Apple experimenting with ways to automatically create Memoji characters based on selfies
Apple appears to be experimenting with ways to automate the process of creating Memoji characters, with a new patent granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office revealing Apple’s interest in software that could analyze a photograph and produce a “digital avatar”.
The patent, titled “Technique for creating avatar from image data” is for a feature that could detect facial attributes such as hair type, hair color, eye color and skin color to create a digital character/avatar, which could be a reference to Apple’s Memoji feature that allows users to create themselves as emoji-like characters.
Within he patent’s description, published by the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple suggests the feature is aimed more at 2D images (possibly Memoji stickers) rather than three-dimensional images (Memoji) however, Apple could presumably take advantage of the TrueDepth camera array on compatible iPhone and iPad models to enhance the feature further.
Apple regularly files for patents for new software and hardware which never materialise into anything more than a concept or experiment. The new automatic Memoji technology could possibly never be released, but it is interesting to see how Apple is looking to use software to simplify the creation of the characters.
The last major update to Memoji was with the release of iOS 13 last month. Apple has now added various new different hats, hair styles and accessories such as piercings and even AirPods to the Animoji app in iMessage, bringing even more ways to create a more personalized character.