Virtual reality (VR) is definitely on the rise. With its incredibly immersive visuals and interactive mechanics, it's going to be the next big thing to enhance the cyber experience. Facebook, eyeing this opportunity, just announced their latest development. With the so-called "VR emojis," the internet giant hopes to create a virtual presence for their users that mimic facial expressions and body language.
"We’re coming up with a language that triggers your avatar to make certain emotions,” said Facebook's head of social VR Michael Booth, in an interview with TechCrunch.
Since the virtual reality headsets currently available don't have the capacity, the VR emojis won't be based on facial expressions. Instead, the avatars will change according to body movement, with certain gestures triggering facial cues. "Our avatars can display emotions and expressions like “smiling,” “confused,” “skeptical,” or “listening.” This makes it easier for people to communicate how they're feeling," said Booth in a blog post for Facebook.
This is part of the website's push to be at the cutting edge of social media interaction through VR. "This will allow a whole new layer of immersion, a whole new set of social experiences across all these VR platforms … experiences you can’t have with any existing platform today," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook's F8 developer event.
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