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Video (1min 57sec): How to make sure animated clones get lost in the crowd. Researchers are trying to make virtual crowds more realistic by analyzing common methods currently used by animators.

In a real crowd you wouldn't see the same person twice, but in an animated world where crowds are filled with characters that aren't completely unique, a clone can make you do a 'double-taken.'

At Trinity College in Dublin, researchers are looking at how to make virtual crowds more realistic. And the recent study, they gauged the effectiveness of two tricks used by animators. They first creates more than one character based on the same physical model. Clones may look the same or an animator may choose to change their clothing. The second method uses a few different walking styles which are applied to many virtual beings.

Unsurprisingly, clones with the same body type were much easier to detect than those that move the same way. When motion clones moved out of sync they were even harder to spot. But examining current technology isn't all this team has been up to. "We've created a virtual Dublin city."