Mobile video chatting is great, provided you have a free hand to hold your smartphone or tablet. So what might a hands-free video phone look like? For now, it would be big and bulky, but it could work. Take a peek at this prototype that DigInfo noticed: It’s created by NTT DoCoMo(s dcm) and uses multiple cameras to capture most of your facial movements and any scenery behind you.

Unlike traditional video chat services of today, this system renders you as a realistic looking avatar. While that seems like a step backward, I can think of a number of instances where I’d welcome it: An early morning video chat while still in bed or on a bad hair day, for example. (My solution for the latter is a hat, but now that’s a tell-tale sign of bad hair at GigaOM HQ!)

The large headgear certainly isn’t practical, but as a prototype…