to manipulate objects and play games sans controller. This feature doesn’t work with any games yet, though. You’ll only be able to go controller-free in the Oculus Quest’s root menu, but there is an SDK for developers to begin adding hand tracking.

The Quest has very rudimentary controls for hand tracking right now. When you leave your hands open, the system uses them like cursors in the same way it does the motion controllers. You can tap your thumb and index finger together to “click” on menu items. It also supports dragging items when you hold those fingers together.

The hand tracking features are rolling out on the Oculus Quest now. Developers should have the updated SDK within a week to start developing games with the feature.

Continue reading

Review: The Oculus Quest 2 Could Be the Tipping Point for VR Mass Adoption

The Oculus Quest 2 is now available, and it's an improvement over the original in every way that matters. And yet, it's $100 less expensive than the last release. Having spent some time with the Quest 2, I believe we might look back on it as the headset that finally made VR accessible to mainstream consumers.

Facebook Announces a New Oculus VR Feature: In-Game Ads

Facebook will soon build ads into your VR games. The company claims the advertising will benefit developers, but it appears to have something else in mind.

Facebook, Instagram, Oculus, WhatsApp All Offline, Company Communication Crippled [Updated]

Facebook, Instagram, Oculus, and WhatsApp all fell offline earlier today on one of Facebook's worst news days this... week.

Oculus Gives Discontinued Oculus Go a New Lease on Life with Unlocked Software

The release of the Oculus Go in 2018 was an important step for Facebook's Virtual Reality division, but the product was short-lived. After being made obsolete by the Oculus Quest, the company discontinued the Go in 2020. Still, Facebook sold millions of the standalone headsets, and now they're more capable thanks to an unlocked software update.