Telefónica, Meta partner to improve access to VR for the elderly

Telefónica and Meta have joined forces to collaborate and promote access to mixed reality for the elderly through the Fundación Telefónica project ‘RECONECTADOS, la tecnología no tiene edad‘ (CONNECTED, technology is ageless). This strategic alliance aims to promote access and participation for older people through workshops on the use of immersive and metaverse technologies.

The initiative aims to provide accessible and personalised mixed reality experiences that promote connection, entertainment and learning. In this context, Telefónica and Meta have worked closely to provide accessible mixed reality content through Meta Quest 3 devices that are easy to use and adapted to the needs of older people. To this end, accessibility features such as voice assistance and interaction have been incorporated to improve the experience for people with reduced vision or motor problems.

The mixed reality content has been specially selected for these face-to-face workshops with accessibility for seniors in mind. They cover digital skills ranging from visits to virtual works of art, leisure activities and digital social interaction to cognitive development experiences, all available in the Movistar Immersive Experience application, a space in the metaverse where you can share, discover, access new audiovisual content, play games or learn about Telefónica products and services.

Telefónica and Meta have supported the Fundación Telefónica’s ‘RECONECTADOS, la tecnología no tiene edad’ programme, because they agree with its aim of using digital skills as a bridge between the experience of older people and the new technological environment. RECONECTADOS is a comprehensive and free programme to promote digital literacy among older people, consisting of online training, training resources for their immediate environment and face-to-face training workshops held every Thursday at the Espacio Fundación Telefónica in Madrid.

Jose Luis Zimmerman, Director of Public Affairs at Meta, comments: “Our goal at Meta is to enable everyone to benefit from immersive technologies, which open up endless possibilities and allow for a much closer and unique connection with our family, friends and the things that matter to us. That is why we are delighted to support this project with Telefónica, which also puts the focus on those people who are not familiar with these new technologies, so that they can be part of this future that is already here and can live experiences that would otherwise not be possible”.

Chema Alonso, Chief Digital Officer of Telefónica, said: “Telefónica has always been committed to ensuring access to technology to provide the best experience for all users. With this collaboration, we want to continue this commitment by making it easier for seniors to fully immerse themselves in virtual reality, so that they can benefit from all that it has to offer and not be left out of the ever-evolving digital world.

This collaboration builds on the partnership announced last year when the two companies committed to expand and jointly explore new ways to drive innovation in connectivity and technology in the metaverse, empowering the maker community to develop new use cases.