Microsoft Patent Filed – Using Health Records to Generate Your Avatar

To me this sounds like a HealthVault type of application that would show and reflect what your avatar looks like based on your current health conditions. When you read through the entire patent it mentions quite a bit of biometric devices gathering this information as well.

So, if you are a bit overweight and looking for a slim avatar, at least in this area, you might be out of luck and I guess the same could work in reverse. If you have a heart reading for example, your avatar would reflect that, along with such other examples such as a your mood, etc. Overall it’ a very interesting patent applications. BD

For many people, half the fun of avatars is aspirational -- the ability to make them look like you wish you did in real life. But apparently that's not the case for some Microsoft researchers, who have applied for a patent on a system that would use health records to generate avatars that more closely resemble a person's actual physical characteristics -- part of a scheme to get them to actually exercise.

It's getting lots of attention online today after Slashdot posted a summary. Read the full patent application here. Keeping in mind that these patent applications don't necessarily reflect the company's actual product plans, here's the abstract, explaining the general concept.