![Mascot Xiao Ling Guang interacts with the host at the opening ceremony of China Internet Conference, Beijing, July 13, 2021 [CGTN]](https://i0.wp.com/usachinatrading.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Mascot-Xiao-Ling-Guang-interacts-with-the-host-at-the-opening-ceremony-of-China-Internet-Conference-Beijing-July-13-2021-CGTN.gif?resize=525%2C295&ssl=1)
The 20th China Internet Conference is underway in Beijing, which features a series of conferences, competitions and exhibitions on internet technology. At the opening ceremony on Tuesday, a tech performance by the event’s mascot “Xiao Ling Guang,” or “Little Spirit,” enthralled the audience. It could not only talk to the crowd in real time in a humorous way, it also entertained the spectators with vivid and smooth body language.
During the ceremony, the mascot was asked to recite poems and mimic the movements by a volunteered audience. “The technology behind the virtual mascot is called ‘real-time digital character,'” Wang Li, business director of Beijing-based 4U Technology, told CGTN. To bring the mascot to life, an actress with wearable devices was at the backstage. Her facial expressions were captured by a cellphone, and motions were detected by a suit with 17 sensors to capture different parts of her body movements.
“The software and hardware behind the technology are developed independently by the company,” Wang said, adding that they have achieved good results in both fluency and precision. This kind of motion capture technology are widely used in industries like movie, gaming and animation, he said.
China has seen rapid growth in its internet population. According to China Internet Network Information Center, as of December 2020, China had 989 million internet users, which showed a penetration rate of 70.4 percent. And more than 1.6 million people were using mobile internet. And with the assistance of emerging technologies like 5G and AI, we expect to see more possibilities in the internet industry.