Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has said that it would introduce 3D avatars to Instagram Stories.
The company also revealed that it would update the avatars in Facebook and Messenger for direct messages.
According to Meta, Instagram users as well as Facebook and Messenger users can interact as avatars of themselves.
What this means is that users can appear as their virtual selves in stickers, feed posts and Facebook profile pictures.
Also, they can appear as avatars of themselves across Meta’s platforms, including its Quest VR platform.
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Similarly, Meta introduced branded T-shirts for its avatars across all its platforms.
They are Super Bowl LVI-themed T-shirts that users can wear with their avatars on its platforms.
Components of the new feature:
Meta says the new avatars will also have new facial shapes.
What it means is that users will have a menu of new facial avatar shapes to use.
Also, the tech company said it considered users with disability hence, the feature will also include assistive devices like hearing aids and wheelchairs.
Others are cochlear implants and many other capabilities.
Meta’s general manager for avatars and identity, Aigerim Shorman made this known in a report Monday.
He said thus:
“Since revealing our long-term vision of the metaverse at Connect 2021, we’ve continued building out this next evolution of social technology.
He said the company is equally, “building towards a future where you can sit in the same room as loved ones who are actually thousands of miles away.”
He also said the dream is to allow people “work naturally with a talented team that spans the globe.”
According to Shorman, the introduction of the avatars is in line with Meta’s Metaverse dream of an “interconnected digital world.”
He said Metaverse would be a digital world that “bridges VR and AR but also more familiar platforms like your phone and computer.”
Similarly, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said the metaverse is a priority for the company.
He said “One day, you’ll have multiple avatars ranging from expressive to photorealistic.”
Zuckerberg said this in a post on Monday.
Meanwhile, in October 2021, Meta showed a tip of what its Metaverse would look like.
The company had displayed a demo of its Metaverse Codec avatar as well as real time environment rendering.
Meta also introduced its branded T-Shirt for its avatars on Monday.
The Super Bowl LVI-themed T-shirts will see Cincinnati Bengals face off against the Los Angeles Rams at the Rams’ SoFi Stadium on February 13th.
Implication:
Although Meta is introducing 3D avatars to Instagram, only the feature will not be initially available to everyone.
It said for now, only users in US, Canada and Mexico can appear as avatars of themselves on the platform.
However, this feature will soon be available to all users across the globe.
Also, this new feature clearly shows that Meta is inching very closer to actualizing its dream of the Metaverse.
With the growing number of gaming community, it is obvious that social media users too will eagerly key into this new trend.
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