Deep Learning Is Making Video Game Characters Move Like Real People

Computer scientists from the University of Edinburgh and Adobe Research have come up with a novel solution to the problem of making the movements of video game characters look natural. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh in the U.K. and Adobe Research used deep learning neural networks to help digital characters in video games move more realistically. The team trained a neural network on a database of motions by a live performer on a soundstage which they recorded and digitized. The network can adapt what it learned from the database to most scenarios or settings so characters move in natural-looking ways. The network is filling the gaps between a digital character's various poses and motions, intelligently and seamlessly stitching together these elements into a whole.