Lenovo’s Challenge Chronos in motion. Picture: Lenovo
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 — Challenge 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 is all the things we all know thus far
Particulars on Challenge Chronos, which continues to be very a lot a piece in progress, had been restricted, so ZDNET caught up with Sanjeev Menon, vp and normal supervisor of the Desktop Enterprise Section at Lenovo, through e-mail after the present to seek out out extra.
Why do you assume comparable motion-control applied sciences have failed to realize widespread traction?
Sanjeev Menon, vp and normal supervisor of the Desktop Enterprise Section at Lenovo Picture: Lenovo
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 complicated setup necessities or poor person expertise on account of low accuracy and excessive latency.
With the speedy evolution of {hardware} expertise and AI, Challenge 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 situation, however slightly energy a number of use circumstances throughout totally different elements of customers’ lives.
Whether or not used for content material creation, social gaming, stay broadcasting, health exercises or one thing else totally, the Challenge Chronos idea is purpose-built to empower a brand new stage of freedom for many who frequent digital areas or those that need to new applied sciences to interact with others.
What was the impetus for Lenovo to maneuver wearable-free movement management past gaming and into the metaverse with Challenge Chronos?
With Challenge Chronos, we’re creating a brand new gateway to the metaverse for individuals to expertise all kinds of 3D digital areas in a brand new approach. Since it’s a wearable-free expertise that mimics one’s pure actions with lifelike avatars, it supplies 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 quicker person adoption.
Is the shape issue and specification of the Chronos unit finalized, or are additional refinements possible?
We are going to proceed to refine the shape issue and specs primarily based on person expertise research. We may even work with content material creators and builders to drive the perfect match to energy the brand new situation experiences.
Why are there solely DisplayPort and Mini-DisplayPort connections on the present Chronos unit? Why not HDMI, too?
Because the Challenge Chronos base unit is designed to be paired with an exterior show, like a large-format monitor or TV, we plan to supply 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 the perfect person expertise primarily based on person insights and market realities.
The Challenge Chronos {hardware} is a specialised Home windows 10 PC powered by a Thirteenth-gen Intel Core processor, with an built-in depth-sensing RGB digicam. Picture: Lenovo
Additionally, why is a handheld distant management required? Certainly any person interplay with the Chronos unit may very well be through gestures…
By incorporating a handheld distant management with the system, we’re giving customers the choice to modify between body-driven management and a extra stationary interplay inside digital environments when most popular.
We wish Challenge Chronos to be as versatile as doable, in order that it may well meet a mess of wants and use circumstances. A distant management supplies the agility, and sometimes comfort, wanted to accommodate that. As we construct out our content material companion ecosystem, the distant may even give us extra choices to permit for compatibility throughout a better variety of apps the place full-body motion could solely be acknowledged in elements of the appliance.
How good is the monitoring of facial features and eye motion in Challenge Chronos? Is extra growth wanted right here?
Challenge Chronos can observe facial expressions together with the person’s micro facial features, eye motion, and mouth motion. We have achieved this via the adoption of 3D Level Cloud expertise that captures greater than 50+ lively models round an individual’s face. It is a powerful expertise that we’re excited to proceed exploring on this proof-of-concept stage.
Which Challenge Chronos use circumstances are prone to have most attraction?
We aren’t positioning Challenge Chronos as a gaming answer presently, however see quite a lot of potential in all its meant use circumstances. Nevertheless, I actually assume individuals who presently use motion-capture fits or different wearable gadgets to regulate their digital avatars within the VTuber house will gravitate to this expertise due to the liberty it supplies. Challenge Chronos will allow these performers and broadcasters to specific themselves via physique motion and facial features that hasn’t been doable with out wearable movement sensors of some kind.
Health is one other space that I feel individuals will see its attraction. The power for an individual in Spain, for instance, to take a yoga class with an teacher in Thailand, obtain their quick suggestions on type and posture, and have the ability to emulate what the trainer 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 a gorgeous digital atmosphere with none further AR/VR tools weighing them down.
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We additionally see different eventualities like social chatting or conferences being standard, the place individuals can leverage Challenge Chronos to work together not solely with one another ‘in individual’ within the digital world, however with 3D objects, as effectively. So, two architects or product designers might meet up and current their creation as a 3D hologram that they’ll each see in a extra immersive approach, eradicating the boundaries of time and house.
What is going to the Challenge Chronos software program ecosystem seem like? Will I have the ability to 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 unbelievable 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 principles of the patron financial system.
As such, so too should our expertise evolve to adequately resolve the wants of its customers. To supply our prospects the perfect person 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 reaching as we proceed to fulfill with content material creators, builders and repair suppliers to develop on this ecosystem and launch an answer that provides that digital freedom.
The imaginative and prescient we’re creating via Challenge Chronos is an open 3D ecosystem the place customers can take their full-body avatar to any digital world within the metaverse and have the ability to management it through pure interplay and physique motion with out the necessity for glasses or mocap wearables. That is why we’re positioning Challenge Chronos as a gateway to 3D digital worlds, not solely from the {hardware} functionality perspective, but additionally from the open ecosystem perspective.
When will the subsequent iteration of Challenge Chronos be demonstrated after CES 2023?
We’re finalizing future demonstrations of Challenge Chronos and can announce the subsequent iteration as soon as it’s out there.
When will we get a sign of the ultimate product identify, launch date, and pricing?
The ecosystem continues to be underneath growth, and we are going to announce its closing identify, launch date, and pricing when it’s additional alongside in its launch preparation.
Lenovo Challenge Chronos specs
| Processor | Thirteenth-generation Intel Core |
| OS | Home windows 10 |
| RAM | as much as 32GB |
| Storage | as much as 512GB |
| Audio | 2 x 6W audio system |
| Digicam | RGB digicam with ToF |
| Dimensions | 284mm x 275mm x 60.6mm |
| Weight | 3.54kg |
| Coloration | Cloud Gray |
| Ports | 2x USB 3.2, 2x RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet, DC jack, 3x DisplayPort, 4x Mini-DP |
| Wi-fi | Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 6E |
| Software program | Chronos (developed by Lenovo) |
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