Suggestions
Chris Etches
founder @ plai
Chris Etches is the founder of pl.ai, a renowned multi-reality studio focused on cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions.
With a background in Computing from the University of Wales, Cardiff, Chris has a solid educational foundation in the field.
Throughout his career, Chris has held several key roles in the tech industry, showcasing his expertise and leadership skills.
Before establishing pl.ai, Chris served as the Chief Future Technology Wizard at FourthWall, where he honed his visionary approach to tech development.
Prior to that, he led as the CEO of Utinni Games, bringing his strategic insights to the gaming realm.
Chris also has a strong background in development, having worked as a Freelance Flash Developer at McCann Erickson, Flash Developer at Agency Republic, and Senior Flash Developer at AKQA.
His journey in the tech world began as a Developer at Kode Digital, where he laid the groundwork for his successful career.
Highlights
Snap Inc. just officially released Lens Studio 5 and it has got lots of fun new #augmentedReality toys available in it, probably the most exciting is the new GenAI Suite. The GenAI Suite wraps a whole bunch of fun ML + #AI tools into one very easy to use package. You can generate 3D models, morphing head meshes, PBR materials and textures, ML Face Effects (like the classic Snap "Crying" / "Sad" lenses) and what Snap are calling "Immersive ML".
I have only started digging into this but have really enjoyed using the "Immersive ML" which takes over the whole camera feed and applies an ML based effect. It seems to be a combination of previously available tools, namely ML based Style Transfer but with the ability to fully train the model based on prompts / images and all done through a super easy to use interface.
As an opening experiment I tried to create a Minecraft-like Voxel rendered view, and I have to admit I am pretty impressed with the end result (check out the video of us all trying it out yesterday!) I now want to dig deeper into this and see how we can start to use elements of this within bigger experiences, the possibilities are seemingly endless and the ease of which these elements can be used to very quickly prototype ideas is an absolute game changer.
I already believed that Lens Studio was one of the easiest ways almost anyone can quickly learn about ML and see results but now with the addition of GenAI Suite, I really don't think there is another platform even close to it. Huge huge shout outs to the Lens Studio team, you have crushed it with this release.
I'll drop the link to my demo lens, Voxelot, in the comments and I would LOVE to see what you can do with it!
exciting times.
