Simulated conversation by pre-recorded audio navigator
A method is provided for a simulated conversation by a pre-recorded audio navigator, with particular application to informational and entertainment settings. A monitor may utilize a navigation interface to select pre-recorded responses in the voice of a character represented by a performer. The pre-recorded responses may then be queued and sent to a speaker proximate to the performer. By careful organization of an audio database including audio buckets and script-based navigation with shifts for tailoring to specific guest user profiles and environmental contexts, a convincing and dynamic simulated conversation may be carried out while providing the monitor with a user-friendly navigation interface. Thus, highly specialized training is not necessary and flexible scaling to large-scale deployments is readily supported.
1. A computing device for providing a simulated conversation with a guest using a pre-recorded audio, the computing device comprising:
a processor configured to:
initialize a present state according to a script in a database;
receive a navigation input from an operator monitoring the guest, where the navigation input is in response to an action by the guest;
modify the present state using the script and the navigation input;
determine an audio segment of the pre-recorded audio to add to a queue based on the present state;
process the queue to output the audio segment to a speaker proximate to a performer for the simulated conversation.
2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the navigation input is received in response to an audiovisual monitoring of the guest.
3. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the navigation input is received by a selection from a joystick or a user interface on a display.
4. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the navigation input comprises a movement to a next or previous state of the script.
5. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the navigation input comprises a shift of the script based on a user profile information of the guest.
6. The computing device of claim 5 , wherein the user profile information is referenced from a RFID tag of the guest.
7. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the navigation input comprises a shift of the script based an event environment where the simulated conversation takes place.
8. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the audio segment is referenced from an audio bucket containing a plurality of lines each representing a variation of a conversation theme.
9. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the present state includes a present loop state for the determining of the audio segment.
10. A method for providing a simulated conversation with a guest using a pre-recorded audio, the method comprising:
initializing a present state according to a script in a database;
receiving a navigation input from an operator monitoring the guest, where the navigation input is in response to an action by the guest;
modifying the present state using the script and the navigation input;
determining an audio segment of the pre-recorded audio to add to a queue based on the present state;
processing the queue to output the audio segment to a speaker for the simulated conversation.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the navigation input is received in response to an audiovisual monitoring of the guest.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the navigation input is received by a selection from a joystick or a user interface on a display.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the navigation input comprises a movement to a next or previous state of the script.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the navigation input comprises a shift of the script.
15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the audio segment is referenced from an audio bucket containing a plurality of lines each representing a variation of a conversation theme.
16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the present state includes a present loop state for the determining of the audio segment.
17. A system for providing a simulated conversation with a guest using a pre-recorded audio, the system comprising:
a speaker proximate to a performer;
a computing device comprising a processor configured to:
initialize a present state according to a script in a database;
receive a navigation input from an operator monitoring the guest where the navigation input is in response to an action by the guest;
modify the present state using the script and the navigation input;
determine an audio segment of the pre-recorded audio to add to a queue based on the present state;
process the queue to output the audio segment to the speaker for the simulated conversation.
18. The system of claim 17 , further comprising a camera, wherein the navigation input is received in response to an audiovisual monitoring of the guest using the camera.
19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the navigation input comprises a shift of the script based on a user profile information of the guest.
20. The system of claim 17 , further comprising a joystick input device, wherein the navigation input is received from the joystick input device.