How one can Get Work Completed in VR With Oculus Quest 2

Several apps offer you a working environment in VR. Screenshot: vSpatial

Think about that Oculus Quest 2 and you think of gaming, of course: flying through virtual reality worlds, shooting down virtual reality enemies, and so on. But Oculus has updated its software lately, and new features suggest that it wants to help you get work done too – even if we’re still at the beginning of realizing that potential.

The main benefit of a virtual reality environment for work is that you can have as many screens of any size as you want. You can finally get the triple 32-inch monitor setup of your dreams and your VR desk will always be clean. You have a number of options to set this up on your Oculus Quest 2 and we will guide you through here.

Add keyboard and mouse

There’s an ideal hardware setup for the Oculus Quest 2 when it comes to work, which is to buy and install the $ 60 Logitech K830 Keyboard that has an integrated trackpad. Right now it’s the only keyboard you can actually see in front of you in full, gorgeous VR, although we expect more keyboards and more software options to hit the market in the future.

You can currently add any keyboard and mouse combination you want, although the feature is still marked as “experimental” in the Oculus Quest 2 settings. Open the settings via the app list and then select Experimental functions. click Pair and then Pair a new device, put your mouse or keyboard in pairing mode and you should be able to pair the two.

Keyboard, mouse and VR desk support is still being tested. Screenshot: Oculus

G / O Media can receive a commission

You’ll see there are too Bluetooth mouse and trackpad and Tracked keyboard Settings, if you own the Logitech K830 (or another compatible device when we see more of them). There is also a Bring your desk into VR Option: select Add Remove next to it and you can tell the headset where your desk is. When you get close to it, you can use this as an alternative to your standard playing surface so that you can see your controllers sitting on your desk, for example.

The fact that all of this is marked experimental and only supports one keyboard at the moment tells you that it is still in its infancy. We should see a lot of improvements in the future and no doubt a lot of tweaks to the settings and options we’ve mentioned so far. Facebook is apparently Working on a pass-through window to see a keyboard even though it’s not there yet.

Work with apps

Unless you’re using the Logitech K830 or are a very skilled typist, chances are you’ll want to see your keyboard. You can do this by replacing the virtual background behind your apps with the pass-through view of the cameras on the Quest 2. to open Quick settings (from the left side of the home menu) then select the Through house Possibility.

The obvious starting point to get some work done is the built-in browser – it’s at the top of the main apps area – which you can access Google Docs, Outlook on the web, or wherever you want. Select the three dots in the top right corner of the browser interface and you can change the size of the displayed window. above the browser is a + (Plus) key to open neighboring windows.

Facebook thinks that one day working in VR could look something like this. Image: Facebook

For a maybe even better option, give Firefox reality one try. It’s more flexible and versatile than the included browser, and it can also open multiple windows side by side for a really immersive feel (you can surround yourself with web apps if you want). Unfortunately, Firefox Reality does not support the VR desk or the pass-through background functions for the time being.

The productivity apps that you can currently find in the Oculus Quest 2 library are mostly related to virtual meetings and graphic design, and we’ll have to wait for the productivity features we mentioned to be fully integrated and supported before going up and running and messaging -Apps are displayed. However, that definitely seems to be the path Facebook wants to take in the future, since this demo video shows.

Work from your computer

There is another option here, namely to broadcast everything that happens on your Windows or macOS computer into a VR area, which you can access via your Oculus Quest 2. Your hardware setup stays pretty much the same as it is already, but you can access it (from the same room or from across the world) through your virtual reality headset. You can play around with multiple displays and more.

You have a couple of options to choose from. Immersed is one of the most impressive and free if you stick to two virtual monitors, with many more options (like a shared whiteboard and customizable workspaces) available for $ 15 a month and up. You need a desktop client on your laptop or desktop and the app on your Oculus Quest 2, and then you can mirror everything on your computer in a VR room.

Immersed is an app that gives you remote access to your computer in VR. Screenshot: Immersed

Virtual desktop runs similarly and is also available for Windows and macOS. You can only work with one screen at a time, but you can resize and position it as you wish, and choose from a variety of scenarios and backgrounds. Both the apps for your computer and your Oculus Quest 2 are easy to set up and use, and Virtual Desktop costs you $ 20.

Finally there vSpatialwhich contains a whole range of functions to make it easier for you to collaborate with others, including screen sharing, chat functions and much more. As with the other two tools, you need to run a program on your headset and a program on your computer to start remote desktop access to your local WiFi network, and you can take it over from there. You can use vSpatial for free, with features like group meetings and remote access over the Internet that start at $ 10 a month.