Use of avatar with event processing

• US 8,965,771 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2003
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kurzweil Ainetworks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Kurzweil Ainetworks Incorporated
• Inventors: Kurzweil, Raymond C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Godbold, Douglas
• Application Number:
  US10/730,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20050125229A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,096 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/275, 705/10, 705/26, 705/27, 715/727, 715/728, 715/745
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command

Abstract

Conducting commerce over a network, e.g., the Internet includes receiving a transaction request from a user as text input, using natural programming language to analysis the text input to build conversations with the user based on the transaction request. The technique also includes generating a voice-synthesized response in accordance with the transaction through an avatar and tracking the transaction by storing the transaction in the database.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of conducting commerce, using one or more computers, the method comprising:

receiving by one or more computer systems text inputs corresponding to transactions;

analyzing by the one or more computer systems the text inputs by executing natural language processing programs;

producing by the one or more computers, based on results of analyzing the transactions by the natural language processing programs, added information,

searching a database in communication with the one or more computer systems for appropriate content to present to the user in response to analyzing the text in the transaction, with the response including one or words that represent a key concept associated with the response triggering a facility to present additional information about the key concept;

building by a conversational engine running on the one or more computer systems, a conversation based on the transaction requests and key concept,

statistically analyzing by the one or more computers the information stored in the database based on the added information;

tracking by the one or more computers interactions with the user;

storing information derived from tracking the interactions in the database for subsequent marketing to that person to produce information for market research;

generating in the one or more computers voice-synthesized responses based on the received transaction requests through an avatar;

generating additional, voice-synthesized, follow-up responses through the avatar in response to the transactions based on information stored in the database, including the added information regarding the transactions;

receiving by the one or more computer systems subsequent text inputs from the user;

analyzing in the one or more computers the subsequent text inputs and the voice-synthesized, follow-up responses to determine an action to take; and

causing execution of the determined action.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprises:

searching by the one or more computer systems the database to find related information associated with conducting the transactions.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the transactions is a user request as to order status for an order being tracked in the database.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the responses further comprises:

animating the avatar with a voice and facial movements corresponding to the key concepts.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein animating comprises generating verbal suggestions for conducting one of the transactions.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein animating comprises processing text input from the user with natural language processing techniques to develop and build conversations between a user and the avatar.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving one of the text inputs is in response to a suggestion generated by the avatar.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the determined action is to perform an inquiry for financial information.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the determined action is to perform a sales transaction.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the determined action is to perform a help desk inquiry that involves customer support for a product or service.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the determined action is to produce a report for customer support to report a malfunctioning product, system, or service.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more computers are a first set and the determined action is to invoke a second different set of one or more computers to process an inquiry.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the text inputs are received from a client system executing a web browser program.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the voice-synthesized responses include one or more words that represent a key concept which triggers a facility to present information about the key concept.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting the transactions, and any questions that the user poses, to concepts, and presenting the user with further information related to the concepts.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising performing an action based on the concepts.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating key phrases in the voice-synthesized responses and sending the key phrases to a thought navigation process that retrieves information on the key phrases.

18. A computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable hardware storage device, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer processor device to:

receive one or more text inputs corresponding to transaction requests;

analyze the text inputs using natural language processing to build added information from the one or more transaction requests;

provide added information based on results of analyzing the transaction requests by the natural language processing,

search a database in communication with the one or more computer systems for appropriate content to present to the user in response to analyzing the text in the transaction, with the response including one or words that represent a key concept associated with the response to trigger a facility to present additional information about the key concept;

build by a conversational engine, a conversation based on the transaction requests and key concept;

statistically analyze the information stored in a database to derive useful market data based on the added information;

track interactions with the user;

store information derived from tracking the interactions in the database for subsequent marketing to that person to produce information for market research;

generate voice-synthesized follow-up responses in accordance with the transaction requests through an avatar, with the voice-synthesized, follow-up responses based on information stored in the database, including the statistically analyzed added information regarding the transactions;

receive subsequent text inputs from the user in response to the voice-synthesized, follow-up responses; and

analyze the subsequent text inputs and the voice-synthesized, follow-up responses to determine an action to take with respect to the user; and

cause the determined action to occur.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 further comprise instructions to:

search the database for related information associated with conducting the transactions.

20. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein one of the transactions is a request as to order status for an order being tracked in the database.

21. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein instructions to generate the response comprise instructions to:

animate the avatar with a voice and facial movements corresponding to the key concepts.

22. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein instructions to animate comprise instructions to generate verbal suggestions for conducting one of the transactions.

23. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein instructions to animate comprise instructions to use natural language processing to develop and build conversations between a user and the avatar.

24. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein the determined action is to perform an inquiry for financial information.

25. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein determined action is to perform is a sales transaction.

26. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein determined action is to perform a help desk inquiry that involves customer support for a product or service.

27. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein determined action is to produce a report for customer support to report a malfunctioning product, system, or service.

28. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein determined action is to perform invoke a second computer program to process an inquiry.

29. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein one of the text inputs is received in response to a suggestion generated by the server computer and rendered by the avatar.

30. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein instructions to receive transaction requests as text inputs comprise instructions to receive the text inputs from a client system executing a web browser program.

31. A system for conducting commerce, the system comprising:

a server computer comprising a processor device and memory coupled to the processor device, the server computer configured by a computer program product to;

receive one or more text inputs corresponding to transaction requests;

analyze the text inputs using natural language processing to build conversations based on the transaction requests;

provide added information based on results of analyzing the transaction requests by the natural language processing;

search a database in communication with the one or more computer systems for appropriate content to present to the user in response to analyzing the text in the transaction, with the response including one or words that represent a key concept associated with the response to trigger a facility to present additional information about the key concept;

build by a conversational engine a conversation based on the transaction requests and key concept;

statistically analyze the information stored in the database to derive useful market data based on the added information;

track interactions with the user;

store information derived from tracking the interactions in the database for subsequent marketing to that person to produce information for market research;

generate voice-synthesized, follow-up responses through the avatar in response to the transaction requests based on information stored in the database including the statistically analyzed added information regarding the transactions;

receive subsequent text inputs from the user;

analyze the subsequent text inputs and the voice-synthesized, follow-up responses to determine an action to take; and

cause the determined action to execute.

32. The system of claim 31 further comprising:

a client system for sending the text input to the server, with the client system executing a web browser program that sends the one or more text inputs and receives data that when rendered on a display associated with the client system, renders a depiction of the avatar and renders by a transducer the voice synthesized responses of the avatar.

33. The system of claim 31 further configured to:

search the database to find related information associated with conducting the transactions.

34. The system of claim 31 wherein the determined action is to perform a request as to order status for an order being tracked in the database.

35. The system of claim 31 further configured to

animate the avatar with a voice and facial movements corresponding to the key concepts.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein animating comprises generating verbal suggestions for conducting one of the transactions.

37. The system of claim 35 wherein animating comprises processing text input from the user with natural language processing techniques to develop and build conversations between a user and the avatar.

38. The system of claim 31 wherein receiving one of the text inputs is in response to a suggestion generated by the avatar.

39. The system of claim 31 wherein the determined action is to perform an inquiry for financial information.

40. The system of claim 31 wherein the determined action is to perform a sales transaction.

41. The system of claim 31 wherein the determined action is to perform a help desk inquiry that involves customer support for a product or service.

42. The system of claim 31 wherein the determined action is to produce a report for customer support to report a malfunctioning product, system, or service.

43. The system of claim 31 wherein the determined action is to perform invokes a second computer system for processing an inquiry.