MEETMIKE Demo Shows We're Still Years Away from Ultra-Realistic Avatars

Meet MEETMIKE, the very latest in ultra-realistic avatar technology:

A broad team of graphics researchers, universities, and technology companies are showcasing the latest research into digital human representation in VR at SIGGRAPH 2017... MEETMIKE is the name of the VR experience being shown at this week at SIGGRAPH 2017 conference, which features a wholly digital version of VFX reporter Mike Seymour being ‘driven’ and rendered in real-time by the real life Seymour.

And MEETMIKE is definitely impressive in terms of how its skin and hair and skeletal infrastructure is rendered. But then the camera pulls back and we finally get a chance to see MEETMIKE speaking... at which point, he looks like a re-animated zombie trying to talk. Failing to render all the subtle interactions between dozens of muscles in the human face accurately, the life drains out of MEETMIKE, the illusion is broken, and we go tumbling back down into the Uncanny Valley. 

Since the world's best avatar developers still can't get that right, my guess is we're several years or even a decade away from having the technology to accurately simulate a fully expressive human.

Hat tip: Ann Cudworth.

Comments

[Masami Kuramoto]

I think the frozen look at the end was intentional. Without it, would you believe that this was NOT a real person?

[Bettina Tizzy]

He looks pretty real to me!

[Wagner J Au]

Watch around :25, he looks like he's an animated zombie or a dude with major botox injections. I bet the video keeps making quick cuts to prevent us from scrutinizing deeper.

[Amanda Dallin]

He looks more realistic than some politicians I've seen who have had work done on their face.

[Cybele Moon]

Oh dear, Dr. Frankenstein, There are some things in life we cannot tamper with!!