facebook's 'infinite office' is a virtual reality working environment

at its first ever fully digital AR/VR-focused conference, facebook introduced ‘infinite office’ — a platform designed to create a virtual working environment. targeting those who still may be working from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘infinite office’ will integrate with real environments. however, to enhance focus and flexibility, users can toggle between a fully immersive experience and a mix of virtual displays with ‘passthrough’ for a greater awareness of their surroundings.

all images and video courtesy of oculus

features of ‘infinite office’ include a large work space with multiple customizable screens with no extra monitors required. meanwhile, facebook says that its ‘oculus browser’ will offer a ‘desktop-class’ web experience. the platform has been designed to be as portable as possible so that users can pick things up right where they left off. facebook has also announced a partnership with logitech to bring a physical keyboard into VR, beginning with the widely available logitech K830.

‘infinite office’ was announced at facebook connect, where the tech giant also announced ‘oculus quest 2’. to enter the virtual reality workplace, users put on the ‘quest 2’ headset and begin customizing their surroundings. facebook says its will begin rolling out the first ‘infinite office’ features as an experimental release for ‘quest 2’ in winter 2020. ‘we’ve already started early experiments with third parties including spatial, which shows how ‘passthrough’ could enhance a virtual co-located meeting,’ adds the company. ‘there’s more in store, and we’re excited to share what’s next.’