VR headset
A VR headset, also called a head-mounted display (HMD), is a device worn on the head that shows each eye its own image and redraws it with every head movement, so the wearer sees a computer-generated environment all around (Sutherland, 1968).
Fyware's XR glossary, with the source behind each definition.
A VR headset, also called a head-mounted display (HMD), is a device worn on the head that shows each eye its own image and redraws it with every head movement, so the wearer sees a computer-generated environment all around (Sutherland, 1968).
The idea is already complete in the 1968 paper in which Ivan Sutherland presented his head-mounted three-dimensional display: show the user a perspective image that changes as they move. Sutherland wrote that stereo matters less than that change of image when the head moves. Almost sixty years later, a headset does the same job with a display and a lens for each eye, the lens focusing an image that sits an inch or two from the face, and with sensors that measure the head so the scene can be redrawn. Lens type is now a line on the spec sheet: Meta lists pancake lenses for the Quest 3 and Fresnel lenses for the Quest 3S, and it rates sharpness in pixels per degree (PPD), 25 for the Quest 3 and 20 for the 3S.
Field of view (FOV) is how much of the virtual scene reaches the eye without turning the head. Meta publishes 110° horizontal and 96° vertical for the Quest 3, and 96° by 90° for the Quest 3S, a gap of 14 degrees side to side between two headsets of the same brand; Fyware's post on the end of Meta Horizon managed services compares them with other makers. In safety training the horizontal figure deserves the closest look, because in a forklift and pedestrian exercise the hazard tends to come from the side, and turning the head in time is part of the skill.
Interpupillary distance (IPD) is the distance between the pupils, and lens spacing is the distance between the sharpest spots of the two lenses; for a clear image the two should line up as closely as possible. Meta says its Quest headsets best accommodate IPDs between 56 and 70 mm, about 95% of adults. The Quest 3 adjusts lens spacing continuously and the Quest 3S has three positions; for three-position headsets, Meta's help center suggests 58, 63 or 68 mm depending on the person's IPD. When one headset passes from operator to operator at shift change, the adjustment has to be repeated with each person.
Refresh rate is how many times per second the display redraws the image, and Meta lists 72, 90 and 120 Hz for both models. Tracking decides which movements the headset recognizes. With 3DoF, three degrees of freedom, it registers only rotation, the direction the person is looking; with 6DoF, six degrees of freedom, it also registers position in the room, so the person can step toward a machine or crouch in front of it. Meta suggests a quick test: if you can move closer to an object, the headset is tracking in 6DoF. Quest headsets do it with sensors on the headset itself, which is called inside-out tracking, and they also track the hands when an app runs without controllers. A 360 video shot from a fixed point responds only to turning the head.
A standalone headset runs the application inside, with no cable or computer. It is the format of most Fyware simulators, and the four Fyware Safe modules run on a Meta Quest 3 with no PC and no internet connection. In PC VR, a computer does the rendering and can carry heavier scenes; Gerdau Corsa's crane program runs this way, on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3. Hololight Space splits the work differently: the scene renders on a server or in the cloud, and only the image travels to the headset. For shift planning, Meta lists 2.2 hours of general use per charge for the Quest 3 and 2.5 for the 3S. In a company the headset rarely works alone. An MDM, mobile device management software, installs and updates the apps and locks each headset into a single experience (kiosk mode), and a session layer such as Fyware Hub lets one trainer see on one tablet what up to 12 headsets are showing, offline. Fleet plans now carry a date as well: Meta stopped selling its commercial Quest versions and Horizon managed services licenses on February 20, 2026, and supports Quest 3 and 3S in that service until January 4, 2030. For an event or a pilot in Mexico, Fyware rents headsets that arrive configured.
In the interactive 360 video that Fyware produced in 2024 for Mabe's booth at the Feria Nacional Potosina, commissioned by Casa Eventos Ancar, the headset's capabilities shaped the design. The app runs on a Meta Quest 3 that tracks the fingers without controllers, and the menu is a set of floating bubbles the visitor grabs and squeezes to jump to any of the five business units in the tour. On a fair booth, that saves explaining a controller to each person in line. The full tour runs five minutes, and the working APK was on the headset five business days after the script was approved.
«present the user with a perspective image which changes as he moves»
Sutherland describes the head-mounted display in terms of a perspective image that changes as the user moves, and gives that change more weight than stereo.
«110° Horizontal FOV 96 vertical; Optics: Pancake lens, continuous IAD»
Meta's spec table lists field of view, lens type, lens spacing adjustment, pixels per degree, refresh rate and battery life for the Quest 3 and the Quest 3S.
Source: Meta, “Compare Meta Quest”, Quest 3S vs. Quest 3 table, accessed October 23, 2026
«Meta Quest headsets utilize inside-out tracking with 6DoF (six degrees of freedom).»
Meta explains that Quest headsets use inside-out tracking with 6DoF, and that 3DoF only tracks the direction the person is looking.
Source: Meta Quest Help Center, “Learn how headset tracking works on Meta Quest”, accessed October 23, 2026
«best accommodate IPDs between 56 and 70 mm, or about 95% of adults»
Meta defines IPD and lens spacing, says Quest headsets best accommodate IPDs of 56 to 70 mm, and gives lens settings of 58, 63 and 68 mm for three-position headsets.
Source: Meta Quest Help Center, “Learn about IPD and lens spacing on Meta Quest”, accessed October 23, 2026
Outside work, for games and video; in industry, to practice in a simulator a task that is expensive or dangerous to rehearse on the floor, such as putting out a fire or operating a crane. Headsets also serve to review a CAD design at 1:1 scale before tooling is cut, and to run activations at trade shows and events. Fyware Safe, for example, runs four safety simulators on the same Meta Quest 3.
Meta says its Quest headsets best accommodate interpupillary distances between 56 and 70 mm, which covers about 95% of adults. For an exact figure, Meta suggests seeing an optometrist, or estimating it with a mirror and a millimeter ruler. On a three-position headset, Meta suggests position 1 (58 mm) for an IPD of 61 mm or smaller, position 2 (63 mm) for 61 to 66 mm and position 3 (68 mm) for 66 mm or larger.
Not with a standalone headset such as the Meta Quest 3 or 3S, which carries its own processor and battery; Meta lists 2.2 and 2.5 hours of general use per charge. A PC comes in when the scene is too heavy for the headset, which then runs as PC VR, connected to the computer. Phone viewers are a separate category: they use the screen and sensors of a phone placed inside.
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