Roblox to Soon Launch Avatar-Based Voice Calls with Facial Motion Tracking

At its annual developer’s conference, Roblox detailed its near-future plans. The company announced that it would foster mature content for 17+ users earlier this year. Roblox will also soon launch avatar-based voice calls with facial motion tracking.

Users can dial up another friend who uses Roblox and start a virtual hangout in the new product, called Roblox Connect. The voice-based calls bring two avatars together in a virtual space. Roblox Connect will launch later this year. The company will make the product available to developers, opening it up for more innovations from within its creator community.

Roblox to Soon Launch Avatar-Based Voice Calls with Facial Motion Tracking

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The company is also shooting for a “more realistic” movement for its avatars down the road. Those plans include motion mapping for hand gestures and upper body movement. More likely, these features will be available widely on basic consumer hardware that can run Roblox now.

“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 announcement reads. “The device’s camera is all that’s needed to capture motion and translate it in real-time.”

Beyond Roblox Connect, Roblox will finally be available on PS4 and PS5 starting next month. Like competitor Epic, Roblox takes an aggressively cross-platform approach to making its app available and easy to use.

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