**Alibaba Digital Entertainment Introduces Ultra-Realistic Digital Humans **
On September 26th, in an interview, Zheng Yong (é??å??), the Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba Digital Entertainment (é?¿é??å·´å·´æ?°å?娱ä¹), discussed the incorporation of ultra-realistic digital humans in “Strangers Below,” emphasizing the advanced nature of these AI-generated entities in contrast to traditional virtual productions. The AI technology used created a digital human, Liri, which not only resembled real human actors in rendering but also enhanced the efficiency and quality of the crewâ??s work.
Zheng stressed that this development marked a starting point, holding milestone significance for Alibaba Digital Entertainment and the entire industry. He revealed plans for introducing more digital humans in the future, hinting at the upcoming launch of a male digital human named Xun Yan.
Although digital, Liri displayed human-like qualities in the drama that impressed the audience, showcasing subtle facial expressions and natural body movements that were indistinguishable from those of real humans in full-view shots.
Zheng mentioned that through AI model training, Liri exhibited more natural and harmonious expressions, lip shapes, and skin textures. To achieve more realistic effects, beauty filters were removed from Liri, activating real human skin texture models, making Liri’s expressions, light reflections, and shadows under various angles appear very high quality and natural.
Apart from the realistic presentation, Liri also significantly optimized the cost and efficiency of virtual production in “Strangers Below”. Compared to traditional digital human production, the incorporation of AI technology in modeling and original paintings reduced the dependency on motion capture technology, decreasing production costs by 80% and improving efficiency by 40%.
Zheng Yong emphasized the importance of technology serving content in the film and television industry. He mentioned that “Strangers Below” is adapted from a leading domestic comic IP, where a character, due to his unique abilities, can only communicate with the outside world through brain waves. The digital human representation not only naturally aligns with the original character but also appeases many original comic fans.
Before participating in “Strangers Below,” Liri has already collaborated with numerous IPs like Netflix and various brands such as Intel, MLB, Huawei, and Tmall. Zheng revealed that around Liri, future endeavors would include film and television content, commercial endorsements, offline performances, and other areas. Alibaba Digital Entertainment is also set to launch its second digital idol IP, a male digital human named “Xun Yan.”
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