Berlin.
Tech companies invest billions in virtual worlds. This also includes digital doppelgangers, which look more and more realistic.
The Metaverse or German metaverse is the grand vision of a virtual world. companies like that Facebook group Meta invest billions in the perfect digital universe in which people should move and meet with the help of so-called avatars. These digital images of real people are the subject of intensive research.
Both the large tech companies and public research institutions are working on how the digital images can be created and how our own body movements, facial expressions and gestures can be transferred to them.
The promise is: soon every user will have a realistic one with the simplest of means avatar by themselves and thus be able to move in a natural way in the so-called virtual reality (VR).
“According to estimates, there are already several hundred thousand people worldwide who regularly spend their free time as avatars in the virtual world,” says sociologist Jonathan Harth from the University of Witten/Herdecke. digitalization and in particular virtual reality are among his main research areas. Also read:CES 2023: These are the most important technology trends of the year
Avatar: The behavior of the other person should be consistent
According to Harth, there are some basic requirements for a virtual world to be taken seriously by the user. “When you put on the headset, you should feeling have to be in a different place,” says the researcher. The lighting and other physical aspects would have to be right for this. A cup standing on a table should be able to be moved with the hands. “If I don’t have that kind of plausibility, I don’t feel as connected to this world,” Harth says.
Even more important, especially for social applications, is the behavior of the other person. It has to be plausible and coherent, you should be able to recognize the facial expressions, and also casual ones gestures like head scratching should work smoothly. “Avatars often have random blinks programmed in to make them look more alive,” says Harth. And since the real movements of the head are usually registered by the attached headset, the avatar always moves a little anyway.
Accurate measurement of head orientation is essential for the user to be aware of the screens the headset always shows the correct perspective of the virtual world. At the same time, you usually hold a controller in each hand, which is also equipped with sensors. In this way, the algorithm that controls the avatar can transfer the movement of the arms into the virtual world. Also interesting: This is how virtual reality revolutionizes training and studies
Smartphones can reduce the effort
“In contrast to an online meeting, you can also turn to each other physically at a meeting in the virtual world,” says Harth. For example, if one participant leans back, the other may do the same. This synchronized behavior can create connectedness. “It’s how a VR meetup with friends can feel like a collaborative activity,” says Harth.
Andreas Geiger also wants it three dimensional Create avatars that are modeled as closely as possible on the bodies of real people, including legs and feet. He heads the Autonomous Machine Vision group at the University of Tübingen. His goal: The avatars should be created automatically and with as little technical effort as possible for the user.
“Nowadays, you can always hire someone who will generate the perfect avatar for you based on photos and by hand for a few thousand euros,” says Geiger. “But our goal is that everyone can do it themselves with a simple phone camera can do.” Depth cameras that generate three-dimensional images are integrated into more and more modern smartphones and can help to capture the geometry of a body.
Virtual reality: Depending on your posture, even your clothes wrinkle
To do this, a test person only has to move in front of the for about a minute, various poses and rotate around its own axis at least once so that the system sees the back. Important information about the deformation of the clothing can also be obtained in this way. After all, a wide pullover throws different folds with every posture, which the algorithm has to reproduce correctly. The result is an avatar that can assume any pose.
“The input for the new poses could again come from a camera that tracks the user and transfers the movement to the avatar in real time,” says Geiger. Integrated into garments sensors could be an addition to this, for example when parts of the body are covered and therefore not visible to the camera. “But that’s rather unsuitable for use at home,” says Geiger. Also interesting:
The researchers have provided proof that their method works in the form of a scientific publication. However, more development is needed so that it can actually be used by anyone at home without any prior technical knowledge. “But I’m convinced that our or similar technologies will soon be part of everyday life,” says Geiger. “The startups are just springing up from the ground.”
Opportunity for the inclusion of disadvantaged people
Like any new technology, ours will presence change society as an avatar in the virtual world. “This can have good or bad effects,” says sociologist Harth. “But I don’t believe in the nightmare that at some point everyone will just be stuck under their VR headsets and no one will go into the real world anymore.”
After all, the introduction of new media such as comics, television or computer games has always triggered fears in the past, which ultimately turned out to be unfounded or at least exaggerated. Rather, the scientist sees not only the possibility of connecting people over long distances, but also big things potential for the inclusion of disadvantaged people in society.
“For people with disabilities or with problems in social interaction, a virtual world is very attractive and could appear inclusive,” says Harth. There they could participate in social life without having to leave their homes.
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