Sarah is a real-time conversational VR avatar

A project called Sarah is pushing AI companions further into VR by combining full-body avatars with real-time conversation. The system responds with natural speech, gaze, and body motion that reacts to the user’s movements and maintains eye contact.

One notable feature is a gaze control slider that lets users tune how directly and how often the avatar looks at them. The team has released a paper and dataset showcasing Sarah’s motion and interaction capabilities, but has not yet shipped a public model.

The work points toward VR characters that feel more like responsive companions than pre-scripted NPCs, raising new possibilities for social, gaming, and wellness applications.