Eyematic Interfaces, Inc.

Nevengineering, Inc.

Thomas Maurer

Hartmut Neven

Luciano Pasquale Agostino Nocera

Egor Valerievich Elagin

Johannes Bernhard Steffens

Bjoern Poehlker

The present invention relates to a technique for optimizing off-line facial feature tracking. Facial features in a sequence of image frames are automatically tracked while a visual indication is presented of the plurality of tracking node locations on the respective image frames. The sequence of image frames may be manually paused at a particular image frame in the sequence of image frames if the visual indication of the tracking node locations indicates that at least one location of a tracking node for a respective facial feature is not adequately tracking the respective facial feature. The location of the tracking node may be reinitialized by manually placing the tracking node location at a position on the particular image frame in the monitor window that corresponds to the respective facial feature. Automatic tracking of the facial feature may be continued based on the reinitialized tracking node location.

Method for optimizing off-line facial feature tracking

The present invention is embodied in an apparatus, and related method, for sensing a person's facial movements, features and characteristics and the like to generate and animate an avatar image based on facial sensing. The avatar apparatus uses an image processing technique based on model graphs and bunch graphs that efficiently represent image features as jets. The jets are composed of wavelet transforms processed at node or landmark locations on an image corresponding to readily identifiable features. The nodes are acquired and tracked to animate an avatar image in accordance with the person's facial movements. Also, the facial sensing may use jet similarity to determine the person's facial features and characteristic thus allows tracking of a person's natural characteristics without any unnatural elements that may interfere or inhibit the person's natural characteristics.

Wavelet-based facial motion capture for avatar animation

The present invention is embodied in an apparatus, and related method, for detecting and recognizing an object in an image frame. The object may be, for example, a head having particular facial characteristics. The object detection process uses robust and computationally efficient techniques. The object identification and recognition process uses an image processing technique based on model graphs and bunch graphs that efficiently represent image features as jets. The jets are composed of wavelet transforms and are processed at nodes or landmark locations on an image corresponding to readily identifiable features. The system of the invention is particularly advantageous for recognizing a person over a wide variety of pose angles.

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Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

Thomas Maurer