Why OVR needs to be friends with VR

OVR.ai is an Augmented Reality platform that wants to create an AR layer over the whole world. This article is intended to discuss how to best achieve this vision.

As an active OVR member, I have always been surprised by 2 facts:

• The OVR team seems reluctant to associate with VR projects: at least on Twitter, where I have seen the OVR team (probably unwillingly) dismiss VR projects and VR Metaverse projects as Gimmicky and ill-advised.
• Very few members of the OVR community own and use VR headsets: most people do not own an headset at all, and do not plan to.

I think that OVR not closely being part of the VR Metaverse movement is detrimental to its future, especially in the long-run. In this article, I will list the reasons for that, and how to improve this state of affairs.

1. Content creators

I will start by the reason that hits closer to home:
AR Content creators will use VR to create content. It’s already the case, and this will be more and more the case. VR is a very powerful tool, especially to create 3D experiences, which OVR is all about. VR Tools like Gravity Sketch and OpenBrush will be used more and more to create AR content.

Creating AR content in VR

AR content creators will be more and more VR users. So encouraging bridges between AR and VR will help bringing-in talent and make content creation easier.

2. Content interoperability

AR and VR content are based on the same tech:

• they share some of the same file types, like “.glb”, which is a 3D file model widely used
• they use some of the same creators tools, like Unity, which OVR is based on, that is both used to make AR and VR.

Basically as a content creator, I can make models once, and display them in AR or in VR, with few adaptations:

An AR capture vs. a VR rendition: Can you guess which is which?

However, bridges between AR and VR workflows, and partnerships between AR and VR projects will be required to make this as smooth as possible.

Going even further, NFTs, like avatars, will have the expectation of being interoperable. Meaning people will expect to be able to use their NFTs in all Metaverses, AR and VR. OVR will need to make theses bridges to other platforms (or standards) as easy as possible to ensure that people are not angry that their NFTs don’t work on OVR.

3. AR hardware improvement

There is currently a race to the first to build the long-awaited AR Glasses. Facebook, Apple, Google, Vive and many others are trying to be the first ones to make it happen. But smaller companies also, and crypto companies like OVR as well. Having your own hardware gives you a lot of power, because you are the platform.

But AR Glasses is nothing more than a VR headset made light and transparent. So any serious AR player will need to base itself on the existing VR tech. To this end, having partnerships and strong relations with VR players is a good idea.

4. XR hardware

Saying that VR is “strapping a screen on your face” is exhibiting a lack of vision on what this technology will become.

XR (Extended Reality) glasses will soon be a thing. In less than 4 years your AR Glasses will look like a normal pair of Ray-bans, and will also be able to totally occlude to be used as a VR device.

AR and VR is the same technology, the same way mobile phones and computers is the same technology. We now think of them as different ways of doing the same thing (like accessing social media for instance), and we will see XR devices the same way: different ways to access the same Metaverse.

AR & VR will merge even at the hardware level

5. VR’s real world extension

VR Metaverse projects will need AR platforms like OVR to extend their reach. Here are two ways this will play out:

• Companies will be present in the Metaverse, with digital locations, experiences etc. Companies are going to want to redirect their VR users to real-life locations (stores, events, activities), and AR Metaverses like OVR will be helpful for that.
• People will be more and more attached to their digital identities. It is already the case with social medias like Instagram, and this will only be reinforced with NFT avatars, wearables, etc. People are going to want to bring these digital objects in the physical world as well. Like having animated “cool glasses” on your face in a festival for example. OVR, if interoperable with VR Metaverses, will allow for that to be possible. People will have NFT wearables, that will always be on their faces, visible through AR Glasses. These wearables will be part of their identities the same way wearing a certain type of hat for instance is part of someone’s identity today.

An example of what a AR wearable could look like (credits Allan Berger)

My recommendations

Okay, so what can we do to help with this ARVR merging vision?

• We need to embrace Metaverse interoperability: OVR is not the only Metaverse, and not the only good one either. The Metaverse is in fact all theses projects integrated seamlessly in a continuous experience. This means creating bridges between the projects, both technical and human, and creating standards for everybody to use. Concretely, not dismissing other Metaverse projects, on the contrary, supporting them and encouraging them project to partner with OVR.
• We need to embrace the merge between AR and VR: as AR investors and content creators, I would encourage you to buy a VR headset, for instance the Meta Quest 2 which is dominating the VR space, and soon will dominate the AR space. By not doing so you are missing out on half of our space’s potential, which is fine if you are a hobbyist, but I would not recommend it if you want to be serious in the AR space.

That’s it for this article! Let me know your reactions in the comments: only by exchanging will we be able to create a thriving ecosystem :)

Happy building,

Lester paints the world