Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of the organization previously called Facebook, recently did his first interview entirely done in his company's own virtual reality world called Metaverse. And it's kind of amazing, kind of unsettling, and kind of mediocre, all combined into one.
Zuckerberg met with Lex Fridman for an interview. Fridman is a podcaster who has interviewed him before. Zuckerberg and Fridman were not in the same place. Fridman was in Austin, Texas and Zuckerberg was probably at Meta's main office in California.
During the interview, both people had their bodies thoroughly examined and they also went through a training session to improve their facial expressions and movements. This training process was similar to the routines used to gather information for smartphone security, like fingerprints and face recognition, but more advanced.
Zuckerberg says that this information is compacted into a kind of code. This code is then joined with data from the sensors in a virtual reality headset to make a digital person that looks real. What's really smart is that this codec method makes it so that the amount of internet connection needed is not too much. When both parties have a copy of each other's digital avatar, it takes much less data to make them move compared to sending high-quality digital videos.
In simpler terms, this means that in theory, you can have something that looks more real than a video but uses less data. But how real is it. To some extent, you can decide for yourself. Fridman put a video of the interview on his YouTube channel. The video showed both avatars.
Certainly, the nature of the main characters themselves may not be beneficial. You wouldn't describe Fridman or Zuckerberg as very emotional. They often act like robots. So, we don't really know if the artificial feeling of these digital avatars is because of the way they are transformed into codecs, or simply because they are unusual characters.
However, the avatars have a somewhat flat and artificial appearance that is likely not solely due to the physical characteristics of Zuckerberg and Fridman. However, using a VR headset makes the experience much more impressive and immersive.
Also, based on the video that was posted, it appears that Meta has successfully addressed the issue of delay. The two people are having a natural and smooth conversation, even though there is a lot of complicated processing happening to translate their speech and facial expressions into something that can be sent to the other person.
In terms of the equipment being used, it appears to be Meta Quest Pro headsets and a pair of large headphones. The main problem with this type of experience is the bulky equipment that you have to wear.
Take a look at the video yourself while you wait for Meta's latest virtual reality headset called the Quest 3, which will be available on the 10th. Stay tuned, because we will soon share our own thoughts on the hardware.
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