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Tech

Hanging Out in Virtual Reality Is Now as Easy as Making a Phone Call

AltspaceVR will let participants play games and view videos together from around the world.
Image: AltspaceVR

I'm sitting in a high rise office building in Manhattan, and Eric Romo, founder and CEO of virtual reality software company AltspaceVR, is pulled over in his car in a parking lot outside a San Francisco airport. But together we are sharing a living room in a house overlooking the ocean, watching Jimmy Fallon lip sync battle on a screen in front of us.

The experience is part of the company's new app, which allows users to easily share experiences through virtual reality headsets, coordinating direct meetups with just a text message. The platform is compatible with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive as well as the mobile Samsung Gear VR, which uses a Samsung smartphone as the display. After downloading the app from Google Play, users can "attend" events like concerts and art shows, stream videos on YouTube, and Periscope with friends around the world.

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"At AltspaceVR we believe social communication—bringing family and friends together—will be a key driver for VR adoption," Romo told me by email after our demo. "Unlike talking on a phone or looking at each other on a screen in video chat, in VR loved ones, friends, and families can connect and really feel as if you they are together."

In the past, AltspaceVR required users to join chat rooms at the same time to communicate and hang out together in virtual reality, but there was no private way to chat. Now, it allows users to connect directly via their VR Call feature, making it easier to coordinate one-on-one meetings through SMS, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, and other social platforms.

"Offering private spaces allows for a more predictable, uninterrupted experience for those who want to get together with family and friends," Romo said.

For now, the company is primarily targeting everyday users who want to connect on a more personal level, but Romo said the platform has applications in the workplace and beyond. Recently, the company had users get together virtually to view wedding photos and videos, and Romo said the app could be used for everything from meetings to playing games with far away friends.

Viewing videos together in the app. Image: AltspaceVR/YouTube

The app experience is fairly user-friendly and immersive. I wandered through the virtual scene using the cursor on the headset, and I could easily pull up videos on the shared screen using a cursor and communicate with other users in the scene. As Romo moved away from me in the virtual space, his avatar's voice got quieter. The characters on the platform are currently faceless but still emote with body language like shrugs and head tilts. Romo said the team deliberately made the avatar without features to keep the experience more realistic.

"The avatars are purposely abstract to avoid the 'uncanny valley' effect," he said. "It turns out that an avatar that looks almost human but not exactly right can be very distracting, or as some say, 'creepy.' To avoid this, we have designed our avatars so people are clear that the avatar is a representation and users often get used to them very quickly."

Although chatting with a faceless blue orb who has your mother or partner's voice still may be a little uncanny, the service allows for real human connection compatible with Gear VR—which at $120 is much more affordable than other headsets. The AltSpace experience can put you in the same room as friends and family seamlessly and at a relatively affordable price.