Patent ID: 8446281

Claim:
A method of distinguishing a guest from a non-guest in a receiving area for guests using a virtual receptionist system, comprising: directly detecting that a new object has entered a first region of the receiving area, the first region of the receiving area being an area accessible to non-guests and guests, the new object being an entering person; directly detecting whether the object has entered a second region of the receiving area, the second region of the receiving area being an area generally restricted to non-guests, the first and second regions of the receiving area being physically separate from one another; establishing a time period within which a typical non-guest would travel a distance between the first and second regions; identifying the object as a guest that needs attention when the object is not detected to have entered the second region within the time period or as a non-guest that does not need attention when the object is detected to have entered the second region within the time period; delivering a greeting to the object if the object is identified as a guest; and delivering a notification to one or more persons at a location outside of the receiving area if the object is identified as a guest, the notification informing the one or more persons that a guest has entered the receiving area, wherein the acts of directly detecting the entry of the object into the first and second regions comprise directly detecting movement of the entering person in the first and second regions.