Patent ID: 9721257
Date: 2017-08-01
CPC Classifications: B25J,G06F,G06Q,G10L,H04M,H04N

Claim:
1. A system configured to provide service to a customer from a remote service agent comprising: a video camera and a microphone configured to selectively capture video images and sounds, respectively, within a preset customer perimeter, said system configured to transmit said video images and sounds to the remote service agent; a speaker configured to emit sound within said preset customer perimeter; a sensor configured to detect a customer positioned in said preset customer perimeter, and to trigger said system to initiate said selective capture of video images and sounds therein, and said transmissions between said preset customer perimeter and the remote service agent; means for displaying a virtual digital actor to the customer, and wherein said system is configured for an input of the remote service agent to dynamically control a visual appearance of said displayed virtual digital actor on said means for displaying, and to control verbal communication emitted from said speaker, to interact with the customer; wherein said displayed virtual digital actor comprises a plurality of successive image frames; wherein said appearance of said displayed virtual digital actor comprises lip movements, facial expressions, eye movements, body movements, and hand movements, synchronized with said verbal communication, within said plurality of successive image frames; wherein an input from the remote service agent is transformed via a processor into one or more commands to control said displayed virtual digital actor; wherein said input from the remote service agent comprises: (i) a verbal command, (ii) a textual input, (iii) an input from a manual I/O device, (iv) a visual input, (v) hand movements, vi) facial expression, and vii) real-time conversational speech; and wherein said verbal communication from said displayed virtual digital actor is generated from the real-time conversational speech of the remote service agent using an internal or external speech engine comprising three dedicated engines: