Virtual reality has long promised to make users feel truly present in digital spaces, but a significant hurdle remains. Most VR experiences still rely on stylized, cartoon like avatars. While these avatars are functional, they often fail to capture the nuances of human expression and identity. Photorealistic, end-to-end avatar experiences where a user can move from a simple scan to a live meeting in minutes are still rare in the current landscape. Currently, Apple Personas is one of the only few commercially available solutions that offers a high-fidelity digital representation of the user.
A Fully Integrated VR Demo System
Copresence has now developed a functional, end-to-end VR demo system designed to bridge this gap. The system allows a user to go from a smartphone scan to meeting colleagues or friends in a shared virtual environment in just a few minutes.
In a recent demonstration, three members of the Copresence team met inside a shared VR space, each represented by an avatar generated from their own likeness. The experience is built natively in Unity using the traditional graphics pipeline and utilizes advanced face and body tracking technology. The system is designed for broad compatibility, including Meta Quest, VisionOS and Android XR.
The Four Step Capture Process
The workflow is designed to be accessible, requiring no specialized hardware beyond a smartphone and a VR headset:
- Mobile Link: The VR application sends a link to the user’s smartphone, which opens the Copresence recording app.
- Guided Onboarding: A built-in tutorial provides instructions on achieving the correct lighting and positioning for the scan.
- Rapid Recording: The user completes a quick session to capture their facial features from multiple angles.
- Automated Pipeline: The recording is processed by the Copresence technology pipeline and delivered directly into the VR application for immediate use.
Why This Matters
By focusing on a fast, accessible capture process, Copresence is addressing one of the primary friction points in social VR. Bringing a user’s actual likeness into a virtual space, rather than a generic surrogate, changes the dynamic of digital interaction.
While the technology is still in its early stages, the core components are now functional: a simplified capture flow, a cloud-based processing pipeline, and a real time VR environment where these avatars can interact naturally. This points toward a future where seeing a colleague’s real face in VR is as straightforward as joining a standard video call.
Interested in trying it? Reach out to info@copresence.tech .