Tools powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning can also be used in animation and visual effects. Nvidia senior solutions architect Rick Grandy noted that the benefit of such tools is that artists don’t have to replicate their own work. That includes deep learning used for realistic character motion created in real-time via game engines and AI, as well as a phase-functioned neural network for character control, whereby the network can be trained by motion capture or animation. Continue reading NAB 2018: Artificial Intelligence Tools for Animation and VFX

After its first profitable quarter on record, Twitter is focusing on new business and advertising opportunities. For example, sources say the social media company is currently working on a camera-first feature that could compete with Snap and potentially threaten its advertising opportunities. The new feature would combine videos and photos with the Twitter Moments feature, creating more real-time content around events and enabling companies to sponsor events or place ads between tweeted content.

Continue reading New Camera-First Twitter Feature Could Threaten Snap’s Ads

Google is enabling game developers to create “Pokémon Go”-like experiences in which game elements are embedded into real-world maps using the new Google Maps API and the Unity game engine. Over 200 games are already in development. Next Games is developing a game based on the popular TV series “The Walking Dead,” and NBCUniversal and Ludia will release a “Jurassic World Alive” location-based game for mobile. Because Google Maps updates in real time, developers can create gaming experiences with a sharp eye on reality.

Continue reading Google Maps Helps Develop Real-World Gaming Experiences

Google’s Uptime app, that lets users watch YouTube videos in real time with friends, is now freely available to iOS users following its invite-only limited beta test. The beta, which started in March, was updated a few times, adding the ability to play and share music videos, as well as connect to Facebook to find friends to watch videos with. Users can also chat, leave comments and place emoji on top of the video. A replay of a shared video will include the ability to see comments at the time in the video they were made. Continue reading Google Debuts YouTube Shared Viewing App For iOS Users

As another example of the significant advances we have been following in artificial intelligence and deep learning, Chinese search giant Baidu has introduced Deep Voice 2, the second iteration of its compelling text-to-speech system. The company introduced Deep Voice just three months ago, with the ability to produce speech “in near real time” that was “nearly indistinguishable from an actual human voice,” according to The Verge. While the first system was limited to learning one voice at a time, “and required many hours of audio or more from which to build a sample,” the updated version “can learn the nuances of a person’s voice with just half an hour of audio, and a single system can learn to imitate hundreds of different speakers.” Continue reading Text-to-Speech System Quickly Mimics Hundreds of Accents

Google is working on its third operating system after Android and Chrome OS, this one dubbed Fuchsia, an open-source, real-time OS that first appeared in August last year as a command line. Rather than being based on Linux, Fuchsia relies on a microkernel called Magenta that was developed by Google and incorporates other Google-developed software. According to Google, Magenta is aimed at “modern phones” and PCs with fast processors and large amounts of RAM with “arbitrary peripherals doing open-ended computation.” Continue reading Google Reveals More of Its Fuchsia OS for ‘Modern Phones’

Google is partnering with Movidius, a semiconductor startup, to begin developing technology that would allow mobile devices to do more heavy computing such as machine learning and image recognition. Movidius specializes in computer vision, so Google has licensed its MA2450 chip to help build image-recognition capabilities. The chip has 12 cores and was chosen for its low power consumption and hefty processing power. Image recognition could be used in all sorts of apps to identify objects and people. Continue reading Google Pursues Bringing Machine Learning to Mobile Devices

Football coaches are already using artificial intelligence to help them on the sidelines. Students at North Carolina State University built an AI that could predict whether an NFL team would pass or run the ball. The AI called the plays correctly 91.6 percent of the time during an NFL game. The technology may not yet be ready for a real-time game situation, but with more data and research into machine learning and game theory, AI could become a big league contender. Continue reading Data Analytics: AI Could Assist Coaches in Professional Sports

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has published a study group report on the high dynamic range imaging ecosystem, now available for download on the SMPTE site. The report provides a detailed summary regarding “the implementation of HDR in professional media workflows and addresses key questions that will arise for industry members as they move forward in taking advantage of HDR technology.” In addition, it provides recommendations for standardization efforts. According to SMPTE, the report reflects the efforts of 170 international experts. Continue reading SMPTE HDR Report Offers Recommendations for Standards

For those who want a more social TV viewing experience, Showgoers is a new and interesting solution. The Chrome extension enables far-flung friends to watch the same movie or TV show featured on Netflix and play, pause or seek specific segments, simultaneously. Not surprisingly, the idea was born out of a long-distance relationship; the developer created Showgoers to create another experience that the couple could share. Although Showgoers can’t get around geographical blocking, it is simple to set up — and free. Continue reading Showgoers: Chrome Plugin Powers Shared Viewing for Netflix

Facebook has been developing a tool that would enable public figures to broadcast live to their fans. The social network launched “Live” this week, as a feature in its Mentions app exclusively available to celebrities with verified Pages. The launch kicked off with streams from stars such as Luke Bryan, The Rock and Serena Williams. It is not known whether the feature will be made available to ordinary users to compete with the likes of Periscope and Meerkat, but the company plans to gather feedback from celebs and viewers to “evolve the product.” Continue reading Facebook Rolls Out Live Streaming Video Feature for Celebs

Speaking at ETC’s Media Management in the Cloud conference at NAB, Lincoln Wallen, CTO of DreamWorks Animation, described how “Cloud 2.0” gives digital graphics and animation artists extraordinary new creative freedom and power. Wallen described how this vision has already been realized in DreamWorks’ CGI movie development using in-house animation software Apollo (publicly unveiled in May 2014). The Cloud 2.0 wave Wallen champions focuses on using the cloud as an agile supercomputing resource with on-demand “Compute as a Service” scalability. Continue reading DreamWorks CTO: “Cloud 2.0” Will Transform, Empower Artists

Twitter unveiled its new Curator media tool this week designed to make more tweets available to a larger audience outside of its own site — and ideally build upon its base of 288 million users that log in at least once a month. The tool will help media organizations locate tweets and Vine videos that can be posted with stories and broadcasts. Publishers regularly create and share compelling content related to live events and breaking news. Twitter aims to leverage these publishers to help address its slowing user growth rate. Continue reading Curator Tool Will Help Media Publishers Share Tweets and Vines

Improbable Worlds has created a distributed computing platform that allows developers to build large-scale, 3D, real-time models, and now the London-based startup has $20 million to bring this tech to gaming, urban planning, biology, and numerous other industries. The modeling system is unique because it draws upon the computing power of its users and redistributes the computing, while enabling collaboration. Prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is the investor. Continue reading Improbable Worlds Raises $20 Million for Simulation Platform

Google is testing a new TV ad-tracking system in Kansas City. The technology is reportedly similar to that used for measuring online ad views. The system could represent the Holy Grail for today’s advertising since it potentially provides targeting on a scale never before made possible. While the gross ratings point based on Nielsen viewers remains the industry standard, relatively few households have Nielsen boxes. However, every Google Fiber subscriber has a Google Fiber box, which could be used to target consumers. Continue reading Google Fiber Tracking System Has Potential for Targeted Ads