[0001] The present invention relates to an interactive platform for enabling user engagement in a virtual environment. More specifically, the invention is directed to an entertainment and educational platform enabling food preparation in a virtual environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Food preparation is both an art and a science. People like to watch cookery shows for entertainment and educational purposes and may want to engage in one or other ways in food preparation activities further. People find it entertaining to get engaged in the process of food preparation and posting food pictures on social media platforms. Posting food-related media content and consuming food-related media content are some of the most engaging options on social media platforms. Users get to watch videos or pictures related to food preparation or prepared food posted by others on social media. Many people may not find it engaging enough and may want to get involved more in the process while keeping away from the kitchen.
[0003] Food-related entertainment and educational options are limited to posting food-related media content or watching media content posted by others. There are some platforms that enable cooking in a virtual environment and better engagement options. However, the engagement options related to food preparation are very limited and static in nature. Everyone using a particular platform would almost get the same set of options and may have to follow a fixed process. Platforms that enable food preparation related engagement options lack the ability to provide custom engagement options to users. Existing platforms are also limited in their ability to enable multiple users to engage together in food preparation activities in a virtual environment.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an entertainment and educational platform for food preparation in a virtual environment.
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for enabling user engagement options related to food preparation.
[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a platform for enabling personalized food-related engagement options.
[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-user platform for enabling a competitive environment for food-related activities.
[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a platform to facilitate social media posts related to food,
[0009] Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for providing engagement options based on user profiles.

SUMMARY
[00010] System and method are provided for generating personalized engagement options related to food activities and enabling the creation of media content related to food activities. According to an embodiment, a system allows a user to select through an interactive user interface a meal type from a list of recommended meal types, present to the user a list of recommended food items based on a selection of the meal-type and profile of the user, and receive a selection of a food item from the list of recommended food items presented to the user. The system generates a plurality of user engagement options related to food activities based on the selection of the food item, enables the user to prepare the food item in a virtual environment by using one or more user engagement options from the plurality of user engagement options, and generates audiovisual effect to create a virtual environment of food preparation. The plurality of user engagement options includes utensil selection options, ingredient selection options, and ingredient addition options. The system facilitates the creation of a post related to the food item.
[00011] In some embodiments, the system allows the user to get food eating experience in a virtual environment through the selection of one or more eating experience engagement options and allows the user to generate a media content through the selection of one or more media content generation options. The media content includes an image and a video. The system allowed the user to generate the media content through the selection of one or more media content generation options, which includes but are not limited to taking pictures of the food item, picture of the user experiencing the food item, video of preparation of the food item, and video of the user experiencing the food item.
[00012] In some embodiments, the system allows one or more remote users from their respective computing devices to participate in the preparation of the food item and enables one or more remote users to get a dining-together experience in a virtual environment.
[00013] In some embodiments, the list of recommended food items generated based on the profile of the user and the one or more remote users. A common interest is identified, and the list of recommended food items is generated accordingly.
[00014] In an embodiment, the audiovisual effect is generated using a machine learning model. The machine learning model may have been trained with the property of each of the ingredients and what type of audiovisual effect it generates when mixed with other ingredients or added in the utensils at a particular temperature.
[00015] In an embodiment, the system may generate the plurality of user engagement options that are generated in a stepwise and guided manner to allow the user to learn about cooking and property of different engagement options.
[00016] The system may allow the to turn on a learning mode, wherein the system in learning mode allows the user to learn the preparation of the food item in a guided manner and describes a selected engagement option of the plurality of user engagement options in more detail.
[00017] According to an embodiment, a system causes a processing resource of a computing device to generate personalized user engagement options related to food activities, enable food preparation in a virtual environment with audiovisual effect using the personalized user engagement options, and facilitate the creation of media content related to food activities. The system further allows collaborative food preparation activities and dining-together experience in a virtual environment, wherein in two more user users connecting through their respective computing device may join the virtual environment and perform some assigned works. In an embodiment, the system allows the sharing of prepared food with other users, eating/munching the food, and creating social media posts related to food activities.
[00018] The system allows food preparation in the virtual environment through the selection of food menu, food items, ingeminates, and prepare or cook the food item in a stepwise manner. The system generates appropriate audio/visual effects to create an environment of actual cooking.
[00019] The system smartly identifies through the machine learning model how different combinations of food ingredients will appear and what sound it should make.
[00020] The platform serves both entertainment and educational purpose. In an embodiment, a platform may profile an option to switch from entertainment mode to educational mode, wherein in the educational mode, the platform will describe each object and process from an educational perspective, preferably in a more detailed manner.
[00021] Other features embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from accompanying drawings and detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00022] The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguishable by following the reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description applies to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.
[00023] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary networked environment in which food-related entertainment and education platform is used by users in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00024] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary module diagram of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00025] FIG. 3A shows a generalized embodiment of an exemplary computing device through which different users can engage with food-related entertainment and education platform in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[00026] FIG. 3B a block diagram illustrating the component of a mobile device through which different users can engage with the entertainment and education platform in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[00027] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of the system developed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00028] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary recommendation engine configured to generate different recommendations in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00029] FIG. 6 is an example user interface used for selection of meal type in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00030] FIG. 7 is an example user interface that allows a user to prepare a food item in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00031] FIG. 8 an example view of prepared food items in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00032] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a virtual environment depicting eating experience in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[00033] FIG. 10 illustrates an example user interface for generating social media post in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[00034] FIG. 11 illustrates an example process flow in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[00035] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary computer system in which or with which embodiment of the present invention may be utilized.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00036] In the following description, numerous specific details are outlined in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.
[00037] Embodiments of the present invention include various steps, which will be described below. The steps may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, firmware, and/or by human operators.
[00038] Embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a computer program product, which may include a machine-readable storage medium tangibly embodying thereon instructions, which may be used to program the computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tape, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, such as ROMs, PROMs, random access memories (RAMs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or other types of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions (e.g., computer programming code, such as software or firmware).
[00039] Various methods described herein may be practiced by combining one or more machine-readable storage media containing the code according to the present invention with appropriate standard computer hardware to execute the code contained therein. An apparatus for practicing various embodiments of the present invention may involve one or more computers (or one or more processors within the single computer) and storage systems containing or having network access to a computer program(s) coded in accordance with various methods described herein, and the method steps of the invention could be accomplished by modules, routines, subroutines, or subparts of a computer program product.
Terminology
[00040] Brief definitions of terms used throughout this application are given below.
[00041] The terms “connected” or “coupled”, and related terms are used in an operational sense and are not necessarily limited to a direct connection or coupling. Thus, for example, two devices may be coupled directly, or via one or more intermediary media or devices. As another example, devices may be coupled in such a way that information can be passed therebetween, while not sharing any physical connection. Based on the disclosure provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate a variety of ways in which connection or coupling exists in accordance with the aforementioned definition.
[00042] If the specification states a component or feature “may”, “can”, “could”, or “might” be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have the characteristic.
[00043] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context dictates otherwise.
[00044] The phrases “in an embodiment,” “according to one embodiment,” and the like generally mean the particular feature, structure, or characteristic following the phrase is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure and may be included in more than one embodiment of the present disclosure. Importantly, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.
[00045] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided so that this invention will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, all statements herein reciting embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure).
[00046] Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the like represent conceptual views or processes illustrating systems and methods embodying this invention. The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing associated software. Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the entity implementing this invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplary hardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systems described herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are not intended to be limited to any particular named.
[00047] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary networked environment in which food-related entertainment and education platform is used by users in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a food-related entertainment and education platform 106 may allow one or more user device 102a-n to connect to the platform 106 through a network 110. The network 110 may be a WAN, LAN, or the Internet. In an embodiment, the simulated platform 106 allows its user to engage using multiple user-engagement options. The platform allows the users 102a-n to choose a meal type, select a food item from a list of recommended food items, prepare food using guided user engagement options, take pictures of the food item prepared in a virtual environment and create social media post related to the food item. Users through user devices 102a-n may access the platform 106 through web services or through a mobile application.
[00048] In the embodiment, the platform 106 may be configured at a server 104 or using cloud infrastructure. Cloud infrastructure may be used for processing the instructions and storage of the user-related data and the program instructions. The platform 106 may use a food preparation engine 108 for presenting user engagement options relating to food preparation steps and selection of utensils and ingredients in a guided manner. The engine 108 may refer to a database 112 that may store for each food item, one or more ingredients required, and process to prepare the food item. Based on the selection of a food item that the user may want to prepare, the engine 108 may present appropriate utensils, ingredients, etc. and guide the user to prepare the food items. The user may use one or more recommended engagement options to make a different selection and prepare the food item.
[00049] The database 112 may also store the profile of the user, past user engagement with the platform, which selections, liking of particular food items or type of food items that the user may like—the database 112 maintains the profile of each user on the platform 106. The platform 106 may allow one or more users to have a common interest in preparing a recommended food item together.
[00050] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary module diagram 200 of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A food-related entertainment and education system 202 (same as the platform 106) may include a meal selection module 204 configured to allows a user to select through an interactive user interface a meal type from a list of recommended meal types. Module 204 presents the list of recommended meal types based on the time of when the user engaging with the system. The meal types include but are not limited to breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. As one may appreciate, the meal type of also be a category of meals, for example, different cuisines(e.g., Spanish, North India, South India, Italian, Ameican, etc.). To provide a clean interface and to avoid overburdening the user, module 202 may limit the number of meal types that can be shown to the user.
[00051] The system 202 includes food item selection module 206 configured to present to the user a list of recommended food items based on a selection of the meal-type and profile of the user, and receive a selection of a food item from the list of recommended food items presented to the user. Depending on the selection of meal type, module 206 may present a list of recommended food items. For example, if the user has selected breakfast as a meal type, module 206 may present the option of sandwich, pizza, burger, oats, juice, etc. To maintain high user engagement, module 206 may present different food items on different days so as to avoid the repetition. If, on a day 1, the user was presented with the recommendation of item-1, item-2, item-3, etc., the set of items will not be present the next day.
[00052] The system 202 includes an engagement option generation module 208 configured to generate a plurality of user engagement options related to food activities based on the selection of the food item and a virtual food processing module 210 configured to enable the user to prepare the food item in a virtual environment by using one or more user engagement options from the plurality of user engagement options and add audiovisual effect to create a virtual environment of food preparation. The plurality of user engagement options includes utensil selection options, ingredient selection options, and ingredient addition options. The module 208 allows the user to prepare a food item using swipe and touch gestures.
[00053] The system 202 further includes a social media post creation module 212 configured to facilitate the creation of a post related to the food item. The social media post creation module 212 allows the user to create a social media post on a social media platform (e.g., a simulated social media platform, or Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). The post may include the generated media content and a description written by the user. Module 212 allows the user to select one or more target platforms and get appropriate options available for the selected platforms for creating the post. The module 212 may follow the restriction of a target social media platform. In an embodiment, the system 202 may show different comments received from different social media platforms on the post created by the user on each of those platforms.
[00054] In some embodiments, the system further includes an eating experience generation module 214 configured to allow the user to get food eating experience in a virtual environment through the selection of one or more eating experience engagement options, and a media content generation module 216 configured to allow the user to generate a media content through a selection of one or more media content generation options. The media content includes an image and a video. The module 216 allows the user to generate the media content through a selection of one or more media content generation options, which includes but are not limited to taking pictures of the food item, picture of the user experiencing the food item, making a video of preparation of the food item, and making a video of the user experiencing the food item.
[00055] In some embodiments, the system 202 further includes a social engagement module 220 configured to allow one or more remote users from their respective computing devices to participate in the preparation of the food item and enables the one or more remote users to get dining-together experience in the virtual environment. In some embodiments, the list of recommended food items generated based on the profile of the user and the one or more remote users. A common interest is identified, and the list of the recommended food item is generated accordingly.
[00056] In an embodiment, the audiovisual effect is generated using a machine learning model. The machine learning model may have been trained with the property of each of the ingredients and what type of audiovisual effect it generates when mixed with other ingredients or added in the utensils at a particular temperature.
[00057] In an embodiment, the system 202 may generate the plurality of user engagement options in a stepwise and guided manner to allow the user to learn about cooking and property of different engagement options.
[00058] The system 202 may include a learning mode module 218 configured to allow the user to turn on a learning mode, wherein the system 202 in learning mode allows the user to learn the preparation of the food item in a guided manner and describes a selected engagement option of the plurality of user engagement options in more detail. The learning mode can be turn on and off through a toggle button. When the learning mode is off, the system 202 may just present the user engagement options with an explicit description of the option.
[00059] FIG. 3A shows a generalized embodiment of an exemplary computing device 300 through which different users can engage with the food-related entertainment and education platform in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As depicted, the computing device 300 may be a smartphone or a tablet. The computing device 300 may receive content and data via an input/output (hereinafter "I/O") path 302. The I/O path 302 may provide metadata, voice profiles, and/or voice clips to control circuitry 304, which includes processing circuitry 306 and storage 308. The control circuitry 304 may send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data using the I/O path 302. The I/O path 302 may connect the control circuitry 304 (and specifically the processing circuitry 306) to one or more communications paths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG.3A to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.
[00060] The control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry, such as the processing circuitry 306. As referred to herein, processing circuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may include a multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quadcore, Hexa-core, or any suitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is distributed across multiple separate processors or processing units of different types, for example, multiple of the same type of processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multiple different processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Core i7 processor).
[00061] In some embodiments, the control circuitry 304 executes instructions for enabling different user engagements stored in memory (i.e., storage 308). Specifically, the control circuitry 304 may be instructed to perform searching, retrieve data and/or voice profiles or voice clips, and/or perform the other functions discussed above and below.
[00062] In client/server-based embodiments, the control circuitry 304 includes communications circuitry suitable for communicating with a food-related entertainment and education platform or other networks or servers. The instructions for carrying out the above-mentioned functionality may be stored on a server or a cloud database. Communications circuitry may include a cable modem, integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, an Ethernet card, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or any other suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths. In addition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of client devices or communication of media devices in locations remote from each other.
[00063] The memory may be an electronic storage device provided as the storage 308 that is part of the control circuitry 304. As referred to herein, the phrase "electronic storage device" or "storage device" should be understood to mean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, or firmware, such as random-access memory, hard drives, optical drives, solid-state devices, quantum storage devices, or any other suitable fixed or removable storage devices, and/or any combination of the same. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-based storage, described in relation to FIG. 2, may be used to supplement the storage 308 or instead of the storage 308.
[00064] The control circuitry 304 may include audio processing circuitry and/or audio generation circuitry, other digital encoding or decoding circuitry, or any other suitable audio circuits or combinations of such circuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting received audio input or digital signals to audio signals for analysis or storage) may also be provided. The audio circuitry may be used by the computing device 300 to receive, process, and generate audio input or output. The circuitry described herein, including, for example, audio generating, encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, and analog/digital circuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or more general-purpose or specialized processors. Multiple circuits may be provided to handle simultaneous processing functions. If the storage 308 is provided as a separate device from the media device 300, the circuitry may be associated with the storage 308.
[00065] A user may send instructions to the control circuitry 304 using a user input interface 310 of the computing device 300. The user input interface 310 may be any suitable user interface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, or other user input interfaces. Display 312 may be a touchscreen or touch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface 310 may be integrated with or combined with the display 312. A camera, microphone 316, or other visual or voice recognition interface may also be used to receive user input (e.g., voice prompts). Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of the computing device 300.
[00066] The interactive application and/or any instructions for performing any of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computer-readable media. Computer-readable media includes any media capable of storing data. In some embodiments, the food-related entertainment and education application is a client/server-based application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented on the computing device 300 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests to a server remote to the computing device 300, as described above. For example, the computing device 300 may receive inputs from the user via the input interface 310 or the microphone 316 and transmit those inputs to the remote server (e.g., cloud database 208) for processing and generating the corresponding outputs. The generated output is then transmitted to the computing device 300 to be output to the user. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that respective client devices used by different stack holder 202a-i may be implemented as media device 300 of FIG. 3A.
[00067] FIG. 3B a block diagram illustrating the component of a mobile device through which different users can engage in a food-related entertainment and education platform in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The mobile device 350 may receive data related to entertainment and education via an input/output path 352. The I/O path 352 may provide data related to food-related entertainment and education options and other required services to control circuitry 354. The control 354 includes a processing circuitry 356 configured to process the data and execute instructions to perform function s of the system 400 described below. The control circuitry 354 includes a storage 358 that stored programmable instructions and other data. The control circuitry 354 may send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data using the I/O path 352. The I/O path 352 may connect the control circuitry 354 to one or more communications paths.
[00068] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of the system developed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, a typical flow of the user engagement on the platform 106 includes different stages, such as providing meal recommendation 402, enabling food items selection 404, actionable item generation 406, ingredient recommendation 408, and flow recommendation 410. In an embodiment, the platform 106 or system 202 allows a user to go through each stem one or one.
[00069] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary recommendation engine configured to generate different recommendations in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, a recommendation engine 512 may be used for generating recommendations based on user profile 504. The engine 512 may receive user profile 504 from the database, refer to the social media platform 502 to gather historical user engagements of past posts to generate different recommendations. The engine 512 may generate a different recommendation, which includes food item recommendation 506, ingredient recommendation 510, and media recommendation 508. The engine 512 may use different attributes of the user profile 504 and food receipt database 514 to generate the recommendations. The food receipt database 514 includes for each programmed food items, a list of ingredients, and steps to be taken to prepare the item. The engine 512 may generate food items recommendation based on a selection of the meal-type and user profile 504. The engine 512 may generate the ingredient recommendation 510 based on the suggested ingredients for a selected food item.
[00070] FIG. 6 is an example user interface used for selection of meal type in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the interface 600 may present the user question, “what will you have today?” 602 and list meal types, such as breakfast 604, lunch 606, and dinner 608. The user may select on on these options. As explained earlier, the meal type may be personalized based on the time of the day when the user is coming on the platform or based on the user profile. The user will be further presented with a list of recommended food items that he/she can prepare in a virtual environment, and users can select one food item to prepare.
[00071] FIG. 7 is an example user interface that allows a user to prepare a food item in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Once the user selects a good item to prepare, the system may present different options to the user to prepare the food items and allow the user to select those options through swap and slide gestures. For example, if the user has selected breakfast 702 as a meal-type option, and further selected sandwich as a good item to prepare, the system may allow the user to select break, apply different sauces, add vegetables, etc. through slide 704 gesture.
[00072] FIG. 8 an example view of prepared food items in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A lunch 802, for example, a jumbo burger, can be prepared following the process. Once the food item is prepared, the system allows the user to view the prepared food item from a different direction (in 2D or 3D environment) through slide 804 or multi-touch options.
[00073] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a virtual environment depicting eating experience in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, the system may allow the user to get an eating experience. Depending on the food prepared and eating-related engagement option selection, different textual, sound, and audiovisual effects of eating can be generated.
[00074] FIG. 10 illustrates an example user interface for generating social media post in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the system allows a user to create a social media post through an interactive user interface 1002. The user may post food items that he/she has prepared and add a description along with. The system also allows the user to add simulated eating experience pictures to be added in the post.
[00075] FIG. 11 illustrates an example process flow 1100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The process flow 1100 includes steps of allowing a user through an interactive user interface on a computing device, to select a meal type from a list of recommended meal types as shown at block 1102, presenting to the user a list of recommended food items based on a selection of the meal-type and profile of the user as shown at block 1104, receiving a selection of a food item from the list of recommended food items presented to the user as shown at block 1106, generating a plurality of user engagement options related to food activities based on the selection of the food item as shown at block 1108, enabling the user to prepare the food item in a virtual environment by using one or more user engagement options from the plurality of user engagement options as shown at block 1110, generating audiovisual effect to create a virtual environment of food preparation as shown at block 1112, and facilitating the creation of a post related to the food item as shown at block 1114.
[00076] The process further includes steps of allowing the user to get food eating experience in a virtual environment through the selection of one or more eating experience engagement options and allowing the user to generate a media content through the selection of one or more media content generation options. The process further includes steps of allowing one or more remote users from their respective computing devices to participate in the preparation of the food item and enabling the one or more remote users to get dining-together experience in a virtual environment.
[00077] In an embodiment, the process includes a step of allowing the to turn on a learning mode, wherein the system in learning mode allows the user to learn the preparation of the food item in a guided manner and describes a selected engagement option of the plurality of user engagement options in more detail.

[00078] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary computer system in which or with which embodiments of the present invention may be utilized. As shown in FIG. 12, a computer system includes an external storage device 1210, a bus 1220, a main memory 1230, a read-only memory 1240, a mass storage device 1250, a communication port 1260, and a processor 1270.
[00079] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a computer system 1200 may include more than one processor 1270 and communication ports 1260. Examples of processor 1270 include, but are not limited to, an Intel® Itanium® or Itanium 2 processor(s), or AMD® Opteron® or Athlon MP® processor(s), Motorola® lines of processors, FortiSOC™ system on chip processors or other future processors. Processor 1270 may include various modules associated with embodiments of the present invention.
[00080] Communication port 1260 can be any of an RS-232 port for use with a modem-based dialup connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Gigabit or 10 Gigabit port using copper or fiber, a serial port, a parallel port, or other existing or future ports. Communication port 760 may be chosen depending on a network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which the computer system connects.
[00081] Memory 1230 can be Random Access Memory (RAM) or any other dynamic storage device commonly known in the art. Read-Only Memory 1240 can be any static storage device(s), e.g., but not limited to, a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM) chips for storing static information, e.g., start-up or BIOS instructions for processor 1270.
[00082] Mass storage 1250 may be any current or future mass storage solution, which can be used to store information and/or instructions. Exemplary mass storage solutions include, but are not limited to, Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard disk drives or solid-state drives (internal or external, e.g., having Universal Serial Bus (USB) and/or Firewire interfaces), e.g., those available from Seagate (e.g., the Seagate Barracuda 7200 family) or Hitachi (e.g., the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000), one or more optical discs, Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage, e.g., an array of disks (e.g., SATA arrays), available from various vendors including Dot Hill Systems Corp., LaCie, Nexsan Technologies, Inc. and Enhance Technology, Inc.
[00083] Bus 1220 communicatively couples processor(s) 1270 with the other memory, storage, and communication blocks. Bus 1220 can be, e.g., a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) / PCI Extended (PCI-X) bus, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), USB, or the like, for connecting expansion cards, drives, and other subsystems as well as other buses, such a front side bus (FSB), which connects processor 1270 to a software system.
[00084] Optionally, operator and administrative interfaces, e.g., a display, keyboard, and a cursor control device, may also be coupled to bus 1220 to support direct operator interaction with the computer system. Other operator and administrative interfaces can be provided through network connections connected through communication port 1260. An external storage device 1210 can be any kind of external hard-drives, floppy drives, IOMEGA® Zip Drives, Compact Disc - Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc - Re-Writable (CD-RW), Digital Video Disk - Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM). The components described above are meant only to exemplify various possibilities. In no way should the aforementioned exemplary computer system limit the scope of the present disclosure.
While embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the invention is not limited to these embodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents, will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as described in the claims.
ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
[00085] The proposed invention provides an entertainment and educational platform for food preparation in a virtual environment.
[00086] The proposed invention provides a system and method for enabling user engagement options related to food preparation.
[00087] The proposed invention provides a platform for enabling personalized food-related engagement options.
[00088] The proposed invention provides a multi-user platform for enabling a competitive environment for food-related activities.
[00089] The proposed invention provides a platform to facilitate social media posts related to food,
[00090] The proposed invention provides a system and method for providing engagement options based on user profiles.

Claims:A data processing system, comprising:
a meal selection module (204) configured to allow a user to select through an interactive user interface a meal type from a list of recommended meal types, wherein the list of recommended meal types is generated based on time;
a food item selection module (206) configured to present the user a list of recommended food items based on a selection of the meal-type and profile of the user, and receive a selection of a food item from the list of recommended food items presented to the user;
an engagement option generation module (208) configured to generate a plurality of user engagement options related to food activities based on the selection of the food item;
a virtual food processing module (210) configured to enable the user to prepare the food item in a virtual environment by using one or more user engagement options from the plurality of user engagement options, and generate audiovisual effect to create a virtual environment of food preparation; and
a social media post creation module (212) configured to facilitate creation of a post related to the food item.

2. The data processing system of claim 1, further comprises
an eating experience generation module (214) configured to allow the user to get food eating experience in a virtual environment through a selection of one or more eating experience engagement options; and
a media content generation module (216) configured to allow the user to generate a media content through a selection of one or more media content generation options.
3. The data processing system of claim 1, further comprises a social engagement module 218 configured to allow one or more remote users from their respective computing device to participate in preparation of the food item, and enable the one or more remote users to get dining-together experience in a virtual environment.

4. The data processing system of claim 3, wherein the list of recommended food items is generated based on a profile of the user and the one or more remote users.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the media content comprises an image and a video.

6. The data processing system of claim 2, wherein generating the media content through the selection of one or more media content generation options comprises taking a picture of the food item, picture of the user experiencing the food item, video of preparation of the food item, and video of the user experiencing the food item.

7. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the audiovisual effect is generated by a machine learning model.

8. The data processing system of claim 1, the plurality of user engagement options, comprises utensil selection options, ingredient selection options, and ingredient addition options.

9. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of user engagement options are generated in a stepwise and guided manner.

10. The data processing system of claim 1, further comprising a learning mode module 220 configured to allow the to turn on a learning mode, wherein the system in learning mode allows the user to learn the preparation of the food item in a guided manner and describes a selected engagement option of the plurality of user engagement options in more detail.

11. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out steps comprising:
allowing, a user through an interactive user interface on a computing device, to select a meal type from a list of recommended meal types, wherein the list of recommended meal types is generated based on time;
presenting to the user a list of recommended food items based on a selection of the meal-type and profile of the user;
receiving a selection of a food item from the list of recommended food items presented to the user;
generating a plurality of user engagement options related to food activities based on the selection of the food item;
enabling the user to prepare the food item in a virtual environment by using one or more user engagement options from the plurality of user engagement options;
generating an audiovisual effect to create a virtual environment of food preparation; and
facilitating creation of a post related to the food item.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprises
allowing the user to get food eating experience in a virtual environment through a selection of one or more eating experience engagement options; and
allowing the user to generate a media content through a selection of one or more media content generation options.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising
allowing one or more remote users from their respective computing device to participate in preparation of the food item; and
enabling the one or more remote users to get a dining-together experience in a virtual environment.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the list of recommended food items is generated based on a profile of the user and the one or more remote users.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the media content comprises an image and a video.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein generating the media content through a selection of one or more media content generation options comprises taking a picture of the food item, picture of the user experiencing the food item, video of preparation of the food item, and video of the user experiencing the food item.

17. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the audiovisual effect is generated by a machine learning model.

18. The computer program product of claim 11, the plurality of user engagement options, comprises utensil selection options, ingredient selection options, and ingredient addition options.

19. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the plurality of user engagement options are generated in a stepwise and guided manner.

20. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising allowing the user to turn on a learning mode, wherein the system in learning mode allows the user to learn the preparation of the food item in a guided manner and describes a selected engagement option of the plurality of user engagement options in more detail.