Point. Click. Create your own 3D avatar and put yourself in the game

By Matthew Griffin Virtual World 22nd December 2016

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Avatars will play an increasingly important role in the future – whether they’re being used to depict, or replace actors in movies, VR simulations or to compliment bots, Loom.ai’s new product makes the process of creating one simple.

We’re entering a new world of, among other things, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) where you’ll be able to become anyone you want, and inhabit and take part in brand new worlds where the only limit is your imagination. And in the new world personalisation will be king.

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How would you like to be the star in your own AI directed movie? Play the lead character in a VR game or, if you’re running a business, become the face of your own customer service bot? Personally I think the first two are way cooler but in each case you need to be able to transpose your own “image” – or avatar – into, or onto, the new world, and now, thanks to a startup called Loom.ai you can. And you can do it easily and for a fraction of the cost of what it would have cost you even at the start of this year. Say goodbye to hiring a team of professional designers and spending weeks twiddling your thumbs – now it’s as easy as uploading a photo and voila, you’re done.

If you visit their website you can upload an image, either of themselves or someone else, and Loom.ai’s software will generate a 3D personalised avatar that resembles the image. The technology is based on a combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning, machine vision and a collection of new rendering techniques and while the result isn’t yet photorealistic, and the product has a problem with hair and only offers a narrow range of facial expressions, all of those developments will inevitably come in time – and as and when, and if, they get more funding.

As you can see from the above animation the company has already released a few example avatars based on celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Kanye West, and Elon Musk and the result’s not bad.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.