Microsoft has just moved towards the metaverse by announcing Mesh for Teams, an immersive 3D platform for virtual meetings. It is, as its name suggests, an integration of the mixed reality functionalities of Microsoft Mesh in its collaborative platform Teams.
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Facebook, which is now called Meta, is not the only company working on the metaverse. However, rather than announcing its vision for the future, Microsoft prefers to rely on concrete and aims for use in a professional environment. The firm has just announced a first step towards the metavars in the form of an online collaboration tool based on its Mesh mixed reality platform.
« Mesh for Teams Will be the combination of his Teams software with the virtual functions of Mesh. This will replace meeting rooms physical by virtual spaces, where everyone is represented by an avatar. According to Microsoft, Mesh for Teams will allow you to rediscover the interactions of the office where people can meet and exchange without being in the same physical place, and access collaborative tools such as screen sharing or a whiteboard.
An avatar animated by AI
The first step, however, will be to allow users in a classic Teams meeting to replace their real image with their avatar so that everyone can be present without having to turn on their webcam. the software will use audio to animate the avatar’s face when the user speaks, but eventually Microsoft hopes to use theartificial intelligence to integrate the movements observed reals via the webcam.
Any vision of the metavars is focused on immersion, and therefore favors virtual or augmented reality headsets. However, it will need to be compatible with all devices, and this will also be the case with Mesh for Teams, which will be accessible from a virtual reality headset or augmented, a computer or smartphone. The launch is scheduled for 2022.
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