U.S. patent application number 13/655662 was filed with the patent office on 2013-02-14 for facemail.
This patent application is currently assigned to KOTA ENTERPRISES, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is KOTA ENTERPRISES, LLC. Invention is credited to Scott Curtis, Hugh Svendsen.
Application Number | 20130042305 13/655662 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45818953 |
Filed Date | 2013-02-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130042305 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Svendsen; Hugh ; et
al. |
February 14, 2013 |
FACEMAIL
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed for generating, sending, and
delivering a message addressed using an image of an intended
message recipient of the message. In one embodiment, a central
server receives a message including an image of an intended message
recipient from a first user device of a first user. The central
server then identifies a second user as the intended message
recipient based on the image of the intended message recipient.
Then, before delivering the message, the central server obtains an
image of a user at a second user device associated with the second
user and sends the image to the first user device where the image
is presented to the first user. Upon receiving authentication from
the first user device that the user at the second user device is
the intended message recipient, the central server delivers the
message to the second user device of the second user.
Inventors: |
Svendsen; Hugh; (Chapel
Hill, NC) ; Curtis; Scott; (Chapel Hill, NC) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KOTA ENTERPRISES, LLC; |
Wilmington |
DE |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
KOTA ENTERPRISES, LLC
Wilmington
DE
|
Family ID: |
45818953 |
Appl. No.: |
13/655662 |
Filed: |
October 19, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12913082 |
Oct 27, 2010 |
8316096 |
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13655662 |
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12111456 |
Apr 29, 2008 |
8312087 |
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12913082 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
726/3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 51/28 20130101;
H04L 51/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
726/3 |
International
Class: |
G06F 21/00 20060101
G06F021/00; G06F 15/16 20060101 G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a message
including an image of an intended message recipient from a first
user device of a first user; identifying a second user as the
intended message recipient based on the image of the intended
message recipient; obtaining an image of a user at a second user
device associated with the second user; authenticating that the
user at the second user device is the intended message recipient
based on the image of the user at the second user device; and
delivering the message to the second user device of the second user
upon authenticating that the user at the second user device is the
intended message recipient.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2012/0072996, which was filed on Oct.
27, 2010, which is a Continuation-in-Part (CIP) of U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2009/0271484, which was filed on Apr.
29, 2008, both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference
in their entireties.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The present disclosure relates to generation and delivery of
a message addressed using an image of the intended message
recipient.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Oftentimes a person finds himself in a situation where he
would like to communicate with someone that he has encountered but
he does not have access to the necessary contact information for
that person. As such, there is a need for a system and method of
enabling a first person to contact a second person for whom the
first person does not have contact information.
SUMMARY
[0004] Systems and methods are disclosed for generating, sending,
and delivering a message addressed using an image of an intended
message recipient of the message. In one embodiment, a sending user
at a first user device obtains an image of an intended message
recipient. A message to the intended message recipient is then
generated, addressed using the image of the intended message
recipient, and sent from the first user device of the sending user
to a central server. The central server identifies a second user as
the intended message recipient based on the image of the intended
message recipient. The central server then sends an authentication
request to a second user device of the second user in order to
authenticate that a user at the second user device is in fact the
intended message recipient. In response, the second user device
obtains an image of the user at the second user device and returns
the image of the user at the second user device to the central
server. The central server then authenticates that the user at the
second user device is in fact the intended message recipient based
on the image of the user at the second user device. Once
authentication is complete, the central server sends the message to
the intended message recipient at the second user device. Upon
receipt of the message, the second user device presents the message
to the intended message recipient.
[0005] In one embodiment, the central server authenticates that the
user at the second user device is in fact the intended message
recipient by first returning the image of the user at the second
user device to the first user device of the sending user where the
image of the user at the second user device is presented to the
sending user. The first user device then receives user input from
the sending user authenticating that the user at the second user
device is in fact the intended message recipient. In response, the
first user device sends an authentication message to the central
server that indicates that the user at the second user device is in
fact the intended message recipient. Upon receiving the
authentication message from the first user device, the central
server sends the message to the intended message recipient at the
second user device.
[0006] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the
present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after
reading the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing
figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0007] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming
a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the
disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the
principles of the disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates a system for delivering a message based
on an image of an intended message recipient according to one
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 1
according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates a field of view of an image capture
device, which may be determined and utilized in an image matching
process that identifies an intended message recipient based on an
image of the intended message recipient according to one embodiment
of the present disclosure;
[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the message
sent in FIG. 2;
[0012] FIG. 5 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 1
according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0013] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the message
sent in FIG. 5;
[0014] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the questions
contained in the message of FIG. 6;
[0015] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the reward
information contained in the message of FIG. 6;
[0016] FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate exemplary reward states for a
reward revealed to an intended message recipient in response to the
intended message recipient answering questions according to one
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0017] FIGS. 10 through 14 illustrate reward states for additional
exemplary distortion algorithms;
[0018] FIGS. 15A through 15I graphically illustrate the process of
FIG. 5 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 16 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 1
according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0020] FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface
for obtaining approval from a user to use the user's image for
authentication during the process of FIG. 16 according to one
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0021] FIG. 18 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 1
according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0022] FIG. 19 illustrates a system for delivering a message based
on an image of an intended message recipient according to another
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0023] FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary question according to the
embodiment of the system illustrated in FIG. 19;
[0024] FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate the operation of the system of
FIG. 19 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0025] FIG. 22 provides a list of exemplary questions and
corresponding schemes for suggesting answers to the questions
according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0026] FIG. 23 is a block diagram of the central server of FIGS. 1
and 19 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
and
[0027] FIG. 24 is a block diagram of one of the user devices of
FIGS. 1 and 19 according to one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary
information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the
invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing the invention.
Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying
drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the
concepts of the invention and will recognize applications of these
concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood
that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the
disclosure and the accompanying claims.
[0029] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 10 for generating
messages, addressing the messages using images of intended message
recipients of the messages, and delivering the messages to the
intended message recipients based on the image according to one
embodiment of the present disclosure. In general, the system 10
includes a central server 12 and a number of user devices 14-1
through 14-N having associated users 16-1 through 16-N. The central
server 12 and the user devices 14-1 through 14-N are connected via
a network 18. The network 18 may be any type of Wide Area Network
(WAN), Local Area Network (LAN), or the like, or any combination
thereof, and may include wired components, wireless components, or
both wired and wireless components. Note that while the central
server 12 is illustrated as a single server, the central server 12
may alternatively be implemented as multiple servers having the
functionality of the central server 12 distributed thereon. As
another alternative, all or a portion of the functionality of the
central server 12 may be distributed among the user devices 14-1
through 14-N.
[0030] The central server 12 includes a facemail delivery function
20, an image matching function 22, a location tracking function 24,
and a user accounts database 26. The facemail delivery function 20
may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof.
In general, the facemail delivery function 20 operates to receive
messages addressed with images of intended message recipients,
provide the images of the intended message recipients to the image
matching function 22 for identification of the intended message
recipients, and deliver the messages to the intended message
recipients.
[0031] The image matching function 22 may be implemented in
software, hardware, or a combination thereof. In general, images of
the users 16-1 through 16-N are stored in user accounts 28 of the
users 16-1 through 16-N in the user accounts database 26, as
discussed below. The image matching function 22 operates to match
images of intended message recipients of messages received by the
facemail delivery function 20 to the images of the users 16-1
through 16-N stored in the user accounts 28 to identify the
intended message recipients of the messages. After identifying the
intended message recipients, the contact information for the
intended message recipients is provided to or otherwise obtained by
the facemail delivery function 20 in order to deliver the messages
to the intended message recipients. The contact information is
generally any type of information enabling the facemail delivery
function 20 to deliver the messages to the intended message
recipients. For example, the contact information may be email
addresses of the intended messages recipients, usernames of the
intended message recipients such as those used by instant messaging
applications, usernames or other identifiers of the intended
message recipients used by the facemail service (i.e., facemail
IDs), or the like.
[0032] The location tracking function 24 may be implemented in
software, hardware, or a combination thereof. In general, the
location tracking function 24 operates to obtain the locations of
the users 16-1 through 16-N from the user devices 14-1 through
14-N. In one embodiment, the location tracking function 24 polls
the user devices 14-1 through 14-N for their locations periodically
or as otherwise desired. In another embodiment, the user devices
14-1 through 14-N periodically provide their locations to the
location tracking function 24, provide their initial locations to
the location tracking function 24 and thereafter send updates as
their locations change, or the like. The locations of the users
16-1 through 16-N are stored in the user accounts 28 of the users
16-1 through 16-N in the user accounts database 26. In addition, as
discussed below, the user accounts 28 of the users 16-1 through
16-N may include historical records of the locations of the users
16-1 through 16-N for at least a predetermined amount of time such
as, for example, the last day, the last week, the last month, or
the like.
[0033] The user accounts database 26 generally operates to store a
user account 28 for each of the users 16-1 through 16-N registered
with the system 10. Using the user 16-1 as an example, the user
account 28 of the user 16-1 generally includes a user profile of
the user 16-1 and an image, or picture, of the user 16-1. The user
profile may include, for example, contact information for the user
16-1 such as an email address, instant messaging username,
telephone number, facemail ID, or the like. In addition, the user
profile may include demographic information such as sex, age,
height, weight, or the like. In addition to the user profile and
the image of the user 16-1, the user account 28 of the user 16-1
may include a current location of the user 16-1 and a historical
record of the location of the user 16-1. Still further, for certain
embodiments of the present disclosure, the user account 28 of the
user 16-1 may include a friends list of the user 16-1, preferences
of the user 16-1, and/or answers provided to previous questions
asked of the user 16-1. The preferences may include an indication
as to whether the user 16-1 desires to receive messages sent by
users identifying the user 16-1 as the intended message recipient
using an image of the user 16-1 or the like. The preferences may
also include preferences regarding blocking or delaying delivery of
messages to the user 16-1 and/or preferences regarding whether to
delay when the full or partial profile of the user 16-1 is to be
revealed to a sending user that sent a message to the user 16-1, as
discussed below in detail. As discussed below, in one embodiment,
the answers provided to previous questions may be used to suggest
answers to the same or similar questions received by the user 16-1
in the future.
[0034] The user devices 14-1 through 14-N are preferably mobile
devices having networking capabilities. For example, the user
devices 14-1 through 14-N may each be a mobile telephone such as an
Apple.RTM. iPhone. However, the present disclosure is not limited
to mobile devices. The user devices 14-1 through 14-N may also be,
for example, personal computers or the like. The user device 14-1
includes a facemail client 30-1, an image acquisition function
32-1, and a location determination function 34-1. Likewise, the
user devices 14-2 through 14-N include facemail clients 30-2
through 30-N, image acquisition functions 32-2 through 32-N, and
location determination functions 34-2 through 34-N,
respectively.
[0035] The facemail client 30-1 may be implemented in software,
hardware, or a combination thereof. In general, the facemail client
30-1 operates under the control of the user 16-1 to generate a
message, address the message using an image of an intended message
recipient, and send the message including the image of the intended
message recipient to the facemail delivery function 20. In
addition, the facemail client 30-1 may enable the user 16-1 to crop
an image to select an intended message recipient within an initial
image such as an image of a group of persons. Still further, in
some embodiments, the facemail client 30-1 may enable the user 16-1
to define questions to ask an intended message recipient and a
reward to be revealed to the intended message recipient as the
questions are answered by the intended message recipient.
[0036] The image acquisition function 32-1 generally enables the
user 16-1 of the user device 14-1 to obtain an image of an intended
message recipient. In one embodiment, the image acquisition
function 32-1 is an image capture device. Preferably, the image
acquisition device is or includes an image capture device (e.g., a
digital camera) capable of capturing digital images. In another
embodiment, the image acquisition function 32-1 is a software
component that enables the user 16-1 to obtain an image of the
desired message recipient from an existing collection of digital
images. The existing collection of digital images may be stored
locally by the user device 14-1 or stored at a remote source such
as, for example, a photo sharing service (e.g., Flickr), a social
networking website (e.g., Facebook), or the like. In yet another
embodiment, the image acquisition function 32-1 is implemented in
hardware and/or software and operates to obtain images of users of
nearby user devices via local wireless communication (e.g., IEEE
802.11x connection, Bluetooth connection, near-field communication,
or the like). For example, the image acquisition function 32-1 may
periodically broadcast a request for images of nearby user devices
via local wireless communication. In response, any of the user
devices 14-2 through 14-N that are within the local wireless
communication range of the user device 14-1 return images of the
corresponding users 16-2 through 16-N. Note that while the image
acquisition function 32-1 is illustrated herein as being part of
the user device 14-1, the image acquisition function 32-1 may
alternatively be an external device connected to the user device
14-1 via, for example, a wired connection such as a Universal
Serial Bus (USB) or Firewire connection, a local wireless
connection such as a Bluetooth.RTM. connection, or the like.
[0037] The location determination function 34-1 may be implemented
in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In general, the
location determination function 34-1 is any hardware device and/or
software application that is capable of determining a location of
the user device 14-1, and thus the location of the user 16-1. In
one embodiment, the location determination function 34-1 is a
Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or similar Satellite
Positioning System (SPS) receiver. In another embodiment, the
location determination function 34-1 operates to obtain a location
of the user device 14-1 from a base station of a cellular
telecommunications network. Note that these two exemplary
embodiments of the location determination function 34-1 are not
intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Also, while
the location determination function 34-1 is illustrated as being
part of the user device 14-1, the location determination function
34-1 may alternatively be an external device connected to the user
device 14-1 via, for example, a wired connection such as a USB or
Firewire connection, a local wireless connection such as a
Bluetooth.RTM. connection, or the like. Still further, the image
acquisition function 32-1 and the location determination function
34-1 may alternatively be implemented as a GPS-enabled digital
camera that is connected to the user device 14-1 via, for example,
a wired connection such as a USB or Firewire connection, a local
wireless connection such as a Bluetooth.RTM. connection, or the
like.
[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of the system 10 of FIG. 1
according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. First, the
user devices 14-1 through 14-4, or alternatively the users 16-1
through 16-4, register with the central server 12 (steps
1000-1006). During registration, the user accounts 28 of the users
16-1 through 16-4 are created. Again, the user accounts 28 of the
users 16-1 through 16-4 include the user profiles and images of the
users 16-1 through 16-4, respectively. In addition, the user
accounts 28 of the users 16-1 through 16-4 may include friends
lists and preferences of the users 16-1 through 16-4, respectively.
Using the user 16-1 as an example, the friends list of the user
16-1 may identify one of more of the other users 16-2 through 16-N
as friends of the user 16-1. The friends list of the user 16-1 may
be defined by the user 16-1 during registration, exported or
otherwise obtained from a software application maintaining a list
of contacts of the user 16-1 such as, for example, an email
application or an instant messaging application, or exported or
otherwise obtained from a contact list maintained by the user
device 14-1 where, for example, the user device 14-1 is a mobile
telephone. In addition or alternatively, the friends list of the
user 16-1 may be populated by querying a social networking service
such as, for example, MySpace or Facebook for other users that are
related to the user 16-1 within a defined number of one or more
degrees of separation.
[0039] Still further, a more complex scheme may be used to identify
the other users in the friends list of the user 16-1. More
specifically, a scheme may be used to identify other users from the
users 16-2 through 16-N that may be friends of the user 16-1, a
confidence level may be assigned to each of the identified users,
and, optionally, the user 16-1 may be given some level of control
over which of the identified users are included in the friends list
of the user 16-1. For example, the central server 12 may process
images including the user 16-1 and one or more other users and
determine that the one or more other users are friends of the user
16-1 since the user 16-1 and the other users appear in the same
image or frequently appear in the same images. These images may be
images provided to the central server 12 as part of the message
generation and delivery process discussed herein, retrieved from a
social networking service such as a social networking website,
retrieved from a photo sharing service such as a photo sharing
website, or the like. Also, the central server 12 may determine
that if, for example, the user 16-1 is closer to one user than
another user in a particular image, that the user 16-1 is more
likely to be friends with the user being closer to the user 16-1 in
the image.
[0040] As another example, the central server 12 may identify the
friends of the user 16-1 by identifying other users nearby the user
16-1 when an image of the user 16-1 is captured and used to address
a message as discussed herein. The profiles of the other users
nearby the user 16-1 at the time the image was captured may be used
in addition to other information such as information obtained from
a social networking service in order to identify the friends of the
user 16-1.
[0041] Using the user 16-1 again as an example, the preferences of
the user 16-1 may include one or more block or delay preferences
that operate to either block messages from being delivered to the
user 16-1 based on one or more block criteria or cause delivery of
the messages to be delayed until one or more defined delay criteria
are satisfied. More specifically, the user 16-1 may define one or
more block criteria such that messages addressed with the image of
the user 16-1 as the intended message recipient are blocked by the
central server 12 (i.e., not delivered to the user 16-1) if the one
or more block criteria are satisfied. For example, the one or more
block criteria may include a criterion that a message is to be
blocked if the sender of the message is on a list of blocked users
defined by the user 16-1. As another example, the one or more block
criteria may include a criterion that a message is to be blocked if
the sender of the message is not within a defined maximum social
network distance from the user 16-1 in an existing social network
(e.g., Facebook social network). As yet another example, the one or
more block criteria may include a criterion that a message is to be
blocked if a physical distance between the sender and the user 16-1
is greater than a maximum physical distance defined by the user
16-1. As another example, the one or more block criteria may
include a criterion that a message is to be blocked if a physical
distance between the sender and the user 16-1 is less than a
minimum physical distance defined by the user 16-1. As yet another
example, the one or more block criteria may include a criterion
that a message is to be blocked if an amount of time that has
elapsed since the user 16-1 and the sender of the message were last
physically proximate to one another (e.g., within a predefined
distance from one another) is greater than a maximum amount of time
defined by the user 16-1. As another example, the one or more block
criteria may include a criterion that a message is to be blocked if
an amount of time that has elapsed since the user 16-1 and the
sender of the message were last physically proximate to one another
(e.g., within a predefined distance from one another) is less than
a minimum amount of time defined by the user 16-1.
[0042] In a similar manner, the user 16-1 may define one or more
delay criteria such that delivery of messages to the user 16-1 is
delayed until the one or more delay criteria are satisfied. For
example, the one or more delay criteria may include a criterion
that message delivery is to be delayed until the physical distance
between the user 16-1 and the sender of the message is greater than
a minimum distance defined by the user 16-1. As another example,
the one or more delay criteria may include a criterion that message
delivery is to be delayed such that an amount of time that has
elapsed since the user 16-1 and the sender of the message were
physically proximate to one another is at least a minimum amount of
time defined by the user 16-1.
[0043] Next, the user devices 14-1 through 14-4 provide their
locations, or location information, to the central server 12 (steps
1008-1014). Using the user device 14-1 as an example, in one
embodiment, the facemail client 30-1 (FIG. 1) obtains a location of
the user device 14-1 from the location determination function 34-1
and sends the location of the user device 14-1 to the location
tracking function 24 of the central server 12. The location may be,
for example, GPS coordinates, a street address, or the like. As
discussed above, the user devices 14-1 through 14-4 may send their
locations to the central server 12 automatically. For example, the
user device 14-1 may send an initial location to the central server
12 during registration and thereafter provide periodic updates to
the central server 12 or provide updates to the central server 12
as the location of the user device 14-1 changes. As an alternative,
the central server 12 may poll the user devices 14-1 through 14-4
for their locations periodically or as otherwise desired. The
locations of the user devices 14-1 through 14-4 are stored in the
user accounts 28 of the corresponding users 16-1 through 16-4. As
discussed above, the current locations of the user devices 14-1
through 14-4 may be stored as the current locations of the users
16-1 through 16-4. In addition, historical records of the locations
of the users 16-1 through 16-4 may be stored in the corresponding
user accounts 28.
[0044] At this point, in this example, the user device 14-1, and
more specifically the image acquisition function 32-1, obtains an
image of an intended message recipient (step 1016). Note that, at
the time of obtaining the image, the user 16-1 may or may not have
the present intent to send a message to the intended message
recipient. However, the term "intended message recipient" is used
as a means for referring to an individual to whom the user 16-1
subsequently generates and sends a message. In an alternative
embodiment, the image of the intended message recipient may be
obtained from a secondary source. The secondary source may be, for
example, a photo sharing website or application, a website, an
email attachment of an email from a friend, or the like. In one
embodiment, when obtaining the image of the intended message
recipient from a secondary source, a location and time of capturing
the image are provided in association with the image. For example,
the location and time of capturing the image may be provided as
metadata (e.g., ID3 tags) associated with the image.
[0045] In another alternative embodiment, the image of the intended
message recipient may be obtained from the corresponding user
device. More specifically, the image acquisition function 32-1 of
the user device 14-1 may operate to obtain images of the users 16-2
through 16-N of the user devices 14-2 through 14-N when the user
devices 14-2 through 14-N are within a local wireless communication
range of the user device 14-1. In this example, assume that the
user devices 14-2, 14-3, and 14-4 are within the local wireless
communication range of the user device 14-1. Then, in one specific
embodiment, the image acquisition function 32-1 may broadcast an
image request to the user devices 14-2, 14-3, and 14-4 via local
wireless communication. The facemail clients 30-2, 30-3, and 30-4
of the user devices 14-2, 14-3, and 14-4 then obtain images of the
corresponding users 16-2, 16-3, and 16-4, respectively, and return
those images to the user device 14-1. The facemail clients 30-2,
30-3, and 30-4 may obtain the images of the users 16-2, 16-3, and
16-4 by capturing images of the users 16-2, 16-3, and 16-4 with
image capture devices (e.g., digital cameras) of the user devices
14-1, 14-2, and 14-3. Alternatively, the facemail clients 30-2,
30-3, and 30-4 may return the images of the users 16-2, 16-3, and
16-4 from the user profiles of the users 16-2, 16-3, and 16-4 or
some other existing source. In another specific embodiment, the
facemail clients 30-2, 30-3, and 30-4 periodically broadcast the
images of the corresponding users 16-2, 16-3, and 16-4 without
needing a request from the user device 14-1.
[0046] Next, a message to the intended message recipient is
generated (step 1018). More specifically, the user 16-1 may
initiate the generation of the message to the intended message
recipient and specify a payload for the message. The payload of the
message is preferably a text message. However, the present
disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the user 16-1
addresses the message using the image of the intended message
recipient. In one embodiment, image matching is performed based on
a portrait of the intended message recipient and portraits of the
users 16-1 through 16-N stored in the user accounts 28 of the users
16-1 through 16-N. As such, if the image of the intended message
recipient is, for example, a full body shot, cropping or similar
processing may be used to select a portrait of the intended message
recipient. As used herein, a portrait of a person is an image or
picture especially of the head and shoulders of the person.
Cropping or similar processing may also be desired where the image
of the intended message recipient is to be created or selected from
an image including a group of persons.
[0047] It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments discussed
herein focus on generating and sending a message to a single
intended message recipient. However, the message may be addressed
to any number of intended message recipients using only or
essentially images of the intended message recipients. For example,
if a message is to be sent to two intended message recipients,
images for those two intended message recipients are obtained and
used to address the message.
[0048] The user device 14-1, and more specifically the facemail
client 30-1, then sends the message including the image of the
intended message recipient to the central server 12 (step 1020).
Note that preferably, other than the image of the intended message
recipient, no other contact information (e.g., email address,
username, telephone number, etc.) of the intended message recipient
is known by the user 16-1. The message is addressed to the intended
message recipient using only or essentially the image of the
intended message recipient. The message is not addressed using text
or numbers as in traditional messaging systems. Also note that the
location and time at which the image of the intended message
recipient was captured may also be provided as part of the message
or, alternatively, in association with the image of the intended
message recipient such as in ID3 tags of the corresponding image
file. Similarly, a direction in which the digital capture device
used to capture the image of the intended message recipient was
pointing at the time of capture of the image of the intended
message recipient may also be provided as part of the message or,
alternatively, in association with the image of the intended
message recipient such as in ID3 tags of the corresponding image
file.
[0049] Upon receiving the message from the user device 14-1, the
central server 12 performs an image matching process to identify
the intended message recipient (step 1022). More specifically, the
facemail delivery function 20 of the central server 12 provides the
image of the intended message recipient to the image matching
function 22. Then, in one embodiment, the image matching function
22 uses known image matching techniques to match the image of the
intended message recipient to the image stored in the user account
28 of one of the users 16-2 through 16-N. In this example, the
image matching results in identifying the user 16-2 as the intended
message recipient. The image matching function 22 may compare the
location and time at which the image of the intended message
recipient was captured to the historical location information for
the user 16-2 to verify that the user 16-2 was at the location
where the image of the intended message recipient was captured at
the time the image of the intended message recipient was captured.
In addition, the image matching function 22 may utilize the
direction in which the image capture device was pointing at the
time of capturing the image of the intended message recipient to
verify that the user 16-2 was in a field of view of the digital
capture device at the time of capture of the image of the intended
message recipient. The field of view is preferably the direction
(d) in which the image capture device was pointing plus or minus a
predefined number of degrees (.alpha.), as illustrated in FIG.
3.
[0050] Returning to step 1022 of FIG. 2, in another embodiment, the
image matching function 22 may first identify a subset of the users
16-2 through 16-N that were at or near the location where the image
of the intended message recipient was captured at the time that the
image of the intended message recipient was captured. The image
matching function 22 may further narrow the subset of the users
16-2 through 16-N using the direction in which the image capture
device was pointing at the time of capturing the image of the
intended message recipient such that the subset of the users 16-2
through 16-N includes only those users that were at or near the
location of capture of the image of the intended message recipient
and within the field of view of the image capture device that
captured the image of the intended message recipient at the time of
capture of the image of the intended message recipient. Then, the
image matching function 22 uses known image matching techniques to
match the image of the intended message recipient to the image
stored in the user account 28 of one of the identified subset of
the users 16-2 through 16-N.
[0051] Optionally, once the user 16-2 is identified as the intended
message recipient, the facemail delivery function 20 of the central
server 12 may perform block/delay processing to determine whether
to block or delay the message based on the preferences of the user
16-2 (step 1024). As discussed above, in one embodiment, the
preferences of the user 16-2 include one or more block criteria.
Using the block criteria, the facemail delivery function 20
determines whether to block the message from being delivered to the
user 16-2. If so, the facemail delivery function 20 may discard the
message and optionally notify the sending user 16-1. In another
embodiment, the preferences of the user 16-2 include one or more
delay criteria. Using the delay criteria, the facemail delivery
function 20 determines whether to delay delivery to the user 16-2.
If so, the facemail delivery function 20 delays delivery of the
message by an amount of time that may be either a static system
defined value or an amount of time defined by the delay
criteria.
[0052] Next, assuming that the message is not blocked and after any
delay has expired, the facemail delivery function 20 may interact
with friends of the user 16-2 to verify that the user 16-2 is the
intended message recipient (steps 1026 and 1028). In this example,
the users 16-3 and 16-4 of the user devices 14-3 and 14-4,
respectively, are identified in the friends list of the user 16-2.
In one embodiment, verification is performed by sending, to the
friends of the user 16-2, the image of the intended message
recipient and a line-up including the image of the user 16-2 from
the user account 28 of the user 16-2 as well as images of one or
more additional users from the users 16-3 through 16-N most closely
matching the image of the intended message recipient. The friends
of the user 16-2, which in this example are the users 16-3 and
16-4, then select the image from the line-up that matches the image
of the intended message recipient. If the user 16-2 is verified as
the intended message recipient, the process continues. Otherwise,
the central system 12 may return an error message to the user 16-1
at the user device 14-1. Alternatively, if the friends of the user
16-2 select another user from the line-up as matching the image of
the intended message recipient, the central server 12 may identify
that user as the intended message recipient. Note that the central
server 12 may periodically or on occasion send out test
verification messages to the friends of the users 16-1 through 16-N
in order to ensure that the friends are providing appropriate
feedback. Preferably, the test messages would appear to the friends
as if the messages were real verification messages. Note that steps
1026 and 1028 are optional. Further, if the message is to be
delayed, steps 1026 and 1028 may alternatively be performed before
the delay has expired.
[0053] Assuming that the user 16-2 is verified as the intended
message recipient, the facemail delivery function 20 of the central
server 12 then sends the message to the user device 14-2 of the
user 16-2 (step 1030). More specifically, once the user 16-2 is
identified as the intended message recipient, the central server 12
may obtain contact information for the user 16-2 from the user
account 28 of the user 16-2. The contact information may be, for
example, an email address of the user 16-2, an instant messaging
username of the user 16-2, a telephone number to be used for text
messaging, contact information such as a username used specifically
for delivering messages in the system 10 (i.e., a facemail ID), or
the like. Using the contact information of the user 16-2, the
facemail delivery function 20 then sends the message to the user
16-2 at the user device 14-2. Note that the central server 12 may
alternatively deliver the message to the user 16-2 at the user
device 14-2 using a web interface. For example, the user 16-2 may
log into the web interface in a manner similar to current web-based
email interfaces such as Yahoo!.RTM. Mail. Once the user 16-2 is
logged in, the message may be presented to the user 16-2 at the
user device 14-2 via the web interface.
[0054] Once the message is received at the user device 14-2, the
facemail client 30-2 presents the message to the user 16-2 at the
user device 14-2 (step 1032). The message may be presented
automatically or upon request by the user 16-2. The user profile,
including the contact information, of the user 16-1 may or may not
be available to the user 16-2 at this time. At this point, the
facemail client 30-2 may receive user input from the user 16-2
defining whether the full profile of the user 16-2 or a partial
profile of the user 16-2, if any, is to be sent to the user 16-1
(step 1034). In one embodiment, the partial user profile is a
select subset of the user profile of the user 16-2 in the user
account 28 of the user 16-2 and may be system-defined, defined by
the user 16-2, or selected by the user 16-2 in response to
receiving the message. If the user 16-2 chooses to reveal his or
her full or partial user profile to the user 16-1, the facemail
client 30-2 sends the full or partial profile to the central server
12 for delivery to the user 16-1 at the user device 14-1 or
instructs the central server 12 to provide the full or partial user
profile of the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 at the user device 14-1
(step 1036).
[0055] At this point, in one embodiment, the preferences of the
user 16-1 in the user profile of the user 16-1 may include one or
more response delay criteria, and the facemail delivery function 20
delays delivery of the full or partial profile of the user 16-2 to
the user 16-1 in accordance with the one or more response delay
criteria (step 1038). The one or more response delay criteria
define an amount of time to delay delivery of the full or partial
profile of the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 once the user 16-2 has
approved sharing of his or her full or partial profile with the
user 16-1. For example, the one or more response delay criteria may
include a criterion that the full or partial profile of the user
16-2 is not to be returned to the user 16-1 until the physical
distance between the users 16-1 and 16-2 is greater than a minimum
distance defined by the user 16-1. As another example, the one or
more response delay criteria may include a criterion that the full
or partial profile of the user 16-2 is not to be returned to the
user 16-1 until at least a minimum amount of time defined by the
user 16-1 has expired since the users 16-1 and 16-2 where
physically proximate to one another.
[0056] Lastly, the full or partial user profile of the user 16-2 is
then sent to the user device 14-1 of the user 16-1, and presented
to the user 16-1 (step 1040). While not shown, at this point, the
user 16-1 may choose to reveal his or her full or partial user
profile to the user 16-2 if this information was not previously
provided to the user 16-2 in the message or in association with the
message.
[0057] Note that the user 16-2 may choose to respond to the message
in addition to or as an alternative to revealing his or her full or
partial profile to the user 16-1. If the message delivered in step
1030 includes the contact information of the user 16-1 or if the
contact information is provided in association with the message
delivered in step 1030, any message sent from the user 16-2 to the
user 16-1 in response to the message delivered in step 1030 may be
provided directly from the user device 14-2 to the user device 14-1
of the user 16-1 using the appropriate communication system. For
example, if the contact information provided for the user 16-1 is
the email address of the user 16-1, the response message may be
provided by the appropriate email system. However, if the contact
information of the user 16-1 is not included in the message or is
not provided in association with the message, any message sent from
the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 in response to the message delivered
in step 1030 may first be provided to the central server 12. The
central server 12 may then deliver the response message to the user
device 14-1 of the user 16-1.
[0058] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary message 36 generated by the
facemail client 30-1 and sent to the central server 12 for delivery
to the intended message recipient according to one embodiment of
the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the message 36 includes
a payload 38. As discussed above, the payload 38 is preferably a
text message provided by the user 16-1. However, the payload 38 is
not limited thereto. For example, the payload 38 may additionally
or alternatively include a video message created by the user 16-1,
a video clip selected by the user 16-1, a picture of the user 16-1,
a picture selected by the user 16-1, or the like. The message 36
also includes a recipient image 40, which is an image of the
intended message recipient, and a location 42 at which the
recipient image 40 was captured. Note that, preferably, a time at
which the image was captured is stored as metadata in association
with the recipient image 40. For example, the time at which the
recipient image 40 was captured may be stored as a tag within the
corresponding image file. Lastly, the message 36 may include a
direction 44 in which the image capture device was pointing at the
time of capture of the recipient image 40. The direction 44 in
which the image capture device was pointing may be obtained from an
associated digital compass or similar device, which may be
incorporated into the user device 14-1.
[0059] FIG. 5 illustrates the operation of the system 10 of FIG. 1
according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. This
embodiment is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 2.
However, a question and reward scheme is used to reveal a reward to
the intended message recipient in response to the intended message
recipient answering a number of questions. First, the user devices
14-1 through 14-4, or alternatively the users 16-1 through 16-4,
register with the central server 12 (steps 2000-2006). As discussed
above, during registration, the user accounts 28 of the users 16-1
through 16-4 are created. Next, the user devices 14-1 through 14-4
provide their locations, or location information, to the central
server 12 (steps 2008-2014). Again, the user devices 14-1 through
14-4 may send their locations to the central server 12
automatically. As an alternative, the central server 12 may poll
the user devices 14-1 through 14-4 for their locations periodically
or as otherwise desired. The locations of the user devices 14-1
through 14-4 are stored in the user accounts 28 of the
corresponding users 16-1 through 16-4. The current locations of the
user devices 14-1 through 14-4 may be stored as the current
locations of the users 16-1 through 16-4. In addition, historical
records of the locations of the users 16-1 through 16-4 may be
stored in the corresponding user accounts 28. At this point, in
this example, the user device 14-1, and more specifically the image
acquisition function 32-1, obtains an image of an intended message
recipient (step 2016). As discussed above, in an alternative
embodiment, the image of the intended message recipient may be
obtained from an alternative source such as, for example, a photo
sharing website or application, a website, an email attachment of
an email from a friend, the corresponding user device of the
intended message recipient, or the like.
[0060] Next, a message to the intended message recipient is
generated (step 2018). More specifically, the user 16-1 may
initiate the generation of the message to the intended message
recipient and specify a payload for the message. The payload of the
message is preferably a text message. However, the present
disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the user 16-1
addresses the message using the image of the intended message
recipient. As discussed above, in one embodiment, cropping or
similar processing may be utilized to provide the image of the
intended message recipient as a portrait of the intended message
recipient.
[0061] In addition, in this embodiment, the user 16-1 defines a
number of questions to ask the intended message recipient as well
as a reward to be revealed to the intended message recipient upon
answering the questions. More specifically, the user 16-1 may
create the questions, select the questions from a predefined group
of questions created by the user 16-1, select the questions from a
group of system-defined questions, or the like. In one embodiment,
each question includes the question body or text, a point value
assigned to the question by the user 16-1, and possible answers to
the question if the question is a multiple choice question. As
discussed below, the point values assigned to the questions may be
used to control revealing of the reward. The reward may be, for
example, a picture of the user 16-1 sending the message, a full or
partial profile of the user 16-1 sending the message, contact
information for the user 16-1 sending the message, or the like.
[0062] The user device 14-1, and more specifically the facemail
client 30-1, then sends the message including the image of the
intended message recipient, the questions, and the reward
information to the central server 12 (step 2020). Note that
preferably, other than the image of the intended message recipient,
no other contact information (e.g., email address, username,
telephone number, etc.) of the intended message recipient is known
by the user 16-1. The message is addressed to the intended message
recipient using only or essentially the image of the intended
message recipient. Also note that the location and time at which
the image of the intended message recipient was captured may also
be provided as part of the message or, alternatively, in
association with the image of the intended message recipient such
as in ID3 tags of the corresponding image file. Similarly, a
direction in which the digital capture device used to capture the
image of the intended message recipient was pointing at the time of
capture of the image of the intended message recipient may also be
provided as part of the message or, alternatively, in association
with the image of the intended message recipient such as in ID3
tags of the corresponding image file.
[0063] As discussed above, upon receiving the message from the user
device 14-1, the central server 12 performs an image matching
process to identify the intended message recipient (step 2022). In
this example, the user 16-2 again is identified as the intended
message recipient. Optionally, once the user 16-2 is identified as
the intended message recipient, the facemail delivery function 20
of the central server 12 may perform block/delay processing to
determine whether to block or delay the message based on the
preferences of the user 16-2 (step 2024). Next, assuming that the
message is not blocked and after any delay has expired, the
facemail delivery function 20 of the central server 12 may interact
with friends of the user 16-2 to verify that the user 16-2 is the
intended message recipient (steps 2026 and 2028). In this example,
the users 16-3 and 16-4 of the user devices 14-3 and 14-4,
respectively, are identified in the friends list of the user 16-2.
Assuming that the user 16-2 is verified as the intended message
recipient, the facemail delivery function 20 of the central server
12 then sends the message to the user device 14-2 of the user 16-2
(step 2030).
[0064] Once the message is received at the user device 14-2, the
facemail client 30-2 presents the message to the user 16-2 at the
user device 14-2 (step 2032). The message may be presented
automatically or upon request by the user 16-2. Either before,
during, or after the message is presented to the user 16-2, the
facemail client 30-2 presents the questions provided by the user
16-1 to the user 16-2. Thereafter, the facemail client 30-2
receives user input from the user 16-2 defining answers to the
questions (step 2034). As the answers are received, the facemail
client 30-2 reveals the reward (step 2036). More specifically, in
one embodiment, when the user 16-2 answers a question, the facemail
client 30-2 reveals the reward according to the point value
assigned to the question or alternatively the point value assigned
to the particular answer to the question given by the user 16-2.
For example, as discussed below, the reward may be an image of the
user 16-1 such as the image of the user 16-1 stored in the user
account 28 of the user 16-1. At first, the image of the user 16-1
is completely distorted. After the user 16-2 answers a first
question, the image of the user 16-1 becomes less distorted. As the
user 16-2 continues to answer the questions, the image of the user
16-1 continues to become less distorted until finally the image of
the first user 16-1 is no longer distorted. Note that, in one
embodiment, the questions are assigned point values such that,
regardless of the answers given by the user, the image of the user
16-1 will no longer be distorted after all of the questions are
answered by the user 16-1. In another embodiment, particular
answers to the questions are assigned different point values such
that the image of the user 16-1 may remain completely or partially
distorted depending on the particular answers given by the user
16-2. In this example, a summary of the answers given by the user
16-2 is returned to the central server 12 (step 2038). The central
server 12 then forwards the summary of the answers to the user
device 14-1 of the user 16-1 (step 2040).
[0065] In addition to the user input from the user 16-2 answering
the questions, the facemail client 30-2 may receive user input from
the user 16-2 defining whether the full profile of the user 16-2 or
a partial profile of the user 16-2, if any, is to be sent to the
user 16-1 (step 2042). If the user 16-2 chooses to reveal his or
her full or partial user profile to the user 16-1, the facemail
client 30-2 sends the full or partial profile to the central server
12 for delivery to the user 16-1 at the user device 14-1 or
instructs the central server 12 to provide the full or partial user
profile of the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 at the user device 14-1
(step 2044).
[0066] At this point, in one embodiment, the preferences of the
user 16-1 in the user profile of the user 16-1 may include one or
more response delay criteria, and the facemail delivery function 20
delays delivery of the full or partial profile of the user 16-2 to
the user 16-1 in accordance with the one or more response delay
criteria (step 2046). The full or partial user profile of the user
16-2 is then sent to the user device 14-1 of the user 16-1, and
presented to the user 16-1 (step 2048). Note that, in an
alternative embodiment, the user 16-2 may choose to reveal his or
her full or partial profile to the user 16-1 as a reward in
response to answering one or more questions. While not shown, at
this point, the user 16-1 may choose to reveal his or her full or
partial user profile to the user 16-2 if this information was not
previously provided to the user 16-2 in the message, in association
with the message, or as the reward.
[0067] Note that the user 16-2 may choose to respond to the message
in addition to or as an alternative to revealing his or her full or
partial profile to the user 16-1. If the message delivered in step
2030 includes the contact information of the user 16-1 or if the
contact information is provided in association with the message
delivered in step 2030, any message sent from the user 16-2 to the
user 16-1 in response to the message delivered in step 2030 may be
provided directly from the user device 14-2 to the user device 14-1
of the user 16-1 using the appropriate communication system. For
example, if the contact information provided for the user 16-1 is
the email address of the user 16-1, the response message may be
provided by the appropriate email system. However, if the contact
information of the user 16-1 is not included in the message or is
not provided in association with the message, any message sent from
the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 in response to the message delivered
in step 2030 may first be provided to the central server 12. The
central server 12 may then deliver the response message to the user
device 14-1 of the user 16-1.
[0068] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary message 46 generated by the
facemail client 30-1 and sent to the central server 12 for delivery
to the intended message recipient according to the embodiment of
the present disclosure discussed above with respect to FIG. 5. In
this embodiment, the message 46 includes a payload 48. The payload
48 is preferably a text message provided by the user 16-1. However,
the payload 48 is not limited thereto. For example, the payload 48
may additionally or alternatively include a video message created
by the user 16-1, a video clip selected by the user 16-1, a picture
of the user 16-1, a picture selected by the user 16-1, or the like.
The message 46 also includes a recipient image 50, which is an
image of the intended message recipient, and a location 52 at which
the recipient image 50 was captured. Note that, preferably, a time
at which the image was captured is stored as metadata in
association with the recipient image 50. For example, the time at
which the recipient image 50 was captured may be stored as a tag
within the corresponding image file. The message 46 may also
include a direction 54 in which the image capture device was
pointing at the time of capture of the recipient image 50. The
direction 54 in which the image capture device was pointing may be
obtained from an associated digital compass or similar device,
which may be incorporated into the user device 14-1. In addition,
the message 46 of this embodiment includes questions 56 and reward
information 58.
[0069] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the questions
56 of FIG. 6. In general, the questions 56 include a number of
questions 60-1 through 60-M1. Note that there may be any number of
one or more questions. The question 60-1 includes a question body
62, a point value 64, and optionally a list of possible answers 66.
The question body 62 includes the text forming the question. For
example, the question body 62 may provide the text "Who is your
favorite music artist or band?" The point value 64 is a point value
assigned to the question 60-1. The point value 64 is preferably
assigned to the question 60-1 by the user asking the question,
which, in the example above, is the user 16-1. Alternatively, the
point value 64 may be system-defined. The question 60-1 may also
include a list of possible answers 66. For example, if the question
60-1 is a multiple choice question, the list of possible answers 66
includes answers for the multiple choice question. Note that, if
there is a list of possible answers 66, the user asking the
question may assign different point values to each of the possible
answers. In this manner, the reward may be revealed differently
depending on the answers given by the intended message recipient.
Alternatively, one or more desired answers to the question 60-1 may
be defined. Different point values may be assigned to the desired
answers as compared to any other answer such that the reward is
revealed differently depending on whether the intended message
recipient gives a desired answer as opposed to any other answer.
Similarly, while not illustrated, the questions 60-2 through 60-M1
each include a question body, a point value, and possible
answers.
[0070] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the reward
information 58 of FIG. 6. The reward information 58 includes a
number of reward states 68-1 through 68-M2, reward data 70, and an
algorithm 72 for revealing the reward data 70 according to the
reward states 68-1 through 68-M2. The reward states 68-1 through
68-M2 each include reveal settings 74 and a reveal value 76. The
reveal settings 74 and the reveal value 76 are inputs to the
algorithm 72 to control the revealing of the reward data 70. The
selection of the reward state 68-1 through 68-M2 is preferably
controlled based on the point value 64 or an accumulated point
value for the questions 60-1 through 60-M1 answered by the intended
message recipient.
[0071] In one embodiment, the number of reward states M2 is equal
to a total number of points that may be accumulated by answering
the questions 60-1 through 60-M1. In one embodiment, the total
number of points that may be accumulated is the sum of the point
values 64 of the questions 60-1 through 60-M1. The reveal values 76
of the reward states 68-1 through 68-M2 correspond to potential
accumulated point values. For example, if the total number of
points that may be accumulated by answering the questions 60-1
through 60-M1 is ten (10), then there may be eleven (11) reward
states 68-1 through 68-11 with reveal values 76 of zero (0) through
(10), respectively. The reveal settings 74 of the reward states
68-1 through 68-11 are inputs to the algorithm 72 and control the
revealing of the reward data 70. Thus, if the reward data 70 is an
image of the sender of the message, the algorithm 72 may be an
algorithm for distorting the image. The reveal settings 74 for each
reward state 68-1 through 68-11 control the amount of distortion,
with the reward state 68-1 causing a maximum distortion, the reward
state 68-11 causing a minimum or no distortion, and the reward
states 68-2 through 68-10 causing intermediate levels of
distortion. Thus, before any questions are answered by the intended
message recipient, the reward is in the reward state 68-1 such that
the image, or reward data 70, is presented with a maximum amount of
distortion. After the intended message recipient answers the first
question 60-1, the point value 64 for the first question 60-1 is
used to select one of the reward states 68-1 through 68-11 having a
reveal value 76 corresponding to the point value 64 of the first
question 60-1. After the intended message recipient answers the
second question 60-2, the sum of the point values 64 of the first
and second questions 60-1 and 60-2 is used to select one of the
reward states 68-1 through 68-11 having a reveal value 76
corresponding to the sum of the point values 64 of the first and
second questions 60-1 and 60-2. The process continues to reveal the
reward data 70 as the intended message recipient answers the
questions 60-1 through 60-10.
[0072] FIG. 9A illustrates the reveal settings 74 in an embodiment
where there are three reward states 68-1 through 68-3, the reward
data 70 is an image, and the algorithm 72 is an algorithm for
scrambling or distorting the image. As shown, the image is divided
into a number of blocks numbered one (1) through sixteen (16). The
reveal settings 74 provide the arrangement of the blocks of the
image. The corresponding versions of the image, or reward data 70,
provided by the algorithm 72 for each of the reward states 68-1
through 68-3 are illustrated in FIG. 9B. As shown, in the reward
state 68-1, the image is severely distorted. In the reward state
68-2, the image is less distorted. Lastly, in the reward state
68-3, the image is non-distorted or has no distortion. FIGS. 10
through 14 illustrate exemplary alternative algorithms for
distorting the image of FIG. 9B. Note that the examples given above
with respect to FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 10 through 14 are exemplary and
are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
[0073] FIGS. 15A through 15I graphically illustrate the process of
FIG. 5 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. For
this example, again assume that the user 16-1 is the user sending
the message, the user 16-2 is identified as the intended message
recipient, and that users 16-3 and 16-4 are friends of the user
16-2. FIG. 15A illustrates an initial state after the user 16-1 has
obtained an image 78. In this example, the image 78 is an image of
a group of users. In order to create an image of the intended
message recipient, the user 16-1 selects an "isolate face" button
80 in order to initiate a cropping process. As shown in FIG. 15B,
in response to user input from the user 16-1 selecting the "isolate
face" button 80, the user 16-1 is enabled to control a selection
tool 82 in order to select the intended message recipient from the
image 78. After positioning the selection tool 82, the user 16-1
selects a "finish" button 84. In response, the image of the
intended message recipient is created.
[0074] Next, as shown in FIG. 15C, the image of the intended
message recipient is then presented to the user 16-1. The user 16-1
may then select a "create message" button 86 in order to initiate
the process of creating a message to be sent to the intended
message recipient. As shown in FIG. 15D, in this example, the user
16-1 then creates a text message to be provided as the payload of
the message to be sent to the intended message recipient. A "clear"
button 88 enables the user 16-1 to clear the message. Once the text
message is complete, the user 16-1 may select a "next" button 90 to
proceed to the next step. As shown in FIG. 15E, in this example,
the next step is for the user 16-1 to select a manner in which the
reward data, which in this example is an image of the user 16-1, is
to be revealed to the intended message recipient. The manner in
which the reward data is to be revealed corresponds to the
algorithm to be used to reveal the reward data. In this example,
the user 16-1 may choose to blur his or her image, apply a cartoon
effect to his or her image, apply a glass effect to his or her
image, apply a twirl effect to his or her image, or the like. In
addition, in this example, the user 16-1 may select a "select style
of reward data" button 92 in order to change the style, or type, of
reward data. For example, the user 16-1 may choose to switch the
reward data from being an image of the user 16-1 to being a full or
partial profile of the user 16-1. The user 16-1 may then select a
"send message" button 94 to send the message. Note that, while not
shown, the user 16-1 may also be enabled to create or select
questions to be asked in order to reveal the image of the user 16-1
to the intended message recipient, as discussed above.
[0075] After the message is sent, the central server 12 performs an
image matching process to identify the intended message recipient,
as discussed above. In this example, the intended message recipient
is identified as the user 16-2, where the user 16-2 has a username
"Naomi123." As shown in FIG. 15F, the central server 12 then sends
the image of the intended message recipient as well as a line-up 96
of the images from the user accounts 28 of the user 16-2 and other
users from the users 16-3 through 16-N that most closely match the
image of the intended message recipient to the friends of the user
16-2. In order to verify the intended message recipient, each
friend selects an image from the line-up 96 matching the image of
the intended message recipient and selects a "verify" button 98. If
the image selected by the friend is the image of the user 16-2,
then the user 16-2 is verified as the intended message
recipient.
[0076] The friend may also be enabled to respond to the user 16-1
sending the message, which in this example has the username
"Hal101," by selecting a "respond to Hal101" button 100. The friend
may also be enabled to send a warning message to the intended
message recipient, which is the user 16-2, by selecting a "send
warning to Naomi123" button 102.
[0077] As illustrated in FIG. 15G, once verification is complete,
the central server 12 sends the message including the questions to
be asked in order to reveal the reward data to the user device 14-2
of the intended message recipient, which is the user 16-2. The user
16-2 may choose to answer the questions by selecting an "answer
questions" button 104 or decline to answers the questions by
selecting a "decline" button 106. Assuming that the user 16-2 has
chosen to answer the questions, the image of the user 16-1 is
revealed as the user 16-2 answers the questions, as illustrated in
FIG. 15H. Also, the user 16-2 may choose to reveal her full profile
to the user 16-1 by selecting a "reveal full profile" button 108 or
reveal her partial profile to the user 16-1 by selecting a "reveal
partial profile" button 110. In this example, the user 16-2 has
chosen to share her partial profile with the user 16-1, where the
partial profile includes the image of the user 16-2 from the user
account 28 of the user 16-2, as illustrated in FIG. 15I. While not
illustrated, in one embodiment, upon choosing to share her partial
profile with the user 16-1, the user 16-2 may be presented with the
option to reveal her partial profile to the user 16-1 now or to
wait until one or more response delay criteria are satisfied. The
response delay criteria may be included in the user profile of the
user 16-2 stored at the central server 12 or may be configured by
the user 16-2 at this point through the illustrated Graphical User
Interface (GUI). Alternatively, any such delay may be automatically
performed by the central server 12 if the user 16-2 has defined one
or more response delay criteria in her user profile.
[0078] Returning to FIG. 15I, at this point, the user 16-1 may then
choose to respond to the user 16-2 by selecting a "respond to
Naomi123" button 112. Preferably, at this point, the users 16-1 and
16-2 have exchanged contact information and may communicate via
traditional communication means such as email, instant messaging,
text messaging, a telephone call, or the like. Alternatively, the
central server 12 may continue to enable communication between the
users 16-1 and 16-2 where messages are addressed using, for
example, the usernames of the users 16-1 and 16-2.
[0079] FIG. 16 illustrates the operation of the system 10 according
to another embodiment of the present disclosure. In this
embodiment, an image of the user at the recipient user device is
returned to the sending user device before the message is delivered
such that the sending user is enabled to authenticate that the user
at the recipient user device is in fact the intended message
recipient before the message is delivered. At the point that this
process begins, the users 16-1 through 16-N, or the user devices
14-1 through 14-N, have registered with the central server 12 and
have reported their current locations to the central server 12 in a
manner similar to that described above with respect to steps
1000-1014 of FIG. 2.
[0080] First, the user device 14-1, and more specifically the image
acquisition function 32-1, obtains an image of an intended message
recipient (step 3000). As discussed above, in one embodiment, the
image acquisition function 32-1 is or includes an image capture
device, and the image of the intended message recipient is obtained
by capturing an image of the intended message recipient via the
image capture device. As discussed above, in an alternative
embodiment, the image of the intended message recipient may be
obtained from an alternative source such as, for example, a photo
sharing website or application, a website, an email attachment of
an email from a friend, the corresponding user device of the
intended message recipient, or the like.
[0081] Next, a message to the intended message recipient is
generated (step 3002). More specifically, the user 16-1 may
initiate the generation of the message to the intended message
recipient and specify a payload for the message. The payload of the
message is preferably a text message. However, the present
disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the user 16-1
addresses the message using the image of the intended message
recipient. The user device 14-1, and more specifically the facemail
client 30-1, then sends the message including the image of the
intended message recipient to the central server 12 (step 3004).
Note that preferably, other than the image of the intended message
recipient, no other contact information (e.g., email address,
username, telephone number, etc.) of the intended message recipient
is known by the user 16-1. The message is addressed to the intended
message recipient using only or essentially the image of the
intended message recipient. The message is not addressed using text
or numbers as in traditional messaging systems. Also note that the
location and time at which the image of the intended message
recipient was captured may also be provided as part of the message
or, alternatively, in association with the image of the intended
message recipient such as in ID3 tags of the corresponding image
file. Similarly, a direction in which the digital capture device
used to capture the image of the intended message recipient was
pointing at the time of capture of the image of the intended
message recipient may also be provided as part of the message or,
alternatively, in association with the image of the intended
message recipient such as in ID3 tags of the corresponding image
file.
[0082] Upon receiving the message from the user device 14-1, the
central server 12 performs an image matching process to identify
the intended message recipient, as described above with respect to,
for example, step 1022 of FIG. 2 (step 3006). In this example, the
user 16-2 is identified as the intended message recipient.
Optionally, once the user 16-2 is identified as the intended
message recipient, the facemail delivery function 20 of the central
server 12 may perform block/delay processing to determine whether
to block or delay the message based on the preferences of the user
16-2, as described above with respect to, for example, step 2024 of
FIG. 2 (step 3008).
[0083] Next, assuming that the message is not blocked and after any
delay has expired, the facemail delivery function 20 sends an
authentication request to the user device 14-2 of the user 16-2
(step 3010). Notably, the authentication request is performed prior
to delivery of the message to the user 16-2. In response to the
authentication request, the facemail client 30-2 of the user device
14-2 obtains an image of the user 16-2 of the user device 14-2 from
the image acquisition function 32-2 of the user device 14-2 (step
3012). In one embodiment, the user device 14-2 is a mobile device
(e.g., a mobile telephone), and the image acquisition function 32-2
includes a back-facing digital camera. In this case, the
back-facing digital camera captures an image of the user 16-2 of
the user device 14-2 preferably without the knowledge of the user
16-2. This would prevent a nefarious user from pointing the
back-facing camera at the real intended message recipient in order
to gain access to the actual intended message recipient's message.
In order to capture the image of the user 16-2 without the
knowledge of the user 16-2, the user device 14-2 may wait until the
user 16-2 is within the field of view of the back-facing digital
camera before attempting to capture the image of the user 16-2. The
user device 14-2 may detect when the user 16-2 is within the field
of view of the back-facing digital camera by, for example,
detecting when the user 16-2 is viewing the display of the mobile
device (e.g., detecting when the user 16-2 is interacting with a
GUI presented on the display of the mobile device), analyzing the
output of the digital camera, or the like. In another embodiment,
the image acquisition function 32-2 may obtain the image of the
user 16-2 of the user device 14-2 from the user profile of the user
16-2, a copy of which may be stored locally at the user device
14-2.
[0084] Optionally, the facemail client 30-2 then confirms that the
user 16-2 desires to authenticate himself to the user 16-1 (step
3014). Assuming that the user 16-2 approves authentication (or that
no approval for authentication is requested), the facemail client
30-2 of the user device 14-2 sends the image of the user 16-2 of
the user device 14-2 to the central server 12 (step 3016). In this
embodiment, in order to perform authentication, the facemail
delivery function 20 of the central server 12 then sends the image
of the user 16-2 of the user device 14-2 to the user device 14-1
(step 3018). The facemail client 30-1 of the user device 14-1 then
authenticates that the user 16-2 of the user device 14-2 is the
intended message recipient (step 3020). More specifically, the
facemail client 30-1 presents the image of the user 16-2 and
requests confirmation from the user 16-1 that the user 16-2 is in
fact the intended message recipient. Once the user 16-1 confirms
that the user 16-2 is in fact the intended message recipient, the
facemail client 30-1 sends authentication to the facemail delivery
function 20 of the central server 12 (step 3022).
[0085] Note that steps 3018 through 3022 are exemplary. Other
techniques may be used to authenticate that the user 16-2 of the
user device 14-2 is in fact the intended message recipient based on
the image of the user 16-2. For example, in an alternative
embodiment, the facemail delivery function 20 may perform
authentication by comparing, or causing the image matching function
22 to compare, the image received from the user device 14-2 in step
3016 to either the image of the second user 16-2 stored in the user
account 28 of the user 16-2 or the image of the intended message
recipient. If there is a match, then the user 16-2 of the user
device 14-2 is authenticated as the intended message recipient.
[0086] Once the user 16-2 is authenticated as the intended message
recipient, the facemail delivery function 20 of the central server
12 sends the message to the user device 14-2 (step 3024). Once the
message is received at the user device 14-2, the facemail client
30-2 presents the message to the user 16-2 at the user device 14-2
(step 3026). The message may be presented automatically or upon
request by the user 16-2. The user profile, including the contact
information, of the user 16-1 may or may not be available to the
user 16-2 at this time. At this point, the facemail client 30-2 may
receive user input from the user 16-2 defining whether the full
profile of the user 16-2 or a partial profile of the user 16-2, if
any, is to be sent to the user 16-1 (step 3028). In one embodiment,
the partial user profile is a select subset of the user profile of
the user 16-2 in the user account 28 of the user 16-2 and may be
system-defined, defined by the user 16-2, or selected by the user
16-2 in response to receiving the message. If the user 16-2 chooses
to reveal his or her full or partial user profile to the user 16-1,
the facemail client 30-2 sends the full or partial profile to the
central server 12 for delivery to the user 16-1 at the user device
14-1 or instructs the central server 12 to provide the full or
partial user profile of the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 at the user
device 14-1 (step 3030).
[0087] At this point, in one embodiment, the preferences of the
user 16-1 in the user profile of the user 16-1 may include one or
more response delay criteria, and the facemail delivery function 20
delays delivery of the full or partial profile of the user 16-2 to
the user 16-1 in accordance with the one or more response delay
criteria (step 3032). The one or more response delay criteria
define an amount of time to delay delivery of the full or partial
profile of the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 once the user 16-2 has
approved sharing of his or her full or partial profile with the
user 16-1. For example, the one or more response delay criteria may
include a criterion that the full or partial profile of the user
16-2 is not to be returned to the user 16-1 until the physical
distance between the users 16-1 and 16-2 is greater than a minimum
distance defined by the user 16-1. As another example, the one or
more response delay criteria may include a criterion that the full
or partial profile of the user 16-2 is not to be returned to the
user 16-1 until at least a minimum amount of time defined by the
user 16-1 has expired since the users 16-1 and 16-2 where
physically proximate to one another.
[0088] Lastly, the full or partial user profile of the user 16-2 is
then sent to the user device 14-1 of the user 16-1, and presented
to the user 16-1 (step 3034). While not shown, at this point, the
user 16-1 may choose to reveal his or her full or partial user
profile to the user 16-2 if this information was not previously
provided to the user 16-2 in the message or in association with the
message.
[0089] Note that the user 16-2 may choose to respond to the message
in addition to or as an alternative to revealing his or her full or
partial profile to the user 16-1. If the message delivered in step
3024 includes the contact information of the user 16-1 or if the
contact information is provided in association with the message
delivered in step 3024, any message sent from the user 16-2 to the
user 16-1 in response to the message delivered in step 3024 may be
provided directly from the user device 14-2 to the user device 14-1
of the user 16-1 using the appropriate communication system. For
example, if the contact information provided for the user 16-1 is
the email address of the user 16-1, the response message may be
provided by the appropriate email system. However, if the contact
information of the user 16-1 is not included in the message or is
not provided in association with the message, any message sent from
the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 in response to the message delivered
in step 3024 may first be provided to the central server 12. The
central server 12 may then deliver the response message to the user
device 14-1 of the user 16-1.
[0090] It should also be noted that while the message discussed
above with respect to FIG. 16 is a message similar to that
described above with respect to FIGS. 2 and 4, the message may
alternatively include questions, answers, and reward data as
described above with respect to FIGS. 5 through 14. In this case,
after the message is received by the facemail client 30-2 of the
user device 14-2 in step 3024 of FIG. 16, the process would
alternatively proceed in the same manner described above with
respect to steps 2032-2048 of FIG. 5.
[0091] FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary GUI that may be used by the
user device 14-2 to obtain confirmation from the user 16-2 in step
3014 of FIG. 16. As illustrated, the GUI includes a text portion
114 that notifies the user 16-2 of the message and asking for
permission to share the image of the user 16-2 with the user 16-1
to authenticate that the user 16-2 is in fact the intended message
recipient. The GUI also includes buttons 116 and 118 that enable
the user 16-2 to choose to share his or her image with the user
16-1 or to reject the message from the user 16-1, respectively.
[0092] FIG. 18 illustrates the operation of the system 10 according
to another embodiment of the present disclosure. This embodiment is
similar to that of FIG. 5 but wherein a question and answer session
is suspended and thereafter resumed. At the point that this process
begins, the users 16-1 through 16-N, or the user devices 14-1
through 14-N, have registered with the central server 12 and have
reported their current locations to the central server 12 in a
manner similar to that described above with respect to steps
2000-2014 of FIG. 5.
[0093] First, the user device 14-1, and more specifically the image
acquisition function 32-1, obtains an image of an intended message
recipient (step 4000). As discussed above, in one embodiment, the
image acquisition function 32-1 is or includes an image capture
device, and the image of the intended message recipient is obtained
by capturing an image of the intended message recipient via the
image capture device. As discussed above, in an alternative
embodiment, the image of the intended message recipient may be
obtained from an alternative source such as, for example, a photo
sharing website or application, a website, an email attachment of
an email from a friend, the corresponding user device of the
intended message recipient, or the like.
[0094] Next, a message to the intended message recipient is
generated (step 4002). More specifically, the user 16-1 may
initiate the generation of the message to the intended message
recipient and specify a payload for the message. The payload of the
message is preferably a text message. However, the present
disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the user 16-1
addresses the message using the image of the intended message
recipient. As discussed above, in one embodiment, cropping or
similar processing may be utilized to provide the image of the
intended message recipient as a portrait of the intended message
recipient.
[0095] In addition, in this embodiment, the user 16-1 defines a
number of questions to ask the intended message recipient as well
as a reward to be revealed to the intended message recipient upon
answering the questions. More specifically, the user 16-1 may
create the questions, select the questions from a predefined group
of questions created by the user 16-1, select the questions from a
group of system-defined questions, or the like. In one embodiment,
each question includes the question body or text, a point value
assigned to the question by the user 16-1, and possible answers to
the question if the question is a multiple choice question. As
discussed above, the point values assigned to the questions may be
used to control revealing of the reward. The reward may be, for
example, a picture of the user 16-1 sending the message, a full or
partial profile of the user 16-1 sending the message, contact
information for the user 16-1 sending the message, or the like.
[0096] The user device 14-1, and more specifically the facemail
client 30-1, then sends the message including the image of the
intended message recipient, the questions, and the reward
information to the central server 12 (step 4004). Note that
preferably, other than the image of the intended message recipient,
no other contact information (e.g., email address, username,
telephone number, etc.) of the intended message recipient is known
by the user 16-1. The message is addressed to the intended message
recipient using only or essentially the image of the intended
message recipient. The message is not addressed using text or
numbers as in traditional messaging systems. Also note that the
location and time at which the image of the intended message
recipient was captured may also be provided as part of the message
or, alternatively, in association with the image of the intended
message recipient such as in ID3 tags of the corresponding image
file. Similarly, a direction in which the digital capture device
used to capture the image of the intended message recipient was
pointing at the time of capture of the image of the intended
message recipient may also be provided as part of the message or,
alternatively, in association with the image of the intended
message recipient such as in ID3 tags of the corresponding image
file.
[0097] Upon receiving the message from the user device 14-1, the
central server 12 performs an image matching process to identify
the intended message recipient, as described above with respect to,
for example, step 1022 of FIG. 2 (step 4006). In this example, the
user 16-2 is identified as the intended message recipient.
Optionally, once the user 16-2 is identified as the intended
message recipient, the facemail delivery function 20 of the central
server 12 may perform block/delay processing to determine whether
to block or delay the message based on the preferences of the user
16-2, as described above with respect to, for example, step 2024 of
FIG. 2 (step 4008).
[0098] Next, assuming that the message is not blocked and after any
delay has expired, the facemail delivery function 20 sends the
message to the user device 14-2 of the user 16-2 (step 4012). Note
that the intended message recipient may be verified by one or more
friends of the user 16-2 as discussed above with respect to steps
2026 and 2028 of FIG. 5. In addition or alternatively, the image of
the user 16-2 may be obtained and used for authentication as
described above with respect to steps 3010-3022 prior to sending
the message to the user device 14-2 as described above with respect
to FIG. 16.
[0099] Once the message is received at the user device 14-2, the
facemail client 30-2 presents the message to the user 16-2 at the
user device 14-2 and a question and answer session begins (step
4014). The message may be presented automatically or upon request
by the user 16-2. Either before, during, or after the message is
presented to the user 16-2, the facemail client 30-2 presents the
questions provided by the user 16-1 to the user 16-2. Thereafter,
the facemail client 30-2 receives user input from the user 16-2
defining answers to the questions as part of the question and
answer session.
[0100] In this embodiment, at some point during the question and
answer session, the question and answer session is suspended (step
4016). The question and answer session may be manually suspended by
the user 16-2. Alternatively, the message including the questions
may be sent to the user 16-2 when the users 16-1 and 16-2 are
physically proximate to one another, and the question and answer
session may be automatically suspended once the users 16-1 and 16-2
are no longer physically proximate to one another. The facemail
delivery function 20 then monitors the locations of the users 16-1
and 16-2 (step 4018). Thereafter, when the users 16-1 and 16-2 are
again physically proximate to one another, the facemail delivery
function 20 instructs the facemail client 30-2 to resume the
question and answer session (step 4020). In response, the facemail
client 30-2 resumes the question and answer session (step 4022).
The user 16-2 then continues answering questions and, in response,
the reward data is revealed to the user 16-2.
[0101] In this example, once the question and answer session is
complete, a summary of the answers given by the user 16-2 is
returned to the central server 12 (step 4024). The central server
12 then forwards the summary of the answers to the user device 14-1
of the user 16-1 where the summary of the answers may, for example,
be presented to the user 16-1 (step 4026).
[0102] In addition, the facemail client 30-2 may receive user input
from the user 16-2 defining whether the full profile of the user
16-2 or a partial profile of the user 16-2, if any, is to be sent
to the user 16-1 (step 4028). If the user 16-2 chooses to reveal
his or her full or partial user profile to the user 16-1, the
facemail client 30-2 sends the full or partial profile to the
central server 12 for delivery to the user 16-1 at the user device
14-1 or instructs the central server 12 to provide the full or
partial user profile of the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 at the user
device 14-1 (step 4030). At this point, in one embodiment, the
preferences of the user 16-1 in the user profile of the user 16-1
may include one or more response delay criteria, and the facemail
delivery function 20 delays delivery of the full or partial profile
of the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 in accordance with the one or
more response delay criteria (step 4032). The full or partial user
profile of the user 16-2 is then sent to the user device 14-1 of
the user 16-1, and presented to the user 16-1 (step 4034). Note
that, in an alternative embodiment, the user 16-2 may choose to
reveal his or her full or partial profile to the user 16-1 as a
reward in response to answering one or more questions. While not
shown, at this point, the user 16-1 may choose to reveal his or her
full or partial user profile to the user 16-2 if this information
was not previously provided to the user 16-2 in the message, in
association with the message, or as the reward.
[0103] Note that the user 16-2 may choose to respond to the message
in addition to or as an alternative to revealing his or her full or
partial profile to the user 16-1. If the message delivered in step
4012 includes the contact information of the user 16-1 or if the
contact information is provided in association with the message
delivered in step 4012, any message sent from the user 16-2 to the
user 16-1 in response to the message delivered in step 4012 may be
provided directly from the user device 14-2 to the user device 14-1
of the user 16-1 using the appropriate communication system. For
example, if the contact information provided for the user 16-1 is
the email address of the user 16-1, the response message may be
provided by the appropriate email system. However, if the contact
information of the user 16-1 is not included in the message or is
not provided in association with the message, any message sent from
the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 in response to the message delivered
in step 4012 may first be provided to the central server 12. The
central server 12 may then deliver the response message to the user
device 14-1 of the user 16-1.
[0104] FIG. 19 illustrates the system 10 according to another
embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 10 of FIG. 19 is
substantially the same as that discussed above. However, in this
embodiment, the central server 12 also includes a question
selection function 120, a question database 122, and an answer
recommendation function 124. The question selection function 120
may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof.
As discussed below, the question selection function 120 generally
operates to select one or more questions 126 from the question
database 122 to ask an intended message recipient based on common
interests of the sender of the message and the intended message
recipient. The question database 122 generally stores a collection
of questions 126 to be used by all of the users 16-1 through 16-N.
Alternatively, each of the users 16-1 through 16-N may create or
select a collection of questions 126 that are stored within or in
association with the user accounts 28 of the users 16-1 through
16-N. In this alternative embodiment, when, for example, the user
16-1 creates a message to send to an intended message recipient,
questions to ask the intended message recipient are selected from
the questions 126 stored in or associated with the user account 28
of the user 16-1 based on common interests of the user 16-1 and the
intended message recipient.
[0105] The answer recommendation function 124 may also be
implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. As
discussed below, the answer recommendation function 124 operates to
suggest answers to questions sent to intended message recipients
based on previous answers given by the intended message recipients
to the same or similar questions, information stored in the user
accounts 28 of the intended message recipients such as the user
profiles of the intended message recipients, or usage information
or statistics such as play histories of the intended message
recipients, recent purchases made by the intended message
recipients, web browsing history, or the like. Note that the answer
recommendation function 124 may also be used in conjunction with
the embodiment of the system 10 discussed above with respect to
FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0106] FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a question
126 stored in the question database 122 of FIG. 19. In general, the
question 126 includes a question body 128, one or more keywords
130, a point value 132, and optionally a list of possible answers
134. The question body 128 includes the text forming the question.
For example, the question body 128 may provide the text "Who is
your favorite music artist or band?" The one or more keywords 130
define a topic of the question 126 or describe the subject matter
of the question 126. The point value 132 is a point value assigned
to the question 126. The point value 132 may be a system-defined
point value. Alternatively, the point value 132 may be
independently assigned for each user 16-1 through 16-N. The list of
possible answers 134 provides a list of possible answers where, for
example, the question 126 is a multiple choice question. Also note
that, in an alternative embodiment, different point values may be
assigned to each of the possible answers rather than assigning a
single point value 132 to the question. This may be particularly
beneficial where point values are assigned to the question 126
independently for each of the users 16-1 through 16-N.
[0107] FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate the operation of the system 10
of FIG. 19 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
First, the user devices 14-1 through 14-4, or alternatively the
users 16-1 through 16-4, register with the central server 12 (steps
5000-5006). As discussed above, during registration, the user
accounts 28 of the users 16-1 through 16-4 are created. Next, the
user devices 14-1 through 14-4 provide their locations, or location
information, to the central server 12 (steps 5008-5014). Again, the
user devices 14-1 through 14-4 may send their locations to the
central server 12 automatically. As an alternative, the central
server 12 may poll the user devices 14-1 through 14-4 for their
locations periodically or as otherwise desired. The locations of
the user devices 14-1 through 14-4 are stored in the user accounts
28 of the corresponding users 16-1 through 16-4. The current
locations of the user devices 14-1 through 14-N may be stored as
the current locations of the users 16-1 through 16-4. In addition,
historical records of the locations of the users 16-1 through 16-4
may be stored in the corresponding user accounts 28. At this point,
in this example, the user device 14-1, and more specifically the
image acquisition function 32-1, obtains an image of an intended
message recipient (step 5016). As discussed above, in one
embodiment, the image acquisition function 32-1 is or includes an
image capture device that is used to capture the image of the
intended message recipient. In an alternative embodiment, the image
of the intended message recipient may be obtained from a secondary
source such as, for example, a photo sharing website or
application, a website, an email attachment of an email from a
friend, a corresponding user device of the intended message
recipient, or the like.
[0108] Next, a message to the intended message recipient is
generated (step 5018). More specifically, the user 16-1 may
initiate the generation of the message to the intended message
recipient and specify a payload for the message. The payload of the
message is preferably a text message. However, the present
disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the user 16-1
addresses the message using the image of the intended message
recipient. As discussed above, in one embodiment, cropping or
similar processing may be utilized to provide the image of the
intended message recipient as a portrait of the intended message
recipient.
[0109] The user device 14-1, and more specifically the facemail
client 30-1, then sends the message including the image of the
intended message recipient to the central server 12 (step 5020).
Note that preferably, other than the image of the intended message
recipient, no other contact information (e.g., email address,
username, telephone number, etc.) of the intended message recipient
is known by the user 16-1. The message is addressed to the intended
message recipient using only or essentially the image of the
intended message recipient. Also note that the location and time at
which the image of the intended message recipient was captured may
also be provided as part of the message or, alternatively, in
association with the image of the intended message recipient such
as in ID3 tags of the corresponding image file. Similarly, a
direction in which the digital capture device used to capture the
image of the intended message recipient was pointing at the time of
capture of the image of the intended message recipient may also be
provided as part of the message or, alternatively, in association
with the image of the intended message recipient such as in ID3
tags of the corresponding image file.
[0110] As discussed above, upon receiving the message from the user
device 14-1, the central server 12 performs an image matching
process to identify the intended message recipient (step 5022). In
this example, the user 16-2 again is identified as the intended
message recipient. Once the user 16-2 is identified as the intended
message recipient, the facemail delivery function 20 of the central
server 12 may interact with friends of the user 16-2 to verify that
the user 16-2 is the intended message recipient (steps 5024 and
5026). In this example, the users 16-3 and 16-4 of the user devices
14-3 and 14-4, respectively, are identified in the friends list of
the user 16-2. In addition or alternatively, the user 16-2 may be
authenticated as the intended message recipient as discussed above
with respect to FIG. 16.
[0111] Assuming that the user 16-2 is verified as the intended
message recipient, the facemail delivery function 20 of the central
server 12 then correlates interests of the users 16-1 and 16-2 to
determine one or more keywords for selecting questions to ask the
user 16-2 (step 5028). More specifically, in one embodiment, the
user accounts 28 of the users 16-1 through 16-N also store
keywords, or interest keywords, expressing interests of the users
16-1 through 16-N, respectively. As such, the question selection
function 120 of the central server 12 correlates the interest
keywords of the users 16-1 and 16-2 to identify common interest
keywords. The question selection function 120 then selects one or
more questions 126 of the question database 122 having keywords 130
(FIG. 20) matching the common interest keywords of the users 16-1
through 16-N (step 5030). Note that the number of questions 126
selected may be configurable by the user 16-1, system-defined, or
the like.
[0112] As illustrated in FIG. 21B, in this embodiment, the central
server 12 then sends the selected questions 126 to the user device
14-1 (step 5032). The user 16-1 may then be enabled to approve the
questions 126 selected by the question selection function 120 of
the central server 12, select one or more of the questions 126
selected by the question selection function 120 to ask the user
16-2, modify or edit the questions 126 selected by the question
selection function 120, or the like. The user device 14-1 then
sends a response to the central server 12 (step 5034). The response
may approve the questions 126 selected by the question selection
function 120 of the central server 12, identify a sub-set of the
questions 126 selected by the question selection function 120 to
ask the user 16-2, include any modifications or edits to the
questions 126 selected by the question selection function 120, or
the like. In addition, if the central server 12 does not already
have the reward information for the message to be sent to the user
16-2, then the reward information may be provided at this time.
Again, in one embodiment, the reward information includes one or
more reward states, reward data, and an algorithm, as discussed
above. The reward data and/or algorithm may be selected by the user
16-1 or may be system-defined.
[0113] In addition, the answer recommendation function 124 may
suggest answers to one or more of the questions 126 to be included
in the message sent to the user 16-2 (step 5036). In one
embodiment, answers to previous questions answered by the user 16-2
are stored in the user account 28 of the user 16-2. Thus, if any of
the questions 126 included in the message have previously been
answered by the user 16-2, the answer recommendation function 124
may provide the previous answers given the user 16-2 as suggested
answers to the corresponding questions 126. In addition or
alternatively, if any of the questions 126 can be answered using
information stored in the user account 28 of the user 16-2 and
specifically stored in the user profile of the user 16-2, then the
answer recommendation function 124 may obtain suggested answers for
those questions from the user account 28 of the user 16-2. For
example, if one of the questions 126 asks "What school do you
attend?", then the answer recommendation function 124 may obtain
this information from the user profile of the user 16-2 and suggest
an answer accordingly. Still further, the user account 28 of the
user 16-2 may include usage or historical information such as, for
example, a play history identifying songs or other media items
played by the user 16-2, a purchase history identifying recent
purchases made by the user 16-2, a web browsing history of the user
16-2, a listing of events such as concerts attended by the user
16-2, a listing of movies recently seen by the user 16-2, or the
like. Thus, as an example, if a question 126 asks "Who is your
favorite music artist or band?", then the answer recommendation
function 124 analyzes a play history of the user 16-2 and/or a
historical record of music purchases made by the user 16-2 to
suggest an answer to the question 126. A list of exemplary
questions 126 and the manner in which the answer recommendation
function 124 may suggest answers to those questions is provided in
FIG. 22. The list also includes the point value 132 and the one or
more keywords 130 for each question 126. Note, however, in this
example, the questions 126 do not include possible answers 134.
[0114] Returning to FIG. 21B, at this point, the selected questions
126, or a modified set thereof, the reward information, and the
suggested answers are appended to or inserted into the message to
be provided to the intended message recipient, which in this
example is the user 16-2. Optionally, once the user 16-2 is
identified as the intended message recipient, the facemail delivery
function 20 of the central server 12 may perform block/delay
processing to determine whether to block or delay the message based
on the preferences of the user 16-2 (step 5038). Note that the
block/delay processing may alternatively be performed prior to step
5036. Next, assuming that the message is not blocked and after any
delay has expired, the facemail delivery function 20 of the central
server 12 then sends the message including the questions, reward
information, and suggested answers to the user device 14-2 of the
user 16-2 (step 5040). Once the message is received at the user
device 14-2, the facemail client 30-2 presents the message to the
user 16-2 at the user device 14-2 (step 5042). The message may be
presented automatically or upon request by the user 16-2. Either
before, during, or after the message is presented to the user 16-2,
the facemail client 30-2 presents the questions to the user 16-2.
Thereafter, the facemail client 30-2 receives user input from the
user 16-2 defining answers to the questions (step 5044). As the
answers are received, the facemail client 30-2 reveals the reward
data from the reward information, as discussed above (step 5046).
In this example, a summary of the answers given by the user 16-2 is
returned to the central server 12 (step 5048). The central server
12 then forwards the summary of the answers to the user device 14-1
of the user 16-1 (step 5050).
[0115] While not illustrated, in addition to the user input from
the user 16-2 answering the questions, the facemail client 30-2 may
receive user input from the user 16-2 defining whether the full
profile of the user 16-2 or a partial profile of the user 16-2, if
any, is to be sent to the user 16-1, as discussed above. If the
user 16-2 chooses to reveal his or her full or partial user profile
to the user 16-1, the facemail client 30-2 sends the full or
partial profile to the central server 12 for delivery to the user
16-1 at the user device 14-1 or instructs the central server 12 to
provide the full or partial user profile of the user 16-2 to the
user 16-1 at the user device 14-1. The full or partial user profile
of the user 16-2 is then sent to the user device 14-1 of the user
16-1, and presented to the user 16-1. Note that, in an alternative
embodiment, the user 16-2 may choose to reveal his or her full or
partial profile to the user 16-1 as a reward in response to
answering one or more questions. While not shown, at this point,
the user 16-1 may choose to reveal his or her full or partial user
profile to the user 16-2 if this information was not previously
provided to the user 16-2 in the message, in association with the
message, or as the reward.
[0116] Note that the user 16-2 may choose to respond to the message
in addition to or as an alternative to revealing his or her full or
partial profile to the user 16-1. If the message delivered in step
5040 includes the contact information of the user 16-1 or if the
contact information is provided in association with the message
delivered in step 5040, any message sent from the user 16-2 to the
user 16-1 in response to the message delivered in step 5040 may be
provided directly from the user device 14-2 to the user device 14-1
of the user 16-1 using the appropriate communication system. For
example, if the contact information provided for the user 16-1 is
the email address of the user 16-1, the response message may be
provided by the appropriate email system. However, if the contact
information of the user 16-1 is not included in the message or is
not provided in association with the message, any message sent from
the user 16-2 to the user 16-1 in response to the message delivered
in step 5040 may first be provided to the central server 12. The
central server 12 may then deliver the response message to the user
device 14-1 of the user 16-1.
[0117] FIG. 23 is a block diagram of the central server 12
according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In general,
the central server 12 includes a control system 136 having
associated memory 138. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary
skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, the control system
136 is a processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit
(ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or similar hardware
providing processing capabilities. In this embodiment, the facemail
delivery function 20, the image matching function 22, and the
location tracking function 24 (FIGS. 1 and 19) are implemented in
software and stored in the memory 138 for execution by the control
system 136. In addition, if included, the question selection
function 120 and the answer recommendation function 124 (FIG. 19)
may also be implemented in software and stored in the memory 138.
However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The
facemail delivery function 20, the image matching function 22, the
location tracking function 24, the question selection function 120,
and the answer recommendation function 124 may be implemented in
software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The central server 12
may also include one or more digital storage devices 140 such as,
for example, one or more hard disk drives. The one or more digital
storage devices 140 may be used to store the user accounts database
26 (FIGS. 1 and 19) and the question database 122 (FIG. 19). The
central server 12 also includes a communication interface 142
communicatively coupling the central server 12 to the network 18
(FIGS. 1 and 19). Lastly, the central server 12 may include a user
interface 144, which may include components such as a display, one
or more user input devices, or the like.
[0118] FIG. 24 is a block diagram of the user device 14-1 according
to one embodiment of the present disclosure. This discussion is
equally applicable to the other user devices 14-2 through 14-N. In
general, the user device 14-1 includes a control system 146 having
associated memory 148. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary
skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, the control system
146 is a processor, ASIC, FPGA, or similar hardware providing
processing capabilities. In this embodiment, the facemail client
30-1 (FIGS. 1 and 19) is implemented in software and stored in the
memory 148 for execution by the control system 146. However, the
present disclosure is not limited thereto. The facemail client 30-1
may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof.
The user device 14-1 also includes the location determination
function 34-1. The user device 14-1 may also include one or more
digital storage devices 150 such as, for example, one or more hard
disk drives. The user device 14-1 also includes a communication
interface 152 communicatively coupling the user device 14-1 to the
network 18 (FIGS. 1 and 19). The user device 14-1 also includes a
user interface 154, which may include components such as a display,
one or more user input devices, or the like. Lastly, the image
acquisition function 32-1 (FIGS. 1 and 19) is, in this embodiment,
implemented as or includes an image capture device 156.
Alternatively, the image acquisition function 32-1 may be
implemented in software and stored in the memory 148 for execution
by the control system 146.
[0119] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and
modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present
disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered
within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims
that follow.
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