A “person” is defined as any individual of the human species, but since the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, we have found a new concept: that of Person (in capital letters). This is what Apple calls it (also in English) avatars created in Vision Pro to make video calls without needing a camera in front and that, although still far from resembling real people, they are very accomplished.
This is not something that Apple itself invented, since other viewers like Meta Quest already offer something similar, although the The visionOS people They seem to be a little over the top. It is also a system which it’s still in beta although it is already in the Vision Pro system, it can still be improved because in its time there were elements such as the Animoji of the iPhone X.
What exactly is Persona in Vision Pro
To understand exactly what Persona is, you have to understand the concept of Vision Pro, a visualizer which, thanks to its dozens of cameras and multiple sensors, is capable of showing us reality before our eyes and superimposing elements on it. virtual. And it is “before our eyes” that the key is to see where Persona stands.
When we use an iPhone, iPad or Mac to make a video call, we are in front of a screen with a built-in camera, so that the rest of the participants can see our face. In the Vision Pro there are internal cameras, although they only focus on our eyes, so during a video call they can’t even show our full face. Just the eyes.
Although they go unnoticed at first glance, the Vision Pro is packed with sensors and cameras
However, Thanks to software, the Vision Pro is able to recreate our face and the gestures we make in real time. To do this, we first need a prior scan to create a 3D mold, which means we need to remove the visor from our head and focus with it.
Once the system already knows what our face looks like, including all its features, it’s time to bring it to life. There, yes Take advantage in real time to capture all head movements, from the eyes and eyebrows to our mouth. And on the lower external cover of the visor there are also sensors that point precisely towards the mouth, so that it is able to know when we move it and how we do it.
It’s a process that, explained this way, seems simple. In fact, when you see it, it seems so. However, it is a digital recreation of our face in real time that involves millions of calculations per second. This is where the display hardware comes in, led by the M2 chip and the R1.
What people look like in Vision Pro video calls
In viewers like Meta Quest 3, avatars are opted with a more animated style than realistic.
To be honest, we must recognize that These avatars are still far from the naturalness of seeing the real person captured on camera.. This is an undeniable reality, although it is also important to highlight the precision of the Vision Pro compared to other alternatives such as Facebook (Meta).
Our Persona appears every time we make a video call from Vision Pro, whether it’s FaceTime or any other video calling service. And that’s it It is recognized as if it were the camera of a Mac or an iPhone. Although, yes, in some services it still doesn’t work perfectly.
Visually, what others find is our Persona with this certain air of a digital entity, but which closely resembles our face. And also with this additive which follow our gestures in real time and even our hands. Depending on the service, perhaps with a little gapbut in general it is almost non-existent (FaceTime is the best proof).
Evolution of the Persona of our colleague Pedro Aznar from one version of visionOS to another. And in both cases it is a function still in beta
It should be emphasized that, as we said at the beginning, This is a feature still under development and so it’s still in beta. Despite their good work, there is still room for improvement and it is possible that in the coming months we will already see progress. Without going any further, already in the first beta version of visionOS 1.1 it has been improved providing much more natural elements.
How to configure a Persona in Vision Pro
In the section in which we described the process, we also briefly mentioned the prior recognition that the viewer needs. In a little more detail, we will tell you here that it consists of three simple steps which consist of opening the configuration, scanning ourselves with the Viewer and restarting it.
- With the Vision Pro turned on, you need to go to the settings panel and go to the “Person” section.
- Then you need to tap “Get Started” to begin the process.
- Now it’s time to take the Vision Pro out of your head, point it at us (the external screen facing the face) and follow the vocally instructed process.
And what instructions are given vocally? Well, among other things, turn your head and make certain faces. All this so that 3D cameras and sensors can capture the size and shape of our face, as well as our gestures.
According to this, Apple itself offers a series of tips in which things such as have good lighting, be well-groomed and hair does not cover the face, make natural gestures and further. All this so that in the end the Person we create is as real and natural as possible. After all, that’s what others will see when we make a video call and we won’t like them to see us disheveled or with very forced smiles.
It must also be said that it is possible change the Persona at any time and add accessories like glasses. Likewise, it is possible to recreate the Persona at any time if, for example, we have a change in look that we want to reflect in it.
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