Microsoft Reveals Future of Communications with XR App "Mesh"

Microsoft announced Mesh, a new cloud-based service that will simplify the creation of multi-user XR applications, under the Microsoft Azure cloud computing arm.

The event, held on virtual reality platform AltspaceVR, provided a glimpse into Microsoft's vision for a communications future that was as shocking as it was compelling.

The tool will provide developers with a framework for connecting users to shared instances that support spatial audio communication, cloud-based asset management, persistent scenes, and a shared avatar system, which can work on both web browsers or smartphones.

Microsoft compared Mesh to Xbox Live, which was a toolkit for building networked multiplayer games in the early days of online multiplayer games, however, Mesh will accelerate multi-user XR application development by providing advanced solutions for networking, spatial audio communication, object synchronization, and interaction.

The event featured the latest updates in Extended Reality (XR), stressing on video conferencing, which has reached new heights in the teleconference revolution.

The main announcement in the keynote was the arrival of a new mixed reality platform, called Microsoft Mesh, which will make remote communication more intimate.

Mesh enables you to interact holographically with others with true presence, in a natural way. One can join a birthday celebration with family anywhere, interacting as if we were together physically, without any screens.

Mesh is designed to allow 3D designers and engineers to work together across continents in a way that was never possible before.

"Microsoft Mesh connects the physical and digital worlds, allowing us to transcend the traditional boundaries of space and time," said a 3D version of Alex Kipman, Microsoft Technical Associate.

At first, network users would not only be able to appear as an avatar, but Microsoft promised that a "mass transformation" would eventually allow people to communicate in a hologram-like form.

"This was a mixed reality dream, the idea from the start. You can actually feel like you are in the same place with someone sharing content or you can teleport from different mixed reality devices and be with people when you are not physically together."