Training system and methods for dynamically injecting expression information into an animated facial mesh
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for training a trainee to recognize facial expressions from animations of computer-simulated faces, the system comprising:
- a trainee interface configured to display a facial animation;
a non-transitory machine-readable repository of facial expression overlays each corresponding to an emotion;
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program with instructions for combining one of the expression overlays into a facial animation to form a combined animation, by mapping at least a portion of the expression overlay to at least a portion of the facial animation, the computer program further including instructions to provide the combined animation for display in the trainee interface;
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program with instructions for executing a trainee evaluation module for evaluating a trainee'"'"'s performance in correctly recognizing displayed facial expressions in the combined animation, the trainee evaluation module configured to receive from the trainee a response to the combined animation displayed in the trainee interface; and
a computer system operative to execute at least one of the trainee interface, the computer program in the computer-readable storage medium, and the trainee evaluation module, the computer system also operative to access the repository.
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Abstract
A system and method for modifying facial animations to include expression and microexpression information is disclosed. Particularly, a system and method for applying actor-generated expression data to a facial animation, either in realtime or in storage is disclosed. Present embodiments may also be incorporated into a larger training program, designed to train users to recognize various expressions and microexpressions.
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Citations
54 Claims
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1. A system for training a trainee to recognize facial expressions from animations of computer-simulated faces, the system comprising:
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a trainee interface configured to display a facial animation; a non-transitory machine-readable repository of facial expression overlays each corresponding to an emotion; a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program with instructions for combining one of the expression overlays into a facial animation to form a combined animation, by mapping at least a portion of the expression overlay to at least a portion of the facial animation, the computer program further including instructions to provide the combined animation for display in the trainee interface; a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program with instructions for executing a trainee evaluation module for evaluating a trainee'"'"'s performance in correctly recognizing displayed facial expressions in the combined animation, the trainee evaluation module configured to receive from the trainee a response to the combined animation displayed in the trainee interface; and a computer system operative to execute at least one of the trainee interface, the computer program in the computer-readable storage medium, and the trainee evaluation module, the computer system also operative to access the repository. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 46, 47, 48)
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8. A method for training a trainee to recognize facial expressions from animations of computer-simulated faces, the method comprising:
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accessing at least a portion of a facial expression overlay from a non-transitory machine-readable repository of facial expression overlays each corresponding to an emotion; combining the accessed expression overlay into a facial animation to form a combined animation, by mapping at least a portion of the accessed expression overlay to at least a portion of the facial animation; providing the combined animation for display in a trainee interface; receiving a trainee'"'"'s response to the combined animation shown in the trainee interface; and using the received response to determine a performance level indicative of an extent to which the trainee has correctly interpreted the combined animation; wherein at least a portion of the method is performed by one or more computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable modules, for training a trainee to recognize facial expressions from computer-displayed facial animations, comprising:
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an expression injection module operative to; access at least a portion of a facial expression overlay from a non-transitory machine-readable repository of facial expression overlays each corresponding to an emotion; combine the accessed expression overlay into a facial animation to form a combined animation, by mapping at least a portion of the accessed expression overlay to a digital mesh of the facial animation; and provide the combined animation for display in a trainee interface configured to display facial animations of an avatar; and a trainee evaluation module operative to receive a trainee'"'"'s response to the combined animation displayed in the trainee interface. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A system for combining at least a portion of a microexpression into a facial animation, wherein a microexpression is a minute involuntary physical change on a face, the system comprising:
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a non-transitory machine-readable repository of facial microexpression overlays each corresponding to a facial microexpression; a non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program with instructions to combine at least a portion of one of the microexpression overlays into a facial animation; and a computer system operative to execute the computer-readable medium and access the repository. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 49)
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24. A method for combining at least a portion of a microexpression into a facial animation, wherein a microexpression is a minute involuntary physical change on a face, the method comprising:
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combining a facial microexpression overlay into a facial animation to form a combined animation, by mapping at least a portion of the microexpression overlay to at least a portion of a digital mesh of the facial animation; and providing the combined animation for display; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 50)
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28. A method for receiving a facial animation with a combined microexpression, wherein a microexpression is a minute involuntary physical change on a face, the method comprising:
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sending an emotion identifier to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storage medium encoded with a computer program configured to instruct a computer device to access at least a portion of a facial expression overlay from a non-transitory machine-readable repository of facial expression overlays each corresponding to an emotion, and to combine the accessed expression overlay into a facial animation to form a combined animation; and receiving a combined animation from the computing device, the combined animation comprising a combination of at least a portion of a facial microexpression overlay corresponding to the emotion identifier with at least a portion of a facial animation, in which the microexpression overlay is mapped to a digital mesh of the facial animation; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 51)
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32. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer-readable program code adapted to be executed by hardware to perform a method comprising:
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accessing a facial microexpression overlay from a non-transitory machine-readable repository of facial microexpression overlays each corresponding to a facial microexpression wherein a microexpression is a minute involuntary physical change on a face; combining the accessed microexpression overlay into a facial animation to form a combined animation, by mapping at least a portion of the accessed microexpression overlay to at least a portion of the facial animation; and providing the combined animation for display in an interface. - View Dependent Claims (52)
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33. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable modules, executed by hardware, for combining a facial microexpression into a facial animation, wherein a microexpression is a minute involuntary physical change on a face, the storage medium comprising:
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a user interface operative to; present a set of emotions; and receive a selection of one of the emotions by a user; and an expression injection module operative to; select a facial microexpression overlay corresponding to the user-selected emotion from a non-transitory machine-readable repository of facial microexpression overlays each corresponding to an emotion; combine the selected microexpression overlay into a facial animation to form a combined animation, by mapping at least a portion of the microexpression overlay to at least a portion of a digital mesh of the facial animation; and provide the combined animation for display after the user interface receives the user-selected emotion. - View Dependent Claims (53)
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34. A method of inserting microexpression information into a facial animation, comprising:
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converting an actor'"'"'s performance of a facial microexpression into a digital animation; subtracting a digital image of a non-expressive facial pose of the actor from the animation to create an overlay of the microexpression; and mapping the overlay to a digital mesh of a facial animation sequence; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A method comprising:
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displaying an avatar in a virtual environment accessible to a plurality of users, said avatar corresponding to a first user; receiving an instruction from the first user, for controlling a facial animation of the avatar in the virtual environment; determining an emotion of the avatar associated with the instruction; accessing a facial microexpression overlay corresponding to the determined emotion, wherein a microexpression is a minute involuntary physical change on a face; and combining the microexpression overlay into the facial animation of the avatar to form a combined animation, by mapping the microexpression overlay to the facial animation; wherein at least a portion of the method is performed by one or more computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 54)
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Specification