Microsoft Mesh feels like the virtual future of Microsoft Teams meetings

Last week, Microsoft’s inventor Alex Kipman, the inventor of Kinect and HoloLens, appeared in my living room to give me torments and sharks. It may sound like I had a strange dream, but it was a meeting made possible by Microsoft’s new Mesh platform. I put on a HoloLens 2 headset, joined a virtual meeting room, and Kipman immediately appeared next to my coffee table, ready to demonstrate Microsoft’s vision for the future of VR and AR – or as Microsoft calls it, mixed reality.

It all felt like a Microsoft Teams meeting that would take place in the future.

Mesh is a collaborative platform with which everyone can share virtual experiences on different devices. “It was the dream of mixed reality, the idea from the beginning,” Kipman explains. “You can actually feel like you’re in the same place with someone who shares content, or you can teleport from different mixed reality devices and be with people, even when you’re not physically together.”

Initially, Mesh will introduce people as virtual avatars coming from the social network AltspaceVR that Microsoft acquired in 2017. Mesh will eventually support what Microsoft calls ‘holoportation’, allowing people to appear like themselves in a virtual space.

During my hour-long meeting in Microsoft Mesh, I constantly felt that this could be a far future version of Microsoft Teams. Kipman appears next to me as an avatar and starts handing me virtual jellyfish and sharks. I could reshape the animals, give them back or just lay them down in front of me. Although we did not work on some great design or 3D model, it felt a lot more impressive than the Zoom video calls I have to attend daily.

It was the next of kin to have Kipman with me in the room and reminded me of my first experience with HoloLens. Microsoft originally demonstrated HoloLens through a collaborative Skype call, where a technician can help you resolve wiring. It felt like the promise of augmented reality, and Microsoft Mesh looks like the natural next step.

“You can imagine a Mesh-enabled Microsoft Teams, where the most important thing is, can think of colleagues from around the world working together as if you and I are in the same physical place,” says Kipman. “Mesh enables Teams to allow organizations to actually have mixed reality meetings with everyone in the same room, so you need to think about that in a Mesh-enabled Teams-type environment.”

However, Mesh is not just an app for holding virtual meetings; it’s an entire platform built on top of Azure that Microsoft hopes developers will take advantage of. Microsoft hopes that architects, engineers and designers will all see the promise of Mesh, especially during a pandemic when it’s hard to work with 3D physical models without everyone being in the same room.

Microsoft also makes Mesh available on a variety of devices, including the HoloLens 2, most virtual reality headsets, tablets, smartphones and computers. A preview of the Microsoft Mesh app for HoloLens 2 is available today, along with a preview version of AltspaceVR enabled with Mesh. Microsoft plans to integrate Mesh into Teams and Dynamics 365 in the future, which could help make the unique meeting experience I had for more people a reality.

Microsoft definitely thinks that Mesh will be the next big thing for mixed reality. CEO Satya Nadella compares the new platform to Xbox Live during her keynote address on Ignite today. “Think of what Xbox Live did for games – we went from single player to multiplayer and created communities that helped people connect and reach each other,” Nadella said. “Now just imagine that the same thing happened with mixed reality.”

Image: Microsoft

The biggest thing holding back Microsoft Mesh is the cost of HoloLens devices and VR headsets. Although you can jump in from a 2D screen such as a phone or computer, it is nowhere near as intrusive as using a headset. Microsoft has tried in the past to bridge this gap with ambitious projects such as Minecraft Earth, which offers AR experiences on mobile phones. The specific project did not work out, nor is it clear whether Microsoft Mesh will reach an agreement with users.

Microsoft Mesh needs strong developer support or offers experiences that you simply cannot find anywhere else in VR to gain momentum. Microsoft recruited filmmaker James Cameron, Pokémon Go Niantic, and the co-founder of Cirque du Soleil to demonstrate Mesh’s promise during the Ignite keynote address today.

A trial-of-concept version of Pokémon Go run on the HoloLens 2 and virtual concerts definitely show what is now possible with Microsoft Mesh. The reality will now depend on the popularity of headsets or Microsoft’s ability to market this new technology to businesses that want to embrace hybrid practices while moving the world out of a pandemic.

Updated, February 2, 11:40 AM ET: Article updated with comments from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.