IP: VIRTUAL HUMANS ON THE NETfrom INNOVATION

[David Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

Matsushita Electric has developed new computer graphics software for
creating animated virtual humans for use in Internet chat rooms.  Currently,
chat room occupants must make do with crudely designed "avatars" to
represent themselves, but Matsushita's new technology imparts more human
characteristics and allows the user to control its life-like movements, even
to make it dance to music, using a "time stamp" that automatically adjusts
the speed of the computer graphics rendering to the tempo of the tune.  The
company has submitted the technology to the VRML Consortium for
consideration as an industry standard for 3-D animation.  (TechWire 30 Jul
97) http://www.techweb.com/wire/