Last month, a hands-on video of Samsung’s Project Moohan XR headset, revealed many details about the product. However, there’s still a lot we don’t know about it. One of those things is if it allows third-party apps to access passthrough cameras, and if it does, then if it allows users to decide which apps get to see what’s going around them.
After all, XR headsets can see everything we can, and if the feed from cameras falls into the wrong hands (in this case, apps), it could be disastrous. Well, today we are learning something on that front, and you will be happy to know it. Spoiler alert: Google’s Android XR handles camera permissions in a similar way Android does. Let’s take a look.
Skarred Ghost’s Tony had a conversation with a Google spokesperson about Android XR’s access to cameras on an XR headset, if it lets third-party apps access those cameras, and many things related to it, including the doubts we mentioned above. Here are the things that the spokesperson revealed.
Android XR can give apps permission to cameras
The Google spokesperson says that Android XR can give third-party apps access to cameras on an XR headset. However, it will ask users for their permission before giving apps access, similar to how Android and Galaxy phones ask for camera permission.
It can give apps access to front or rear cameras. If apps ask for access to the rear cameras, it will show them feed from “the world-facing camera” and if they ask for access to front cameras, it will give them “an image stream containing the user’s avatar.”
The story continues after the video…
He adds “This avatar video stream is generated by Avatar provider apps/services on the headset. These apps generate the stream based on user tracking data from OpenXR APIs, e.g. head, hand, eye, face. This tracking data is obtained from the physical inward-facing cameras that monitor the user’s movements and facial expressions.”
In short, cameras and camera permissions on Google’s Android XR and Samsung’s Project Moohan XR headset work in a similar way they do on Android and Galaxy smartphones. Hopefully, we will get to know more details about the headset, and more importantly, about its price and availability soon.
