Image credit: Paneo
Among the several demo day events held from the end of last year over the beginning of this year, there was one startup that stood out. That startup is Paneo, and rather than labeling it VR (virtual reality), it seems more fitting to call it an avatar creation startup due to the company’s service called EmbodyMe. Last week the company began offering the app on Steam and in the Oculus Store. It can be used for free with Oculus Rift, Oculus Touch, and HTC Vive.
EmbodyMe is a VR app that creates an avatar for a user from just one head shot; then, through the use of a head-mounted display (HMD), it allows users to communicate over the internet as if they were actually talking to each other in the real world. With communication services that use moving images and sound like Skype (and similar) there are sometimes cases where nuances and context may be missed, which would not be missed in a face-to-face situation. EmbodyMe uses an avatar to compensate for areas where online communication is less than real and provides an environment that does not require people to meet and talk.
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Source: The Bridge