Providing context for an automated agent to service multiple avatars within a virtual universe

• US 8,626,836 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2012
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Dawson, Christopher J., Osias, Michael J., Sledge, Brian W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): MIAH, RAZU A
• Application Number:
  US13/447,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20120203848A1
• Time in Patent Office: 631 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 345/419, 705 144- 1473
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

A system and method to interact with business systems through the use of automated agents and provide context for an automated agent to service multiple avatars within a virtual universe. The system comprises a chat engine, a communications subsystem, and a channelizer configured to mediate one or more communications between the chat engine and the communications subsystem. The channelizer is further configured to map at least one channel to an application.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating conversations between an automated avatar and user avatars, comprising:

one or more physical processors configured to;

receive, from a first user avatar, a communication that is directed to an automated avatar;

map the communication to a first chat channel that is determined based on matching at least one of a key, a username, or the first chat channel to an entry in a lookup table; and

maintain a first conversation between the automated avatar and the first user avatar on the first chat channel while simultaneously maintaining a second conversation between the automated avatar and a second user avatar on a second chat channel such that the first conversation cannot be heard by the second user avatar and the second conversation cannot be heard by the first user avatar, wherein the first user avatar is different than the second user avatar, and the first chat channel is different than the second chat channel, and

wherein the first user avatar is a representation of a first user in a virtual universe, the virtual universe is an interactive simulated environment accessed by a plurality of users through an online interface, and the automated avatar is a machine-driven avatar in the virtual universe.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical processors are further configured to:

transmit the communication to an application, wherein the application is an instance of an application program interface.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the application includes one or more artificially intelligent programs configured to provide a response to the communication while maintaining a context of the communication.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the key is a universally unique identifier.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical processors are further configured to:

track a time at which the communication took place;

remove information from the lookup table after a predetermined period of time has elapsed;

transmit the communication to an application; and

transmit a response to the communication from the application to the first user avatar through the mapped first chat channel.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein maintaining the first conversation while simultaneously maintaining the second conversation comprises maintaining the first conversation on the first chat channel while simultaneously maintaining the second conversation on the second chat channel such that the first conversation is perceivable by the second user avatar and the second conversation is perceivable by the first user avatar.

7. A computer-implemented method of facilitating conversations between an automated avatar and user avatars, the method being implemented by a computer that includes one or more physical processors, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first user avatar, a first communication that is directed to an automated avatar over a chat framework;

mapping the first communication to a first chat channel that is determined based on matching at least one of a key, a username, or the first chat channel to an entry in a lookup table;

transmitting a response to the first communication over the chat framework on the first chat channel, wherein the response maintains a context of the first communication, and the response is directed from the automated avatar to the first user avatar;

removing the entry from the lookup table after a predetermined period of time has elapsed;

receiving, from a second user avatar, a second communication that is directed to the automated avatar; and

mapping the second communication to a second chat channel, wherein a first conversation between the first user avatar and the automated avatar on the first chat channel is maintained simultaneously with a second conversation between the second user avatar and the automated avatar on the second chat channel, the first conversation and the second conversation being maintained such that the first conversation cannot be heard by the second user avatar and the second conversation cannot be heard by the first user avatar, and

wherein the first user avatar is a representation of a first user in a virtual universe, the virtual universe is an interactive simulated environment accessed by a plurality of users through an online interface, and the automated avatar is a machine-driven avatar in the virtual universe.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein at least one of receiving the first communication or transmitting the response includes a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) message.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the key is a universally unique identifier.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

tracking a time at which the first communication took place; and

transmitting the first communication to an application;

wherein the transmitting of the response comprises transmitting the response from the application to the first user avatar through the mapped first chat channel.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the method is at least one of:

supported, deployed, maintained, or created by a service provider.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the first conversation and the second conversation are maintained such that the first conversation is perceivable by the second user avatar and the second conversation is perceivable by the first user avatar.

13. A computer program product to facilitate conversations between an automated avatar and user avatars, the computer program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices, to;

identify a first incoming communication, from a first user avatar, that is directed to an automated avatar;

map the first incoming communication to a first chat channel;

transmit the first incoming communication to an application program interface;

receive a response in a context of the first incoming communication from the application program interface; and

transmit the received response to the first user avatar through the first chat channel;

map a second incoming communication, from a second user avatar, that is directed to the automated avatar to a second chat channel; and

maintain the mapping of the first chat channel and the mapping of the second chat channel while the automated avatar simultaneously carries on a conversation with the first user avatar on the first chat channel and a conversation with the second user avatar on the second chat channel such that the first conversation cannot be heard by the second user avatar and the second conversation cannot be heard by the first user avatar,

wherein the first user avatar is a representation of a first user in a virtual universe, the virtual universe is an interactive simulated environment accessed by a plurality of users through an online interface, and the automated avatar is a machine-driven avatar in the virtual universe.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices, to detect the first user avatar within a proximity of the automated avatar.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the automated avatar comprises at least one of a hospitality greeter, a sales avatar, or a service avatar.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices, to detect the first user avatar communicating on the first chat channel.