The hottest investment in 2022 is in virtual humans, what is the market value behind them?

the story

At the recent completion of Jiangsu Satellite TV's 2021 New Year's concert, virtual Teresa Teng and singer Zhou Shen sang together on the same stage, acknowledging the continued collaboration, not "Teng Lijun", Bilibili, Dragon TV and many others. The fake character appeared at the New Years Eve party, and digital host "Xiao Yang" also appeared to the audience on Hunan Satellite TV's new show on New Years Eve.

ByteDance also completed its first virtual space in 2022 after virtual beauty artist "Liu Yexi" gained 8 million followers in a short time with 6 mini-films and became a status blogger by Douyin. Finances: the unbeliever Li Weike,The 2021 metaverse craze hasn't subsided yet, and the virtual human path seems to have reached a new end..

Another thing to keep in mind is that the popularity of virtual humans has been fascinated by the concept of "master of the pinch of the face". Professionally, they provide players with a face design for their avatars, and these designers call it the "Game Face Puppet Masters".

But now, with the advent of the concept of metaverse, the avatars created by face pinch artists have many application scenarios and come into the lives of many users.

According to the "Virtual Digital Human Depth Industry Report", the total market size of virtual digital human beings in our country will reach 270 billion yuan by 2030., which means that many false characters with different shapes, different functions and different situations will be created in the future. Compared to actors at risk of "rollover", fake characters may be more controllable than the media, but why are fake characters so attractive and the hottest investment at the start of the year? For this reason, we are discussing the history of false symbols.

What is a virtual person?

In general, virtual humans create virtual images that look like real people on a computer through tools such as graphics rendering, motion capture, and deep learning, and have performance, movement, and behavior. humans.

Broadly speaking, virtual and digital humans transmit anthropomorphic images simulated by modern computers. However, when virtual humans have more realities and can interact with them, digital humans exist in the digital binary world.In a nutshell, virtual humans create digital images of the human imagination through the use of technology..

The fake character "Teng Lijun" mentioned at the beginning of our article appeared at Jay Chou's concert in 2013, and the famous Hatsune Miku was unveiled as a fake idol in 2007. Thus, the development of virtual humans dates back to the 1980s, and so far the whole process has been divided into four stages.

First level (1980-1999)

Japanese otaku culture emerged in the 1980s, and with the emergence of many anime fans, people began to introduce virtual work to the real world.. Due to the limitations of the design tools at the time, the use of descriptive language was extremely limited, and the graphics were also very straightforward.

At the time of this villain's hatching, Lin Mingmei, the heroine of the 1982 Japanese anime "Macro Fortress", was a singer who took over the anime and created the producer-packed song album. # 1 virtual singer in the world

Then, in 1984, Briton George Stone created the virtual human Max Headroom, which not only looks like a human face and expression, but is also involved in film and industry, but created by the special effects of the handmade makeup with real artists. Check.

Second level (2000-2014)

At the start of the 21st century, CG technology, motion capture technology, text-to-speech technology, etc. With the addition of this technology, virtual people will become more human like faces, movements, sounds and expressions, making images more beautiful and richer.

like thatFake characters are starting to enter the film and television entertainment industryFor example, Gollum, the character from "Lord of the Rings" in 2001, "Hatsune Miku", a Japanese girl who created Girls in 2007, and singer "Luo Tianyi" premiered from Shanghai Henian in 2012. However, due From the inexperienced development of CG and motion capture devices, the entire human virtual market has not yet been opened, and the presentation of the application is approximate.

Phase 3 (2015-2019)

The speed of the digitization process and the rise of intellectual property and big data have further enhanced the intelligence-driven virtual human experience. Not only are there many achievements at the technological level, but the form in which virtual humans can present themselves has many potentials.

Kizuna Ai launched their first YouTube anchor site in 2016 and debuted as the first Vtuber (virtual YouTube, that is, a virtual anchor).It also created the concept and culture of virtual anchors..

In 2018, Xinhua and Sogu jointly developed “AI Synthetic Anchor” which can broadcast information in front of the screen in virtual reality. In 2019, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Baidu jointly launched the digital enterprise “Xiaofu”. With advancements in the use of technology, in addition to providing viewers with a greater sense of entertainment in film and television entertainment, virtual humans can now play a vital role in providing social services to businesses.

Phase 4 (2020-Tam yes no)

Driven by the entertainment industry, capital has increased in the virtual human realm market, and the rise of short video and multimedia models has made the industrial value of virtual people.Virtual Idol Group, KOL Virtual Idol, Featured Avatar Virtual Idol, Virtual Brand SpokespersonAnd there are many design improvements that bring significant business benefits as well.

By 2021, the concept of the metaverse is going to explode, and virtual humans are an integral part of the metaverse, and much of the internet giant has entered the virtual human after using it as a hotspot. For example, Brazilian and Spanish girl Miquela Sousa, Tmall Super Brand Digital Manager AYAYI and daughter of National Style Ling Ling.

The “virtual human age” is fast approaching the metaverse, and it is possible that in the future virtual humans will integrate multiple scenes and fields.

What is the cost of bad behavior?

We are well aware of the interaction between real people, and virtual enthusiasts will bring new experiences.

Virtual humans break down time constraints and allow users to have different perspectives. For example, the above quote from Jiangsu Satellite TV's New Year's Eve concert used the latest technology to create the virtual human of classical singer Teresa Teng, performing on the same stage as popular song Zhou Shen. Remembering the past makes me feel different like the queen of sweet new songs.

As another example,Virtual people can also be a great way for us to find deceased loved ones, chat, and provide mental health care.. In the Korean MBC 2020 documentary "Like You," the mother met her deceased daughter in virtual reality and made her long-held wish come true.

Not only that, but virtual humans can break the chains of space and allow multiple people to interact together. Virtual concerts are very useful. In April 2021, international musician Travis Scott will perform in collaboration with Epic Games. At the same time as the famous sports company 'Night of the Fortress' organized a big virtual concert, the event, which attracted 27.7 million people, not only something new, but also allows the audience to build relationships from a distance. , compared with offline concerts, the communication effect can be improved a hundred times.

Virtual idols are less likely to "explode" than real stars.

Recently, many famous stars suddenly turned black and wasted fans of time, and has used the mind. Company with their involvement and resources also completed the involvement of falling, but huge losses, they can only accept themselves.

In such a situation, suddenly virtual idols began to appear, and their attractive, real and rich images were appreciated by many young people., a virtual girl group created by A-SOUL, a ByteDance affiliate, slowly gained popularity in Port B. Among them, Ji A-ran (ID: Ji A-ran, what are you doing today) was also the first 100 in 2021. This week, the UP Master of Station B.

The virtual idol is the human design, but the actual player after all roles behind all responsibilities, and the mirror of the virtue often relate. Don't worry that there will be a real star. Grinding occurs, and everyone can expect as this role.

Some safety places don't have to worry about falling and virtual character has begun to inspire the virtue of the investors while marketing and businesses. Capital still comes out of virtual idols. At the same time, virtual idols have evolved from a niche to a main theme, creating a little sensation..

Virtual anchor makes desserts in live ads

The number of Chinese online social media users has exceeded 600 million, and the majority of users are young people, 80% of whom are under 30 years old. Watching the media has become a pastime for young people, and transportation has become a popular activity and activity for many.

However, due to their introverted behavior, fear of having real people on the scene, and concern for privacy, many Anchors often do not appear to real people. In reality, all you have to do is hear their words and voices, slow down and interrupt the conversation. Live broadcast effect.

However, recently some avatar software, such as Facerig, has become popular, and some anchors have started using this software to also capture real world movements and present them as avatars on their ad pages. Have more fun and chat.

The use of avatars greatly improves the performance of broadcast media, as many presenters can sufficiently educate their audience about their soul without worrying about appearance, privacy, and other issues..

It always attracts more and more anchors using avatars. Since then, Bijian's B-station modification software, such as Huya and other radio broadcast sites, has also started to provide image capabilities, and virtual anchors have become the norm in the media.

The breakup of the metaverse brings a lot of ideas to the virtual client.

By 2021, the concept of metaverse has become widespread, creating a virtual world that can interact with reality is essential for future development, and more businesses and investments know that virtual people are part of the world. virtual.Thus, the Metaverse Explosion provides more practical scenarios and places to reflect on the future of virtual humans..

For example, we all need an avatar to represent us in the metaverse, and different images may represent us differently. Just like there are beauty companies and beauty companies in real life, we also have to change ourselves, and there can be human stylists in the metaverse, and so on.

Virtual people can interact with certain celebrities.Nike, for example, acquired virtual sneaker company PTFKT in 2021. While a virtual person can wear virtual shoes, by comparison, many virtual devices can be used by a virtual person.

Of course, there is no need for there to be a real person behind virtual people, and when combined with intelligence, virtual people can transform into NPCs (not player characters) for this to happen. what it looks like. Special backgrounds like Chinese martial arts background combined with expert virtual NPCs will give you a better experience when you meet metaverse.

The metaverse offers multiple statuses to virtual people, and virtual people can support the metaverse, both in addition to each other, with the rise of the metaverse, the virtual business and user environment will be more prosperous.

What companies are currently sending virtual workers?

Also known as “avatars” and “metahumans,” virtual humans play an important role in the metaverse.

Looking at the space of virtual humans by large companies over the past year, it's not hard to see that the space of virtual humans is not a so-called "encounter memory. Overdue. in a thousand years "but" Dafeng is rising. "The wind reaches 90,000 in one day" Inside ",After years of coming together and uniting in the realm of virtual humans, in 2021 he has finally made a name for himself in the history of realism..

Of course, these incredible achievements cannot be separated from the relentless efforts of the pioneers, so let's list the famous companies that used virtual symbols and see the ice in the world of fake characters.

The biggest news from the 2021 metaverse is Facebook's “all in” metaverse. According to the metaverse (new name Facebook) that has completely transformed the company into a metaverse company, virtual people play an important role. The avatar that can be seen in Horizon World, which will be released at the end of the 2021 meta, is just a cartoon avatar with an upper body.

Sister tabIn fact, the Pittsburgh branch of Facebook Reality Labs, a Meta organization, has been working on human technology since 2015, and then developed a virtual project called “Codec Avatar”., using "3D capture technology and AI systems" to create lifelike avatars, provides the basis for quick and easy design of future personal avatars. Adding the release of codec avatar technology to the future Metaverse represents a big leap in immersion.

While we were shocked at Facebook's incredible play, Chuangyi Technology caused a network-wide uproar with Liu Yexi with his old cyberpunk character.

AYAYI from Burnmai Technology then joined Ali as Digital Manager for Tmall Super Brand Day. As Nishixiaoshi, lmma, and the beloved axioms emerged one by one, users developed virtual human interest.

In fact, since the start of the 2018 Game Developers Conference (GDC), Epic Unreal Engine, in which Tencent has invested, has unveiled a prototype of Metahuman's siren. andFebruary 2021 Unreal Engine announces a new development tool "Metahuman Creator" that allows anyone to create virtual humans in minutes..

From Siren to "Metahuman Creator" in just three years, virtual humans have gone from experimental ideas to "products" that can be mass produced, and now more and more virtual people can be born all over the world. very useful.

And before coming out of the massive shocks to virtual machines, NVIDIA developed Omniverse Avatar, a tech giant for creating interactive AI avatars, “The future is here, but we don't know it yet. State-of-the-art NVIDIA platform suite, including speech, vision, natural language understanding, recommendations and simulation simulation, giving the public access to the metaverse of the global response.

But even though Facebook, Epic Games, or Nvidia are like tech companies, are virtual humans the only tech companies of the future? But in fact it is not.

Microsoft's XiaoIce has developed a new version of its intelligence platform, XiaoIce. This XiaoIce captivated many fans with the words "out of hundreds of millions of people, I am only you".. The open platform Sogou AI creates two dimensions of stars. Taosman is based on Huang Zitao and the artificial AI anchor "Xin Xiaowei" shows everyone the potential of idols. Baidu Virtual Host for CCTV, Xiaoling, allows it all. The power of intelligence.

A beautiful and user-friendly virtual anchor for the Winter Olympics, a unique new virtual investment from ByteDance, Li Weike, a virtual student enrolled at Tsinghua Hua Zhibing University, a joint venture of Virtual girl A-SOUL group by Lehua Entertainment and ByteDance, Tianzhou Culture, a registered company, China Online and Aofei Entertainment have also announced their own virtual identity ... The end in sight for virtual characters means access to startups and big companies, and capital has responded.

As of January 2022, there were 13 related investments involving digital virtual people, and 10 related investments and 6 related investments in 2020, such as digital virtual reality, virtual idols, and tech-related entertainment. 2019. Pen.

In general, even in this era when the virtual human market emerged, countless virtual humans were born, and the companies that created them seemed to be slowly changing the world.

What changes will virtual humanity make in the future?

While we can see with the naked eye that virtual humans have become a hot topic in 2022, the importance they show will always be the “green landscape vision” for growth. Real growth and virtual future. Human development, we can see the details of the current change, and we can see a lot of profitable businesses and where to grow, here are our feelings.

As the Z era enters the community, virtual people will be brought into a larger market.

Similar to the above mentioned "face pinching game", the users are young (born 1995-2009) known as "Gen Z", and it is the same as the early Hatsune Miku and Luo Tianyi. base fan.

We can therefore expect:As Gen Z slowly enters the community and becomes the leader of the regime, we will see their “idol of the time” as well as the development of virtual humans.Like, 80/90, still like Jay Chou.

Of course, some may think that virtual idols can replace real stars. In a previous Gen Z report, 68% of Gen Z preferred socializing apps over real people, and 61% of Gen Z were shy. 63% of Gen Zs prefer to be alone without answering their phones. The records indicate what will happen in the future, but it simply does not show up or will not be stopped.

Metaverse accelerates industrial explosion and we will all become "virtual humans"

While the relationship with the Metaverse is not known by the definition of virtual human, it is still based on the Metaverse, and the explosion of the Metaverse in 2021 is believed to turn the virtual human red. So far, the virtual idol, the basis of the Metaverse, seems to be a more reliable medium.

However, if we move the concept of a misconception into a larger realm, the avatar itself, like the Spirit that everyone has, represents the misconception. , but the character's avatar is just a symbol of ourselves.In this perspective, as the Metaverse grows and develops, we all become “virtual people” and assume a new role in the Metaverse..

So the virtual humans of the future are not only part of the radio broadcasting business or celebrity work, but also the embodiment of their entry into the metaverse. .

Through the "Out of Control Player" concept, AI virtual humans can change the current form of network services.

In "Out of Control Player", the main character himself is a virtual character, but the difference is that this virtual character has the properties of AI (artificial intelligence), so he looks like the real person in the life of everyday. If AI reaches a certain level in the future, when this ability is given to virtual humans, it will become “life”.

Perhaps in the future, our network service providers will not only be a good image for customers, but “virtual experts” who may demand, images of themselves, and come. can decide something..

During the "double" period of 2021, a fake AI character called "Aijia (i)" appeared in front of everyone. He acts as a virtual assistant for both conversations and is able to interact with people and answer some questions on both. , these virtual characters could increase further in 2022, after which they will become a new type of network service.

Virtual characters are entering many places and slowly entering public life

Finally, we can see virtual characters entering more and more fields. Whether it is live virtual human broadcasts, virtual idols or virtual human services, with the rapid delivery of capital, the presentation of some virtual characters can also show significant differences. , especially the virtual "Liu Yexi" will know more people and more "Liu Yexi" will be born.

If famous singer Zhou Shen and superstar "Teng Lijun" performed "Little Story" on the same stage as Jiangsu Satellite TV 2021 New Year's concert, to end the year 2021, misconduct, 2022 begins.

Pandora's box of virtual humans has opened. It cannot be closed at the moment. It will strengthen itself and enter into our production and our life..

P.s.

Virtual people are another incredible buzzword in the tech world as early as 2022. We are seeing more and more companies joining or entering the virtual human race, and many other names have partnered up with tech companies. related to virtual humans. These models were developed not only by improving our own brand, but also by moving to inferior users.

Yes, we've seen some people worry that the advent of virtual humans will affect everyone's perception of "humanity", but with the hindsight of science and technology, there are other issues that we are facing. are of interest in addition to innovation and development. The concepts of bionics, that is, the functions and behaviors of mimicking biological systems, are used to develop technological processes. Our planes and ships were designed to be bionic, and we were just bionic humans.

Thus, the emergence of virtual humans can mean that we are creating the future or that we are creating another "myself",It also continues the meaning of the metaverse: the creation of another equal world..

The Virtual Human Being Light has been set for 2022, and it won't go out for a while, but you have to think about where it's going to go and how bad it is going to explode.