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Foreword by Ray Kurzweil, author, The Age of Spiritual Machines "Virtual humans" may seem like something out of science fiction, but they are already here. Companies use them as website hosts, individuals use them as personal assistants, and people interact with them in computer games, educational applications, and many other arenas. The possibilities are limitless, but the most amazing thing is that anyone can create a "V-human" from scratch. Virtual Humans gives not just start-to-finish instructions for designing a charming synthetic person, but also a CD-ROM containing the tools and techniques to make it real. Readers will learn how to: * create their own authentic and engaging personalities * apply VH technology to business and individual projects * add synthetic voices and realistic faces to virtual humans * use personality psychology and humor in character design * design advanced emotion expression engines This book-and-CD package is the first of its kind and a landmark on a par with the first build-your-own-Web-site products. Readers will be among the first to create ultra-realistic, versatile V-human personalities, and will start well ahead of what is soon to be a tidal wave of worldwide interest. About the Author:Peter Plantec (Aspen, CO) is the creator of Sylvie, the first commercially available virtual human interface, and cofounder of Virtual Personalities, Inc. A psychologist, animator, and software designer, he heads both OrdinaryMagic.com and V-people.com. He is contributing editor and columnist at AVVideo/Multimedia Producer Magazine, and is the author of Caligari trueSpace 2 Bible, a number one best-seller in its genre. |
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