AI

This “Spatial GPT” App Makes Me Want More Mixed Reality Chatbots

A more intuitive way to brainstorm in virtual reality.

by Jackson Chen
Inverse Senior Editor James Pero wearing Meta's Quest 3 headset
Photograph by Raymond Wong

Horizon Workrooms might not have been the work revolution we were hoping for, but mixed-reality chatbots in virtual reality could be. Noda, an app that combines its AI chatbot with a virtual workspace, promises a more intuitive way to get creative work done.

We’re seeing AI chatbots being incorporated into everything under the sun, but pairing it with a mixed-reality environment makes a lot of sense. Having a conversation with a generative AI-powered chatbot and then being able to pin that thought in a virtual space feels like a more streamlined way to work in VR. As Noda says, it feels like you’re Tony Stark talking to Jarvis, who will map out your project as you work on it.

How to Make Working in VR Not Suck

Like text-based chatbots, you can ask Noda’s AI whatever you want and it will spit back a response in a few seconds. The major difference is that Noda will map out the responses into nodes that you can expand upon or save for later. Instead of a singular, linear conversation, you can tackle a bunch of different topics at once with Noda’s app.

Once the nodes are created, you can manipulate them in virtual space with your hands. You get to organize the nodes into a network or storyboard, adding some order to your fleeting thoughts. Even better, you can do group sessions with Noda, allowing for a more fluid — or chaotic, depending on your coworkers — way to collaborate.

You can stay in the zone by organizing or tapping into nodes while the Noda AI simultaneously processes your prompts.

Noda

Map Your Mind

Noda’s already available on the Meta store and is compatible with the Quest 2, Quest 3, and Quest Pro headsets. Since Noda runs on a freemium model, you can opt into the Noda Plus subscription for $4.99 a month which gives you extra features like unlimited cloud services.

With the onset of better and better generative AI chatbots, it’s only a matter of time before Noda sees some real competition from developers looking to incorporate their AI into a virtual reality setting. We know Meta has been hard at work on its own AI model, so we wouldn’t be too surprised to see the company take a second crack at Horizon Workspaces with an AI chatbot that’s actually useful.

Related Tags