Simulon makes virtual characters react to real performers
Reality-Aware Rendering reads an iPhone recording and regenerates the scene so digital objects respond to actions, speech and surroundings.
Simulon has launched Reality-Aware Rendering, a new iPhone workflow that makes computer-generated characters respond to people acting around them in a real environment. A creator places a digital “neural asset” in the scene, records a performance, and lets the app render the result.
The recording becomes a new performance #
Founder Divesh Naidoo says Simulon reads what the person does and says, along with the surrounding location, after recording stops. It then regenerates the take so the virtual asset reacts to those cues. The final clip is therefore a newly rendered performance rather than a direct copy of the camera footage with a static object pasted on top.
That distinction could make mixed-reality filmmaking much more accessible. Creators can block out interactions with a phone and use their own movement and dialogue as direction, without manually animating every response or writing a long prompt. Simulon says the launch short was made in a single afternoon.
Reality-Aware Rendering is available now in the Simulon app for iPhone. The company says Android support is coming next. Simulon’s broader product can already turn text, photos and sketches into digital assets, place them in augmented reality and convert scenes into video.
The release points toward AI video tools that understand a performance as input, not just a written description.
