Microsoft has launched Mesh for Teams at its Ignite event, paving the way for mixed-reality collaboration.
The platform is a tie-up between Teams and the vendor’s virtual and augmented reality system, Microsoft Mesh, which was launched at this year’s first Ignite event in March.
Mesh connects people in different physical locations using shared holographic experiences and, now, with the collaboration tools found in Teams. Mesh for Teams, which is set to launch in the first half of 2022, will bring Teams functionality such as virtual meetings, chat and document sharing.
The platform will be accessible via smartphones, computers and mixed-reality headsets. Supported headsets include Microsoft’s HoloLens, as well as devices from other suppliers including Oculus.
Microsoft said that the majority of users will first interact with Mesh for Teams via customisable avatars.
The interactivity of the avatar will depend greatly on the hardware at an individual user’s disposal, but Microsoft said that a full spectrum of devices will be supported, ranging from a laptop with a single microphone to a HoloLens headset with six microphones and 16 cameras.
Katie Kelly, a Project Manager at Microsoft working on Mesh for Teams, said: “To start, we will take audio cues so as you talk your face will animate. You’ll also have animations that bring additional expressivity to the avatars. Your hands will move.
“There will be a feeling of presence even though it’s as simple as being able to take your audio and manifest that as facial expressions. That’s the first release.
“The ambition is to closely follow that with Microsoft’s plethora of AI technologies so that we can use the camera to insinuate where your mouth is and mimic your head and facial movements”
Users will be able to have their avatars appear in their meeting window during Teams meetings – alongside the existing options of having their video turned on, or turned off with their initials appearing instead. Microsoft said this gives users a chance to feel as if they have a presence in the meeting without being physically seen.
The Metaverse
Microsoft has been creating Mesh in conjunction with global IT giant Accenture. Together, the pair have created what they refer to as the Nth Floor – a persistent, virtual space designed as an additional floor in an office that employees can dip in and out of without physically being there.
Accenture also uses Mesh to onboard new employees in a virtual setting known as One Accenture Park, which it describes as a theme park-like space. Tens of thousands of employees have been to the virtual space during their inductions, it said.
The long-term aim is for businesses to be able to create their own persistent virtual spaces in the metaverse from within Teams – ultimately creating a metaverse of digital twins of people and places, allowing for more immersive experiences when teams aren’t able to meet physically.
