Here’s how Meta’s Hyperscape turns phone cameras into Metaverse Portals
Mark Zuckerberg is intensifying Meta’s focus on metaverse initiatives, including hiring experts in generative AI. Meta recently presented a demo of its latest technology, Hyperscape, which turns a smartphone camera into a gateway to photorealistic metaverse environments. According to Zuckerberg, this tool allows smartphones to scan 2D spaces and convert them into hyper-realistic metaverse backgrounds, allowing users to explore and interact with these digital worlds.
What is Hyperscape
During a recent demo of Hyperscape, Zuckerberg was heard describing it as “pretty wild.” Explaining the concept, the tech mogul said, “We are working on bringing photorealistic avatars into the metaverse. We’re also bringing photorealistic spaces to the metaverse. We call this Hyperscape. You can use your phone, scan a room and recreate it.”
Meta uses a 3D volume rendering technique called ‘Gaussian splashes’that uses cloud viewing and streaming. This technology transforms spaces scanned by smartphone cameras into immersive, virtually visible environments.
Jonathon Luiten, a Meta officer and research scientist at the company’s Metaverse division, Reality Labs, described Hyperscape as a technology that allows users to create “high-fidelity replicas” of their physical environment and embody them in Virtual Reality (VR).
The demo released for Hyperscape seamlessly integrates multiple photos taken with a smartphone camera into a high-resolution video format. Luiten shared a video on his X profile demonstrating how Hyperscape stitches these images together to create a lifelike setting.
Currently, the app for Hyperscape has only been made available on Meta’s Quest 3 headset priced for $429.99 (approximately Rs. 36,098) for the 128GB variant. It runs on the specially designed Meta Horizon OS. The technology was first showcased at the Meta Connect 2024 event on September 25.
Meta’s rendezvous with Metaverse
In September 2021, Zuckerberg changed Facebook to Meta, signaling his commitment to metaverse technology.
Supported by blockchain networks, metaverse ecosystems are photorealistic virtual representations of real-world objects. According to Meta, these ecosystems have the potential to transform digital interactions. Platforms like The Sandbox and Decentraland allow users to participate as avatars, allowing them to play games, collect NFTs, and hold virtual meetings and social gatherings in hyper-realistic environments.
Since its founding in 2022, Meta’s Reality Labs unit has repeatedly recorded losses. The unit lost $13.7 billion (approximately Rs. 1,12,200 crore) in 2022, with a subsequent loss of $46.5 billion, while generating nearly $11 billion (approximately Rs. 91,744 crore) in revenue in Q4 2023 .
Despite these financial setbacks, Zuckerberg has remained true to his belief that the metaverse technology will become popular in the near future. Zuckerberg’s bet on the metaverse initially seemed like a colossal mistake, wiping out more than $100 billion (approximately Rs. 8,39,113 crore) from his net worth. However, according to recent figures from Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, Zuckerberg’s net worth has increased almost sixfold in less than two years to $201 billion (approximately Rs. 16,86,617 crore), the first time he has crossed the $200 billion mark (approximately Rs. 16 ,78,226 crore) – making him the fourth richest person in the world.
