Project Cambria, a headset for augmented reality / virtual reality (AR/VR), is the latest tech device from Meta, formerly Facebook, allowing access to what is being dubbed “The Metaverse”. Tech giants are running a race to create the most innovative products. They are currently trying to build a virtual world. This virtual world or “The Metaverse” is the hypothetical iteration of the internet. The idea is to create a universal and immersive virtual world accessible via AR and VR headsets.
This nascent expansion to the tech industry has developed new products to make the virtual world feel real. We need these products for the smooth transition between the physical and the digital world. One such product is Meta’s Project Cambria.
What is the Metaverse?
We’ve got the back of everyone who still can’t wrap their head around the metaverse. You must first understand the metaverse thoroughly before we move on to discuss Project Cambria. The Metaverse is the future of the internet. Every tech giant is working on it. Facebook even changed its name to Meta to stay ahead of everyone in the race.
But what exactly is the metaverse? Neal Stephenson coined the term in his 1992 sci-fi book, Snow Crash. Metaverse refers to a virtual world that exists parallel to our physical world. The virtual world will have everything that exists in the physical world, schools, offices, shopping malls, etc.
We can interact with others in the metaverse using our digital avatars. According to the big tech CEOs, we could take classes, shop, attend meetings, and play in the metaverse in the future. The virtual world is a 3D version of the internet and an extension of social media.
The metaverse is currently in its beginning phase. We can only speculate what the metaverse is going to be like. Many speculated about the internet in the 80s. However, it is very different from all those speculations. The same can happen to the metaverse. It may not be like how the experts are describing it right now.
How can you Access the Metaverse?
You can access the metaverse from different portals. There are many options available in the market. Currently, we don’t have a single universal portal to access the metaverse. Like the internet has many different websites and applications you can access, so the metaverse has many different destinations, with bridges between them. Numerous tech companies are creating their separate metaverse experiences.
For now, you can access the metaverse through multiple platforms like Decentraland, Sandbox, Fortnite, and Roblox. They offer a variety of experiences, from gaming to live entertainment to real estate. All you need is to acquire some hardware like Google Cardboard, Oculus Quest2 headset, or Valve Index VR.
These products give you an immersive experience in the metaverse. Some experts say you can access the metaverse through your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Though it will take away the immersive experience, you can still try it out and see what all the hype is about.
Project Cambria is the next-generation Metaverse hardware product to be released by Meta (Facebook). Project Cambria will give a better and more immersive metaverse experience than the currently available products.
Introducing Project Cambria
Project Cambria is Meta’s upcoming high-end virtual reality headset. Meta created this headset using their Presence Platform. Project Cambria will have much higher resolution image sensors than current headsets. The current Quasi headsets display passthrough content in shades of gray. On the other hand, Project Cambria will make the real world look much more realistic inside the headset.
Meta posted the below video highlighting the difference between the Quest and Cambria headsets. There is a massive difference in both experiences. Although we can enter the digital world through the Quest headset, it is not as immersive and real-like as the Cambria headset.
The video shows just how exactly the Project Cambria metaverse headset made the digital environment more colorful and realistic. Mark Zuckerberg also released a demo reel on his Instagram and Facebook feeds. In the mixed reality demo real video, he was interacting with a cartoonish character and appearing to paint its environment over the real world.
Janko Roettgers tried out the Cambria headset briefly. He said that Cambria’s video quality still isn’t photorealistic, though it’s closer to decent quality home video. Mark Zuckerberg told him that Cambria’s improved sensors are better at distinguishing between different real-world objects so that it knows where to place the virtual ones.
Project Cambria is one of the several metaverse headsets that Meta plans to launch. Meta wants to create a truly immersive digital world and creating top-notch hardware to access that world is their priority.
What Else do We Know About Project Cambria?
Meta is pretty camera shy when it comes to showing off Project Cambria. The metaverse headset was blurred even in the reel posted by Mark Zuckerberg. However, a few leaked images and files give us some information regarding the high-end VR headset. A YouTuber and a tech analyst, Brad Lynch, released several images on his Patreon page. These images appear to be CAD files of Project Cambria.
He also explained a few features shown in the images. He said Cambria offers smooth adjustments between interpupillary distance (IPD) sizes for more precise user comfort. This feature isn’t available in the Quest 2 headset. In addition, he alleged that the headset has two glacier cameras on the front left and right, and one Teton high-resolution RGB camera in the center. The latter camera is used to colorize the monochrome stereo glacier sensors.
Moreover, Lynch has alleged that the Cambria headsets will have the following features:
- 2,160 x 2,160 MiniLED Backlit LCD Panels (2)
- Custom Pancake Lenses (2)
- 16MP Color Camera for Color Passthrough
- Eye + Face Tracking (IR Camera-based)
- Qualcomm XR2+ Gen 1 SoC
- 12GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 256GB SSD
- WiFi 6E Support
- 5000 mAh battery
Although there isn’t much information available on Project Cambria, it is speculated that Meta is targeting developers and tech enthusiasts for the sale of their product. The Project Cambria metaverse headset will be priced significantly higher than $800. And it’s one of the first among the several innovative VR headsets Meta is planning to launch.
Final Thoughts
Project Cambria will help facilitate a more immersive metaverse experience. The high-resolution colorful imagery produced by the Cambria headsets will be better than what we are used to right now. However, there is still a long road ahead. The metaverse is a futuristic idea. Hence, it also requires futuristic devices. Cambria Project is a great step towards creating these innovative devices. However, Meta is not stopping here. They will create many more such high-end VR devices using their Presence Platform.