Patent ID: 9716674
Date: 2017-07-25
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04L,H04N

Claim:
1. A method for conducting an interactive session between a user and a plurality of virtual characters, comprising: receiving over a network from a user device, using at least one processor, a first user input representing one or more questions or statements directed to one or more of the plurality of virtual characters, wherein each virtual character is a digital representation of a real person, wherein the first user input includes at least one of a natural language speech input and a text input; identifying, using the at least one processor, one or more keywords from the first user input; determining, using the at least one processor, to which of the plurality of virtual characters the first user input is directed; accessing, using the at least one processor, a plurality of previously recorded outputs corresponding to the virtual character to which the first user input is determined to be directed, wherein each previously recorded output corresponds to a respective virtual character, and wherein each virtual character interacts with the user through the plurality of previously recorded outputs corresponding to that virtual character, and wherein each previously recorded output is a recording of the real person represented by the virtual character corresponding to that previously recorded output; determining, using the at least one processor, which one or more of the accessed plurality of previously recorded outputs corresponding to the virtual character to which the first user input is directed further corresponds to at least one of the identified keywords; selecting, using the at least one processor, one or more of the accessed previously recorded outputs that further corresponds to at least one of the identified keywords; outputting, using the at least one processor, the selected one or more previously recorded outputs in response to the first user input; automatically temporarily storing in a network coupled memory remote from the user device, using the at least one processor, at least one of the identified keywords of the first user input; automatically storing, using the at least one processor, at least a portion of the first user input, such that the stored portion of the first user input can be flagged with a later recorded output of the virtual character that is added to the plurality of previously recorded outputs; receiving, using the at least one processor, a second user input representing one or more questions or statements directed to one or more of the plurality of virtual characters, wherein the second user input is received after the one or more selected previously recorded outputs are outputted, and wherein both the first and second user inputs are received during the course of the interactive session; determining, using the at least one processor, to which of the plurality of virtual characters the second user input is directed; accessing, using the at least one processor, a plurality of previously recorded outputs corresponding to the virtual character to which the second user input is directed; and selecting, using the at least one processor, one or more of the accessed plurality of previously recorded outputs corresponding to the virtual character to which the second user input is determined to be directed, based at least in part on the temporarily stored keywords from the first user input.