Photorealistic digital humans are moving from our screens to the real world—make way for the next-generation avatars.
Nvidia is preparing for a future where 3D avatars with conversational artificial intelligence (AI) will operate in both the virtual and physical world. In a November 2021 demo, the company announced the Omniverse Avatar platform. “The dawn of intelligent virtual assistants has arrived,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. “Omniverse Avatar combines Nvidia’s foundational graphics, simulation and AI technologies to make some of the most complex real-time applications ever created.”
Epic Games’ Unreal Engine believes “digital humans are the future.” In April 2021, Unreal Engine started offering early access to the MetaHuman Creator, which allows real-time creation of photorealistic avatars in minutes. The cloud-based app can replicate intricate details of a person’s features, from complexion and wrinkles to broken capillaries and scars.
Advanced Avatars
In September 2021, California-based avatar-generating startup DNABlock raised $1.2 million in seed funding to make the metaverse more diverse and inclusive. “The metaverse needs to represent everyone,” Anthony Kelani, CEO and co-founder of DNABlock, told Protocol. “This needs to represent the world. And with avatars, specifically, you should be able to generate an avatar that looks like you or like someone of color.”
It is amazing to see how close modern Avatars match reality. Personalized and authentic characters are becoming more and more important as online interactions grow rapidly in many sectors. I would be curious to see how aging will influence my online me?
Christian Grandi
Client Service Director at Wunderman Thompson
Advanced Avatars in Retail
Big-name fashion brands are also investing in regenerative agriculture. In October 2021, Ralph Lauren announced it was partnering with the Soil Health Institute to launch the US Regenerative Cotton Fund. This followed the appointment by Conservation International and global luxury group Kering of the first seven grantees under their Regenerative Fund for Nature initiative, getting their mission to transition one million hectares of land to regenerative practices over the next five years under way.
Retailers are also getting on board with regeneration. Morrisons, the UK grocery store chain, announced a partnership with McDonald’s, Harper Adams University, and the National Farmers’ Union in October 2021. The collaborators have launched the United Kingdom’s first school of sustainable food and farming, ultimately aiming to transform the country’s farming practices. This follows Walmart’s September 2020 pledge to become a regenerative company, which includes a commitment to restore at least 50 million acres of land by 2030.
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Join us on a journey into the near future, where daily life takes place in the metaverse and on a regenerative planet—and is packed with health-infused experiences, and, more importantly, is defined by an optimistic outlook. Welcome to “The Future 100: 2022.”
Why Advanced Avatar is interesting?
Forget the blue avatars that took over our screens in 2009. In 2022, new-age avatars will not only seem hyper-realistic, but also reflect the world’s diversity.
