Facebook Relocates Your Office & Coworkers Into VR With ‘Horizon Workrooms’

By Alexa Heah, 20 Aug 2021

Image via Workroom Horizons

While most of us might have expected to be back in our offices by now, the new strains of COVID-19 have delayed plans time and time again. And to help employees stay connected with supervisors and coworkers, Facebook is introducing a brand-new app, Horizon Workrooms.

The app works together with Oculus, the virtual reality (VR) headset also owned by Facebook, allowing employees to interact with coworkers as an avatar of themselves. On a television program this week, host Gayle King conducted an interview with VR Mark Zuckerberg via the system.

.@GayleKing and Mark Zuckerberg conduct their first-ever virtual reality interview in Facebook’s new "Horizon Workrooms," a VR app that allows coworkers to interact in virtual offices. https://t.co/aVCtQu2pJi pic.twitter.com/koqNvmnHJU
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) August 19, 2021

This demonstration showed that although two people were in different locations, they could still appear next to each other in the VR workroom. Of course, the avatar doesn’t really resemble a human being, but rather more like a Nintendo Wii character.

According to Esquire, by operating through mixed-reality instead of only VR, the app integrates a user’s physical belongings into the workroom. Upon pairing the app to a computer, items such as one’s keyboard, desk, or desktop screen will appear in the virtual setting.

Plus, every workroom offers infinite whiteboard space, so employees can plan together in real-time. Users will be able to pin images from the computer directly onto the whiteboard, making it easier to share and review ideas with coworkers.  

As for users who don’t own an Oculus headset, they’ll still be able to join the workroom via video call, which will appear at the front of the workroom just like an in-app Zoom screen. There will also be various room layouts for different uses, be it a presentation, discussion, or collaboration meeting.

Image via Workroom Horizons

Overall, this new app hopes to allow offices to regain the sense of in-person mingling and collaboration, with sounds and movements from the avatars designed to micmic real-life scenarios. With many employees hesitant to head back to the office, could this be a new way of permanently working from home?

Intrigued or dreading facing avatar coworkers? Take a look at the interview demonstration below. For more information, head over to the official site here.