What you need to know

  • A patent has revealed that one day the iPhone may be able to generate a Memoji from a user's photo.
  • The patent is titled "Technique for creating avatar from image data"
  • The tech could scan a user's photo and compile findings into a Memoji based on what it sees.

A patent published today has revealed how we might one day be able to generate Memojis by simply letting our iPhone scan a photo of our faces.

As reported by AppleInsider, the patent is titled "Technique for creating avatar from image data", and it basically does exactly that.

According to the report:

In short, the patent uses an image of the user to determine the facial features of the subject, then selects digital representations and compiles them into an avatar.

The processing method measures the spatial facial attributes of the subject, classifying the expression of the person at the same time, and determining which from a selection of avatar templates is the closest match. The template avatars are deformed based on the expression classification to aid matching.

Other attributes of the subject are then identified and the selected avatar template is deformed further, before the process is completed and a user's avatar is available to use.

Not only can the patent determine hair style, hair color, glasses, and facial hair, it can also use the compiled data in other templates. This means that you could use the feature to create a Memoji, and then use the same data to create a different one where you are wearing a different outfit or costume, or have a different facial expression.

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Such technology would certainly make the process of creating Memojis significantly faster and easier, in particular for people with accessibility needs. Of course this is just a patent, so there's no guarantee this technology will ever see the light of day. However, this is certainly one of the least far-fetched patents we've seen in recent weeks.