Digital Human Lights the Main Torch of the Hangzhou Asian Games! The First in Asian Games History! How Did It Happen?

On September 23, 2023, at the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, the "digital man" ignited the fire for the first time, which aroused the admiration and curiosity of the majority of netizens.

Before the main torch was lit, more than 100 million "digital torchbearers" around the world formed a giant digital human. Each bright spot on the digital human represented an online user. This huge digital human crossed the Qiantang River and ran all the way to the main venue to light the main torch together with the torchbearers on site.

Image source: Sina Weibo

This is the first "digital ignition" in the history of the Asian Games, and it is also a perfect combination of naked-eye 3D technology, augmented reality and artificial intelligence technology. Each participating digital torchbearer will receive a unique blockchain certificate.

In addition to the huge "digital man" that lit the Asian Games, I believe you have already discovered that many digital people seem to have emerged on the Internet in recent years.

They have entered almost every corner of our lives. When we watch videos, listen to music, or read the news, you may see the "works" of digital people.

For example, Tsinghua University’s virtual student “Hua Zhibing”, knowledge blogger “Dr. Yu Yu”, fashion blogger “AYAYI”, CCTV.com’s “Xiao C”, and AI singer “Ai Ling” are all digital people.

Virtual human Hua Zhibing, virtual human Dr. Yu, virtual human AYAYI, virtual human Xiao C, picture source: Sina Weibo

In addition, many companies have also "hired" a lot of digital human employees. When you communicate with online customer service or handle business in an online business hall, the person you are dealing with may be a digital human.

The question is: What is the difference between these digital people and the virtual characters in movies and cartoons?

In fact, there is no strict definition of digital human. According to the definition in the 2020 Virtual Digital Human White Paper of the China Artificial Intelligence Industry Development Alliance, virtual digital human needs to meet three points[1]:

1. Have a human appearance, which can be 2D or 3D;

2. Possessing human behavior, such as language, facial expressions, movements, etc.;

3. Possess human thoughts, such as being able to recognize the external environment and interact with others.

According to this standard, virtual characters in some cartoons and movies cannot be counted as digital humans, because although they have human appearance and behavior, they cannot recognize the external environment or interact with people.

Although digital people have begun to appear in our lives in large numbers in recent years, in fact, digital people did not appear in recent years. They have a history of 40 to 50 years. In addition, they have been serving us for decades. It can even be said that they have saved countless lives.

How can digital people save lives?

In fact, as early as the 1960s, Boeing began to try to use digital human models to study the ergonomic design of aircraft cockpits.

At that time, the digital human designed by Boeing was called "Boeing Man". It had a human appearance and could imitate common human movements. It could also simulate human movements in scenes set by people and interact with the environment. Based on these movements, people could optimize the ergonomics of the cockpit design, making it easier and safer for pilots to operate the aircraft [2].

In addition to aircraft, digital humans also play an important role in the automotive industry. In automobile safety testing, the cost of dummies used for collisions is very high. In addition, the cost of doing real collision experiments is also very high. Therefore, many car parks have introduced virtual collision tests.

For example, Toyota Motor Corporation has developed a human modeling software called THUMS, which can create digital humans with appearance, behavior and reactions close to real humans, and can also use digital humans to simulate passengers of different genders, ages and body shapes.

Testing with such digital humans can collect more comprehensive information, which is crucial to protecting human life and safety[3].

A collision simulation of a slim (left) and obese (right) female passenger. Source: References

In addition to the transportation field, digital humans are also silently protecting people's health in the medical field.

Digital humans in the medical field are mainly “virtual patients.” Virtual patients can not only simulate human patients, but also simulate human emotions and some physiological characteristics. This allows medical students to practice and test on “virtual patients” and improve their medical skills and knowledge in this way [4].

In addition, by leveraging the ability of digital humans to interact with humans, doctors can also learn how to communicate with patients and how to better grasp medical history information during communication, which is also very important for improving doctors' diagnostic capabilities [5].

Today's Digital Man

With the development of AI technology, in addition to digital humans in the security and medical industries being able to play a greater role and better protect human life and safety, increasingly powerful digital humans are also beginning to shine in other fields.

For example, voice generation technology combined with better expression and action generation technology can enable digital people to broadcast various types of news and messages more expressively and infectiously.

In some live broadcast rooms, digital anchors broadcast live 24 hours a day. Not only are they more tireless than real anchors, but they can also respond to users' messages like real anchors.

Image source: Screenshot of Liu Yexi from Douyin

Some tourist attractions or museums will also use digital tour guides. Listening to digital tour guides' explanations will be more appealing and make people feel more friendly than using cold voice guides.

In addition, in the field of customer service, a digital customer service with a human image will make people feel warmer and easier to communicate and solve problems.

At the Asian Games, a giant digital human that imitates human appearance and can run and light fire like a human is also part of the army of digital humans.

The coexistence of humans and virtual digital humans sounds like a scene that only appears in science fiction movies, but from "Boeing people" to "virtual patients" and then to today's digital anchors, digital customer service, digital tellers, and digital torchbearers, digital humans have become an indispensable key role in human society.

We have entered an era where we live with digital people. Are you ready?

References

[1] China Artificial Intelligence Industry Development Alliance, “2020 Virtual Digital Human White Paper”

[2]Dooley M(1982) Anthropometric Modeling Programs –A Survey,IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications,IEEE Computer Society, vol 2(9),pp.17-25

[3] Article from SAE Automotive Engineering magazine website

[4]Huang, Grace (May 2007). "Virtual Patient Simulation at USand Canadian Medical Schools". Educational Strategies. 82 (5):446–51.

[5] Stevens, Amy; Hernandez, Jonathan; Johnsen, Kyle; Dickerson, Robert; Raij, Andrew; Harrison, Cyrus; DiPietro, Meredith; Allen, Bryan; Ferdig, Richard (June 2006). "The use of virtual patients to teach medical students history taking and communication skills". American Journal of Surgery. 191 (6): 806–811.

Cover photo: Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Huhu

Author: Science Scraps Popular Science Creation Team

Review丨Yu Yang, Head of Tencent Xuanwu Lab