In order to make your daily mobile chats more fun and exciting, Intel recently launched a mobile app which assesses your mood and facial expressions through an on face-tracking technology.
This wonder app from the Intel Company is called Pocket Avatars. It lets you use three dimensional avatars to chat with your friends but there is something more to it. The app even tracks the user’s face and expressions using the camera on the Smartphone and then these emotions and expressions are reflected on an avatar of the user’s choice during a chat.
The app is currently available for Android and iOS devices.
According to Mike Bell, who is the Vice President and General Manager of the New Devices Group at Intel, Pocket Avatars is just a fun thing on top of standard messaging. According to him, all these avatars on the app act as an alter ego for those users who don’t want or like to put their real face on screen.
Emoticons have now become a standard and monotonous tool for expressions in daily mobile chats. There have been many times that we have written 'lol', 'haha', or 'rofl' without even cracking a smile but by using the app, if the user is happy or sad, the avatar will show it. An animated chat that reflects the user’s real mood is much more engaging and fun.
The camera has the capability of capturing lighting conditions, moving faces and a range of human emotions like kisses, blinking of eyes and smiles. These recordings are then processed using an algorithm. After processing they are mapped onto an avatar of the user’s choice in real time. The app then immediately deleted all the information.
According to Intel, Pocket Avatars reflects the fun side of its research team. There is a huge momentum in the messaging and chat software market nowadays and by launching Pocket Avatars, Intel wants its share of piece from the cake. The Facebook acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion strongly indicates the boom in the market for chat and messaging software.
With Pocket Avatars, Intel shows the willingness to dabble and experiment in new areas. Currently, the app is available free of cost for Android and iOS users. The avatars available on the app include Lego characters; famous people and also YouTube star Annoying Orange. Some of these avatars are available free of cost while others can be bought for $0.99 for unlimited use.
The app currently offers only forty avatars but Intel has plans of adding more capabilities and avatars in future as the app evolves.
Advertisements