Will Microsoft and Nike also enter the metaverse?
Microsoft Wants to Revolutionize Teams Meetings with Interactive Avatars and Mixed Reality; Nike, on the other hand, aims to sell virtual shoes in the metaverse. All the details
After Facebook, which changed its name to Meta specifically to signal its interest, another American technology company – Microsoft – intends to explore the still unknown boundaries of the so-called "metaverse".
WHAT MICROSOFT WILL DO WITH TEAMS AND MESH
According to The Verge , a site specializing in technology, Microsoft wants to build a metaverse, that is a virtual space, within Teams, the communication software intended primarily for companies. It will do so by the first half of 2022, incorporating the Mesh augmented reality platform into Teams.
In practice – explains The Verge – Microsoft aims to combine its mixed reality technologies (such as HoloLens smart glasses) within video chats for meetings, in which you can participate with an animated and personalized avatar.
MORE PLEASANT REMOTE MEETINGS
In the eyes of industry pundits like The Verge , Mesh already seemed like the natural evolution of Teams. Now, through the combination of the functions of the two platforms, Microsoft will try to make corporate meetings remotely more interactive and enjoyable, given the emergence of new ways of working, hybrid or exclusively from home.
Nicole Herskowitz, manager of Microsoft Teams, told The Verge that after thirty to forty minutes of a remote meeting "it's very difficult" to stay focused and engaged. The "exhaustion" experienced by many users has prompted Microsoft to first introduce the Together in Teams mode and, soon, to merge Teams with Mesh.
NEW ANIMATED AVATARS
On Teams it will therefore be possible to create new 3D avatars, the first step towards building an interactive virtual environment, without the need to wear viewers or similar devices to use them. The avatars will be used to represent the user in meetings whenever he will not feel comfortable turning on the webcam, or will not be able.
Microsoft will use artificial intelligence to hear the user's voice and better animate the avatar. It will also be possible to go further: for example, the avatar can raise his hand to ask a question, when requested by the user, or express different expressions.
METAVERSES FOR COMPANIES
Furthermore, companies will be able to create their own metaverses within Teams / Mesh. Consultancy Accenture, for example, was already experimenting with creating virtual “campuses” for its employees even before the outbreak of the pandemic.
EVEN NIKE IS GETTING READY
In addition to Facebook / Meta and Microsoft, Nike – a sports clothing and accessories company – is also preparing for the metaverse. CNBC writes that Nike has registered several trademarks – its name, the Just Do It logo, various logos – with the aim of making and selling virtual shoes and clothes, perhaps wearable by avatars in the metaverse.
Recently, however, the company has opened several job positions for designers of virtual footwear and various clothing items.
Nike has already entered the virtual world, recalls CNBC : in May 2019, for example, it partnered with Fortnite (the popular shooter video game from Epic Games) to offer players the opportunity to purchase virtual Air Jordans for their characters.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/microsoft-nike-metaverso/ on Mon, 08 Nov 2021 07:29:46 +0000.