Possible Future for Our Avatar Model???

Eon Reality Inc. has had Eon Human (one of their Enterprise software products) out for about a year now. From my understanding, they have recently made improvements (as of June 7, 200 to the web based integration of this software as a move towards providing more options for the avarage consumer. While the web based version does not allow for much consumer use (yet), the Enterprise version (priced at $150,000) can be used in the development other 3D virtual platforms as well as export to Maya and 3DS Max. It has some very sophisticated algorithms working behind the scenes, as the videos hint at here:

http://www.eonreality.com/products_human.html

Some of the unique attributes of this application are the ability to three dimensionally etrapolate quickly (80 seconds), automatically, and accurately from one single photographic target of a human face. Then, a real time 3D representation of that face can be manipulated in lifelike ways. Cast light and shadow render correctly as the model is rotated. Lip movement can be added to synchronize with speech [possibly in real time - I'm not sure]. All this is made possible through sampling from ONE original texture and a database of 200+ human models of various genders, ages, and ethnicities.

If you look at the Technology Partners section of eonreality.com you will see a little logo for Second Life® and IBM there. Could this indicate a possible future for the direction the SL avatar will take? There are obviously a few hurdles to overcome like badwidth and low poly count (roughly 3000 for the SL avatar versus 72,000 for Eon Human), but several articles over the last 6 months indicate that Eon Reality intends to take this technology cross virtual platform in the spirit of the universal Avatar. This means that SL® could support this technology, if it is able to scale with it.

I guess that's the billion dollar question - Do you think SL will be able to integrate these new technologies (an improved avatar, easier skinning and morph targets, and lip synching capabilities), or will we see it stagnate because of scalability issues?

Comments, if you please

Interesting. I'm sure LL would love to incorporate some of these features. But as you pointed out, whether they will reach that stage is questionable currently.

LL strikes me as the type of company scouring under every rock for viable technologies to incorporate into their product, so I'm not surprised to see their logo there.

I can absolutely see it happening. Hey, just 20 years ago I was playing Spy Hunter and thought that game was "up there" compared to a lot of them.

What might be more scary and a tad Gibsonesque, and evocative of the movie Brazil... what if plastic surgeons could capture our shape data from the grid?

We might have to wait just a little longer for fangs, cat ears and tails, but I get the feeling that the standard human form is sooooo 21st century.

this would be very good! providing LL can get the grid stable enough to support it.

Id love to see a more advance avatar, and Im sure it will happen some day. But really with the myriad of other issues which includes apparently not being able to handle more the 60,000 in world at a time, I think they need to stay focused on providing stability first.
Okay now that I got my pessimistic jab in…yeah I would love it and it can’t happen soon enough.
But how would that work? Would we log in to find an upgraded avatar, would we have to pay or start a new account? And what about our stuff we have now, like clothes and hair? Would they work on a new and improved avatar?

I wish to quash all rumours that the woman in the first clip is meee!

I think the avatars we have are basically fine, only we need the mesh improved to give smoother joint articulation and texture stretchability.

The flexible non-phantom clothing and hair in the clip look good too.

Yes, and next will come the shape/data pirates and a whole new level of identity theft. We'll need to build in false data (watermarks in the form of nose shape, age lines, cowlicks) to indicate the point of origin and protect our RL identities before releasing stuff to the grid.

That may be just the tip of the iceberg if RL plastic surgeons and shape pirates are running around with copies of our RL looks. How about Nekos in RL running utility foglet based appendages!?

This guy would be like a kid in a candy shop!

Only 3000 poly's?

Dammit I feel like a second class virtual citizen. Maybe I can point my Eon Enterprise viewer at SL

Actually, 3912 polygons. Does that make you feel any better? I was going from memory on my first post, and could only remember it was three thousand...something.