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3D graphics startup Uraniom has unveiled a new platform that turns raw 3D scans into playable videogame avatars, giving life to the longstanding dream of millions of gamers.

From the press release:

Creating a 3D scan was once a complex and expensive operation. Today, the technology is widely available thanks to solutions such as the Occipital Structure Sensor, which already works with many mobile devices, the Intel RealSense R200 which is about to be found in various flagship tablets, and lastly, in the future for regular smartphones with an app-based scanning approach by Dacuda. Uraniom is partnering with 3D scanning companies to create playable life-like avatars.

Until now, integrating a new video game character required the expertise and manual operation of a 3D specialist,” explains Nicolas Hériveaux, Co-Founder and CTO of Uraniom. “To make matters worse, this process is completely different for each game because there is no industry standard. Our mission was to find out how we can transform a manual, time-consuming and expert-only operation into an automated, fast and easily-accessible process. I believe with our platform we have done just that.”

When the founding team of Uraniom began working on this project almost one year ago, the technical challenges seemed impossible to tackle. After months of prototyping and hundreds of scans tested on various games, the Uraniom team is excited to release their technology to the public.

Through the Uraniom platform, users now have the ability to add a 3D scan, create an avatar and integrate it into one of the compatible games. The new character will work with all of the game’s native animations and moves.

“We know how hard it is to develop a video game,” explains Loïc Ledoux, Co-Founder and CEO of Uraniom. “From the very beginning, our goal was to avoid any interference with the workflow of game studios. Yet we still wanted to keep the avatar installation process as straightforward as possible for the users.”

The overwhelmingly positive feedback and excitement shown by testers of the early prototype have been highly encouraging for the Uraniom team. As it turns out, playing with a photorealistic digital copy of oneself in game allows for an unprecedented level of immersion.

Petr Benýšek, the CTO of Bohemia Interactive, who has been following the project very closely, said “this is a new turning point reached for the relation between the player and the game world”. He added that at Bohemia, “we always support our amazing community and love to see what people are able to create on top of our games. It’s been a pleasure to assist the Uraniom team who has used that capability to bring this exciting new technology to the whole Arma 3 community.”

Uraniom is showcasing the platform at the Paris Games Week (October 28-November 1), and plans to release the public beta on November 13. For more information visit: uraniom.co.