"Believable facial animation is arguably the hardest problem in computer graphics today, and a huge challenge for 3D production," said Marc Stevens, vice president of Softimage.

"Face Robot is an important step for Softimage, building on our long-standing heritage of innovation focused on revolutionizing the way 3D animators work."

The most common methods for animating human faces are complex, labor-intensive and time-consuming, typically requiring artists to create a series of shapes for each facial expression.

Avid Technology’s SOFTIMAGE(R)FACE ROBOT(TM) is the first software application dedicated to the creation of believable facial animation for high-end film, post and games productions.

Designed for studios faced with high-quality or high-volume facial animation requirements, Face Robot software animates a digital human face with higher quality and in less time than traditional methods.

In just six easy steps, artists can generate emotive expressions that replicate natural, organic movement of skin and soft tissue.

The software works with all major 3D applications and easily integrates into any studio pipeline.

Images: thumbnail pics are from Final Fantasy movie Advent Children.

At left character Aki Ross from Final Fantasy movie Spirits Within, which made a fair go at full motion picture emulation and photo-realistic faces. The result was slightly wooden but a totally-absorbing reality - even if the storyline ethereally dumfounded most Hollywood movie hacks.

The piece de resistance is our attractive face at top, Doppelganger Kitty Hunting at Avid’s face videos and ‘photographic’ gallery.

This is not all about just making realistic cartoons.

The same algorithms and complexity will drive musculature of artificial humanoids in our very near future. And we won’t easily tell them apart.

posted by dextre March 11, 2006 at 12:13

Ah tips me fedora t’ de University of Warwick, Coventry, UK for not only a sharp media office but researchers who can spot newsworthy research directions from a country mile off.

In 2004 they touted compostable cell phones (mobile phones to you non-yanks) with casings made of biodegradable polymer (hmfff, nothing’s new.

Fifty years ago cell phones had biodegradable, near edible, casein casings :0). Love the PR shot.

This time its mushroom pickin’ and grass cuttin’ - as in cud-chewing grass, and mushrooms for eating not psychogenics.

Anyone who has picked mushrooms for a living - and we all have first-hand experience of our wives’ complaints when they emerged back-broken on the first day in the shed - will appreciate this is one job best jettisoned to the ‘bots.

Dang the cost, which is the advertised gain. It’s the physical cost. This is one type of work, as is strawberry picking, that’s a real pain in the back.

" A mushroom robot uses a charge-coupled camera to spot and select only mushrooms of the exact size for picking far more accurately than humans, and picked by a suction cup on the end of a robotic arm.

Picking, though at half human speed, preceeds 24 hours a day, with at least human speed anticipated.

I’ve enlarged the picking mechanism that at first glance assumed was a clawed hand, as that’s what I would invent without thinking further.

What a cute li’l sucker.

Phase two in getting peons out of the paddock, a revolutionary inflatable conveyor system can be driven into an open field or covered growing area and within minutes up to 100 meters of powered conveyor belt is deployed, allowing crops to be processed at high speed straight to cool storage, or washing, or simply sorted and graded while still in the field."

And that lawnmower - what can I say?

Well, first it’s a fine looking prototype, not the usual mocked-up barrel o’ bolts we’re used to seeing in these pioneering days of iron-age bots.

"Researchers in the Warwick Manufacturing Group are developing a new method which can allow a farmer or grower to deploy multiple robotic grass cutting machines at the same time all under the supervision of just a single employee.

They are working with the "Ransomes Spider" grass cutting device which can already be remotely controlled and can even mow on 40 degree inclines.

They are replacing that remote control with a computer that can use its own data sensors attached to the mower, to autonomously travel across fields working in groups with other robotic mowers ensure that the field is mowed as quickly as possible."

And the trusty Compaq deftly velcroed to the bridgework didn’t escape my eagle gaze.

Obviously and cunningly, as deduced from its placement, doubles as solar panels.