Here is a query for you: what do you reckon is Meta’s “most requested function” on its roadmap to the VR revolution, in response to Mark Zuckerberg? Avatars with out the chilly, useless eyes of a killer (opens in new tab)? Rehiring Meta’s fired ethics staff (opens in new tab)? A degree?
Incorrect, mistaken, and mistaken once more. At yesterday’s Meta Join occasion, when Mark Zuckerberg took to the stage within the type of his digital double—an avatar that does, in equity, look higher than the one from his August selfie (opens in new tab)—he revealed that the folks have apparently been clamouring for one factor and one factor solely: legs.
Legs are coming quickly! Are you excited? 🎉 pic.twitter.com/SB6qSepKm4October 11, 2022
Meta’s Horizon avatars will grow to be bipedal in some unspecified time in the future later subsequent yr, as a part of a giant replace that may make everybody’s avatar as fairly because the one Zuckerberg was utilizing yesterday. For now, although, these of us exterior of the Meta C-suite are caught with the legless avatars of outdated, watching Zuckerberg twirl and cavort on stage whereas all we’ve got is our silly arms and arms.
It is taken this lengthy for Meta to overcome the decrease 50% of the human physique as a result of, Zuckerberg says, legs are robust for standalone VR headsets to determine. In his presentation, Zuckerberg gave the instance of sitting along with your legs beneath a desk (which I can not wait to do in a totally digital world with limitless imaginative potential): as soon as they’re out of sight, the headset does not know what they’re as much as. So, Meta says it must construct an AI mannequin to foretell what the heck your legs are doing beneath there.
The complete announcement had an air of unreality to it, which is not out of character for Meta (opens in new tab). And identical to with Zuckerberg’s selfie from a few months in the past, the web has wasted no time memeing on the inherent weirdness of dedicating a bit of your $300-billion firm’s (opens in new tab) press occasion to saying legs.
the speedy innovation within the digital actuality area has gotten to “the avatars have legs now”https://t.co/IJiYA5uaM0October 11, 2022
the folks within the background right here shouldn’t have legs. are metalegs solely granted at a sure stage of seniority. are legs a proper or a privilege, mark https://t.co/RyYxsG0HGYOctober 12, 2022
[looking down at my lap]Me: [chanting] legs, legs-My mates who put on pants: legs, LEGSMy groupchat with Mark Zuckerberg: [slamming the table]: LEGS, LEGS, LEGS, LEGGGGGGGGS!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Qtane9tvTNOctober 11, 2022
To be truthful to outdated Zuck, the Meta Join wasn’t 100% all-legs on a regular basis, though that may have been rather a lot funnier. The corporate additionally took the chance to unveil the Meta Quest Professional (opens in new tab), a $1,500 VR headset notionally designed for high-powered company sorts, however that we simply need to use to play video games. Possibly the painful price ticket is to cowl the price of all that intensive leg R&D.
