Teleworking gets a boost with use of virtual reality gear – The Straits Times

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Depending on his mood, Mr Jeff Weiser settles down to work in a Parisian cafe, a mysterious cave or high above the Earth, thanks to the budding metaverse.

Mr Weiser lives in the midwestern United States state of Ohio but his workplace is in a faux realm accessed using virtual reality head gear.

While still the stuff of science fiction for most people, forerunners of the metaverse vision for the Internet's future are already de rigueur for handfuls of people beyond the gamer and techno-hipster crowds.

Mr Weiser, founder of a translation start-up, spends 25 to 35 hours each week working with Oculus virtual reality (VR) gear on his head in his home in the city of Cincinnati.

A VR application called Immersed lets him sync screens such as his computer and smartphone to his virtual world, shutting out distractions around him at home.

Along with "increased focus", the ergonomics are "perfect", Mr Weiser said.

Display screens hover where they are easily seen and can be changed to any size.

Mr Weiser taps on his keyboard without seeing it, and appears from the outside to be speaking to himself.

But in his virtual world, he interacts with avatars of colleagues as far away as Argentina and Ireland.

The pandemic boosted use of telework technologies that make it possible for colleagues to collaborate as teams despite being in different locations.

The Holy Grail is to replicate the kind of personal contact possible in offices.

Mr Florent Crivello co-founded Teamflow, a start-up that tailors software for workers to collaborate virtually from their computers.

"We are building the metaverse for work," Mr Crivello said, adding that VR headsets are not quite ready for "prime time".

"All of our collaboration tools are still on desktop; we want to meet people where they are."

Teamflow virtual offices look like on-screen game boards with meeting rooms, sofas and more.

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Teleworking gets a boost with use of virtual reality gear - The Straits Times