Oculus launches v35 update for users and developers, including voice recognition feature

A host of new features are now available for Oculus developers and customers in the v35 update. The tools contained in the release for developers include speech recognition and spatial anchors.

The speech recognition feature has been made possible through the release of Voice SDK API, which allows you to interact with VR apps using your voice. With Voice SDK, developers can build conversational interactions in-game and create voice command shortcuts. The tool is powered by Wit.ai, a natural language understanding service, which Meta acquired in 2015.

Spatial Anchors enable developers to lock content across sessions so they can be used as a reference point. When combined with Passthrough API, Spatial Anchors allows an app to restore the content in the exact real-world location where you left it. This feature is an experimental release, meaning that the tool can not be shared with users via apps just yet.

The v35 update for Oculus also includes a mobile mixed reality camera, a feature that enables you to record yourself in VR. A similar tool, Live Overlay, was released earlier this year. The core difference between the features is that this new mixed reality camera films you in the game, so you can watch yourself play; the overlay only superimposes you onto the footage of your VR world.

Several other communication-based features were also released in the update, including Messenger calling in VR and the ability to customize your Horizon Workroom. V35 was the final Oculus update for 2021, so we will have to wait until the new year for additional features to be released.

Buy the Oculus Quest 2 Virtual Reality Headset on Amazon