Codec Avatars of Meta Reality Labs
Codec Avatars allow people in different places to interact using eye contact, subtle shifts in expression, posture and gesture. This fully embodied interaction enables natural and expressive remote communication.
My Role
As the sole UX designer, I worked with research scientists and engineers at the lab then called Oculus Research Pittsburgh (ORP).
Far from Palo Alto but right next to Carnegie Mellon, ORP was Meta’s research center that is leading on machine learning, computer vision, and human data collection.
Designing at a research lab
It’s refreshing and intriguing to work with scientists and engineers who don’t speak your daily design language, bringing me back to my undergrad CS days.
My responsibility was to design and create virtual environments in VR headsets where users can embody and meet each other in stylized or realistic avatars.
As well as to design and conduct user studies to evaluate Realistic Codec Avatar’s impact on social co-presence and user embodiment. I chose the theory of Plutchik's wheel of emotion in combination of eye tracking using Tobii.
The nature of my work at Reality Labs is confidential. To learn more about my design process, please reach out at hey.jiayang@gmail.com