I think an MVP could even just represent people as a simple ball of light. I think just 3d audio with any 3d representation of position might be enough to give people a "fix" of presence with their loved one.

I actually think you could probably make a standalone stereo Bluetooth headset/glasses with clear lenses and two lasers that project a single 3d stereo positioned dot onto each lens. You'd just need a chip to position the audio and the two dots so I think you could do a really compact low power device and sell them for <$100.

You could just walk around your house, and the dot would stay close to you and talk to you and you would feel like they were in the house with you, rather than inside a little phone.

This is worth more than you'd think. The multiplayer demo I tried at PAX 2014 had me and a friend sitting maybe three feet from each other, and generic blank avatars in-game, but seeing him nod and nodding back myself was a hugely intimate experience. It's tough to describe, a purely emotional experience.

Do you think the experience was worth putting on a headset for? To chat with someone like that?

I ask because I wonder whether the overhead of using the device is outweighed by its value as a communications tool.

What's wrong with 3d rendered avatars? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zP0E2atshw