Director of Research at Facebook Reality Labs Yaser Sheikh is currently working on a virtual reality project that involves photorealistic avatars using 3D technology. It’s officially called “Codec Avatars,” and is designed to let people in the future create lifelike virtual avatars of themselves quickly and easily. “The reason is because we want to be able to understand exactly how you look from every different viewpoint. Because in virtual reality, we might move and look at you from different perspectives, and it has to look as real as you do,” said Sheikh. Read more for another video and additional information.
Just put on the VR headset, and you’ll see a three-dimensional version of the person you’re talking to so it feels like they’re right there with you. “It’s an evolution from the telephone to video conferencing and this can be the next sort of way of actually spending time with a friend you haven’t met in 10 years. You can both sort of say, ‘let’s meet at the Eiffel Tower’ and suddenly you materialize there,” adds Sheikh.
