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BODS uses Unreal Engine 4 to create photorealistic avatars and help users with online shopping.
BODS – a platform that helps you create your own personalized avatar and try clothes on to see if they fit – got its first round of funding and raised $5.6 million. Co-founded by the former model and computer graphics enthusiast Christine Marzano and Unreal Engine developer and technical artist Alexander Shatalov, BODS brings online shopping to the next level. No more ill-fitting clothing – just create your avatar and try it all on before buying.
"In 2017, I was the first person with fashion model experience to create my own photorealistic avatar,” Christine said. “I started animating it with Unreal Engine, via mocap suits and different methods of facial capture, and I knew it was absolutely the future."
The photorealistic avatars created in Unreal Engine 4 are called bods, they are created by AI based on two uploaded photographs or a few measurements. Your bod will show you how the clothes you've chosen will fit you. It works with the websites of companies that have implemented the tech. The first label to do so was Khaite; here's what shopping there looks like with BODS:
According to the Unreal Engine team, "To make this happen, KHAITE’s garments were first rigged in Unreal Engine and implemented on the BODS front end. BODS then provided an API to KHAITE, and the BODS widget and button were added to the product detail pages at the KHAITE website. The rest of the action takes place on the BODS side, and the visuals are delivered in real time via Pixel Streaming as the customer chooses an item or changes the color, switches sizes, rotates, or styles the BOD."
BODS allows the users to try on anything in the shop and provides a heat map to show how the clothes would fit, making it not only useful but also fun.
"The combination of Unreal Engine rendering and streaming technology means we can deliver a photorealistic virtual fitting experience to the user, on any device, in real time," said Shatalov. "This was not achievable before unless you were working on a device with a powerful graphics card."
Marzano claimed the Khaite tie-in to be very successful, resulting in 6,800 new avatars being created, 11,000 sessions on the website generated, 63% more page visits, and 11% more products purchased via BODS-enhanced sessions.
Marzano thinks the Bods technology can be used in the metaverse and as an NFT.
"If brands are already making the 3D assets for a purpose, then it’s way easier for them to take one of those assets, add some fire to it – turn it into a unicorn for instance – and put it as an NFT."
The company plans to continue evolving the BODS technology, making integration easier improving the system's flexibility, and incorporating multiple body positions and animations.
To find out more, check out the BODS website. Also, don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.