Metaverse minus the headset: A deeper look at Lenovo’s Project Chronos

As anticipated, there was loads of metaverse-related exercise at CES 2023, with the highest-profile launch being HTC’s new flagship VIVE XR Elite VR/AR headset. There was additionally an intriguing announcement from Lenovo — Project Chronos, a camera-based full physique motion-capture system that means that you can animate an avatar within the metaverse with out the necessity for a headset or different wearable sensors. 

Additionally: Apple’s VR/AR headset is coming. Here’s everything we know so far

Particulars on Undertaking Chronos, which continues to be very a lot a piece in progress, had been restricted, so ZDNET caught up with Sanjeev Menon, vp and common supervisor of the Desktop Enterprise Section at Lenovo, by way of electronic mail after the present to search out out extra. 

Why do you suppose related motion-control applied sciences have failed to realize widespread traction?   

Pure motion-capture applied sciences are both marker-based utilizing body-tracking sensors or markerless-based utilizing cameras. Deployments of the latter have usually been restricted both by advanced setup necessities or poor consumer expertise on account of low accuracy and excessive latency. 

With the speedy evolution of {hardware} know-how and AI, Undertaking Chronos can push the boundaries to allow close to real-time movement seize, permitting new ranges of freedom for individuals to work together and have interaction inside digital areas. To that finish, we additionally did not wish to confine its use to just one state of affairs, however moderately energy a number of use circumstances throughout completely different facets of shoppers’ lives.  

Whether or not used for content material creation, social gaming, stay broadcasting, health exercises or one thing else totally, the Undertaking Chronos idea is purpose-built to empower a brand new degree of freedom for individuals who frequent digital areas or those that need to new applied sciences to have interaction with others. 

What was the impetus for Lenovo to maneuver wearable-free movement management past gaming and into the metaverse with Undertaking Chronos?  

With Undertaking Chronos, we’re creating a brand new gateway to the metaverse for individuals to expertise all sorts of 3D digital areas in a brand new manner. Since it’s a wearable-free expertise that mimics one’s pure actions with lifelike avatars, it offers customers with an unconventional, immersive expertise.  

Whether or not used for digital health, vlogging, gaming, digital walkthrough, etcetera, our idea will allow individuals to seamlessly change between digital worlds, and a wealthy catalog of choices opens the probabilities to sooner consumer adoption. 

Is the shape issue and specification of the Chronos unit finalized, or are additional refinements doubtless?   

We are going to proceed to refine the shape issue and specs primarily based on consumer expertise research. We will even work with content material creators and builders to drive one of the best match to energy the brand new state of affairs experiences. 

Why are there solely DisplayPort and Mini-DisplayPort connections on the present Chronos unit? Why not HDMI, too?   

Because the Undertaking Chronos base unit is designed to be paired with an exterior show, like a large-format monitor or TV, we plan to offer a number of video connectivity choices together with DisplayPort, Mini-DP and HDMI. In the end, we’ll optimize the I/O ports and specs for one of the best consumer expertise primarily based on consumer insights and market realities. 

Additionally, why is a handheld distant management required? Certainly any consumer interplay with the Chronos unit may very well be by way of gestures… 

By incorporating a handheld distant management with the system, we’re giving customers the choice to change between body-driven management and a extra stationary interplay inside digital environments when most well-liked.

We wish Undertaking Chronos to be as versatile as attainable, in order that it may possibly meet a large number of wants and use circumstances. A distant management offers the agility, and sometimes comfort, wanted to accommodate that. As we construct out our content material companion ecosystem, the distant will even give us extra choices to permit for compatibility throughout a larger variety of apps the place full-body motion could solely be acknowledged in facets of the applying.

How good is the monitoring of facial features and eye motion in Undertaking Chronos? Is extra growth wanted right here?  

Undertaking Chronos can monitor facial expressions together with the consumer’s micro facial features, eye motion, and mouth motion. We have achieved this via the adoption of 3D Level Cloud know-how that captures greater than 50+ lively models round an individual’s face. It is a formidable know-how that we’re excited to proceed exploring on this proof-of-concept stage.

Which Undertaking Chronos use circumstances are more likely to have most enchantment? 

We’re not positioning Undertaking Chronos as a gaming resolution at the moment, however see numerous potential in all its supposed use circumstances. Nevertheless, I actually suppose individuals who at the moment use motion-capture fits or different wearable units to manage their digital avatars within the VTuber house will gravitate to this know-how due to the liberty it offers. Undertaking Chronos will allow these performers and broadcasters to specific themselves via physique motion and facial features that hasn’t been attainable with out wearable movement sensors of some type.

Health is one other space that I believe individuals will see its enchantment. The power for an individual in Spain, for instance, to take a yoga class with an teacher in Thailand, obtain their quick suggestions on kind and posture, and be capable of emulate what the teacher is doing as in the event that they’re standing proper in entrance of them is highly effective, particularly when you think about that each people can take pleasure in that have in an exquisite digital atmosphere with none extra AR/VR tools weighing them down.

Additionally: Meetings in the metaverse: Our experience with HTC Vive Sync

We additionally see different eventualities like social chatting or conferences being widespread, the place individuals can leverage Undertaking Chronos to work together not solely with one another ‘in particular person’ within the digital world, however with 3D objects, as effectively. So, two architects or product designers may meet up and current their creation as a 3D hologram that they’ll each see in a extra immersive manner, eradicating the boundaries of time and house.

What’s going to the Undertaking Chronos software program ecosystem appear to be? Will I be capable of take my Lenovo avatar right into a digital world created by Meta, Microsoft, Google, HTC, or whoever? The place is Lenovo on the walled backyard/open system continuum? 

The metaverse is evolving at an unimaginable tempo as extra customers and experiences come on-line day-after-day. By merging gaming, media, stay occasions and social media into a brand new type of interactivity that blends digital and bodily, the metaverse is rewriting the foundations of the buyer economic system.

As such, so too should our know-how evolve to adequately remedy the wants of its customers. To supply our clients one of the best consumer expertise, cross-device and platform collaboration is required within the AR/VR house, simply as it’s in different tech areas, and that is what we’re working towards attaining as we proceed to satisfy with content material creators, builders and repair suppliers to increase on this ecosystem and launch an answer that provides that digital freedom.

The imaginative and prescient we’re creating via Undertaking Chronos is an open 3D ecosystem the place customers can take their full-body avatar to any digital world within the metaverse and be capable of management it by way of pure interplay and physique motion with out the necessity for glasses or mocap wearables. That is why we’re positioning Undertaking Chronos as a gateway to 3D digital worlds, not solely from the {hardware} functionality perspective, but in addition from the open ecosystem perspective.

When will the subsequent iteration of Undertaking Chronos be demonstrated after CES 2023?   

We’re finalizing future demonstrations of Undertaking Chronos and can announce the subsequent iteration as soon as it’s accessible.

When will we get a sign of the ultimate product identify, launch date, and pricing? 

The ecosystem continues to be below growth, and we’ll announce its ultimate identify, launch date, and pricing when it’s additional alongside in its launch preparation.

Lenovo Undertaking Chronos specs

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