Avatar Animation via Headset Sensor Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electronic communication technologies, especially in smart glasses, struggle to efficiently convey non-verbal interactions and representations of users, particularly when users are engaged in physical activities or recording content, leading to a lack of immersive and engaging experiences.
Innovation Solution
The system allows users to share electronic messages with animated avatars that move in sync with sensor data from head-wearable devices, enabling real-time or asynchronous animation of head and mouth movements based on inertial measurement unit data, even when the user is performing physical activities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If animated avatars are implemented in smart glasses to convey non-verbal interactions, then communication expressiveness is improved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the avatar animation functionality into separate processing components: sensor data collection from the headset, movement data extraction, avatar animation rendering, and communication data transmission. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining full functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that receives sensor data from the headset, processes it to extract head and mouth movements, and generates avatar animation data. This intermediary layer decouples the complex sensor processing from the avatar rendering, simplifying both the headset device and the communication platform.
2Ease of operation
If real-time avatar animation is implemented, then communication engagement is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic sampling of sensor data at optimized intervals rather than continuous processing. The inertial measurement unit data is collected at specific time intervals sufficient to capture meaningful head and mouth movements while minimizing unnecessary processing, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining animation quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies of the user's movements through avatar animation rather than transmitting or processing full-scale video data. The avatar uses essential movement data from sensors to recreate key non-verbal cues, consuming significantly less power than full video processing while maintaining communication engagement.
3Measurement precision
If avatar animation uses sensor data from head-wearable devices, then movement accuracy is improved, but data transmission reliability decreases due to weak wireless connections
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential movement data needed for avatar animation from the sensor data stream, separating critical head and mouth movement information from redundant data. This extraction reduces the volume of data requiring wireless transmission, improving reliability while maintaining movement tracking accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts data transmission parameters based on connection quality, optimizing the balance between data fidelity and transmission reliability. When wireless connections are weak, the system prioritizes transmitting essential movement parameters over optional detailed data, ensuring core avatar animation functionality remains reliable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enhances the immersive and engaging experience of electronic communications by providing animated avatars that accurately represent the user's movements, even in low-power smart glasses, ensuring smooth and crisp animations even with weak wireless connections.
Implementation Method 1
data from an inertial measurement unit of a head-wearable device that the user is wearing
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes animating head movements of an avatar representing the wearer of augmented-reality glasses, based on first data indicating movements a wearer's head during a period in which the wearer of the augmented-reality glasses is recording an audio message using spoken words, where the first data was obtained by an inertial-measurement unit (IMU) of the augmented-reality glasses. The method includes animating mouth movements of the avatar representing the user, based on second data indicating the spoken words of the user during the period of time, where the second data was obtained by a microphone of the augmented-reality glasses. And the method includes providing an animated version of the avatar having the head movements and the mouth movements to a device other than the augmented-reality glasses for presentation in conjunction with playback of an electronic communication at the device other than the augmented-reality glasses.