Digital character interacting with customer in physical realm

Abstract

Systems and methods for controlling performance of a digital character depicted at a display device are disclosed. According to at least one embodiment, a method for controlling performance of a digital character depicted at a display device includes: determining a presence of a person located in a physical environment; and in response to determining the presence of the person, facilitating control of the performance of the digital character depicted at the display device by a human operator, by an artificial intelligence (AI) game-engine, or by a combination thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for enabling a digital character depicted at a display device to interact with a first person located in a physical environment, the method comprising:
 providing for an interaction between the digital character and the first person by controlling a performance of the digital character depicted at the display device by a second person, by an artificial intelligence (AI) game-engine, or by a combination thereof; and   during the interaction between the digital character and the first person, causing a change in the physical environment in which the first person is located in response to an action by the digital character depicted at the display device, wherein the change in the physical environment is associated with a physical object different from the display device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a presence of the first person in the physical environment,   wherein providing for the interaction between the digital character and the first person is performed in response to determining the presence of the first person.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the determination of the presence of the first person is performed based on data received from at least a camera or a microphone located in the physical environment. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein causing the change in the physical environment comprises causing the physical object different from the display device to be moved or displaced within the physical environment. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the physical object different from the display device comprises a light source located in the physical environment; and   causing the change in the physical environment comprises controlling the light source to be turned either on or off.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a request from the first person;   wherein causing the change in the physical environment comprises servicing the request by providing the physical object different from the display device to be delivered for retrieval by the first person.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein:
 the physical object different from the display device comprises an item that is pre-made; and   the method further comprises:   prior to providing the physical object comprising the item that is pre-made, controlling the display device to display at least one animation loop or sequence depicting a preparation of the item.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein:
 the physical object different from the display device comprises an item to be prepared at the physical environment after the request is received; and   the method further comprises:   prior to providing the physical object comprising the item, controlling the display device to display at least a first animation loop or sequence depicting a preparation of the item.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 receiving information indicating that the preparation of the item at the physical environment is not yet complete,   wherein controlling the display device to display at least the first animation loop or sequence comprises controlling the display device to display at least a second animation loop or sequence in response to receiving the information.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 receiving information indicating that the preparation of the item at the physical environment is complete,   wherein controlling the display device to display at least the first animation loop or sequence comprises controlling the display device to display animation depicting the item in a completed state.   
     
     
         11 . An apparatus for enabling a digital character depicted at a display device to interact with a first person located in a physical environment, the apparatus comprising:
 a network communication unit configured to transmit and receive data; and   one or more controllers configured to:   provide for an interaction between the digital character and the first person by controlling a performance of the digital character depicted at the display device by a second person, by an artificial intelligence (AI) game-engine, or by a combination thereof; and   during the interaction between the digital character and the first person, cause a change in the physical environment in which the first person is located in response to an action by the digital character depicted at the display device, wherein the change in the physical environment is associated with a physical object different from the display device.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to:
 determine a presence of the first person in the physical environment,   wherein providing for the interaction between the digital character and the first person is performed in response to determining the presence of the first person.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the determination of the presence of the first person is performed based on data received from at least a camera or a microphone located in the physical environment. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to cause the change in the physical environment by causing the physical object different from the display device to be moved or displaced within the physical environment. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the physical object different from the display device comprises a light source located in the physical environment; and   the one or more controllers are further configured to cause the change in the physical environment by controlling the light source to be turned either on or off.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to:
 receive a request from the first person; and   cause the change in the physical environment by servicing the request by providing the physical object different from the display device to be delivered for retrieval by the first person.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the physical object different from the display device comprises an item that is pre-made; and   the one or more controllers are further configured to:   prior to providing the physical object comprising the item that is pre-made, control the display device to display at least one animation loop or sequence depicting a preparation of the item.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the physical object different from the display device comprises an item to be prepared at the physical environment after the request is received; and   wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to:   prior to providing the physical object comprising the item, control the display device to display at least a first animation loop or sequence depicting a preparation of the item.   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to:
 receive information indicating that the preparation of the item at the physical environment is not yet complete; and   control the display device to display at least the first animation loop or sequence by controlling the display device to display at least a second animation loop or sequence in response to receiving the information.   
     
     
         20 . A machine-readable non-transitory medium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions for enabling a digital character depicted at a display device to interact with a first person located in a physical environment, the instructions comprising:
 providing for an interaction between the digital character and the first person by controlling a performance of the digital character depicted at the display device by a second person, by an artificial intelligence (AI) game-engine, or by a combination thereof; and   during the interaction between the digital character and the first person, causing a change in the physical environment in which the first person is located in response to an action by the digital character depicted at the display device, wherein the change in the physical environment is associated with a physical object different from the display device.