Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

The Holy City VR and Sheridan College's Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT) will collaborate on a research and development project that will develop a prototype workflow for virtual character creation. Utilizing a novel combination of CGI character rigging, volumetric capture and a neural AI engine, will allow the experience to react to users' actions, gestures and speech, resulting in a vast array of possible story developments and character reactions. A compact prototype, encompassing a handful of potential interactions that demonstrate the ability to create a sense of presence in the face of physical absence and the inability to communicate in real time. This project will include the development of "virtual humans" for narrative virtual reality experiences, performance capture and optimization of live-action performers, and creation of AI-driven characters and narratives. This research and development will support The Holy City VR's success and further contribute to the growth of Ontario's screen industries in general, as well as virtual human development (for VR, games, film & TV, etc.), an increasingly important sector of content & technology development within the Greater Toronto Area.