Grant: Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants

The goal of this proposal is to upgrade equipment for capturing high-fidelity digital doubles and detailed facial performances at Sheridan College's (Sheridan) Screen Industries Research and Training (SIRT) Centre. Advances in computational power and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are putting ever greater pressure on Canada's screen industries, particularly in the realm of computer-generated human characters in animated and visual effects-based productions. New mobile computing devices, including virtual reality headsets, incorporate powerful processors that can handle higher-fidelity graphics in which these virtual humans (VHs) use language, enact human gestures, show emotion and react to verbal and non-verbal cues. At the same time, the growth of AI and machine learning in the screen industries requires extensive high-quality data sets for training models, for which digital human capture is increasingly being used. The requested infrastructure will enhance SIRT's production equipment for capturing high-fidelity digital doubles and detailed facial performances, and includes a) upgrades to SIRT's existing ESPER Global Illumination Rig (additional cameras, enhanced lighting, upgraded synchronization systems) to enable higher-fidelity 3D face scanning; and b) new stereoscopic head-mounted cameras, which are necessary to take advantage of the latest software innovations for animating 3D-scanned digital doubles. These new capabilities will allow Sheridan to remain at the cutting edge so it can continue to fill its unique role in delivering virtual production research solutions for Ontario's 5,000 film, television, animation and gaming companies. Most of these companies are small and medium-sized enterprises and lack the sophisticated tools and workflows for the creation of believable digital doubles. More broadly, the new infrastructure is critical for SIRT to fulfill its role as a Technology Access Centre, and its mandate of helping Ontario's $4 billion screen industries stay competitive by supporting the development of new processes, products and services. SIRT's industry partners will use these new tools to test and optimize their production workflows to bridge the gap between experimental setups and the latest in high-fidelity, animation-ready digital doubles. The new tools will also allow SIRT's partners to explore the use of VHs in domains beyond entertainment, including embodied AI for customer service, education, healthcare and companionship.