Avid Technology, Inc has now shipped Softimage: Face Robot, described by the firm as "the industry’s first software application dedicated to the creation of believable facial animation for high-end film, post and games productions".
Designed for studios faced with high-quality or high-volume facial animation requirements, Face Robot software is intended to enabling professionals, including game developers, to animate a digital human face with higher quality results and in less time than using traditional methods.
The tool is designed so that artists can generate emotive expressions that replicate natural, organic movement of skin and soft tissue. In addition, the software works with all major 3D applications.
Key features of Face Robot include an integrated facial soft tissue solver, direct manipulation of face controls, iterative performance refinement tools, animation retargeting, SDK and multiple scripting languages point caching with all major 3D applications, .C3D Motion file import, the ability to import and export Maya .mb &.fbx, 3ds Max .max, Point Oven .psc, and .lwo2. The application package also includes reference HD footage of actors performing facial expression and phonemes.
