Sherman Oaks company fix8 brings the world of computer generated animation to the webcam with software being pitched as “User-Generated Reality”.
fix8 combines video, animation and instant messaging that allows users to create their own partial or full custom avatars that mimic human movement.
At the heart of fix8 is H.E.A.R.T. (Human Expression Analysis and Rendering Technology), which digitizes human expressions, gestures, and movements via webcam, enabling users to create, interact, and share their creations across the web, TV, and soon mobile phones.
fix8 is easy to use and offers limitless creative options. fix8 users can broadcast their video creations over instant messaging services including MSN, Yahoo and Skype or save and post creations to YouTube, MySpace and FaceBook.
It would be easy to trivialize fix8, yet this sort of technology would have cost millions to implement 10, 15 or even 20 years ago. The ability to turn cheap webcams into a hub of animation creation can and will spur a whole new wave of user generated creativity and content. fix8 is a little application with a wow factor to it, I’d even go as far as calling it pretty cool, even if I couldn’t get my webcam to play with Vista so I could trial it.
For a full demonstration view the video on the fix8 index page. A sample is provided below.