Oculus in major recruitment drive as it moves to incorporate a mixed reality of AR and VR
Oculus, the firm behind the Oculus Rift is currently on a major recruitment drive with over 100 positions currently available, 33 of which are for the Redmond, WA -based Oculus research division. Among those is the AR Incubation Lead role, a position that will lead a team "to build augmented reality technology that opens the path for everyday use for a billion people."
Oculus has been the driving force behind the reinvigoration of virtual reality, but has recently hinted at plans to explore the possibilities of AR as well, the article notes. This was most obvious during the Oculus Connect 3 keynote, where Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated an augmented reality chat room with other participants represented by digital avatars.
Numerous VR and AR experts believe mixed reality, a blend of the two technologies, is the natural endpoint for both markets. Microsoft showed steps towards this last week, demonstrating the new MR functionalities of HoloLens, previously a solely augmented reality device. The firm is also moving in on the virtual reality space with a new range competitively-priced headsets, much to the approval of various analysts, according to the article.
Much of the rest of Oculus' hiring sprees around its software and hardware engineering divisions.
During Oculus Connect 3, chief scientist Michael Abrash pointed to various areas of virtual reality where he expects major technological improvements over the next five years.