What are Avatars in the Metaverse?

Technology now has become way more accessible and flexible and especially with intelligent technologies like machine learning, loT, etc have completely transformed the way everything works now. Metaverse now includes digital avatars which is not exactly a very new concept. Through these avatars, we experience the virtual world and it has gone a long way, from being just a crude form to express ourselves as an individual in the digital spheres of life to today’s artists and cyber celebs working in their chosen form of an avatar. 

The history of avatars can be traced back to the early 1970s when Steve Colley and Howard Palmer at NASA invented a multiplayer game called MazeWar over the ARPANET. According to the author, avatar historian, and executive officer of Digital Space Commons Bruce Damer, the first “avatar” was a sort of graphical eyeball that moved through the maze with its gaze pointed in the direction that it moved. So let's now talk about these avatars.

What is an Avatar?

An avatar is just an online representation of a user and this digital identity differs from person to person. We already have multiple social media accounts on which depending on the platform we either upload our photos or create a 2D or 3D model of ourselves for it, so an avatar is not much different from it. A digital avatar is an AI-powered human-like assistant that enables intelligent interactions with customers it can also be referred to as a personality that is connected with the screen name or the handle of an internet user

The word “Avatar” originates from Hinduism where it stands from the “Descent” of a deity in its terrestrial form. An avatar is something visual or an image that is used to represent a person in the virtual world. Using advanced and smart technologies, avatar bodies are developed in such a way that the humans are mind-linked to these avatars for remote control operations.

Bitmoji that started as 2D emojis for users to use while talking to each other these avatars have now turned 3D and are used as our representations in Snapchat where we can alter the appearances, the clothes the poses and so much more. you can be anyone you want to be in when using an avatar and can make changes that suits your style, there are so many customizations that can be made in an avatar.

The Metaverse Wedding Reception

You must have heard about the couple from Tamil Nadu who hosted their wedding reception in the metaverse. A metaverse is a virtual 3D environment where users can ‘live’ and interact with one other through their digital avatars. It combines multiple elements of technology like blockchain, augmented reality, and virtual reality.

Dinesh SP and Janaganandhini Ramaswamy got married on February 16th in their village and to make sure that their friends and family were able to attend the wedding reception they hosted the reception in the metaverse. They opted for a Hogwarts-themed reception and a start-up called TardiVerse worked towards creating that. The Avatars of everyone were created from the bride and groom to the guests. This was just an example of how avatars in metaverse function but there are countless other ways the actress helps in bringing people together in the virtual world.

The Uses of Digital Avatars

1. Virtual Stores

• Website - in a webpage the customer gets the feel of a full browsing experience that one expects from a real shop. They can be seen in a virtual store setup. Digital humans will take up the role of the salespeople and will introduce the customer to all the relevant products.

• Mobile apps - the 3D avatars can also be seen in the apps the users can download where they can converse with the customers and answer all the questions that they have.

2. Banks

• Website - they can be sen in BFSI on a bank’s website where they take on the role of a virtual assistant to help customers out with any financial transaction.

• Kiosks - the interactive kiosks that are set up with cameras in the bank a 3D avatar can identify the person and will take you through the entire process and it can help the customer with anything they need by interacting with the avatar.

These are just a few situations wherein digital avatars can be useful but they are going to be pivotal for brands in the long run because these avatars can humanize the digital conversations in the digital and virtual world.

Written by - Aayushi Kumari Singh