Patents by Inventor Stephen Marschner

Stephen Marschner has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20260178914
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to neural material networks. Materials that have similar properties may be organized into material clusters, where each material cluster is associated with a set of parameters used by a neural material network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2025
    Publication date: June 25, 2026
    Inventors: Aaron Eliot Lefohn, Andrea Weidlich, Benedikt Bitterli, Fabrice Pierre Armand Rousselle, Jan Novák, Carl Franz Petrik Clarberg, Stephen Marschner, Tizian Lucien Zeltner, Yaobin Ouyang, Craig Kolb
  • Publication number: 20260065056
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to training methods for training mixed-precision neural networks, particularly neural material networks. In an embodiment, a mixed-precision neural material network includes input, hidden, and output layers having different numerical precisions that is trained or fine-tuned to encode and/or decode compact latent code representations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2025
    Publication date: March 5, 2026
    Inventors: Aaron Eliot Lefohn, Andrea Weidlich, Benedikt Bitterli, Fabrice Pierre Armand Rousselle, Jan Novák, Carl Franz Petrik Clarberg, Stephen Marschner, Tizian Lucien Zeltner, Yaobin Ouyang, Craig Kolb
  • Publication number: 20260051116
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to training a neural network to represent a specular material. Learning an overall shape and appearance of a specular lobe is improved by randomly adjusting the directions of at least one of the ray surface incident and exit vectors at a point intersected by the ray within a corresponding volume and shrinking a dimension of the base of the volume as training progresses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2025
    Publication date: February 19, 2026
    Inventors: Aaron Eliot Lefohn, Andrea Weidlich, Benedikt Bitterli, Fabrice Pierre Armand Rousselle, Jan Novák, Carl Franz Petrik Clarberg, Stephen Marschner, Tizian Lucien Zeltner, Yaobin Ouyang, Craig Kolb
  • Publication number: 20260045026
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to robust training methods for small neural networks, particularly neural material networks. High variance and instability in training small networks is reduced by creating multiple instances with distinct parameter sets, training the instances in parallel, and progressively pruning instances with higher loss values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2025
    Publication date: February 12, 2026
    Inventors: Aaron Eliot Lefohn, Andrea Weidlich, Benedikt Bitterli, Fabrice Pierre Armand Rousselle, Jan Novák, Carl Franz Petrik Clarberg, Stephen Marschner, Tizian Lucien Zeltner, Yaobin Ouyang, Craig Kolb
  • Patent number: 7492927
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Patent number: 7450126
    Abstract: The illustrated and described embodiments describe techniques for capturing data that describes 3-dimensional (3-D) aspects of a face, transforming facial motion from one individual to another in a realistic manner, and modeling skin reflectance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Patent number: 7433807
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Patent number: 7363201
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Patent number: 7356447
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Patent number: 7152024
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2006
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Patent number: 7129949
    Abstract: The illustrated and described embodiments describe techniques for capturing data that describes 3-dimensional (3-D) aspects of a face, transforming facial motion from one individual to another in a realistic manner, and modeling skin reflectance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2006
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Patent number: 7124066
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2006
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Publication number: 20060192785
    Abstract: The illustrated and described embodiments describe techniques for capturing data that describes 3-dimensional (3-D) aspects of a face, transforming facial motion from one individual to another in a realistic manner, and modeling skin reflectance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2006
    Publication date: August 31, 2006
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Kang
  • Patent number: 7098920
    Abstract: The illustrated and described embodiments describe techniques for capturing data that describes 3-dimensional (3-D) aspects of a face, transforming facial motion from one individual to another in a realistic manner, and modeling skin reflectance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2006
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Publication number: 20060013449
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2005
    Publication date: January 19, 2006
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Kang
  • Publication number: 20060015308
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2005
    Publication date: January 19, 2006
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Kang
  • Patent number: 6950104
    Abstract: Methods and systems for animating facial features and transforming facial expressions are described. In one embodiment, a code book contains data that defines a set of facial expressions of a first person. A training set of facial expressions from a second person and corresponding expressions from the code book are used to derive a transformation function that is then applied to all of the expressions of the code book. In this manner, expressions from the first person can be realistically transformed into expressions of a second person and vice versa. Particularly advantageous aspects of the described embodiments provide a single common generic face model that is used as the basis for a fitting operation for many different faces. Use of the single common generic face model and certain user-defined constraints provide a mechanism by which correspondences between the different faces can be established.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2005
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang
  • Publication number: 20050089199
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2004
    Publication date: April 28, 2005
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Kang
  • Publication number: 20050062743
    Abstract: The illustrated and described embodiments describe techniques for capturing data that describes 3-dimensional (3-D) aspects of a face, transforming facial motion from one individual to another in a realistic manner, and modeling skin reflectance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2004
    Publication date: March 24, 2005
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Kang
  • Patent number: 6850872
    Abstract: In the described embodiment, methods and systems for processing facial image data for use in animation are described. In one embodiment, a system is provided that illuminates a face with illumination that is sufficient to enable the simultaneous capture of both structure data, e.g. a range or depth map, and reflectance properties, e.g. the diffuse reflectance of a subject's face. This captured information can then be used for various facial animation operations, among which are included expression recognition and expression transformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2005
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Marschner, Brian K. Guenter, Sashi Raghupathy, Kirk Olynyk, Sing Bing Kang