GameYourself - Create a virtual 3D model of a person’s face based on a short video taken with any smartphone cam.

Project Information

GY

Grant agreement ID: 664168

DOI

10.3030/664168

Project closed

EC signature date 23 February 2015

Start date 1 October 2014

End date 31 March 2015

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

SOTI, TAS/ZOBISCH, ERIK-MARTIN BARLAI, BALINT GBR
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GY (GameYourself - Create a virtual 3D model of a person’s face based on a short video taken with any smartphone cam.)

Reporting period: 2014-10-01 to 2015-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

GameYourself is a High-Tech Spin-Off company of the Humboldt University of Berlin specialized in the field of computer vision. The company developed a novel technology for 3D face reconstruction and face representation. The developed method relies on image-based systems for context and information acquisition and it significantly outperforms the current state of the art solutions. Our automated method is capable of creating a highly realistic virtual 3D model of a person’s face based on a short video of it taken by a regular smartphone.

The high precision face scanning technology itself is not new to the industry and at the moment many studios build huge camera systems to capture and reconstruct faces. The problem is that due to cost reasons this technology is not accessible to an average gaming user, and at the moment there is no solution on the market which delivers high quality scans for an affordable price.

There is a proven need from the players’ perspective to have a highly customized and personalized avatar. From the industry point of view one of the most important factors which contributes to the overall success of a particular game is the amount of the average time the users spend playing it. Hence it is in the interest of the game companies to engage their users more in their games and to gain advantage over their competitors by offering a technology that brings high value to their fan base. This is the business opportunity we address with our face scanning technology. Recognizing the need for individualization and identification with one’s own avatar, GameYourself offers a sophisticated solution for these needs by “compressing” the above mentioned camera system into a mobile application.

The objective of the feasibility study was to find out if these value propositions are correct, that is, to test if our technological innovation delivers a high added value. The study consisted of two parts. The first part was the development of the pilot application and the second part was to prove commercial viability using this pilot application.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the feasibility study the work has been focused on the following two main areas:

1) Development of the pilot application. Under this working package the following actions have been carried out: a) the development of an Android application, b) development of the server architecture, optimization of the application's performance, development of the back-end and it's administrative interface.

2) Evaluation of the commercial viability. In the beginning of the feasibility study we have created customer surveys, demonstrated the application at various events to get hands on experience on how the gaming community reacts to the introduction of our technology. Based on the gathered experience we have further customized the application and introduced it on Google Play store. In a similar sense we have continued to carry out the Build-Measure-Learn iteration cycle where we a) attracted users and measured their activity b) assessed the gathered information in order to decide what changes are necessary to improve the pilot application c) developed the necessary changes.

During the feasibility study we have identified what users consider to be the main value proposition of the application, identified the main user concerns and gained deeper knowledge about the potential market barriers.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The final results of the feasibility study enabled us to a make a more conscious decision about the commercial exploitation of our innovation.
Furthermore we have identified a broader and even more promising field where our 3D reconstruction technology can be successfully realized and thus result in a greater impact.

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