According to Cointelegraph, Meta's metaverse dream may be far from dead, as demonstrated by Mark Zuckerberg's recent appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast. On September 28, Zuckerberg and computer scientist Lex Fridman engaged in a one-hour conversation using photorealistic avatars in the metaverse, facilitated through Meta's Quest 3 headsets and noise-canceling headphones.
Social media users, including those from Crypto Twitter, expressed genuine admiration for the sophistication of the technology. The avatars are part of Meta's Codec Avatars project, which was first revealed in 2019 and aims to create fully photorealistic real-time avatars using headsets with face tracking sensors.
However, Zuckerberg explained that everyday consumers may need to wait a few years before using their own realistic avatars, as the technology currently requires expensive machine learning software and full head scans by specialized equipment featuring over 100 different cameras. The company aims to reduce these barriers in the future, potentially making the scans achievable with a regular smartphone. This demonstration follows Meta's recent unveiling of its AI assistant Meta AI, which is integrated across various chatbots, apps, and smart glasses.
