SIMULATED HUMAN-LIKE AFFECT-DRIVEN BEHAVIOR BY A VIRTUAL AGENT

Number: 20220366210
Published: 2022-11-17
Filed: 2022-07-07
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: Buhmann; Jakob, Fidaleo; Douglas A., Shvo; Maayan, Kapadia; Mubbasir, Lehman; Jill Fain, Wulfeck; Sarah K., Gibbens; Rylan, Poulakos; Steven, Wiseman; John
CPC: G06N3/006; G06F3/011
Verdict: Low Notable software
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Affect-driven behavior modeling for virtual/interactive agents (pre-grant).

Abstract

A system for simulating human-like affect-driven behavior includes a hardware processor and a system memory storing software code providing a virtual agent. The hardware processor executes the software code to identify a character assumed by the virtual agent and having a personality, a target state of motivational fulfillment, a baseline mood, and emotions. The software code identifies current physical and motivational fulfillment states, and currently active emotions of the character, and determines a current mood of the character based on the baseline mood and the currently active emotions. The software code further detects an experience by the character and plans multiple behaviors including a first behavior based on the experience and the current physical state, the second behavior based on the experience, the personality, the current mood, and the currently active emotions, and a third behavior based on the target and current states of motivational fulfillment.

Background

BACKGROUND

Providing a virtual social agent capable of engaging in a human-like interaction with a human user is a challenging task, at least in part because human interactions occur around a wide range of contexts. Conventional examples of interactive agents include conversational agents provided on smart electronic devices, which are able to sustain question-and-answer type conversations. However, because those conventional conversational agents are designed for the very specific function of responding to questions or requests, they omit many of the properties that a real human would offer in an interaction that make that interaction not only informative but also enjoyable or entertaining. For example, an interaction between two humans may be influenced or shaped by the personalities of those human participants, as well as the history or storyline of their previous interactions. Thus, there remains a need in the art for a virtual agent capable of engaging in an extended interaction with a human user that simulates human-like affect-driven behavior. SUMMARY

There are provided systems and methods for simulating human-like affect-driven behavior by a virtual agent, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, and as set forth more completely in the claims.

Claims

21: A system for simulating human-like behavior of a virtual agent for interacting with a human having a human character including a human personality and human emotions, the system comprising: a computing platform including a hardware processor and a system memory; a software code stored in the system memory; and an interaction history database stored in the system memory, the interaction history database including a history of interactions between the virtual agent and the human; wherein the hardware processor is configured to execute the software code to: identify an agent character to be assumed by the virtual agent, the agent character having an agent personality and agent emotions; obtain, from the system memory, the interaction history database including the history of interactions between the virtual agent and the human; plan, based on the history of interactions between the virtual agent and the human, a plurality of character behaviors including a first behavior and a second behavior for the agent character, wherein the first behavior is further planned based on a current physical state of the agent character, and wherein the second behavior is an affect-driven behavior further planned based on the agent personality and the agent emotions; and execute one or more of the plurality of character behaviors for the virtual agent when interacting with the human. || 31: A method for use by a system to simulate human-like behavior of a virtual agent for interacting with a human having a human character including a human personality and human emotions, the system including an interaction history database having a history of interactions between the virtual agent and the human, the method comprising: identifying an agent character to be assumed by the virtual agent, the agent character having an agent personality and agent emotions; obtaining the interaction history database including the history of interactions between the virtual agent and the human; planning, based on the history of interactions between the virtual agent and the human, a plurality of character behaviors including a first behavior and a second behavior for the agent character, wherein the first behavior is further planned based on a current physical state of the agent character, and wherein the second behavior is an affect-driven behavior further planned based on the agent personality and the agent emotions; and executing one or more of the plurality of character behaviors for the virtual agent when interacting with the human.