Avatar Output Device, Avatar Output Method, and Avatar Output Program

Abstract

In an avatar output technology that outputs an avatar using an avatar candidate selected from a plurality of avatar candidates based on an original image, an appropriate avatar candidate is presented. [Solution] The system includes an original image input unit 1 for inputting an original image, a feature point extraction unit 3 for extracting feature points of the original image input from the original image input unit 1, an avatar candidate generation unit 4 for generating multiple avatar candidates based on the original image and the feature points extracted from the original image, an avatar candidate selection unit 5 for selecting one avatar candidate from the multiple avatar candidates, an avatar output unit 6 for outputting an avatar using the selected avatar candidate, a memory unit 7 for storing avatar candidate information and feature point information of the selected avatar candidate in association with each other, and a related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 for outputting related avatar candidate information, which is information on avatar candidates having common feature point information, to the avatar candidate generation unit 4 when the original image is input.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for generating a user's avatar after presenting a plurality of design candidates based on an original image related to the avatar user.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the improvement of processing capabilities in electronic computers such as computers, two-dimensional and three-dimensional computer graphics have been widely used in IT services such as games and SNS (Social Networking Service). In these services, not only icons and avatars imitating fictional characters are used, but the use of avatars that abstractly represent the characteristics of real people such as users is increasing. As a result, for example, in a game, when a protagonist consisting of an avatar representing the characteristics of the user battles an enemy character, the effect of improving the user's sense of immersion in the game world is produced. In SNS, by using an avatar that abstractly represents the user himself as an icon indicating the user, it is expected that the communication between users will be promoted in a virtual space in the same sense as the real world.

[0003] Both Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose technologies for using avatars that imitate the actual appearance of the player himself or co-players in a computer game that represents a virtual space using a head-mounted display.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] When generating an avatar that imitates the actual appearance of a player or the like, it is generated based on an original image related to the pose of the person, such as a face image or a full-body image. In avatar generation, the original image is not used as it is. Instead, while leaving the features in the original image, the shape etc. shown in the original image is changed to an appropriate content to a certain extent, reflecting the worldview of the SNS etc. where the avatar is used and the preferences of the person etc. However, for example, it is not realistic for a designer to manually create the avatar design while listening to the preferences of the person etc. Therefore, regarding the change of the shape etc. shown in the original image, it is inevitable to automatically and mechanically generate the design by software processing etc. However, when dealing with it by automatic and mechanical processing, there is a problem that the design of the avatar with the original image changed to a certain extent does not necessarily reflect the preferences of the person etc.

[0006] In addition, since these avatars are exclusively used online, it cannot be determined that the person using a specific avatar matches the person shown in the original image which is the basis of the avatar design, and an identity verification procedure is required for using online services. However, in the case of authentication by a password etc., impersonation by a third party cannot be completely prevented due to information leakage etc., and in the case of biometric authentication, it is not easy to obtain the biometric information in advance.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide an appropriate candidate in the technology of determining an avatar candidate to be used for an avatar after presenting a plurality of avatar candidates based on an original image, and to provide a technology for easily performing identity verification regarding the user of the avatar.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] To achieve the above object, the avatar output device according to claim 1 is an avatar output device that outputs an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from a plurality of avatar candidates that are semi-finished or finished avatars, comprising: feature point extraction means for extracting feature points of the original image; avatar candidate generation means for generating a plurality of avatar candidates that are semi-finished or finished avatars from the original image; avatar output means for outputting an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from the plurality of avatar candidates; storage means for storing avatar candidate information, which is information regarding the selected avatar candidate, in association with feature point information, which is information regarding the feature points extracted by the feature point extraction means, and attribute information, which is information regarding the attributes of the person associated with the generated avatar and the original image through the original image; related avatar candidate information providing means for extracting related avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with the feature point information having commonality with the feature points extracted by the feature point extraction means, from the avatar candidate information stored in the storage means, and providing an avatar candidate based on the extracted related avatar candidate information to the avatar candidate generation means; and attribute avatar candidate information providing means for providing attribute avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with the attribute information having commonality with the attributes of the person associated with the newly generated avatar and the original image through the original image, to the avatar candidate generation means from the avatar candidate information stored in the storage means. Information generation means for generating information including feature point information, which is information regarding feature points extracted from an original image corresponding to an avatar and recorded in a distributed ledger on a distributed network corresponding to a non-fungible token corresponding to the avatar output by the avatar output means; output instruction means for instructing to output the information generated by the information generation means to the distributed network; feature point information acquisition means for acquiring the feature point information included in the information regarding the specific avatar from the information recorded in the distributed ledger on the distributed network when performing an authentication process for the user of the specific avatar; and authentication means for performing an authentication process by comparing the feature points extracted from the personal image of the user of the specific avatar with the feature points of the original image included in the feature point information is provided, and the avatar candidate generation means is the RelatedGenerating an avatar candidate that includes a design that is identical or / and similar to all or part of the design of the avatar candidate corresponding to the related avatar candidate information provided by the avatar candidate information providing means, and an avatar candidate that includes a design that is identical or / and similar to all or part of the design of the avatar candidate corresponding to the attribute avatar candidate information provided by the attribute avatar candidate information providing means. Note that the "semi-finished product of an avatar" means an intermediate product in the process of generating an avatar using feature points extracted from the original image, and includes all electronic data that is the result of performing image processing on the original image, electronic data obtained by three-dimensionalizing a two-dimensional original image, and any intermediate product such as electronic data related to surface information generated based on the original image when the finished avatar is composed of computer graphics consisting of skeleton information (bones), surface information (skin), and weight information defining the relationship between the two. Also, the "semi-finished product of an avatar" includes not only intermediate products related to the entire avatar, but also intermediate products related to a partial region of the entire avatar and the avatar itself related to a partial region. Furthermore, the "avatar using an avatar candidate" means an avatar completed using the avatar candidate when the avatar candidate is a semi-finished product, and an avatar consisting of the avatar candidate itself when the avatar candidate is a finished product. Also, in the feature point information, "having commonality" most simply means that the positions of all corresponding feature points (preferably normalized in the same coordinate system) match, but it is not necessary to be limited to this, and it may be considered "having commonality" when the distance between corresponding feature points is below a certain value. Also, not only when comparing all feature points, but also when only a part of the feature points are the comparison targets and the above relationship holds, it is understood as "having commonality".

[0009] Also, to achieve the above object, the avatar output method according to claim 2 is an avatar output method for outputting an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from a plurality of avatar candidates that are semi-finished or finished avatars, comprising: a feature point extraction step of extracting feature points of the original image; an avatar candidate generation step of generating a plurality of avatar candidates that are semi-finished or finished avatars from the original image; an avatar output step of outputting an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from the plurality of avatar candidates; a storage step of storing avatar candidate information, which is information regarding the selected avatar candidate, in association with feature point information, which is information regarding the feature points extracted in the feature point extraction step, and attribute information, which is information regarding the attributes of the person associated with the generated avatar and the original image through the original image; a related avatar candidate information providing step of extracting related avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with the feature point information having commonality with the feature points extracted in the feature point extraction step, from the avatar candidate information stored in the storage step, and providing an avatar candidate based on the extracted related avatar candidate information to the avatar candidate generation step; and an attribute avatar candidate information providing step of providing, to the avatar candidate generation step, attribute avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with the attribute information having commonality with the attributes of the person associated with the newly generated avatar and the original image through the original image, from the avatar candidate information stored in the storage step. An information generation step of generating information including feature point information, which is information regarding feature points extracted from an original image corresponding to an avatar and recorded in a distributed ledger on a distributed network corresponding to a non-fungible token corresponding to the avatar output in the avatar output step; an output instruction step of instructing to output the information generated in the information generation step to the distributed network; a feature point information acquisition step of acquiring the feature point information included in the information regarding the specific avatar from the information recorded in the distributed ledger on the distributed network when performing an authentication process for the user of the specific avatar; and an authentication step of performing an authentication process by comparing the feature points extracted from the personal image of the user of the specific avatar with the feature points of the original image included in the feature point information and in the avatar candidate generation step, Related generating an avatar candidate including a design that is the same as or / and similar to all or part of the design of the avatar candidate corresponding to the related avatar candidate information provided by the related avatar candidate information providing step and an avatar candidate including a design that is the same as or / and similar to all or part of the design of the avatar candidate corresponding to the attribute avatar candidate information provided by the attribute avatar candidate information providing step.

[0010] In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the avatar output program according to claim 3 is an avatar output program for causing a computer to output an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from a plurality of avatar candidates that are semi-finished or finished avatars, the program including: a feature point extraction function for extracting feature points of an original image for the computer; an avatar candidate generation function for generating a plurality of avatar candidates that are semi-finished or finished avatars from the original image; an avatar output function for outputting an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from the plurality of avatar candidates; a storage function for storing, in association with feature point information which is information regarding the feature points extracted by the feature point extraction function and attribute information which is information regarding an attribute of a person associated with the generated avatar and the original image, avatar candidate information which is information regarding the selected avatar candidate; a related avatar candidate information providing function for extracting, from the avatar candidate information stored in the storage function, related avatar candidate information which is avatar candidate information associated with feature point information having commonality with the feature points extracted by the feature point extraction function, and providing an avatar candidate based on the extracted related avatar candidate information to the avatar candidate generation function; and an attribute avatar candidate information providing function for extracting, from the avatar candidate information stored in the storage function, attribute avatar candidate information which is avatar candidate information associated with attribute information having commonality with an attribute of a person associated with a newly generated avatar and the original image, and providing the attribute avatar candidate information to the avatar candidate generation function. Information generation function for generating information including feature point information, which is information regarding feature points extracted from an original image corresponding to an avatar, recorded in a distributed ledger on a distributed network corresponding to a non-fungible token corresponding to the avatar output by the avatar output function; an output instruction function for instructing the distributed network to output the information generated by the information generation function; a feature point information acquisition function for acquiring the feature point information included in the information regarding the specific avatar from the information recorded in the distributed ledger on the distributed network when performing an authentication process for the user of the specific avatar; and an authentication function for performing an authentication process by comparing the feature points extracted from the personal image of the user of the specific avatar with the feature points of the original image included in the feature point information is executed, and the avatar candidate generation function Related generates an avatar candidate including a design that is the same as or / and similar to all or part of the design of the avatar candidate corresponding to the related avatar candidate information provided from the related avatar candidate information providing function and an avatar candidate including a design that is the same as or / and similar to all or part of the design of the avatar candidate corresponding to the attribute avatar candidate information provided from the attribute avatar candidate information providing function.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, in an avatar output technique that presents a plurality of avatar candidates based on an original image and outputs an avatar using the selected avatar candidate from among them, it is possible to present appropriate candidates, and it is also possible to provide a technique for easily performing identity verification regarding the user of the avatar.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, examples considered to be the most appropriate as embodiments of the present invention are described. Of course, the content of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the specific examples shown in these embodiments. Any configuration that exhibits the same operations and effects, even if it is other than the specific configuration shown in the embodiments, is of course included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0014] (Embodiment 1) First, the avatar output device according to Embodiment 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the avatar output device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention includes an original image input unit 1 for inputting an original image, an attribute information input unit 2 for inputting attribute information which is information regarding the attributes of the person who uses the avatar, a feature point extraction unit 3 for extracting feature points of the original image input from the original image input unit 1, an avatar candidate generation unit 4 for generating a plurality of avatar candidates based on the original image and the feature points extracted from the original image, an avatar candidate selection unit 5 for selecting one avatar candidate from among the plurality of avatar candidates, an avatar output unit 6 for outputting an avatar using the selected avatar candidate, a storage unit 7 for storing the avatar candidate information which is information regarding the selected avatar candidate, the feature point information which is information regarding the feature points of the original image used as the generation source of the avatar candidate, and the attribute information of the person who uses the avatar in association with each other, a related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 for outputting, to the avatar candidate generation unit 4, related avatar candidate information which is avatar candidate information of an avatar candidate whose feature point information is common when a new original image is input, an attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 9 for outputting, to the avatar candidate generation unit 4, attribute avatar candidate information regarding an avatar candidate whose attribute information is common when a new original image is input, a token generation unit 10 for generating an avatar token which is a non-fungible token corresponding to the avatar output by the avatar output unit 6, a transaction generation unit 11 for generating a transaction to be stored in a block in a distributed ledger corresponding to the avatar token as information including information regarding the holder of the avatar token and the feature point information, an electronic signature generation unit 12 for generating an electronic signature which is data for proving that the generation and output of the information included in the transaction follow the intention of the holder of the avatar token, an output unit 13 for outputting the transaction and the electronic signature to a distributed network associated with the avatar token, a feature point information acquisition unit 14 for accessing the distributed network and acquiring the feature point information included in the transaction, and a person authentication unit 15 for performing this authentication process based on the acquired feature point information.

[0015] The original image input unit 1 is for inputting the original image used as a reference image for the avatar to be generated. The original image is an image related to the person associated with the avatar. Specifically, the original image is preferably a two-dimensional or three-dimensional image including the face image of the person, but may be, for example, an image including only a part of the face image, or an image related to a part other than the face and having some relevance to the person associated with the avatar. As a specific configuration of the original image input unit 1, in addition to a configuration for inputting image data as electronic information, it may be a scanning device that reads the image itself displayed on a medium such as paper, or may be configured by a photographing device or a three-dimensional photographing device that directly photographs the person associated with the avatar.

[0016] The attribute information input unit 2 is for inputting attribute information which is information related to the attributes of the person associated with the avatar. The attribute information is information including information related to one or more items among the gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, educational background, and work history of the target person, and may also include, in addition to these, the usage history of IT services such as SNS where the avatar is used, and the action history in IT services. As a specific configuration of the attribute information input unit 2, the person associated with the avatar may input the attribute information by himself / herself, or the attribute information may be generated based on the information related to the person publicly available on the Internet or the like.

[0017] The feature point extraction unit 3 is for extracting predetermined feature points corresponding to characteristic parts such as eyes, nose, mouth, ears, etc. on the face of the human body and connection points of the skeleton in the limbs from the original image. As a specific configuration of the feature point extraction unit 3, an image recognition technology realized by deep learning, machine learning, etc. may be used, or a combination of multiple image recognition technologies may be used. Also, the "feature points" in the first embodiment of the present invention indicate the positions of the body surface or internal parts of the human body, and any parts can be arbitrarily determined as to which should be set as feature points. For example, it may be handled such that feature points are set only for visually recognizable parts (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, eyebrows, etc.) and points corresponding to the contour on the face surface, or feature points may be determined corresponding to the facial expression muscles inside the face and the positions of joints in the whole body including the face. Also, for example, when setting feature points for the eyes, only the center position of the eyes may be set as the feature point, or feature points may be set in detail for each of the inner corner of the eye, outer corner of the eye, pupil, and white part of the eye. Note that for each feature point extracted by the feature point extraction unit 3, information regarding the position of the feature point (which may be the position itself in the original image, but preferably the position in a normalized coordinate system for reasons such as convenience in generating avatar candidates) and the meaning of the feature point (a point corresponding to the outer corner of the eye, a point corresponding to the knee joint, etc.) is recorded as feature point information.

[0018] The avatar candidate generation unit 4 is for generating avatar candidates that are semi-finished or finished products of the avatar based on the original image and the feature point information which is information regarding the feature points extracted from the original image. Specifically, the avatar candidate generation unit 4 in the first embodiment includes a partial design storage unit 18 that stores partial design plans for each region corresponding to each part of the entire human body, a partial design extraction unit 19 that extracts each partial design from the partial design storage unit 18, a partial design processing unit 20 that modifies and processes the partial designs extracted by the partial design extraction unit 19, an overall design construction unit 21 that constructs an overall design by combining the partial designs subjected to necessary modifications and processing, and an avatar generation unit 22 that generates a finished avatar using the overall design. Note that in the first embodiment, a configuration for generating a finished avatar as an "avatar candidate" is adopted, but the configuration of the avatar candidate generation unit may be limited to generating a semi-finished product instead of a finished product. The "semi-finished product" means an intermediate product in the avatar generation process that utilizes the feature points extracted from the original image, and includes all intermediate products such as electronic data which is the result of performing image processing on the original image, electronic data obtained by three-dimensionalizing the two-dimensional original image, and electronic data regarding the surface information generated based on the original image in the case where the finished avatar of the avatar consists of skeletal information (bones), surface information (skin), and weight information that defines the relationship between the two and is configured by computer graphics. For example, electronic data generated only by the actions of the partial design storage unit 18 and the partial design extraction unit 19, electronic data subjected to design processing by the partial design processing unit 20, and electronic data of the overall design constructed by the overall design construction unit 21 are all included in the "semi-finished product". Therefore, the configuration of the avatar candidate generation unit 4 may be a configuration in which the avatar generation unit 22 is omitted, or a configuration in which the overall design construction unit 21 is further omitted. When the avatar candidate generation unit 4 generates an avatar candidate as a semi-finished product, a predetermined process is performed on the avatar candidate selected by the avatar candidate selection unit 5 to generate an avatar as a finished product, which is then output from the avatar output unit 6.

[0019] The partial design storage unit 18 is for storing partial designs that are designs of each part obtained by dividing the entire human body into a plurality of parts. In the first embodiment, the "part" may be set, for example, for each feature point, or a region of a certain range that combines a plurality of feature points may be regarded as a "part". It is also possible to set a "part" that does not include feature points within the region, but even in that case, it is preferable to define the relationship with feature points outside the region.

[0020] As an example of a partial design, as the simplest configuration, it may be a design that combines a relatively wide range such as a "face", or the partial design may be stored as a separate "part" for each fine part such as eyes, nose, and even for parts such as pupils, eyelashes, and crow's feet in the eyes. Also, each part is obtained by dividing the entire human body into a plurality of parts, but the partial design does not necessarily have to be limited to the design of the human body itself (= the naked human body without clothes), and it may be a design in a state of wearing clothes, shoes, etc., or a design in a state of wearing ornaments, or a design in a state of holding a foreign object in the hand. Similarly, for the design related to a part of the face, for example, it may be any of a design in a state of wearing glasses, a design in a state of applying makeup such as lipstick and blush, or a design in a state of wearing a mask. Furthermore, the partial design is not limited to realistic ones, and may be painterly, comic, or animated. For example, like the texture and clothes, the partial design may be configured to be detachable and divided into each part.

[0021] In the first embodiment, the partial design storage unit 18 stores the partial design in a state where similarity information indicating whether a specific partial design is similar to other partial designs is associated with the partial design. By adopting such a configuration, in the partial design extraction process by the partial design extraction unit 19 based on each design information provided from the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 and the attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 9, not only the partial design shown in each design information but also a partial design similar to this can be quickly extracted.

[0022] The partial design extraction unit 19 is for extracting, from the partial designs stored in the partial design storage unit 18, the partial designs necessary for generating an avatar design for each part constituting the overall image. The partial design extraction by the partial design extraction unit 19 shall extract a partial design having feature points having some relevance to the feature points of the original image, at least for the part corresponding to the feature points extracted from the original image.

[0023] For example, when extracting a partial design for the part including the eyes on the face, it is preferable to extract a partial design including eyes that match the size and shape features of the eyes indicated by the feature points extracted from the original image. However, even if there is no such relevance, for example, based on a relevance such as the position of the center of gravity being similar or the shape of the region formed by a plurality of feature points being similar, the partial design may be extracted. Also, the partial design extraction unit 19 shall extract a partial design based on each avatar candidate information provided from the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 and the attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 9 (described later).

[0024] Note that since the avatar candidate generation unit 4 according to the first embodiment generates a plurality of avatar candidates, the partial design extraction unit 19 shall, in principle, extract a plurality of patterns of parts for each part. However, it is possible to reuse some of the partial designs. For example, when the avatar candidate generation unit 4 generates 10 types of avatar designs, it may be possible to select 9 or fewer partial designs for some parts.

[0025] The partial design processing unit 20 is for enlarging and reducing the partial design extracted by the partial design extraction unit 19 so as to match the size of the overall avatar design, and processing the connection parts between adjacent parts so that the connection parts are continuous. The partial design processing unit 20 may automatically perform the processing for size adjustment and boundary adjustment, or a designer or the like may manually perform the processing. Further, in the partial design processing unit 20, not only size adjustment and boundary adjustment but also a configuration for changing and modifying the partial design itself under certain conditions (for example, having a function of changing to a shape or the like in accordance with the design tendency in the SNS to be used) may be provided.

[0026] The overall design construction unit 21 is for constructing the design of an overall avatar composed of a plurality of partial designs by combining the partial designs extracted by the partial design extraction unit 19 and having undergone the necessary processing in the partial design processing unit 20. The overall design construction unit 21 constructs an avatar design which is an overall design integrating each partial design after determining which of the extracted partial designs are to be combined. Note that the combination of the partial designs may be randomly combined, or may follow a certain law (such as preferentially combining partial designs with commonality). However, in the avatar output device according to the first embodiment, one or more avatar designs based on each design information provided from the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 and the attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 9 described later are to be generated.

[0027] The avatar generation unit 22 is for generating an avatar as a finished product using the overall design generated by the overall design construction unit 21. Specifically, the avatar generated by the avatar generation unit 22 is composed of image data such as a portrait imitating the target person, and in the first embodiment, it preferably includes at least the face image of the target person, that is, the person himself / herself. There is no limitation on the data format of the avatar. For example, it may be merely image data, or it may be computer graphics consisting of skeleton information (bones), surface information (skin), and weight information defining the relationship between the two.

[0028] Also, the avatar may be either a 2D image or a 3D image, and may be not only a still image but also computer graphics that perform a predetermined action according to motion information. Although it is a portrait imitating the target person, it is not limited to the human body, and it may be imitating an animal or an imaginary creature. As described above, the avatar candidate generation unit 4 may be configured to generate a semi-finished product of the avatar. In that case, it is possible to omit the avatar generation unit 22 or add a component that realizes only a part of the functions of the avatar generation unit 22.

[0029] The avatar candidate selection unit 5 is for selecting an avatar candidate to be used for the avatar output by the avatar output unit 6 from among a plurality of avatar candidates generated by the avatar candidate generation unit 4. The avatar candidate selection unit 5 has a function of, for example, arranging and visually displaying a plurality of avatar candidates generated by the avatar candidate generation unit 4 and selecting one avatar candidate according to the instruction of the selector (for example, the person who uses the avatar, that is, the person associated with the avatar). Note that the specific configuration of the avatar candidate selection unit 5 is not limited to the configuration selected by a specific selector. For example, each avatar candidate may be publicly available on the Internet for a certain period, and the avatar candidate may be automatically selected according to the number of views, comments, citation numbers (the number of times linked elsewhere, etc.).

[0030] The avatar output unit 6 is for outputting an avatar using the avatar candidate selected by the avatar candidate selection unit 5. Specifically, when the selected avatar candidate is a finished product of the avatar, the avatar output unit 6 outputs it as it is, and when the selected avatar candidate is a semi-finished product of the avatar, it outputs it in a state processed into a finished product. As the output mode of the avatar output unit 6, although the mode of outputting externally in the form of electronic data is basic, for example, a configuration of outputting in a form stored in a recording medium, or a configuration of outputting in a form visually displayed on paper or a display may also be used. Further, not only a configuration for outputting to the outside, but also, for example, when the avatar output device according to the first embodiment constitutes a part of a system such as a game or an SNS, it is also possible to adopt a configuration of outputting to other components within the system.

[0031] The storage unit 7 is for storing, as avatar candidate information, information regarding the avatar candidate selected by the avatar candidate selection unit 5 among the generated avatar candidates, in association with feature point information which is information regarding the feature points of the original image used as the generation source of the avatar candidate and attribute information of the person using the avatar. Specifically, the storage unit 7 has a function of storing, as avatar candidate information, for the avatar candidate selected in the past, information including the content of the design of each part constituting the avatar candidate, information regarding the positional distribution of the feature points extracted from the original image, in the first embodiment, feature point information including the position of the feature points and the meaning of each feature point (corresponding to the knee joint, etc.), and attribute information which is information regarding the attributes of the person associated with the avatar shown in the original image, in association with each other. The information stored in the storage unit 7 is output to the avatar candidate generation unit 4 according to the instructions of the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 and the attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 9 described later, and is used for the partial design extraction process and / or the overall design construction process.

[0032] When the original image is input by the original image input unit 1, the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 is for providing the avatar candidate generation unit 4 with related avatar candidate information, which is information on avatar candidates associated with feature point information common to the feature points of the original image. Specifically, when a new original image is input, the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 extracts, based on the feature point information extracted by the feature point extraction unit 3 for the original image, avatar candidate information regarding avatar candidates associated with feature point information common to the feature points from among the avatar candidate information stored in the storage unit 7, and has a function of providing the avatar candidate generation unit 4 with the related avatar candidate information as such.

[0033] In the feature point information, "common" or "having commonality" most simply means the case where the positions (normalized) of the feature points having the same meaning all match, but it is not necessary to be limited to this, and it may be regarded as "having commonality" when the distance between feature points having the same meaning is equal to or less than a certain value. Also, not only when comparing all feature points, but it may also be possible to determine the presence or absence of commonality by comparing only some of the feature points.

[0034] Also, the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 may extract information regarding the avatar candidate having the highest commonality in the feature point information, but it may also extract information regarding a plurality of avatar candidates having commonality at a certain level or higher. Furthermore, it may be configured to preferentially extract information regarding avatar candidates that have been selected as related avatar candidate information in the past among the avatar candidates having commonality.

[0035] The related avatar candidate information provided by the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 may be configured to include all or part of the image data of the design of the extracted avatar candidate itself. Preferably, it is configured to include all or part of the information identifying each part of the design stored in the partial design storage unit 18 corresponding to the design of the avatar candidate. More preferably, the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 includes in the related avatar candidate information specific contents indicating the strength or weakness of the commonality in the feature point information (the positions of all common points match, the distance between common points having the same meaning is within a certain range, some feature points satisfy the commonality condition, etc.).

[0036] When generating a new avatar candidate, the avatar candidate generating unit 4 provided with the related avatar candidate information refers to the information on the design included in the related avatar candidate information, extracts the partial design by the partial design extraction unit 19, and makes a determination on the combination of the partial designs by the overall design construction unit 21. As the simplest configuration, it may be to generate the same avatar candidate as the related avatar candidate. Also, the partial design extraction unit 19 may extract all of the partial designs specified by the related avatar candidate information as all or part of the design candidate, and the overall design construction unit 21 may construct an overall design consisting of the same combination as the combination of each partial design specified by the related avatar candidate information as all or part of the avatar design. As another configuration of the avatar candidate generating unit 4 in the first embodiment, the partial design extraction unit 19 may extract only a part of the partial designs specified by the related avatar candidate information, or the overall design construction unit 21 may construct an overall design with different combinations for each partial design.

[0037] Furthermore, the avatar candidate generation unit 4 may construct the overall design not using the partial design itself included in the related avatar candidate information, but using another partial design that has a certain relationship with the partial design (for example, a partial design that is visually similar to the partial design included in the related avatar candidate information, or a partial design that belongs to the same type (group) when the partial designs are typed (grouped) based on a predetermined classification criterion). In the first embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the partial design storage unit 18 stores the similarity / dissimilarity information associated with the partial design, and the partial design extraction unit 19 extracts similar partial designs based on this similarity / dissimilarity information. However, other than such a configuration, for example, each time a partial design is extracted, a similar image search process may be performed to extract other similar partial designs.

[0038] The attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 9 is for outputting, to the avatar candidate generation unit 4, attribute avatar candidate information including information regarding part or all of the designs of past avatar candidates whose person and attribute information are common to the avatar associated through the original image when the original image is input to the original image input unit 1. Specifically, when a new original image is input, the attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 9 extracts, as the attribute avatar candidate information, the avatar candidate information having commonality in terms of the attribute information from among the information stored in the storage unit 7, based on the attribute information input via the attribute information input unit 2 in association with the original image, and has a function of outputting the extracted avatar candidate information.

[0039] "Common" or "having commonality" in the attribute information simply means that the information contents match for all items of the attribute information, but it is not necessary to limit it to this. As long as it is within a similar range for each item (for example, the age difference is less than 10 years, etc.), it may be considered to have commonality. Also, when there is commonality only for some items instead of the entire attribute information, it may be treated as "common" or "having commonality".

[0040] In addition, the attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 9 may be configured to output, as the attribute avatar candidate information, not only a single avatar candidate information having the highest commonality with respect to the attribute information, but also a plurality of avatar candidate information having a commonality equal to or higher than a certain level. Alternatively, it may be configured to preferentially extract, as the attribute avatar candidate information, information regarding an avatar candidate that is commonly selected in a plurality of cases having commonality. Furthermore, the attribute avatar candidate information may include all or part of the image data itself of the design of the extracted avatar candidate, but preferably, it includes all or part of the information specifying the partial designs constituting the design of the avatar candidate. Also, the attribute avatar candidate information may include information regarding the strength of the commonality of the attribute information.

[0041] When generating a new avatar candidate, the avatar candidate generating unit 4 provided with the attribute avatar candidate information refers to the information regarding the design included in the attribute avatar candidate information, extracts partial designs by the partial design extracting unit 19, and makes a determination regarding the combination of the partial designs in the overall design constructing unit 21. As the simplest configuration, the avatar candidate may be generated using the design included in the attribute avatar candidate information as it is, or only a part of the partial designs included in the attribute avatar candidate information may be extracted, and an overall design adopting only a part of the combination may be constructed. Also, instead of extracting and combining the design itself included in the attribute avatar candidate information, a partial design visually similar to the design or a partial design belonging to the same type (group) when partial designs are typed (grouped) based on a predetermined classification criterion may be extracted, and then the overall design may be constructed. In the first embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the partial design storage unit 18 stores similarity information associated with the partial designs, and the partial design extracting unit 19 extracts similar partial designs based on this similarity information. However, other than such a configuration, for example, similar image search processing may be performed each time a partial design is extracted to extract other similar partial designs.

[0042] The token generation unit 10 is for generating an avatar token which is a non-fungible token corresponding to the avatar output by the avatar output unit 6. The so-called "non-fungible token" means an NFT (Non-Fungible Token), that is, a token having the property of being non-substitutable with other tokens by having unique data, and is issued based on, for example, ERC721 which is a standard of Ethereum (registered trademark). The avatar token in the first embodiment is issued based on ERC721 or other predetermined standards, and information such as information regarding the user of the corresponding avatar and feature point information extracted from the original image of the corresponding avatar is stored on the blockchain.

[0043] The "blockchain" is a technology for performing data synchronization while utilizing cryptographic technology among a plurality of computers constituting a distributed network. Specifically, each block is composed of a collection of information regarding tokens such as agreed transaction records and information (information of the previous block) for connecting to other blocks, and the blockchain is constituted by connecting a plurality of such blocks. Since correct data is selected by a majority vote with other computers even if data tampering occurs in a part of the plurality of computers, it has the characteristic that it is extremely difficult to destroy or tamper with data.

[0044] As the correspondence relationship between the avatar token and the avatar, it is in the form of associating the identifier of the avatar token and the identification information of the avatar (identification information may be attached to each avatar, or identification information (such as name) regarding the person targeted by the avatar may be used.) on a one-to-one basis. More directly, the identifier of the avatar token and the identification information of the avatar may have the same content, or there is no problem in setting the correspondence relationship for those constituted by different character strings, etc. Also, it may be in the form of associating with the URL information on the Internet space where the data constituting the avatar is stored.

[0045] Also, in the first embodiment, the blocks constituting the distributed ledger corresponding to the generated avatar token shall record, in addition to the transaction record regarding the transfer of the ownership name of the avatar token, information regarding the user of the avatar and information regarding the feature point information extracted from the original image that is the source of the avatar. These pieces of information are converted into transactions, which are the information output to the distributed network by the transaction generation unit 11.

[0046] Regarding the generation of the avatar token, the token generation unit 10 may generate it by itself, or may be in a mode where an external system directly or indirectly connected to the token generation unit 10 generates it by issuing a predetermined command to the external system. Also, the specific form of the avatar token is not limited to that conforming to ERC721, which is the standard of Ethereum (registered trademark), and may be in any form as long as it has the property of non-fungibility and the transaction history is stored on the blockchain.

[0047] The transaction generation unit 11 has a function of generating transactions to be stored in the blocks within the distributed ledger, and corresponds to an example of the information generation means in the claims. Specifically, as the content of the transaction, the transaction generation unit 11 shall generate information including, in addition to the information regarding the change of the ownership name of the avatar token, information regarding the user of the corresponding avatar and the feature point information of the original image extracted by the feature point extraction unit 3.

[0048] The electronic signature generation unit 12 has a function of generating an electronic signature, which is data for proving that the creation and output of the information included in the transaction follow the intention of the avatar token holder. Specifically, the electronic signature generation unit 12 has a function of generating a hash value of the transaction generated by the transaction generation unit 11 and encrypting the hash value with the private key held by the avatar token holder to generate an electronic signature. Note that the "hash value" is a fixed-length value obtained by applying a certain calculation procedure to the original data. Since the calculation procedure is irreversible, it is considered impossible to restore the original data from the hash value. Also, the "private key" is a sequence of numbers used for encryption processing and is configured to be decodable by the corresponding "public key". In the first embodiment, the transaction generation unit 11 and the electronic signature generation unit 12 are configured to perform the creation of the transaction and the electronic signature, which are a form of the ownership change information, by themselves, but it is not necessary to be limited to this, and the transaction generation unit 11 and the electronic signature generation unit 12 may have only a function of instructing an external predetermined device to create the transaction and the electronic signature.

[0049] The output unit 13 is for instructing to output the transaction generated by the transaction generation unit 11 and the electronic signature generated by the electronic signature generation unit 12 to a distributed network associated with an avatar token. The output unit 13 functions as an aspect of the output instruction means in the claims. In this embodiment, it is configured to directly output the transaction and the electronic signature, but it may also be configured to only instruct other components (including those provided outside the avatar output device) to output. In the first embodiment, the output unit 13 is directly or indirectly connected to the distributed network and is configured in a manner capable of outputting predetermined data to the distributed network. The distributed network generates a hash value of the output transaction and compares it with the data obtained by decrypting the electronic signature with the public key (= the hash value of the transaction). If the two values are different, it is determined that the transaction is not by the owner of the tangible object and the registration is rejected. If the two values match, it is determined that the transaction is by the owner, and the information constituted by the transaction is stored in the block constituting the distributed ledger. The transaction output by the output unit 13 includes information related to the change of the holding title. When the transaction is output to the distributed network, this information is stored in the block constituting the distributed ledger provided on the distributed network.

[0050] The feature point information acquisition unit 14 is for accessing the distributed network and acquiring the feature point information included in the transaction. Specifically, the feature point information acquisition unit 14 is for acquiring the feature point information regarding the original image of the avatar as a comparison target when performing the identity verification of the person using the avatar. The feature point information acquisition unit 14 outputs the acquired feature point information to the identity verification unit 15, and the identity verification unit 15 performs the authentication process of the avatar user using the feature point information.

[0051] The personal authentication unit 15 is for performing this authentication process based on the acquired feature point information. The personal authentication unit 15 performs feature point extraction processing on the image of the person using the avatar, and performs the personal authentication process by comparing the extracted feature points with the feature points of the original image provided from the feature point information acquisition unit 14. Regarding the image of the person using the avatar, it may be obtained through the camera function provided in the information terminal used by the person, or may be obtained by directly photographing the person existing at a predetermined location with a camera or the like. The feature point extraction processing for the person image is preferably performed by the same processing as that of the feature point extraction unit 3. For example, after outputting from the personal authentication unit 15 to the feature point extraction unit 3 for the person image, the information extracted by the feature point extraction unit 3 may be used.

[0052] Next, the processing up to avatar output in the avatar output device according to the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the feature point extraction unit 3 extracts feature point information based on the input original image (step S101). Based on the extracted feature point information, the related avatar candidate information providing unit 8 selects, from the avatar candidates selected in the past, the past avatar candidates associated with the feature point information having commonality with the feature point information of the original image that is the generation source of the past avatar candidates extracted in step S101 (step S102), and provides the avatar candidate information regarding the selected avatar candidate to the avatar candidate generation unit 4 as related avatar candidate information (step S103). The avatar candidate generation unit 4 extracts the partial design stored in the partial design storage unit 18 based on the information regarding the design of the avatar candidate included in the related avatar candidate information, and newly generates an avatar candidate after processing the extracted partial design as necessary (step S104).

[0053] After that, based on the attribute information input via the attribute information input unit 2, the attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 9 selects, from among the avatar candidates created in the past, the avatar candidates associated with the attribute information having commonality with the input attribute information (step S105), and provides the avatar candidate information regarding the selected avatar candidates to the avatar candidate generation unit 4 as the attribute avatar candidate information (step S106). The avatar candidate generation unit 4 extracts the partial designs stored in the partial design storage unit 18 based on the information regarding the partial designs and their combinations included in the attribute avatar candidate information, processes the extracted partial designs as necessary, and then generates avatar candidates (step S107).

[0054] After that, the avatar candidate generation unit 4 outputs a plurality of avatar candidates including the avatar candidates generated in steps S104 and S107 to the avatar candidate selection unit 5, and the avatar candidate selection unit 5 selects one avatar candidate from among the plurality of avatar candidates (step S108). The avatar using the selected avatar candidate is output by the avatar output unit 6 (step S109), and the avatar candidate information regarding the selected avatar candidate is stored in the storage unit 7 after being associated with the feature point information of the original image and the attribute information of the person (step S110). The avatar candidate information stored in the storage unit 7 is used in the extraction process of the past avatar candidate information in steps S101 and S105.

[0055] Next, the advantages of the avatar output device according to Embodiment 1 will be described. First, in the avatar output device according to Embodiment 1, when the avatar candidate generation unit 4 generates a new avatar candidate, it receives the provision of related avatar candidate information including information on the design of an avatar candidate associated with feature point information having commonality with the feature points of the input original image among the avatar candidates selected in the past. By adopting such a configuration, the avatar output device according to Embodiment 1 has the advantage that when generating a new avatar candidate, it can use the designs of other avatar candidates that have commonality at the feature points of the original image and have a track record of being selected as avatar candidates in the past to generate an avatar candidate. When there is commonality at the feature points of the original image, even if the designs of past avatar candidates are reused for new avatar candidates, there will be no design discomfort, and avatar candidates with a natural design for the user can be generated. Also, by reusing the designs of avatar candidates with a past selection track record, the newly generated avatar candidates become attractive and are likely to be selected by the user and others, and there is also the advantage that appropriate candidates can be presented regarding the selection of avatar candidates.

[0056] In addition, the avatar output device according to Embodiment 1 adopts a configuration in which the avatar candidate generation unit 4 generates an avatar design after receiving the provision of attribute avatar candidate information, which is information on an avatar design having commonality in the attribute information of the person associated with the avatar to be generated among the avatar designs selected in the past. By adopting such a configuration, the avatar output device according to Embodiment 1 can utilize the designs of avatar candidates selected in the past for persons having common attributes when generating a new avatar design. Since persons having common attributes tend to have common design preferences compared to those without, by generating a new avatar candidate based on the attribute avatar candidate information, there is an advantage that an avatar candidate that conforms to the design preference of the person associated with the avatar, that is, an appropriate avatar candidate that is likely to be selected by that person, can be presented.

[0057] Furthermore, the avatar device according to Embodiment 1 adopts a configuration that performs an authentication process using the feature point information extracted from the original image. By adopting such a configuration, there is an advantage that the authentication process can be realized without separately preparing identification data for authentication. In addition, by adopting a configuration in which information regarding the feature point information extracted from the original image is included in a transaction and stored on a distributed network regarding an avatar token in a correspondence relationship with the avatar, there is an advantage that falsification of the feature point information can be prevented, and thus impersonation or the like during authentication can be prevented.

[0058] (Embodiment 2) Next, the avatar output device according to Embodiment 2 will be described. In Embodiment 2, with respect to components having the same name and the same reference numerals as those in Embodiment 1, unless otherwise particularly noted, they exhibit the same functions as the components in Embodiment 1.

[0059] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the avatar output device according to Embodiment 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the avatar output device according to Embodiment 2, in addition to components equivalent to those of the avatar output device according to Embodiment 1, instead of extracting and combining partial designs stored in the partial design storage unit to generate an avatar design, generates avatar candidates from the original image by a design in which the positions of the feature points extracted from the original image are changed, an avatar candidate generation unit 23, a related avatar candidate information providing unit 24 that provides information including the position information of all or part of the feature points of the avatar candidate as related avatar candidate information to the avatar candidate generation unit 23, an attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 25 that provides information including the position information of all or part of the feature points of the avatar candidate as attribute avatar candidate information to the avatar candidate generation unit 23, and a storage unit 26 that stores information including the position information of the feature points on the design as information on the avatar designs selected in the past extracted by the related avatar candidate information providing unit 24 and the attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 25.

[0060] In the second embodiment, instead of selecting the pre-stored partial design itself, the avatar candidate generation unit 23 generates avatar candidates by appropriately changing the positions of the feature points based on the position information of the feature points extracted from the original image. More specifically, the avatar candidate generation unit 23 includes a reference image storage unit 27 that stores information on the feature points of one or more reference images different from the original image, a feature point position adjustment unit 28 that sets the positions of the feature points in the partial design to positions obtained by internally dividing the positions of the feature points in the reference image and the positions of the feature points in the original image at a certain ratio, a partial design generation unit 29 that generates a partial design based on the positions of the feature points adjusted by the feature point position adjustment unit 28, and an overall design construction unit 30 that constructs an overall avatar design by combining the generated partial designs. In the second embodiment, by separately preparing a reference image as an index and arranging the feature points at positions obtained by internally dividing the positions of the feature points in the reference image and the positions of the corresponding feature points in the original image at a certain ratio, it is possible to generate a partial design / avatar design that reflects the features of the reference image while maintaining the features of the original image.

[0061] Even when such a configuration is adopted, similar to the first embodiment, the avatar output device according to the second embodiment can provide an appropriate avatar design that reflects the features of the original image to a certain extent as a selection candidate, and also has the advantage of being able to provide an avatar design that conforms to the design preferences of a person with a specific attribute.

[0062] As described above, the content of the present invention has been described with respect to the first and second embodiments. However, of course, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the specific configurations described in the embodiments. As long as the functions of the present invention can be realized, various modifications and application examples of the above embodiments also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[0063] For example, regarding the avatar candidate generation unit, for specific parts, the avatar candidate generation unit 23 may generate partial designs, and for other parts, after selecting existing partial designs by the avatar candidate generation unit 4, the overall avatar design may be generated by synthesizing both. Also, in the avatar candidate generation unit 23, a configuration may be adopted in which the reference image storage unit 27 is omitted and the position of the feature points in the original image is arbitrarily changed by the feature point position adjustment unit 28.

[0064] Further, in the avatar candidate generation units 4 and 23, not only the overall avatar design may be generated, but also some designs, for example, only the face or only the entire head may be generated. In this case, configurations such as generating an integrated avatar by reusing existing designs for other parts in the avatar output unit 6 can be considered.

Industrial Applicability

[0065] The present invention can be used as a technology for presenting a plurality of candidates based on an original image related to an avatar user and generating the user's avatar.

Explanation of Signs

[0066] 1 Original image input unit 2 Attribute information input unit 3 Feature point extraction unit 4, 23 Avatar candidate generation unit 5 Avatar candidate selection unit 6 Avatar output unit 7, 26 Storage unit 8, 24 Related avatar candidate information providing unit 9, 25 Attribute avatar candidate information providing unit 10 Token generation unit 11 Transaction generation unit 12 Electronic signature generation unit 13 Output unit 14 Feature point information acquisition unit 15 User authentication unit 18 Partial design storage unit 19 Partial design extraction unit 20 Partial Design Processing Unit 21, 30 Overall Design Construction Unit 22 Avatar Generation Unit 27 Reference Image Storage Unit 28 Feature Point Position Adjustment Unit 29 Partial Design Generation Unit

Claims

1. An avatar output device that outputs an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from a plurality of avatar candidates that are semi-finished or finished avatars, A feature point extraction means for extracting feature points of an original image; an avatar candidate generating means for generating a plurality of avatar candidates, which are semi-finished or finished avatars, from the original image; an avatar output means for outputting an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from a plurality of avatar candidates; a storage means for storing avatar candidate information, which is information about a selected avatar candidate, in association with feature point information, which is information about the feature points extracted by said feature point extraction means, and attribute information, which is information about attributes of a person associated with the generated avatar through an original image; a related avatar candidate information providing means for extracting related avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with feature point information having commonality with the feature points extracted by the feature point extracting means, from the avatar candidate information stored in the storage means, and providing avatar candidates based on the extracted related avatar candidate information to the avatar candidate generating means; an attribute avatar candidate information providing means for providing, to said avatar candidate generating means, attribute avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with attribute information having commonality with an attribute of a person associated with a newly generated avatar through an original image, from among the avatar candidate information stored in said storage means; an information generating means for generating information including feature point information, which is information regarding feature points extracted from an original image corresponding to the avatar, and which is recorded in a distributed ledger on a distributed network corresponding to a non-fungible token corresponding to the avatar output by the avatar output means; an output instruction means for instructing the distributed network to output the information generated by the information generation means; a feature point information acquisition means for acquiring the feature point information included in information relating to a specific avatar from information recorded in a distributed ledger on the distributed network when performing identity authentication processing for a user of the specific avatar; an identity authentication means for performing identity authentication processing by comparing feature points extracted from the identity image of the specific avatar user with feature points of the original image included in the feature point information; Equipped with The avatar output device is characterized in that the avatar candidate generation means generates avatar candidates including designs that are identical and / or similar to all or part of the designs of avatar candidates corresponding to the related avatar candidate information provided by the related avatar candidate information providing means, and avatar candidates including designs that are identical and / or similar to all or part of the designs of avatar candidates corresponding to the attribute avatar candidate information provided by the attribute avatar candidate information providing means.

2. An avatar output method for outputting an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from a plurality of avatar candidates which are semi-finished or finished avatars, comprising: A feature point extraction step of extracting feature points of an original image; an avatar candidate generation step of generating a plurality of avatar candidates, which are semi-finished or finished avatars, from the original image; an avatar output step of outputting an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from the plurality of avatar candidates; a storage step of storing avatar candidate information, which is information about the selected avatar candidate, in association with feature point information, which is information about the feature points extracted by the feature point extraction step, and attribute information, which is information about attributes of a person associated with the generated avatar through an original image; a related avatar candidate information providing step of extracting related avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with feature point information having commonality with the feature points extracted in the feature point extracting step, from the avatar candidate information stored in the storing step, and providing avatar candidates based on the extracted related avatar candidate information to the avatar candidate generating step; an attribute avatar candidate information providing step of providing, to the avatar candidate generating step, attribute avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with attribute information having commonality with an attribute of a person associated with a newly generated avatar through an original image, from among the avatar candidate information stored in the storing step; an information generating step of generating information including feature point information, which is information on feature points extracted from an original image corresponding to the avatar, and which is recorded in a distributed ledger on a distributed network corresponding to a non-fungible token corresponding to the avatar outputted in the avatar output step; an output instruction step of instructing the distributed network to output the information generated in the information generation step; a feature point information acquisition step of acquiring the feature point information included in information related to the specific avatar from information recorded in a distributed ledger on the distributed network when performing identity authentication processing for a user of the specific avatar; an identity authentication step of performing identity authentication processing by comparing feature points extracted from the identity image of the user of the specific avatar with feature points of the original image included in the feature point information; Including, The avatar output method is characterized in that, in the avatar candidate generation step, avatar candidates including designs that are identical and / or similar to all or part of the design of the avatar candidate corresponding to the related avatar candidate information provided in the related avatar candidate information providing step and avatar candidates including designs that are identical and / or similar to all or part of the design of the avatar candidate corresponding to the attribute avatar candidate information provided in the attribute avatar candidate information providing step are generated.

3. An avatar output program that causes a computer to output an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from a plurality of avatar candidates that are semi-finished or finished avatars, The computer is A feature point extraction function for extracting feature points of the original image; an avatar candidate generation function for generating a plurality of avatar candidates, which are semi-finished or finished avatars, from the original image; an avatar output function for outputting an avatar using one avatar candidate selected from the plurality of avatar candidates; a storage function for storing avatar candidate information, which is information about a selected avatar candidate, in association with feature point information, which is information about the feature points extracted by the feature point extraction function, and attribute information, which is information about attributes of a person associated with the generated avatar through an original image; and a related avatar candidate information providing function that extracts related avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with feature point information having commonality with the feature points extracted by the feature point extracting function, from the avatar candidate information stored in the storage function, and provides avatar candidates based on the extracted related avatar candidate information to the avatar candidate generating function; an attribute avatar candidate information providing function that provides, to the avatar candidate generating function, attribute avatar candidate information, which is avatar candidate information associated with attribute information having commonality with attributes of a person associated with a newly generated avatar through an original image, from among the avatar candidate information stored in the storage function; an information generating function that generates information including feature point information, which is information about feature points extracted from an original image that corresponds to the avatar, and is recorded in a distributed ledger on a distributed network corresponding to a non-fungible token that corresponds to the avatar output by the avatar output function; an output instruction function for instructing the distributed network to output the information generated by the information generation function; a feature point information acquisition function that acquires the feature point information included in information related to a specific avatar from information recorded in a distributed ledger on the distributed network when performing identity authentication processing for a user of the specific avatar; an identity authentication function for performing identity authentication processing by comparing feature points extracted from the identity image of the user of the specific avatar with feature points of the original image included in the feature point information; Run the command, The avatar output program is characterized in that the avatar candidate generation function generates avatar candidates including designs that are identical and / or similar to all or a part of the designs of avatar candidates corresponding to the related avatar candidate information provided from the related avatar candidate information providing function, and avatar candidates including designs that are identical and / or similar to all or a part of the designs of avatar candidates corresponding to the attribute avatar candidate information provided from the attribute avatar candidate information providing function.

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