Can a Korean Virtual Human Catch up to Lil Miquela?
SEOUL, South Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Miquela is a 3D computer-generated virtual celebrity with over 3 million Instagram followers. She is a well-known figure among Gen Z and voted alongside a famous boy band group BTS and pop star Rihanna in Time Magazine’s 25 most influential people on the internet.
Miquela’s personality mimics human elements and autonomy to interact with people in the virtual space. Perhaps a human-digital interaction that perfectly represents the coming Metaverse and one of the sought-after services in the gaming industry. Epic Games’ Metahuman Creator, launched in April of this year, is a testament to the rapidly growing popularity of digital characters such as Miquela and many others. This 3D rigging software is particularly well suited for generating a design fast and cheap, making the tool indispensable.
By comparison, the features offered by widely used conventional applications such as Unreal Engine, Unity Engine, MAYA, and Blender are inflexible and often find difficult for a seamless experience.
Korea, home to top K-Pop stars like BTS and Blackpink, is also active in virtual space.
Paying homage to Miquela, Rozy, and other locally known virtual figures, virtual humans have gained the public spotlight in recent years with appearances in several TV commercials. Probably among them that captured the hearts of many is avatar emulating a girl band group, “Aespa.” With the letter AI (Artificial Intelligence) assigned in front of each member’s name, this avatar represents Aespa’s alter-egos to characterize their expression in the digital world.
Another recent creation by an upstart dob Studio is Rui. She is a virtual personality that operates RuiCovery, a Youtube channel. One of Rui’s unique abilities is to swap with other virtual faces. Rather than simply replacing it with another ready-made facial image, Rui uses techniques similar to deep fake technology through deep learning to synthesize faces and swap with her own. Equally, her facial skin appears as authentic as human skin in graphic renditions where alternatives come short of their performance.
According to Joshua Oh, the Founder of dob Studio, ”This technology, which looks just like a deep fake at first glance, will allow people to create content on YouTube and Instagram with a completely distinct look without plastic surgery.” Joshua further mentions that, “When employing our technology, not only do the graphics improve, but the speed is ten times faster and more compared to the traditional 3D rendering technique.”
Cost-wise, this method reduces a typical design project by 30% or less against conventional methods.
Realizing a significant cost efficiency in VFX projects without performance degradation, dob Studio recently attracted a $4.3 million pre-series A investment from Dexter Studios, a well-known VFX specialist that works closely with Netflix and among several other venture capital firms.
In its second year of operations, dob Studio has already created 16 virtual humans. Some featured in two variety shows through national broadcasting channels and as brand mascots for corporate clients.
Imagine a Metaverse expanding through creating virtual avatars indistinguishable from real people. Perhaps the day is approaching when we spend more time living as a robot in “Surrogate” and as an avatar character in “Ready Player One” than as a human.
About dob Studio:
Founded in June of 2020, dob Studio is a startup based out of Korea. The company applies deep learning technology to synthesize virtual faces from photo images and videos. Additional information can be found at www.dob.world/en
Contacts
Joshua Oh
+82-2-2088-5766
[email protected]
