Meta, formerly Facebook, is far from the only company interested in exploring the opportunities of the metaverse. The Redmond people don't want to be left behind in the growing world of mixed reality. This Tuesday they announced that Microsoft Teams will allow users to use animated avatars instead of their webcam image.
“After 30 or 40 minutes at most in a meeting, it is very difficult to stay engaged and focused,” Nicole Herskowitz, manager of Microsoft Teams, pointed out this Tuesday in Ignite. In response, the company thought it was a good idea to tackle “virtual world fatigue” with fun functionality that helps reduce cognitive overload .
Next year, Teams users will be able to use 3D renderings instead of their image. The good news is that they won't need an augmented reality headset or additional hardware and the avatars will be fully customizable. Microsoft will use artificial intelligence to animate the avatar. This is a new step towards a kind of 'metaverse' that will be deepened with Mesh.
Credit: Microsoft
Mesh for Teams, the 'metaverse' of Microsoft's work
Those of Redmond also bet on true investment spaces. Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced Mesh, a virtual meeting platform that works with your HoloLens 2 headset and other devices. Now, the company wants companies to create a customized virtual or metaverse space within Teams where employees can interact with their avatars.
Teams will receive the best of Mesh to enhance shared experiences. The idea is that people, despite the distance, “can feel as if they are in the same place.” This definition sounds very similar to what Mark Zuckerberg has repeated ad nauseam with his metaverse idea, officially announced last week with the company's name change.
According to Microsoft, the news of Teams will begin to arrive in the first half of 2022 . However, companies can use the Mesh collaboration platform with a full suite of AI-powered tools for avatars, session management, spatial processing and “holotransportation” beginning this year.
Credit: Microsoft
