Public Displays and Activations
Many developers, agencies, and institutions have been interested in using Oculus products to help share their VR ideas and experiences with the general public. This interest often manifests itself in the form of public displays and activations.
At the outset, it’s important to note that both of our products, the Oculus Rift Developer Kit 2 and the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition, are not industrial-grade devices nor are they fully-fledged consumer products. They are development kits aimed at developers and enthusiasts making the first wave of consumer content.
However, there are still interesting ways that our current products can be used for public displays and activations. So here we’ll provide some guidance and recommendations to that end.
Keep It Short and Sweet
Activations should only last a matter of days and be relatively modest in scope. We also suggest that there be no more than four to six devices in use. These limits make it significantly easier to effectively manage the activation, and the constrained scope allows you to innovate and experiment. Note: it is recommended that you have at least one backup for each device in use.
Make It Free
You shouldn’t be directly or indirectly charging users. Both the Oculus Terms of Service and the Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 Terms and Conditions prohibit commercial use, so your public activation must be provided free of charge. In the future we may have a program for commercializing public activations, but we’re not there yet.
People First
User safety and comfort is extremely important to us because we want everyone’s first experience with virtual reality to be great. We’ve published the Oculus Best Practices Guide to help you. Make sure to read through it before starting development, and apply the recommendations to your activation. Please pay extra attention to the following aspects of the Best Practice Guide:
- Users should be 13 years or older
- Users should be seated and safe
- Users should be and feel comfortable
Because you will need to move people through the experience, help them take the device on and off, and prepare the device for each new user, you will need individual, trained staff for each user. The headset should be cleaned between each use with skin-friendly antibacterial wipes (particularly the lenses) and dried with a microfiber cloth.
Similar to what you might find at amusement parks, health and safety signage should also be properly displayed. Applicable Health and Safety Warnings for Oculus hardware can be found here in our online Documentation section. These are minimum recommended requirements. Each activation, however, is unique and the responsibility of the developer, so please tailor your messaging accordingly.
