Personalized Avatars for Mobile Entertainment

Abstract

With evolution in computer and mobile networking technologies comes the challenge of offering novel and complex multimedia applications and end-user services in heterogeneous environments for both developers and service providers. This paper describes one novel service, called LiveMail that explores the potential of existing face animation technologies for innovative and attractive services intended for the mobile market. This prototype service allows mobile subscribers to communicate using personalized 3D face models created from images taken by their phone cameras. The user can take a snapshot of someone's face – a friend, famous person, themselves, even a pet – using the mobile phone's camera. After a quick manipulation on the phone, a 3D model of that face is created and can be animated simply by typing in some text. Speech and appropriate animation of the face are created automatically by speech synthesis. Furthermore, these highly personalized animations can be sent to others as real 3D animated messages or as short videos in MMS. The clients were implemented on different platforms, and different network and face animation techniques, and connected into one complex system. This paper presents the architecture and experience gained in building such a system.

Freegaming: Mobile, Collaborative, Adaptive and Augmented Exergaming

“…Augmented -Freegaming gives the ability to game developers to utilize augmented reality (AR) thus enabling a distinct break away from the traditional avatar paradigm. This allows the player to feel an immersive experience where it is their own physical body which interacts with the game instead of a mediated experience through a virtual avatar [20]. Collaborative -Freegaming architecture is designed to allow multiplayer gaming.…”

Facial configuration and BMI based personalized face and upper body modeling for customer-oriented wearable product design

“…It is extremely difficult to create 3D face models for a large number of people. However people tend to spend their social activities using avatars in both the physical and in cyber worlds, as well using distributed networks via PCs [28], cell phones [29] and PDAs [30]. Even general users are often eager to create their own cyber worlds including avatars, pictures, movies, and so on.…”

Viseme Recognition System Based on Transformed Acoustic Models

“…Advanced human computer interfaces may include a virtual assistant [1] to achieve natural communication with the user. The virtual assistant is frequently visualized by facial animation in the form of a talking head [2], [3].…”