Project Description:

Creating high-quality human movements is complex and resource-intensive, especially in applications such as the growing market for virtual reality soft skill training, which require authentically portrayed emotions. Gen-AIvatar revolutionizes the creation of animated avatars for 3D applications by making this process simpler, more efficient, and more cost-effective through the use of the key technology of generative AI: Using text prompts, sketches, and videos, animation sequences can be generated and subsequently edited, opening this technology to a broader user base and creating new market opportunities. Particular emphasis is placed on the holistic creation of animations with coherent voice, body movement, gestures, and facial expressions for authentic emotional representation, enabling this next generation of avatars to address additional application areas. This is demonstrated through the development of new VR training courses for presentation techniques and soft skills, new VR experiments for neuroscience, and new VR safety training courses, which are also used to evaluate the technology under real-world conditions and to specifically identify and correct vulnerabilities. In addition to new scientific findings and the strengthening of AI expertise in North Rhine-Westphalia, Gen-AIvatar is also laying the foundation for large-scale, industrial deployment by consortium leader MindPort and its associated partners.

Team:

  • Cologne Game Lab (TH Köln)
    • Team Lead – Prof. Dr. Roland Klemke
    • Project Management – Daniel Majonica, M.A
    • Project Management – Khaleel Asyraaf Mat Sanusi, M.Sc
    • Project Management – Melina Rose, M.A