Deepfake videos and face-changing apps make computer-generated models seem like nothing these days, but Nvidia just upped its game. This week, the company stunned viewers around the world by revealing that its 2021 GPU Technology Conference (GTC), which took place back in April, featured a section that was entirely made with its CG Omniverse platform. In other words, millions watched without noticing that a part of the presentation was totally fake.
Like many other major companies, Nvidia’s 2021 GTC took place online. But the keynote address delivered by CEO Jensen Huang included a giant hidden Easter egg, which was that one of the scenes was completely different from the rest. Everything in that segment was fully rendered by Nvidia’s CG technology, from the digital Huang to the kitchen behind him to the leather jacket on his back.
Nvidia explained how they did this in a blog post on Wednesday. A video from the GPU maker also documented the behind-the-scenes process to create Huang’s digital double, which involved rebuilding his home kitchen in a 3D environment, scanning his face and body, and even hiring a motion-capture actor.
Even though the scene in question was quite brief— lasting only fourteen seconds— it still succeeded in creating a buzz on social media, partly because many were under the false impression that the entire hour-and-48-minute keynote was computer-generated when the news first broke. Nvidia has since updated its blog post to clarify this misconstruction, adding that “you can’t have a keynote without a flesh and blood person at the center.”
Regardless of the length of the video, it’s still exciting to see with one’s own eyes what Nvidia’s multi-GPU simulation platform is capable of. The platform, named Omniverse after the buzzword Metaverse, uses simulations, material assets, and lighting like other 3D programs to create a virtual space where artists and engineers can collaborate in real-time, and accelerates them with Nvidia RTX graphics cards.
Popular sci-fi like Ready Player One and Snow Crash bring the idea of a shared virtual 3D world to life, but platforms like Nvidia’s Omniverse provide a more realistic insight into how future workplaces may look like and how they can help people collaborate with each other remotely during the global pandemic.
“If we do this right, we’ll be working in Omniverse 20 years from now,” said Rev Lebaredian, vice president of Omniverse engineering and simulation at Nvidia.
Learn more about the technology behind the scenes by watching the video below, or click here to watch the full GTC 2021 keynote.
Can you tell the difference between CG animation and the real thing? Comment to let us know!