Communication using interactive avatars

1. A system, comprising:

a user input device configured to capture a user input;

communication circuitry configured to transmit and receive information;

a microphone configured to capture sound and convert the captured sound into a corresponding audio signal; and

one or more non-transitory storage memories having stored thereon, individually or in combination, instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following operations comprising:

selecting an avatar;

receiving at least one image of a user;

passively animating the avatar based at least in part on facial mapping of the at least one image, so as to produce a passively animated avatar for display on a remote device, wherein the passively animated avatar mimics motion of a body part of a user;

detecting a user input with said user input device, said user input comprising at least one of a touch and a gesture;

determining one or more animation commands associated with a user input identifier corresponding to a detected user input;

determining an interactive animation for said passively animated avatar based at least in part on said one or more animation commands;

modifying said passively animated avatar with said interactive animation, so as to produce an interactively animated avatar by deforming at least a portion of said passively animated avatar;

transmitting a signal to said remote device, said signal configured to cause said interactively animated avatar to be displayed on said remote device;

capturing user speech and converting the user speech into a corresponding user speech signal;

transforming the user speech signal into an avatar speech signal; and

transmitting the avatar speech signal to the remote device.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a camera configured to capture images, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following additional operations:

capturing the at least one image of the user;

performing facial detection on said at least one image to detect a face in the image;

extracting features from the face; and

passively animating the avatar based at least in part on extracted features from said face, such that said passively animated avatar mimics motion of at least a portion of said face.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a display, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following additional operations:

displaying said avatar;

receiving at least one of a remote animation command and remote avatar parameters; and

passively animating said avatar at least in part based on at least one of the remote animation command and the remote avatar parameters.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a speaker configured to convert an audio signal into sound, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following additional operations:

receiving a remote avatar speech signal; and

converting the remote avatar speech signal into avatar speech.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the user input device is a depth camera; and

the user input is a gesture detected by said depth camera.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the user input device is a touch-sensitive display;

the user input is a touch event; and

said touch event comprises at least one of a touch type and a touch location.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the transforming comprises at least one of pitch shifting and time stretching.

8. A method, comprising:

selecting an avatar;

receiving at least one image of a user;

passively animating the avatar based at least in part on facial mapping of the at least one image, so as to produce a passively animated avatar for display on a remote device, wherein the passively animated avatar mimics motion of a body part of a user;

detecting a user input with a user input device, said user input comprising at least one of a touch and a gesture;

determining one or more animation commands associated with a user input identifier corresponding to a detected user input;

determining an interactive animation for said passively animated avatar based at least in part on said one or more animation commands;

modifying said passively animated avatar with said interactive animation, so as to produce an interactively animated avatar by deforming at least a portion of said passively animated avatar;

transmitting a signal to said remote device, said signal configured to cause said interactively animated avatar to be displayed on said remote device;

capturing user speech and converting the user speech into a corresponding user speech signal;

transforming the user speech signal into an avatar speech signal; and

transmitting the avatar speech signal to the remote device.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

capturing the at least one image of the user;

performing facial detection on said at least one image to detect a face in the image;

extracting features from the face; and

passively animating the avatar based at least in part on extracted features from said face, such that said passively animated avatar mimics motion of at least a portion of said face.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

displaying said avatar;

receiving at least one of a remote animation command and remote avatar parameters; and

passively animating said avatar at least in part based on at least one of the remote animation command and the remote avatar parameters.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving a remote avatar speech signal; and

converting the remote avatar speech signal into avatar speech.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein:

the user input device is a depth camera; and

the user input is a gesture detected by said depth camera.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein:

The user input device is a touch-sensitive display;

the user input is a touch event; and

the touch event comprises at least one of a touch type and a touch location.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the transforming comprises at least one of pitch shifting and time stretching.

15. A system comprising one or more non-transitory storage memories having stored thereon, individually or in combination, instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following operations comprising:

selecting an avatar;

receiving at least one image of a user;

passively animating the avatar based at least in part on facial mapping of the at least one image, so as to produce a passively animated avatar for display on a remote device, wherein the passively animated avatar mimics motion of a body part of a user;

detecting a user input, said user input comprising at least one of a touch and a gesture;

determining one or more animation commands associated with a user input identifier corresponding to a detected user input;

determining an interactive animation for said passively animated avatar based at least in part on said one or more animation commands;

modifying said passively animated avatar with said interactive animation, so as to produce an interactively animated avatar by deforming at least a portion of said passively animated avatar;

transmitting a signal to said remote device, said signal configured to cause said interactively animated avatar to be displayed on said remote device;

capturing user speech and converting the user speech into a corresponding user speech signal;

transforming the user speech signal into an avatar speech signal; and

transmitting the avatar speech signal to the remote device.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following additional operations:

capturing the at least one image of the user;

performing facial detection on said at least one image to detect a face in the image;

extracting features from the face; and

passively animating the avatar based at least in part on extracted features from said face, such that said passively animated avatar mimics motion of at least a portion of said face.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following additional operations:

displaying said avatar;

receiving at least one of a remote animation command and remote avatar parameters; and

passively animating said avatar at least in part based on at least one of the remote animation command and the remote avatar parameters.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following additional operations:

receiving a remote avatar speech signal; and

converting the remote avatar speech signal into avatar speech.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the user input is a gesture detected by a depth camera.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the user input is a touch event detected by a touch-sensitive display, the touch even comprising at least one of a touch type and a touch location.

21. The system of claim 15 , wherein the transforming comprises at least one of pitch shifting and time stretching.