Apple Granted Patent for Quirky Avatar Creation Platform Six Years After Original Filing

Apple has just been granted a patent for a quirky but advanced avatar creation and editing tool.

Specifically, the patent, 9,576,400, describes “an avatar editing environment” that would allow users to create and customize avatars “for use in online games and other applications.” The patent describes users being able to choose between automatic and manual avatar creation — in the latter, the avatar and its features can be edited and tweaked in a variety of ways via touch input and gestures. Interestingly, while the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office published the application today, it was apparently filed for way back in 2011.

Some of the editable features could include skin tone, eye color, clothes, accessories, and more — which would all be tweaked within a dedicated application. But the created virtual avatars could be used across a variety of applications — including iMessage, various email clients, or as a stand-in for a photo in Contacts, according to the patent. Additionally, some of the included figures indicate an Xbox Avatar or Nintendo Mii-type system for gaming — in which a virtual avatar is displayed on a profile page alongside a player’s stats. In essence, the system would allow users to create “a representation of their alter ego.”

Additionally, the patent mentions “video conferencing” and a “video chat room” in which an avatar could replace an image of a user. The avatar would track and mimic the facial expressions and even eye movements of a user, thoroughly replicating their actions digitally. While the patent doesn’t specifically mention it, this feature could be used in an app like FaceTime — in which a live stream of a caller is replaced by that caller’s avatar. Interestingly, this description echoes technology used by real-time motion capture startup Faceshift, which Apple acquired in September 2015.

Of course, since this is only a patent, we have no idea what direction Apple will take with this avatar-editing platform — if any. Its true purpose is also obscured by the fact that the patent was filed for so long ago. In any case, it’s safe to say that a proprietary platform for creating digital avatars would certainly be a unique addition to the Apple ecosystem.