Do you find yourself constantly punching real-world children while playing Resident Evil 4 for the millionth time on your Oculus virtual reality headset? Well, Facebook — or, excuse me, Meta — has got you covered with Space Sense, a new feature heading to Oculus Quest and Quest 2 devices with the platform’s latest software update.
“Space Sense enables you to see when objects or people intrude on your Guardian bounds,” the official Oculus Blog explains. “Other people, large pets, a chair that’s been dragged out of its usual spot — these objects and more should now be highlighted in your headset, surrounded by a pink-ish glow.”
These new Space Sense options work in conjunction with the Oculus Quest’s existing Guardian system, which allows players to set boundaries around their play space that show up in the headset. Space Sense works with objects up to nine feet away, meaning you’ll have plenty of warning if your unsupervised baby cousin (Carol, for the love of god, please watch your kids) wanders too close to your flailing, VR-distracted body.
After updating to the latest build (known officially as v34), activating Space Sense is as simple as navigating to the “Experimental Features” section of your Oculus Quest settings. The v34 rollout begins today, though not all users will receive it right away.
Other features coming with the update include improved voice commands, the ability to see Android phone notifications in-game, and a Passthrough API (seen above), which gives developers the ability to combine virtual reality with a player’s physical surroundings for more augmented reality-like experiences. Oculus expects Passthrough API projects from Unity Labs, Spatial, and YouTube VR to drop in the near future.
A full list of Oculus v34 patch notes can be found here while you wait for the update to download. Until then, please watch out for my aunt’s kids, because she sure as hell isn’t going to tear her attention away from anti-vax Facebook posts any time soon.
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