The camera is king at Facebook's F8 developer conference
Mark Zuckerberg's keynote speech at the Facebook F8 developer conference made it clear that Facebook is not retreating from its battle with Snapchat. Zuckerberg's focus was firmly on the integration of the camera with Facebook apps, along with enhancement of pictures and video with augmented reality experiences such as filters, informational metadata, art and games that map on to the surfaces around you. Virtual reality also got a look in, with Spaces coming to the Oculus Rift, as did messaging – integration with Spotify and an improved version of M, Facebook's mobile artificial intelligence assistant, are both coming to Messenger.
Facebook's new augmented reality tools will let you place virtual objects into the real world when you view your surroundings through your phone. Leave messages on the fridge for your spouse, or tag businesses with floating notes and tips written on walls. We'll get AR games that incorporate real-world objects thanks to a technology called "SLAM" (simultaneous localization and mapping) that lays a 3-D grid over the table in front of you, turning it into a gameboard. Also, we'll get AR art, pieces only viewable through your phone. As Zuckerberg said, "This is going to be a thing in the future—people standing around looking at blank walls."