Would you like to try out a VR office setup or do part of your work in VR on a virtual workspace? Here is our guide on how to use Infinite Office in Oculus Quest 2.
Facebook announced Infinite Office last September at Facebook Connect 2020.
Despite what you may be thinking, Infinite Office isn’t a single app or collective state that your quest will enter. It’s actually a set of features that are gradually being added to the Quest platform to make Facebook a viable alternative for remote work and office environments.
You can use as many or as few of these features as you want. We’ve outlined the process for using all of the features so you can set up your own Infinite Office that works for you. As more features are added, this guide will be updated.
Using Passthrough + Home Environment
The big idea behind Infinite Office is that it is a workspace that is halfway between reality and virtual reality.
Hence, a large part of the marketing and imagery used for Infinite Office is focused on bringing virtual screens and interactions into your real world. The most effective way to do this is with the Passthrough + virtual environment pictured below, which brings a real-time view of your surroundings in VR as you work.
By default, the Quest uses a variety of fully virtual home environments. However, you can switch to the passthrough environment in the quest settings.
On your Quest, go to the Settings menu and scroll down to Virtual Environment. Here you can select ‘Passthrough +’ which will convert your surroundings to black and white in real time by the Quest 2’s cameras.
This way you can call up virtual browser windows while keeping an eye on your surroundings.
You can keep this at any time or just switch to it when you want to work in VR.
Connect your bluetooth keyboard
Starting with version 28, Oculus Quest headsets can connect to a keyboard (and trackpad, if available) via Bluetooth for use in VR while you work.
You can connect any Bluetooth keyboard to the Quest, but a specific keyboard has advanced features (see below).
To connect a bluetooth keyboard, go to the Experimental Features section of the Quest Settings menu.
Here you can select “Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboard” and connect your device to your Quest.
You can then use the keyboard (and trackpad, if you have one) in the Oculus browser or other apps to finish your work in VR. This feature works well with the Passthrough + home environment because you can see your keyboard while using it in VR.
Tracked Keyboard – Logitech K830
Quest 2 has a keyboard with additional functions – the Logitech K830.
Unlike other keyboards, by connecting the K830 to your Quest, its position can be tracked and displayed in VR at any time. This means that a virtual representation of the keyboard is displayed in VR at all times. Other keyboards can connect to the Quest via Bluetooth, but their location is not tracked and displayed in VR.
You can connect the K830 like any other keyboard and then customize the visual appearance of the tracked keyboard in VR using the Tracked Keyboard option on the Experimental Features Settings tab.
The K830 is usually available at various online stores, but at the time of writing it is currently sold out in most places due to high demand. You can check the Amazon listing for stock levels here.
Bring your desk into VR
You can now bring your desk into VR and have it accurately represented in the Quest home environment. As a result, a desk model is placed in an environment whose position and size are always precisely matched to your real desk.
Note: While you can put your desk in VR in the Passthrough + environment, the VR desk model will not be displayed because you can see your real desk anyway when using this mode. The desk model is only displayed in the standard VR environments. Switch to one of the normal home environments if you want the desk model to be fully visualized in VR.
You can find the “Bring Your Desk Into VR” option on the Experimental Features tab of your quest. Make sure you are seated in front of your desk, then click the Add / Remove button next to Bring Your Desk Into VR.
This will switch you to the passthrough cameras, where you can define the length of your desk by touching one end of your desk with your controller, holding down the trigger, and then moving the controller lengthways along the desk until you reach the opposite corner to reach.
Next, you can place the controller face down on the desk and press the trigger to set the desk height. Once you complete the setup, the desk selection should match your real desk as shown in the picture above.
Confirm your selection and you are done – your quest will now display your real desk in VR, as pictured above.
Stationary limit: passthrough +
This experimental feature is not necessarily an Infinite Office feature, but can be used with the standard virtual environments as an alternative to using the full passthrough view.
When using this feature in a standard Quest setting, the headset will hide in sections of the passthrough camera feed as you approach the boundaries of your stationary limit instead of displaying the traditional safety net.
This allows you to quickly review your environment outside of VR without having to commit to the full Passthrough + environment. Just moving your head to the limit of the stationary guard allows you to see the passthrough feed and everything around you – useful when you have a cup of tea or checking something else in the room without taking off your headset.
This feature can be enabled on the Experimental Features tab of the Quest Settings menu.
Working with the Oculus Browser
Once you have activated a combination of the above functions, you can combine everything with Oculus Browser.
Oculus Browser is the best way to take advantage of all of the above with a web-based, multi-pane work setup. Oculus Browser supports multiple browser tabs with resizable windows at the same time and essentially behaves like a customizable multi-monitor desk setup.
For example, if you’re using the Passthrough + environment, pairing a tracked K830 keyboard, and using multiple Oculus browser windows at the same time, you get a VR setup that is similar to a desk with a keyboard and multiple monitors.
No special setup is required to use the Oculus Browser in an Infinite Office context. With everything else set up, the browser is just the natural way to use these features as part of your workflow. Try experimenting what works for you.
Adding iOS notifications in-VR
Since the last v29 update, Oculus Quest headsets can now connect to iOS devices such as iPhones to display notifications from specific apps. Android support should come soon.
Just go to Settings and find the Notifications tab. Here you can turn on “Phone Notifications in VR” and then specify when you will receive notifications for certain services (like Messages) and apps (like WhatsApp). You will then receive in-VR alerts about incoming calls and other updates. A log of warnings from various apps is also saved on the Notifications tab.
Have you tried using an Infinite Office setup? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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