【2013 Archives】

It looks like Snapchat013 Archivesworking on a new feature that uses facial recognition to automatically create Bitmoji.

A new patent application made public Thursday, but filed by the company last March, describes a process that uses facial recognition tech for "automated avatar generation."

SEE ALSO: Snapchat's next trick: More dancing hot dogs, but as ads

The patent details a process that would allow the company to use smartphone cameras to detect parts of users' faces and automatically fill in other characteristics, such as hair style, skin color, eye shape, and other facial features based on the data it collects.

The filing doesn't specifically name Bitmoji or any of Snapchat's features for that matter, but it does make one reference early on to "animated and cartoon image" avatars. So it doesn't seem like much of a stretch at all to imagine that Snapchat's popular avatar feature is the target of this particular patent. We've reached out to Snapchat for more information about the facial recognition feature.

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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The filing notes that there are many existing services that attempt to automate avatar creation already. What sets Snapchat's tech apart, according to the company, is that the process they describe is entirely automated, thanks to facial recognition.

However, it sounds like users would still be able to make their own tweaks after the process.

"After generating the avatar, the application may present buttons enabling the user to save the avatar, manipulate or customize the avatar, generate another avatar, and generate additional graphics using the avatar," the patent says.

"The additional graphics may include digital stickers, emojis, animated bitmap images, and other graphics which may be shared with other users by including the graphics in messages or other communications between client devices."

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