It takes massive amounts of data to train AI models. But sometimes, that data simply isn’t available from real-world sources, so data scientists use synthetic data to make up for that. In machine vision applications, that means creating different environments and objects to train robots or se…
Meta’s latest VR headset prototypes will help it pass the ‘Visual Turing test’
Meta wants to make it clear it's not giving up on high-end VR experiences yet. So, in a rare move, the company is spilling the beans on several VR headset prototypes at once.
Meta rolls out new parental controls for Instagram and Quest VR headsets
Meta announced today that it’s rolling out new tools on Instagram and Quest VR headsets that are designed to give parents additional supervision controls. On Instagram, parents and guardians can now send invitations to their teens to initiate supervision tools. Prior to this change, only teen…
Meta adds voice controls for Horizon Worlds, which defaults to live chat with strangers
Meta might soon want everyone to hop into its playful virtual realms, but some users are set up for a shock. In the service of pushing people to socialize in Horizon Worlds, the virtual social network has voice chat enabled by default. As anyone — particularly any woman — who’s played an onli…
Meta rolls out Horizon Home, making it easier to meet up in the metaverse
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today that Horizon Home will roll out as part of a new update to the Quest 2 headset. Despite Meta’s insistence that virtual reality is the future of social networking, the Quest 2 hasn’t supported a straight-forward way to socialize so far…
Meet the Extreme Tech Challenge 2022 Global Finals category and special award winners
Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), the world’s largest startup competition focused on purpose-driven innovation, and sponsor of TechCrunch Sessions: Climate, has chosen 10 category finalists and three Special Award winners to compete at the XTC 2022 Global Finals at the the climate conference on June 14…
Why more funding equates more peace of mind for TRIPP and its users
LA-born startup TRIPP doesn’t want the metaverse to be a mere “shopping mall for virtual consumers,” its founder Nanea Reeves told TechCrunch. Instead, Reeves’ company is envisioning a metaverse experience that can “deepen connection to self, facilitate mental well-bei…
Meta begins testing optional end-to-end encryption in Quest’s VR Messenger app
Meta is testing end-to-end encryption in Quest’s VR Messenger app, the company announced in a blog post. With the rollout of this test, the company is launching optional end-to-end encryption for Messenger’s one-on-one messages and calls in VR. The test is rolling out as part of the new v40 softwar…