How Baidu’s AI Patent Automates Emoji Creation and Other Tech Headlines

Baidu Emoji Generation Patent

On 23 March 2024, Beijing Baidu Netcom Technology Co., Ltd. disclosed a patent titled “Emoji Generation Method, Device, Electronic Equipment, and Storage Medium”. The invention belongs to artificial‑intelligence, specifically computer‑vision and deep‑learning. It defines a pipeline that converts a multi‑frame source emoji (the “first emoji”) into a multi‑frame emoji that matches a target face (the “second emoji”).

Detect facial keypoints on the target face and on each frame of the first‑emoji using a standard landmark detector (e.g., 68‑point model).

For each frame i, compute a 2‑D affine transformation A_i and translation t_i that aligns the target‑face keypoints with the keypoints of the i ‑th source frame, typically by minimizing the squared error between corresponding points.

Apply the affine transformation to the target face image to generate the i ‑th frame of the second emoji.

Assemble all transformed frames into the final second‑emoji sequence, preserving the original expression and pose while adapting the identity.

The method leverages existing facial‑landmark detection and affine‑warping techniques, enabling automated, high‑quality emoji creation for arbitrary user faces.

Samsung LTPO OLED Supply for iPhone 13 Series

Research firm UBI Research reports that Samsung Electronics will start mass‑producing low‑temperature polycrystalline‑oxide (LTPO) thin‑film‑transistor (TFT) OLED panels for Apple’s high‑end iPhone 13 models in the first half of 2021. LTPO combines low‑power LTPS TFTs with high‑speed oxide TFTs on a single substrate, allowing dynamic refresh‑rate scaling (e.g., 10 Hz – 120 Hz) and reduced power consumption.

Resolution: 1170 × 2532 pixels (iPhone 13 Pro) with ~460 ppi.

Peak brightness ≥ 800 nits, HDR support.

Dynamic refresh‑rate control via on‑chip power‑gating of oxide TFTs.

LG Display will continue to supply standard LTPS TFT OLED panels for lower‑priced iPhone models, which do not feature adaptive refresh‑rate capabilities.