DoCoMo has chosen SeaStorm to power its Chara-Den avatar feature…
”Mobile users can take photos created by a camera phone and convert them to a 3D Chara-den character, directly on the cellphone. Any portrait-style image can be used, including your own photo, a photograph of another person, favorite pet, cartoon character, or even an automobile picture. SeeStorm server software processes photo images and returns Chara-den characters ready to be used in real-time avatar-based conferencing. You can then substitute your real face with an animated image of a Chara-den at any time, while video conferencing with another user through the mobile phone. The Chara-den avatar is animated by a real-time speech stream. You can also apply emotional expressions to the characters, making characters look happy, smiling, upset, angry, surprised, confused, etc. Animated characters help to convey and share emotions. This deployment of SeeStorm 3D talking characters by NTT DoCoMo mobile service confirms the market demand for virtual characters in real-time communication.”
There’s some interesting details of how it works here.