Watch out, life-like characters about

Emma Hughes the Inquirer, Tuesday 19 August 2008. 15:10:00

No more corpse characters, says Image Metrics

EXTREMELY LIFELIKE CHARACTERS are expected to make a huge hit in films and games as the latest technology hits a peak. A new modelling technology is able to capture and recreate the minutest details of a facial expression, making it the first of its kind to break down the barrier that says animation looks less realistic as it reaches human likeness. The first step of this process began as simply as researchers at a Californian company breaking down the facial movements of a colleague talking and giving each move a 'control system'. Image Metrics, who created graphics for Grand Theft Auto, recreated the gestures captured in a model, this process then helped overcome the common problems with human animations....