Meta Revolutionizes Digital Presence with Hyper-Realistic AI Holograms for WhatsApp and VR

Meta’s Hologram system solves this elegantly. When a user wearing Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses initiates or answers a WhatsApp call, the recipient does not see a camera feed of the wearer’s surroundings. Instead, they see the wearer’s Hologram. In a live demonstration, a Meta representative moved to a separate room and placed a call through the glasses. Upon answering, the representative appeared on the screen as if they were standing in front of a standard smartphone camera, despite the fact that they were wearing glasses that lacked a "selfie" lens. The Hologram appeared entirely natural, showing the representative without the glasses on, effectively recreating their face and torso in real-time.

The visual results are described as uncanny, bordering on the surreal. The video quality of the Hologram matches the expectations of modern high-definition video calls, but because it is an AI-generated model, it remains perfectly stable. The AI uses the audio data from the call and the initial behavior scan to animate the Hologram’s mouth, eyes, and gestures. This allows for a seamless conversational experience where the digital twin reflects the speaker’s actual tone and emotion without the need for a physical camera to be trained on them at all times.

While the mobile and smart glasses applications are impressive, the technology reaches its full potential when experienced through Meta’s VR glasses. Utilizing full-color passthrough video, these devices allow users to see their actual physical environment with digital elements overlaid on top. In a standard call within the VR environment, the Hologram initially appears in a floating window, similar to a traditional video chat but with an added sense of 3D spatial depth. However, the experience changes fundamentally with the activation of the "full-person" feature.

When this mode is engaged, the 2D window dissolves, and the caller is projected directly into the user’s physical room. The Hologram stands at its correct real-world height and proportions, creating the illusion of a physical presence. The level of immersion is a significant upgrade from previous VR social interactions. Because the Hologram is built from a comprehensive scan, it can even replicate the specific outfit the person was wearing during their setup, or it can be updated to reflect their current appearance.