Microsoft Teams enters the metaverse race with virtual spaces and avatars

(Pocket-lint) - Days aft Facebook announced its mentation of a metaverse, Microsoft has announced it is gathering a metaverse wrong Teams - implicit with virtual spaces and animated avatars.

A metaverse is fundamentally a integer satellite filled with integer twins of people, places, and things. It's a mentation of the net wherever avatars of radical tin virtually stitchery to communicate, collaborate, and stock crossed immoderate device. Microsoft's metaverse situation for Teams uses the "Mesh" platform. It's each designed to leverage Microsoft's mixed world efforts and HoloLens exertion truthful that anyone tin video calls successful virtual spaces utilizing animated avatars.

At Ignite 2021, Microsoft made Mesh look similar the aboriginal of Teams.

In fact, starting successful 2022, Teams volition assistance trim the fatigue of having to beryllium connected video calls each day. Microsoft has imagined virtual spaces wrong Teams, wherever you tin enactment connected projects oregon adjacent play games utilizing Microsoft apps - but with animated avatars. That way, you tin articulation successful without having to really crook connected your webcam erstwhile you're not feeling similar it. Microsoft said it's adjacent utilizing artificial quality to observe your vocal cues and animate your avatar. 

Interestingly, you shouldn't request a VR headset to spot and usage avatars successful Teams.

Although they are evidently optimised for usage with a VR headset oregon AR headset, avatars successful Teams are expected to enactment successful some regular 2D and 3D meetings. Basically, due to the fact that of Microsoft Mesh, the virtual spaces and animated avatars successful Teams should beryllium accessible from aggregate types of devices.

Writing by Maggie Tillman. Originally published connected 3 November 2021.