Apple patents avatar creation app
Apple is going to develop an avatar creation app soon. Avatar creation app allows you to make an animated version of yourself to use across its online games and software.
For a product listed as “avatar editing environment”, the tech giant has been granted a patent. This looks like its version of Snap’s popular Nintendo Mii or the Bitmoji app.
In 2011, the patent was filed describes a web page, application programming interface (API), or mobile app. This is reported by MacRumors as it offers the ability to craft a 2D or 3D avatar. By editing fashion and facial characteristics, the tool allows users to automatically or manually craft their digital likeness. The avatars look cartoonish rather than “real” in the illustrations Apple has provided in the vein of Bitmoji.
Users can apply their digital version to Apple’s applications such as FaceTime, Mail, and iMessage among others. In addition to that, the API could allow developers to implement the avatars into online games and social network.
When Bitmoji is witnessing a surge in popularity, the granting of the patent by the Trademark Office and U.S. Patent comes at a time. At present, the Snap-owned app is sitting atop the iOS App Store chart and in seventh place on the Google Play Store. Similarly due to its parent company’s efforts to further integrate it with its flagship platform, Snapchat.
Snap has us scratching our heads when it cited Apple as a competitor in its S-1 filing for its initial public offering earlier this month. The similarities are beginning to become much clearer, especially in regards to iMessage in light of this patent.
In March 2016, reports of Snap’s quiet acquisition of Bitmoji-maker Bitstrips first appeared. Since then the app has gradually become a bigger part of the Snapchat experience. Particularly in regards to user chat and profiles interactions.
Nevertheless, there are some major differences between the current version of Bitmoji and Apple’s concept. Firstly, the Apple avatar editor would boast actually animated creations. This can be set to perform actions on certain platforms. Apple uses an example pertaining to iMessage to describe this function. It claims when a user is waiting for a response to a text the avatar can be animated to fall asleep or click its foot.
In FaceTime, even more, impressive are Apple’s plans for avatars where they could represent each user on a video call. The respective characters can then be controlled to track each other’s movements using their head, body, and eyes.
Whether the patent ever makes the leap to the fully-formed product is hard to predict. Watching as many concepts never see the light of day. On concord, with Apple CEO Tim Cooks recently touting the potential of augmented reality as tech that could one day rival the appeal of the smartphone. This is easy to see how avatars could fit into that future. The avatar could be one way for users to socially interact with one another if Apple ever does end up releasing an AR hardware device such as rumors suggest. A bit like what Facebook has in store for Oculus VR. On concord, there’s a reason why AR is still referred to as emerging tech. Cook has admitted there’s a lot of work to be done before its ready to go mainstream.
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