Disney Develops Machine Learning Tool to Create Realistic 3D Faces

3D animation has become a cornerstone of the film industry because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing studios to create movies without having to actually film them but instead develop them on various computers using a wide range of animation techniques. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that a lot of the 3D faces that you see are probably going to make you feel rather uncomfortably due to something called the uncanny valley.

This is a phenomenon wherein if something looks very similar to us without being entirely accurate, it would bring feelings of terror or discomfort when we see them. As a result of the fact that this is the case, a lot of animation studios have struggled to create 3D faces that are as realistic as possible. This is why so few 3D movies feature human beings that look realistic rather than cartoonish, although recent developments made by Disney might just make this sort of thing less of an issue all in all.

Disney isn’t known for the kind of technological advancements it helps to facilitate, but it is important to note that the company has actually made a lot of breakthroughs in this regard. They have been developing a new kind of machine learning algorithm that might just help make it easier to render photorealistic 3D images of human faces. This will take the animation industry to a whole new level and change the manner in which films tend to be made on a regular basis.

The machine learning tool would do this by better analyzing the various intricacies of the human face. There are a lot of subtle variations in our expressions, and another thing to note is that it’s very unlikely that two different people would end up having the exact same expressions as each other. Hence, the machine learning tool will help to broaden the available options that animators can currently take advantage of.

This shows just how relevant the world of tech is regardless of what industry you may be talking about at any given point in time. Disney’s research into machine learning is primarily to help the company make movies but it will also have a widespread impact on other areas as well.



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