1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to machine based techniques for receiving user text and voice inputs and transforming those inputs into visualizations that are based on the inputs in order to create multimedia messages based on the inputs which optionally analyze the inputs in order to take into account linguistic, semantic, and cultural differences in the user inputs to provide enhanced clarity of meaning when creating the visualizations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Text-based communication, such as email, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and other messaging platforms, such as voice mail, have been widely used by individuals and organizations to communicate with one another. While electronic text-based communication has incorporated images, such as avatars and/or emoticons, to supplement text messaging, there has not been an effective platform for users to supplement or replace text with multimedia content as a primary means of communication.
Platforms such as MMS messaging encode multimedia content and inserts the content into a text message in a fashion similar to sending a MIME e-mail. MMS defines a subset of MIME content formats in the MMS Message Encapsulation specification. Messages are forwarded to the carrier's MMS store and forward server, also known as the “MMS relay”. If the receiver is on another carrier, the relay forwards the message to the recipient's carrier using the Internet. Once the content reaches the correct MMS relay for the receiver, the content is extracted and sent to a temporary storage server with an HTTP front-end. An SMS “control message” containing the URL of the content is then sent to the recipient's handset to trigger the receiver's WAP browser to open and receive the content from the embedded URL.
Emoticons are commonly used in web forums, instant messengers and online games, where text emoticons (e.g., “:-)”) can be automatically replaced with small corresponding images. Recently, emoticons have expanded beyond simple cartoon facial expressions to a variety of still or moving images. Further, some instant messaging software is designed to play a sound upon receiving certain emoticons. Many platforms use GIF or PNG graphic files, because of their transparency and small file size capabilities. Files can be created using a raster graphics editor. Many emoticon artists design their emoticons pixel by pixel. Some emoticons are made in vector format, such as Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), and automatically processed using a graphics library. This allows SVG files to be automatically rendered as a GIF or PNG file, which is compatible with most browsers.
Avatars are a computer user's representation of himself/herself or alter ego, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games, a two-dimensional icon (picture) used on Internet forums and other communities, or a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. Essentially an avatar is an “object” representing the embodiment of the user, where the avatar can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user. Conventional avatar systems used on most Internet forums comprises a small (e.g., 80×80 to 100×100 pixels) square-shaped area close to the user's forum post, where the avatar is placed in order for other users to easily identify who has written the post without having to read their username. Some forums allow the user to upload an avatar image that may have been designed by the user or acquired from elsewhere. Other forums allow the user to select an avatar from a preset list or use an auto-discovery algorithm to extract one from the user's homepage.
Avatars may also be animated, consisting of a sequence of multiple images played repeatedly. Examples of Avatar systems include Gaia Online™, WeeWorld™, Frenzoo™ or Meez™, where a pixelized representation of a person or creature is used, which can then be customized to the user's wishes. There are also avatar systems (e.g. Trutoon™) where a representation is created using a person's face with customized characters and backgrounds.
In each of the above examples, the visualized communication is very limited in that the multimedia must appear near accompanying text in order to form a coherent message that is longer than one or two words. Also, conventional multimedia communication has inadequate word correlation to adapt and communicate multimedia as a primary form of communication. Furthermore, these conventional systems lack the flexibility to personalize and perform cultural modeling across a wide variety of communication platforms. Thus, there is a need for a multimedia platform for receiving user inputs and automatically associating multimedia visualizations with the user inputs in order to create multimedia messages based upon the user inputs.