Teams Avatars and Mesh Come Closer to (Virtual) Reality

Note: this report was updated after print publication with changes to Avatars for Teams licensing requirements.

• Avatars in Teams meetings could help remote workers participate in meetings when they cannot use video.
• Immersive spaces for Teams and Microsoft Mesh, in private preview, allow use and creation of expanded 3D virtual environments for applications such as space planning.
• These virtual reality (VR) capabilities are a lower priority for Microsoft than when they were first announced.

Avatars in Teams are customizable, animated representations of a user that can be used in Teams meetings in place of webcam video. (See the illustration “Avatars in Teams Offer Customizations and Animations”.) In meetings, avatars can be useful for employees who are unable to use a webcam for technical reasons, are meeting from an environment with excessive visual distractions, or who are fatigued after numerous back-to-back meetings. Avatars can also be used in immersive spaces for Teams and in custom applications and environments created with Microsoft Mesh, a virtual-reality development toolset. These virtual environments could help mimic real environments for distributed teams, assist with space planning and development, and other VR applications.