Metahero Vs The Competition
Metahero vs The Competition
Piotr Harwas - CINO and creator of the Metahero Metascanner clears up some of the misconceptions around different scanning capabilities, and the reasons why we scan the way we scan.
At Metahero, we get a lot of questions about mobile scanning, artificial intelligence and other avatar-creation software, and how such things compare to, or threaten our platform.
A Decade of R&D
As part of the WOLF Group, and now as Metahero's CINO, I have worked for 10 years in the research & development of scanning, photogrammetry, avatar and 3D object creation technologies. I have much of that time exploring the options available on the market to create the best available quality for the widest possible potential application.
Choosing the right scan method
There are a number of leading technologies available on the market for transferring objects to the digital world, and every year the accuracy and results of scanning continue to improve. Therefore, in designing the hardware backend and scanning equipment, we had to make the right choice of technology, taking into account several key factors and Metahero's main development direction.
One of these factors is the type of object. In the case of a full human silhouette, it is necessary to include all the details in order for the design to fully exist and function in the e-commerce, gaming, healthcare or hero library sector. Using technologies such as laser or structured light would be cumbersome and lead to errors on the resulting model, since the model (human) can change its position in space, such as moving its hand or turning its head. The scanning process would also have to be time-consuming and uncomfortable for the person being scanned. Therefore, with the scalability of the Metahero project in B2B and B2C markets in mind, and due to the differentiation of each individual, we needed to create a universal, plug-and-play device that enables fast and seamless scanning.
Another important factor is the required accuracy and detail of the model. When scanning for a project, very high detail quality is crucial. Thanks to photogrammetry, with the right number of cameras, properly calibrated and positioned in space, we can obtain very precise 3D models, reproducing every detail. The entire process takes just 1/100th of a second. Textures, which are of great importance in games, movies and animations, are also an extremely important element. Precise color reproduction and texture fidelity are crucial, especially if the resulting models are to be used in projects that require realistic texture reproduction.
All these components gave us a specific direction and this choice of scanning technology was the only one for what we want to achieve.
Upgrading our scanner
Since its launch in Dubai, the scanner has undergone many changes. Each change and modification brought us closer to creating the perfect device giving amazing results while maintaining a mobile form and futuristic look. Thus we have been working on an exciting additional feature to our scan capture process that we will be updating you on in the lead up to launch, so look out for that!
Competition
For a long time we have been receiving information, comments or materials saying that there are cheaper solutions that give similar results. The developing technology of phones and their optics. Having a phone with Lidar we can move to the virtual world in a few minutes. Anyone who has used it knows that to use a scan taken with a phone has its limitations and requires a long time to process and improve the scan. So one must either have the knowledge to do so or msi outsource to a third party. While the result will not be enough for quality professional use anyway. Nowadays applications in gaming or animation require 16-32K resolution boards, which automatically excludes the phone's capabilities. The elimination of shadows, or the use of polarization in photogrammetry are just a few factors that make us the ideal choice for today.
The potential for phone scanning
That said, the technology hidden in today's phones has potential and together with the project's R&D team we are considering it, but only to update the silhouette and appearance of the scan having already established their base scan using our technology. Such a solution will give the user the ability to update his silhouette from anywhere, which is quite an important thing in e-commerce. We also take into account cooperation with existing solutions which are already available in the comfort of many people's homes, giving them a moment of relaxation.
The premise and philosophy we follow in building the project is simple - Heroes Make It Real.
Being YOU in the digital world
Out of curiosity myself, I recently sat down to play Cyberpunk 2077 from CD PROJEKT RED where we had a hand in providing the technology (having scanned CD PROJEKT RED staff into the game as NPC’s). And whilst the character configurator is impressive, despite spending quite a long time, I couldn't get the look of a hero that is similar to me. Also recently debuted the new NBA app which, based on a few photos, can create a relatively low quality equivalent avatar. One thing is for sure, it is not at a high level, nor does it look good. What if our app gave you a direct connection and likeness to you as you really are. What if by logging in you are simply Being Yourself.
Our Avatar management center - “Hero Manager” is the only application in the world where you will be able to truly be yourself in the virtual world. In the E-commerce sector, try on clothes, order and even personalize them. Gaming will give us the opportunity to enter the game and experience a new dimension of entertainment. Hero Library will give you the opportunity to appear in various film productions, games or commercials. I hope this helps you understand the reasons behind our choice of technology. We are aiming for the highest quality out-of-the-box solutions, that give our users the widest range of utilities and possibilities on the market. We look forward to opening our doors to the public for them to experience this technology first hand. See you there!