METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RENDERING MULTIPLE HOSPITALITY SERVICES TO A USER VIA A VIRTUAL PLATFORM
FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of hospitality services. More
particularly the present disclosure relates to method and system for rendering multiple
hospitality services to a user via a virtual platform.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In the present scenario when a user of an electronic device desires to navigate
through a new location, the user needs to seek manual assistance from an inhabitant of the
new location or navigate through the new location based on the assistance. The assistance
provided by the inhabitant of the new location may not be accurate and a lot of time is
wasted by the user in the existing technique.
[0003] Often the inhabitant of the new location may not provide complete information of
one or more hospitality services available to the user of the electronic device and also the
information provided of regarding the hospitality services may not be accurate always. The
hospitality services include but are not limited to local transportation facilities, interesting
places around the new location to explore, local shopping information, weather and
forecast. Further, the user of the electronic device may not be able to utilize the time
efficiently as lot of time is consumed in seeking the manual assistance.
[0004] If the user requires information associated with the hospitality services in a hotel
then the user needs to seek manual guidance from another user or interact with a person
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employed with the hotel, which consumes a sufficient amount of time and also the manual
guidance provided may not be accurate. Furthermore, the user may not get the information
associated with the hospitality services, if the person employed with the hotel is not
available for providing the information. Consider an example, the user visits a restaurant for
a drink and may not be attended by one or more persons employed with the restaurant,
due to which the user can lose interest in one or more services provided by the restaurant
as a lot of time is consumed in taking an order. In light of the foregoing discussion there is a
need for an efficient technique for rendering multiple hospitality services to a user via a
virtual platform.
[0005] In light of the foregoing discussion there is a need for an efficient technique for
rendering multiple hospitality services to a user via a virtual platform.
SUMMARY
[0006] Embodiments of the present disclosure described herein provide a method and
system for rendering multiple hospitality services to a user via a virtual platform.
[0007] An example of a method for rendering multiple hospitality services to a user via a
virtual platform includes providing the virtual platform. The virtual platform includes one or
more virtual guides in an electronic device. Further, the method includes establishing a
connection with a server by the user using the virtual platform to receive the hospitality
services via the virtual guides. The method also includes interacting with the user by the
virtual guides to receive one or more requests based on the connection and rendering the
hospitality services to the user by the virtual guides based on the requests.
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[0008] An example of a system for rendering multiple hospitality services to a user via a
virtual platform includes an electronic device. The electronic device includes the virtual
platform. The virtual platform includes one or more virtual guides to render the hospitality
services by interacting with the user. Further the system includes a server in
communication with the electronic device via a network. The server includes a processor to
control the virtual guides to render the hospitality services to the user. Further the server
includes a centralized repository for storing data related to at least one of the hospitality
services and the user. The server also includes a data conversion unit for converting at
least one of speech to text and text to speech.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0009] The accompanying figures, similar reference numerals may refer to identical or
functionally similar elements. These reference numerals are used in the detailed
description to illustrate various embodiments and to explain various aspects and
advantages of the present disclosure.
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an environment, in accordance with which various
embodiments can be implemented.
[0011] FIG. 2 exemplarily illustrates one or more services rendered by the virtual guide in
the electronic device to the user, in accordance with an embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a server for providing multiple hospitality services to
the virtual guide , in accordance with one embodiment;
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[0013] FIG. 4 exemplarily illustrates transferring a virtual platform to one or more
electronic devices of one or more users, in accordance with an embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 5a is a flow chart illustrating a method for rendering multiple hospitality
services to a user via a virtual platform, in accordance with one embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 6 exemplarily illustrates a virtual guide in an electronic device rendering a
dining service to a user via a virtual platform, in accordance with an embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 7 exemplarily illustrates a virtual guide in an electronic device rendering a
transportation service to a user via a virtual platform, in accordance with an embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 8 exemplarily illustrates a virtual guide in an electronic device rendering a
places of interest service to a user via a virtual platform, in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 9 exemplarily illustrates a virtual guide in an electronic device rendering
emergency and SOS services to a user via a virtual platform, in accordance with an
embodiment.
[0019] FIG. 10 exemplarily illustrates interaction of one or more users through virtual
guide in an electronic device for rendering one or more services in accordance with an
embodiment.
[0020] Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated
for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the
dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other
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elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] It should be observed that method steps and system components have been
represented by conventional symbols in the figures, showing only specific details that are
relevant for an understanding of the present disclosure. Further, details that may be readily
apparent to person ordinarily skilled in the art may not have been disclosed. In the present
disclosure, relational terms such as primary and secondary, first and second, and the like,
may be used to distinguish one entity from another entity, without necessarily implying any
actual relationship or order between such entities.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an environment 100, in accordance with which
various exemplary embodiments can be implemented.
[0023] The environment 100 includes one or more users, for example, a user 1 105A, a
user 2 105B, a user 3 105C and a user N 105N connected to a server 120 through a
network 115. The environment also includes one or more electronic devices, for example
an electronic device 110A, an electronic device 110B, an electronic device 110C and an
electronic device 110N in communication with the server 120 through the network. The
electronic device 110A includes a virtual platform. The virtual platform includes one or more
virtual guides. The virtual guides are used for rendering the hospitality services to the
users. As used herein the term “virtual guide” refers to a multidimensional animated
representation of a person. The virtual guide is for example, an avatar. In some
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embodiments, one or more attributes of each of the virtual guides is customized by the
users. The attributes includes at least one of appearance, voice, and gesture.
[0024] Examples of the electronic device 110A include, but are not limited to, a digital
television, a computer, a laptop, amobile communication device, a hand held device, and a
personal digital assistant (PDA). Examples of the network 115 include, but are not limited
to, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wired network, ametropolitan
area network (MAN), internet, and a wireless network.
[0025] The users establish a connection with the server 120 using the virtual platformin
the electronic device 110A. The virtual platform includes one or more virtual guides. The
virtual guides interact with one or more users to receive the requests. The virtual guides
respond to the requests by rendering the hospitality services to the users. The users
interact with the virtual guides via one or more of audio, text and visual communication. The
users request for hospitality services using at least one of an audio, a text and visual
communication.
[0026] In some embodiments, the virtual platform is installed in the electronic device
110A by the users.
[0027] FIG. 2 exemplarily illustrates one or more services rendered by the virtual guide in
the electronic device to the user, in accordance with an embodiment.
[0028] The virtual guide in the electronic device 110A renders multiple hospitality
services to the users. The users establish a connection with the server using the virtual
platform to receive the hospitality services through the virtual guides. The virtual guides
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interact with the users to receive one or more requests and render the hospitality services
to the user based on the requests. The hospitality services rendered by the virtual guides
include but are not limited to an emergency service 205 to initiate a call during an
emergency situation, one or more travel services, for example, a flight service210, an
inbound map 215 for a particular location a railways service 220, a taxi service 225. The
hospitality services also includes multiple recreation activities 230, a banking service 235, a
tourist service 240, a laundry service 245, a shopping service 250, a dining service 255 and
a weather location service. In some embodiments, the virtual guide can also render the
products available in the shopping malls along with reviews, pricing and purchasing.
[0029] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a server 120 for providingmultiple hospitality services
via one or more virtual guides, in accordance with one embodiment. The server 125
includes a bus 305 for communicating information, and a processor 310 coupled with the
bus 305 for controlling the virtual guides to render the hospitality services to a user The
server 120 also includes a memory 315, for example a random access memory (RAM)
coupled to the bus 305 for storing information required by the processor 310. The memory
315 can be used for storing temporary information required by the processor 310. The
server 125 further includes a centralized repository 320 for storing data related to at least
one of the hospitality services and the user. The server 120 also includes a data conversion
unit 325 for converting at least one of speech to text and text to speech. The server also
includes a storage unit 330, for example a magnetic disk, hard disk or optical disk, can be
provided and coupled to bus 205 for storing information.
[0030] The server 120 can be coupled via the bus 305 to a display 335, for example a
cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD), for displaying one or more services.
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An input device 340, including various keys, is coupled to the bus 305 for communicating
information to the processor 310. In some embodiments, cursor control 345, for example a
mouse, a trackball, a joystick, or cursor direction keys for communicating information to the
processor 310 and for controlling cursor movement on the display 335 can also be present.
[0031] In one embodiment, the steps of the present disclosure are performed by the
server 125 using the processor 310. The information can be read into the memory 315 from
a machine-readable medium. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry can be used
in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement various embodiments.
[0032] The term machine-readable medium can be defined as a medium providing data
to a machine to enable the machine to perform a specific function. The machine-readable
medium can be a storage media. Storage media can include non-volatile media and volatile
media. The storage unit 330 can be a non-volatile media. The memory 315 can be a
volatile media. All such media must be tangible to enable the instructions carried by the
media to be detected by a physical mechanism that reads the instructions into the machine.
[0033] Examples of the machine readable medium includes, but are not limited to, a
floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, a CD-ROM, optical disk, punch cards,
papertape, a RAM, a PROM, EPROM, and a FLASH-EPROM.
[0034] The machine readable medium can also include online links, download links,
and installation links providing the information to the processor 210.
[0035] The server 120 also includes a communication interface 350 coupled to the bus
305 for enabling data communication. Examples of the communication interface 350
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include, but are not limited to, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, a modem,
a local area network (LAN) card, an infrared port, a Bluetooth port, a zigbee port, and a
wireless port.
[0036] In some embodiments, the processor 310 can include one or more processing
units for performing one or more functions of the processor 310. The processing units are
hardware circuitry performing specified functions.
[0037] In some embodiments the centralized repository is dynamic in nature. The
centralized repository can be updated time to time with information added with reference to
new public services, new public facilities, daily updates like weather, temperature, rain
forecast, accidents, recent local news, and recent user customized information like images,
videos, reviews and blogs entered.
[0038] FIG. 4 exemplarily illustrates transferring the virtual platform to one or more
electronic devices of one or more users, in accordance with an embodiment.
[0039] The virtual platform can be downloaded to the electronic devices of the users if
the users wish to avail one or more hospitality services via the virtual platform on the go.
The electronic devices include, but are not limited to, one or more of a mobile phone 405, a
portable media player 410Aand a portable media player 410B and a digital album415.The
hospitality services include but are not limited to travel, tourism and multiple recreation
activities. The hospitality services is available to the users for a time period during which
the users stay in the particular location. Once downloaded on the electronic devices, one or
more virtual guides in the virtual platform interact with a centralized repository on a server
of for example, a hotel. The server maintains data associated with the users including, but
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not limited to, user personalized information, reviews, audio-visual content associated with
the users, and other logs, in the centralized repository. In some embodiments, the virtual
platform stays activated only for the duration of stay of user in the hotel. Once a user
checks out the hotel, the virtual platform will be deactivated and uninstalled automatically.
Before deactivation, all the hospitality services used by the user, any data associated with
the users during the period of obtaining hospitality services will be transferred to an internal
database of the hotel for future usage. Downloading of virtual platform on the electronic
devices of the users can be done using one or more of USB, LAN connectivity, or other
transfer protocols. Downloading of virtual platform on the electronic devices of the users in
addition to providing the hospitality services, also serves various other purposes including,
but not limited to playing the tourism place specific songs and running the tourism place
specific images as a slide show.
[0040] In some embodiments, the virtual guides can speak customized wish sentences
for example, “Welcome Mr. John to Hotel X”, “My Name is LOBO and I am your Guide in
this Hotel X and City A”, “Good Night and Sweet Dreams”, “Good Morning”, “Good
Afternoon” and “I hope for your pleasant stay in this hotel”. One or more portions within the
customized sentences are customizable and taken from the data associated with the users
in the centralized repository of the server. The portions include, for example, name, and
time of the day, and a specific message in accordance with an occasion. The data
associated with the users includes, but is not limited to, hotel information, city information,
name, languages known, and one or more preferences. Additionally, virtual guides can
speak a text-based information stored in the centralized server related the hospitality
services including, but not limited, dining services, bar and restaurant services, laundry
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services, local travel information and places to explore, taxi rentals, local shopping
information, weather forecast, local maps and routes, intercity journey information by flight,
rail or other surface services, and room services. The virtual guides can render the text
based information to the users in the form of speech by using a text-to-speech conversion
interface in the electronic devices housing the virtual platform. In some embodiments the
virtual guides can accept speech commands from the users by means of a speech-to-text
conversion interface in the electronic devices housing the virtual platform. In some
embodiments, the virtual platform includes a conversion unit for performing at least one of
speech to text conversion and text to speech conversion.
[0041] In some embodiments, the virtual guides can navigate one or more virtual spaces
by means of multidimensional graphics. The virtual spaces include, but not limited to a
multidimensional graphical representation of hotel kitchens, places of interest, and
shopping malls, bars and restaurants connected with the hotel by means of business-tobusiness
collaboration. The virtual spaces can include places for which the gallery and
maps are available in the centralized repository of the servers.
[0042] In some embodiments, the virtual guides can show the users one or more real
products available in one or more shopping malls along with reviews, pricing and
purchasing information, real picture of the various food preparations along with reviews and
ordering information, real time three dimensional (3D) tour of various places of interest, top
view, bottom view, side views, 3D galleries, real interiors of cabs to hire along with
interaction with a chauffeur of the cabs. Also, the virtual platform can enable the users to
take a virtual tour and route over the city routes and show the real-time pathways for the
places of interest to the users. Further, the virtual platform can provide one or more
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information to the users, for example, information on weather forecast, information on
placing a request for the local tour, and emergency information in case of fire, flood, and
terror attacks. Virtual guide can show guests and take them to the pathways of various
hotel locations, rooms, and emergency exit ways as a 3D tour.
[0043] In some embodiments, the virtual platform is connected to one or more
emergency service sensors like fire, flood, and terror attacks. During the course of an
emergency the virtual platform can alert the users by one or more of playing a siren,
showing the users way to an emergency exit and enabling locating the emergency exit by
the users by providing maps and visual aids. Also, the virtual guides can make automatic
calls to police or other local help by using connectivity to one or more telephonic services
and mail services. In some embodiments, the virtual platform maintains list of doctors
available on call. In these embodiments, based on the voice command received from the
users, the virtual guides can contact one or more doctors in the list by making automatic
calls.
[0044] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for rendering multiple hospitality
services to a user via a virtual platform, in accordance with one embodiment;
[0045] The method starts at step 505.
[0046] At step 510, the virtual platform comprising one or more virtual guides is
provided in an electronic device. Examples of the electronic device include, but are not
limited to, a digital television, a computer, a laptop, a mobile communication device, a hand
held device, and a personal digital assistant (PDA). In some embodiments the user
downloads the virtual platform into the electronic device.
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[0047] At step 515, a connection is established with a server by the user using the
virtual platform to receive the hospitality services via the virtual guides. In one embodiment,
the connection is established with the server by the user using the virtual platform by
installing the virtual guide in the electronic device manually. The hospitality services include
but are not limited to travel, tourism and a plurality of recreation activities. In another
embodiment, virtual guide are downloaded on the electronic device by means of Universal
serial bus (USB), Local area connectivity (LAN) connectivity, or other transfer protocols.
[0048] The one or more preferences are provided for the hospitality services by the
user. A particular hospitality service is selected from the hospitality services based on the
preference of the users.
[0049] At step 520, the virtual guides interact with the user to receive one or more
requests based on the connection. The interaction is performed using one or more of a
voice, text and visual communication. The visual communications include, but are not
limited to gestures. The virtual guide interacts by receiving the request for a particular
service from the hospitality services rendered to the users through the virtual guide in an
electronic device. The requests include, but are not limited to, at least one of a text request,
an audio request and a visual request.
[0050] The user is allowed to explore at least one of a virtual space and one or more
virtual objects in the virtual space. Exploring the virtual space includes, for example, taking
a virtual tour of a graphical representation of a real space, a visual tour of a
multidimensional view of the real space. The real space includes, but is not limited to, a
hotel, a shopping mall, and any existing location. The virtual objects include, but are not
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limited to, graphical representations of one or more objects in the real space represented
by the virtual space, and real time images of the objects in the real space represented by
the virtual space.
[0051] A recommendation of one or more of the hospitality services is generated to the
user based on data of the user in a centralized repository on the server. The users can
communicate through the virtual guide and also recommend a particular service from the
hospitality services to each other. The recommendation of the particular service is done
based on the data stored in the centralized repository on the server. The data includes
information associated with the particular service used by the users previously.
[0052] The recommendations are provided to the user by the virtual guides. The virtual
guides in an electronic device render the recommendations to the users.
[0053] The virtual guides communicate with the user via one or more of audio, text and
visual communication. In some embodiments, one or more attributes of each of the virtual
guides is customized by the user. The attributes includes at least one of appearance, voice,
and gesture.
[0054] The user communicates with the virtual guides via one or more of audio, text
and visual communication. The user requests the virtual guides for one or more of the
hospitality services through at least one of an audio, a text and visual communication.
[0055] A connection is established with a third party database by the virtual guides. The
third party database includes, but is not limited to, database associated with one or more
services, for example, telephonic services, mail services, railway reservation services, an
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internal database of an organization, for example, a shopping mall, a hotel, a museum, and
an online database, for example, a telephone directory. The virtual guides in the electronic
device can establish the connection with the third database to extract data required to
provide the hospitality services to the users. Consider for example, on account of an
emergency if the users require a doctor, the users request the virtual platform to call the
doctor suitable for the emergency. The virtual platform can establish a connection with an
online telephone directory and search for a suitable doctor based on data associated with
the users saved in the centralized repository of the server. On finding a suitable match in
the online telephone directory, the virtual platform can automatically call the doctor and
connect to the users.
[0056] At step 525, the hospitality services are rendered to the user by the virtual
guides based on the requests. The requests include at least one of a text request, an audio
request and a visual request.
[0057] An interaction is allowed among the virtual guides for one or more users. The
virtual guides associated with one of the users can interact with other virtual guides
associated with other users. Further at least one of the users, one or more objects
associated with the user, and an environment of the user is monitored by one of the virtual
guides and the server. The monitoring of the users is performed by one of the virtual guides
and the server based on the data of the user stored in the centralized repository of the
server.
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[0058] The alerts are provided to the user by at least one of the server and the virtual
guides based on the monitoring. The alerts include but are not limited to visual alerts and
audible alerts.
[0059] The method stops at step 530.
[0060] FIG. 6 exemplarily illustrates a virtual guide in an electronic device for rendering a
dining service to a user via a virtual platform, in accordance with an embodiment.
[0061] Consider an example, a user 105A wishes to know about the dining services
available in a hotel. The user 105A interacts with the electronic device 110A present within
the location of the hotel through a virtual platform. The virtual platform is provided in an
electronic device 110A which includes one or more virtual guides.
[0062] The user 105A begins the interaction by requesting the virtual guide in the
electronic device 115A to provide information of dining services available in the hotel. The
virtual guide receives the request and responds through at least one of appearance, voice,
and gesture by rendering the various types of dishes available in the hotel. The virtual
guide responds to the user 105A requests, for example, “What would you like to have
Italian, Indian, and Continental? Vegetarian or Non-vegetarian?” as illustrated in 605.
[0063] Further, the user 105A receives the information from the virtual guide and
requests the virtual guide to provide information that the other users had mentioned about a
particular dish as illustrated in 610. The virtual guide renders information of various dishes
that are preferred with the particular dish, for example, “Wine is preferred with this dish and
Turkish delight is preferred as dessert. Would you like to try?” as illustrated in 615. The
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virtual guide also renders information regarding the preparation, history and the regional
importance of the particular dish, for example, “Let me show you how it is being prepared?
What is history of the dish and its regional importance?” as illustrated in 620 to the user.
[0064] The user 105A responds to the information by placing an order of a particular
dish. The virtual guide displays multidimensional images of the particular dish to the user
105A. After the user 105A completes having the dish the virtual guide expresses its
regards through the interactive voice and a gesture-based animation to provide an opinion
about the particular dish, for example, “Thanks for having Italian Pasta! Please let me know
how did you find the food?” as illustrated in 625.
[0065] FIG. 7 exemplarily illustrates a virtual guide in an electronic device rendering a
transportation service to a user via a virtual platform, in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment.
[0066] Consider an example, a user 105A wishes to know about the transportation
services available in a hotel. The user 105A interacts with the electronic device 110A
present within the location of the hotel through a virtual platform. The virtual platform is
provided in an electronic device 110A which includes one or more virtual guides.
[0067] The user 105 A begins the interaction by requesting the virtual guide in the
electronic device 110A to provide information of local and outbound travel available in the
hotel. The virtual guide receives the request and responds through at least one of
appearance, voice, and gesture by rendering the various travelling options available in the
hotel. The virtual guide responds to the user 105A requests, for example, “Sorry…no
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transport for places A to B why don’t you take up A to C and then B. This is the shortest
route”, as illustrated in 705.
[0068] Further, the user 105A receives the information from the virtual guide and decides
and requests the virtual guide to provide information that the accommodation facilities
available on the travel. The virtual guide renders information of various accommodation
facilities available, for example, “On your journey from A to B these are the places of
interest and hotels for stay” as illustrated in 710. The virtual guide also renders information
regarding the famous places to visit during users travel and this could also be based on the
database of his previous visits. The central repository 320 also includes a world map with
the assistance that can direct the user 105A a visual route. For example, “You need local
or outbound travel? Recommended places are these” as illustrated in 715 to the user 105A.
[0069] The user 105 A responds to the information by placing a request for the
availability of tickets in one of the travel services recommended by the virtual guide. The
user 105A can also book the tickets for his travel by interacting with the virtual guide. The
booking of tickets is executed by the server 120 by means of a business to business
collaboration with the local transport department. The virtual guide provides an interface to
book the seats and pay by means of connecting to online payment gateways, for example,
“These are available flights/trains? Book now using my services” as illustrated in 720.
[0070] FIG. 8 exemplarily illustrates a virtual guide in an electronic device rendering
places of interest service to a user via a virtual platform, in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment.
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[0071] Consider an example, a user 105A wishes to know about the information
regarding the places to visit the places in and around hotel. The user 105A interacts with
the electronic device 110A present within the location of the hotel through a virtual platform.
The virtual platform is provided in an electronic device 110A which includes one or more
virtual guides.
[0072] The user 105 A begins the interaction by requesting the virtual guide in the
electronic device 110A to provide information regarding the places to see in the city or
around a hotel. The virtual guide receives the request and responds through at least one of
appearance, voice, and gesture by rendering the places to see in the city or around a hotel.
The virtual guide responds to the user 105A requests, for example, “Things to do and not to
do, facilities available, and charges etc…for these places.” as illustrated in 805.
[0073] Further, the user 105A receives the information from the virtual guide and
requests the virtual guide to provide information about particular places. The virtual guide
replies back to the user 105A, for example, “Let me take you to the three dimensional
virtual audio visual tour of Tajmahal (India). This is one of the seven wonders “, through a
three dimensional video stored in the central repository 320 by replying back as illustrated
in 810. The virtual guide also renders additional information on the place selected by the
user, for example, “These are places of interest in this city and their importance” as
illustrated in 815. If the user 105A is satisfied with the place, the user 105A may further
continue by requesting the virtual guide about the feasible transport facilities for the
selected place. Further the virtual guide responds by rendering the information about the
travel options available, for example, “These many public and private transport options and
this is the way to reach it” as illustrated in 820. The virtual guide also eliminates the need
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for a tourist guide as it delivers the voice information regarding the places. Further the
virtual guide automatically asks the user 105A to feed the review of the place explored by
the user in the system either as a text message or as audio-visual information.
[0074] FIG. 9 exemplarily illustrates a virtual guide in an electronic device rendering
emergency and save our souls (SOS) services to a user via a virtual platform, in
accordance with an embodiment.
[0075] Consider an example, a user 105Ais rendered the emergency and SOS services
available in a hotel. The user 105A interacts with an electronic device 110A present within
the location of the hotel through a virtual platform. The virtual platform is provided in an
electronic device 110A which includes one or more virtual guides.
[0076] In some embodiments, the server monitors the user based on a predetermined
data. The server or the virtual platform monitors at least one of the user, one or more
objects associated with the user, and an environment of the user. Monitoring the user
includes, but is not limited to, monitoring user behavior, monitoring user preferences, and
monitoring user practices over a period of time. In some embodiments the virtual platform
creates default settings for each of the users based on the monitoring. The virtual platform
generates recommendations for the hospitality services based on the created default
settings. For example, if the users provide a particular preference every time, the next time
the users request a hospitality service, the virtual platform provides a recommendation
based on the particular preference to the users. The created default settings for each of the
users are saved in the centralized repository along with the data associated with the
corresponding users.
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[0077] The virtual guide provides one or more alerts to the user based on the monitoring.
The alerts include, but are not limited to, a visual alerts and audible alerts. The audible
alerts include, for example, SOS calls. The alerts are, for example, “Terror attack has
occurred. Stay inside the room. I have already contacted cops for your safety” as illustrated
in 905 indicating an emergency situation in the hotel to the users and also guiding the users
to take precautions.
[0078] The virtual guide provides information regarding a safe exit in the emergency
situation such as earthquakes by directing the users to exit from the hotel in a particular
direction, for example, “Earthquake shocks have been observed nearby. Please exit with
this shortest path to safe” as illustrated in 910.
[0079] The virtual guide renders information regarding a safe exit in the emergency
situation such as a fire in the hotel premises by directing the users to exit from the hotel in a
particular direction, for example, “Fire! Please follow the red path in map to exit quickly with
the shortest path” as illustrated in 915.
[0080] The virtual guide also renders information regarding the flood that as occurred at
the hotel premises by requesting the users to not panic as the hotel authority has taken
enough measures for safe evacuation of the users. For example, “There is flood! Please do
not worry. Hotel authority is arranging for the safe evacuation.” as illustrated in 920.
[0081] FIG. 10 exemplarily illustrates interaction of one or more users through virtual
guide in an electronic device for rendering one or more services in accordance with an
embodiment.
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[0082] The users, for example, a user 105A, a user 105B, a user 105C, and a user 105D
can interact with each other through the virtual guides in the electronic device 110A.
Consider an example wherein a user 105A in the hotel is interacting with one or more users
through the virtual guide. The virtual guides are supported by the server 120 to render the
information to the users.
[0083] The virtual guide also maintains a log of various services that needs to be
rendered to one or more users. The information regarding the services rendered to the
users are stored in the server 120. The server 120 creates a pool of the information and
can be accessed by other users via the virtual guides.
[0084] Whenever the users seek the hospitality services, the virtual guides connect the
users with other users through the virtual guides of the other users by using the pool
information. For example, the virtual guides can connect Mr. A with Mr. B if on finding that
Mr. A has ordered American corn and Mr. B wants to order same item and Mr. B can
essentially seek the opinion of Mr. A about the dish. The virtual guides can connect Mr. A
with Mr. B on finding that Mr. A wants to visit Niagara falls and a day back Mr. B visited the
same. The virtual guides can group one or more users planning to visit a church if the
virtual platform finds that in past few hours of time one or more users have enquired about
the church and the users might plan to visit the church. Also, the virtual platform can
suggest a best place to roam around to a user by identifying the specific reviews entered by
other users.
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[0085] In one embodiment, the users can initiate audio-visual chatting through virtual
guide. The user can also create group parties, picnic, and entertainment zone through
virtual guides.
[0086] In another embodiment, the social network and allied services can also be
activated and rendered to the users when the users download the virtual guide service on
the electronic devices.
[0087] In the preceding specification, the present disclosure and its advantages have
been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, it will be apparent to a
person of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications and changes can be made,
without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, as set forth in the claims below.
Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded as illustrative examples of the
present disclosure, rather than in restrictive sense. All such possible modifications are
intended to be included within the scope of present disclosure.
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I/We claim:

1. A method for rendering a plurality of hospitality services to a user via a virtual
platform, the method comprising:
providing the virtual platform comprising one or more virtual guides in an
electronic device;
establishing a connection with a server by the user using the virtual platform
to receive the hospitality services via the one or more virtual guides;
interacting with the user by the one or more virtual guides to receive one or
more requests based on the connection; and
rendering the hospitality services to the user by the one or more virtual
guides based on the requests.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring at least one of the user, one or
more objects associated with the user, and an environment of the user by one of the
one or more virtual guides and the server.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the monitoring is performed using a data of the user
in a centralized repository on the server.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
providing one or more alerts to the user by at least one of the server and the
one or more virtual guides based on the monitoring, wherein the alerts comprise
visual alerts and audible alerts.
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5. The method of claim 1, wherein interacting comprises:
allowing the user to explore at least one of a virtual space and one or more
virtual objects in the virtual space.
6. The method of claim1, wherein one or more attributes of each of the one or more
virtual guides is customized by the user.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the attributes comprise at least one of appearance,
voice, and gesture.
8. The method of claim1, wherein each of the requests comprise at least one of a text
request, an audio request, and a visual request.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the connection with the server
comprises:
providing one or more preferences for the hospitality services by the user.
10.The method of claim 1 further comprising:
allowing interaction among the one or more virtual guides for one or more
users.
11.The method of claim 1, wherein interacting comprises:
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generating a recommendation of one or more of the hospitality services to the
user based on data of the user in a centralized repository on the server; and
providing the recommendation to the user by the one or more virtual guides.
12.The method of claim 1, wherein interacting is performed using one or more of audio,
text and visual communication.
13. The method of claim1, wherein interacting comprises:
establishing connection with a third party database by the one or more virtual
guides.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the hospitality services comprises a plurality of
services related to at least one of travel, tourism and a plurality of recreation
activities.
15. A system for rendering a plurality of hospitality services to a user via a virtual
platform, the system comprising:
an electronic device comprising the virtual platform, wherein the virtual
platform comprises one or more virtual guides to render the hospitality services by
interacting with the user; and
a server in communication with the electronic device via a network, the server
comprising:
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a processor to control the one or more virtual guides to render the
hospitality services to the user;
a centralized repository for storing data related to at least one of the
hospitality services and the user; and
a data conversion unit for converting at least one of speech to text and
text to speech.
16.The system of claim 15, wherein the electronic device is one of a mobile
communication device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a digital television, a
digital album and a multimedia device.