Patent EP0859326A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US7433807B2
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US
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Facial image processing
Assignee: Zhigu Holdings Ltd
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Filing: 2005-09-01
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Granted: 2008-10-07
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Expires: 2025-09-01
Abstract
Abstract In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
Inventors
- 👤 Stephen Marschner
- 👤 Brian K. Guenter
- 👤 Sashi Raghupathy
- 👤 Kirk Olynyk
- 👤 Sing Bing Kang
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 10:33
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T15/00; G06T15/50; G06T15/506; G06T7/00; G06T7/50; G06T7/521; G06V; G06V10/00; G06V10/40; G06V10/60; G06V40/00; G06V40/10; G06V40/16; G06V40/168
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
89 words
A computer-implemented facial image-processing method comprising: illuminating a face with multiple different light sources simultaneously, wherein at least one of the light sources is polarized; measuring range map data from said illuminating; measuring image data from said illuminating; applying a generic face template to the range map data to reject noise that is associated with the range map data; deriving a 3-dimensional surface from the range map data; computing surface normals to the 3-dimensional surface; and processing the surface normals and the image data to derive an albedo map.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
89 words
A computer-implemented facial image-processing method comprising: illuminating a face with multiple different light sources simultaneously, wherein at least one of the light sources is polarized; measuring range map data from said illuminating; measuring image data from said illuminating; applying a generic face template to the range map data to reject noise that is associated with the range map data; deriving a 3-dimensional surface from the range map data; computing surface normals to the 3-dimensional surface; and processing the surface normals and the image data to derive an albedo map.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein all of the light sources are polarized.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising prior to deriving the 3-dimensional surface, filtering the range map data.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
137 words
A computer-implemented facial image-processing method comprising: illuminating a face with illumination, wherein the illumination comprises: a first light source that is polarized and selected so that specularly-suppressed reflective properties of the face can be ascertained; and a second light source that projects a structured pattern onto the face, while simultaneously illuminating the face with the first light source, wherein the second light source projects the structured pattern on the face from which structure data can be ascertained; and contemporaneously capturing structure data describing the face's dimensional shape and structure and reflectance data describing reflectance properties of the face from the illumination, whereby the computer processes the structure data and the reflectance data to provide range map data, the range map data being filtered by applying a generic face template to reject noise in the range map data.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
137 words
A computer-implemented facial image-processing method comprising: illuminating a face with illumination, wherein the illumination comprises: a first light source that is polarized and selected so that specularly-suppressed reflective properties of the face can be ascertained; and a second light source that projects a structured pattern onto the face, while simultaneously illuminating the face with the first light source, wherein the second light source projects the structured pattern on the face from which structure data can be ascertained; and contemporaneously capturing structure data describing the face's dimensional shape and structure and reflectance data describing reflectance properties of the face from the illumination, whereby the computer processes the structure data and the reflectance data to provide range map data, the range map data being filtered by applying a generic face template to reject noise in the range map data.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein said illuminating comprises using additional light sources.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein the illuminating further comprises an infrared light source.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein the first and second light sources comprise infrared light sources.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein said illuminating comprises using multiple polarized light sources.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein said illuminating comprises illuminating the face with light sources at different frequencies.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein said capturing comprises using a camera having a polarizer that suppresses specularly-reflected light so that diffuse component reflection data is captured.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 10 , wherein the second light source comprises an infrared light source.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein said illuminating comprises illuminating the face with multiple narrow-band light sources.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
105 words
A computer-implemented facial image-processing method comprising: illuminating a face with a first polarized light source that is selected so that specularly-suppressed reflective properties of the face can be ascertained; illuminating the face with a second structured light source that projects a pattern onto the face, while simultaneously illuminating the face with the first polarized light source; capturing both specularly-suppressed reflection data and structure data from the simultaneous illumination, whereby the computer processes the structure data and the specularly-suppressed reflection data to provide range map data, the range map data being filtered by applying a generic face template to reject noise in the range map data.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
105 words
A computer-implemented facial image-processing method comprising: illuminating a face with a first polarized light source that is selected so that specularly-suppressed reflective properties of the face can be ascertained; illuminating the face with a second structured light source that projects a pattern onto the face, while simultaneously illuminating the face with the first polarized light source; capturing both specularly-suppressed reflection data and structure data from the simultaneous illumination, whereby the computer processes the structure data and the specularly-suppressed reflection data to provide range map data, the range map data being filtered by applying a generic face template to reject noise in the range map data.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 13 , wherein the light sources provide light at different frequencies.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 13 , wherein the light sources provide infrared light.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 13 further comprising processing the captured data to provide both (a) data that describes dimensional aspects of the face and (b) data that describes diffuse reflective properties of the face.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 16 , wherein the data that describes the diffuse reflective properties of the face comprises an albedo map.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2011-10-07 | 2012-04-07 | 2012-10-07 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2015-10-07 | 2016-04-07 | 2016-10-07 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2019-10-07 | 2020-04-07 | 2020-10-07 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |