Use of avatars with automatic gesturing and bounded interaction in on-line chat session
US5880731A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 14, 1995 |
| Grant date | Mar 9, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 14, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/0481
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Avatars representing participants in a graphic chat session are periodically animated to produce a gesture that conveys an emotion, action, or personality trait. Each participant in the chat session is enabled to select one of a plurality of different avatars to represent the participant in a graphic chat session. Associated with each avatar is a bitmap file that includes a plurality of frames illustrating the avatar in different poses, actions, and emotional states. Selected frames are displayed in rapid sequence in accord with a script file to create an animation effecting each gesture. The same script file is used to define a gesture for all of the avatars used in the chat session. A selected gesture can be transmitted with a text message to convey the user's emotional state. A gesture associated with the avatar is automatically displayed from time to time when the avatar is not otherwise gesturing or moving. The user can determine participants in the chat session with whom the user will interact, e.g., by defining a proximity radius around the user's avatar or by selecting the specific participants from a list. Avatars of participants that are outside the proximity radius (or o…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.