System and method for applying a reflectance modifying agent to change a persons appearance based on a digital image

• US 9,449,382 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2013
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TCMS Transparent Beauty, LLC
• Original Assignee: TCMS Transparent Beauty, LLC
• Inventors: Edgar, Albert D., Iglehart, David C., Yeager, Rick B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Chan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas, Mia M
• Application Number:
  US14/068,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20140050377A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30196 Human being; Person
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/90 Determination of colour characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/622 with simulation on a subsidiary picture reproducer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/628 Memory colours, e.g. skin or sky

Abstract

A computer-controlled system determines attributes of a frexel, which is an area of human skin, and applies a reflectance modifying agent (RMA) at the pixel level to automatically change the appearance of human features based on one or more digital images. The change may be based on a digital image of the same frexel, for as seen in a prior digital photograph captured previously by the computer-controlled system. The system scans the frexel and uses feature recognition software to compare the person'"'"'s current features in the frexel with that person'"'"'s features in the digital image. It then calculates enhancements to the make the current features appear more like the features in the digital image, and it applies the RMA to the frexel to accomplish the enhancements. Or the change may be based on a digital image of another person, through the application of RMAs.

Claims

1. A system to change an appearance of a region of skin of a first person, the system comprising:

a camera configured to generate one or more images of the region of human skin, the region of human skin being allocated into a plurality of frexels;

a computing device executing enhancement software to determine a difference between the plurality of frexels within the region of skin of the first person and a desired image based on a first image of skin, the first image of skin depicting one or more features to be cosmetically enhanced in the region of skin and the desired image comprising a model for visual enhancements of the first image of skin; and

an apparatus comprising at least one reflectance modifying agent application element, the reflectance modifying agent application element selectively applying a reflectance modifying agent to one or more of the plurality of frexels in accordance with the difference between the plurality of frexels within the region of skin and the first image of skin to emulate the one or more features of the desired image within the region of skin of the first person.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising providing a digital image feature map based on the first image.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first image comprises a digital image of the first person.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first image comprises a digital image of a region of human skin of a second person.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first image comprises reflectance and topographical data.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising comparing a digital feature map, which is provided based on the first image of skin, and a frexel feature map to generate a reconstruction image by:

using the digital feature map as a model to derive enhancement values; and

generating the reconstruction image as an enhancement image based on the derived enhancement values.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is further operable to perform operations comprising:

recognizing features in digital images;

creating a digital image feature map from a digital image;

creating a frexel feature map; and

generating a reconstruction image as an enhancement image based on a difference between values in the digital image feature map and values in the frexel feature map.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein generating the reconstruction image comprises applying a filtering ratio to the digital image feature map.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein a digital image feature map is provided and is based on a plurality of digital images, the reflectance modifying agent being applied based on the digital image feature map.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the digital image feature map comprises data provided as an average of data across the plurality of digital images.