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AI stuntpeople could lead to more realistic video games
Video game developers often turn to motion capture when they want realistic character animations. Mocap isn't very flexible, though, as it's hard to adapt a canned animation to different body shapes, unusual terrain or an interruption from another character. Researchers might have a better solution: teach the characters to fend for themselves. They've developed a deep learning engine (DeepMimic) that has characters learning to imitate reference mocap animations or even hand-animated keyframes, effectively training them to become virtual stunt actors. The AI promises realistic motion with the kind of flexibility that's difficult even with methods that blend scripted animations together.
