DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the original filing on 06/14/2024. Claims 1-20 are pending and have been considered below.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 4 and 8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 4 recites ‘animation’; however, it should recite - - an animation - -.
Claim 8 recites ‘the geographic location’; however, it should recite - - a geographic location - -.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, claim 1 recites “transmitting a notification to a second computing device of the second user including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed corresponding to the interface element”. It is unclear whether “including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed corresponding to the interface element” is intended to modify the transmitting, the notification, the second computing device, or the second user. For the purposes of examination, this limitation is interpreted as: transmitting a notification to a second computing device of the second user, wherein there is an indication that the pet avatar is being fed corresponding to the interface element.
Regarding claims 19 and 20, claims 19 and 20 contain substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 1. Consequently, claims 19 and 20 are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 2, claim 2 recites “inputting a prompt into a machine learning model to generate the pet avatar”. It is unclear whether “to generate the pet avatar” is intended to modify the inputting, the prompt, or the machine learning model. For the purposes of examination, this limitation is interpreted as: inputting a prompt into a machine learning model, wherein the pet avatar is generated
Regarding claim 5, claim 5 recites “the prompt is automatically generated based on an identity graph of the second user based on the second user’s use of one or more interaction functions”. It is unclear whether “based on the second user’s use of one or more interaction functions” is intended to modify the prompt, the generating, the identity graph, or the second user. For the purposes of examination, this limitation is interpreted as: the prompt is automatically generated based on an identity graph of the second user, and wherein the second user uses one or more interaction functions
Regarding claim 9, claim 9 recites “the specific area includes around a specific radius”. It is unclear what is meant by “includes around a specific radius”. For the purposes of examination, this limitation is interpreted as: the specific area includes a specific radius
Regarding claim 12, claim 12 recites “the user’s”. It is unclear whether this is intended to refer to the first user, the second user, or a different user. For the purposes of examination, this limitation is interpreted as: a user’s
Regarding claim 13, claim 13 recites “a location of a post created by the second user in the past is with the geographic location”. It is unclear what is meant by “is with the geographic location”. For the purposes of examination, this limitation is interpreted as: a location of a post created by the second user in the past, wherein the location is within the geographic location
Regarding claim 16, claim 16 recites “the first and second interface elements displayed above a head of the pet avatar”. It is unclear how this limitation is intended to relate to the previously recited first interface element corresponding to a first type of food and second interface element corresponding to a second type of food. For the purposes of examination, this limitation is interpreted as: a third interface element and a fourth interface element displayed above a head of the pet avatar
Regarding claim 17, claim 17 recites “generate updated pet avatars from food fed to the pet avatars”. It is unclear whether “the pet avatars” is intended to relate to previously recited pet avatar or the updated pet avatars. For the purposes of examination, this limitation is interpreted as: generate updated pet avatars from food fed to second pet avatars
Regarding claims 2-18, claims 2-18 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for depending on an indefinite parent claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 7-11, 13-16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 20140206444 A1, published 07/24/2014), hereinafter Lin, in view of Wang et al. (US 20140125678 A1¸ published 05/08/2014), hereinafter Wang, in further view of Choi et al. (US 20070111795 A1, published 05/17/2007), hereinafter Choi.
Regarding claim 1, Lin teaches the claim comprising:
A system comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory component storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0025], portable electronic device 2 comprises a processor unit 21, a display unit 22, a GPS unit 23, a storage unit 24, an input unit 25, a network interface 27 and a wireless communication unit 28; [0031], The processor unit 21 at least comprises a central processing unit 210 (CPU) and a random access memory 211 (RAM). The digital pet program 26 is initiated first and then its code is downloaded on the random access memory 211 from the storage unit 24, which is executed by the central processing unit 210):
accessing a particular geographic location for a first user; accessing map data for the particular geographic location; identifying that a pet avatar for a second user is associated with the particular geographic location (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0038], the operations further comprise a step of providing a map mode as shown in FIG. 3. When the portable electronic device 2 stays in the map mode, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 reflective of the real environment, and there are a pet icon 221 representing the digital pet 6 and a owner icon 222 representing the owner of the portable electronic device 2 shown on the electronic map 220. Take Google map as an example of the electronic map 220, as shown in FIG. 3, the position of the pet icon 221 on the electronic map 220 indicates the digital pet's current position, which stays in a park that is in front of the Paxmart; [0039], variation in the geographic position 60 of the digital pet 6 is equal to the changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2. The changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2 can be obtained by computing location information outputted from a GPS unit 23 of the portable electronic device 2; [0050], FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a digital pet system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 9, the digital pet system comprises a server system 1 and a plurality of the portable electronic devices 2; each of the portable electronic devices 2 communicates with GPS satellite 4 by its own GPS unit to get the geographic position for the current location; [0057], each of the portable electronic devices 2 can communicate with the other portable electronic device 2 through the server system 1, and the display unit of each of the portable electronic devices 2 displays the two or more of the digital pets interacting with each other. For example, when there are two digital pet (or more than two) within a distance of 100 meter between them computed by the server system 1 (which means that the above condition is set up), the server system 1 would automatically inform the two portable electronic devices respectively having the two digital pets of the command (or information) to enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other);
causing display, on a first computing device of the first user, of: the particular geographic location using the map data; the pet avatar; and an interface element; receiving a user selection of the interface element from the first user; feed the pet avatar; causing display, on the first computing device for the first user, of an indication of the pet avatar being fed; transmitting a notification including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0010], When the portable electronic device stays in the user interactive mode, the portable electronic device provides several commands and the display unit shows a response action of the digital pet corresponding to the specific command; [0012], For each of the portable electronic devices staying in the pet interactive mode, the display unit of each of the portable electronic devices shows its own digital pet, other digital pet, and their interactions; [0014], the digital pet of the present invention has a geographic position; the digital pet would interact with the owner of the other digital pet; [0029], The input unit 25 comprises a plurality of physical buttons. Preferably, the input unit 25 further comprises touch buttons displayed on the display unit 22. The user can input a command or a data by using the input unit to the processor unit 21 of the portable electronic device 2; [0056], When each of the portable electronic devices 2 stays in the interactive mode, the display unit 33 of each of the portable electronic devices 2 would display its own digital pet 6, the other digital pet 7 around the digital pet 6, and geographic positions 60, 70 belong to themselves respectively, as shown in FIG. 10 (there is one other digital pet 7 displayed as an example in FIG. 10). If any one of the portable electronic devices 2 is switched to the map mode mentioned above, as shown in FIG. 11, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 and several icons, including owner icons 222, 223, 225 227 and pet icons 221, 224, 226, 228, wherein each icon respectively represents the user of each of the portable electronic devices 2 and digital pet that he or she adopted; [0057], each of the portable electronic devices 2 can communicate with the other portable electronic device 2 through the server system 1, and the display unit of each of the portable electronic devices 2 displays the two or more of the digital pets interacting with each other. For example, when there are two digital pet (or more than two) within a distance of 100 meter between them computed by the server system 1 (which means that the above condition is set up), the server system 1 would automatically inform the two portable electronic devices respectively having the two digital pets of the command (or information) to enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other; [0060], the digital pets of the present invention can move with the owner, interact with the owner, other digital pets, or other digital pets' owners; [0035], pet 6 includes biomechanical movements, including lying down, rolling over, sitting down, walking, jumping, sleeping, wagging its tail, pricking up its ears, defecating, eating and so on, which is determined by its character attributes; [0044], the display unit 22 shows an image that the digital pet 6 shows stagnant movements in the stagnant position, such as circling in the house, eating food; [0049], when the portable electronic device 2 is operated under a feeding mode, the user can feed the digital pet 6; [0053], The "pet food" information is directed to a virtual food that a digital pet needs)
However, Lin fails to expressly disclose an interface element configured to feed the pet avatar; receiving a user selection of the interface element from the first user; causing display, on the first computing device for the first user, of an indication of the pet avatar being fed corresponding to the interface element; and transmitting a notification including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed corresponding to the interface element. In the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches:
an interface element configured to feed the pet avatar; receiving a user selection of the interface element from the first user; causing display, on the first computing device for the first user, of an indication of the pet avatar being fed corresponding to the interface element; and transmitting a notification including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed corresponding to the interface element (Wang Figs. 1-11; [0010], FIG. 1: Example of a frontend virtual companion user interface in 2D, showing the virtual companion as a pet, the background, and virtual food being fed to the pet, e.g. using touch-drag; [0017] FIG. 8: Example of the backend direct control interface; pet appearance; [0061], The need for food (hunger) may be indicated by a randomly repeating auditory stomach growl, a blended pose indicating displeasure/hunger, and/or a container that appears, or if always present in the scene, begins to glow or partially open. Upon touching the container, the user causes the container to open and a number of food items to slide out from the container. As shown in FIG. 1, the user may then drag any of the food items to the pet to feed it, triggering the appropriate feeding animations, possibly in a different state a la a state machine architecture implemented in the program loop. The pet's hunger counter is thus decremented, possibly by an amount dependent on the food item chosen. The food item chosen may also have a small effect on the pet's long-term PAD state; for example, meat items may increase arousal while vegetables decrease arousal. The food items chosen may also contribute to how the pet grows and ages. For example, meat may make for a more muscular body; [0062], The need for fluids (thirst) may be indicated by a randomly repeating auditory raspy breath, a blended pose indicating displeasure/thirst, and/or a container that appears or otherwise attracts attention. Upon touching the container, the user can choose from a selection of drinks, and feed them to the pet similar to the method described above for food, as shown in FIG. 2. Similar effects on PAD states and growth may be applied. For example, unhealthy drinks may cause the pet to become fatter over time and decrease long-term aroused, though sugar-laden drinks may cause a temporary increase in short-term arousal; [0081], In the monitor-all interface of FIG. 7, a human helper monitors a set of virtual companions with the cooperation of other helpers, under the supervision of a supervisor. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the set of virtual companions may include all the virtual companions; a human helper monitors a set of virtual companions with the cooperation of other helpers, under the supervision of a supervisor)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated an interface element configured to feed the pet avatar; receiving a user selection of the interface element from the first user; causing display, on the first computing device for the first user, of an indication of the pet avatar being fed corresponding to the interface element; and transmitting a notification including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed corresponding to the interface element as suggested in Wang into Lin. Doing so would be desirable because existing technologies for enabling social interaction is often too difficult to use and too unintuitive for persons who are not technologically savvy (see Wang [0007]). The present invention comprises an apparatus for a virtual companion, a method for controlling one or more virtual companions, and a system for a plurality of humans to control a plurality of avatar (see Wang [0008]). Virtual companions and assistants that provide verbal feedback are either limited to repeating the words of its user (e.g. Talking Tom) or handicapped by limited artificial intelligence and voice recognition (see Wang [0106], Lin [0046]). This invention may additionally be used by ordinary, young people. It may be employed for entertainment value or via its human intelligence features (see Wang [0110]). Additionally, the system of Wang would improve the feeding mode of Lin (see Lin [0049]) by providing a convenient and user friendly method to feed a virtual pet (see Wang [0061]).
However, Wang in view of Lin fails to expressly disclose causing display, on the first computing device for the first user, of an indication of the pet avatar being fed corresponding to the interface element; and transmitting a notification to a second computing device of the second user including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed corresponding to the interface element. In the same field of endeavor, Choi teaches:
causing display, on the first computing device for the first user, of an indication of the pet avatar being fed corresponding to the interface element; and transmitting a notification to a second computing device of the second user including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed corresponding to the interface element (Choi Figs. 1-25; [0110], Within the scope of the self-developing pet application, there may be other interactions between self-developing pet clients for which SMS messaging, aside from the sending of pets, can be used which enhance the community experience of the self-developing pet. FIGS. 8 and 9 are flow charts illustrating two examples of such interactions. FIG. 8 illustrates the sending of a decoration or accessory to a particular pet, and FIG. 9 illustrates the sending of a cake; [0111], Referring now to FIG. 8, a decoration or accessory is an object the pet can wear (medal, sun-glasses, hat, etc). Representing a decoration is similar to the way a pet is represented: there is a global repository of static information (3d models and textures of the decorations). The amount of data needed to reconstruct the decoration on the other side is therefore very small: reference to the name of the 3d-model to use, the color and so on. In FIG. 8 the decoration is shown on the originator's pet in stage 801. The decoration is transferred using a text-encoded binary SMS in stage 803 and the accessory is shown on the pet of the recipient in stage 805; [0112], Referring now to FIG. 9, and the same principle is illustrated for a snack. A snack is a present the user (owner) can give to her own or another pet (i.e. cake, dried-meat etc). Giving the pet a snack improves its emotional state in some way. Once again, there is a finite database of available snacks, and the message transfer, stages 901, 903, 905 require only to send the ID of the specific snack being provided (as shown in Fig. 9, the cake is removed from the user’s phone and displayed on the friend’s phone)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated causing display, on the first computing device for the first user, of an indication of the pet avatar being fed corresponding to the interface element; and transmitting a notification to a second computing device of the second user including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed corresponding to the interface element as suggested in Choi into Lin in view of Wang. Doing so would be desirable because the present invention relates to a virtual entity on a network, more particularly but not exclusively to issues of presence or exchange of an animated character over a network (see Choi [0001]). The present disclosure deals with issues of a virtual self-developing pet, including continuous availability of the virtual self-developing pet with its owner, the ability to share the virtual self-developing pet with others and issues involved in building a virtual community for the self-developing pet (see Choi [0004]). There is provided a method of exchanging characters over a mobile telephony network between a plurality of mobile devices (see Choi [0007]). As described in Lin, virtual pet owners can feed their pet (see Lin [0049]) in an interactive mode (see Lin [0046]) and view eating animations (see [0035], [0044]). Lin further discloses that users may interact with virtual pets owned by other users in the interactive mode ([0014, [0056-0060]). The disclosure of Choi would improve the interactive mode and animations of Lin by clarifying displaying, on the first computing device for the first user, of an indication of the pet avatar being fed corresponding to the interface element; and transmitting a notification to a second computing device of the second user including an indication that the pet avatar is being fed (see Choi ([0110-0112]), thereby enhancing the functionality of Lin and improving the process of interacting with other virtual pets.
Regarding claims 19 and 20, claims 19 and 20 contain substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 1. Consequently, claims 19 and 20 are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 7, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein accessing the particular geographic location for the first user includes identifying a current location of the first user based on global positioning system data of a computing device associated with the first user (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0038], the operations further comprise a step of providing a map mode as shown in FIG. 3. When the portable electronic device 2 stays in the map mode, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 reflective of the real environment, and there are a pet icon 221 representing the digital pet 6 and a owner icon 222 representing the owner of the portable electronic device 2 shown on the electronic map 220. Take Google map as an example of the electronic map 220, as shown in FIG. 3, the position of the pet icon 221 on the electronic map 220 indicates the digital pet's current position, which stays in a park that is in front of the Paxmart; [0039], variation in the geographic position 60 of the digital pet 6 is equal to the changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2. The changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2 can be obtained by computing location information outputted from a GPS unit 23 of the portable electronic device 2; [0050], FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a digital pet system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 9, the digital pet system comprises a server system 1 and a plurality of the portable electronic devices 2; each of the portable electronic devices 2 communicates with GPS satellite 4 by its own GPS unit to get the geographic position for the current location; [0057], each of the portable electronic devices 2 can communicate with the other portable electronic device 2 through the server system 1, and the display unit of each of the portable electronic devices 2 displays the two or more of the digital pets interacting with each other. For example, when there are two digital pet (or more than two) within a distance of 100 meter between them computed by the server system 1 (which means that the above condition is set up), the server system 1 would automatically inform the two portable electronic devices respectively having the two digital pets of the command (or information) to enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other)
Regarding claim 8, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein identifying that the pet avatar for the second user is associated with the particular geographic location includes identifying all pet avatars within a specific area around the geographic location (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0013], digital pets can interact with other digital pets or owners when geographic position of each of the digital pets falls with a predetermined distance; [0038-0039], variation in the geographic position 60 of the digital pet 6 is equal to the changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2. The changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2 can be obtained by computing location information outputted from a GPS unit 23 of the portable electronic device 2; [0050], FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a digital pet system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 9, the digital pet system comprises a server system 1 and a plurality of the portable electronic devices 2; each of the portable electronic devices 2 communicates with GPS satellite 4 by its own GPS unit to get the geographic position for the current location; [0056], FIG. 11, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 and several icons, including owner icons 222, 223, 225 227 and pet icons 221, 224, 226, 228, wherein each icon respectively represents the user of each of the portable electronic devices 2 and digital pet that he or she adopted. As such, the owner of each of the portable electronic devices 2 can see their own digital pet and the other digital pets within a predetermined distance; [0057], each of the portable electronic devices 2 can communicate with the other portable electronic device 2 through the server system 1, and the display unit of each of the portable electronic devices 2 displays the two or more of the digital pets interacting with each other. For example, when there are two digital pet (or more than two) within a distance of 100 meter between them computed by the server system 1 (which means that the above condition is set up), the server system 1 would automatically inform the two portable electronic devices respectively having the two digital pets of the command (or information) to enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other)
Regarding claim 9, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further teaches all the limitations of claim 8, further comprising:
wherein the specific area includes around a specific radius (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0013], digital pets can interact with other digital pets or owners when geographic position of each of the digital pets falls with a predetermined distance; [0038-0039], variation in the geographic position 60 of the digital pet 6 is equal to the changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2. The changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2 can be obtained by computing location information outputted from a GPS unit 23 of the portable electronic device 2; [0050], FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a digital pet system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 9, the digital pet system comprises a server system 1 and a plurality of the portable electronic devices 2; each of the portable electronic devices 2 communicates with GPS satellite 4 by its own GPS unit to get the geographic position for the current location; [0056], FIG. 11, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 and several icons, including owner icons 222, 223, 225 227 and pet icons 221, 224, 226, 228, wherein each icon respectively represents the user of each of the portable electronic devices 2 and digital pet that he or she adopted. As such, the owner of each of the portable electronic devices 2 can see their own digital pet and the other digital pets within a predetermined distance; [0057], each of the portable electronic devices 2 can communicate with the other portable electronic device 2 through the server system 1, and the display unit of each of the portable electronic devices 2 displays the two or more of the digital pets interacting with each other. For example, when there are two digital pet (or more than two) within a distance of 100 meter between them computed by the server system 1 (which means that the above condition is set up), the server system 1 would automatically inform the two portable electronic devices respectively having the two digital pets of the command (or information) to enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other)
Regarding claim 10, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further teaches all the limitations of claim 8, further comprising:
wherein the specific area includes an area defined for a particular event (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0038-0039], variation in the geographic position 60 of the digital pet 6 is equal to the changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2. The changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2 can be obtained by computing location information outputted from a GPS unit 23 of the portable electronic device 2; [0050], FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a digital pet system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 9, the digital pet system comprises a server system 1 and a plurality of the portable electronic devices 2; each of the portable electronic devices 2 communicates with GPS satellite 4 by its own GPS unit to get the geographic position for the current location; [0051], When each of the portable electronic devices 2 activates its own digital pet system, each of the portable electronic devices 2 would generate a plurality of operations; After the server system 1 computes information uploaded by each of the portable electronic devices 2 to generate a geographic position of the digital pet for each of the portable electronic devices 2, the server system 1 transfers the geographic position of the digital pet to each of the portable electronic devices 2, which allows the value of the geographic position of the digital pet to be changed from each of the portable electronic devices 2; [0055], Once the adoption process is finished by each of the portable electronic devices 2, the server system 1 would record its information, such as IMEI code of each of the portable electronic devices 2, the identification code and names for the adopted digital pet (named by the owners of each of the portable electronic devices 2), geographic position when adopted, and so on; [0056], FIG. 11, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 and several icons, including owner icons 222, 223, 225 227 and pet icons 221, 224, 226, 228, wherein each icon respectively represents the user of each of the portable electronic devices 2 and digital pet that he or she adopted. As such, the owner of each of the portable electronic devices 2 can see their own digital pet and the other digital pets within a predetermined distance; [0057], when there are two digital pet (or more than two) within a distance of 100 meter between them computed by the server system 1 (which means that the above condition is set up), the server system 1 would automatically inform the two portable electronic devices respectively having the two digital pets of the command (or information) to enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other)
Regarding claim 11, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein identifying that the pet avatar for the second user is associated with the particular geographic location includes identifying all pet avatars within a specific radius around the geographic location (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0013], digital pets can interact with other digital pets or owners when geographic position of each of the digital pets falls with a predetermined distance; [0038-0039], variation in the geographic position 60 of the digital pet 6 is equal to the changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2. The changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2 can be obtained by computing location information outputted from a GPS unit 23 of the portable electronic device 2; [0050], FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a digital pet system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 9, the digital pet system comprises a server system 1 and a plurality of the portable electronic devices 2; each of the portable electronic devices 2 communicates with GPS satellite 4 by its own GPS unit to get the geographic position for the current location; [0056], FIG. 11, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 and several icons, including owner icons 222, 223, 225 227 and pet icons 221, 224, 226, 228, wherein each icon respectively represents the user of each of the portable electronic devices 2 and digital pet that he or she adopted. As such, the owner of each of the portable electronic devices 2 can see their own digital pet and the other digital pets within a predetermined distance; [0057], each of the portable electronic devices 2 can communicate with the other portable electronic device 2 through the server system 1, and the display unit of each of the portable electronic devices 2 displays the two or more of the digital pets interacting with each other. For example, when there are two digital pet (or more than two) within a distance of 100 meter between them computed by the server system 1 (which means that the above condition is set up), the server system 1 would automatically inform the two portable electronic devices respectively having the two digital pets of the command (or information) to enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other)
Regarding claim 13, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Lin does not expressly state the second user is associated with the particular geographic location includes determining that a home location for the second user is with the geographic location. However, Lin does state that a geographic location for a geographic position 60 of the digital pet 6 can be set for the location where the user's home is ([0037]). A house icon can be shown when the value of the geographic position 60 represents a location, such as the user's home ([0043]). Users can leave their pets at home and continue to monitor the pet’s interactions remotely ([0044]) Lin further discloses that users share their current location ([0051]), which can be used to display virtual pets based on the current location ([0056-0057]). Digital pets can interact with other digital pets or owners when geographic position of each of the digital pets falls with a predetermined distance ([0013]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated wherein identifying that the pet avatar for the second user is associated with the particular geographic location includes determining that a home location for the second user is with the geographic location (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0013], [0037], [0043-0044], [0051], [0056-0057])) as suggested in Lin. Doing so would be desirable because lots of people cannot have pets in their own house due to the above mentioned problems, and thereby cannot benefit from having pets (see Lin [0004]). It would be beneficial to enable a first user to see a second user’s digital pet at their current location, such as a home (see Lin [0037]), where the second user is likely to be frequently and for longer periods of time. It would also make it easier to locate and interact with digital pets for user’s that may not be willing or able to leave their homes.
Regarding claim 14, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein identifying that the pet avatar for the second user is associated with the particular geographic location includes determining that a location of a post created by the second user in the past is with the geographic location (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0038-0039], variation in the geographic position 60 of the digital pet 6 is equal to the changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2. The changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2 can be obtained by computing location information outputted from a GPS unit 23 of the portable electronic device 2; [0050-0051], When each of the portable electronic devices 2 activates its own digital pet system, each of the portable electronic devices 2 would generate a plurality of operations; After the server system 1 computes information uploaded by each of the portable electronic devices 2 to generate a geographic position of the digital pet for each of the portable electronic devices 2, the server system 1 transfers the geographic position of the digital pet to each of the portable electronic devices 2, which allows the value of the geographic position of the digital pet to be changed from each of the portable electronic devices 2; [0052] The server system 1 further comprises digital pet information stored therein. Information of each of the digital pets comprises, but not limited to, identification code, types, names, ages, IQ levels, health condition levels, adoption, adopter information, adopt date, position, pet food, character, various image files or video files stored in advance and etc; [0055], Once the adoption process is finished by each of the portable electronic devices 2, the server system 1 would record its information, such as IMEI code of each of the portable electronic devices 2, the identification code and names for the adopted digital pet (named by the owners of each of the portable electronic devices 2), geographic position when adopted, and so on; [0056-0057], The operations generated by each of the portable electronic devices 2 further comprise a step of providing a pet interactive mode. When each of the portable electronic devices 2 stays in the interactive mode, the display unit 33 of each of the portable electronic devices 2 would display its own digital pet 6, the other digital pet 7 around the digital pet 6, and geographic positions 60, 70 belong to themselves respectively, as shown in FIG. 10 (there is one other digital pet 7 displayed as an example in FIG. 10). If any one of the portable electronic devices 2 is switched to the map mode mentioned above, as shown in FIG. 11, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 and several icons, including owner icons 222, 223, 225 227 and pet icons 221, 224, 226, 228, wherein each icon respectively represents the user of each of the portable electronic devices 2 and digital pet that he or she adopted. As such, the owner of each of the portable electronic devices 2 can see their own digital pet and the other digital pets within a predetermined distance. Preferably, when these digital pets are close to each other, the digital pets shown on the display unit 22 of each of the portable electronic devices 2 interact with each other, such as sniffing each other, fighting, barking, growling, howling and other interaction, which is determined by its character attributes. It is noted that character attributes of these digital pets and the interactions can be established in advance)
Regarding claim 15, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein causing display of the indication of the pet avatar being fed comprises causing display of an animation of the pet avatar eating food (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0010], When the portable electronic device stays in the user interactive mode, the portable electronic device provides several commands and the display unit shows a response action of the digital pet corresponding to the specific command; [0012], For each of the portable electronic devices staying in the pet interactive mode, the display unit of each of the portable electronic devices shows its own digital pet, other digital pet, and their interactions; [0014], the digital pet of the present invention has a geographic position; the digital pet would interact with the owner of the other digital pet; [0056], When each of the portable electronic devices 2 stays in the interactive mode, the display unit 33 of each of the portable electronic devices 2 would display its own digital pet 6, the other digital pet 7 around the digital pet 6, and geographic positions 60, 70 belong to themselves respectively, as shown in FIG. 10 (there is one other digital pet 7 displayed as an example in FIG. 10). If any one of the portable electronic devices 2 is switched to the map mode mentioned above, as shown in FIG. 11, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 and several icons, including owner icons 222, 223, 225 227 and pet icons 221, 224, 226, 228, wherein each icon respectively represents the user of each of the portable electronic devices 2 and digital pet that he or she adopted; [0057], enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other; [0060], the digital pets of the present invention can move with the owner, interact with the owner, other digital pets, or other digital pets' owners; [0035], pet 6 includes biomechanical movements, including lying down, rolling over, sitting down, walking, jumping, sleeping, wagging its tail, pricking up its ears, defecating, eating and so on, which is determined by its character attributes; [0044], the display unit 22 shows an image that the digital pet 6 shows stagnant movements in the stagnant position, such as circling in the house, eating food; [0049], when the portable electronic device 2 is operated under a feeding mode, the user can feed the digital pet 6; [0053], The "pet food" information is directed to a virtual food that a digital pet needs; see also [0060]))
Wang further teaches:
eating food corresponding to the interface element (Wang Figs. 1-11; [0010], FIG. 1: Example of a frontend virtual companion user interface in 2D, showing the virtual companion as a pet, the background, and virtual food being fed to the pet, e.g. using touch-drag; [0061], The need for food (hunger) may be indicated by a randomly repeating auditory stomach growl, a blended pose indicating displeasure/hunger, and/or a container that appears, or if always present in the scene, begins to glow or partially open. Upon touching the container, the user causes the container to open and a number of food items to slide out from the container. As shown in FIG. 1, the user may then drag any of the food items to the pet to feed it, triggering the appropriate feeding animations, possibly in a different state a la a state machine architecture implemented in the program loop. The pet's hunger counter is thus decremented, possibly by an amount dependent on the food item chosen. The food item chosen may also have a small effect on the pet's long-term PAD state; for example, meat items may increase arousal while vegetables decrease arousal. The food items chosen may also contribute to how the pet grows and ages. For example, meat may make for a more muscular body)
Regarding claim 16, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein causing display of the particular geographic location using the map data, the pet avatar (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0010], When the portable electronic device stays in the user interactive mode, the portable electronic device provides several commands and the display unit shows a response action of the digital pet corresponding to the specific command; [0012], For each of the portable electronic devices staying in the pet interactive mode, the display unit of each of the portable electronic devices shows its own digital pet, other digital pet, and their interactions; [0014], the digital pet of the present invention has a geographic position; the digital pet would interact with the owner of the other digital pet; [0056], When each of the portable electronic devices 2 stays in the interactive mode, the display unit 33 of each of the portable electronic devices 2 would display its own digital pet 6, the other digital pet 7 around the digital pet 6, and geographic positions 60, 70 belong to themselves respectively, as shown in FIG. 10 (there is one other digital pet 7 displayed as an example in FIG. 10). If any one of the portable electronic devices 2 is switched to the map mode mentioned above, as shown in FIG. 11, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 and several icons, including owner icons 222, 223, 225 227 and pet icons 221, 224, 226, 228, wherein each icon respectively represents the user of each of the portable electronic devices 2 and digital pet that he or she adopted; [0057], enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other; [0060], the digital pets of the present invention can move with the owner, interact with the owner, other digital pets, or other digital pets' owners; [0035], pet 6 includes biomechanical movements, including lying down, rolling over, sitting down, walking, jumping, sleeping, wagging its tail, pricking up its ears, defecating, eating and so on, which is determined by its character attributes; [0044], the display unit 22 shows an image that the digital pet 6 shows stagnant movements in the stagnant position, such as circling in the house, eating food; [0049], when the portable electronic device 2 is operated under a feeding mode, the user can feed the digital pet 6; [0053], The "pet food" information is directed to a virtual food that a digital pet needs; see also [0060]))
Wang further teaches:
wherein causing display of the interface element configured to feed the pet avatar further comprises causing display of a first interface element corresponding to a first type of food, and a second interface element corresponding to a second type of food, the first and second interface elements displayed above a head of the pet avatar, wherein in response to a user selection of the first interface element, causing display of the pet avatar eating a first type of food corresponding to the first interface element, in response to a user selection of the second interface element, causing display of the pet avatar eating a second type of food corresponding to the second interface element (Wang Figs. 1-11; [0010], FIG. 1: Example of a frontend virtual companion user interface in 2D, showing the virtual companion as a pet, the background, and virtual food being fed to the pet, e.g. using touch-drag; [0061], The need for food (hunger) may be indicated by a randomly repeating auditory stomach growl, a blended pose indicating displeasure/hunger, and/or a container that appears, or if always present in the scene, begins to glow or partially open. Upon touching the container, the user causes the container to open and a number of food items to slide out from the container. As shown in FIG. 1, the user may then drag any of the food items to the pet to feed it, triggering the appropriate feeding animations, possibly in a different state a la a state machine architecture implemented in the program loop. The pet's hunger counter is thus decremented, possibly by an amount dependent on the food item chosen. The food item chosen may also have a small effect on the pet's long-term PAD state; for example, meat items may increase arousal while vegetables decrease arousal. The food items chosen may also contribute to how the pet grows and ages. For example, meat may make for a more muscular body; [0062], The need for fluids (thirst) may be indicated by a randomly repeating auditory raspy breath, a blended pose indicating displeasure/thirst, and/or a container that appears or otherwise attracts attention. Upon touching the container, the user can choose from a selection of drinks, and feed them to the pet similar to the method described above for food, as shown in FIG. 2. Similar effects on PAD states and growth may be applied. For example, unhealthy drinks may cause the pet to become fatter over time and decrease long-term aroused, though sugar-laden drinks may cause a temporary increase in short-term arousal)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated wherein causing display of the interface element configured to feed the pet avatar further comprises causing display of a first interface element corresponding to a first type of food, and a second interface element corresponding to a second type of food, the first and second interface elements displayed above a head of the pet avatar, wherein in response to a user selection of the first interface element, causing display of the pet avatar eating a first type of food corresponding to the first interface element, in response to a user selection of the second interface element, causing display of the pet avatar eating a second type of food corresponding to the second interface element as suggested in Wang into Lin in view of Choi. Doing so would be desirable because existing technologies for enabling social interaction is often too difficult to use and too unintuitive for persons who are not technologically savvy (see Wang [0007]). The present invention comprises an apparatus for a virtual companion, a method for controlling one or more virtual companions, and a system for a plurality of humans to control a plurality of avatar (see Wang [0008]). Virtual companions and assistants that provide verbal feedback are either limited to repeating the words of its user (e.g. Talking Tom) or handicapped by limited artificial intelligence and voice recognition (see Wang [0106], Lin [0046]). This invention may additionally be used by ordinary, young people. It may be employed for entertainment value or via its human intelligence features (see Wang [0110]). Additionally, the system of Wang would improve the feeding mode of Lin (see Lin [0049]) by providing a convenient and user friendly method to feed a virtual pet (see Wang [0061]).
Regarding claim 18, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Wang further teaches:
wherein the indication of the pet avatar being fed includes stretching or squashing the pet avatar on display (Wang Figs. 1-11; [0025], a collection of vector-based graphics, such as defined by mathematical splines, to be animated through applicable techniques; or it can be (if 3D) one or more items of geometry defined by vertices, edges, and/or faces, with associated material descriptions, possibly including the use of bitmap or vector 2D graphics as textures; or it can be (if 3D) one or more items of vector-based 3D geometry; [0026], information to facilitate animations, such as a keyframed skeleton; [0031], the game engine only needs to keep track of the frame-by-frame transformed position/orientation of each bounding volume, based on any skeletal deformations; [0061], The need for food (hunger) may be indicated by a randomly repeating auditory stomach growl, a blended pose indicating displeasure/hunger, and/or a container that appears, or if always present in the scene, begins to glow or partially open. Upon touching the container, the user causes the container to open and a number of food items to slide out from the container. As shown in FIG. 1, the user may then drag any of the food items to the pet to feed it, triggering the appropriate feeding animations, possibly in a different state a la a state machine architecture implemented in the program loop. The pet's hunger counter is thus decremented, possibly by an amount dependent on the food item chosen. The food item chosen may also have a small effect on the pet's long-term PAD state; for example, meat items may increase arousal while vegetables decrease arousal. The food items chosen may also contribute to how the pet grows and ages. For example, meat may make for a more muscular body; [0062], The need for fluids (thirst) may be indicated by a randomly repeating auditory raspy breath, a blended pose indicating displeasure/thirst, and/or a container that appears or otherwise attracts attention. Upon touching the container, the user can choose from a selection of drinks, and feed them to the pet similar to the method described above for food, as shown in FIG. 2. Similar effects on PAD states and growth may be applied. For example, unhealthy drinks may cause the pet to become fatter over time and decrease long-term aroused, though sugar-laden drinks may cause a temporary increase in short-term arousal)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated wherein the indication of the pet avatar being fed includes stretching or squashing the pet avatar on display as suggested in Wang into Lin. Doing so would be desirable because existing technologies for enabling social interaction is often too difficult to use and too unintuitive for persons who are not technologically savvy (see Wang [0007]). The present invention comprises an apparatus for a virtual companion, a method for controlling one or more virtual companions, and a system for a plurality of humans to control a plurality of avatar (see Wang [0008]). Virtual companions and assistants that provide verbal feedback are either limited to repeating the words of its user (e.g. Talking Tom) or handicapped by limited artificial intelligence and voice recognition (see Wang [0106], Lin [0046]). This invention may additionally be used by ordinary, young people. It may be employed for entertainment value or via its human intelligence features (see Wang [0110]). Additionally, the system of Wang would improve the feeding mode of Lin (see Lin [0049]) by providing a convenient and user friendly method to feed a virtual pet (see Wang [0061]).
Claims 2-5 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further view of Borovikov et al. (US 20200312003 A1, published 10/01/2020), hereinafter Borovikov.
Regarding claim 2, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi teaches all the limitations of claim 1. However, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi fails to expressly disclose inputting a prompt into a machine learning model to generate the pet avatar, the machine learning model trained to receive prompts indicative of pet characteristics, and generating pet avatars in response to receiving the prompts. In the same field of endeavor, Borovikov teaches:
inputting a prompt into a machine learning model to generate the pet avatar, the machine learning model trained to receive prompts indicative of pet characteristics, and generating pet avatars in response to receiving the prompts (Borovikov Figs. 1-7; abs. Systems and methods for generating a customized virtual animal character are disclosed; [0004], input media to a first machine learning model configured to extract visual information regarding one or more animals depicted in image or video data; alter the base 3D model data for the first animal type based on visual information extracted by the first machine learning model to generate custom 3D model data corresponding to the real animal; [0066], the player may provide input via a user interface displayed by the player computing system 102 indicating the species or breed of the player's pet; [0076], a GAN may be configured to learn mappings from input images to output images, and also learn a loss function to train this mapping; [0077], the discriminator in one embodiment may be trained to identify if an image output by the generator depicts a real animal; [0045], The feedback component 140 may be configured to receive feedback, such as feedback from the player utilizing player computing system 102, regarding a custom animal character generated by the custom character system 130. For example, the feedback component 140 may prompt or otherwise enable the player, via a user interface or within a game, to indicate whether the appearance and/or behavior of the virtual animal character generated by the custom character system 120 appears correct (e.g., mimics the real life animal as intended). For example, the player may indicate that a certain action just performed by a virtual dog character in a game would not be performed by the player's own real life dog, may indicate that the extent or details of an action performed by the virtual dog character was incorrect (e.g., the virtual dog jumped too high, ran too slow, etc.), and/or may indicate that a series of actions performed by the virtual dog would not be performed by the real dog (e.g., the real dog would not bark immediately after waking up). The feedback component 140 may then, such as in cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, apply the feedback in order to adjust the virtual animal's behavior to enforce correct behavior and suppress incorrect behavior; [0084], At block 504, the behavior learning system 134 may extract or determine traits and typical action sequences of the animal depicted in the input media based on an automated analysis of the input media)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated inputting a prompt into a machine learning model to generate the pet avatar, the machine learning model trained to receive prompts indicative of pet characteristics, and generating pet avatars in response to receiving the prompts as suggested in Borovikov into Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi. Doing so would be desirable because a player may desire to have an in-game virtual pet or other virtual animal character be a virtual replica or virtual version of the player's real life pet. A problem with existing video game character systems in this regard is that a player may enjoy that a particular video game enables the player to have a virtual dog accompany the player's character on a mission within the video game, but may dislike that the virtual dog provided in the game does not look like the player's own real life dog. As a further example, a player may find that a particular video game provides an in-game virtual animal that looks at least somewhat similar to the player's real life pet (e.g., the virtual dog may be the same breed and color as the player's real life dog), but which may behave very differently than the player's real life dog. For example, the player's real life dog may be shy and never bark, while the virtual dog in the particular video game has been programmed to run around exploring a 3D virtual environment and barking frequently. This may cause the player to be less emotionally invested in the virtual dog character or the game as a whole as he would be if the virtual dog seemed like his own real life dog (see Borovikov [0021]). The feedback component 140 may then, such as in cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, apply the feedback in order to adjust the virtual animal's behavior to enforce correct behavior and suppress incorrect behavior (see Borovikov [0045]).
Regarding claim 3, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further view of Borovikov teaches all the limitations of claim 2. Borovikov further teaches:
wherein the prompt is based on input received from the second user, the input indicating one or more desired characteristics for the pet avatar (Borovikov Figs. 1-7; abs. Systems and methods for generating a customized virtual animal character are disclosed; [0004], input media to a first machine learning model configured to extract visual information regarding one or more animals depicted in image or video data; alter the base 3D model data for the first animal type based on visual information extracted by the first machine learning model to generate custom 3D model data corresponding to the real animal; [0066], the player may provide input via a user interface displayed by the player computing system 102 indicating the species or breed of the player's pet; [0076], a GAN may be configured to learn mappings from input images to output images, and also learn a loss function to train this mapping; [0077], the discriminator in one embodiment may be trained to identify if an image output by the generator depicts a real animal; [0045], The feedback component 140 may be configured to receive feedback, such as feedback from the player utilizing player computing system 102, regarding a custom animal character generated by the custom character system 130. For example, the feedback component 140 may prompt or otherwise enable the player, via a user interface or within a game, to indicate whether the appearance and/or behavior of the virtual animal character generated by the custom character system 120 appears correct (e.g., mimics the real life animal as intended). For example, the player may indicate that a certain action just performed by a virtual dog character in a game would not be performed by the player's own real life dog, may indicate that the extent or details of an action performed by the virtual dog character was incorrect (e.g., the virtual dog jumped too high, ran too slow, etc.), and/or may indicate that a series of actions performed by the virtual dog would not be performed by the real dog (e.g., the real dog would not bark immediately after waking up). The feedback component 140 may then, such as in cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, apply the feedback in order to adjust the virtual animal's behavior to enforce correct behavior and suppress incorrect behavior; [0084], At block 504, the behavior learning system 134 may extract or determine traits and typical action sequences of the animal depicted in the input media based on an automated analysis of the input media)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated wherein the prompt is based on input received from the second user, the input indicating one or more desired characteristics for the pet avatar as suggested in Borovikov into Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi. Doing so would be desirable because a player may desire to have an in-game virtual pet or other virtual animal character be a virtual replica or virtual version of the player's real life pet. A problem with existing video game character systems in this regard is that a player may enjoy that a particular video game enables the player to have a virtual dog accompany the player's character on a mission within the video game, but may dislike that the virtual dog provided in the game does not look like the player's own real life dog. As a further example, a player may find that a particular video game provides an in-game virtual animal that looks at least somewhat similar to the player's real life pet (e.g., the virtual dog may be the same breed and color as the player's real life dog), but which may behave very differently than the player's real life dog. For example, the player's real life dog may be shy and never bark, while the virtual dog in the particular video game has been programmed to run around exploring a 3D virtual environment and barking frequently. This may cause the player to be less emotionally invested in the virtual dog character or the game as a whole as he would be if the virtual dog seemed like his own real life dog (see Borovikov [0021]). The feedback component 140 may then, such as in cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, apply the feedback in order to adjust the virtual animal's behavior to enforce correct behavior and suppress incorrect behavior (see Borovikov [0045]).
Regarding claim 4, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further view of Borovikov teaches all the limitations of claim 2. Borovikov further teaches:
wherein the prompt is based on input received from the second user, the input indicating one or more personality traits for the pet avatar, the machine learning model generating animation for the pet avatar that corresponds to the one or more personality traits for the pet avatar (Borovikov Figs. 1-7; abs. Systems and methods for generating a customized virtual animal character are disclosed; [0004], input media to a first machine learning model configured to extract visual information regarding one or more animals depicted in image or video data; alter the base 3D model data for the first animal type based on visual information extracted by the first machine learning model to generate custom 3D model data corresponding to the real animal; [0023], animation data; [0043], The animation generator 138, which may operate in conjunction or cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, may be configured to generate animation data for a virtual animal character to move in a manner that mimics or approximates specific movements performed by the real life animal depicted in input media; [0066], the player may provide input via a user interface displayed by the player computing system 102 indicating the species or breed of the player's pet; [0076], a GAN may be configured to learn mappings from input images to output images, and also learn a loss function to train this mapping; [0070], Once any initial optional feedback has been received and incorporated into the appearance and behavior models, the custom character system 130 may store the virtual animal's final 3D model, textures, animations, behaviors and/or other data for use in one or more games, at block 212; [0077], the discriminator in one embodiment may be trained to identify if an image output by the generator depicts a real animal; [0045], The feedback component 140 may be configured to receive feedback, such as feedback from the player utilizing player computing system 102, regarding a custom animal character generated by the custom character system 130. For example, the feedback component 140 may prompt or otherwise enable the player, via a user interface or within a game, to indicate whether the appearance and/or behavior of the virtual animal character generated by the custom character system 120 appears correct (e.g., mimics the real life animal as intended). For example, the player may indicate that a certain action just performed by a virtual dog character in a game would not be performed by the player's own real life dog, may indicate that the extent or details of an action performed by the virtual dog character was incorrect (e.g., the virtual dog jumped too high, ran too slow, etc.), and/or may indicate that a series of actions performed by the virtual dog would not be performed by the real dog (e.g., the real dog would not bark immediately after waking up). The feedback component 140 may then, such as in cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, apply the feedback in order to adjust the virtual animal's behavior to enforce correct behavior and suppress incorrect behavior; [0084], At block 504, the behavior learning system 134 may extract or determine traits and typical action sequences of the animal depicted in the input media based on an automated analysis of the input media)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated wherein the prompt is based on input received from the second user, the input indicating one or more personality traits for the pet avatar, the machine learning model generating animation for the pet avatar that corresponds to the one or more personality traits for the pet avatar as suggested in Borovikov into Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi. Doing so would be desirable because a player may desire to have an in-game virtual pet or other virtual animal character be a virtual replica or virtual version of the player's real life pet. A problem with existing video game character systems in this regard is that a player may enjoy that a particular video game enables the player to have a virtual dog accompany the player's character on a mission within the video game, but may dislike that the virtual dog provided in the game does not look like the player's own real life dog. As a further example, a player may find that a particular video game provides an in-game virtual animal that looks at least somewhat similar to the player's real life pet (e.g., the virtual dog may be the same breed and color as the player's real life dog), but which may behave very differently than the player's real life dog. For example, the player's real life dog may be shy and never bark, while the virtual dog in the particular video game has been programmed to run around exploring a 3D virtual environment and barking frequently. This may cause the player to be less emotionally invested in the virtual dog character or the game as a whole as he would be if the virtual dog seemed like his own real life dog (see Borovikov [0021]). The feedback component 140 may then, such as in cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, apply the feedback in order to adjust the virtual animal's behavior to enforce correct behavior and suppress incorrect behavior (see Borovikov [0045]).
Regarding claim 5, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further view of Borovikov teaches all the limitations of claim 2. Borovikov further teaches:
wherein the prompt is automatically generated based on an identity graph of the second user based on the second user’s use of one or more interaction functions (Borovikov Figs. 1-7; abs. Systems and methods for generating a customized virtual animal character are disclosed; [0004], input media to a first machine learning model configured to extract visual information regarding one or more animals depicted in image or video data; alter the base 3D model data for the first animal type based on visual information extracted by the first machine learning model to generate custom 3D model data corresponding to the real animal; [0039], The behavior learning system 134 may be configured to analyze input media, such as images or videos depicting an animal to be generated as a virtual character, to learn unique behaviors of that animal. As will be described below, the behavior learning system 134 may output a behavior tree or other behavior model representing how the particular pet or other animal depicted in the input media behaves, such as by identifying common sequences of actions performed by the animal, unique actions performed by the animal as observed in the input media, and the like; [0043], The animation generator 138, which may operate in conjunction or cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, may be configured to generate animation data for a virtual animal character to move in a manner that mimics or approximates specific movements performed by the real life animal depicted in input media; [0066], the player may provide input via a user interface displayed by the player computing system 102 indicating the species or breed of the player's pet; [0076], a GAN may be configured to learn mappings from input images to output images, and also learn a loss function to train this mapping; [0070], Once any initial optional feedback has been received and incorporated into the appearance and behavior models, the custom character system 130 may store the virtual animal's final 3D model, textures, animations, behaviors and/or other data for use in one or more games, at block 212; [0077], the discriminator in one embodiment may be trained to identify if an image output by the generator depicts a real animal; [0045], The feedback component 140 may then, such as in cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, apply the feedback in order to adjust the virtual animal's behavior to enforce correct behavior and suppress incorrect behavior; [0084], At block 504, the behavior learning system 134 may extract or determine traits and typical action sequences of the animal depicted in the input media based on an automated analysis of the input media; [0086], the behavior learning system 134 either as part of block 506 or block 508, may generate a list of actions, behaviors, sequences of actions, or similar behavior information observed of the real animal in the input media, which may be in the form of behavior trees, action sequences, and/or other formats. For example, the behavior learning system 134 may have determined that after waking up from sleep, a particular dog stretches 60% of the time and rolls over 40% of the time. The behavior learning system 134 may incorporate these statistics or likelihoods of certain actions into a stored behavior model, such as a behavior tree. In some embodiments, the custom behavior model may be generated as a modified version of the base behavior model. For example, a generic or base behavior model for a dog may already include hundreds of potential actions or behaviors arranged in a behavior tree, and the behavior learning system 134 may alter the propensities for the customized virtual dog to engage in particular actions in particular orders when there is significant deviation from the standard behaviors and the particular observed dog's behaviors)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated wherein the prompt is automatically generated based on an identity graph of the second user based on the second user's use of one or more interaction functions as suggested in Borovikov into Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi. Doing so would be desirable because a player may desire to have an in-game virtual pet or other virtual animal character be a virtual replica or virtual version of the player's real life pet. A problem with existing video game character systems in this regard is that a player may enjoy that a particular video game enables the player to have a virtual dog accompany the player's character on a mission within the video game, but may dislike that the virtual dog provided in the game does not look like the player's own real life dog. As a further example, a player may find that a particular video game provides an in-game virtual animal that looks at least somewhat similar to the player's real life pet (e.g., the virtual dog may be the same breed and color as the player's real life dog), but which may behave very differently than the player's real life dog. For example, the player's real life dog may be shy and never bark, while the virtual dog in the particular video game has been programmed to run around exploring a 3D virtual environment and barking frequently. This may cause the player to be less emotionally invested in the virtual dog character or the game as a whole as he would be if the virtual dog seemed like his own real life dog (see Borovikov [0021]). The feedback component 140 may then, such as in cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, apply the feedback in order to adjust the virtual animal's behavior to enforce correct behavior and suppress incorrect behavior (see Borovikov [0045]).
Regarding claim 17, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Wang further teaches:
inputting the pet avatar and food corresponding to the interface element into a generative machine model, the generative machine model trained to generate updated pet avatars from food fed to the pet avatars; receiving a transformed pet avatar for the second user from the generative machine model, the transformed pet avatar indicative of a transformation in response to feeding the food to the pet avatar; and updating the pet avatar of the second user to the transformed pet avatar, wherein the transmitted notification includes the transformed pet avatar (Wang Figs. 1-11; [0010], FIG. 1: Example of a frontend virtual companion user interface in 2D, showing the virtual companion as a pet, the background, and virtual food being fed to the pet, e.g. using touch-drag; [0017] FIG. 8: Example of the backend direct control interface; pet appearance; [0061], The need for food (hunger) may be indicated by a randomly repeating auditory stomach growl, a blended pose indicating displeasure/hunger, and/or a container that appears, or if always present in the scene, begins to glow or partially open. Upon touching the container, the user causes the container to open and a number of food items to slide out from the container. As shown in FIG. 1, the user may then drag any of the food items to the pet to feed it, triggering the appropriate feeding animations, possibly in a different state a la a state machine architecture implemented in the program loop. The pet's hunger counter is thus decremented, possibly by an amount dependent on the food item chosen. The food item chosen may also have a small effect on the pet's long-term PAD state; for example, meat items may increase arousal while vegetables decrease arousal. The food items chosen may also contribute to how the pet grows and ages. For example, meat may make for a more muscular body; [0062], The need for fluids (thirst) may be indicated by a randomly repeating auditory raspy breath, a blended pose indicating displeasure/thirst, and/or a container that appears or otherwise attracts attention. Upon touching the container, the user can choose from a selection of drinks, and feed them to the pet similar to the method described above for food, as shown in FIG. 2. Similar effects on PAD states and growth may be applied. For example, unhealthy drinks may cause the pet to become fatter over time and decrease long-term aroused, though sugar-laden drinks may cause a temporary increase in short-term arousal; [0081], In the monitor-all interface of FIG. 7, a human helper monitors a set of virtual companions with the cooperation of other helpers, under the supervision of a supervisor. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the set of virtual companions may include all the virtual companions; a human helper monitors a set of virtual companions with the cooperation of other helpers, under the supervision of a supervisor)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated inputting the pet avatar and food corresponding to the interface element into a generative machine model, the generative machine model trained to generate updated pet avatars from food fed to the pet avatars; receiving a transformed pet avatar for the second user from the generative machine model, the transformed pet avatar indicative of a transformation in response to feeding the food to the pet avatar; and updating the pet avatar of the second user to the transformed pet avatar, wherein the transmitted notification includes the transformed pet avatar as suggested in Wang into Lin. Doing so would be desirable because existing technologies for enabling social interaction is often too difficult to use and too unintuitive for persons who are not technologically savvy (see Wang [0007]). The present invention comprises an apparatus for a virtual companion, a method for controlling one or more virtual companions, and a system for a plurality of humans to control a plurality of avatar (see Wang [0008]). Virtual companions and assistants that provide verbal feedback are either limited to repeating the words of its user (e.g. Talking Tom) or handicapped by limited artificial intelligence and voice recognition (see Wang [0106], Lin [0046]). This invention may additionally be used by ordinary, young people. It may be employed for entertainment value or via its human intelligence features (see Wang [0110]). Additionally, the system of Wang would improve the feeding mode of Lin (see Lin [0049]) by providing a convenient and user friendly method to feed a virtual pet (see Wang [0061]).
Choi further teaches: the transmitted notification (Choi Figs. 1-25; [0110-0111], Referring now to FIG. 8, a decoration or accessory is an object the pet can wear (medal, sun-glasses, hat, etc). Representing a decoration is similar to the way a pet is represented: there is a global repository of static information (3d models and textures of the decorations). The amount of data needed to reconstruct the decoration on the other side is therefore very small: reference to the name of the 3d-model to use, the color and so on. In FIG. 8 the decoration is shown on the originator's pet in stage 801. The decoration is transferred using a text-encoded binary SMS in stage 803 and the accessory is shown on the pet of the recipient in stage 805; [0112], Referring now to FIG. 9, and the same principle is illustrated for a snack. A snack is a present the user (owner) can give to her own or another pet (i.e. cake, dried-meat etc). Giving the pet a snack improves its emotional state in some way. Once again, there is a finite database of available snacks, and the message transfer, stages 901, 903, 905 require only to send the ID of the specific snack being provided (as shown in Fig. 9, the cake is removed from the user’s phone and displayed on the friend’s phone))
However, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi fails to expressly disclose a generative machine learning model, the generative machine learning model trained to generate updated pet avatars from food fed to the pet avatars; receiving a transformed pet avatar for the second user from the generative machine learning model. In the same field of endeavor, Borovikov teaches:
a generative machine learning model, the generative machine learning model trained to generate updated pet avatars from food fed to the pet avatars; receiving a transformed pet avatar for the second user from the generative machine learning model (Borovikov Figs. 1-7; abs. Systems and methods for generating a customized virtual animal character are disclosed; [0004], input media to a first machine learning model configured to extract visual information regarding one or more animals depicted in image or video data; alter the base 3D model data for the first animal type based on visual information extracted by the first machine learning model to generate custom 3D model data corresponding to the real animal; [0066], the player may provide input via a user interface displayed by the player computing system 102 indicating the species or breed of the player's pet; [0076], a GAN may be configured to learn mappings from input images to output images, and also learn a loss function to train this mapping; [0077], the discriminator in one embodiment may be trained to identify if an image output by the generator depicts a real animal; [0045], The feedback component 140 may be configured to receive feedback, such as feedback from the player utilizing player computing system 102, regarding a custom animal character generated by the custom character system 130; The feedback component 140 may then, such as in cooperation with the behavior learning system 134, apply the feedback in order to adjust the virtual animal's behavior to enforce correct behavior and suppress incorrect behavior; [0084], At block 504, the behavior learning system 134 may extract or determine traits and typical action sequences of the animal depicted in the input media based on an automated analysis of the input media; [0085], the behavior learning system 134 may analyze a long video file or stream of video data (such as many minutes or many hours), label time stamps or frames in the video in which particular behaviors or actions are identified, link successive behaviors or actions as action sequences (e.g., sleep, then stand up, then walk to food, then eat, etc.), then compile statistics of the frequency and length of the various observations in order to apply a Markov analysis or model to predict behavior of the animal. The processes implemented at block 506 and/or block 508 may include an ensemble of Markov models as well as deep neural network models, in some embodiments. Additionally, one or more models may be configured to identify overall traits (e.g., friendly, aggressive, nice, mean, independent, dependent, etc.) based on frequency of certain poses, actions, expressions, behaviors, object interactions, and/or other features exhibited in the input media; [0088], individual behaviors or actions in the behavior model may be linked or associated with environmental stimuli or objects)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated a generative machine learning model, the generative machine learning model trained to generate updated pet avatars from food fed to the pet avatars; receiving a transformed pet avatar for the second user from the generative machine learning model as suggested in Borovikov into Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi. Doing so would be desirable because a player may desire to have an in-game virtual pet or other virtual animal character be a virtual replica or virtual version of the player's real life pet. A problem with existing video game character systems in this regard is that a player may enjoy that a particular video game enables the player to have a virtual dog accompany the player's character on a mission within the video game, but may dislike that the virtual dog provided in the game does not look like the player's own real life dog. As a further example, a player may find that a particular video game provides an in-game virtual animal that looks at least somewhat similar to the player's real life pet (e.g., the virtual dog may be the same breed and color as the player's real life dog), but which may behave very differently than the player's real life dog. For example, the player's real life dog may be shy and never bark, while the virtual dog in the particular video game has been programmed to run around exploring a 3D virtual environment and barking frequently. This may cause the player to be less emotionally invested in the virtual dog character or the game as a whole as he would be if the virtual dog seemed like his own real life dog (see Borovikov [0021]). Individual behaviors or actions in the behavior model may be linked or associated with environmental stimuli or objects, such as eating (see Borovikov [0085-0086]), thereby better enabling the system to learn and generate desired virtual pet interactions.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further view of Borovikov in further view of Shi et al. (US 20240355022 A1, published 10/24/2024), hereinafter Shi.
Regarding claim 6, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further view of Borovikov teaches all the limitations of claim 2. However, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further view of Borovikov fails to expressly disclose wherein the machine learning model includes a stable diffusion model that applies noise to generate the pet avatar. In the same field of endeavor, Shi teaches:
wherein the machine learning model includes a stable diffusion model that applies noise to generate the pet avatar (Shi Figs. 1-12; [0002], Diffusion models utilize a noise map and a denoising operation to generate images. The diffusion model can include a forward process that adds noise to the input data (e.g., digital image) through a serious. The forward process can be followed by a reverse process that reconstructs an image by denoising the data; [0044], At operation 220, the user 105 can provide a set 112 of images 115 to the image generation apparatus 120, where the images 115 may be provided from a user device 110 or identified on another device, for example, a database 140 in communication with the user device 110 and the image generation apparatus 120. The images can be a set 112 of images 115 that each includes the same person, object, building, animal, etc; [0045], At operation 230, the image generation apparatus 120 can obtain the set 112 of images 115 and the text description, where the images 115 can be obtained from the user device 110 or database 140, and the text description can be obtained from the user 105; [0060], diffusion model can be a stable diffusion model with a U-Net that can receive the text embedding, subject embedding, and feature embedding, and generates a new image; [0064], noise component 350 generates a noise map based on the original image 115 and a mask, where the output image 125 is generated based on the noise map. In some examples, noise component 350 generates an iterative noise map for each of a set of output images with successively reduced noise to produce the output image; [0071], a stable diffusion model can be used as the base generative model; [0084], the image generation model 400 can utilize Stable Diffusion or a text-to-image transformer model, as the pretrained text-to-image model; [0089], Diffusion models work by iteratively adding noise to the data during a forward process and then learning to recover the data by denoising the data during a reverse process)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated wherein the machine learning model includes a stable diffusion model that applies noise to generate the pet avatar as suggested in Shi into Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further view of Borovikov. Doing so would be desirable because the present disclosure relates to image generation using a machine learning model. Image generation is a field of machine learning that relates to generating novel image content (see Shi [0002]). The present disclosure relates to generating customized digital images. In some case, an image is generated based on an initial set of images of an individual subject (e.g., person, animal, building, object, etc.) and a descriptive text prompt, that changes aspects of the individual subject in the image, while maintaining sufficient detail to still recognize the subject in the new image (see Shi [0019]). A recognition problem can be seen as an instance-conditioned generation task with identity preservation and language control. Using a compact embedding to represent the concept can lead to a lack of fine-grained identity details in the generated images. Furthermore, fine-tuning an image generation model can be costly and time consuming (see Shi [0020]). Various embodiments of the disclosure enable efficient generation of customized images by learning a concept from a set of representative inputs (see Shi [0021]). Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure improve on a personalized image generation process and system, where the machine learning model can achieve identity preservation even with one input image at inference time (see Shi [0029]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi in further view of Stahl et al. (US 20200066044 A1, published 02/27/2020), hereinafter Stahl.
Regarding claim 12, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
identifying a location corresponding to an event when the first user is accessing the particular geographic location, wherein identifying that the pet avatar for the second user is associated with the particular geographic location includes determining that the location is within the particular geographic location (Lin Figs. 1-11; [0038-0039], variation in the geographic position 60 of the digital pet 6 is equal to the changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2. The changes of the geographic position of the portable electronic device 2 can be obtained by computing location information outputted from a GPS unit 23 of the portable electronic device 2; [0050], FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a digital pet system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 9, the digital pet system comprises a server system 1 and a plurality of the portable electronic devices 2; each of the portable electronic devices 2 communicates with GPS satellite 4 by its own GPS unit to get the geographic position for the current location; [0051], When each of the portable electronic devices 2 activates its own digital pet system, each of the portable electronic devices 2 would generate a plurality of operations; After the server system 1 computes information uploaded by each of the portable electronic devices 2 to generate a geographic position of the digital pet for each of the portable electronic devices 2, the server system 1 transfers the geographic position of the digital pet to each of the portable electronic devices 2, which allows the value of the geographic position of the digital pet to be changed from each of the portable electronic devices 2; [0055], Once the adoption process is finished by each of the portable electronic devices 2, the server system 1 would record its information, such as IMEI code of each of the portable electronic devices 2, the identification code and names for the adopted digital pet (named by the owners of each of the portable electronic devices 2), geographic position when adopted, and so on; [0056], FIG. 11, the display unit 22 shows an electronic map 220 and several icons, including owner icons 222, 223, 225 227 and pet icons 221, 224, 226, 228, wherein each icon respectively represents the user of each of the portable electronic devices 2 and digital pet that he or she adopted. As such, the owner of each of the portable electronic devices 2 can see their own digital pet and the other digital pets within a predetermined distance; [0057], when there are two digital pet (or more than two) within a distance of 100 meter between them computed by the server system 1 (which means that the above condition is set up), the server system 1 would automatically inform the two portable electronic devices respectively having the two digital pets of the command (or information) to enable the display units of the two portable electronic devices display the two digital pets interacting with each other)
However, Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi fails to expressly further comprising accessing calendar schedule information for the second user and identifying a location corresponding to an event of the user’s calendar schedule information when the first user is accessing the particular geographic location. In the same field of endeavor, Stahl teaches:
further comprising accessing calendar schedule information for the second user and identifying a location corresponding to an event of the user’s calendar schedule information when the first user is accessing the particular geographic location (Stahl Figs. 1-18; [0008], an AR environment may be rendered. In particular embodiments, one or more objects (e.g., a face, an animal, a real-world inanimate object, a virtual object, etc.) may be identified within an AR environment rendered on a display; [0058], any changes that occur in an environment may be continuously or semi-continuously communicated to computing devices viewing the AR environment. As an example and not by way of limitation, if a particular user moves or creates an AR content, a computing device that detects this change (e.g., the computing device of the particular user) may communicate the change to other computing devices that are viewing the AR environment. The other computing devices may accordingly update their local rendering of the AR environment and the associated local maps; [0060], the prompt may be offered only to users who share particular characteristics (e.g., based on demographic information, based on profile information, based on user affinities as determined by social-graph information, etc.). In particular embodiments, the prompt may only be offered for users who are determined to be attending a common event (e.g., based on their location, based on their respective calendar data, based on their RSVP or registration to the event). As an example and not by way of limitation, at a hotel hosting both a medical conference and a Star Trek convention, users attending the medical conference may be prompted to collaborate with each other but not with users attending the Star Trek convention; [0068], a computing device may be authorized to access an AR environment associated with a particular event if the associated user is determined to be attending the particular event (e.g., based on their location, based on their respective calendar data, based on their RSVP or registration to the event). As an example and not by way of limitation, users attending a Star Wars convention may only be able to see an AR environment that includes content related to the Star Wars convention; [0081], the predefined time periods for persistence may be defined by users (e.g., a user who created or placed the AR content item in the AR environment) or set by default by an associated AR application. In particular embodiments, the one or more time periods may be determined based on information associated with a real-world location associated with the AR environment (e.g., an event that is scheduled to occur at the location); [0089], an AR environment may be rendered. In particular embodiments, one or more objects (e.g., a face, an animal, a real-world inanimate object, a virtual object, etc.) may be identified within an AR environment rendered on a display associated with a first computing device associated with a first user. In particular embodiments, the objects may be identified using any suitable methods such as the tracking algorithms disclosed herein (e.g., SLAM, region tracking, face tracking). In particular embodiments, the objects may be identified locally by the computing device on which an AR environment may be rendered (e.g., the first computing device); [0097], the suggested AR content item may be determined based on an event associated with an AR environment. In particular embodiments, the event may be determined to be occurring currently. As an example and not by way of limitation, referencing FIG. 14, a computing system may determine that the AR environment being rendered on the client computing device 1400 of the first user may be associated with a Star Trek Convention. In particular embodiments, this determination may be based on a predetermined schedule (e.g., as determined by a calendar of the first user associated with the client computing device 1400, as determined by a calendar of events in an area, etc.) and/or the location of the first user)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated further comprising accessing calendar schedule information for the second user and identifying a location corresponding to an event of the user’s calendar schedule information when the first user is accessing the particular geographic location as suggested in Stahl into Lin in view of Wang in further view of Choi. Doing so would be desirable because collaboration among multiple devices in mapping a real-world environment onto an AR environment and tracking objects within the real-world or AR environments. This collaboration among multiple devices may markedly improve the mapping process by reducing the time and effort it takes to map an environment. This improvement may be particularly pronounced and its benefits may compound significantly in cases where the real-world environment that is to be mapped is very large (see Stahl [0005]). The disclosed collaboration process may markedly improve the mapping process by reducing the time and effort it takes to map a real-world environment onto an AR environment. (see Stahl [0061]). Stahl’s system would better enable a user to collaborate with groups in which a user might be interested (see Stahl [0113]) for any changes to AR content (see Stahl [0058]), such as an animal (see Stahl [0035]). The system of Stahl would better enable the user to collaborate with other users that share similar interests, such as based on calendar data (see Stahl [0060]), thereby increasing user satisfaction with the collaboration.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Golding (US 20130103760 A1) see Figs. 1-8 and [0028].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN T REPSHER III whose telephone number is (571)272-7487. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8AM-5PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer Welch can be reached at (571) 272-7212. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOHN T REPSHER III/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2143
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