Avid Previews SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT at SIGGRAPH

The Avid booth at SIGGRAPH 05

Now that's an exciting new technology!

Avid Technology, Inc. previewed its exciting new SOFTIMAGE®|FACE ROBOT™– facial animation technology at SIGGRAPH.

Face Robot software is the first technology that allows 3-D artists to achieve realistic, lifelike facial animation for high-end film, post and games projects. The technology is built on a new computer model of facial soft tissue that mimics the full range of emotions portrayed by the human face.

SIGGRAPH attendees got a snaek peak experience at the Face Robot system in the Avid® Computer Graphics booth and saw how the new technology offers artists a very intuitive way to interact with CG characters while providing precise control over facial details, including wrinkles, frowns, flaring nostrils and bulging neck muscles.

Jeff Wilson, animation supervisor at Blur Studio which showcased work created with the software at SIGGRAPH said that, “Creating believable facial animation is very important because the face is fundamental in understanding emotion. It is also very difficult because facial expressions emerge primarily from deformations of the soft tissue on the face, which is nearly impossible to capture with existing 3-D software. Face Robot removes the cumbersome, repetitive work of legacy approaches and allows us to focus on bringing a character to life. Softimage is creating a truly incredible tool for facial animation.”

The Face Robot software supports both keyframe animation and motion capture, the primary techniques used for digital acting today. The soft tissue model at the core of the technology removes the need to manually create dozens or even hundreds of 3-D shapes for different facial expressions and allows animators to work with an optimal number of control points. Keyframe animators can gain very direct, intuitive access to facial expressions, while motion capture animators can work with fewer markers to reduce setup and cleanup time.

“We work closely with many of the world’s most renowned animation studios to understand their challenges in key areas like facial animation. This new technology is the culmination of years of research and development in support of ambitious animation and effects productions,” said Michael Isner, head of the special projects consulting group at Softimage. “Now, with innovative, dedicated facial animation technology, Softimage has created a new category for computer graphics. We are breaking down the barriers to believable digital acting to help the 3-D community fulfill their creative imagination.”

The technology preview was shown publicly for the first time at SIGGRAPH. Videos and background information on the technology are available at www.softimage.com/facerobot.

* Picture courtesy R&H India director of operations Saraswathi Balgam