Microsoft Teams now offers you to participate in video conferences with your personalized avatar.
The Microsoft Teams collaborative communication app received a major update last week. The Redmond firm not only announced the availability in private preview of its Mesh augmented reality platform, but also the progressive deployment of Avatars for Microsoft Teams in the app for Windows and macOS. This functionality, until now tested by a limited number of users, has now reached maturity to be adopted by the general public.
To enjoy your own digital representation, you will need have a subscription to Microsoft 365 Enterprise, Microsoft 365 Business, or Teams Premium. The idea of participating in video conferences with virtual characters is not necessarily to everyone’s taste, but it is not totally incongruous.
You can embody yourself as a custom avatar in Microsoft Teams
As the company’s marketing director points out, 3D avatars “offer a alternative to the current binary option — with or without video — in Teams meetings. Customizable avatars and reactions allow you to take a well-deserved camera break while showing your colleagues that you are there”. Additionally, developers can now try out Microsoft Mesh, a platform for creating mixed reality experiences (virtual and augmented).
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The latter will allow them to design “immersive spaces”, Immersive spaces, which Microsoft says will “bring your meetings a sense of natural co-presence and unity, regardless of where the participants are.” You will interact with other people in a space that mimics many elements of an in-person interaction, like being able to walk up to someone you want to catch up with, or being in a space with multiple simultaneous conversations without talking to each other. With spatial audio, you can experience sound just like you would in person.” Note that there is a price to pay to take full advantage of immersive spaces. In effect, Microsoft strongly recommends using a VR headset.