Facebook unveils new AR, VR platforms and products

Facebook’s F8 developer conference is in full swing right now, and the CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced new stuff.

Facebook is already allowing Live users to access effects created in the new tool.

Looking to blend digital and physical worlds, Facebook is betting big on augmented reality.

Zuckerberg maintains that “AR building blocks” like simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), 3D effects, and AI-driven object recognition are fundamental in creating apps with the Camera Effects platform in the future. This would be a more advanced kind of augmented reality than what is portrayed in the trendy game Pokémon Go.

“We are not using preliminary tools today because we prefer preliminary tools, we are using preliminary tools because we are still early in the journey to create better ones”, Zuckerberg said.

In short, they say they are “making the camera the first AR platform” and looking to fundamentally change the social media experience.

The platform will allow developers to design frames that can be added to a user’s profile picture or photos and videos taken with the Facebook camera, which is available in the Messenger and main Facebook apps. Oculus, which was purchased by Facebook for $3 billion in 2014, has also faced legal fallout over its intellectual property, after a grueling court case resulted in a $500 million judgment against the company.

Zuckerberg spoke about transforming blank walls into street art and how AR could be used to leave notes for friends in specific places, such as marking a table at your favorite bar or leaving a note for your spouse on the refrigerator. “We’re reminded of this this week by the tragedy in Cleveland”, Zuckerberg said.

Facebook has also been heavily criticised for its management and removal of illegal and extreme content on the site, as well as the sharing of so-called fake news stories.

After the scattershot intro, Facebook got to business – revealing the new tools and platforms for its developer community, which foreshadow where the company and its family of apps are going. If the coffee shop you’re in is getting a little tiresome, just see what your Facebook friends have done to the place!