Guardian

Meta Quest

Role
Motion Designer

A Visual System

What is Guardian

Guardian is Meta Quest's safety system that creates a virtual boundary in your physical space to prevent you from bumping into walls, furniture, or other obstacles while in VR.

How it works:

Users draw their play area boundary using the controllers
The system displays visible barriers when you approach the edges
Passthrough camera activates when user exits the boundary
Protects users from collisions while maintaining immersion

Why?

Meta Quest (originally Oculus Quest) was the first mainstream standalone VR headset with 6DOF (six degrees of freedom) tracking, meaning users could freely walk around in VR without being tethered to a PC.

Since users were untethered and could move in any direction, Guardian was critical for keeping them safe from real-world hazards while immersed in virtual environments.

Team
Spatial Systems

Tools
Maxon Cinema 4D
After Effects

Year
2018

youtube footage

My Role

Led and created the final visual language and motion system for the boundary interface and setup
Developed comprehensive and scalable design specifications for implementation
Collaborated cross-functionally with Product Designers, PMs, TPMs, EMs, Design Managers, and Engineers to deliver the system

Key Takeaways

First-of-its-kind safety challenge
Balance of safety and immersion
Cross-functional execution
Scalable design system
User-centric approach

Stationary

A small circular boundary designed for standing or sitting in one place without moving around your space.

Features

Boundaries

Roomscale

A user-drawn perimeter that defines a larger play area where you can walk around freely in VR.

The system provides predictable, uniform behavior across all VR experiences so users can trust the boundaries will always appear at the right distance and respond the same way every time

Guardian's visual design ensures high visibility against any VR environment, from dark scenes to bright, complex games, so users can always clearly see the boundary regardless of what's happening in their experience even with color blindness.

Contrast

Reliable

Design Principles

On-Demand

Guardian appears only when needed, staying invisible during gameplay to maintain immersion and activating instantly when users approach boundaries to ensure safety without constant visual distraction.