After the official launch of Facebook’s (Meta) commitment to the metaverse, Microsoft is not staying behind and participating in this race. During Microsoft’s Ignite conference that was held for business partners, Microsoft announced Microsoft Mesh, its mixed-reality platform which will be available to MS Teams next year. This will let coworkers log into a virtual space using an avatar and get to interact with each other during meetings or while collaborating on projects.
Microsoft Teams and Virtual Avatars
Microsoft Mesh, a new collaboration tool from Microsoft will be coming to Teams sometime in 2022. The company says it will be available on PC, mobile, and Mixed Reality devices. Fortunately, you don’t need VR headsets to use these features as you can use a virtual avatar to represent you in a meeting. The company says that it will use AI and machine learning capabilities so that your avatar can “listen and respond” to your voice and movements!
Microsoft Mesh is an application that will be available on all Microsoft devices in the near future. It will also have access to various virtual spaces where you can meet up with friends or even work on projects together. You can communicate with people from around the world via video conferences, chat, or through your office email system.
This is a great necessity in times like these, where every company is required to have long-drawn online meetings (sometimes more than an hour each). If people want, they can choose to use their avatar rather than dress up for a brief meeting.
Many companies like Accenture have created virtual spaces within the world of Microsoft Teams, whereas some other companies are using Microsoft Teams to create their own channels with preset features. It’s clear that Microsoft is doing all they can to optimize communication tools for workers everywhere, with this recent acquisition of Slack.
AI is a fascinating development in the field of technology. A lot of major companies have been working on AI technology, but Microsoft is currently working with a team to build a translator and transcription service to act as an addition to their HoloLens project.
Microsoft and Metaverse
CEO Satya Nadella said at the conference that “It’s no longer just about playing a video game with other people around the globe, it’s also the chance to play games with people around you in real life. It’s no longer just watching other musicians play their instruments, you can be there in the flesh and do your own thing.” According to him, the metaverse is not just changing how we see the world but ultimately changing how we interact with it.
“We are taking these platform capabilities, and building them into our own first-party applications like teams, features like grid views together more and presented more than teams mark the beginning of bringing to the immersive experiences to collaboration. But human presence is the ultimate connection. When you and I can have a meeting, where we are all present together without being physically present,”
Nadella
Conclusion
Microsoft is no less than any other developer, and it has proved by contributing to metaverse so soon. One thing we know for sure is that Meta has bigger plans for the future.
Adding avatars to a video call will add a level of familiarity and familiarity that will help people feel more comfortable and at ease with each other. This can help teams with their ongoing collaboration and increase the likelihood of them continuing their work together in the future. We hope you enjoyed our blog post and we look forward to seeing our Metaverse in Teams in the future!
