Roblox to launch avatar-based voice calls with facial motion tracking

SAN FRANCISCO: Gaming platform Roblox has announced 'Roblox Connect' at its annual developer's conference -- a new feature for friends to call each other as their avatars -- together in a shared experience.

The company will launch the feature later this year.

"Launching later this year, Connect will enable people to call a friend from their Roblox friends list using their real name and facial expressions -- conveying nuance with their own body language -- and be transported to a shared immersive space on Roblox for their conversation, sitting together by a campfire or standing beside a waterfall," Roblox said in a blogpost.

The product will be made available to developers, allowing for additional innovations from its creator community.

Additionally, the company plans to incorporate motion mapping for hand gestures and upper body movements into its avatars down the road.

Those features probably would be available on a wide range of basic consumer hardware that is capable of running Roblox.

"Behind the scenes, we’re essentially packaging a Hollywood-style motion capture studio into something that runs on a mobile phone or laptop --without the need for equipment or motion-tracking dots. The device’s camera is all that’s needed to capture motion and translate it in real-time," Roblox said.

Moreover, the company announced multiple other announcements at its developer conference, including the announcement that Roblox would be available on PS4 and PS5 starting next month.

In addition, the gaming platform announced Assistant, a conversational AI that makes creation on Roblox more accessible and empowers advanced creators to build richer, more engaging experiences faster.

Assistant will be available in Roblox Studio and Creator Hub later this year and within experiences sometime next year to help creators learn, code, and build more effectively.