New App Displays Facial Expressions

March 21, 2013 - PRLog -- A new tool for iPhone and iPad that displays realistic facial expressions has been launched today. Grimace displays a range of emotions on a face of the user’s choosing and is the first app to offer this level of clarity in emotions.

Grimace, which is available to download from the App Store for just 99¢, allows users to convey a combination of six basic emotions on a face, using the deep link between facial expression and emotions. Users choose from joy, surprise, fear, sadness, disgust and anger and set the intensity for an emotion. The features of the face immediately change to show what the emotion looks like.

There are numerous uses for the app, from aiding understanding of emotions in Aspergers and autistic individuals, to helping artists create more convincing facial expressions in their work.

Oliver Spindler, Technical Lead and joint creator of the app, says: “Interpreting facial expressions is something we do subconsciously. Grimace makes this process visible. It can help anyone become more empathetic by becoming a better observer of their peers.”

The tool can be used by those with Asperger syndrome or other conditions on the autistic spectrum as they often struggle to interpret emotions and expressions. While some other tools that aid development in Asperger or autistic individuals are priced between $25 and $180, this is priced for wide distribution.

Commenting on other tools available on the market, Spindler adds: “They might do more things and use real actors, but this is exactly where I see Grimace's strength - it does one thing, and it does it well.”

For artists, Grimace can serve as reference library for facial expressions. “No other solution offers the ability to see emotions in such clarity and combine emotions in unexpected, arbitrary combinations,” adds Spindler.

The face is designed in a simple comic style as there are only a few facial features that convey our emotions. The most important ones are the eyebrows, the mouth and the wrinkles that form when facial muscles are contracted.

“We leave out as much as we can so you can focus on these key features and you can see the emotion as clearly as possible,” adds Spindler.

Additional information is available on www.grimace-project.net
Grimace on the App Store: appstore.com/grimace
If you would like a promo code simply send an email to enquiries@grimace-project.net