The Korea Herald

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Krafton debuts virtual humans for metaverse platform

By Byun Hye-jin

Published : Feb. 8, 2022 - 15:44

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Artificial intelligence-based virtual human character made by Krafton (Krafton) Artificial intelligence-based virtual human character made by Krafton (Krafton)

Gaming giant Krafton said Tuesday it has released artificial intelligence-based virtual human characters, who will appear as hyperreal game show hosts and virtual friends on the metaverse platform.

The virtual human characters show human-like skin and hair, facial expressions and eye movements, according to the company. In Krafton’s virtual human demo video, a female character shows realistic wrinkles on her nose, forehead and around her eyes as she squints.

“Unlike other local game companies, we haven’t named or finished designing the final characters. We are looking into new businesses where we can use these hyperreal virtual humans by adopting motion-capture technology and computer graphics process of creating 3D models’ bone structures,” a Krafton official said.

Krafton plans to use the virtual human characters in its new metaverse platform, called “Interactive Virtual World,”which connects the real world with virtual reality.

“For instance, we can use virtual human characters as ‘virtual buddies.’ Unlike the existing AI chatbot that only communicates with text, our virtual humans will be capable of providing more advanced communication. It will be just like video chatting with your real friend,” the official said.

Using AI, the company will artificially produce human voices in virtual humans and make them learn appropriate facial features associated with words they speak, the official added.

Krafton said the virtual humans will also appear as virtual influencers and singers, as well as hyperreal game characters. In terms of e-sports, the virtual humans can cover broadcasting as a show host, the official added.

Celebrating the launch, Krafton released another video, a cinematic trailer of a shooting game called “Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds,” where game characters appear as virtual humans.