Nvidia’s latest AI trick is a tool to keep your camera paying attention, whether or not you’re actually paying attention to what’s going on. It’s called Eye Contact and is now available within the Nvidia Broadcast app. It’s also creepy – mostly because it’s actually pretty good.
Having the AI āāmimic the human retina is a nifty trick, making it much easier to pretend you’re paying attention in a boring meeting or read a script to the camera.
I’ve been experimenting with it to see how well the AI āācan mimic human eyeballs, and I have to say it does a surprisingly good job. Given the average webcam quality, it’s hard to distinguish between an AI-created gaze and a real gaze in a small window. The AI-generated eyeballs are barely noticeable even when zoomed in full-screen, but in rare cases they can look a little cartoony.
However, it’s these moments that sometimes you can’t keep your eyes centered on the screen and as a result look a little sloppy. One moment I was staring straight into the camera, another moment I was looking in the completely opposite direction. It’s left behind, to say the least.
I dare say that when used reasonably, the effect is actually of almost deceptive quality. Especially in small windows like Google Meet. For recorded media, probably less so, but it depends on what you use it for. When you’re recording something that moves around a lot and the effects flicker, it can be more of a hindrance than a help, but that can depend on your webcam angle, lighting, quality, etc. Also, the closer you are to the webcam, the better the effect.
There is only one thing to consider. How long are you going to be on the phone and want it to look like you’re staring into your webcam the entire time? Staring into your co-worker’s eyes on an hour-long video call makes them feel like they don’t want to be with you maybe.
If you want to try it yourself, the Eye Contact tool works with any RTX graphics card and is free to use. This is in his Nvidia Broadcast app version 1.4, which was just released today.Please check with Nvidia website (opens in new tab).
Other features of the app include autoframe, which dynamically tracks around the scene. Video denoiser to help clear noisy images. A virtual background comparable to the course of the post-corona world. Noise and Echo Removal, formerly known as RTX Voice (opens in new tab).
