Microsoft’s latest virtualization step: Avatars in Teams

– You can choose how you want to present yourself at the meeting, whether it is as an avatar or yourself. We’ll be able to interpret the movements of your mouth to move the avatar to create the experience you’re present and there with the avatar, says Katie Kelly, Principal Product Manager for Microsoft Mesh, the unit at Microsoft responsible for the major development of Gods and Metaphroism.

The news about Teams avatars comes a week after Facebook, now Meta, announced its plans to create a so-called metaversum (metaversum in English), which in many ways will function as a large parallel digital world, where you can do everything from playing games to working.

Works without virtual reality glasses

In early 2022, Microsoft plans to integrate parts of Mesh into Teams, thus enabling a user to create and use an avatar in their video conferencing. One reason, among others, appears to be nullifying our ability to keep the flame burning in video meetings.

Video meeting with an avatar.

– Everyone has been feeling kind of tired during video conferencing lately. After 30-40 minutes, it was hard to stay focused and engaged, says Nicole Herskewitz, head of Microsoft Teams.

Avatars will be usable even without 2D and 3D virtual reality glasses, and without turning on the camera. At the same time, the integrated AI solution will listen to your voice and seek to emulate it on your avatar.

Corporate Metaversum

In the long term, Microsoft has a vision of creating a corporate profile, using technology from Mesh and where Teams is where everyone meets, and where outside companies will be able to build their own virtual rooms. The Metaverse project will debut during the first half of 2022.

The goal is to be able to enter the world and collaborate with the help of tools from Microsoft, says Katie Kelly.

A room in the world of Microsoft Teams.

Source: The Verge