The fourth annual Oculus Connect developer conference is coming soon. In October, Oculus will play host to hundreds—perhaps thousands—of developers and creators in the VR industry. But not everyone can attend: If you want to go, you must convince Oculus that you’re worthy.
The Oculus Connect conference is one of the most important annual events for VR developers. If you want to be part of the forefront of development on either of Oculus’ VR platforms, OC4 is the place to be. This year's event is happening October 11-12. Oculus and its parent company, Facebook, use the event to share the latest innovations coming out of the company’s R&D and development teams.
In past years, Oculus revealed HMD prototypes at Oculus Connect events, such as the Crescent Bay Rift prototype at the first Oculus Connect and Project Santa Cruz at OC3 last year. This year, we expect to see another HMD reveal, and it could be a formal product announcement. A report surfaced last week suggesting that Oculus is prepping a standalone mobile HMD powered by a Qualcomm SoC that would be revealed to developers “by October” and released sometime in 2018.
Oculus Connect allows VR developers to share ideas and learn new tricks of the trade from other industry professionals. Oculus hosts a variety of learning sessions for industry professionals, including development workshops and live coding sessions. The company also uses Connect as a platform to share insights from the R&D team.
Oculus Connect is also where the company’s top minds hint at what they are working on for the future, and where they see the industry going. You can expect a keynote presentation from Oculus CTO John Carmack, and Michael Abrash, Oculus’ Chief Scientist, traditionally gives a presentation about where he sees the VR industry heading in the next decade, offering insight about difficult problems that must be overcome.
Applications for OC4 registration are now open. To apply, log in with your Facebook account (you can apply with an email address if you don’t have Facebook) and answer the questions on the application page. You must explain the work you do in VR and why you believe attending the conference would benefit you. Oculus is being selective about who attends Connect this year. If it believes you're a good fit for the conference, you’ll receive an invite to register your attendance.
Oculus said that applications for OC4 attendance would close on August 11. Those who receive an invite will have the opportunity to get an “early bird” discount if they complete the registration by August 21. Regular conference passes are $399; early bird passes go for $299. Oculus also offers student/academic passes for $99 to students and faculty of accredited universities. Developers who have active VR projects can also apply for a “developer” pass, which Oculus offers to select developers for $199. For more information about the conference, visit oculusconnect.com.
