# US 7,609,270 B2 · System and method of customizing animated entities for use in a multi-media communication application > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 7,609,270 B2 - Document ID: US7609270B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 12/110,844 - Filed: 2008-04-28 - Published: 2008-08-21 - Granted: 2009-10-27 - Earliest claimed: 2000-11-03 - Assignees: AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P. - Inventors: Joern Ostermann; Mehmet Reha Civanlar; Ana Cristina Andres del Valle; Patrick Haffner - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7609270B2 ## CPC - G06T 13/40: of characters, e.g. humans, animals or virtual beings - G06Q 30/0601: Electronic shopping [e-shopping] - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract In an embodiment, a method is provided for creating a personal animated entity for delivering a multi-media message from a sender to a recipient. An image file from the sender may be received by a server. The image file may include an image of an entity. The sender may be requested to provide input with respect to facial features of the image of the entity in preparation for animating the image of the entity. After the sender provides the input with respect to the facial features of the image of the entity, the image of the entity may be presented as a personal animated entity to the sender to preview. Upon approval of the preview from the sender, the image of the entity may be presented as a sender-selectable personal animated entity for delivering the multi-media message to the recipient. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A sender selectable personal animated entity for use in delivering a multi-media message from a sender to a recipient, the animated entity created according to a method comprising: receiving from the sender a personal image file at a server, the image file including an image of an entity; via a dialog between the server and the sender, requesting via a processor the sender to provide input with respect to a plurality of facial features of the image of the entity in preparation for animating the image of the entity, wherein the dialog includes, after the sender has input a predetermined number of facial features, presenting the sender with an option to continue to mark facial features; and after the sender provides the input with respect to the plurality of facial features of the image of the entity, presenting the image of the entity as a personal animated entity to the sender to preview or a display, wherein upon approval of the preview from the sender, as the sender later begins a process of preparing a multi-media message to send to the recipient, presenting the personal animated entity as a sender selectable image for delivering the multi-media message to the recipient. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The personal animated entity of claim 1, wherein upon approval of the preview from the sender, and when the sender begins a process of preparing a multi-media message, a system presents a plurality of images of entities including the sender selectable personal animated entity for delivering the multi-media message to the recipient and wherein the user selects one of the presented plurality of images for delivering the multi-media message. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The personal animated entity of claim 1, wherein the image file further includes a background, and the method for creating the personal animated entity further comprises: presenting the sender with an option to include the background from the image file with the personal animated entity when the multi-media message is delivered to the recipient. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The personal animated entity of claim 1, wherein the image file further includes a background, and once the sender selects the personal animated entity, the multi-media message is delivered to the recipient such that the personal animated entity delivers the multi-media message with the background from the image file. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The personal animated entity of claim 4, wherein the animated entity is blended with an uncovered background region when the personal animated entity moves during delivery of the multi-media message to the recipient. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The personal animated entity of claim 4, wherein boundaries of the personal animated entity are smoothed by blending pels of the personal animated entity with pels of the background. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The personal animated entity of claim 4, wherein an image signal is extrapolated into uncovered background areas due to movement of the personal animated entity during delivery of the multi-media message. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The personal animated entity of claim 7, wherein the extrapolation includes using a method based on projection into convex sets. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The personal animated entity of claim 7, wherein the extrapolation includes using signal repetition. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The personal animated entity of claim 1, wherein the method of creating the personal animated entity further comprises: selecting, by the sender, one of the plurality of animated entities including the personal animated entity created by the sender; selecting, by the sender, a voice for the selected one of the animated entities; and delivering the multi-media message to the recipient using the selected one of the animated entities and the selected voice. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The personal animated entity of claim 10, wherein the method of creating the personal animated entity further comprises: modifying, by the sender, the voice of the selected animated entity; and delivering the multi-media message to the recipient using a selected one of the animated entities and the modified voice. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The personal animated entity of claim 10, wherein the method of creating the personal animated entity further comprises: selecting, by the sender, an image to use as a background image; and delivering the multi-media message to the recipient using the selected one of the animated entities, wherein the selected one of the animated entities appears to be included as part of the background image when delivering the multi-media message. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The personal animated entity of claim 11, wherein the dialog with the user further elicits inputs from the user regarding a symmetry axis for the entity. ### Claim 14 A tangible computer-readable medium storing instructions for controlling a computing device to create a personal animated entity for delivering a multi-media message from a sender to a recipient, the instructions comprising: receiving from the sender a personal image file at a server, the image file including an image of an entity; via a dialog between the server and the sender, requesting via a processor in the computing device the sender to provide input with respect to a plurality of facial features of the image of the entity in preparation for animating the image of the entity, wherein the dialog includes, after the sender has input a predetermined number of facial features, presenting the sender with an option to continue to mark facial features; and after the sender provides the input with respect to the plurality of facial features of the image of the entity, presenting via the processor the image of the entity as a personal animated entity to the sender to preview, wherein upon approval of the preview from the sender, as the sender later begins a process of preparing a multi-media message to send to the recipient, presenting the personal animated entity as a sender selectable image for delivering the multi-media message to the recipient. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein, upon approval of the preview from the sender, and when the sender begins a process of preparing a multi-media message, a system presents a plurality of images of entities including the sender selectable personal animated entity for delivering the multi-media message to the recipient and wherein the user selects one of the presented plurality of images for delivering the multi-media message. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the image file further includes a background, the instructions further comprising: presenting the sender with an option to include the background from the image file with the personal animated entity when the multi-media message is delivered to the recipient. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the image file further includes a background, the instructions further comprising, once the sender selects the personal animated entity, the multi-media message is delivered to the recipient such that the personal animated entity delivers the multi-media message with the background from the image file as the background. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise: blending the animated entity with an uncovered background region when the personal animated entity moves during delivery of the multi-media message to the recipient. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise: smoothing boundaries of the personal animated entity by blending pels of the personal animated entity with pels of the background. ### Claim 20 (depends on 14) The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further comprise: extrapolating an image signal into uncovered background areas due to movement of the personal animated entity during delivery of the multi-media message. ### Claim 21 (depends on 14) The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further comprise: selecting, by the sender, one of the plurality of animated entities including the personal animated entity created by the sender; selecting, by the sender, a voice for the selected one of the animated entities; and delivering the multi-media message to the recipient using the selected one of the animated entities and the selected voice. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further comprise: modifying, by the sender, the voice of the selected animated entity; and delivering the multi-media message to the recipient using a selected one of the animated entities and the modified voice. ### Claim 23 A system for creating a personal animated entity for delivering a multi-media message from a sender to a recipient, the system comprising: a module configured to receive from the sender a personal image file at a server, the image file including an image of an entity; a module configured, via a dialog between the sewer and the sender, to request the sender to provide input with respect to a plurality of facial features of the image of the entity in preparation for animating the image of the entity, wherein the dialog includes, after the sender has input a predetermined number of facial features, presenting the sender with an option to continue to mark facial features; and a module configured, after the sender provides the input with respect to the plurality of facial features of the image of the entity, to present the image of the entity as a personal animated entity to the sender to preview, wherein upon approval of the preview from the sender, as the sender later begins a process of preparing a multi-media message to send to the recipient, presenting the personal animated entity as a sender selectable image for delivering the multi-media message to the recipient; and a module configured, upon approval of the preview from the sender, as the sender later begins a process of preparing a multi-media message to send to the recipient, to present the image of the entity as a sender selectable personal animated entity for delivering the multi-media message to the recipient.