Video superposition system and method
First Claim
1. A graphic image system comprising:
- a source of a first video signal representing a first image including a moving human subject having a head with a face;
an image position estimating system for estimating the instantaneous position of said head of said human subject;
a source of a second signal representing a second image including a character having a head with a mask outline, wherein said mask outline moves in response to the instantaneous position of said head in said first image; and
means, responsive to said position estimating system and to said first and second signals, for dynamically defining an estimated boundary of said face of said human subject in said first image and for merging the face in said first image, as limited by said estimated boundary, with the second image within the mask outline to generate a third signal representing an animated avatar having said face presented in said mask outline.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A graphic image system comprising a video camera producing a first video signal defining a first image including a foreground object and a background, the foreground object preferably including an image of a human subject having a head with a face; an image position estimating system for identifying a position with respect to said foreground object, e.g., the head, the foreground object having features in constant physical relation to the position; and a computer, responsive to the position estimating system, for defining a mask region separating the foreground object from said background. The computer generates a second video signal including a portion corresponding to the mask region, responsive to said position estimating system, which preferably includes a character having a mask outline. In one embodiment, the mask region of the second video signal is keyed so that the foreground object of the first video signal shows through, with the second video signal having portions which interact with the foreground object. In another embodiment, means, responsive to the position estimating system, for dynamically defining an estimated boundary of the face and for merging the face, as limited by the estimated boundary, within the mask outline of the character. Video and still imaging devices may be flexibly placed in uncontrolled environments, such as in a kiosk in a retail store, with an actual facial image within the uncontrolled environment placed within a computer generated virtual world replacing the existing background and any non-participants.
389 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A graphic image system comprising:
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a source of a first video signal representing a first image including a moving human subject having a head with a face;
an image position estimating system for estimating the instantaneous position of said head of said human subject;
a source of a second signal representing a second image including a character having a head with a mask outline, wherein said mask outline moves in response to the instantaneous position of said head in said first image; and
means, responsive to said position estimating system and to said first and second signals, for dynamically defining an estimated boundary of said face of said human subject in said first image and for merging the face in said first image, as limited by said estimated boundary, with the second image within the mask outline to generate a third signal representing an animated avatar having said face presented in said mask outline. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
the position estimating system further estimates the instantaneous orientation of said head of said human subject; - and
said mask outline in said second image is oriented based on the instantaneous orientation of said head in said first image.
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24. A method for personalizing an avatar, comprising steps for:
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generating a video image of a moving person having a head with a face;
sensing and tracking a position of the moving person'"'"'s face in the video image;
generating a mask portion image including a face;
generating a background image including an animated avatar having a face position portion that moves within the background image in response to the tracked position of the moving person'"'"'s face in the video image; and
generating a superimposed image having the mask portion image including the face overlaid on the background image in the responsively moving face position portion of the animated avatar. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
the step of sensing the position of the person'"'"'s face in the video image includes sensing the orientation of the person'"'"'s face in the video image; and
the step of generating a background image including an animated avatar having a face position portion includes orienting the face position portion within the background image based on the person'"'"'s face orientation in the video image.
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27. A method for personalizing an avatar as defined in claim 24, wherein the face in the mask portion image is based on the moving person'"'"'s face.
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28. A method for personalizing an avatar as defined in claim 24, wherein the face in the mask portion image is generated from the video image of the moving person.
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29. A method for representing multiple moving individuals, each located at a respective remote location, as personalized avatars within displayed video images, comprising steps for:
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generating video images, each video image associated with one of the multiple individuals at the respective remote locations, and each individual having a head with a face;
sensing and tracking a position of each individual'"'"'s face in the respective video image;
generating respective a mask portion image that includes the respective individual'"'"'s face;
generating a background image at each remote location, each background image including animated avatars, each animated avatar corresponding to a respective individual and having a face position portion that moves within the background image in response to the moving individual'"'"'s tracked face position in the respective video image;
providing the respective mask portion images and tracked face positions to the respective remote locations over a network; and
generating a superimposed image at each of the respective remote locations, each superimposed image having the mask portion images overlaid in the respective responsively moving face position portions of the animated avatars. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
the step of sensing the position of the individual'"'"'s face in the respective video image includes sensing the orientation of the individual'"'"'s face in the video image; and
the step of generating a background image including animated avatars each having a face position portion includes orienting the respective face position portion in the background image based on the corresponding individual'"'"'s face orientation in the video image.
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Specification