When your own avatar goes to the hairdresser and on a date

Photorealistic 3D avatars of people will play a decisive role in the widespread breakthrough of virtual reality. For example, for dating or the deceased.

Avatars enable a personalised environment in which lifelike images of everyone are integrated, paving the way for numerous applications for the mass market. The prerequisite for the simple production of such avatars has already been created, attests the VR pioneer "Staramba". After all, there are now 3D full-body scanners that can be operated without specialised personnel and provide an animated 3D avatar just a few minutes after the scanning process.

Set up in publicly accessible places such as shopping centres, shops or photo studios, anyone can use them to create a lifelike virtual image of themselves. In other words, companies and platform providers will integrate such avatars into their services in future, making virtual reality an everyday technology for many people. Staramba presents a few examples, which we have already reported on in various articles.

Online shopping

Clothing stores have the option of offering virtual try-ons in their online shops. By comparing body measurements, the online shop can also recommend the right individual clothing sizes to order. This means that shoppers no longer have to order several sizes and try them on at home; in turn, online retailers can reduce their high returns rate. Examples

There are similar opportunities for hairdressers, make-up artists and tattooists. They can first present their work on their customers' 3D avatars and play through and discuss different variations until everything really fits. This protects customers from unpleasant surprises and increases customer satisfaction.

Completely new possibilities are also opening up for professional meetings or consultations. Financial service providers, for example, can present and explain their offers to their customers in virtual rooms, practically sitting face to face. This allows the same level of trust to be established in the virtual world as in a face-to-face meeting in the physical world.

Providers of virtual environments for meetings or joint activities between people can realise more lifelike and therefore more attractive applications if they integrate users' 3D avatars - be it in social media, when playing sports together or when dating. VR games also become even more attractive when a gamer plays the main role in them and can also compete with the virtual images of their friends via online gaming. Example

Special VR platforms can enable fans to interact so closely with photorealistic 3D images of their favourite stars from sport, film or entertainment that it is almost like a real encounter. Controlled by artificial intelligence, the avatars can then have real conversations with their fans and react to their actions. From small talk with the Pope to a song and dance duet with Helene Fischer to goalkeeper training with Manuel Neuer, anything is conceivable. Example

Last but not least, the photorealistic avatars enable a new culture of remembrance of the deceased. Friends, acquaintances or relatives who underwent a 3D scan of themselves during their lifetime can be virtually resurrected after their death in the form of 3D holograms. Example

Source: Heute.at