Big Stage Entertainment (for previous references go to AI 129 and AI 56) announced today the launch of its "Portable You" program, which opens up its 3D facial modeling system to third parties for integration in games, virtual worlds, websites, mobile apps, and more.
The first announced partner is Icarus Studios, which will integrate the system with its virtual worlds’ platform.
Virtual event solutions provider, The Venue Network, already plans on adopting the face creation tools for its customers, allowing them to network with their own animated, lip-synched faces.
“Given the complexity of human faces, developing high-fidelity, realistic facial construction systems for avatars is incredibly costly and requires highly specialized skill sets,” said James Hettinger CEO, Icarus Studios. “PortableYou” offers an easy and cost-effective way for us to integrate sophisticated cloning capabilities into the virtual worlds we create. Our clients are very excited that their users can now create accurate virtual representations of themselves for use in their worlds, at development costs that generate significant ROI for incorporating the innovation in user experience that the PortableYou system make possible.”
Portable You includes APIs, code samples, methods and reference libraries for customization.
“By offering a powerful, unified system for the integration of a realistically animated 3-D version of yourself into your digital life, PortableYou has the potential to revolutionize how we both entertain ourselves and communicate through digital media,” said Phil Ressler, Big Stage Entertainment CEO. “With the high level of personalization that PortableYou makes possible, digital media can evolve to truly reflect who we are in the real world, whether through life-like extension or alter ego fantasy. Faces are fundamental to human communication and adding recognizable, animated avatars to an application changes it fundamentally."
