In the "docomo Open House'22" where NTT DoCoMo publishes its research and development results, a new technology has been unveiled to improve the communication of XR. The technology demonstrated under the title "efforts to transmit facial expressions using 3D avatars" is designed to transmit real facial expressions to 3D avatars.
Avatar is an important element in XR space. If you use the avatar, you can not only make yourself 3D, but also become a completely different person and a different being. In order to achieve natural communication in such a virtual image, it is important to be able to reproduce the appropriate expression. What can do this is the technology of this demonstration.
Using this technology, you can use the camera to recognize your actual expression, transmit the expression in real time, and make the virtual image reproduce the same expression. It is characterized in that, for the transmitted expression, it is not to select a close expression from the predetermined expression, but to reproduce the expression itself in a virtual image.
When 3D virtual images are based on real people, multiple angles of shooting data are needed in advance, but once filmed, even if the "people inside" change, the same virtual image can be used to reproduce rich and colorful expressions.
Not only the expression but also the line of sight is recognized and the avatar reappears, so the communication with the other person becomes smoother. Not only the real 3D virtual image, but also the animation style virtual image can be reproduced, so a specific character can be turned into a virtual image to reproduce the natural expression.
As the use of this technology, it is envisaged to be used in reception sites such as call centers and unmanned shops. Because of the natural expression, you can get a sense of presence to talk to actual people, even if you don't go to the scene to receive guests, if you can make the same response, it will lead to work style reform and local creation. Is considered to be.
At present, the main scenario envisaged is remote hospitality, from business to entertainment, privacy, giving people the impression that it can be applied to various fields of research.
