Niki Smit, co-director of Soul Paint, a VR experience that let users draw their emotions on their body, in Texas. 
| Photo Credit: AFP

At South by Southwest — the gargantuan Texas festival for cinema, music, and tech — artists this year embraced virtual reality (VR) as a way to better connect with humanity, not escape it.

VR and augmented reality (AR) are often associated with video gaming, or the groundbreaking hardware races underway between tech titans like Apple and Meta — though with little in the way of mass adaptation.

But for inventor Niki Smit, VR is an avenue for humans to express their emotions, and explore their mental health.

After donning the usual headgear, the user of Smit’s “Soul Paint” program is invited to “paint” their virtual body, using colors and lines to explore and express their inner reality. “When I’m stressed, I clench my teeth — so I draw this pulsating red thing near my jaws,” Mr. Smit said, demonstrating the software.

“What we’ve been making here is an invitation to dive into yourself, to explore yourself,” he said.

In a massive hall dedicated to VR, demonstrations invited conference goers to watch films and test video games, faces pressed against the VR headset. But at Mr. Smit’s stand, users emerged looking visibly moved, having smeared their virtual stomachs in sickly green or their heads in gray, and dancing to free themselves from downbeat emotions.

“VR is not an extension of film. VR is not an extension of video games. We’re starting to find out it is a medium about your own human body,” said Mr. Smit.

Meta Platforms decided against a partnership with Alphabet to use Google’s Android XR platform for its virtual and mixed-reality Quest headsets, The Information reported on Friday.

Google had suggested that Meta partnered with its new software platform that is being developed for virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed-reality headsets, the report said, citing a source involved in the talks.

But such a partnership could thwart Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to “own the next computational platform for AR, VR and mixed reality,” according to the report.

Meta is already talking to hardware companies, including South Korea’s LG Electronics, about building new VR devices using Quest’s software, the report said, quoting unnamed Meta employees.

Meta and LG Electronics did not respond to Reuters request for comment, while Alphabet declined to comment.

Meta’s Quest devices currently run on an open-source version of Google’s Android operating system, the report said.

Apple released its mixed reality headset Vision Pro last month.

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