Facebook's Social VR Demo Envisions a Future of Virtual Selfies

This week at Facebook's F8 Developer Conference, the social networking giant shared their vision for how users will interact with virtual reality in the future. Judging from the video above, virtual selfies may be the next big thing.

As reported by re/code, Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer demonstrated the company's new "social VR" technology by donning an Oculus Rift headset (which Facebook owns) on stage at the conference in San Francisco. A Facebook employee in a different part of the Bay Area had on a Rift headset as well, allowing the two of them to virtually meet up in a 360-degree recreation of London.

Their digital avatars (represented by a floating head and pair of hands) were able to interact, draw virtual clothing items, and even snap a few selfies. After the pictures were "printed," the avatars uploaded their photos by feeding them into an animated blue box bearing the Facebook logo.

VR selfies are just one example of how Facebook could use virtual reality to enhance the social media experience. At a Townhall Q&A last fall, Mark Zuckerberg mentioned a VR program the company is experimenting with that would let friends play zero-gravity ping-pong underwater or in outer space. And with multiple teams dedicated to developing Facebook's social VR, you can expect to see more innovative proposals from them down the road.

[h/t re/code]

Header/banner images courtesy of Facebook via Vimeo.