Virtual Reality is ready for Photorealistic Avatars
Facebook is reportedly testing the use of photorealistic avatars in the virtual reality space. This could change the way we interact – meetings and conferences could all take place in the virtual sphere with your photorealistic avatar that looks and moves just like you. It all sounds very “Surrogates” but with this power comes great responsibility.
In this case, would you choose the avatar that looks just like you or would you choose to be a fantasy character? The reality is, the choice would depend on your setting. If you are going to a work meeting or another setting in virtual space where everyone already knows you, you’d have to pick something that resembles yourself or at least something appropriate. However, if you’re playing a game or browsing a porn community you can choose to be whatever you want, so what would you pick?
You could make your avatar a hot girl even if you are a guy. Pick out the outfit that suits your fantasy chick and make her as sexy and revealing as you want. You could also choose to be a more machismo version of yourself, or any myriad of things. It could turn into a more realistic version of second life or another immersive video game that people really get sucked into. Living your fantasy may be just a few clicks away with these realistic looking avatars.
Demonstrating photorealistic 3D avatars
Our teams have been working on state-of-the-art research to help computers generate lifelike avatars. This example shows two researchers testing the tool in real-time.
Posted by Facebook Engineering on Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Whether you choose to be the real you or an alter ego, virtual reality is already being used more and more for communication. There are already several apps for VR video conferencing that can enhance communication by making you feel like you are really there with the person. The best part is, just like with video conferencing there is no reason to wear pants (in your real life outfit.)