Augmented reality and virtual reality are evolving faster than expected, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg told VivaTech, firmly convinced that a new world of applications and services is opening up with these technologies.

“We started out a little faster than we thought,” said Mark Zuckerberg, who was interviewed live over video conference by Maurice Levy, co-founder of the Paris program, which runs start-up and Dedicated to innovation.

Facebook, which recently released its new Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality mask, currently employs 10,000 people in virtual reality and augmented reality, Zuckerberg said.

“We’re investing billions and billions and billions of dollars in these technologies” to create “an extraordinary future within 5 to 10 years”, the Facebook boss said.

The Facebook boss said virtual reality masks are “beginning to come out” of video games for Oculus and its competitors, their first area of ​​development.

Mark Zuckerberg cited sports training applications as an example: “You have a membership, you take off a mask and you find yourself in an incredible environment to take a boxing or dance class with a teacher, ” They said. described.

Mark Zuckerberg also described his vision of a “meta-universe”, a virtual universe where it is now possible to buy virtual goods.

“Take this thought experiment, think of all the things in your life that aren’t really physical that could be replaced by a hologram where you wear smart glasses,” Boss explained. from Facebook.

“Television will no longer need to be physically present, it can just be an application” that “projects” images on the wall through these glasses “that can be shared with your friends,” he continued .

“Instead of producing a television or some sort of complex physical object that requires factories, raw materials, any kid or developer in the world would be able to do it with a set of design tools. 3D & Code , and being able to sell their products around the world, without having to worry about logistics or shipping,” he explained.

For Facebook, augmented or virtual reality is “not a way to create a great new experience, but to create an economic wave that could create opportunities for people around the world,” he said.

“It’s something we’re going to see unlocked in the next 5 to 10 years,” he said.

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