Applying animated 3D avatar in AR experiences

Aspects of the present disclosure involve a system for providing virtual experiences. The system accesses, by a messaging application, an image depicting a person. The system generates, by the messaging application, a three-dimensional (3D) avatar based on the person depicted in the image. The system receives input that selects a pose for the 3D avatar and one or more fashion items to be worn by the 3D avatar and places, by the messaging application, the 3D avatar in the selected pose and wearing the one or more fashion items in an augmented reality (AR) experience.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of priority to Greece Application Serial No. 20220100541, filed Jul. 7, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to providing augmented reality (AR) experiences using a messaging application.

BACKGROUND

AR is a modification of a virtual environment. For example, in Virtual Reality (VR), a user is completely immersed in a virtual world, whereas in AR, the user is immersed in a world where virtual objects are combined with or superimposed on the real world. An AR system aims to generate and present virtual objects that interact realistically with a real-world environment and with each other. Examples of AR applications can include single or multiple player video games, instant messaging systems, and the like.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes systems, methods, techniques, instruction sequences, and computing machine program products that embody illustrative examples of the disclosure. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of various examples. It will be evident, however, to those skilled in the art, that examples may be practiced without these specific details. In general, well-known instruction instances, protocols, structures, and techniques are not necessarily shown in detail.

Typically, VR and AR systems allow users to add AR elements to their environment, where the environment comprises captured image data corresponding to a user's surroundings. Such systems can recommend AR elements based on various external factors, such as a current geographical location of the user and various other contextual clues. Some AR systems allow a user to capture a video of themselves or another person and select from a list of available AR elements to add to the image to see how the selected AR element looks on themselves or the person depicted in the image. While these systems generally work well, they limit the user to seeing how AR elements look within their current surroundings. They do not allow the user to see or visualize how the AR elements look with respect to the person depicted in the image in a new real-world or AR environment. As such, in accessing a virtual try-on experience, the users may not be fully immersed in the available looks and styles of a particular fashion item. This results in the user of these systems having to spend a great deal of effort searching through and navigating multiple user interfaces and pages of information to identify an item of interest. These tasks can be daunting and time consuming, which detracts from the overall interest of using these systems and results in wasted resources.

The disclosed techniques improve the efficiency of using an electronic device which implements or otherwise accesses an AR/VR system by intelligently and automatically generating a 3D avatar of a person depicted in an image and allowing that 3D avatar to be placed in a new virtual environment or virtual AR/VR experience. In some examples, the 3D avatar can be a real-world image of a person. In some examples, the 3D avatar is generated to represent features of a person depicted in an image. For example, the disclosed techniques capture an image, such as a two-dimensional (2D) image that depicts a person. The disclosed techniques apply a trained neural network to generate a 3D avatar representing the person depicted in the image. The 3D avatar is fully animatable and customizable allowing a user to pose the 3D avatar in any desired manner and to add any number of fashion items to be worn by the 3D avatar. The 3D avatar can be saved and added to a selected AR experience. In this way, a user can capture an image of themselves in one real-world environment and visualize how their 3D avatar wearing a desired set of fashion items looks in a totally different real-world environment using one or more AR elements.

For example, the 3D avatar can be placed in an AR experience in which a modeling runway is presented as the AR element and the 3D avatar is animated as walking down the runway in a particular manner. Article of clothing, garment, or fashion item can include a shirt, pants, skirt, dress, jewelry, purse, furniture item, household item, eyewear, eyeglasses, AR logos, AR emblems, purse, pants, shorts, skirts, jackets, t-shirts, blouses, glasses, jewelry, earrings, bunny ears, a hat, ear muffs, facial makeup, or any other suitable item or object.

In this way, the disclosed techniques improve the overall AR functionality and experience of the user in using the electronic device, while also reducing the overall amount of system resources needed to accomplish a task.

Networked Computing Environment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 for exchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network. The messaging system 100 includes multiple instances of a client device 102, each of which hosts a number of applications, including a messaging client 104 and other external applications 109 (e.g., third-party applications). Each messaging client 104 is communicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging client 104 (e.g., hosted on respective other client devices 102), a messaging server system 108 and external app(s) servers 110 via a network 112 (e.g., the Internet). A messaging client 104 can also communicate with locally-hosted third-party applications (also referred to as “external applications” and “external apps”) 109 using Application Program Interfaces (APIs).

In some examples, the client device 102 can include AR glasses or an AR headset in which virtual content is displayed within lenses of the glasses while a user views a real-world environment through the lenses. For example, an image can be presented on a transparent display that allows a user to simultaneously view content presented on the display and real-world objects.

A messaging client 104 (sometimes referred to as a client application) is able to communicate and exchange data with other messaging clients 104 and with the messaging server system 108 via the network 112. The data exchanged between messaging clients 104, and between a messaging client 104 and the messaging server system 108, includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well as payload data (e.g., text, audio, video or other multimedia data).

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality via the network 112 to a particular messaging client 104. While certain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein as being performed by either a messaging client 104 or by the messaging server system 108, the location of certain functionality either within the messaging client 104 or the messaging server system 108 may be a design choice. For example, it may be technically preferable to initially deploy certain technology and functionality within the messaging server system 108 but to later migrate this technology and functionality to the messaging client 104 where a client device 102 has sufficient processing capacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operations that are provided to the messaging client 104. Such operations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, and processing data generated by the messaging client 104. This data may include message content, client device information, geolocation information, media augmentation and overlays, message content persistence conditions, social network information, and live event information, as examples. Data exchanges within the messaging system 100 are invoked and controlled through functions available via user interfaces of the messaging client 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, an API server 116 is coupled to, and provides a programmatic interface to, application servers 114. The application servers 114 are communicatively coupled to a database server 120, which facilitates access to a database 126 that stores data associated with messages processed by the application servers 114. Similarly, a web server 128 is coupled to the application servers 114 and provides web-based interfaces to the application servers 114. To this end, the web server 128 processes incoming network requests over the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and several other related protocols.

The API server 116 receives and transmits message data (e.g., commands and message payloads) between the client device 102 and the application servers 114. Specifically, the API server 116 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that can be called or queried by the messaging client 104 in order to invoke functionality of the application servers 114. The API server 116 exposes various functions supported by the application servers 114, including account registration; login functionality; the sending of messages, via the application servers 114, from a particular messaging client 104 to another messaging client 104; the sending of media files (e.g., images or video) from a messaging client 104 to a messaging server 118, and for possible access by another messaging client 104; the settings of a collection of media data (e.g., story); the retrieval of a list of friends of a user of a client device 102; the retrieval of such collections, the retrieval of messages and content; the addition and deletion of entities (e.g., friends) to an entity graph (e.g., a social graph); the location of friends within a social graph; and opening an application event (e.g., relating to the messaging client 104).

The application servers 114 host a number of server applications and subsystems, including, for example, a messaging server 118, an image processing server 122, and a social network server 124. The messaging server 118 implements a number of message processing technologies and functions, particularly related to the aggregation and other processing of content (e.g., textual and multimedia content) included in messages received from multiple instances of the messaging client 104. As will be described in further detail, the text and media content from multiple sources may be aggregated into collections of content (e.g., called stories or galleries). These collections are then made available to the messaging client 104. Other processor- and memory-intensive processing of data may also be performed server-side by the messaging server 118, in view of the hardware requirements for such processing.

The application servers 114 also include an image processing server 122 that is dedicated to performing various image processing operations, typically with respect to images or video within the payload of a message sent from or received at the messaging server 118.

Image processing server 122 is used to implement scan functionality of the augmentation system 208 (shown in FIG. 2). Scan functionality includes activating and providing one or more AR experiences on a client device 102 when an image is captured by the client device 102. Specifically, the messaging client 104 on the client device 102 can be used to activate a camera. The camera displays one or more real-time images or a video to a user along with one or more icons or identifiers of one or more AR experiences. The user can select a given one of the identifiers to launch the corresponding AR experience or perform a desired image modification.

The social network server 124 supports various social networking functions and services and makes these functions and services available to the messaging server 118. To this end, the social network server 124 maintains and accesses an entity graph 308 (as shown in FIG. 3) within the database 126. Examples of functions and services supported by the social network server 124 include the identification of other users of the messaging system 100 with which a particular user has relationships or is “following,” and also the identification of other entities and interests of a particular user.

Returning to the messaging client 104, features and functions of an external resource (e.g., a third-party application 109 or applet) are made available to a user via an interface of the messaging client 104. The messaging client 104 receives a user selection of an option to launch or access features of an external resource (e.g., a third-party resource), such as external apps 109. The external resource may be a third-party application (external apps 109) installed on the client device 102 (e.g., a “native app”), or a small-scale version of the third-party application (e.g., an “applet”) that is hosted on the client device 102 or remote of the client device 102 (e.g., on external resource or app(s) servers 110). The small-scale version of the third-party application includes a subset of features and functions of the third-party application (e.g., the full-scale, native version of the third-party standalone application) and is implemented using a markup-language document. In one example, the small-scale version of the third-party application (e.g., an “applet”) is a web-based, markup-language version of the third-party application and is embedded in the messaging client 104. In addition to using markup-language documents (e.g., a .*ml file), an applet may incorporate a scripting language (e.g., a .*js file or a .json file) and a style sheet (e.g., a .*ss file).

In response to receiving a user selection of the option to launch or access features of the external resource (e.g., external app 109), the messaging client 104 determines whether the selected external resource is a web-based external resource or a locally-installed external application. In some cases, external applications 109 that are locally installed on the client device 102 can be launched independently of and separately from the messaging client 104, such as by selecting an icon, corresponding to the external application 109, on a home screen of the client device 102. Small-scale versions of such external applications can be launched or accessed via the messaging client 104 and, in some examples, no or limited portions of the small-scale external application can be accessed outside of the messaging client 104. The small-scale external application can be launched by the messaging client 104 receiving, from an external app(s) server 110, a markup-language document associated with the small-scale external application and processing such a document.

In response to determining that the external resource is a locally-installed external application 109, the messaging client 104 instructs the client device 102 to launch the external application 109 by executing locally-stored code corresponding to the external application 109. In response to determining that the external resource is a web-based resource, the messaging client 104 communicates with the external app(s) servers 110 to obtain a markup-language document corresponding to the selected resource. The messaging client 104 then processes the obtained markup-language document to present the web-based external resource within a user interface of the messaging client 104.

The messaging client 104 can notify a user of the client device 102, or other users related to such a user (e.g., “friends”), of activity taking place in one or more external resources. For example, the messaging client 104 can provide participants in a conversation (e.g., a chat session) in the messaging client 104 with notifications relating to the current or recent use of an external resource by one or more members of a group of users. One or more users can be invited to join in an active external resource or to launch a recently-used but currently inactive (in the group of friends) external resource. The external resource can provide participants in a conversation, each using a respective messaging client messaging clients 104, with the ability to share an item, status, state, or location in an external resource with one or more members of a group of users into a chat session. The shared item may be an interactive chat card with which members of the chat can interact, for example, to launch the corresponding external resource, view specific information within the external resource, or take the member of the chat to a specific location or state within the external resource. Within a given external resource, response messages can be sent to users on the messaging client 104. The external resource can selectively include different media items in the responses, based on a current context of the external resource.

The messaging client 104 can present a list of the available external resources (e.g., third-party or external applications 109 or applets) to a user to launch or access a given external resource. This list can be presented in a context-sensitive menu. For example, the icons representing different ones of the external applications 109 (or applets) can vary based on how the menu is launched by the user (e.g., from a conversation interface or from a non-conversation interface).

System Architecture

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating further details regarding the messaging system 100, according to some examples. Specifically, the messaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging client 104 and the application servers 114. The messaging system 100 embodies a number of subsystems, which are supported on the client side by the messaging client 104 and on the sever side by the application servers 114. These subsystems include, for example, an ephemeral timer system 202, a collection management system 204, an augmentation system 208, a map system 210, a game system 212, an external resource system 220, and a animated 3D avatar experience system 224.

The ephemeral timer system 202 is responsible for enforcing the temporary or time-limited access to content by the messaging client 104 and the messaging server 118. The ephemeral timer system 202 incorporates a number of timers that, based on duration and display parameters associated with a message, or collection of messages (e.g., a story), selectively enable access (e.g., for presentation and display) to messages and associated content via the messaging client 104. Further details regarding the operation of the ephemeral timer system 202 are provided below.

The collection management system 204 furthermore includes a curation interface 206 that allows a collection manager to manage and curate a particular collection of content. For example, the curation interface 206 enables an event organizer to curate a collection of content relating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content or redundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 204 employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and content rules to automatically curate a content collection. In certain examples, compensation may be paid to a user for the inclusion of user-generated content into a collection. In such cases, the collection management system 204 operates to automatically make payments to such users for the use of their content.

In some examples, the augmentation system 208 provides a user-based publication platform that enables users to select a geolocation on a map and upload content associated with the selected geolocation. The user may also specify circumstances under which a particular media overlay should be offered to other users. The augmentation system 208 generates a media overlay that includes the uploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selected geolocation.

In other examples, the augmentation system 208 provides a merchant-based publication platform that enables merchants to select a particular media overlay associated with a geolocation via a bidding process. For example, the augmentation system 208 associates the media overlay of the highest bidding merchant with a corresponding geolocation for a predefined amount of time. The augmentation system 208 communicates with the image processing server 122 to obtain AR experiences and presents identifiers of such experiences in one or more user interfaces (e.g., as icons over a real-time image or video or as thumbnails or icons in interfaces dedicated for presented identifiers of AR experiences). Once an AR experience is selected, one or more images, videos, or AR graphical elements are retrieved and presented as an overlay on top of the images or video captured by the client device 102. In some cases, the camera is switched to a front-facing view (e.g., the front-facing camera of the client device 102 is activated in response to activation of a particular AR experience) and the images from the front-facing camera of the client device 102 start being displayed on the client device 102 instead of the rear-facing camera of the client device 102. The one or more images, videos, or AR graphical elements are retrieved and presented as an overlay on top of the images that are captured and displayed by the front-facing camera of the client device 102.

In other examples, the augmentation system 208 is able to communicate and exchange data with another augmentation system 208 on another client device 102 and with the server via the network 112. The data exchanged can include a session identifier that identifies the shared AR session, a transformation between a first client device 102 and a second client device 102 (e.g., a plurality of client devices 102 include the first and second devices) that is used to align the shared AR session to a common point of origin, a common coordinate frame, and functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well as other payload data (e.g., text, audio, video or other multimedia data).

The augmentation system 208 sends the transformation to the second client device 102 so that the second client device 102 can adjust the AR coordinate system based on the transformation. In this way, the first and second client devices 102 synch up their coordinate systems and frames for displaying content in the AR session. Specifically, the augmentation system 208 computes the point of origin of the second client device 102 in the coordinate system of the first client device 102. The augmentation system 208 can then determine an offset in the coordinate system of the second client device 102 based on the position of the point of origin from the perspective of the second client device 102 in the coordinate system of the second client device 102. This offset is used to generate the transformation so that the second client device 102 generates AR content according to a common coordinate system or frame as the first client device 102.

The augmentation system 208 can communicate with the client device 102 to establish individual or shared AR sessions. The augmentation system 208 can also be coupled to the messaging server 118 to establish an electronic group communication session (e.g., group chat, instant messaging) for the client devices 102 in a shared AR session. The electronic group communication session can be associated with a session identifier provided by the client devices 102 to gain access to the electronic group communication session and to the shared AR session. In one example, the client devices 102 first gain access to the electronic group communication session and then obtain the session identifier in the electronic group communication session that allows the client devices 102 to access to the shared AR session. In some examples, the client devices 102 are able to access the shared AR session without aid or communication with the augmentation system 208 in the application servers 114.

The map system 210 provides various geographic location functions and supports the presentation of map-based media content and messages by the messaging client 104. For example, the map system 210 enables the display of user icons or avatars (e.g., stored in profile data 316) on a map to indicate a current or past location of “friends” of a user, as well as media content (e.g., collections of messages including photographs and videos) generated by such friends, within the context of a map. For example, a message posted by a user to the messaging system 100 from a specific geographic location may be displayed within the context of a map at that particular location to “friends” of a specific user on a map interface of the messaging client 104. A user can furthermore share his or her location and status information (e.g., using an appropriate status avatar) with other users of the messaging system 100 via the messaging client 104, with this location and status information being similarly displayed within the context of a map interface of the messaging client 104 to selected users.

The game system 212 provides various gaming functions within the context of the messaging client 104. The messaging client 104 provides a game interface providing a list of available games (e.g., web-based games or web-based applications) that can be launched by a user within the context of the messaging client 104 and played with other users of the messaging system 100. The messaging system 100 further enables a particular user to invite other users to participate in the play of a specific game by issuing invitations to such other users from the messaging client 104. The messaging client 104 also supports both voice and text messaging (e.g., chats) within the context of gameplay, provides a leaderboard for the games, and supports the provision of in-game rewards (e.g., coins and items).

The external resource system 220 provides an interface for the messaging client 104 to communicate with external app(s) servers 110 to launch or access external resources. Each external resource (apps) server 110 hosts, for example, a markup language (e.g., HTML5) based application or small-scale version of an external application (e.g., game, utility, payment, or ride-sharing application that is external to the messaging client 104). The messaging client 104 may launch a web-based resource (e.g., application) by accessing the HTML5 file from the external resource (apps) servers 110 associated with the web-based resource. In certain examples, applications hosted by external resource servers 110 are programmed in JavaScript leveraging a Software Development Kit (SDK) provided by the messaging server 118. The SDK includes APIs with functions that can be called or invoked by the web-based application. In certain examples, the messaging server 118 includes a JavaScript library that provides a given third-party resource access to certain user data of the messaging client 104. HTML5 is used as an example technology for programming games, but applications and resources programmed based on other technologies can be used.

In order to integrate the functions of the SDK into the web-based resource, the SDK is downloaded by an external resource (apps) server 110 from the messaging server 118 or is otherwise received by the external resource (apps) server 110. Once downloaded or received, the SDK is included as part of the application code of a web-based external resource. The code of the web-based resource can then call or invoke certain functions of the SDK to integrate features of the messaging client 104 into the web-based resource.

The SDK stored on the messaging server 118 effectively provides the bridge between an external resource (e.g., third-party or external applications 109 or applets and the messaging client 104). This provides the user with a seamless experience of communicating with other users on the messaging client 104, while also preserving the look and feel of the messaging client 104. To bridge communications between an external resource and a messaging client 104, in certain examples, the SDK facilitates communication between external resource servers 110 and the messaging client 104. In certain examples, a WebViewJavaScriptBridge running on a client device 102 establishes two one-way communication channels between an external resource and the messaging client 104. Messages are sent between the external resource and the messaging client 104 via these communication channels asynchronously. Each SDK function invocation is sent as a message and callback. Each SDK function is implemented by constructing a unique callback identifier and sending a message with that callback identifier.

By using the SDK, not all information from the messaging client 104 is shared with external resource servers 110. The SDK limits which information is shared based on the needs of the external resource. In certain examples, each external resource server 110 provides an HTML5 file corresponding to the web-based external resource to the messaging server 118. The messaging server 118 can add a visual representation (such as a box art or other graphic) of the web-based external resource in the messaging client 104. Once the user selects the visual representation or instructs the messaging client 104 through a graphical user interface (GUI) of the messaging client 104 to access features of the web-based external resource, the messaging client 104 obtains the HTML5 file and instantiates the resources necessary to access the features of the web-based external resource.

The messaging client 104 presents a GUI (e.g., a landing page or title screen) for an external resource. During, before, or after presenting the landing page or title screen, the messaging client 104 determines whether the launched external resource has been previously authorized to access user data of the messaging client 104. In response to determining that the launched external resource has been previously authorized to access user data of the messaging client 104, the messaging client 104 presents another GUI of the external resource that includes functions and features of the external resource. In response to determining that the launched external resource has not been previously authorized to access user data of the messaging client 104, after a threshold period of time (e.g., 3 seconds) of displaying the landing page or title screen of the external resource, the messaging client 104 slides up (e.g., animates a menu as surfacing from a bottom of the screen to a middle of or other portion of the screen) a menu for authorizing the external resource to access the user data. The menu identifies the type of user data that the external resource will be authorized to use. In response to receiving a user selection of an accept option, the messaging client 104 adds the external resource to a list of authorized external resources and allows the external resource to access user data from the messaging client 104. In some examples, the external resource is authorized by the messaging client 104 to access the user data in accordance with an OAuth 2 framework.

The messaging client 104 controls the type of user data that is shared with external resources based on the type of external resource being authorized. For example, external resources that include full-scale external applications (e.g., a third-party or external application 109) are provided with access to a first type of user data (e.g., only two-dimensional (2D) avatars of users with or without different avatar characteristics). As another example, external resources that include small-scale versions of external applications (e.g., web-based versions of third-party applications) are provided with access to a second type of user data (e.g., payment information, 2D avatars of users, 3D avatars of users, and avatars with various avatar characteristics). Avatar characteristics include different ways to customize a look and feel of an avatar, such as different poses, facial features, clothing, and so forth.

The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 allows a user to generate a virtual experience (AR or VR) that includes a 3D avatar that is created from a single 2D image of a user. For example, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 accesses, by a messaging application, an image depicting a person. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 generates, by the messaging application, a 3D avatar based on the person depicted in the image and receives input that selects a pose for the 3D avatar and one or more fashion items to be worn by the 3D avatar. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 places, by the messaging application, the 3D avatar in the selected pose and wearing the one or more fashion items in an AR/VR experience. In some cases, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 receives a user selection of the AR experience from a list of AR experiences and in some other cases the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 automatically selects the AR experience from a list of AR experiences.

In some examples, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 activates a camera of a client device to capture a real-time video feed depicting a real-world environment. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 adds one or more AR elements to the real-world environment depicted in the real-time video feed and displays a modified real-time video feed comprising the 3D avatar, the one or more AR elements, and the depiction of the real-world environment. The one or more AR elements can correspond to a runway that is part of a modeling show.

In some examples, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 obtains one or more animation parameters associated with the AR experience. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 automatically animates the 3D avatar using the one or more animation parameters for display together with one or more AR elements in a real-time video feed. For example, the arms and legs of the 3D avatar can be moved in a particular manner in a particular sequence automatically based on the animation parameters.

In some examples, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 selects a 3D position in which to place the 3D avatar and rigs (or configures) the 3D avatar based on features of the image. For example, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 modifies a width, length and/or size of different bones or skeletal structures of the 3D avatar based on features of the image (e.g., to match a pose of a user depicted in an image). The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 receives a swipe gesture from a user and, in response to receiving the swipe gesture, modifies the one or more fashion items worn by the 3D avatar. In some examples, the one or more fashion items include at least one of shirt, pants, skirt, dress, jewelry, purse, furniture item, household item, eyewear, eyeglasses, AR logos, AR emblems, purse, pants, shorts, skirts, jackets, t-shirts, blouses, glasses, jewelry, earrings, bunny ears, a hat, ear muffs, or facial makeup.

In some examples, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 obtains one or more animation parameters associated with the one or more fashion items. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 automatically animates the 3D avatar using the one or more animation parameters for display together with one or more AR elements in a real-time video feed. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 trains a neural network to generate the 3D avatar. The neural network is configured to establish a relationship between points of an image and points in a volume corresponding to a given 3D avatar. For example, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 generates a segmentation of the person depicted in the image. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 applies the neural network to generate a volume reconstruction of the person using the segmentation and to output a texture of the person and fits the volume reconstruction and the texture to a 3D avatar template.

In some examples, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 unposes the 3D avatar template fitted with the volume reconstruction and the texture and applies an animation to the unposed 3D avatar. In some examples, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 automatically aligns the one or more fashion items on the 3D avatar. For example, to unpose the 3D avatar template, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 frees up the pose of the 3D avatar template from corresponding to a pose of a user depicted in an image to being any other type of pose in 3D.

In some examples, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 performs training operations including: receiving training data comprising a plurality of training images depicting a training person and ground-truth meshes of the training person; applying the neural network to a first training image of the plurality of training images to estimate a volume reconstruction of the training person depicted in the first training image, the volume reconstruction indicating whether each point of the first training image is inside or outside of a given mesh; obtaining the ground-truth mesh corresponding to the first training image; comparing the volume reconstruction to the ground-truth mesh corresponding to the first training image to compute a deviation; and updating parameters of the neural network based on the computed deviation.

The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 is a component that can be accessed by an AR/VR application implemented on the client device 102. The AR/VR application uses a red, green, blue (RGB) camera to capture an image of a room in a real-world environment. The AR/VR application applies various trained machine learning techniques on the captured image or video of the real-world environment to segment items of the real-world environment. The AR/VR application includes a depth sensor to generate depth data. For example, the AR/VR application can present a specific real-world object, such as a chair or sofa, depicted in the image or video that is captured by the client device 102 and a virtual experience (e.g., an AR experience) corresponding to a different real-world environment that was previously captured at a different location. In some implementations, the AR/VR application continuously captures images of the real-world environment in real time or periodically to continuously or periodically update the locations of the real-world object within a view of the virtual experience. This allows the user to move around in the real world and see how the real-world objects looks in different areas of the virtual experience in real time.

An illustrative implementation of the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 is shown and described in connection with FIG. 5 below.

Data Architecture

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data structures 300, which may be stored in the database 126 of the messaging server system 108, according to certain examples. While the content of the database 126 is shown to comprise a number of tables, it will be appreciated that the data could be stored in other types of data structures (e.g., as an object-oriented database).

The database 126 includes message data stored within a message table 302. This message data includes, for any particular one message, at least message sender data, message recipient (or receiver) data, and a payload. Further details regarding information that may be included in a message, and included within the message data stored in the message table 302, are described below with reference to FIG. 4.

An entity table 306 stores entity data and is linked (e.g., referentially) to an entity graph 308 and profile data 316. Entities for which records are maintained within the entity table 306 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects, places, events, and so forth. Regardless of entity type, any entity regarding which the messaging server system 108 stores data may be a recognized entity. Each entity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as an entity type identifier (not shown).

The entity graph 308 stores information regarding relationships and associations between entities. Such relationships may be social, professional (e.g., work at a common corporation or organization), interested-based, or activity-based, merely for example.

The profile data 316 stores multiple types of profile data about a particular entity. The profile data 316 may be selectively used and presented to other users of the messaging system 100, based on privacy settings specified by a particular entity. Where the entity is an individual, the profile data 316 includes, for example, a user name, telephone number, address, and settings (e.g., notification and privacy settings), as well as a user-selected avatar representation (or collection of such avatar representations). A particular user may then selectively include one or more of these avatar representations within the content of messages communicated via the messaging system 100, and on map interfaces displayed by messaging clients 104 to other users. The collection of avatar representations may include “status avatars,” which present a graphical representation of a status or activity that the user may select to communicate at a particular time.

The database 126 also stores augmentation data, such as overlays or filters, in an augmentation table 310. The augmentation data is associated with and applied to videos (for which data is stored in a video table 304) and images (for which data is stored in an image table 312).

The database 126 can also store data pertaining to individual and shared AR sessions. This data can include data communicated between an AR session client controller of a first client device 102 and another AR session client controller of a second client device 102, and data communicated between the AR session client controller and the augmentation system 208. Data can include data used to establish the common coordinate frame of the shared AR scene, the transformation between the devices, the session identifier, images depicting a body, skeletal joint positions, wrist joint positions, feet, and so forth.

Another type of filter is a data filter, which may be selectively presented to a sending user by the messaging client 104, based on other inputs or information gathered by the client device 102 during the message creation process. Examples of data filters include current temperature at a specific location, a current speed at which a sending user is traveling, battery life for a client device 102, or the current time.

Other augmentation data that may be stored within the image table 312 includes AR content items (e.g., corresponding to applying AR experiences). An AR content item or AR item may be a real-time special effect and sound that may be added to an image or a video.

As described above, augmentation data includes AR content items, overlays, image transformations, AR images, and similar terms that refer to modifications that may be applied to image data (e.g., videos or images). This includes real-time modifications, which modify an image as it is captured using device sensors (e.g., one or multiple cameras) of a client device 102 and then displayed on a screen of the client device 102 with the modifications. This also includes modifications to stored content, such as video clips in a gallery that may be modified. For example, in a client device 102 with access to multiple AR content items, a user can use a single video clip with multiple AR content items to see how the different AR content items will modify the stored clip. For example, multiple AR content items that apply different pseudorandom movement models can be applied to the same content by selecting different AR content items for the content. Similarly, real-time video capture may be used with an illustrated modification to show how video images currently being captured by sensors of a client device 102 would modify the captured data. Such data may simply be displayed on the screen and not stored in memory, or the content captured by the device sensors may be recorded and stored in memory with or without the modifications (or both). In some systems, a preview feature can show how different AR content items will look within different windows in a display at the same time. This can, for example, enable multiple windows with different pseudorandom animations to be viewed on a display at the same time.

As mentioned above, the video table 304 stores video data that, in one example, is associated with messages for which records are maintained within the message table 302. Similarly, the image table 312 stores image data associated with messages for which message data is stored in the entity table 306. The entity table 306 may associate various augmentations from the augmentation table 310 with various images and videos stored in the image table 312 and the video table 304.

The data structures 300 can also store training data for training one or more machine learning techniques (models) to segment real-world objects or items of real-world environment depicted in an image corresponding to a location (e.g., a room in a home). The training data can include a plurality of images and videos and their corresponding ground-truth room segmentations. The images and videos can include a mix of all sorts of real-world objects that can appear in different rooms in a home or household. The one or more machine learning techniques can be trained to extract features of a received input image or video and establish a relationship between the extracted features and a segmentation. Once trained, the machine learning technique can receive a new image or video and can compute a segmentation of items depicted in the newly received image or video.

Data Communications Architecture

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message 400, according to some examples, generated by a messaging client 104 for communication to a further messaging client 104 or the messaging server 118. The content of a particular message 400 is used to populate the message table 302 stored within the database 126, accessible by the messaging server 118. Similarly, the content of a message 400 is stored in memory as “in-transit” or “in-flight” data of the client device 102 or the application servers 114. A message 400 is shown to include the following example components:

The contents (e.g., values) of the various components of message 400 may be pointers to locations in tables within which content data values are stored. For example, an image value in the message image payload 406 may be a pointer to (or address of) a location within an image table 312. Similarly, values within the message video payload 408 may point to data stored within a video table 304, values stored within the message augmentation data 412 may point to data stored in an augmentation table 310, values stored within the message story identifier 418 may point to data stored in a story table 314, and values stored within the message sender identifier 422 and the message receiver identifier 424 may point to user records stored within an entity table 306.

Animated 3D Avatar Experience System

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example animated 3D avatar experience system 224, according to some examples. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 includes a set of components 510 that operate on a set of input data (e.g., a monocular image (or video)) depicting a person in a real-world environment 501. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 includes a 3D avatar generation module 512, a 3D avatar modification module 514, an AR experience module 516, an image modification module 518, and an image display module 520. All or some of the components of the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 can be implemented by a server, in which case, the monocular image depicting a person in a real-world environment 501 is provided to the server by the client device 102. In some cases, some or all of the components of the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 can be implemented by the client device 102 or can be distributed across a set of client devices 102 and one or more servers.

The 3D avatar generation module 512 receives a 2D image, such as a monocular image depicting a person in a real-world environment 501. The 3D avatar generation module 512 can perform a set of operations to generate an animatable and rigged 3D avatar based on the person depicted in the image. Rigging the 3D avatar can include matching the skeletal structures of the 3D avatar to skeletal structures of the person depicted in the image. In some examples, the 3D avatar generation module 512 is implemented by the example system 600, shown in FIG. 6. Specifically, the system 600 includes one or more machine learning models (e.g., neural networks) that operate on a received 2D image 610 of one or more persons to generate corresponding one or more 3D avatars. The 3D avatars can include visual features that are similar to and resemble features of the person or persons depicted in the 2D image. The visual features can include the same skin tone, the same body size, the same facial features and so forth of the person or persons depicted in the 2D image.

In some examples, the 2D image 610 is processed by a segmentation decoder 620. The segmentation decoder 620 can implement one or more machine learning models that generate a segmentation of a person or object depicted in a 2D image. An example output 622 is shown in FIG. 6 in which pixels belonging to the person that fall within the segmentation are presented in white (or a first color) and pixels outside the segmentation are presented in black (or a second color). The segmentation and the 2D image 610 are then provided to the volumetric reconstruction decoder 630 which generates a corresponding output 632.

The volumetric reconstruction decoder 630 is configured to implement one or more machine learning models that can map pixels or points of the person depicted in the 2D image 610 (as determined by the segmentation decoder 620) to a 3D volume. The volumetric reconstruction decoder 630 also provides a texture of the person mapped to the 3D volume. Namely, the volumetric reconstruction decoder 630 implements a machine learning model that establishes a relationship between points of an image and points in a volume corresponding to a given 3D avatar.

During training of the volumetric reconstruction decoder 630, the machine learning technique of the volumetric reconstruction decoder 630 receives training data including a plurality of training images depicting a training person and ground-truth meshes of the training person from training image data stored in data structures 300. The machine learning technique (e.g., neural network or other machine learning model) is applied to a first training image of the plurality of training images to estimate a volume reconstruction of the training person depicted in the first training image, the volume reconstruction indicating whether each point of the first training image is inside or outside of a given mesh.

The machine learning technique obtains a known or the ground-truth mesh corresponding to the first training image from the training data. The machine learning technique compares (computes a deviation between) the estimated volume reconstruction to the ground-truth mesh corresponding to the first training image to compute the deviation. Based on a difference threshold of the comparison (or deviation), the machine learning technique updates one or more coefficients or parameters and obtains one or more additional training images. After a specified number of epochs or batches of training images have been processed and/or when a difference threshold (or deviation) (computed as a function of a difference or deviation between the estimated segmentations and the ground-truth segmentations) reaches a specified value, the machine learning technique completes training and the parameters and coefficients of the machine learning technique are stored as a trained machine learning technique.

In an example, after training, the machine learning technique is implemented as part of the 3D avatar generation module 512 and is configured to receive a monocular input image depicting a person in a real-world environment 501 as a single RGB image from a client device 102 or as a video of multiple images. The machine learning technique generates the volumetric image estimated from the received 2D image that is used to generate the 3D avatar.

In some examples the output 632 of the volumetric reconstruction decoder 630 is provided to the visible mesh splitting decoder 640. The visible mesh splitting decoder 640 processes the volumetric reconstruction decoder 630 to transfer the textures and colors of the 2D image 610 to the reconstructed mesh to generate an output 642. This output is provided to the parametric model fitting decoder 650 to align the mesh with the colors to a fixed human body or object template. This results in an animatable mesh 652 where the bones, skins and joints can be moved in any direction in 3D based on limitations and parameters of the bones and joints and corresponding vertices. The animatable mesh 652 is provided to an unpose decoder 660 which outputs a 3D avatar 662 in a new pose that is different from the pose of the person depicted in the 2D image 610. The 3D avatar 662 is provided then to the remesh decoder 670 simplifies the reconstructed mesh (e.g., the 3D avatar 662) into less complex components that can be operated on more efficiently. The new 3D avatar 672 is processed by the texture decoder 680 to identify a 2D or 3D texture 682 of the new 3D avatar 672 (obtained by unwrapping the remeshed object) and to enables a new fashion item to be applied to the 3D avatar. The new 3D avatar 672 and the 2D or 3D texture 682 (including the new fashion item) are provided to the animation decoder 690 which allows the system or user to move and animate the avatar in any suitable manner to generate an animatable 3D avatar 692. The animatable 3D avatar 692 can be adjusted to be in any position and to wear any selected fashion item in an automatically fitted manner.

In some cases, the 3D avatar generation module 512 generates multiple 3D avatars of the same user or a set of users. In some cases, the 3D avatar generation module 512 receives 3D avatars from friends of the user. One or more of the 3D avatars can be stored in a list and any number of the 3D avatars is available for selection for inclusion in an AR experience.

Returning to FIG. 5, the output of the 3D avatar generation module 512 is provided to the 3D avatar modification module 514. The 3D avatar modification module 514 receives input from the user and/or from another component, such as the AR experience module 516 to pose and/or animate the 3D avatar in a particular manner. For example, the 3D avatar modification module 514 presents the 3D avatar to a user in a graphical user interface. The graphical user interface receives input from the user that moves one or more portions of the avatar into a particular configuration and/or specifies an animation pattern that can be repeated over a threshold time interval. The input from the user is processed to update the pose and/or animation of the 3D avatar.

In some examples, the 3D avatar modification module 514 receives one or more animation parameters from the AR experience module 516. For example, a user selects a particular AR experience, such as a runway on a modeling show, a beach scene, a mall scene, a scene featuring a specific background, and so forth. The AR experience that is selected can include or be associated with a certain set of animation parameters. The animation parameters specify how a 3D avatar moves around the screen. Namely, the animation parameters can specify an initial position to display the 3D avatar, a direction along which the 3D avatar is animated as moving, a set of poses that the 3D avatar performs while moving along the direction, and a final position to display the 3D avatar. Using these animation parameters, the 3D avatar modification module 514 continuously modifies the pose and/or movement of the avatar to perform the set of poses along the direction specified by the animation parameters.

In some examples, the AR experience module 516 receives input from a user that selects a particular fashion item. For example, the user selects an AR dress to have the 3D avatar wear. The 3D avatar modification module 514 receives the fashion item and fits the fashion item over the 3D avatar. The fashion item can be associated with a certain set of animation parameters. The animation parameters specify how a 3D avatar moves around the screen. Namely, the animation parameters can specify an initial position to display the 3D avatar, a direction along which the 3D avatar is animated as moving, a set of poses that the 3D avatar performs while moving along the direction, and a final position to display the 3D avatar. Using these animation parameters, the 3D avatar modification module 514 continuously modifies the pose and/or movement of the avatar to perform the set of poses along the direction specified by the animation parameters. In this way, different fashion items can be used to automatically animate the 3D avatar in different ways.

For example, a first type of fashion item, such as an AR shirt, can be associated with a first set of animation parameters and a second type of fashion item, such as AR shoes, can be associated with a second set of animation parameters. In response to selecting the first type of fashion item, an upper body portion of the 3D avatar can be animated while maintaining static a lower body portion to focus attention on the first type of fashion item. In response to selecting the second type of fashion item, an upper body portion of the 3D avatar can be static while animating a lower body portion to focus attention on the second type of fashion item.

After selecting the AR experience using the AR experience module 516 and animating the avatar and dressing the avatar with selected fashion items (e.g., applying the selected fashion items to the animated 3D avatar), the 3D avatar and AR experience are processed by the image modification module 518. The image modification module 518 activates a front-facing or rear-facing camera of the client device 102 to capture a real-world environment that includes one or more real-world objects. The image modification module 518 overlays one or more AR elements of the AR experience on the real-time or recorded video feed received from the camera of the client device 102. The image modification module 518 also places the 3D avatar in the position specified by the animation parameters or a user selected position. The 3D avatar can be depicted as wearing the fashion item(s) selected by the user and/or associated with the AR experience. The resulting modified image depicts the real-world environment and the 3D avatar and can be displayed by the image display module 520. In some cases, the resulting modified image can be shared with one or more other users, such as friends of the user. This allows the user to visualize how the user (by way of a 3D avatar that resembles the user) looks in any virtual or AR environment.

FIGS. 7-9 are diagrammatic representations of outputs of the animated 3D avatar experience system 224, in accordance with some examples. In some examples, a user interface 700, shown in FIG. 7, is presented on a client device 102. The user interface 700 includes an AR selection region 710 and a 3D avatar selection region 720. For example, the AR selection region 710 includes a first AR experience 712 (e.g., an AR runway experience), a second AR experience 714 (e.g., an AR studio experience), and a third AR experience 716 (e.g., an AR store experience). In response to receiving a user selection of the first AR experience 712, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 launches an AR experience on the client device 102 that includes a first set of AR elements corresponding to the first AR experience 712. In response to receiving a user selection of the second AR experience 714, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 launches an AR experience on the client device 102 that includes a second set of AR elements corresponding to the second AR experience 714.

The user interface 700 receives input from a user that selects a particular 3D avatar. For example, a first 3D avatar option 722 and a second 3D avatar option 724 are presented. In response to receiving input that selects the first 3D avatar option 722, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 retrieves the first 3D avatar corresponding to the first 3D avatar option 722 and adds the first 3D avatar to the AR experience selected from the AR selection region 710. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 presents a user interface 800 in which a real-world environment is depicted along with one or more AR objects 810 corresponding to the second AR experience 714 that has been selected. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 also presents the first 3D avatar 820 that is depicted as wearing a set of fashion items selected by the user via a graphical user interface and/or that are associated with the selected second AR experience 714. The first 3D avatar 820 can be animated as moving around the second AR experience 714 according to the animation parameters associated with the second AR experience 714.

As another example, in response to receiving input that selects the second 3D avatar option 724, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 retrieves the second 3D avatar corresponding to the second 3D avatar option 724 and adds the second 3D avatar to the AR experience selected from the AR selection region 710. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the animated 3D avatar experience system 224 presents a user interface 900 in which a real-world environment is depicted along with one or more AR objects 910 corresponding to the first AR experience 712 that has been selected. The animated 3D avatar experience system 224 also presents the second 3D avatar 920 that is depicted as wearing a set of fashion items selected by the user via a graphical user interface and/or that are associated with the selected first AR experience 712. The second 3D avatar 920 can be animated as moving around the first AR experience 712 according to the animation parameters associated with the first AR experience 712.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process 1000, in accordance with some examples. Although the flowchart can describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed. A process may correspond to a method, a procedure, and the like. The steps of methods may be performed in whole or in part, may be performed in conjunction with some or all of the steps in other methods, and may be performed by any number of different systems or any portion thereof, such as a processor included in any of the systems.

At operation 1001, a client device 102 accesses, by a messaging application, an image depicting a person, as discussed above.

At operation 1002, the client device 102 generates, by the messaging application, a 3D avatar based on the person depicted in the image, as discussed above.

At operation 1003, the client device 102 receives input that selects a pose for the 3D avatar and one or more fashion items to be worn by the 3D avatar, as discussed above.

At operation 1004, the client device 102 places, by the messaging application, the 3D avatar in the selected pose and wearing the one or more fashion items in an AR experience, as discussed above.

Machine Architecture

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic representation of the machine 1100 within which instructions 1108 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code) for causing the machine 1100 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. For example, the instructions 1108 may cause the machine 1100 to execute any one or more of the methods described herein. The instructions 1108 transform the general, non-programmed machine 1100 into a particular machine 1100 programmed to carry out the described and illustrated functions in the manner described. The machine 1100 may operate as a standalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 1100 may operate in the capacity of a server machine or a client machine in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine 1100 may comprise, but not be limited to, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a mobile device, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance), other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing the instructions 1108, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to be taken by the machine 1100. Further, while only a single machine 1100 is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include a collection of machines that individually or jointly execute the instructions 1108 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The machine 1100, for example, may comprise the client device 102 or any one of a number of server devices forming part of the messaging server system 108. In some examples, the machine 1100 may also comprise both client and server systems, with certain operations of a particular method or algorithm being performed on the server-side and with certain operations of the particular method or algorithm being performed on the client-side.

The machine 1100 may include processors 1102, memory 1104, and input/output (I/O) components 1138, which may be configured to communicate with each other via a bus 1140. In an example, the processors 1102 (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) Processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) Processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor 1106 and a processor 1110 that execute the instructions 1108. The term “processor” is intended to include multi-core processors that may comprise two or more independent processors (sometimes referred to as “cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously. Although FIG. 11 shows multiple processors 1102, the machine 1100 may include a single processor with a single-core, a single processor with multiple cores (e.g., a multi-core processor), multiple processors with a single core, multiple processors with multiples cores, or any combination thereof.

The memory 1104 includes a main memory 1112, a static memory 1114, and a storage unit 1116, all accessible to the processors 1102 via the bus 1140. The main memory 1104, the static memory 1114, and the storage unit 1116 store the instructions 1108 embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 1108 may also reside, completely or partially, within the main memory 1112, within the static memory 1114, within a machine-readable medium within the storage unit 1116, within at least one of the processors 1102 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or any suitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine 1100.

In further examples, the I/O components 1138 may include biometric components 1128, motion components 1130, environmental components 1132, or position components 1134, among a wide array of other components. For example, the biometric components 1128 include components to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye-tracking), measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voice identification, retinal identification, facial identification, fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram-based identification), and the like. The motion components 1130 include acceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensor components, and rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope).

With respect to cameras, the client device 102 may have a camera system comprising, for example, front cameras on a front surface of the client device 102 and rear cameras on a rear surface of the client device 102. The front cameras may, for example, be used to capture still images and video of a user of the client device 102 (e.g., “selfies”), which may then be augmented with augmentation data (e.g., filters) described above. The rear cameras may, for example, be used to capture still images and videos in a more traditional camera mode, with these images similarly being augmented with augmentation data. In addition to front and rear cameras, the client device 102 may also include a 360° camera for capturing 360° photographs and videos.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies. The I/O components 1138 further include communication components 1136 operable to couple the machine 1100 to a network 1120 or devices 1122 via respective coupling or connections. For example, the communication components 1136 may include a network interface component or another suitable device to interface with the network 1120. In further examples, the communication components 1136 may include wired communication components, wireless communication components, cellular communication components, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), WiFi® components, and other communication components to provide communication via other modalities. The devices 1122 may be another machine or any of a wide variety of peripheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a USB).

The various memories (e.g., main memory 1112, static memory 1114, and memory of the processors 1102) and storage unit 1116 may store one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g., software) embodying or used by any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. These instructions (e.g., the instructions 1108), when executed by processors 1102, cause various operations to implement the disclosed examples.

The instructions 1108 may be transmitted or received over the network 1120, using a transmission medium, via a network interface device (e.g., a network interface component included in the communication components 1136) and using any one of several well-known transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP). Similarly, the instructions 1108 may be transmitted or received using a transmission medium via a coupling (e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling) to the devices 1122.

Software Architecture

FIG. 12 is a block diagram 1200 illustrating a software architecture 1204, which can be installed on any one or more of the devices described herein. The software architecture 1204 is supported by hardware such as a machine 1202 that includes processors 1220, memory 1226, and I/O components 1238. In this example, the software architecture 1204 can be conceptualized as a stack of layers, where each layer provides a particular functionality. The software architecture 1204 includes layers such as an operating system 1212, libraries 1210, frameworks 1208, and applications 1206. Operationally, the applications 1206 invoke API calls 1250 through the software stack and receive messages 1252 in response to the API calls 1250.

The operating system 1212 manages hardware resources and provides common services. The operating system 1212 includes, for example, a kernel 1214, services 1216, and drivers 1222. The kernel 1214 acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers. For example, the kernel 1214 provides memory management, processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management, networking, and security settings, among other functionality. The services 1216 can provide other common services for the other software layers. The drivers 1222 are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware. For instance, the drivers 1222 can include display drivers, camera drivers, BLUETOOTH® or BLUETOOTH® Low Energy drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communication drivers (e.g., USB drivers), WI-FI® drivers, audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth.

The libraries 1210 provide a common low-level infrastructure used by the applications 1206. The libraries 1210 can include system libraries 1218 (e.g., C standard library) that provide functions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions, mathematic functions, and the like. In addition, the libraries 1210 can include API libraries 1224 such as media libraries (e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of various media formats such as Moving Picture Experts Group-4 (MPEG4), Advanced Video Coding (H.264 or AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) audio codec, Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or JPG), or Portable Network Graphics (PNG)), graphics libraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework used to render in 2D and 3D in a graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLite to provide various relational database functions), web libraries (e.g., WebKit to provide web browsing functionality), and the like. The libraries 1210 can also include a wide variety of other libraries 1228 to provide many other APIs to the applications 1206.

The frameworks 1208 provide a common high-level infrastructure that is used by the applications 1206. For example, the frameworks 1208 provide various GUI functions, high-level resource management, and high-level location services. The frameworks 1208 can provide a broad spectrum of other APIs that can be used by the applications 1206, some of which may be specific to a particular operating system or platform.

In an example, the applications 1206 may include a home application 1236, a contacts application 1230, a browser application 1232, a book reader application 1234, a location application 1242, a media application 1244, a messaging application 1246, a game application 1248, and a broad assortment of other applications such as an external application 1240. The applications 1206 are programs that execute functions defined in the programs. Various programming languages can be employed to create one or more of the applications 1206, structured in a variety of manners, such as object-oriented programming languages (e.g., Objective-C, Java, or C++) or procedural programming languages (e.g., C or assembly language). In a specific example, the external application 1240 (e.g., an application developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ SDK by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform) may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such as IOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or another mobile operating system. In this example, the external application 1240 can invoke the API calls 1250 provided by the operating system 1212 to facilitate functionality described herein.

Glossary

“Component” refers to a device, physical entity, or logic having boundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branch points, APIs, or other technologies that provide for the partitioning or modularization of particular processing or control functions. Components may be combined via their interfaces with other components to carry out a machine process. A component may be a packaged functional hardware unit designed for use with other components and a part of a program that usually performs a particular function of related functions.

Components may constitute either software components (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium) or hardware components. A “hardware component” is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various examples, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computer system, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one or more hardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardware component that operates to perform certain operations as described herein.

Considering examples in which hardware components are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of the hardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises a general-purpose processor configured by software to become a special-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may be configured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g., comprising different hardware components) at different times. Software accordingly configures a particular processor or processors, for example, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instance of time and to constitute a different hardware component at a different instance of time.