Virtual universe subject matter expert assistance

• US 8,127,236 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2008
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, II, Rick A., Harrison, Steven M., O'Connell, Brian M., Walker, Keith R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kieu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Durkin, James T
• Application Number:
  US12/209,601
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070883A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,264 Days
• Field of Search: 715/757, 715705-708, 715/758
• US Class Current: 715/757
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/022 Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition

Abstract

Methods, devices and systems are provided for enabling virtual universe users to find and engage subject matter experts within a virtual universe by defining a virtual universe subject matter expert conduit within the virtual universe. A virtual universe user avatar engages the conduit and a user indicates a subject matter expert search term. A data storage is searched for a tag relevant to the search term, and an expert-avatar is identified and located through the relevant tag. The user is enabled to directly communicate with the identified expert-avatar through a conduit communication medium entirely within the virtual universe, without requiring the user to engage a resource outside of the virtual universe or without requiring the user to engage an interface outside of the virtual universe.

Claims

1. A method for enabling virtual universe users to find and engage subject matter experts within an expected role context of a virtual universe, comprising:

presenting a conduit avatar populated by an intake representative to a user within a virtual universe;

an avatar of a user engaging the conduit avatar within an expected role context of the virtual universe corresponding to the user and conduit avatars, the engaging comprising a query to the conduit avatar indicating a subject matter expert search term;

searching a data storage in communication with the conduit avatar for a tag relevant to the search term;

identifying and locating a subject matter expert tagged with the relevant tag;

populating the conduit avatar with the located subject matter expert; and

the located subject matter expert communicating directly with the user avatar via the conduit avatar populated by the located subject matter expert, the communicating entirely within the expected role context of the user and conduit avatars and within the virtual universe and without the user directly engaging a resource outside of the virtual universe and without requiring the user to engage in a communication interface outside of the virtual universe; and

wherein the conduit avatar appears to the user as a same consistent avatar within the expected role context of the user and conduit avatars while the conduit avatar is populated by the intake representative and by the located subject matter expert.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying the located subject matter expert as a function of a tagging of the identified subject matter expert as an expert on the indicated subject matter expert search term by at least one of;

a plurality of unique virtual universe users;

a confirming virtual universe user; and

an authoritative virtual universe user having an authority status relative to the identified expert-avatar as a function of a hierarchical organizational relationship of the authoritative virtual universe user with respect to the identified expert-avatar.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tagging the located subject matter expert with the relevant tag as an expert on the indicated subject matter expert search term as a function of at least one of;

crawling through an on-line organizational directory and parsing information in the directory;

analyzing an agent inventory of the identified expert-avatar; and

identifying an association of an avatar of the located subject matter expert with a group of other avatars, the group of other avatars comprising a threshold percentage of tagged expert avatars.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tagging the located subject matter expert with the relevant tag as an expert on the indicated subject matter expert search term if a tag count of a multiple tagging of the located subject matter expert with the relevant tag by a plurality of different tagging virtual universe users exceeds a minimum threshold.

5. A method for enabling virtual universe users to find and engage subject matter experts within an expected context of a virtual universe, comprising:

an avatar of a user engaging a conduit texture presented within a graphic environment of a virtual universe by physically contacting an object on the conduit texture that is tagged with a tag relevant to a query search term, the engaging indicating the query search term;

in response to the engaging the texture, automatically searching a data storage in communication with the conduit texture for a tag relevant to the query search term, identifying and locating a subject matter expert tagged with the relevant tag, and teleporting one of the user avatar and the subject matter expert avatar to an other of the user avatar and the subject matter expert avatar; and

the located subject matter expert communicating directly with the user avatar via a subject matter expert avatar, the communicating entirely within an expected role context of the user avatar and the subject matter expert avatar within the virtual universe, the communicating without the user directly engaging a resource outside of the virtual universe and without requiring the user to engage in a communication interface outside of the virtual universe.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

prompting the user to input subject matter expert search terms comprising the query search term in a text input field in response to the user avatar engaging the conduit texture presented within the graphic environment of the virtual universe.

7. An article of manufacture for enabling virtual universe users to find and engage subject matter experts within an expected role context of a virtual universe, comprising:

a computer storage medium device having computer readable program code embodied therewith to be deployed and executed on a computer system, the computer readable program code comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer system, cause the computer system to;

present a conduit avatar populated by an intake representative to a user within a virtual universe, wherein the conduit avatar determines a subject matter expert search term from an engagement of the conduit avatar by an avatar of a user within an expected role context of the virtual universe corresponding to the user and conduit avatars;

search a data storage in communication with the conduit avatar for a tag relevant to the search term;

identify and locate a subject matter expert tagged with the relevant tag;

populate the conduit avatar with the located subject matter expert; and

enable the user to directly communicate via the user avatar with the located subject matter expert via the conduit avatar populated by the located subject matter expert through a conduit avatar communication medium entirely within the expected role context of the user and conduit avatars and within the virtual universe and without the user directly engaging a resource outside of the virtual universe and without requiring the user to engage in an interface outside of the virtual universe; and

wherein the conduit avatar appears to the user as a same consistent avatar within the expected role context of the user and conduit avatars while the conduit avatar is populated by the intake representative and by the located subject matter expert.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 7, wherein the program code instructions, when executed by the computer system, further cause the computer system to identify the located subject matter expert as an expert on the indicated subject matter expert search term as a function of a tagging of the located subject matter expert by at least one of:

a plurality of unique virtual universe users;

a confirming virtual universe user; and

an authoritative virtual universe user having an authority status relative to the identified expert-avatar as a function of a hierarchical organizational relationship of the authoritative virtual universe user with respect to the identified expert-avatar.

9. The article of manufacture of claim 7, wherein the program code instructions, when executed on the computer system, further cause the computer system to tag the located subject matter expert as an expert on the indicated subject matter expert search term as a function of at least one of:

crawling through an on-line organizational directory and parsing information in the directory;

analyzing an agent inventory of the identified expert-avatar;

or

identifying an association of an avatar of the located subject matter expert with a group of other avatars, the group of other avatars comprising a threshold percentage of tagged expert avatars.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 7, wherein the program code instructions, when executed on the computer system, further cause the computer system to tag the located subject matter expert with the relevant tag as an expert on the indicated subject matter expert search term if a tag count of a multiple tagging of the located subject matter expert with the relevant tag by a plurality of different tagging virtual universe users exceeds a minimum threshold.

11. A programmable device comprising:

a processing means;

a memory in communication with the processing means comprising a subject matter expert identifier logic component, a subject matter expert locator logic component, a subject matter expert communication system logic component and a subject matter expert datastore logic component; and

a network interface in communication with the processing means and the memory;

wherein the processing means is configured to present a conduit within a graphic environment of a virtual universe;

wherein the subject matter expert locator component is configured to receive a subject matter expert search term from an engagement of the conduit texture by an avatar of a virtual universe user, wherein the engagement indicates a query search term and is a physical contact of an object on the conduit texture that is tagged with a tag relevant to the query search term, the physical contact by the user avatar;

wherein the subject matter expert locator component is configured to, in response to the engagement, automatically search a data storage means in communication with the network interface for a tag relevant to the search term, identify and locate a subject matter expert tagged with the relevant tag, and teleport one of the user avatar and the subject matter expert avatar to an other of the user avatar and the subject matter expert avatar; and

wherein the subject matter expert communication system component is configured to enable the user to directly communicate via the user avatar with the located subject matter expert via a subject matter expert avatar through a conduit avatar communication medium entirely within an expected role context of the user avatar and the subject matter expert avatar within the virtual universe and without the user directly engaging a resource outside of the virtual universe and without requiring the user to engage in an interface outside of the virtual universe.

12. The programmable device of claim 11, wherein processing means is configured to tag the located subject matter expert with the relevant tag as an expert on the indicated subject matter expert search term by at least one of:

crawling through an on-line organizational directory and parsing information in the directory;

analyzing an agent inventory of the expert-avatar; and

identifying an association of an avatar of the located subject matter expert with a group of other avatars, the group of other avatars comprising a threshold percentage of tagged expert avatars.

13. The programmable device of claim 11, wherein the processing means is configured to prompt the user to input subject matter expert search terms comprising the query search term in a text input field in response to the user avatar engagement of the conduit texture presented within the graphic environment of the virtual universe.