Opportunity
Digital avatars are increasingly used in virtual worlds (metaverse), online gaming, virtual meetings, and educational content. However, creating a custom avatar that resembles a specific person and can perform custom movements traditionally requires advanced digital design, 3D modeling, and rigging skills. Most existing avatar creation tools are too complex for average users, limiting their ability to create personalized digital representations. There is a need for a simple, user-friendly system that allows anyone—regardless of technical or artistic skill—to create a customized avatar with their own face and movements, and to use that avatar across various digital platforms.
Technology
This patent presents an avatar creation system with a computing apparatus (tablet, PC, or smartphone), camera, and user interface. The user selects a base 3D model from a library. For facial customization, the system receives an image of the user's face, identifies facial features (eyes, nose, mouth, etc.), calculates their relative positions and dimensions, and automatically replicates these features onto the 3D model's face. The result is a realistic avatar resembling the user.
For movement customization, the system offers two methods. First, the user can select predefined movements (waving, jumping, thumbs up) from a movement database. Second, the user can record their own movements via camera video stream. The processor applies an action/movement recognition algorithm to detect movements, then uses an auto-rigging process to apply these movements to the 3D model's digital skeleton, making the avatar replicate the user's motions. Movements can be applied in real-time or saved for later use. The system also integrates a music library, allowing users to associate songs with specific avatar movements or actions. The final customized avatar can be exported for use in the metaverse, virtual classrooms, gaming, or video creation via a drag-and-drop interface.
Advantages
- No Design Skills Required: Fully automated facial replication and auto-rigging eliminate the need for 3D modeling or animation expertise.
- Realistic Facial Replication: Automatically calculates feature positions and dimensions to create a close likeness of the user.
- Custom Movement Capture: Users can record and apply their own unique movements to the avatar via simple video capture.
- Real-Time Animation: Live motion capture allows the avatar to mirror user movements in real time.
- Predefined Movement Library: Offers ready-to-use actions for users who do not wish to record their own.
- Integrated Music & Action Association: Allows songs to be linked to specific avatar actions, enhancing content creation.
- Easy Content Creation: Drag-and-drop video interface enables users to create clips without editing skills.
Applications
- Metaverse & Virtual Worlds: Creating personalized avatars for social interaction, meetings, or exploration.
- Online Gaming: Customizing in-game characters to look like the player.
- Virtual Education: Teachers creating digital avatars of themselves to deliver on-demand lectures with personalized movements and actions.
- Content Creation for Social Media: Easily generating avatar-based videos for platforms like TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram.
- Virtual Events & Conferencing: Representing participants with custom avatars that mimic their real-time movements.
