Meta's Quest hand tracking can now detect high-fives and clap

Meta is updating its mixed reality hand tracking system with support for more types of motion, including gestures like clapping. A new version of its Presence Platform API is launching to everyone after a limited preview, with some developers promising more sophisticated and reliable interactions on the Meta (formerly Oculus) Quest headset.

The Presence Platform update is designed to improve Quest hand tracking - which uses headset-mounted cameras to replace default hardware controllers across the board. In addition to the usual reliability updates, it focuses on detecting motion when part of your hand is out of sight of the camera. It is now associated with clapping, catching high-fives, crossing hands and other gestures that involve snag. Thums-up motion, as well as more abstract interface interactions such as pinching, grabbing and poking, should also be improved. Developers who have created custom gestures (for example to punch the bag in a virtual reality boxing game) could be even better.

Camera-based hand tracking isn't necessarily the meta's endgame for interactivity – although the press release briefly mentions the use of the Presence Platform system on Quest alongside "devices of the future". The company is working on an augmented reality wristband that reads nerve activity in your arm based on technology it acquired from startup CTRL-Labs in 2019. But these systems have been off for years, whereas camera-based hand tracking doesn't require anything else. Compared to software updates for standard VR headset sensors. It's one of the things that's helped Quest take the physical and virtual worlds out of a completely VR-focused device — even though it's still not the primary way many people will interact with the platform.