The Metaverse, a concept that has generated a lot of interest and expectations, but has had difficulty coming to fruition thus far, could have taken a significant step towards its realization. In an interview with YouTuber and podcaster Lex Fridman, Mark ZuckerbergCEO of Meta, gave a real-time demo of Meta’s Pixel Codec Avatars project.
According to the report published on the website of Xatakathis interview could be considered as the first really convincing proof of the Metaverse.
During the interview, Zuckerberg and Fridman, who were thousands of miles apart, interacted using photorealistic avatars within a virtual reality environment. Both were wearing Meta Quest Pro virtual reality glasses, which feature face and eye tracking.
The Pixel Codec Avatars Project analyzes the person’s face and creates avatars that replicate in real time the gestures and facial movements of the interlocutors while they converse.
Avatars ready in just minutes
The technology behind these photorealistic avatars represents a significant advance in the quest for a compelling immersive experience in the Metaverse. According to Zuckerberg, The process of creating these avatars takes only a few minutes and is extremely fluid.
Fridman, during the conversation, expressed his amazement and fascination with the immersive experience, going so far as to state that he felt as if Zuckerberg was really in front of him.
This live demo offers a clearer insight into Meta’s ambition in the field of virtual reality and the Metaverse. Although it is a project in testing, this technology shows a qualitative leap compared to the simpler 3D avatars that have been used in the past.
As discussed during the interview, this technology is expected to have at least three years of development before its possible commercialization. Although there is still some way to go, this demo provides a clearer vision of what Meta aims to achieve in the Metaverse and represents an important step towards its realization.