INTERACTIVE AVATAR IN MESSAGING ENVIRONMENT

• US 20150295866A1
• Filed: 06/29/2015
• Published: 10/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Collet, Jean Luc, Drouet, Francois-Xavier, Truntschka, Carole
• Granted Patent: US 9,749,270 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

A sender sends an email message to a receiver. The message includes an avatar representing the sender. Upon receiving the message, if the receiver has a question related to the message, the receiver sends the question to the sender via the avatar. After receiving the question, the avatar remote server device correlates the question with the message through a MSG-ID associated with the receiver or avatar. The avatar remote server device parses and analyzes the question and then searches mailboxes, agendas, previous answers, toDoLists, folders, resumes, and/or address books of the sender to find a corresponding answer for the question. Then, the avatar remote server device provides the answer to the receiver via the avatar. Alternatively, upon receiving the question, the avatar remote server device sends a notification to the sender. If the sender has an online connectivity, the sender provides the answer to the receiver via the avatar.

Claims

1. A method for communicating via an avatar, the method comprising:

sending, by one or more processors, an email that includes an embedded avatar from a sender at a first computing device to a recipient at a second computing device;

responsive to the recipient at the second computing device selecting the embedded avatar, providing, by one or more processors, an interface through which said recipient interacts to submit a query via the avatar;

receiving, by one or more processors, the query via a communication protocol;

parsing and analyzing, by one or more processors, the received query;

retrieving, by one or more processors, an answer corresponding to the parsed and analyzed query from a mailbox of the sender, wherein the mailbox of the sender includes emails associated with the parsed and analyzed query;

sending, by one or more processors, the answer to the second computing device; and

initiating, by one or more processors, display of the answer via the avatar on the second computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the embedded avatar represents the sender.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the corresponding answer is retrieved from one or more of:

an agenda, a folder, a previous answer, a calendar, a resume, and an expert system with artificial intelligence.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, by one or more processors, a notification indicating the query to the sender based on a rule.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the answer to the second computing device further comprises:

identifying, by one or more processors, that the sender has an online connection; and

communicating, by one or more processors, the corresponding answer from the first computing device to the second computing device, wherein the answer appears on a display of the second computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, the query in an audio format;

performing, by one or more processors, a speech-to-text transformation on the audio query; and

providing, by one or more processors, the corresponding answer in an audio format via the avatar.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication protocol is one or more of:

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions), APEX (Application Exchange), Prim (Presence and Instance Messaging Protocol), XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), IMPS (Instant Messaging and Presence Service), RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol), STM (Simple TCP/IP Messaging) protocol, Azureus Extended Messaging Protocol.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, by one or more processors, one or more message-identification (MSG-IDs), the one or more MSG-ID uniquely identifying each message created by the sender.

9. A computer program product for communicating via an avatar, the computer program product comprising:

one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to send an email that includes an embedded avatar from a sender at a first computing device to a recipient at a second computing device;

responsive to the recipient at the second computing device selecting the embedded avatar, program instructions to provide an interface through which said recipient interacts to submit a query via the avatar;

program instructions to receive the query via a communication protocol;

program instructions to parse and analyze the received query;

program instructions to retrieve an answer corresponding to the parsed and analyzed query from a mailbox of the sender, wherein the mailbox of the sender includes emails associated with the parsed and analyzed query;

program instructions to send the answer to the second computing device; and

program instructions to initiate display of the answer via the avatar on the second computing device.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the embedded avatar represents the sender.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the corresponding answer is retrieved from one or more of:

an agenda, a folder, a previous answer, a calendar, a resume, and an expert system with artificial intelligence.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising program instructions, stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, to:

send a notification indicating the query to the sender based on a rule.

13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to send the answer to the second computing device further comprise program instructions to:

identify that the sender has an online connection; and

to communicate the corresponding answer from the first computing device to the second computing device, wherein the answer appears on a display of the second computing device.

14. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising program instructions, stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, to:

to receive the query in an audio format;

to perform a speech-to-text transformation on the audio query; and

to provide the corresponding answer in an audio format via the avatar.

15. A computer system for communicating via an avatar, the computer system comprising:

one or more computer processors;

one or more computer readable storage media; and

program instructions stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to send an email that includes an embedded avatar from a sender at a first computing device to a recipient at a second computing device;

responsive to the recipient at the second computing device selecting the embedded avatar, program instructions to provide an interface through which said recipient interacts to submit a query via the avatar;

program instructions to receive the query via a communication protocol;

program instructions to parse and analyze the received query;

program instructions to retrieve an answer corresponding to the parsed and analyzed query from a mailbox of the sender, wherein the mailbox of the sender includes emails associated with the parsed and analyzed query;

program instructions to send the answer to the second computing device; and

program instructions to initiate display of the answer via the avatar on the second computing device.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the embedded avatar represents the sender.

17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the corresponding answer is retrieved from one or more of:

an agenda, a folder, a previous answer, a calendar, a resume, and an expert system with artificial intelligence.

18. The computer system of claim 15, further comprising program instructions, stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, to:

send a notification indicating the query to the sender based on a rule.

19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the program instructions to send the answer to the second computing device further comprise program instructions to:

identify that the sender has an online connection; and

communicate the corresponding answer from the first computing device to the second computing device, wherein the answer appears on a display of the second computing device.

20. The computer system of claim 15, further comprising program instructions, stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, to:

receive the query in an audio format;

perform a speech-to-text transformation on the audio query; and

provide the corresponding answer in an audio format via the avatar.