New system combines proprietary technology with machine learning; performance is realized without animation rigs, creating a realistic animated digital double ready for in-engine use.
DI4D has announced the launch of PURE4D, a new facial capture pipeline designed to create realistic digital doubles, in-game, for the next generation of gaming consoles. Combining machine learning with the company’s proprietary 4D facial capture technology, the pipeline replicates the exact performance of an actor without animation rigs or further animation of any kind, delivering the most realistic facial animation ready for in-engine use. Large scale video game projects can now have the same level of fidelity and realism that was previously only available for movie visual effects and pre-rendered cinematics.
DI4D CEO and co-founder, Colin Urquhart, explains the full extent of the new PURE4D pipeline in digital-double form:
Using a unique mesh tracking solution, PURE4D combines accurate facial performance data from DI4D HMC (head-mounted camera) systems with even higher fidelity expression data from DI4D PRO; it uses advanced machine learning technology to do this more efficiently and in volume.
The PURE4D pipeline:
- The DI4D PRO system is used to acquire high fidelity 4D facial expression data of each actor.
- Head-mounted DI4D HMC systems are then used to capture accurate 4D facial performance data, often from multiple actors, simultaneously with body motion capture.
- Machine learning algorithms efficiently combine both sets of data to significantly increase the scalability of the solution.
- Nuance and subtle expressions from the actors’ facial performance are captured and transferred to the in-game animation of their digital double characters.
“We believe that PURE4D is a real game changer for facial animation in video games,” commented Urquhart. “The next generation of game consoles and game engines can support much more realistic in-game facial animation. The level of realism seen in recent pre-rendered cinematics is now becoming the benchmark for in-game animation. With PURE4D, game developers can reproduce the exact facial performance of any actor to create lifelike digital double performances – without the need to create a complex FACS rig or for significant animator polish.”
DI4D’s 4D technology is used by the world’s leading studios in video games and movies including Activision, Digital Domain, MPC, Remedy Entertainment, and Electronic Arts.
Additional information is available here.
Source: DI4D
