Research on the future of mixed reality


Interaction Design / Spatial Computing / Social VR / Quest Platform



Research design that shaped how people experience mixed reality on Quest - from seeing the real world in VR, to collaborating in shared spaces, to using VR in motion.

Meta (Reality Labs Research), Redmond

This body of work spans foundational mixed reality research at Meta Reality Labs that directly impacted products used by millions. The research explored how the physical and virtual worlds can coexist - leading to shipped features like Passthrough, Workrooms VR, and Travel Mode on Quest 2/3.

Role

Research Design Lead, Interaction Models, Prototyping

Timeline

2019 -2022

Scope

Spatial computing, social VR, mixed reality interaction frameworks

Impact

Shipped features on Quest 2/3 used by millions

A

The research

Led mixed reality research design at Reality Labs, defining interaction paradigms that pushed beyond traditional VR isolation. The work focused on three core questions: How do you bring the real world into VR? How do you make remote collaboration feel present? And how do you make VR work in environments it was never designed for?

This research directly informed major product decisions across the Quest platform, translating early-stage prototypes and interaction frameworks into shipped experiences.

B

What the research shaped

Passthrough

Enabling users to see and interact with their real environment while wearing the headset. The research defined interaction models for blending physical and virtual contexts - how much of the real world to show, when to transition, and how to maintain spatial awareness without breaking immersion.

Workrooms VR

Reimagining remote collaboration by placing teams in a shared virtual space. The research explored presence, spatial audio, gaze dynamics, and the interaction patterns that make virtual meetings feel fundamentally different from video calls.

Travel Mode

Adapting the Quest experience for use in moving vehicles like airplanes and cars. This required rethinking the assumptions VR makes about stationary environments - solving for motion tracking, comfort, and safety in contexts the platform was never designed for.

Meta x BMW Research Update - Exploring VR and MR experiences in moving vehicles, research that directly led to Travel Mode on Quest 2/3.
C

Approach

Built and presented prototypes to executives, external audiences, and cross-functional product teams. The work operated at the intersection of research and product - translating speculative interaction concepts into testable prototypes, running user studies, and iterating toward models that engineering teams could ship.

Collaborated across hardware, perception, and product teams to ensure research outputs were grounded in technical feasibility while pushing the boundaries of what mixed reality experiences could be.

D

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