Mesh in Teams

In general Mesh is three things:

Avatars, Mesh/Immersive Space & the stand-alone Mesh app. The first two things can be used with a normal Teams client on the PC, where the third Stand-alone Mesh app where you can create custom content needs a premium license.

Avatars can be used instead of a video feed of you. This is where I normally hear strong opinions if this is something some would use or not. Normally I would always use video feed when I am an active part of a meeting, but sometimes if I have back-to-back meetings and need to eat a bit, then I turn on my avatar. It still gives the participants in the meeting a feeling that I am present.

If you are new to Avatars in Teams, then click the App button and search for Avatars – Add the Avatar app.

In the Avatar app you can customize your Avatar and you can even have different Avatars you can use depending on the meeting you join. Everything from clothe, hair body shape, etc.

If you want to do adjustment to the existing, then click the settings button

Here you can adjust a lot of settings

Not that you are done with you Avatar you will be able to choose to join a meeting with your Avatar instead of video.

If you already joined your meeting with video, but want to change it to Avatar, then click the dropdown arrow next to the camera icon.

Everything above is still in a normal Teams meeting, just with an avatar instead of video.

Next level will then be to enable Immersive Space in a Teams meeting. Click the View icon and choose Immersive Space

This will now open Mesh and give you the option of adding Immersive space to your call

Now you can walk around within the world, and experience different areas.

It is almost like it have build in breakout rooms, because depending on which area you are in you will be able to hear the persons in the meeting area or the play/cozy areas.

You can get this experience on a PC and if you have a Meta Quest 2, 3 or Pro you can even have the real 3D experience. Apple Vision Pro, will be supported in the future and likely more to follow.

From my experience in meetings with Meta Quest VR headset. At first you get a bit dizzy, so I recommend you sit down on a chair and simply use the handles for movement. Maybe also limit the first calls to around 15 minutes. After a few times you will be more comfortable and will be able to join meetings for 1.5 hours or more.

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I will agree that Mesh/Immersive space is not for all meetings. But for a social team meeting this really gives something different than a normal Teams meeting. You can go around in the world and experience different areas, like Conversation starters, Play with Corn bag, roast marshmallows, etc.

If wearing Meta Quest headset, you will get spatial audio, so the experience of talking to each other is lifelike. If people join with video or from a Teams Rooms they will be visible on the wall in the conference area. PC user will be able to join the experience, where Teams Rooms today still only get audio, but no video.

Customize your experience!

This is the part where you needs a Premium license.

Go get the Mesh app in Microsoft Store

Here you can manage your templates.

Lets start by creating a new template

Add Name and description

Now choose which environment you want to customize

Now your template is ready

Now it is time to customize your template

Join the template to Customize

This will take you into Immersive space, but in Customization mode, where you can prepare your environment.

Start by clicking the Editor button in the task bar, that will open the editor panel, where you can can click the + icon, to add elements to your environment.

I want to start by adding a Screenshare and this can be added several places and will show the same content. But great for people in the breakout areas.

Hold Alt key and use the mouse to move the object further away.

The white line will indicate where it is placed. You can drag the corners to change size and the sides for rotation. With a little training you will be able to place object nicely on the wall.

A little trick that I find useful when aligning is to move the object half into the wall and then rotate to be fully visible. This made it a lot easier for me.

Now let’s add a logo to make it familiar, I click the + icon and choose Image

I downloaded a logo from the web and saved it to my OneDrive. Right click and share. In the Settings I have chosen that all from my organization can view the image.

Now copy the link and paste it into Mesh and place the logo where you want it to be.

You can disable the backplate if you want it to float and remember that Mesh is 3D, so you don’t need to place everything fully aligned to the wall.

Now let’s add a video. I click the + icon and choose Video. I go to OneDrive where I have my video. Again, make sure that all within my organization can view the video.

I copy the link and paste it into Mesh and hit Enter. Then I place the video where I want it to be

Remember to think of the placement if the objects, so that no matter where people sit that they can still see everything clear. So in this case I will need to re-place my video, so it do not block the view for the person sitting in the front chair.

Now it is better aligned.

With some time spend I have now created an area where I can bring my colleagues for a Product Training. I have created areas that focus on each new products so they can go around to experience and discuss about each new product.

In addition, I wanted to leave some questions for the attendees. I found a simple way to do this.

I PowerPoint I created a Post-it and added the text, used the Snipping Tool and saved it as an image that I could add to Mesh. Once again making sure all within my organization can view the image.

In that way I was able to add the image and rotate it so it looked like the questions was placed on the table.

When you are done with your changes, please make sure to Save

Then you can leave, and it will take you back to Mesh, now click Mange Templates

Click More Settings

And then Publish

If you later want to do changes to it, you can always go back to More Settings and Revert to draft

You are now ready to create the event using your new template

Go to Microsoft Mesh (cloud.microsoft)

Click Create event

Add name and description to the event. Upload a thumbnail image if you want, click next

Now choose Use a template and click Next

Select From Collections and choose yours

Select your newly created template

Add Co-organisers and Attendees and click Create event

Now you created the meeting

It will now show up in your Teams calendar where you will be able to join

Or you can join from your Mesh app.

Mesh meeting can be joined 10 min. before the event start. ?

If you made it this far. Then thanks for reading. I hope you will give Mesh a try.