Skip to main content

Finger-tracking on Oculus Quest is coming in 2020, no gloves required

Image used with permission by copyright holder

At Oculus Connect 6, Facebook announced the next big piece in virtual reality (VR) tech, finger tracking for the Oculus Quest. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the stage to make the announcement and say that demos would be available to attendees after the keynote.

Recommended Videos

Though he didn’t get into the exact details of how this technology works or what the limitations of it are, Zuckerberg implied that it worked on the Oculus Quest as an alternative to using the controllers that come with the device.

Facebook showed a video reel that demonstrated some of the things you could do with the finger-tracking, which includes playing games and interacting with objects in VR. It didn’t require gloves or any kind of new sensors, but was able to monitor all 10 fingers of the player in real-time in VR.

Later in the event, Facebook explained that the technology used model-based tracking and neural networks to see exactly what your fingers are doing and instantaneously recreate them in VR. This is all done using a mobile processor, without compromising the GPU or CPU performance.

‘Hand Tracking on Oculus Quest,’ as it’s called, will be available in early 2020 as an “experimental feature for consumers and an SDK for developers,” as stated by the blog post.

Hand Tracking on Oculus Quest | Oculus Connect 6

Zuckerberg even mentioned the company’s recent purchase of CTRL labs, which reads brains waves to control virtual environments. Though he stated this technology was in early stages (and didn’t require an implant in your brain), Zuckerberg firmly declared controlling VR with your brain as the future of inputs for the platform.

Facebook purchased Oculus in 2014, and has dramatically shifted its focus toward social VR and more user-friendly content ever since. Zuckerberg repeatedly highlighted how far VR headsets have come, moving from devices that required plugging into expensive gaming PCs to wireless headsets that would eventually not require controllers. Facebook, of course, still sells a new VR headset that does this called the Oculus Rift S.

Luke Larsen
Former Senior Editor, Computing
Luke Larsen is the Senior Editor of Computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 gaming monitor is 55% off, but there’s a catch
Samsung's Odyssey Neo G7 on a desk.

The 43-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 gaming monitor is an excellent display for gamers, but it's not always available with a discount from monitor deals, and it's pretty expensive at its original price of $1,000. However, we've found a way for you to get it with a 55% discount, and that's to take advantage of Samsung's open box pricing so that you'll only have to pay $450. That's a massive $550 in savings, and you don't have to worry about the quality of the gaming monitor -- open box products still look brand new and are tested to be working properly. You need to hurry though, as stocks are limited!

Why you should buy the 43-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 gaming monitor

Read more
This quirky AI-powered camera prints poems, not photos
The Poetry Camera.

The Poetry Camera is an ingenious device that doesn’t take photos but instead makes poems.

The clever contraption features a lens that observes its surroundings before using AI to craft a poem inspired by the scene. It then prints the verse through a slot on the front -- similar to how a Polaroid camera delivers photos. You can see it in action in the video above.

Read more
I loved this AI-first web browser, but experts warned me of ‘free’ AI
Launch screen of Dia browser.

“If you're not paying for the product, you are the product.” 

Bogdan Onikiienko, an engineer at MacPaw, dropped that hard-hitting quote on me after using Dia, a new-age web browser that heavily relies on AI. He found it quite useful, but warned me that there are still a few unknowns, especially the privacy aspect.

Read more