Mark Zuckerberg demonstrates lifelike avatars in impressive metaverse interview

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has showcased significant advancements in the metaverse, unveiling lifelike avatars during a virtual interview with podcaster Lex Fridman.

This marks a significant departure from the cartoonish avatars previously associated with the metaverse, with the new Codec Avatars offering realistic facial expressions and visuals.

The Codec Avatars are created by extensively scanning a user's face to generate a computer model, which is then transmitted as a codec to the VR headset. The headset detects the user's facial expressions and maps them in real-time to the 3D avatar, allowing for natural interactions in the metaverse. According to Zuckerberg, this method is more bandwidth efficient than video transmission.

While the technology showcased is impressive, it's important to note that it was not a live demonstration. Additionally, the avatars were created using a state-of-the-art, time-consuming scan process that's not readily available to the average consumer. Zuckerberg mentioned plans to simplify avatar creation in the future, allowing users to perform a quick scan using their smartphones.

While the technology shown is promising, it remains to be seen how accessible and practical it will be for everyday users. Nevertheless, this represents a significant step forward for Zuckerberg's metaverse project, which has faced criticism and skepticism in the past.