Epic Games, the creators of the popular game engine Unreal Engine, have introduced a new technology that could revolutionize motion capture in the video game industry. The MetaHuman Animator tool is a machine-learning-powered system that allows for fast and accurate facial animation from a simple video taken on an iPhone. The tool builds upon the already existing MetaHuman modeling tool, which allows users to manually create detailed human models in Unreal Engine 5. The new tool is designed to streamline the animation process, which traditionally required specialized hardware and manual tweaking to achieve game-ready animation.
The MetaHuman Animator was unveiled at the Game Developers Conference in a stunning demonstration featuring Ninja Theory Performance Artist Melina Juergens. Her 15-second on-stage performance was captured on a stock iPhone mounted on a tripod in front of her. The resulting video was then processed on a high-end AMD machine in less than a minute, creating a 3D animation that was almost indistinguishable from the original video. The animation captured even the most subtle facial tics, such as bared teeth and minuscule mouth quivers, in a way that made it almost indistinguishable from the original video.
The speed and fidelity of the result drew a huge round of applause from the developers gathered at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The potential of this technology to get quick, high-end results from basic input “has literally changed how testers work or the kind of work they can take on,” said Epic VP of Digital Humans Technology Vladimir Mastilovic.
The MetaHuman Animator is expected to significantly reduce the time and effort required to create high-quality facial animations, making it easier for game developers to create realistic and lifelike characters. With the tool, game developers can take advantage of machine learning to automate the animation process, saving them significant time and resources.
The MetaHuman Animator is just one of many exciting developments in the video game industry that are changing the way games are created and played. As technology continues to advance, we can expect to see even more innovations that will enhance the gaming experience for players and creators alike.
The new technology from Epic Games has the potential to significantly reduce the time and effort required to create high-quality facial animations, making it easier for game developers to create realistic and lifelike characters. With the MetaHuman Animator tool, game developers can take advantage of machine learning to automate the animation process, saving them significant time and resources. The tool has already drawn a huge round of applause from industry professionals, and its potential to change the way games are created and played is generating buzz throughout the gaming community
MetaHuman Animator builds on Epic Games’ previous MetaHuman modeling tool, which allowed users to manually create highly detailed human models in Unreal Engine 5. Since its launch, over a million users have created millions of MetaHumans, some with just a few minutes of processing on three photos of a human face. However, animating these models was still a challenge, requiring specialized hardware and weeks or months of processing and human tweaking to achieve game-usable animation.
With MetaHuman Animator, Epic Games has addressed this challenge by leveraging machine learning to generate facial animations from basic input, such as a head-on video taken on an iPhone. The technology is able to produce impressively real and detailed facial animations in a matter of minutes, which is a significant improvement over the traditional approach of using specialized hardware and extensive manual processing.
One of the most impressive aspects of MetaHuman Animator is its ability to capture tiny nuances in facial expressions, such as bared teeth, mouth quivers, and sideways glances, all of which are incorporated into the animation in a way that makes it almost indistinguishable from the original video. The technology even incorporates realistic tongue movements based on captured audio, using an “audio to tongue” algorithm.
MetaHuman Animator also enables animations to be applied to any model built on the same MetaHuman standard. This means that game developers can take advantage of the technology to create lifelike characters for their games quickly and efficiently, without sacrificing quality.
The potential impact of MetaHuman Animator on the gaming industry is significant. By automating the animation process and reducing the time and effort required to create lifelike characters, the tool has the potential to make game development more accessible to smaller studios and indie developers. It also has the potential to improve the quality of games across the board, making it easier for developers to create engaging and immersive experiences for players.
Overall, Epic Games’ MetaHuman Animator tool is a game-changer for the gaming industry. Its ability to automate the animation process and generate realistic facial animations in a matter of minutes is nothing short of remarkable. The technology has already generated a lot of excitement in the industry, and it will be interesting to see how game developers use it to create new and innovative gaming experiences in the years to come.