System and method for a communication exchange with an avatar in a media communication system

• US 8,631,432 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2012
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LYFT Incorporated
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roberts, Linda, Schroeter, Horst, Chang, E-Lee, Clayton, Darnell, Khandelwal, Madhur
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHNURR, JOHN R
• Application Number:
  US13/654,535
• Publication Number:
  US 20130067514A1
• Time in Patent Office: 453 Days
• Field of Search: 725/9, 725/10, 725/12, 725/37, 725/38, 725/46, 725/48, 725/61, 715/706, 706/15, 706/16, 704/246, 704/250, 704/251, 704/270, 704/272
• US Class Current: 725/37
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26603 for automatically generating descriptors from content, e.g. when it is not made available by its provider, using content analysis techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/439 Processing of audio elementary streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8146 involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a processor that causes a STB to present an avatar. The processor can receive from the STB a response of the user, detect from the response a change in an emotional state of the user, adapt a search for media content according to the change in the emotional state of the user, and adapt a portion of the characteristics of the avatar relating to emotional feedback according to the change in the emotional state of the user. The processor can cause the STB to present the adapted avatar presenting content from a media content source identified from the adapted search for media content. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. An interactive television system, comprising:

a memory to store computer instructions; and

a controller coupled to the memory, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising;

detecting a search for media content that is initiated from a set-top box, wherein the controller is remote from the set-top box, and wherein the controller is in communication with the set-top box over a network;

causing the set-top box to present an avatar at a display device;

capturing images of a user during a communication exchange between the avatar and the user;

identifying a change in an emotional state of the user based on an analysis of a physiological expression of the user determined from image recognition applied to the images;

adapting the search for the media content to generate an adapted search according to the identifying of the change in the emotional state of the user;

adapting a portion of characteristics of the avatar relating to emotional feedback to generate an adapted avatar according to the identifying of the change in the emotional state of the user; and

causing the set-top box to present the adapted avatar presenting content from a media content source identified from the adapted search for the media content without providing search results from an unmodified search.

2. The interactive television system of claim 1, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

identifying the change in the emotional state of the user based on an analysis of a context of speech of the user, a prosody of speech of the user, and a grammatical structure of speech of the user.

3. The interactive television system of claim 1, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

retrieving a user profile associated with the user of the set-top box, wherein the adapting of the search is according to the user profile.

4. The interactive television system of claim 1, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

retrieving a user profile associated with the user of the set-top box, wherein the adapting of the portion of the characteristics of the avatar relating to the emotional feedback is according to the user profile.

5. The interactive television system of claim 1, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

retrieving a user profile associated with the user of the set-top box, wherein the avatar has characteristics that correlate to the user profile.

6. The interactive television system of claim 1, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

receiving from the set-top box responses of the user, wherein the responses are collected by the set-top box from the communication exchange between the avatar and the user, and wherein the change in the emotional state of the user is identified based on an analysis of the responses.

7. The interactive television system of claim 1, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs an operation comprising detecting a negative disposition in the emotional state of the user.

8. The interactive television system of claim 7, wherein the controller responsive, to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

identifying from a user profile and the negative disposition an alternative search procedure to counteract the negative disposition; and

adjusting the adapted search for media content to generate an adjusted adapted search according to the alternative search procedure.

9. The interactive television system of claim 8, wherein the negative disposition corresponds to at least one of a state of hostility, a state of melancholy, a state of apathy, or a state of tension.

10. The interactive television system of claim 1, wherein the adapting of the search is according to media consumption behavior associated with the user.

11. A method comprising:

detecting, by a system including a processor, a search for media content that is initiated from a set-top box, wherein the system is remote from the set-top box, and wherein the system is in communication with the set-top box over a network;

causing, by the system, the set-top box to present an avatar at a display device;

identifying, by the system, a change in an emotional state of a user based on an analysis of a context of speech of the user, a prosody of speech of the user, and a grammatical structure of speech of the user during a communication exchange between the user and the avatar;

adapting, by the system, the search for the media content to generate an adapted search according to the identifying of the change in the emotional state of the user;

adapting, by the system, a portion of characteristics of the avatar relating to emotional feedback to generate an adapted avatar according to the identifying of the change in the emotional state of the user; and

causing, by the system, the set-top box to present the adapted avatar presenting content from a media content source identified from the adapted search for the media content without providing search results from an unmodified search.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising:

analyzing, by the system, a physiological expression of the user from images captured of the user during the communication exchange between the avatar and the user, wherein the change in the emotional state of the user is identified based on the physiological expression; and

retrieving a user profile associated with the user of the set-top box, wherein the avatar has characteristics that correlate to the user profile.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the user profile comprises at least one of demographic profiling information of the user, psychographic profiling information of the user, or user preferences of the user.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the demographic profiling information of the user is determined from at least one of a subscriber account of the user or media consumption behavior of the user.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the demographic profiling information of the user is based on at least one of age, gender, income, number of occupants in household, occupation, education, value of residential property, location of residential property, or fees paid for services rendered by an interactive television system.

16. A tangible computer-readable storage device comprising computer instructions, which, responsive to being executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

detecting a search for media content that is initiated from a set-top box, wherein the processor is remote from the set top box, and wherein the processor is in communication with the set top box over a network;

causing the set-top box to present an avatar at a display device;

identifying a change in an emotional state of a user by analyzing a physiological expression of the user detected utilizing image recognition applied to images captured of the user during a communication exchange between the avatar and the user;

adapting the search for the media content to generate an adapted search according to the identifying of the change in the emotional state of the user; and

causing the set-top box to present the avatar presenting content from a media content source identified from the adapted search for the media content without providing search results from an unmodified search.

17. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 16, comprising computer instructions, which, responsive to being executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

adapting a portion of characteristics of the avatar relating to emotional feedback to generate an adapted avatar according to the change in the emotional state of the user; and

causing the set-top box to present the adapted avatar.

18. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 16, comprising computer instructions, which, responsive to being executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

detecting a negative disposition in the emotional state of the user;

adapting a portion of characteristics of the avatar to counteract the negative disposition;

identifying from a user profile and the negative disposition an alternative search procedure to counteract the negative disposition; and

adjusting the adapted search for media content to generate an adjusted adapted search according to the alternative search procedure.

19. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the negative disposition corresponds to at least one of a state of hostility, a state of melancholy, a state of apathy, or a state of tension.

20. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the adapting of the search is according to media consumption behavior associated with the user.