Description:A) TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention is generally related to three-dimensional virtual reality and artificial intelligence technologies. The invention is particularly related to a real-time deployment of an artificial intelligence agent rendered in a three-dimensional virtual space. The present invention is more specifically related to a system and a method for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space.

B) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] With an increasing number of aspects of commerce and selling taking place on the internet, complex products necessitate a negotiation process between the salesperson and the customer regarding the product features and possibly the price. Since the product cannot be physically present, a virtual three-dimensional representation of the product, like a house or a car, is required for the purchasing process. A successful sale in a three-dimensional and virtual marketplace is only possible when the potential buyer can interact with the product in real-time and converse with a salesperson.
[0003] Currently, a plurality of Artificial Intelligence based virtual assistants are employed for shopping assistance in a virtual or real 3D space. While these virtual assistants are trained to respond to any queries on the products or features of the product being sold, these virtual assistants lack a spatial context awareness of the human user and/or the product in the 3D space. For instance, if a human user inquires the virtual assistant about three different products on display at a aisle, and then poses a question like, “What other colours does this come in?”, the virtual assistant is not enabled to understand the physical or non-verbal cues that the user provides to indicate the specific product about which they inquired. This leads to erroneous or ambiguous responses from the virtual assistant, and in most instances necessitating an intervention from a human sales assistant to provide the necessary information to the user.
[0004] Thus, there exists a need for a system and a method to provide spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space. There also exists a need for a system and method to provide spatial context awareness to interactions in a virtual three-dimensional space and/or a real three-dimensional space comprising virtual and/or real identifiable objects.
[0005] The abovementioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed herein, which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.

C) OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The primary object of the present invention is to provide a system and a method for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space.
[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide spatial context awareness to interactions in a virtual three-dimensional space and/or a real three-dimensional space comprising virtual and/or real identifiable objects.
[0008] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide systems and methods to infer spatial context awareness together from a human user’s non-specific direct queries in natural language and non-verbal actions and/or indirect cues.
[0009] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide systems and methods to trigger a virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with a human user and make suitable suggestions to the human user without any query or inputs from the human user.
[0010] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

D) SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The various embodiments of the present invention provide a system and a method for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space. The embodiments also provide spatial context awareness to interactions in a virtual three-dimensional space and/or a real three-dimensional space comprising virtual and/or real identifiable objects.
[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system provides spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space. The system comprises a three-dimensional space, a spatial recognition module, an interface module, a proactive nudge module and a virtual assistant module. The three-dimensional space is either a digitally configured virtual three-dimensional space or a real-world three-dimensional space. The three -dimensional space further comprises at least one human user, at least one virtual assistant and a plurality of objects. The spatial recognition module further comprises a virtual spatial positional awareness module, a virtual spatial database and a user behavior module. The proactive nudge module includes a nudge database and a nudge filter module. The interface module further comprises a plurality of sensors, an input channel that is configured to receive textual and audio-visual input from the human user module, and a response generator that is configured to generate a response to be rendered by the virtual assistant. The plurality of sensors in the interface module includes haptic sensors, inertial sensors, motion sensors, proximity sensors, joystick module, and audio-visual sensors.
[0013] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating the preferred embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

E) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which:
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates a system for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates a method for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] Although the specific features of the present invention are shown in some drawings and not in others. This is done for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the present invention.

F) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] In the following detailed description, a reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which the specific embodiments that may be practiced is shown by way of illustration. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and it is to be understood that other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense.
[0019] The various embodiments of the present invention provide a system and a method for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space. The embodiments also provide spatial context awareness to interactions in a virtual three-dimensional space and/or a real three-dimensional space comprising virtual and/or real identifiable objects.
[0020] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system provides spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space. The system comprises a three-dimensional space, a spatial recognition module, an interface module, a proactive nudge module and a virtual assistant module. The three-dimensional space is either a digitally configured virtual three-dimensional space or a real-world three-dimensional space. The three -dimensional space further comprises at least one human user, at least one virtual assistant and a plurality of objects. The spatial recognition module further comprises a virtual spatial positional awareness module, a virtual spatial database and a user behavior module. The proactive nudge module includes a nudge database and a nudge filter module. The interface module further comprises a plurality of sensors, an input channel that is configured to receive textual and audio-visual input from the human user module, and a response generator that is configured to generate a response to be rendered by the virtual assistant. The plurality of sensors in the interface module includes haptic sensors, inertial sensors, motion sensors, proximity sensors, joystick module, and audio-visual sensors.
[0021] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the virtual spatial database comprises a virtual spatial stack and a historical reference stack, which includes historical data on past users’ interactions with the plurality of objects in the three-dimensional space, and the data on the objects and a map of the three-dimensional space. The proactive nudge module is configured to use the data included in the virtual spatial database to identify an object of interest for a human user using a plurality of preset rules and trigger the virtual assistant to suggest a specific object to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods.
[0022] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the user behaviour module is configured to receive inputs from the plurality of sensors and the input channel in the interface module, and compare the received inputs with historical data on past interactions of users with the plurality of objects in the three-dimensional space that is included in the virtual spatial database to determine the interest of the user, and then trigger the virtual assistant to make suitable suggestions to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods. The user behaviour module is also configured to receive inputs from the virtual assistant module, which is configured with a plurality of methods to infer spatial context awareness together from a human user’s non-specific direct queries in natural language and non-verbal actions and/or indirect cues, such as a plurality of indications through the limbs, gaze or head, historical reference to a previous interaction, relative spatial reference of one object with reference to another object.
[0023] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the proactive nudge module comprises a plurality of sub-modules with preset rules and configurations that trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user and make suggestions to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods without any query or inputs from the human user. The plurality of sub-modules includes a feature nudge sub-module, a KPI nudge sub-module and a motivate nudge sub-module. The feature nudge sub-module is configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user based on the surroundings of the human user in the three-dimensional space. The KPI nudge sub-module is configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user based on preset information and data collected from the user on a plurality of parameters. The motivate nudge sub-module is configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user to make suggestions to the human user to complete preset tasks or activities that enable the virtual assistant to understand the preferences of the human user. The proactive nudge module is also configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user based on a plurality of inputs received directly or indirectly from the human user, the inputs including natural-language communication initiated by the human user, objects with which the human user interacts in the three-dimensional space, time spent by the human user interacting with specific objects or parts of the three-dimensional space and non-verbal cues such as gaze and gestures of the human user.
[0024] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method provides spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space. The method includes: identifying and assigning a unique identity to every human user in a three-dimensional space; configuring spatial object tags for the plurality of objects in the three- dimensional space through data stored in a virtual spatial database; configuring user behaviour tags for the human users in the three-dimensional space through data stored in a user behaviour module; determining the position and the direction of view of a human user in the three-dimensional space; mapping all interactive objects in the view of the human user and the proximity of the objects in the view of the human user; receiving inputs from the human user as direct and/or indirect verbal and/or non-verbal communication through an interface module; receiving filtered nudges from a nudge database based on the inputs received from the human user; sorting the received nudges by user behaviour tag match, returning a list of nudges that are above a preset threshold value; and, triggering the virtual assistant to suggest a specific object to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods.
[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates a system for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space. The system comprises a three-dimensional space 101, a spatial recognition layer 102, an interface module 103, a proactive nudge module 104 and a virtual assistant module 105. The three-dimensional space 101 further comprises a plurality of human users 101a, a plurality of virtual assistants 101b, and a plurality of objects 101c. The spatial recognition module 102 further comprises a virtual spatial positional awareness module 102a, a virtual spatial database 102b and user behaviour module 102c.
[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates a method for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space. The method includes: Identifying and assigning a unique identity to every human user in a three-dimensional space (201); Configuring spatial object tags for the plurality of objects in the three- dimensional space through data stored in a virtual spatial database, and configuring user behaviour tags for the human users in the three-dimensional space through data stored in a user behaviour module (202); Determining the position and the direction of view of a human user in the three-dimensional space, and mapping all interactive objects in the view of the human user and the proximity of the objects in the view of the human user (203); Receiving inputs from the human user as direct and/or indirect verbal and/or non-verbal communication through an interface module, and receiving filtered nudges from a nudge database based on the inputs received from the human user (204); Sorting the received nudges by user behaviour tag match, returning a list of nudges that are above a preset threshold value (205); and, Triggering the virtual assistant to suggest a specific object to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods (206).
[0027] Although the embodiments herein are described with various specific embodiments, it will be obvious for a person skilled in the art to practice the embodiments herein with modifications.

G) ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
[0028] The various embodiments of the present invention provide a system and a method for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space. The embodiments also provide spatial context awareness to interactions in a virtual three-dimensional space and/or a real three-dimensional space comprising virtual and/or real identifiable objects. The embodiments also provide systems and methods to infer spatial context awareness together from a human user’s non-specific direct queries in natural language and non-verbal actions and/or indirect cues. The embodiments also provide systems and methods to trigger a virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with a human user and make suitable suggestions to the human user without any query or inputs from the human user.
[0029] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such as specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modifications. However, all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the claims.
, Claims:We claim:
1. A system for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space, the system comprising:
a three-dimensional space, wherein the three-dimensional space is either a digitally configured virtual three-dimensional space or a real-world three-dimensional space, and wherein, the three -dimensional space further comprises at least one human user, at least one virtual assistant and a plurality of objects;
a spatial recognition module, wherein the spatial recognition module further comprises a virtual spatial positional awareness module, a virtual spatial database and a user behavior module;
a proactive nudge module, wherein the proactive nudge module includes a nudge database and a nudge filter module;
an interface module, wherein the interface module further comprises a plurality of sensors, an input channel that is configured to receive textual and audio-visual input from the human user module, and a response generator that is configured to generate a response to be rendered by the virtual assistant; and,
a virtual assistant module.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors in the interface module includes haptic sensors, inertial sensors, motion sensors, proximity sensors, joystick module, and audio-visual sensors.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the virtual spatial database comprises a virtual spatial stack and a historical reference stack, and wherein, includes historical data on past users’ interactions with the plurality of objects in the three-dimensional space and the data on the objects and a map of the three-dimensional space, and wherein, the proactive nudge module is configured to use the data included in the virtual spatial database to identify an object of interest for a human user using a plurality of preset rules and trigger the virtual assistant to suggest a specific object to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user behaviour module is configured to receive inputs from the plurality of sensors and the input channel in the interface module, and compare the received inputs with historical data on past interactions of users with the plurality of objects in the three-dimensional space that is included in the virtual spatial database to determine the interest of the user, and then trigger the virtual assistant to make suitable suggestions to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods, and wherein, the user behaviour module is also configured to receive inputs from the virtual assistant module, which is configured with a plurality of methods to infer spatial context awareness together from a human user’s non-specific direct queries in natural language and non-verbal actions and/or indirect cues, such as a plurality of indications through the limbs, gaze or head, historical reference to a previous interaction, relative spatial reference of one object with reference to another object.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the proactive nudge module comprises a plurality of sub-modules with preset rules and configurations that trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user and make suggestions to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods without any query or inputs from the human user, and wherein, the plurality of sub-modules include a feature nudge sub-module, a KPI nudge sub-module and a motivate nudge sub-module, and wherein, the feature nudge sub-module is configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user based on the surroundings of the human user in the three-dimensional space, and wherein, the KPI nudge sub-module is configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user based on preset information and data collected from the user on a plurality of parameters, and wherein, the motivate nudge sub-module is configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user to make suggestions to the human user to complete preset tasks or activities that enable the virtual assistant to understand the preferences of the human user, and wherein, the proactive nudge module is also configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user based on a plurality of inputs received directly or indirectly from the human user, the inputs including natural-language communication initiated by the human user, objects with which the human user interacts in the three-dimensional space, time spent by the human user interacting with specific objects or parts of the three-dimensional space and non-verbal cues such as gaze and gestures of the human user.

6. A method for providing spatial context awareness in interactions with virtual assistants in a three-dimensional space, the method comprising:
identifying and assigning a unique identity to every human user in a three-dimensional space, wherein the wherein the three-dimensional space is either a digitally configured virtual three-dimensional space or a real-world three-dimensional space, and wherein, the three -dimensional space further comprises at least one human user, at least one virtual assistant and a plurality of objects;
configuring spatial object tags for the plurality of objects in the three- dimensional space through data stored in a virtual spatial database, and configuring user behaviour tags for the human users in the three-dimensional space through data stored in a user behaviour module, wherein, the virtual spatial database and the user behavior module comprised in a spatial recognition module, which also includes a virtual spatial positional awareness module;
determining the position and the direction of view of a human user in the three-dimensional space;
mapping all interactive objects in the view of the human user and the proximity of the objects in the view of the human user;
receiving inputs from the human user as direct and/or indirect verbal and/or non-verbal communication through an interface module, wherein the interface module comprises a plurality of sensors, an input channel that is configured to receive textual and audio-visual input from the human user module, and a response generator that is configured to generate a response to be rendered by the virtual assistant;
receiving filtered nudges from a nudge database based on the inputs received from the human user, wherein the nudge database is comprised in a proactive nudge module, which also includes a nudge filter module;
sorting the received nudges by user behaviour tag match, returning a list of nudges that are above a preset threshold value; and,
triggering the virtual assistant to suggest a specific object to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the plurality of sensors in the interface module includes haptic sensors, inertial sensors, motion sensors, proximity sensors, joystick module, and audio-visual sensors.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the virtual spatial database comprises a virtual spatial stack and a historical reference stack, and wherein, includes historical data on past users’ interactions with the plurality of objects in the three-dimensional space and the data on the objects and a map of the three-dimensional space, and wherein, the proactive nudge module is configured to use the data included in the virtual spatial database to identify an object of interest for a human user using a plurality of preset rules and trigger the virtual assistant to suggest a specific object to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods.

9. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the user behaviour module is configured to receive inputs from the plurality of sensors and the input channel in the interface module, and compare the received inputs with historical data on past interactions of users with the plurality of objects in the three-dimensional space that is included in the virtual spatial database to determine the interest of the user, and then trigger the virtual assistant to make suitable suggestions to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods, and wherein, the user behaviour module is also configured to receive inputs from a virtual assistant module, which is configured with a plurality of methods to infer spatial context awareness together from a human user’s non-specific direct queries in natural language and non-verbal actions and/or indirect cues, such as a plurality of indications through the limbs, gaze or head, historical reference to a previous interaction, relative spatial reference of one object with reference to another object.

10. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the proactive nudge module comprises a plurality of sub-modules with preset rules and configurations that trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user and make suggestions to the human user through a plurality of natural-language communication methods without any query or inputs from the human user, and wherein, the plurality of sub-modules include a feature nudge sub-module, a KPI nudge sub-module and a motivate nudge sub-module, and wherein, the feature nudge sub-module is configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user based on the surroundings of the human user in the three-dimensional space, and wherein, the KPI nudge sub-module is configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user based on preset information and data collected from the user on a plurality of parameters, and wherein, the motivate nudge sub-module is configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user to make suggestions to the human user to complete preset tasks or activities that enable the virtual assistant to understand the preferences of the human user, and wherein, the proactive nudge module is also configured to trigger the virtual assistant to initiate an interaction with the human user based on a plurality of inputs received directly or indirectly from the human user, the inputs including natural-language communication initiated by the human user, objects with which the human user interacts in the three-dimensional space, time spent by the human user interacting with specific objects or parts of the three-dimensional space and non-verbal cues such as gaze and gestures of the human user.