Question: Do you know of a solution that uses AI to generate realistic 3D avatars from photos, with options for customization and animation?

If you're looking for a service that can generate realistic 3D avatars from photos with some degree of customization and animation, Ready Player Me is a top pick. The service lets developers create avatars that can be customized from selfies and that works easily with popular game engines like Unity and Unreal. It's got a full Developer Studio for configuration and a big library of branded and IP avatar assets, so it's good for social experiences, virtual meeting platforms and games.

Another strong contender is Avaturn, which uses generative AI to turn 2D selfies into photorealistic 3D avatars with more than 10,000 possible customizations. Avatars can be exported to different 3D environments and are ready for animation with standard humanoid body rigs. Avaturn offers an SDK for developers to build the tool into their apps or metaverses, and it protects privacy by not storing user data and not using avatars for advertising or other purposes beyond the game.

Meshcapade takes a different approach with its patented SMPL (Skinned Multi-Person Linear) model, which is trained on hundreds of thousands of detailed 3D scans. That means you can generate photorealistic digital avatars from relatively simple inputs like text, video or images. The service can generate motion from text and video input and works with any game engine or graphics package, so it's good for e-commerce and metaverse apps.

If you want something a bit more accessible, Krikey offers an online interface to generate AI-powered animated avatar videos in a few minutes. It's got a range of templates and options, including text-to-speech and custom 3D talking avatars. Krikey's tiered pricing and ease of use make it a good option for individuals, teachers and marketers who want to create social media posts, lesson plans and digital invitations.