SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Feb 8th, 2012 - Image Metrics Inc., a leading developer of 3D facial animation technology, today announced the availability of its Live Driver Software Development Kit (SDK). Live Driver is a groundbreaking real-time facial analysis and animation technology that adds the capability for 3D characters to mirror a user's movements, expressions and emotions in real-time, utilizing nothing more than a standard webcam.

The Live Driver technology has been launched as an SDK that allows developers to easily incorporate it into a wide range of applications. By capturing facial movements through any consumer-grade video camera in real-time, Live Driver translates a person's expressions and emotions onto the faces of characters in any virtual setting, from online games to video chat to user-created videos. The result is an unprecedented level of natural animation, immersion and personalization in social media, gaming and online communication platforms.  

"Live Driver takes advantage of the desire for online users to express themselves in creative and compelling ways with the cameras that are on their computers, phones and tablets, and now lets them use that camera for personal animation. We are excited to see how developers will create new ways for users to interact and express themselves via their products." said Robert Gehorsam, CEO at Image Metrics. "Live Driver is a vital addition to our growing line-up of personalization technologies, combining powerful features with remarkable ease-of-use for the consumer."

Live Driver was developed in collaboration with industry-leading professional animators and world-renowned computer vision experts on the Image Metrics team.  The software tracks in real-time key features of the face on every frame, and instantly analyzes the most nuanced facial expressions, which allows the character to replicate a user's precise facial movement and, even more importantly, to convey their actual emotions. Live Driver is a lightweight client application with minimal hardware requirements.

For more information about the Live Driver SDK and to request an evaluation, or purchase a license, please visit www.image-metrics.com/Live-Driver/Overview.

About Image Metrics Inc.

Founded in 2000, Image Metrics revolutionizes digital media, social media and online communications by empowering users to create highly expressive representations of themselves across a wide range of platforms and applications.  Image Metrics offers its facial analysis and animation technology to developers through powerful SDKs that include PortableYou™ and Live Driver™.  Image Metrics is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with its R&D center located in Manchester, UK. For more information, please visit www.Image-Metrics.com .

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