Introduction to Continuous Scene Meshing
The Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S have revolutionized the best way we experience mixed reality. One of the important thing features of those headsets is the flexibility to scan your room and generate a 3D scene mesh, allowing virtual objects to interact with physical geometry. However, this process has its limitations. Lasertag, a preferred mixed reality game, has implemented a brand new feature called continuous scene meshing, which eliminates the necessity for the room setup process and provides a more seamless experience.
The Problems with Meta’s Current System
The current system utilized by Meta requires users to perform a room scan, which may take anywhere from 20 seconds to several minutes. This scan only represents a moment in time, and any changes to the room, equivalent to moved furniture or added objects, aren’t reflected within the mixed reality environment unless the user manually updates the scan. For example, if someone was standing within the room through the scan, their body shape is baked into the scene mesh, causing issues with the mixed reality experience.
How Continuous Scene Meshing Works
Lasertag’s developer has implemented continuous scene meshing using the Depth API, which provides real-time depth frames generated by the headset’s tracking cameras. These depth frames are used to construct a 3D volume texture on the GPU, representing the physical environment. This allows the sport to simulate laser collisions with real-world geometry, even when the user isn’t directly taking a look at it. The beta release channel of Lasertag takes this feature a step further, allowing the sport to update the scene mesh in real-time, without the necessity for an initial setup process.
The Benefits of Continuous Scene Meshing
Continuous scene meshing provides a more seamless and immersive experience for users. It eliminates the necessity for the room setup process, which might be time-consuming and frustrating. Additionally, it allows the sport to adapt to changes within the environment, providing a more realistic and fascinating experience.
Why Meta Doesn’t Use Continuous Meshing
So why doesn’t Meta use continuous meshing as a substitute of its current room scanning system? The reason is that it requires hardware-level depth sensors, which aren’t available on the Quest 3 and Quest 3S. These headsets use computationally expensive computer vision algorithms to derive depth, which might be costly when it comes to CPU, GPU, and battery life. Lasertag trades off performance and battery life for the advantage of continuous scene understanding and not using a setup process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Lasertag’s implementation of continuous scene meshing is a big step forward for mixed reality gaming. It provides a more seamless and immersive experience for users, eliminating the necessity for the room setup process and adapting to changes within the environment. While Meta’s current system has its limitations, Lasertag’s progressive approach shows that there are alternative solutions available. As the technology continues to evolve, we will expect to see more games and applications using continuous scene meshing to supply a more realistic and fascinating experience.
