Avatar construction using depth camera

A method for constructing an avatar of a human subject, the method comprising:

• acquiring a depth map of the human subject;
• obtaining a virtual skeleton of the human subject based on the depth map;
• harvesting from the virtual skeleton a set of characteristic metrics corresponding to distances between predetermined points of the virtual skeleton;
• providing the characteristic metrics as input to an algorithm trained using machine learning, the algorithm having been trained using at least one single human being in a range of poses and a range of human beings in a single pose, to output a virtual body mesh as a function of the characteristic metrics;
• refining the virtual body mesh by varying the characteristic metrics to minimize a distance between points on the depth map and corresponding points of the virtual body mesh;
• constructing a virtual head mesh, distinct from the virtual body mesh, with facial features resembling those of the human subject;
• and
• connecting the virtual body mesh to the virtual head mesh.

A system for constructing an avatar of a human subject, the system comprising

• a logic subsystem;
• a storage subsystem holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to:
• obtain a virtual skeleton of the human subject based on a depth map,
• harvest from the virtual skeleton a set of characteristic metrics corresponding to distances between predetermined points of the virtual skeleton,
• provide the characteristic metrics as input to an algorithm trained using machine learning, the algorithm having been trained using at least one single human being in a range of poses and a range of human beings in a single pose, to output a virtual body mesh as a function of the characteristic metrics,
• refine the virtual body mesh by varying the characteristic metrics to decrease distance between points on the depth map and corresponding points of the virtual body mesh;
• augment the virtual body mesh with virtual clothing;
• construct a virtual head mesh, distinct from the virtual body mesh, with facial features resembling those of the human subject, and
• connect the virtual body mesh to the virtual head mesh.