Digital Domain, an Oscar-winning visual effects firm, and pioneer in digital human technology has announced “Zoey”, advanced autonomous person. The photorealistic Zoey can engage in conversations with multiple participants at once, remember people, access the internet to answer questions, and more, using machine learning and an advanced version of the technology and process. This paves the way for the next step in the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI).
“With the potential of the metaverse and continued advancements in AI, the desire to interact with autonomous humans face-to-face is becoming more important and part of modern life. For decades, Digital Domain has been pioneering digital human technology, and Zoey takes the concepts of virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri several steps further, creating a digital helper you can truly interact with,” stated Daniel Seah, Global CEO of Digital Domain.
Zoey is the culmination of years of study and development by the award-winning visual effects house’s own Digital Humans Group, which was inspired by its proof-of-concept autonomous person, “Douglas.” Actress Zoey Moses collaborated with Digital Domain to build a thorough set of facial motions and mannerisms, as well as a broad variety of expressive expressions for Zoey. Using that information and its own facial animation software, “Charlatan,” the company has created a new product.
John Fragomeni, Global President of Digital Domain highlighted, “For the last 30 years, Digital Domain has been one of the world leaders behind some of the most sophisticated and memorable visual effects ever seen, so it was a natural progression for us to become a leader in digital and virtual humans and to create ‘Zoey,’ the world’s most advanced autonomous human. We will continue to push the boundaries of visual effects in all fields and on any screen, as we look for ways to offer people a better experience, regardless of the medium or delivery platform.”
Several forms of machine learning (ML) have been used by Digital Domain to give “Zoey” her personality to ensure that she is able to understand the questions and develop proper replies. Zoey, on the other hand, may truly express rather than just make a vocal or written reaction. She will seem bewildered if a question is unclear; she will grin if a joke is given to her. During discussions, Zoey will fidget and move in response to her responses, and she will become irritated if she is interrupted. She can interact with participants by asking them questions and soliciting their feedback, and she can recognize and recall people thanks to face recognition software. Chatbots may also be incorporated, allowing Zoey to quickly become a well-known virtual assistant.
Digital Domain used WellSaid Labs‘ AI-powered text-to-speech technology to equip Zoey with a powerful and versatile voice system capable of more than just reading programmed replies. Zoey can access a huge library of words and phrases using WellSaid Labs’ technologies, guaranteeing that no response is beyond its ability to vocalize. There are also other choices for controlling the tone of her responses, including varying degrees of excitement to represent the interaction’s purpose. A more cheery attitude would be necessary for a retail atmosphere, where the discourse would be more level. Zoey can also enhance her linguistic capabilities by combining different language packs, allowing her to become completely multilingual. Zoey can be incorporated into various platforms or game engines, once Zoey’s full capability is unveiled.
