Ai Dreams Forum

Chatbots => Avatar Talk => Topic started by: Freddy on October 15, 2014, 05:25:58 pm

Title: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on October 15, 2014, 05:25:58 pm
Kickstarter campaign with Haptek founder Chris Shaw. Thanks to Rob at Zabaware for the heads up.

Quote
WHAT'S THIS KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN FOR?

We are introducing Spontaneous Animation, a new software that makes virtual characters much more personal and intimate than ever before. 

How is Spontaneous Animation different?

Standard interactive characters simulate a reaction to you, by selecting from prefabricated animations stored in computer memory.  These prefab responses are based on a programmer's best guess as to what you might do.

Spontaneous Animation characters actually react, by watching you, listening to you, and then instantaneously creating a unique reaction, based on your unique behavior.
 
Spontaneous Animation replaces inflexible, prefabricated response facsimiles, with infinitely variable, real responses to you alone. 

This increased intimacy adds drama and compassion to interactive characters.  What's more -- by eliminating the need to store and recall complex animation files -- Spontaneous Animation is much faster and more efficient than traditional interactive animation.

Read more... (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1438878391/spontaneous-animation)

Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: squarebear on October 15, 2014, 10:35:49 pm
Very cool but I would be happy with just a Haptek player that worked in browsers running on Windows 7 PCs instead of me having to dual boot into XP to do any demos of Mitsuku and avatars.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: claude2 on October 15, 2014, 11:14:06 pm
Spontaneous entertainment, that means, interactive. Gain speed! Why Haptek, does not create chatbot with an interactive system for computers and tablets and similar to the iPad. This could boost the celebrity Haptek, on sales of multimedia products, and also be a sponsor for other therapeutic technology. :)
I like a lot Haptek. I think the Gentleman of the video, his name is Jack, I've had correspondence with him when I was on my ultrahal.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Art on October 16, 2014, 12:04:47 am
Actually, it would be really cool, as I've mentioned in the past, if iClone's characters would be or could be compatible with UltraHal. That would certainly raise the bar on the Fun-Meter!

@Steve, - Oddly, there have been several people who have reported that their People Putty worked fine with Windows 7 on their machines, at least for a while, or until they performed a system upgrade of some sort. Hmmm...
My paid version of Haptek's People Putty indicated that my version was not paid nor registered, when in fact, it had been for many years. At least until I migrated from XP to Windows 7, then it hit the fan! (so to speak).

Ogre is in the toilet of wasted (pun intended) ideas. Who knows...maybe this rebirth of a tried and true product might be the uplift we're looking for.

I'd really prefer Hal to have a brain upgrade instead of the facial upgrade but, hey, I'll take what's offered.

Thanks for playing!
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: claude2 on October 16, 2014, 12:15:23 am
Yes, that is correct Art. Today I received an update, I have a small problem driver, poorly installed, but I am trying to have it remedied. I read that Haptek indeed works on windows 7! It's a joy !!
Certainly, an adaptation iClone, and smart interface, could create a major center, the virtual technology and artificial intelligence interractive inovation. O0
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on October 16, 2014, 12:22:44 am
I have a version of the player that works on 7. I got it from the Amanda Interactive site, you can find it here :

http://www.amandainteractive.com/downloads (http://www.amandainteractive.com/downloads)

Quote
Haptek Player x64 Upgrade: HapAXPlayer.zip
This Hap AX Player program has been converted and upgraded to be x64 multicore
compatible. It will automatically run within the first core (CPU 0) of a multicore system
so that Haptek characters will work right with no problems or issues on a x64 system.
If you have a x64 system then just manually replace the old file with the enclosed new
one at this default location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Haptek\player\HapAXPlayer.exe
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: claude2 on October 16, 2014, 12:47:27 am
Freddy, yes, it works with this version Player (x64) Mainly, I'm going back on an old road !! My first passion Haptek! Thank you Freddy! O0 ;)
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Art on October 16, 2014, 10:29:00 am
Yes, but this is ONLY for the Player which allows already created Haptek characters to be viewed within the UltraHal GUI window.

This "fix" does nothing for Haptek's People Putty program, which is used to actually create new characters. As is, the program indicated that one's version is not paid and that it will not run until it is paid. Even if you have your serial number, the program does not accept it properly.

Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: claude2 on October 16, 2014, 11:59:19 am
I kept installing, Haptek guide, and there! it there's the player, but !! from the evolution of computers is a long way, but Haptek, remained a little behind it all. :-\ :)

In contrast, a iClone interface iclone, and always first on the evolution of computers.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: GT40 on October 16, 2014, 02:36:27 pm

Yesterday my Internet was out of order (my provider), while this interesting discussion started. Today I wondered why Haptek couldn't work on Windows 8.1 (I know most of you think W8 never existed, lol). Programs working on W7 can work on W8.

I installed the basic Haptek Player (made for W98!) in the SD card I have (so, not on C:/). I put the only Haptek file I found (from Nige, with a song) in the same repertory. It seems to work. Just an experiment. To be continued... :)

Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Carl2 on October 16, 2014, 09:04:08 pm
  I visited the site after reading what Robert had written about it, earlier Mr Shaw had a video about continued development of the Haptek characters, I don't recall any new developments.   The spontaneous animations sounds interesting but it seems first we have to take a step backwards and work with a facial of a baby and after so many years and more money we can work with fullbody characters again.  I'd much rather have him upgrade the existing characters by having a higher poly count in the wire mesh, collision detection, and more work on the joints, then proceed with the spontaneous animations.
Carl2
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: squarebear on October 16, 2014, 10:28:21 pm
Thanks for the link but I can get the Haptek standalone player to work great. My problem is I can see no way to share characters on the web like we used to be able to do in XP.

When prompted for the haptek download link, the player attempts to load in the browser and then goes back to the "You currently do not have a version of The Haptek Player which supports this page. Would you like to download one?"
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Art on October 17, 2014, 12:48:31 am
I've also received that notice!

Without PEOPLE PUTTY, there will be No New Characters created while using Windows 7. (can't speak for 8 and don't care at this moment).

The Player itself is not an issue on a stand alone computer. Visiting another web site and trying to view a Haptek character results in the error Steve mentioned. Yes it is a real pain!

I'd rather not have to use two or more computers in order to create a new character but if time permits, it might make for a winter weekend venture. We'll see.

In the mean time, we need better resolution characters that run on Win 7 / 8 - 64 bit machines and without the herky jerky movements.
Just sayin....
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: GT40 on October 17, 2014, 09:38:31 am
As Squarebear wrote, same problem for me. That's why I said it works in W8, exactly like in W7. We can see a local haptar, but not a character from a link through Internet. End of a long and fun story... :(
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on October 17, 2014, 02:58:05 pm
Ahhh sorry chaps, I had forgot to check if it worked in a browser. That's a shame  :-X
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: squarebear on October 17, 2014, 09:27:43 pm
And without any way to share our creations, I see no point to the product apart from personal amusement. Hopefully, this new venture will prove better.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: chris shaw on October 19, 2014, 10:00:00 pm
Thank you, Robert Medeksza for introducing me to this forum. 

I'm deeply flattered that so many of you smart, creative people were so impressed with my Haptek characters that you actually put up with that POS Haptek player.  I hate that stinking thing!  The cost and difficulty of trying to maintain it buried Haptek way back in 2004. 

That's why I am so excited about moving all those original Haptek functionalities, and MUCH MORE to run inside a browser, with NO PLAYER AT ALL.

For those of you who are not familiar with in-browser 3D graphics, check out these demos by Verold. 
      http://brained.io (http://brained.io)  http://ios8.verold.com (http://ios8.verold.com)
Verold is a platform-compatibility expert, who can take over the vital job of assuring reliable delivery to people on PC's, macs, and mobile devices too! 

In about a week, we will be announcing a very exciting alliance.  Haptek, and a number of other companies you are familiar with, will combine efforts to deliver the integrated character platform we have all dreamt about for years.   (e.g. Your character will be able to see and recognize users -- imagine what you could do with that!)

In the Mean time, I could really use your support.  A pledge to this kickstarter campaign demonstrates your interest in seeing this concept come to life, which really helps me build momentum for this new platform alliance.
 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1438878391/spontaneous-animation (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1438878391/spontaneous-animation)
 
Please stay tuned for further announcements.  Beautiful new characters, amazing tools and vastly improved deliverability are all coming soon.  I can't wait to see what you all will create with these new opportunities. 
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Art on October 20, 2014, 01:08:45 am
Chris,

Thanks for that explanation and links as well as hopefully joining in here from time to time.
Some of us are way old time Haptek People Putty users back before there was electricity...OK...not quite THAT far back.
It just seems that time is passing quicker now. I AM excited to hear the news about Haptek and their foray into new territories.
To be honest, I've had so much fun with the old that I can't wait to see what the new can offer us as far as the "Fun factor".

Count me in as a supporter (I've just contributed) and am looking forward to your new "baby".

NOW...in answer to some of our previous posts in this section, What about posting your video(s) in YouTube, in an effort to help get the word out??!

There are TONS of self promotion videos out there. Please don't just sit back and let an opportunity slip by. I think the user community of character based AI programs like chatbots, desktop and digital assistants, etc., would love to see this idea / concept promoted and would certainly help lend credibility to the endeavor as a whole! Do give it some thought if you haven't already done so. - Thank you and all the best!

- Art -
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on October 21, 2014, 03:36:49 pm
Hi Chris, thanks for popping in and welcome to our site :)

Haptek was a very enjoyable thing for many of us here, even with the player. I spent a long time playing with it. Really it was ahead of it's time, the only sad thing was it was never updated to work on new systems and was limited by the IE platform. But with this new endeavour I am glad to see new life being injected into the project.

I like the demos, especially the bot ones - WebGL is the future for this kind of thing.

Good luck with the campaign and please do keep us updated :)
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on October 21, 2014, 03:58:32 pm
I took the liberty of making a banner and adding it to the 'Friends' section on the right hand side of the forum >>>>>

This will appear on virtually all our pages.

I also added a banner at our sister site The Chatterbot Collection (http://www.chatterbotcollection.com).

If anyone else wants the banner for their sites I have attached it below.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on November 03, 2014, 02:40:00 pm
Five days to go.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on November 04, 2014, 02:58:50 pm
Just went to have a look and it appears the campaign is discontinued.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: teddyted on January 14, 2015, 05:11:17 pm
Greetings everyone, I am working on a Haptek player project and need a way to play the output on all browsers.  I found this forum and wanted to know if the project Chris mentioned is still on. As Freddy mentioned, it looks like the campaign is discontinued.  Thank you!
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on January 14, 2015, 05:29:42 pm
Hello there Ted and welcome :)

Haptek would only ever work in IE and it has not been updated in years.

We've heard nothing more from Chris, sorry.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: squarebear on January 14, 2015, 11:08:06 pm
It would also work on Firefox but hasn't worked on either after Windows XP. Shame really, as this was easily the best avatar system available.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: NEIL on January 27, 2015, 08:42:56 pm
Only a week to go till new announcements????
WOW!!!!!!  What a long week?
Chris Shaw & Haptek again missing in action.
Or should i say all talk no action???
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: DemonRaven on January 28, 2015, 01:30:22 pm
He did not get the funding he needed and as far as i know when i checked out the site you don't pay anything unless the funding completed. I did try emailing him but never received a answer back. It is a shame as the new program looked very promising.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Art on January 29, 2015, 01:50:21 am
I thought I heard something to the effect that Chris was still going to be working on developing it anyhow...He might try to promote it at sometime in the near future.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on January 31, 2015, 06:41:29 pm
The thing is, a lot of people are passionate about Haptek. It's still a great piece of work. I think that's what makes it maddening sometimes, the lost potential. I do hope they get going with something new. I hope it uses WebGL too, that would be great. But these things take time and money.

Also if they could make tools that idiots like me can understand then that would be a bonus  >:D
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on January 31, 2015, 06:42:14 pm
It would also work on Firefox but hasn't worked on either after Windows XP. Shame really, as this was easily the best avatar system available.

Learn something new everyday - I never knew it worked on Firefox.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: DemonRaven on February 02, 2015, 06:20:35 am
The haptek player will not show on any of the new browsers but it will show up in the actual computer environment on windows 8.1.  Yes people putty made it really easy to create human animations with out having to study and use the more complex 3d graphic software out there.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on April 08, 2015, 10:16:18 pm
Compared to something like FaceGen it's also the most value for money.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Art on April 09, 2015, 01:37:13 am
Actually iClone offers a ton of possibilities however it is not configured to play nicely with UltraHal. It would be nice as they have some great face, head and full body characters as we can attest through many of Claude's postings.
Title: Re: Spontaneous Animation - The new Haptek
Post by: Freddy on April 09, 2015, 12:54:51 pm
They did have that web version of CrazyTalk but I think they dropped it. It was some time ago when I used it.

http://www.reallusion.com/crazytalk/crazytalk.aspx (http://www.reallusion.com/crazytalk/crazytalk.aspx)