Virtual star Eve breaks net barriers

Eve Solal hopes to find fame as an actress or singer

By CNN.com writer Lucy Wilkins

LONDON, England -- The owners of a French technology company claim to have created the most advanced virtual reality star to date.

Eve Solal was launched six weeks ago by Attitude Studios as the first "character" to showcase their technology, and the company claims she is so convincing that some viewers have thought she is a real person.

The company's bosses have already launched a Web site for Eve, and are seeking to promote her as a virtual personality further afield on the Internet, as well as on TV and in films.

They claim Eve easily outclasses other virtual reality stars, such as Tomb Raider computer game adventurer Lara Croft and UK Internet newsreader Ananova.

Her life-like movements, including talking and moving among real people in a brief promotional film, have "confused" people, says Remi Brun of Attitude Studios.

"Some people think her body is real and it's only her face that gives her away," he told CNN.com.

"People reach a point where they get confused."

Eve was created using technology called "motion capture," where small markers are placed on an actress, who is then recorded with 12 cameras that only recognise the dots. The dots are then rendered in 3D on computer, creating a skeleton for the character.

Eve's creators thinks she is more life-like than Lara Croft

A "skin" is then created over the skeleton in a complex process to keep the character looking life-like, said Brun. While bones remain solid, skin is displaced with each movement. The hair and clothes are added over the skin.

Getting the facial expressions right was also a complex process to ensure the mouth was synchronised with words.

It took about three months to create the technology, and another two months to complete Eve, but with future characters the time would be shorter.

"It was a very experimental process," Brun said.

He expects the process to be refined even further to give the face better quality.

To complement her almost-human appearance, Eve has been given a life by creators. She was born May 3, 1978, is a waitress in a Paris bar, has an apartment, a mobile phone, friends, and is intent on finding a job in the entertainment industry.

To help her achieve that, her real agent, Jacques Olivier Broner of Rouge agency, says he has already received offers from leading record companies for Eve to record a song.

"We are working like a management company for Eve. It is just the beginning but things are going very quickly."

Ananova was the first virtual newsreader

He foresees her career branching into television, film, singing, video games and other interactive medium.

"It will be possible to talk to her on the web, and to give her directions, such as 'turn right.'"

He says the difference between Eve and other virtual characters is her resemblance to real people.

"Her moves resemble very closely a human's. The technology is far from what has been done before."

The company who launched the web's first virtual newsreader seems unperturbed by the emergence of Eve.

Ananova made her debut on the Internet on April 19, 2000 after creators in Britain spent a year perfecting her.

"We're delighted to see people continuing to innovate, but don't see any comparison between Ananova and Eve," a company spokeswoman said.

"Eve has been designed using actors, to be used in films in the future, while Ananova is a purely computer-generated [newscaster].

"Unlike Eve and a whole host of other virtual characters, Ananova was not designed just to entertain."

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Eve Solal
Ananova
Eidos Interactive
Eve Solal
Ananova
Eidos Interactive

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