the present invention aims to provide an image recognition system for generating multimedia data that illustrates specific moods or emotions , without requiring a webcam connection or the inputting of large amount of texts . the present invention software can be implemented in any device that has a camera and communication application . please refer to fig1 . fig1 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the image recognition system 100 . the image recognition system 100 comprises an image capturing device 110 , such as a camera , an image recognition device 120 , a look - up table 130 , a first multimedia displaying device 140 and a second multimedia displaying device 190 . the diagram shows an internet connection between the first multimedia displaying device 140 and the second multimedia displaying device 190 . please note that the sending of multimedia data between the first multimedia displaying device 140 and the second multimedia displaying device 190 can be automatic or can be according to a user input . the look - up table ( lut ) 130 is for storing a plurality of multimedia data , each multimedia data corresponding to a particular parameter , which is the output of the image recognition system 100 . the user may wish to use a plurality of facial expressions to convey certain emotions . a standard set might include : happy , laughing , tired , angry , sad , bored etc . the user captures his / her facial expression with the image capturing device 110 and the image recognition device 120 maps certain contours of the face that can indicate which expression is being captured . for example , when happy the face will smile , when tired the mouth will be open , when laughing the mouth will be open and the eyes small etc . the operation of image recognition is well known by those skilled in the art and therefore will not be described in great detail in this disclosure . in addition , the image recognition device 120 can be implemented by hardware or software . once the facial expression is recognized , a parameter is provided to the lut for searching a corresponding multimedia in response to the captured facial expression . in some embodiments , the user may be capable of selecting or setting one or a combination of multimedia types as the response of the recognized facial expression . the multimedia data may be in the form of an image icon , picture , music , video clip , text , background color , animation , sound effect , or any combination of the above . laughing , for example , could produce an emoticon on the first and second multimedia displaying device 140 , 190 , could generate audio containing the sound of someone laughing , or could play a video clip of someone laughing . the emotion of anger is often associated with the color red , therefore when the user shows a facial expression of anger , the entire screen could turn red , or a visual graphic of flames could be shown on the screen . these descriptions are merely possible examples of multimedia data and are not intended to limit the present invention . the multimedia data is stored in the lut 130 and can be selected according to the device settings or selected by the user . in another embodiment , the user first captures a plurality of facial expressions that is either recognized by the image recognition device 120 or predefined by the user . images representing these facial expressions are stored for later comparison . when utilizing an instant message program , the user utilizes the image capturing device 110 to capture a particular facial expression . the image recognition device 120 then accesses the captured image . if the captured image is recognized as similar to an image previously stored by the user , the lut 130 is accessed to output a corresponding multimedia data and displayed on the first and second multimedia displaying devices 140 , 190 . if the image is not recognized by the image recognition device 120 , a warning message , containing information indicating that the image has not been recognized , will be displayed on at least one of the first and second multimedia displaying devices 140 , 190 . in some embodiments , the first and second multimedia displaying devices 140 and 190 can be audio players or multimedia player devices . clearly , a user might not always want to convey the facial expression recognized by the system over to the other side . the transmission of the multimedia data between the first multimedia displaying device 140 and the second multimedia displaying device 190 can be enabled according to a user input , rather than automatically sending the multimedia data to the end user . please refer to fig2 . fig2 is a flowchart detailing steps of the method of the image recognition system shown in fig1 . the steps are as follows : step 208 : is the captured expression recognized by the facial recognition software ? if yes go to step 210 ; if no go to step 218 ; step 210 : search the look - up table ( lut ) and output corresponding multimedia data ; step 212 : display the multimedia data on the user &# 39 ; s apparatus ; step 214 : choose to send the multimedia data ? if yes go to step 216 ; if no go to step 220 ; step 216 : send the multimedia data to an end user ; go to step 222 ; step 218 : display a warning message indicating that the captured facial expression has not been recognized ; step 220 : capture the facial expression again ? if yes go to step 204 ; if no go to step 222 ; the present invention provides a fast and bandwidth efficient method for sending multimedia data during instant messaging . the utilization of the lut enables a user to select personal graphics / audio / video and transmit to a friend in an interesting way . the further implications of such technology could be carried into the realm of sign language , allowing for direct translation between different countries sign language systems . those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention .