How to Use VR Passthrough?

Virtual reality is redefining the way we interact with digital tools in the workplace. Like all rapidly evolving technologies, it comes with challenges and limitations that need to be addressed.

Although 54% of workers who regularly use VR spend between one to two hours a day wearing a headset, using the technology for extended periods of time can make users feel disconnected from the real world. This can increase the risk of bumping into things when moving around or make transitioning from virtual worlds to the physical world and back again, more difficult.

Similarly, if you’re fully immersed in a digital environment, interruptions from outside can be disruptive and affect workflow and concentration, particularly if you need to remove your headset.

Passthrough addresses these frustrations. It allows you to see your physical surroundings while wearing a VR headset. The result is a seamless blend of real and virtual worlds, or mixed reality.

How does VR passthrough work?

VR passthrough requires a combination of sensors and cameras built into your VR headset capturing a real-time video feed of your physical environment displayed in mixed reality. This allows users to see and interact with their real-world surroundings without taking off their headset.

Full color passthrough, featured on the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S, works best in well-lit rooms. Passthrough plays a big part in the delivery of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) experiences, where digital content, such as text or images, is overlaid on the live feed.

So what does this do for your workplace VR experience?

For avid multitaskers, passthrough is a valuable tool. If you’re working remotely, you can have your physical desk in front of you and floating browser screens visible through your headset to expand your multi-screen experience. If you need to grab your coffee or use a real-world keyboard, you can do so safely without dropping out of virtual worlds.

VR passthrough and mixed reality

VR passthrough and mixed reality are not interchangeable technologies.

Passthrough is like ‘looking through a window’. It’s about seeing your physical surroundings through a live video feed with an on/off function.

Mixed reality involves making digital elements part of your real-world experience. You can interact with both at the same time and move easily between them for a more prolonged period. Passthrough then, is an essential component of the mixed reality experience.

Read more about the difference between AR, VR and MR.

When you’re recording, casting or live streaming with passthrough on Meta Quest 3 or Meta Quest 3S, bystanders will see a blinking white light.

When using passthrough, it’s up to you to let people in your vicinity know. You can mention that Meta doesn’t have access to any videos captured when passthrough is switched on and that camera data is processed locally and not stored or transmitted.

To find out more about privacy and security, visit the Meta Quest Safety Center.

How businesses can use passthrough

Training and education

The combination of virtual and real worlds, allows educators to create efficient, integrated and highly engaging learning experiences. For example, employees wearing VR headsets with passthrough can access step-by-step guides for new equipment so they can learn on the job. Additional training may be minimal or not needed at all.

Product design

Design and development teams wearing VR headsets with passthrough can work on 3D models together in real time and in the same space. Seeing the finished product or a prototype brought to life in the context of the physical world can make it easier to spot potential issues sooner rather than later.

Maintenance and repairs

For complex or specialist repairs, the expertise may not be available on site or may be too expensive to bring in. Using VR headsets with passthrough, technicians can connect with experts remotely and be guided through a repair or maintenance process.

Marketing

Customers wearing VR headsets can see what they’d look like wearing a particular outfit or whether a piece of furniture fits in their living room. This pre-sale support takes the hesitation out of decision-making and reduces the chances of returns.

What are the benefits of VR passthrough?

What are the challenges when using VR passthrough?

Image quality

The passthrough cameras on VR headsets don’t see the world exactly as you do. Images can lack real-world detail making it harder to carry out intricate tasks and even with cameras positioned at eye level, some visual displacement is likely.

Environmental limitations

VR passthrough works best in well-lit rooms. Without adequate light around you or with too many reflective surfaces or complex visual patterns, you may get a less accurate or reliable representation of your physical space.

Hardware limitations

Not all headsets are created equal. The hardware capabilities available, including camera and sensor quality, inevitably have an impact on your VR passthrough experience. You may experience latency issues, reduced frame rates or visual distortion in your video feed, making for a less seamless blend of real and virtual worlds.

Power consumption

Battery life is a significant issue with simultaneous operation of cameras, sensors and processing units consuming a lot of power. Optimizing energy efficiency is one of the key challenges facing headset designers in the quest for a more convincing passthrough experience.

Privacy

The process of capturing and potentially sharing video of your surroundings raises many privacy concerns. It’s important to be mindful of those around you and get informed consent if you’ve got passthrough enabled.

With more organizations investing in MR headsets and driving the demand for game-changing virtual experiences, innovations like passthrough are playing an important role in pushing the technology forwards. By helping to bridge the gap between real and virtual worlds, it’s unlocking a host of new possibilities, with many more passthrough-supported use cases still to come.

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