Custom Model Foundry Produces AI Models That Run in Cloud and PC
NVIDIA today announced NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) for Games, a custom AI model foundry service that transforms games by bringing intelligence to non-playable characters (NPCs) through AI-powered natural language interactions.
Developers of middleware, tools, and games can use ACE for Games to build and deploy customized speech, conversation, and animation AI models in their software and games.
“Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the interactivity players can have with game characters and dramatically increase immersion in games,” said John Spitzer, vice president of developer and performance technology at NVIDIA.
“Building on our expertise in AI and decades of experience working with game developers, NVIDIA is spearheading the use of generative AI in games.”
Pioneering Generative AI in Games
Building on NVIDIA Omniverse, ACE for Games delivers optimized AI foundation models for speech, conversation, and character animation, including:
Developers can integrate the entire NVIDIA ACE for Games solution or use only the components they need.
‘Kairos’ Offers a Peek at the Future of Games
NVIDIA collaborated with Convai, an NVIDIA Inception startup, to showcase how developers will soon be able to use NVIDIA ACE for Games to build NPCs. Convai, which is focused on developing cutting-edge conversational AI for virtual game worlds, integrated ACE modules into its end-to-end real-time avatar platform.
In a demo, called Kairos, players interact with Jin, the purveyor of a ramen shop. Although he is an NPC, Jin replies to natural language queries realistically and consistently with the narrative backstory – all with the help of generative AI. Watch the demo, which is rendered in Unreal Engine 5 using the latest ray-tracing features and NVIDIA DLSS.
“With NVIDIA ACE for Games, Convai’s tools can achieve the latency and quality needed to make AI non-playable characters available to nearly every developer in a cost-efficient way,” said Purnendu Mukherjee, founder, and CEO at Convai.
Deploy NVIDIA ACE for Gaming Models Locally or in the Cloud
The neural networks enabling NVIDIA ACE for Games are optimized for different capabilities, with various size, performance, and quality trade-offs. The ACE for Games foundry service will help developers fine-tune models for their games, then deploy via NVIDIA DGX Cloud, GeForce RTX PCs, or on-premises for real-time inferencing.
The models are optimized for latency – a critical requirement for immersive, responsive interactions in games.
Generative AI to Transform the Gaming Experience
Game developers and startups are already using NVIDIA generative AI technologies for their workflows.
Learn more about building on NVIDIA Omniverse using NVIDIA ACE and other technology advancements at COMPUTEX.