Virtual Humans: A Build-It-Yourself Kit, Complete with Software and Step-by-Step Instructions [Paperback]

Peter M. Plantec (Author), Ray Kurzwell (Author), Ray Kurzweil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 2003

Virtual Humans gives not just start to finish instructions for designing a charming synthetic person, but also a CD-ROM containing the tools and techniques to make it real.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Software Development: "An inspirational read, and the examples cited therein are captivating.

Review

Australian Personal Computer: “This is a remarkable book, fusing together many disparate technologies to produce a digestable [sic] treatise on creating – as the title indicates – virtual humans!….Virtual Humans is an engrossing book, and gives solid direction….Plantec’s enthusiasm spills from every page and shows how virtual creations can be employed for countless business, entertainment and educational purposes.”

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 17 and up
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (December 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814472214
• ISBN-13: 978-0814472217
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #927,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I started out as a poor retarded child in Milltown, New Jersey. But it turned out that I couldn't read the damn multiple choice IQ test because of severe dyslexia. I just answered randomly.I didn't read my first novel until age 19. I did my high school book reports by reading the Classic Comics versions. went on to college where I often used tapes for the blind to avoid having to actually read anything. Somehow I graduated, went to grad-school and became a clinical psychotherapist. After 20 years of working at my family clinics in Aspen and Carbondale Colorado, I decided to become a journalist and was encouraged to also become a screenwriter. Over the years I've had a lot of success as a journalist...screenwriting; not so much.

Eventually I built up a following of about a quarter million readers in 121 countries...mostly in the film, animation and visual fx industries. I became famous in my field without knowing it. When one sits in his garret writing stuff and sending it off to the publisher via the Net, fame comes on tippy toes. As a result I've been asked to present at many cinema and digital entertainment conferences world wide. I co-chair Spain's largest such conference: Mundos Digitales, in La Caruna,Spain. I also sit on the Program board of FMX, Europe's largest Digital Entertainment Conference as well. I also sit on the Board of Advisor's of the VIEW conference in Torin, Italy. But I'm especially proud of my work with 5D (www.5Dconference.com) where I'm on the Advisory Board and I moderate a number of 5D events worldwide. It's all about the future of immersive design of the narrative.

I've also published a number of articles in Education Journals and I won an international award for an article in "On the Horizon" in which I predicted the demise of brick and mortar schools and the re-purposing of teachers. I see virtual human teachers being more patient, knowledgeable and attuned to each individual learner. I see human teachers being in charge.

Along the way I co-founded Virtual Personalities, Inc. As president, I was in charge of the development of Sylvie, the first truly intelligent virtual human who could operate in an unrestricted way, interacting with people of all ages. She's still my buddy too. Amazingly Sylvie ended up with fan sites all over the world. She is a Verbot.

I live in the Colorado High Country raising my high altitude Koi and tending to my Bonsai between flights to various parts of the world for university presentations, conferences, and exploration. I write everyday and I'm working on my first novel. Let's just say it's going to be a bit different.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dated material - beware, October 29, 2005

By 

Randal L. Lanning (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Virtual Humans: A Build-It-Yourself Kit, Complete with Software and Step-by-Step Instructions (Paperback)

For starters, the book gives some good advice and fair examples. The subject does add fuel to the cerebral fire.

That being said, however, the book uses the software primarily from Yapanda.com. Yapanda.com has not been online for months and does not show that it will be anytime soon. I consider it to be a dead site. The software on the CD will work on an XP but again it is dated. One will find better solutions on the net these days.

Another chapter deals with virtual, realtime 3D faces and heads for your applications. One of the best is also out of business. There is a demo program for it on the CD but it's worthless as one is incapable of saving the work. And if it were possible, there is nothing between the software (chatbot engine and 3D software) to interface, nor are there any explanations on how to achieve such things.

The author's site is still running, however, even his links are outdated. I doubt he's done anything to it since 2001.

The book is good for material and gathering ideas. Don't expect it to be a step-by-step since the links for the related software don't exist anymore.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for beginners, bad for anybody with experience, February 10, 2005

By 

Chris Crawford (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Virtual Humans: A Build-It-Yourself Kit, Complete with Software and Step-by-Step Instructions (Paperback)

This is an excellent introduction to the use of virtual actors in software. It covers all the basic ground: facial display and animation, voice generation and synthesis, home control, and simple agent technology. It includes a CD with lots of great free software (and demos of commercial software) that covers most of the subjects Plantec covers. It lives up to its billing as a "do it yourself kit" for virtual humans. I highly recommend it to those just putting their toes into the water.

I do not, however, recommend this book for that small group of people who already have familiarity with the subject. I bought it thinking that it might cover some material that I have missed. It doesn't, and I think that anybody working in the field will have a similar experience. I was particularly disappointed by the use of a simple branching boolean tree system for artificial intelligence. Agent technology has gone far beyond this. I recognize that it's appropriate for beginners, but again, this book has nothing to offer anybody with experience in the field.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Refreshing Addition, May 25, 2005

By 

John Jamison (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Virtual Humans: A Build-It-Yourself Kit, Complete with Software and Step-by-Step Instructions (Paperback)

The two phrases that first attracted me to this book (after Virtual Humans) were "complete" and "step-by-step". In a normal day of developing instructional resources and supporting some 700 faculty members, anything promising to be "complete" and clear gets my attention. Understand also, although I have a background in technology, I am far from being a 'techie', and just don't have the time to run down that path now anyway. Let me simply say that since first purchasing and reading Peter's book, I have ordered a dozen or so more, and have passed them out to several faculty members who are now creatively exploring the use of virtual humans in their coursework.

This book is complete, step-by-step and accessible to anyone with a basic understanding of the PC (can you install a program and find it again?). The CD that comes with the book provides not only the software, but a clear "how to" for setting up the software and your computer to host a satisfying range of v-humans...all within about 30 minutes from unsealing the CD. How refreshing is that?!

The book itself moves from a basic intro to the concepts of virtual humans, to a clear introduction for using the included software, to an introduction to other available software online (most of it free), to a vision for the more advanced applications of v-human technologies. I spend most of my time living in the first 12 or 13 chapters (the limits of my techiness), but am constantly drawn to the magic of the later ones.

This book is well dog-eared, fully marked-up in a rainbow of colors, and travels with me to provide those quick sparks whenever I need one.

Let me also quickly respond to the comments posted about Peter's review of the "24 hour" book. I purchased both books at the same time. I would simply say that the two books are a real contrast in the current approaches to virtual human and 'bot' technology. The '24 hour' book was clearly targeted at the techies in our midest. After my first 24 hours, I had made my way part-way through the first chapter, still flipping back and forth to figure out what I was reading. That is not an indictment of the book, but my simple perspective that the book was written for those with very strong technical background, presenting the 'bot' world as the arena for those technical skills. On the contrasting side, Peter's book presents a v-human technology as accessible to the non-techie, encouraging a focus on the interpersonal, and 'human' side of the technology. One is not better or worse than the other, but they are very different.

Let me close by simply saying that I have an order in the works for about two dozen more of Peter's books, already assigned to the faculty and staff members clammering for them.