Omniverse Audio2Face is a revolutionary tool created by NVIDIA, a leader in AI and metaverse technology, aimed at the creation and operation of metaverse applications. Audio2Face converts audio tracks into 3D facial animations in real-time through the use of generative AI.
It offers a wide array of features, including easy setup with pre-loaded character models, customizable post-processing parameters, and retargeting facial animations to any 3D human or human-esque face. Moreover, it supports numerous programming languages, enabling developers to customize their 3D workflows, and the seamless collaboration and integration make it easy to use and deploy in various applications.
TLDR
Omniverse Audio2Face, an NVIDIA product, is an impressive tool designed for the creation and operation of metaverse applications. It uses real-time generative AI to convert audio tracks into 3D facial animations with countless customization options and support for multiple programming languages. The tool offers easy setup, pre-loaded character models, and can retarget facial animations to any 3D human or human-esque face.
The collaboration and integration of Audio2Face make it easy to use and deploy in various applications, which is perfect for developers and designers looking to create high-quality avatars and interactive applications.
Company Overview
Omniverse Audio2Face is a unique tool created by NVIDIA, which specializes in AI and metaverse technology, transforming the world's largest industries and profoundly impacting society. The company pioneered accelerated computing to tackle challenges no one else can solve, and NVIDIA RTX™ taps into AI and ray tracing to deliver a whole new level of realism in graphics.
Omniverse Audio2Face is a tool built to create and operate metaverse applications, providing a world where virtual collaboration is effortless, and industrial giants can experience the efficiencies of digital twins. Researchers across disciplines, from astrophysics and genomics to climate science and new energy exploration, are using NVIDIA technology to solve the next grand challenge.
The company engineers the most advanced chips, systems, and software for the AI factories of the future, and they deliver AI breakthroughs in a variety of applications to the world's largest enterprises. Today, more than 35,000 companies are building on the NVIDIA AI platform, including recommender systems, cybersecurity, logistics optimization planning, medical imaging, speech AI, video conferencing, customer service, and video analytics.
NVIDIA-powered robots are everywhere, from manufacturing and agriculture to security and home-based healthcare. The NVIDIA Isaac platform accelerates and enhances robotics, powering companies such as the Robotic Systems Lab, ETH Zurich & Swiss-Mile, Festo, and Obelix.
Furthermore, the NVIDIA DRIVE® platform covers everything from the car to the data center, including life-like simulated environments where vehicles can learn, adapt, and evolve. Automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover, Lucid Air and NIO, Amazon's Zoox, and GM's Cruise all tap into the power of DRIVE.
The company is dynamic, innovative, and focused on creating a learning machine that is always ready to take on the next challenge. Their mission is to empower people to transform the world with the tools they create. According to their CEO, Jensen Huang, "we continue to drive advances in AI, HPC, gaming, creative design, autonomous vehicles, and robotics."
Features
Instant Facial Animation with Audio Input
Generative AI-Powered Animation
Omniverse Audio2Face is a reference application that simplifies the animation of a 3D character to match any voice-over track using generative AI. This means that users can effortlessly create expressive facial animation directly from an audio source using the app. Run the results live or bake them out, it’s up to you.
Real-Time Performance
Audio2Face operates in real-time, providing instant feedback on facial animation as the audio is fed into the program. This real-time animation can be used for live interactions, making it perfect for real-time digital assistants or as a traditional facial animation authoring tool.
Easy Setup with Pre-Loaded Character Model
Audio2Face comes preloaded with a 3D character model called “Digital Mark,” allowing users to start animating almost instantly. Getting started with the application is as simple as selecting an audio source and uploading it onto the app. The AI does the rest.
Customization and Control
Customizable Post-Processing Parameters
Audio2Face provides users with the option to edit various post-processing parameters to edit the performance of a character. Users can manipulate the face, eyes, mouth, tongue, and head motion to match their selected emotional range and customized level of intensity to achieve their desired animation output.
Retargeting to Any 3D Human or Human-Esque Face
After creating facial animation with Audio2Face, users can easily retarget the animation to any 3D human or human-esque face. Swapping characters is seamless and can be done with just a few clicks. This feature makes it easier to do things like batch output multiple animation files from multiple audio sources.
Batch Output Multiple Animation Files to Match User Preferences
Audio2Face provides users with the ability to run multiple instances of Audio2Face with as many characters in a scene as they like — all animated from the same or different audio tracks. Users can dial up or down the level of facial expression on each face and batch output multiple animation files to match their desired output preferences.
Built for Developers
Supports Numerous Programming Languages
Audio2Face lets users work with almost any language easily, and with its continuous updates, users are always guaranteed support for additional languages.
Blendshape Conversion and Blendweight Export Options
The latest update to Omniverse Audio2Face now enables blendshape conversion and also blendweight export options, giving developers more control over creating realistic or stylized characters.
Enables Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) for Easy Avatar Development
Audio2Face helps ease avatar development through the Omniverse Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), delivering all the AI building blocks necessary to create, customize and deploy interactive avatars. This is perfect for developers who want to create high-quality avatars and applications that can interact with users.
Seamless Collaboration and Integration
Central Hub for 3D Creative Applications
Omniverse serves as a central hub that connects and enhances 3D creative applications, unifying assets, libraries, and tools for an uninterrupted workflow. The application lets artists achieve new heights of creative freedom.
Created for Developers
Omniverse is built with developers in mind, thus giving them the ability to customize their 3D workflows at every layer to easily build new Omniverse Connectors, extensions, applications, and microservices. This makes it easier for developers and designers to work together seamlessly.
Easy to Use and Deploy
Omniverse offers a free trial and annual license, making it possible for anyone to explore and fully experience its features. Plus, the application comes with a step-by-step guide for installing and launching Audio2Face, making it easy to use and deploy.
FAQ
What is Audio2Face?
Audio2Face is a tool developed by Omniverse that converts audio tracks into facial animations using AI technology. It is composed of several pipeline modules that contribute to the conversion process, and each instance of Audio2Face has its own Core panel containing the settings for that particular instance.
What are the core panels of Audio2Face?
The Core panel is composed of several widgets, including the Audio Player and Recorder, Streaming Audio Player, Attached Prims, Emotion, Auto-Emotion, Pre-Processing, Post-Processing, and Default Expression Override. These widgets serve as the primary tools for converting audio into facial animations.
What audio formats does Audio2Face support?
Audio2Face only supports .wav audio files for conversion into facial animations. It is advisable to normalize the EQ levels of audio files when batch processing multiple files for consistent results.
What is the purpose of the Emotion widget?
The Emotion widget allows users to control the facial expressions of their character by selecting the emotion they wish to project using the dropdown menu. It also has an Emotion Strength slider that determines the degree of impact the emotion has on the character, with 0.0 meaning no impact, and 1.0 meaning maximum impact.
What is Auto-Emotion and how does it work?
Auto-Emotion is a widget that automatically parses emotions from an audio performance and applies it to the character's facial animations. It uses AI technology called Audio2Emotion to generate emotion keyframes according to the settings in the Emotion, and Auto-Emotion widgets. Users can adjust settings like Emotion Detection Range, Keyframe Interval, and Emotion Strength to achieve the desired impact on the character's facial expressions.
Alternatives
If you're looking for an AI tool that provides similar features to Omniverse Audio2face, here are some alternatives to consider:
Reallusion
Reallusion is a 3D animation and virtual production software that offers motion capture and facial animation tools. Like Omniverse Audio2Face, Reallusion also uses AI technology to animate human expressions and movements based on audio input. Reallusion's AI-powered 3D characters can be integrated with live performances and virtual reality experiences, making it a versatile tool for various industries.
Adobe
Adobe offers a range of software solutions for digital media creation and editing. Adobe Sensei, the company's AI and machine learning technology, powers many of their products to automate tasks and enhance user experience. Adobe Character Animator is a specific product that features facial expression and lip-syncing animation, which can be easily controlled through a webcam.
Similar to Omniverse Audio2Face, Adobe Character Animator can bring static images to life, making it a suitable tool for animators and content creators.
Autodesk
Autodesk is a software company that provides tools for industries such as architecture, engineering, and entertainment. Autodesk's AI-powered tool for character animation is called 'MotionBuilder,' which specializes in motion capture and animation for film, games, and TV productions. MotionBuilder's real-time playback and editing capabilities make it a useful tool for motion capture projects, while its integration with other Autodesk software increases production efficiency.
AXYZ Design
AXYZ design is a software company that focuses on creating realistic 3D humans and crowds for the architecture, gaming, and animation industries. AXYZ design's 'Anima' tool provides AI-generated crowd simulations and realistic human animations, making it a powerful tool for architectural visualizations and virtual productions. Additionally, Anima's open architecture enables users to import custom 3D characters, allowing for greater artistic freedom.
NVIDIA
NVIDIA is a leading company in graphics processing units (GPUs) and artificial intelligence technology. NVIDIA's 'NDDS' (NVIDIA Drive Datasets Synthesizer) provides high-quality synthetic datasets for training autonomous vehicles and robotics. This tool uses AI to generate photo-realistic 3D environments, humans, and objects, providing datasets to test various scenarios and automating the process of data collection.
While NDDS is not specifically designed for character animation, it demonstrates NVIDIA's capabilities in AI-generated 3D graphics.
