Method, system, and computer program product for virtualizing a physical storefront

• US 7,685,023 B1
• Filed: 12/24/2008
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bijlani, Vinod A., Thomas, Mathews, Abraham, Subil M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith; Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Davison; Kathleen
• Application Number:
  US12/343,892
• Time in Patent Office: 454 Days
• Field of Search: 705 26- 27
• US Class Current: 705/27.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers

Abstract

An interactive virtual model of a physical storefront can be presented to a shopper within a user interactive interface of a computing device remotely located from the physical storefront. At least a portion of the organizational structure of the interactive virtual model can be identical a portion of the organizational structure of the physical storefront. The organization structure can varies from storefront-to-storefront of different physical storefronts, each being related to a different interactive virtual model. A change involving at least one physical object within the physical storefront can be sensed. Responsive to sensing the change, a virtual object presented in the interactive virtual model can be changed so that the change to the physical object occurring in the physical storefront is reflected in the interactive virtual model and is shown in the user interactive interface.

Claims

1. A method for virtualizing a physical storefront comprising:

presenting an interactive virtual model of a physical storefront within a user interactive interface of a computing device remotely located from the physical storefront, wherein at least a portion of the organizational structure of the interactive virtual model is identical a portion of the organizational structure of the physical storefront, wherein said organization structure varies from storefront-to-storefront of different physical storefronts, each being related to a different interactive virtual model;

sensing, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a change involving at least one physical object within the physical storefront;

responsive to sensing the change, changing, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a virtual object presented in the interactive virtual model so that the change to the physical object occurring in the physical storefront is reflected in the interactive virtual model and is shown in the user interactive interface; and

sensing, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a presence and identity of physical shoppers present in the physical storefront;

indicating, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, the presence and identity of the physical shoppers in the user interactive interface; and

presenting within an in-store kiosk a kiosk user interface usable by the physical shoppers, said kiosk user interface presenting a presence and identity of the physical shoppers and at least one virtual shopper interacting via the interactive virtual model.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said user interactive interface is a first interactive user interface and wherein said computing device is a first computing device, said method further comprising:

presenting an interactive virtual model of the physical storefront to a second shopper within a second user interactive interface of a second computing device remotely located from the physical storefront; and

responsive to sensing the change, changing via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a virtual object presented in the interactive virtual model so that the change to the physical object occurring in the physical storefront is reflected in the interactive virtual model and is shown in the second user interactive interface.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

sensing, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a change involving at least one virtual object made via the first user interactive interface; and

responsive to sensing the change, changing via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a virtual object presented in the second interactive interface so that the change to the virtual object occurring in the first user interactive interface is reflected in the second interactive interface.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising;

indicating, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a presence and identity of a first user utilizing the first user interactive interface within the second user interactive interface;

indicating, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a presence and identity of a second user utilizing the second user interactive interface within the first user interactive interface; and

providing, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a communication facility within the first user interactive interface and within the second user interactive interface, wherein the communication facility permits the first user and the second user to communicate with each other.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

indicating, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a presence and identity of a first user utilizing the first user interactive interface within the second user interactive interface;

indicating, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a presence and identity of a second user utilizing the second user interactive interface within the first user interactive interface; and

determining, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a first location of the first user relative to the interactive virtual model of a physical storefront based upon interactions with the first user interactive interface;

determining, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a second location of the second user relative to the interactive virtual model of a physical storefront based upon interactions with the second user interactive interface;

presenting within the first user interactive interface an identifier showing the detected second location, which indicates that the second user is associated with the second location; and

presenting within the second user interactive interface an identifier showing the detected first location, which indicates that the first user is associated with the second location.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interactive interface is an e-commerce interface through which commercial transactions are able to be conducted.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein items available for purchase in the physical storefront are presented within the user interactive interface and are able to be purchased through the user interactive interface, where purchase transactions made via the user interactive interface are conducted using a purchasing computing system, wherein purchases made in the physical storefront are conducted using the purchasing computing system.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a communication facility within the user interactive interface through which a user of the user interactive interface is able to communicate with a selected one of the physical shoppers.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

utilizing, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, pricing information of a point of sale system of the physical storefront to set prices of items presented in the interactive virtual model of the physical storefront, wherein the interactive virtual model is a virtual world comprising a simulation of said physical storefront that is a virtual storefront, wherein physical storefront to virtual storefront interactions have a unidirectional affect where interactions with the virtual world via the virtual storefront do not affect the physical storefront.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transacting ecommerce purchases of items, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, made through a user interface that presents the interactive virtual model using a point of sale system of the physical storefront, wherein said point of sale system is used for sales made within the physical storefront, wherein ecommerce transactions made via the user interface are reflected in the point of sale system of the physical storefront.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

indicating, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, the presence and identity of human employees located in the physical storefront in the user interactive interface; and

providing, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a communication facility within the user interactive interface through which a user of the user interactive interface is able to communicate with a selected one of the human employees.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, a presence and location of a virtual shopper utilizing the user interactive interface relative to the interactive virtual model of a physical storefront based upon interactions with the user interactive interface;

conveying, via computer program instructions executed by a processor, the presence and location to at least one user of a computing device other than the computing device associated with the user interactive interface.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interactive interface comprises a graphical user interface that renders a three-dimensional representation of the physical storefront, wherein the user interactive interface displays avatars for humans associated with the physical storefront within the graphical user interface, wherein interactions are permitted between a user of the user interface and the avatars, which results in communications being established between the user and a human corresponding to the avatar to which the interactions are directed.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive virtual model is a virtual world comprising a simulation of said physical storefront that is a virtual storefront, wherein physical storefront to virtual storefront interactions have a unidirectional affect where interactions with the virtual world via the virtual storefront do not affect the physical storefront.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the organizational structure of the interactive virtual model is constructed at least in part from a planogram of the physical storefront, wherein the planogram indicates a plurality of fixed and movable entities within the physical storefront, wherein information from additional sources about the physical storefront is combined with the planogram to create the virtual model, wherein said additional sources comprises RFID readings obtained from RFID tagged in-store objects.

16. A non-transitory computer program product for virtualizing a physical storefront comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code recorded on a computer-readable medium configured to present an interactive virtual model of a physical storefront within a user interactive interface of a computing device remotely located from the physical storefront, wherein at least a portion of the organizational structure of the interactive virtual model is identical a portion of the organizational structure of the physical storefront, wherein said organization structure varies from storefront-to-storefront of different physical storefronts, each being related to a different interactive virtual model;

computer readable program code recorded on a computer-readable medium configured to sense a change involving at least one physical object within the physical storefront;

computer readable program code recorded on a computer-readable medium configured to, responsive to sensing the change, change a virtual object presented in the interactive virtual model so that the change to the physical object occurring in the physical storefront is reflected in the interactive virtual model and is shown in the user interactive interface;

configured to sense a presence and identity of physical shoppers present in the physical storefront;

computer readable program code recorded on a computer-readable medium configured to indicate the presence and identity of the physical shoppers in the user interactive interface; and

computer readable program code recorded on a computer-readable medium configured to present within an in-store kiosk a kiosk user interface usable by the physical shoppers, said kiosk user interface presenting a presence and identity of the physical shoppers and at least one virtual shopper interacting via the interactive virtual model.

17. A system for virtualizing a physical storefront comprising:

a physical storefront server configured to identify a shopper within a physical storefront, wherein information associated with the identified shopper is conveyed to an interface presenting a virtual storefront;

a virtual storefront server able to identify a shopper utilizing a virtual storefront, wherein the virtual storefront is a virtual model of the physical storefront;

an interface server configured to present the virtual storefront within a user interface of a computing device to a virtual shopper, wherein the computing device is remotely located from the physical storefront, and wherein information about the shopper identified by the physical storefront server is presented within the user interface;

a sensor configured to sense a presence and identity of physical shoppers present in the physical storefront; and

to indicate the presence and identity of the physical shoppers in the user interactive interface; and

an in-store kiosk configured to present, via a user interface usable by the physical shoppers, a presence and identity of the physical shoppers and at least one virtual shopper interacting via the interactive virtual model.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

a plurality of sensors, each associated with a physical object of the physical storefront, wherein said physical object comprises at least one of a for-purchase item and a display object associated with at least one for-purchase item, wherein said physical storefront server is configured to automatically detect a location of each of the sensors within the physical storefront and to associate the detected location with a location of the associated physical object, wherein said physical storefront server is configured to convey sensed location data of the physical objects to the virtual storefront server, wherein the virtual storefront server is configured to update a virtual location of virtual objects in the virtual storefront corresponding to the physical objects in accordance with the sensed location data received from the physical storefront server.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a communication server configured to enable real-time communications between the shopper and the virtual shopper, wherein said virtual shopper conducts the real-time communications using the user interface within which the virtual storefront is presented.