U.S. patent application number 17/514907 was filed with the patent office on 2022-02-17 for ideation virtual assistant tools.
The applicant listed for this patent is BRIGHT MARBLES, INC.. Invention is credited to John Cronin, Burt Cummings, Michael D'Andrea, Jeffrey Goodwin, Charles Root.
Application Number | 20220051070 17/514907 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005940819 |
Filed Date | 2022-02-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220051070 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cronin; John ; et
al. |
February 17, 2022 |
IDEATION VIRTUAL ASSISTANT TOOLS
Abstract
An intelligence-driven virtual assistant for automated
documentation of new ideas is provided. During a brainstorming
session, one or more user participants may discuss and identify one
or more ideas. Such ideas may be tracked, catalogued, analyzed,
developed, and further expanded upon through use of an
intelligence-driven virtual assistant. Such virtual assistant may
capture user input data embodying one or more new ideas and
intelligently process the same in accordance with creativity tool
workflows. Such workflows may further guide development and
expansion upon a given idea, while continuing to challenge ideas,
provide opportunities to collaborate, and optimize scheduling of
ideation sessions for efficiency, while continuing to document,
analyze, and identify further aspects to develop and expand.
Inventors: |
Cronin; John; (Jericho,
VT) ; Cummings; Burt; (Menlo Park, CA) ; Root;
Charles; (Underhill, VT) ; D'Andrea; Michael;
(Burlington, VT) ; Goodwin; Jeffrey; (Montpelier,
VT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BRIGHT MARBLES, INC. |
Menlo Park |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005940819 |
Appl. No.: |
17/514907 |
Filed: |
October 29, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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16551509 |
Aug 26, 2019 |
11164065 |
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17514907 |
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62722622 |
Aug 24, 2018 |
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62722628 |
Aug 24, 2018 |
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62722632 |
Aug 24, 2018 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06N 3/004 20130101;
G06F 16/245 20190101; G06N 20/00 20190101; G06F 9/453 20180201;
G06F 3/167 20130101; G06F 16/248 20190101; G06F 16/24 20190101;
G06F 16/2379 20190101; G06F 16/63 20190101 |
International
Class: |
G06N 3/00 20060101
G06N003/00; G06F 16/23 20060101 G06F016/23; G06F 16/245 20060101
G06F016/245; G06F 9/451 20060101 G06F009/451; G06F 3/16 20060101
G06F003/16; G06F 16/248 20060101 G06F016/248; G06F 16/63 20060101
G06F016/63; G06F 16/24 20060101 G06F016/24 |
Claims
1. A method for ideation management, the method comprising: storing
an idea database in memory, the idea database storing one or more
idea recordings; detecting audio data indicating one or more
keywords spoken by a user, the audio data polled from a microphone
via a virtual assistant device; and executing instructions stored
in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor:
queries the idea database for one or more idea recordings that have
not been reviewed; provides at least one of the idea recordings to
the virtual assistant device for dictation; queries the user
regarding whether the provided idea recording needs additional
information; and updates a status of the provided idea recording at
the idea database to reflect a need for the additional
information.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising; sending an alert
based on the status update reflecting the need for the additional
information; and retrieving one or more questions from the idea
database to further query the user via the virtual assistant
device.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of a comprehension
engine, a natural language processing engine, and a machine
learning engine is used to extract the one or more keywords.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a plurality
of terms via the virtual assistant device; incorporating the
plurality of terms into a preprogrammed story that requires blanks
to be filled in order to be completed, wherein the terms are
incorporated to fill in the blanks of the preprogrammed story; and
reciting the story via the virtual assistant device.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: querying the idea
database to populate a list of new idea recordings that have less
than a threshold number of previously completed surveys and that
has not already been reviewed.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: storing a survey
database in memory, the survey database including one or more
preprogrammed survey questions and responses to each question for
each idea recording stored at the idea database; and executing the
instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the
instructions by the processor: randomly selects a new idea
recording from the list, wherein the selected idea recording is
sent via the virtual assistant device; polls a survey database for
the preprogrammed survey questions; sends a question from the
survey database via the virtual assistant device; and stores a
reply to the question in the survey database,
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: updating the idea
database with a user identifier (ID) upon receiving a reply from an
associated user in the survey database, wherein the associated user
is not allowed to survey the new idea recording again once the user
ID is associated with the new idea recording.
8. A system for ideation management, the system comprising: memory
that stores an idea database in memory, the idea database storing
one or more idea recordings; a microphone that detects audio data
indicating one or more keywords spoken by a user, wherein the audio
data is polled from the microphone by a virtual assistant device;
and a processor that executes stored instructions, wherein the
processor executes the instructions to: query the idea database for
one or more idea recordings that have not been reviewed; provide at
least one of the idea recordings to the virtual assistant device
for dictation; query the user regarding whether the provided idea
recording needs additional information; and update a status of the
provided idea recording at the idea database to reflect a need for
the additional information.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor executes the
instructions to: send an alert based on the status update
reflecting the need for the additional information; and retrieve
one or more questions from the idea database to further query the
user via the virtual assistant device.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein one or more of a comprehension
engine, a natural language processing engine, and a machine
learning engine is used to extract the one or more keywords.
11. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor executes the
instructions to: receive a plurality of terms via the virtual
assistant device; incorporate the plurality of terms into a
preprogrammed story that requires blanks to be filled in order to
be completed, wherein the terms are incorporated to fill in the
blanks of the preprogrammed story; and recite the story via the
virtual assistant device.
12. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor executes the
instructions to: query the idea database to populate a list of new
idea recordings that have less than a threshold number of
previously completed surveys and that has not already been
reviewed.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory further stores a
survey database in memory, the survey database storing
preprogrammed survey questions and responses to each question for
each idea stored at the idea database, and wherein the processor
executes the instructions to: randomly select a now idea recording
from the list, wherein the selected idea recording is sent via the
virtual assistant device; poll a survey database for the
preprogrammed survey questions; send a question from the survey
database via the virtual assistant device; and store a reply to the
question in the survey database.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor executes the
instructions to: update the idea database with a user identifier
(ID) upon receiving a reply from an associated user in the survey
database, wherein the associated user is not allowed to survey the
new idea recording again once the user l D is associated with the
new idea recording.
15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having
embodied thereon instructions executable by a computing system to
perform a method for ideation management, the method comprising:
storing an idea database in memory, the idea database storing one
or more idea recordings; detecting audio data indicating one or
more keywords spoken by a user, the audio data polled from a
microphone via a virtual assistant device; and executing
instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the
instructions by a processor: queries the idea database for one or
more idea recordings that have not been reviewed; provides at least
one of the idea recordings to the virtual assistant device for
dictation; queries the user regarding whether the provided idea
recording needs additional information; and updates a status of the
provided idea recording at the idea database to reflect a need for
the additional information.
16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein the execution of the instructions by the processor:
sends an alert based on the status update reflecting the need for
the additional information; and retrieves one or more questions
from the idea database to further query the user via the virtual
assistant device.
17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein one or more of a comprehension engine, a natural
language processing engine, and a machine learning engine is used
to extract the one or more keywords.
18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein the execution of the instructions by the processor:
receives a plurality of terms via the virtual assistant device;
incorporates the plurality of terms into a preprogrammed story that
requires blanks to be filled in order to be completed, wherein the
terms are incorporated to fill in the blanks of the preprogrammed
story; and recites the story via the virtual assistant device.
19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein the execution of the instructions by the processor:
queries the idea database to populate a list of new idea recordings
that have less than threshold number of previously completed
surveys and that has not already been reviewed.
20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, the method further comprising: storing a survey database in
memory, the survey database storing preprogrammed survey questions
and responses to each question for each idea stored at the idea
database; and executing the instructions stored in memory, wherein
execution of the instructions by the processor: randomly selects a
new idea recording from the list, wherein the selected idea
recording is sent via the virtual assistant device; polls a survey
database for the preprogrammed survey questions; sends a question
from the survey database via the virtual assistant device; and
stores a reply to the question in the survey database.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present patent application is a continuation and claims
the priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/551,509
filed Aug. 26, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,164,065, which claims the
priority benefit of U.S. provisional patent application 62/722,622
filed Aug. 24, 2018, U.S. provisional patent application 62/722,628
filed Aug. 24, 2018, U.S. provisional patent application 62/722,632
filed Aug. 24, 2018, disclosures of which are incorporated herein
by references.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present disclosure is generally related to tools for a
virtual assistant, and more particularly related to tools for an
intelligence-driven virtual assistant for automated documentation
of new ideas.
2. Description of the Related Art
[0003] Organizational tools can help participants in a
brainstorming session to optimize their innovation process.
Innovative ideas in brainstorming sessions can be achieved via
having ideation scheduled, challenged, and collaborated-on.
However, the lack of a streamlined operation creates a break in
work flow in the field of innovation.
[0004] Thus, there exists a need for providing an interactive
innovation tool to systematize organization of creative thinking
and innovation activities with highly engaging user experiences,
and lifelike conversational interactions in real-time during an
innovation or ideation session.
SUMMARY OF THE CLAIMED INVENTION
[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an
intelligence-driven virtual assistant for automated documentation
of new ideas. Such virtual assistant may capture user input data
embodying one or more new ideas and intelligently process the same
in accordance with creativity tool workflows. Such workflows may
further guide development and expansion upon a given idea, while
continuing to challenge ideas, provide opportunities to
collaborate, and optimize scheduling of ideation sessions for
efficiency.
[0006] Further embodiments may include systems for guiding
conversational creation and innovation sessions. Such systems may
include artificial intelligence (AI)-driven speech recognition,
chatbots designed to stimulate conversations regarding ideas with
one or more human users via auditory or textual prompts, semantic
search and discovery into insights and relationships among ideas,
technical databases, and scholarly literature, applying machine
learning to identify creation patterns and to make decisions
regarding promising ideas, knowledge management and discovery of
relevant material from various online sources, automated production
of an idea creation and development record, context-sensitive
dashboard reports and analytics, and speech synthesis.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network environment in which
an exemplary system for intelligence-driven virtual assistant for
automated documentation may be implemented.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing an ideation module in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the challenge module 131 in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the participate in challenge module 132 in accordance
with an embodiment;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing an ideation module in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the review module 113 in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the survey module 114 in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the feedback module 115 in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the ideation module 112 in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the correlation module 133 in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the adjustment needed module 134 in accordance with an
embodiment; and
[0018] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the scheduling module 137 in accordance with an
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described more
fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which like numerals represent like elements throughout the several
figures, and in which example embodiments are shown. Embodiments of
the claims may, however, be embodied in many different forms and
should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth
herein. The examples set forth herein are non-limiting examples and
are merely examples among other possible examples.
[0020] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an
intelligence-driven virtual assistant for automated documentation
of new ideas. During a brainstorming (e.g., ideation, creation,
creativity, innovation) session, one or more user participants may
discuss and identify one or more ideas. Such ideas may be tracked,
catalogued, analyzed, developed, and further expanded upon through
use of an intelligence-driven virtual assistant. Such virtual
assistant may capture user input data embodying one or more new
ideas and intelligently process the same in accordance with
creativity tool workflows. Such workflows may further guide
development and expansion upon a given idea, while continuing to
challenge ideas, provide opportunities to collaborate, and optimize
scheduling of ideation sessions for efficiency. Further embodiments
may include systems for guiding conversational creation and
innovation sessions. Such systems may include artificial
intelligence (AI)-driven speech recognition, chatbots designed to
stimulate conversations regarding ideas with one or more human
users via auditory or textual prompts, semantic search and
discovery into insights and relationships among ideas, technical
databases, and scholarly literature, applying machine learning to
identify creation patterns and to make decisions regarding
promising ideas, knowledge management and discovery of relevant
material from various online sources, automated production of an
idea creation and development record, context-sensitive dashboard
reports and analytics, and speech synthesis.
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network environment in which
an exemplary system for intelligence-driven virtual assistant for
automated documentation may be implemented. The system can be a
network having a virtual assistant network in communication with
various other networks and devices in accordance with an
embodiment. The network may comprise a virtual assistant device 101
for a user to interact with and may comprise a speaker 103, a
microphone 102, lights 104, memory 105, and a user trigger device
106 having a database 107 and a wake-up module 108. The speaker 103
may be a smart speaker, a speaker of a computer, etc. The
microphone 102 that may constantly capture audio data and store the
audio data in the database 107 on the virtual assistant device 101.
The lights 104 may illuminate, change colors and used to indicate
different action, alerts, states of the virtual assistant device
101, and the type of light may include but not limited to
light-emitting diodes (LED). The memory 105 may store information
temporarily or permanently.
[0022] The user trigger device 106 may be any type of user
interface that allows a user to trigger an action in the virtual
assistant device 101 and a virtual assistant network 109, including
but not limited to, a button (either wirelessly connected or
directly connect to the virtual assistant device 101), a graphical
button on a Graphical User Interface ("GUI"), etc. The database 107
may store temporarily or permanently speech and audio data captured
by the microphone 102 on the virtual assistant device 101 as well
as pre-programmed replies. The wake-up module 108 may continuously
poll the audio data from the microphone 102 for a "wake-up term",
phrase, keyword, or change in user tone or volume, or other
audio-based trigger.
[0023] The virtual assistant network 109 may be located on a remote
server in communication with the virtual assistant device 101 via a
communication network 150, or it may be integrated into virtual
assistant device 101. The virtual assistant network 109 may
comprise a virtual assistant module 110 that may be a virtual
assistant such as, but not limited to, Amazon Alexa, Google
Assistant, Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana, etc., wherein certain
words, phrases, invocations, or prompts may trigger other
applications or modules or actions.
[0024] The communication network 150 may be inclusive of wired and
wireless networks. The communication network 150 may be
implemented, for example, using communication techniques such as
visible light communication (VLC), worldwide interoperability for
microwave access (WiMAX), long term evolution (LTE), wireless local
area network (WLAN), infrared (IR) communication, public switched
telephone network (PSTN), radio waves, and other communication
techniques known in the art. The communication network 150 may
allow ubiquitous access to shared pools of configurable system
resources and higher-level services that may be rapidly provisioned
with minimal management effort, often over the Internet and may
rely on shared resources to achieve coherence and economies of
scale, like a public utility, while third-party clouds enable
organizations to focus on their core businesses instead of
expending resources on computer infrastructure and maintenance.
[0025] The virtual assistant network 109 may comprise a trigger
terms database 111 that may load and store words, phrases, terms,
invocations, or prompts that are used to trigger certain actions or
start applications. The virtual assistant network 109 may comprise
an ideation module 112 that may be triggered when the virtual
assistant module 110 recognizes a keyword, term or phrase to
initiate the ideation module 112. The ideation module 112 may
comprise a scoring module 113 that may quantify a score for ideas
created and may weight scores based on how frequently a specific
tool was used to create ideas.
[0026] The ideation module 112 may comprise a challenge module 131
that can present challenges for selection by the user and allow the
user to review current challenges that have been created within an
enterprise or create a new challenge. Each challenge may represent
a problem or a potential area for improvement or development. For
example, a challenge may ask the users to improve different aspects
of an existing product or to ideate a new product to solve a
specified problem. The challenge may therefore ask users to create
a new design that will result in more efficient digging, to create
a new shovel design, or to increase efficiency of an existing
shovel design. Such challenge may therefore include some background
or context for the problem, as well as identifying different
aspects or parameters of the problem for which a solution is
desired.
[0027] The challenge module 131 may further search a challenge
database 124 and an idea database 119 to identify similar
challenges or ideas for similar challenges so ensure users are not
duplicating efforts and to help facilitate the improvement of
current or new ideas. A participate challenge module 132 may be
executed by the challenge module 131 when the user does not want to
issue a new challenge but just wants to participate in a challenge.
The challenge database 124 may store all of the challenges created
by users within an enterprise and the idea database 119 may store
the user idea recordings as well as the respective transcribed
text, and may also store with each idea if it were developed in
connection with a specific challenge.
[0028] The ideation module 112 may comprise a review module 113
when executed allows users, such as a review committee, to review
ideas in the idea database 119 and ask the inventor questions for
more clarity or enablement. Furthermore, the review module 113 may
be executed by the virtual assistant module 110 when a
corresponding trigger word is used. The ideation module 112 may
also comprise a survey module 114 that allows users to provide
anonymous feedback and opinions about inventions in the idea
database 119. The ideation module 112 may comprise a feedback
module 115 that allows the inventor of an idea to review the
feedback from the anonymous survey module and respond to inputs
from the review module and review committee.
[0029] The ideation module 112 may comprise a correlation module
133 that may be triggered by the ideation module 112 when an idea
is recorded in order to correlate the ideas value with the type of
user(s) and the activity their involved in. The ideation module 112
may also comprise an adjustment needed module 134 allows the user
to specify another user or department that needs provide additional
value, enablement, etc.
[0030] The ideation module 112 may comprise a creativity tool 1
module 116 that may be any number of creativity tools. For example,
the ideation module 112 may randomly select different types of
creativity tools to use, such as (1) putting a verb randomly
selected from a verb database in front of an initial term or (2)
putting an associated word randomly selected from an associated
database in front of the initial term, and allowing users to select
specific creativity tools, etc.
[0031] The ideation module 112 may comprise a creativity tool n
module 117, which may be any number of creativity tools. For
example, the creativity tool n module 117 may randomly select
different types of creativity tools to use, allow users to select
specific creativity tools, etc. The ideation module 112 may
comprise an idea recording module 118 that may be triggered when a
prompt comes from the virtual assistant module 110 and begins
recording the user idea, wherein the virtual assistant device 101
may store a recording in an idea database 119. A transcription
module 130 may transcribe the recording, wherein a transcription of
the recording may be stored in the idea database 119 and may be
sent to a user terminal or via email or other electronic
communication method. The idea database 119 may store the user
recordings as well as the respective transcriptions.
[0032] A user profile database 120 may store information about the
user including but not limited to, email, position, usage data,
idea generation, ideation training, etc. A creativity tool database
121 may store data for available creativity tools using APIs. An
API database 122 may store all current APIs for the creativity
tools. An internal tools database 123 may store data for custom
creativity tools not available through an API. For example, the
internal tools database 123 may store previous ideas, products, or
services that can be improved on or direct a creativity or ideation
session.
[0033] A correlation database 135 may store the correlations
between user features and effective inventions coming from a given
creativity tool. A calendar database 136 may store the events on
the calendar apps of each user. A scheduling module 137 may
identify when users are available to ideate, and delivers to them
ideas that require their input, or schedules ideation sessions for
the users identified in the adjustment needed module 134. A survey
database 138 may contain preprogrammed survey questions that users
can answer when they survey an idea and also stores the responses
to the questions from the users for each idea surveyed.
[0034] A third-party network 125 may be one or more networks on the
Internet, cloud, or network that stores module(s) and data for
different creativity tools. For example, a third party network 125
may host a word association tool that could be accessed through an
API. The word association tool may use a cross-idea association
database and may associate words and word strings in a language by
analyzing word formations around a word or word string to identify
other words or word strings that are equivalents or near
equivalents semantically. One method for associating words and word
strings may include querying a collection of documents with a
user-supplied word or word string, determining a user-defined
amount of words or word strings to the left and right of the query
string, determining the frequency of occurrence of words or word
strings located on the left and right of the query string, and
ranking the located words. An application programming interface
("API") 126 of the third party network 125 can be a set of
subroutine definitions, communication protocols, and tools for
building software, and particularly providing communication
protocols to a variety creativity tools and databases on the
Internet, cloud or remote servers. A third-party module 127 may
input data such as a keyword or phrase to initiate a creativity
tool on the third party network 125 and then may output results
back to the ideation module 112. A third-party database 128 may
store data associated with a creativity tool. For example, for word
associated creativity tools, the -party database 128 may store
synonyms. A cloud 140 or Internet connected to the communication
network 150 may allow for ubiquitous access to shared pools of
configurable system resources and higher-level services that can be
rapidly provisioned with minimal management effort and the sharing
of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale. User
devices 1-n 140 may be mobile devices, smartphones and computing
devices of the users in the organization and, a calendar app 142
may be a scheduling application.
[0035] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing an ideation module in accordance with an embodiment.
In step 201, keywords may be received from the virtual assistant
module 110. In step 202, the creativity tool database 121 may be
queried for the available creativity tools or methods, for example,
the challenge module 131, or specific tools such as word
association, word definition, etc. In step 203, the user may be
prompted on the virtual assistant device 101 to select which tool
or method the user would like to use. In another embodiment,
selecting a creativity tool could be pre-programmed so users do not
get an option of which tool to use, or an administrator could have
set up the user options or preferences,. For example, the user may
select the challenge module 131 to create or participate in a
challenge.
[0036] In step 204, the ideation module 112 may receive the user
creativity tool selection via audio data from the virtual assistant
device 101. In step 205, the user selection is then checked to see
if the user selected the challenge module 131, wherein if the user
does select the challenge module, in step 206, the challenge module
131 is executed and the ideation module 112 ends. In step 207, the
selected creativity tool module is executed, for example the user
selects the challenge module 131 which is then executed. In step
208, the keywords received from the virtual assistant module 110
may be sent to the creativity tool. In step 209, the module
receives data or keywords back from the creativity tool. In step
210, creativity tool data may then be sent to the user via the
virtual assistant device 101. In step 211, the user may then be
asked using the virtual assistant device 101 if the user would like
to record an idea. If they user does not want to record an idea,
the user is asked if the user want to hear more creativity tool
data. In step 212, if yes, the user wants to record an idea, the
idea record module 118 is executed. Once the idea record module 118
has completed, the user is asked if the user would like to record
another idea and, if not, in step 213, the module ends, and if yes,
in step 214, a prompt is sent to the creativity tool to see more
data and the module receives the data at 107. In step 215, the
module ends and an end command is sent to the virtual assistant
module 110.
[0037] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the challenge module 131 in accordance with an
embodiment. In step 301, the user may be first prompted by the
challenge module 131 to determine if the user want to create a new
challenge or if the user would like to participate in a previous
challenge. In step 302, if the user does not want to create a new
challenge, they then want to participate in a challenge that is
already in the challenge database 124 which then executes the
participate in challenge module 132. In step 303, the participate
in challenge module 132 may then be executed, ending the challenge
module 132. In step 304, if the user wants to participated in a new
challenge, the user is prompted to provide the new challenge (i.e.
the challenge could be a structured statement, questions or problem
statement). In step 305, the challenge provided by the user may
then be used to query the challenge database 124 using a natural
language comparison, looking for challenges that are similar to the
user provided challenge, the purpose it so identifies similar
challenges across an enterprise to limit redundant ideation and
identify potential platform technologies, the uses of natural
language technologies to identify similar concepts in text. In step
306, if no similar challenges are found, the new challenge may be
saved to the challenge database 124 to allow other users to view
and participate in the challenge.
[0038] In step 307, the new challenge may be saved to challenge
database 124. In step 308, if at least one similar challenge is
found in the challenge database 124, the challenge module 131 may
then output to the user the similar challenge or challenges that
were found and prompts the user to select at least one or none of
the similar ideas. In step 309, the user may then be asked if one
or more of the similar challenges is relevant to their challenge.
If not, in step 310, the new challenge is saved to the challenge
database 124, going back to step 307. If yes, in step 311, the user
may select which challenge is relevant. In step 312, the selected
challenge(s) are updated in the challenge database 124, adding in
the user information (i.e. user title, name, position, department,
etc.) and adding the users phasing of the challenge. In step 313,
the user may be asked if the user wants to hear ideas already
developed for the similar challenge. If not, the module ends at
step 316. If yes, in step 314, the challenge module 131 queries the
idea database 119 for any ideas associated with the selected
challenge. In step 315, the challenge module 131 then may send the
user the related ideas to the challenge that is similar to their
idea, and the ideas can be sent to the user via a user interface
(i.e. read to the user via audio) or sent to the user via email so
they can review the ideas at a later date to see if any of the
related ideas are relevant.
[0039] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing the participate in challenge module 132 in accordance
with an embodiment. In step 401, the user may first be prompted to
provide a specific challenge they want to participate in or if they
want to hear a list of challenges. In 402, if yes, then the module
queries the idea database 119 for ideas that have already been
generated for the selected challenge and skips to step 407. If not,
in step 403, the user does not select a specific challenge and thus
the module queries the challenge database 124 for a list of
challenges. In step 404, the list of challenges is then outputted
to the user through the virtual assistant device 101 either using
the audio function or a visual user interface. In step 405, the
user is then prompted to select one of the listed challenges. In
step 406, the user challenge selection may be received. In step
407, the user challenge selection may then be used to retrieve any
related idea that had already been developed and associated with
the selected challenge, this help redundant ideas and allow users
to improve on an idea. In step 408, the user may then be prompted
to submit their idea. In step 409, the idea record module 118 may
be executed and record the user idea and store the new idea in the
idea database 119. In step 410, if no, the idea is marked and
stored in the idea database 119 and user is then asked if they want
to submit another idea. In step 411, if the idea is an improvement
on previous idea the user is prompted to select which previous idea
it improves on. In step 412, the idea database 119 is then updated,
and the record ID of the new idea is added to the previous idea as
an improvement. In step 413, if no, the module ends at step 414,
and if yes, the user may be prompted for another idea back at step
408.
[0040] Table 1 below illustrates an exemplary challenge database.
The database comprises (1) a Challenge ID 151 is a unique
identifier for the challenge and, (2) a Challenge Description 152
is the description of the actual challenge as described by the user
and, (3) a Submitter Name 153 is the name of the user who submitted
the challenge and, (4) a Submitter Position 154 is the user
position or title within the organization and, (5) a Submitter
Business Unit 155 is the user business unit, division or part of an
the enterprise and, (6) a Similar Challenge ID 156 is the ID of
challenges that users have determined to be similar to the
challenge.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Challenge Submitter Submitter Similar ID
Challenge Description Name Submitter Position Business Unit
Challenge ID 001 How to improve the John Smith President of Drone
Drone Division 002; 004 control of a drone? Division 002 How to
make it easier Jane Doe Engineering Drone Division 001; 004 for a
drone to be Manager controlled by a user 003 How can we speed up
Mark Twain Manufacturing Drone Division 005 the manufacturing of
Manager drones? 004 How to improve the Bob Johnson Director of
Vehicle Vehicle Control 001; 002 control of remotely Control
controlled vehicles? 005 How to automate drone Mark Twain
Manufacturing Drone Division 003 manufacturing? Manager
[0041] Table 2 below illustrates an exemplary idea database 119.
The database comprises (1) an Idea 157 is a unique identifier for
each idea in the Idea database and, (2) an Audio file 158 stores
the recorded audio file captured from the idea record module and,
(3) a Transcribed Text 159 is the transcribed text from the audio
file and, (4) a Submitter Name 160 is the user name who submitted
the idea and, (5) an Associated Challenge(s) 161 stores the
challenge(s) that the idea(s) were developed for and, (6) Ideas 162
that improve this Idea stores the Idea ID of other ideas that
improve on the idea and, (7) Ideas 163 that this idea Improves
stores the Idea ID that the current Idea is improving upon.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Challenge Submitter Submitter Similar ID
Challenge Description Name Submitter Position Business Unit
Challenge ID 001 How to improve the John Smith President of Drone
Drone Division 002; 004 control of a drone? Division 002 How to
make it easier Jane Doe Engineering Drone Division 001; 004 for a
drone to be Manager controlled by a user? 003 How can we speed up
Mark Twain Manufacturing Drone Division 005 the manufacturing of
Manager drones? 004 How to improve the Bob Johnson Director of
Vehicle Vehicle Control 001; 002 control of remotely Control
controlled vehicles? 005 How to automate drone Mark Twain
Manufacturing Drone Division 003 manufacturing? Manager
[0042] Table 3 below illustrates an exemplary creativity tools
database. The database comprises (1) a Creativity Tool Name 164
which stores a brief description of the creativity tool and, (2) a
Creativity Tool Description 165 stores a detailed description of
the creativity tool and, (3) a Creativity Tool Module 166 stores
the module name used to access the creativity tool and, (4) a
Creativity Tool Third Party 167 stores the third party network(s)
that are used for the creativity tool.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Creativity Tool Creativity Tool Creativity
Tool Creativity Tool Name 164 Description 165 Module 166 Third
Party 167 Randomize Creativity The randomized creativity Random
Tool Module Third Party Network 1 tool randomly select different
Third Party Network 2 available creativity tools . . . Third Party
Network n Word Association The word association tool Creativity
Tool 1 Module Third Party Network 1 uses a given word or phrase and
using an API accesses a database of associated words or synonyms
Challenge Module The challenge module allows Challenge Internal
Tool users to create challenges within their organization or allow
users to participate in specific challenges . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creativity Tool n Creativity tool n description Creativity Tool n
Module Third Party Network n
[0043] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of
implementing an ideation module in accordance with an embodiment.
In step 501, keywords may be received from the virtual assistant
module 110. In step 502, the creativity tool database 121 may be
queried for the available creativity tools or methods, for example,
the challenge module 131, or specific tools such as word
association, word definition, etc. In step 503, the user may be
prompted on the virtual assistant device 101 to select which tool
or method the user would like to use. In another embodiment,
selecting a creativity tool could be pre-programmed so users do not
get an option of which tool to use, or an administrator could have
set up the user options or preferences.
[0044] In step 504, the ideation module 112 may receive the user
creativity tool selection via audio data from the virtual assistant
device 101. In step 505, the user selection is then checked to see
if the user selected the challenge module 131, wherein if the user
does select the challenge module, in step 506, the review module
113, survey module 114, or the feedback module 115 is executed and
the ideation module 112 ends. In step 507, the selected creativity
tool module is executed. In step 508, the keywords received from
the virtual assistant module 110 may be sent to the creativity
tool. In step 509, the module receives data or keywords back from
the creativity tool. In step 510, creativity tool data may then be
sent to the user via the virtual assistant device 101. In step 511,
the user may then be asked using the virtual assistant device 101
if the user would like to record an idea. If they user does not
want to record an idea, the user is asked if the user want to hear
more creativity tool data. In step 512, if yes, the user wants to
record an idea, the idea record module 118 is executed. Once the
idea record module 118 has completed, the user is asked if the user
would like to record another idea and, if not, in step 213, the
module 5 ends, and if yes, in step 514, a prompt is sent to the
creativity tool to see more data and the module receives the data
at 107. In step 515, the module ends and an end command is sent to
the virtual assistant module 110.
[0045] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a flow diagram illustrating
an exemplary method of implementing the review module 113 in
accordance with an embodiment. In step 601, the idea database 119
may be queried for new ideas that have not been reviewed by the
review committee. In step 602, a first new idea is sent to the
virtual assistant device 101 where the idea is dictated to the
reviewer. In step 603, the reviewer may be asked if the idea needs
more information or enablement. In step 604, if the idea does not
need any additional enablement or information, the reviewer may be
prompted for the next step for the idea. The prompt can be a
preprogrammed selection such as, "File as trade secret", "Develop
Disclosure" or "Publish Idea". In step 605, the reviews reply to
the prompt may be received and stored with the idea in the idea
database 119 updating the current status of the idea.
[0046] In step 606, if in step 603 the idea requires additional
information or enablement the reviewer is prompted to provide a
question they would like the inventor to answer. In step 607, the
reviewer questions may be received and stored in the idea database
119. In step 608, the reviewer may be asked if they have any
further questions they wish the inventor to answer. In step 609, if
no additional questions are needed, the idea status is updated in
the idea database 119 to "Feedback Required." In step 610, if the
reviewer does not want to hear another idea the module ends,
otherwise the module moves to step 611 wherein the idea database
119 is queried again for the next new idea. In step 612, if the
query for the next new idea returns no new ideas, the module ends.
In step 613, if there is another new idea that needs to be reviewed
the idea is sent to the user through the virtual assistant device
101 and the review module 113 begins to repeat from step 603. In
step 614, the review module 113 ends when there are no more new
ideas to review or the users is done reviewing ideas.
[0047] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a flow diagram illustrating
an exemplary method of implementing the survey module 114 in
accordance with an embodiment. In step 701, the idea database 119
may be queried to populate a list of new ideas from the idea
database 119 that have less than a threshold number, such as 10, of
previously completed surveys and that has not already been reviewed
by the user, wherein the number of completed surveys can be
preprogrammed with any range. In step 702, the survey module 114
may randomly select a new idea from the list generated in step 701
and in step 703, the selected idea is sent to the user through the
virtual assistant device 101. In step 704, the survey database 138
may be polled for the preprogrammed survey question. In step 705,
the user may be sent each question in the survey database 138, each
question is sent to the user one at a time and a response for each
is stored in the survey database 138. One of the questions may be
an open ended question or opportunity to voice a general opinion or
comments. In step 706, the user reply to each question may be
stored in the survey database 138. Steps 705 and 706 are repeated
until all questions are answered by the user. In step 707, the user
idea may be added to the idea they just surveyed in the idea
database 119, which may then be used in step 701 so a user does not
survey an idea more than once. In step 708, the user is asked if
they want to survey another idea, if not, the module ends. If the
user requests to survey another, the process repeat from step 701
and, in step 709, the module ends when the user is done surveying
ideas.
[0048] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a flow diagram illustrating
an exemplary method of implementing the feedback module 115 in
accordance with an embodiment. In step 801, the idea database 119
may be polled for ideas with the status of "Feedback Required." In
step 802, the user may be sent an alert through the virtual
assistant device if one of the user ideas has a status of "feedback
required." The alert may include a visual alert such as light on
the virtual assistant device 101 or an audio alert. In step 803,
the module may wait until the user responds to the alerts. In step
804, the questions created by reviewers may be retrieved from the
idea database 119. In step 805, the first question from the
reviewer may be sent to the user through the virtual assistant
device 101. In step 806, the user reply to the first question is
received and stored in the idea database. In step 807, the user
reply to the first question may be stored with the corresponding
question. In step 808, the feedback module 115 may poll for another
reviewer question from the idea database 119. If there are no more
questions the idea status is updated to new and the feedback module
115 ends. If there is another question, the user next question may
be sent to the user and in step 809, if there is another question,
the user may be sent the next question and, in step 810, the user
reply to the next question may be received. In step 811, the user
reply is stored in the idea database 119 with the corresponding
question, then the module repeats from Step 808 until there are no
more questions for the user. In step 812, the idea status is
updated to "new" so that the review will see the reply to the
reviewer questions and, in step 813, the module ends once the idea
is marked as new.
[0049] Table 4 below illustrates an exemplary idea database 119.
The database comprises (1) an Idea ID 168 is a unique
Identification number to identifying ideas in the database and, (2)
an audio file 169 which stores the recorded audio file captured
from of the idea record module and, (3) a transcribed text
transcription 170 is transcribed text of the audio file and is
stored once transcribed and, (4) submitter name 171 date is the
date the idea was recorded and, (5) a user 172 is the user name who
submitted the idea and, (5) the Associated Challenge(s) stores the
challenge(s) that the idea(s) were developed for or some unique
identifier of the user who recorded the idea and, (6) the Ideas
that Improve this Idea stores Status 173 is the Idea IDstatus of
other ideas that improve on the idea current invention in the
review process i.e. new, reviewed, etc. and, (7) Ideas that this
idea Improves stores the Idea ID that the current Idea is improving
upon review questions 174 are the questions from the reviewer and,
(8) a User Reply 175 is the stored reply from the user and, (9)
Surveyors 176 stores the User IDs of users who have surveyed the
idea.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Text Review User Audio File Transcription
Questions Replies Surveyors Idea ID 168 169 170 Date 171 User 172
Status 173 174 175 176 001 001.wav The idea here Jul. 31, 2018 John
Smith Feedback Question 1a User001; is to have a required Question
1b User002 pencil that Question 1c can write Question 1d itself 002
002.wav The widget Jul. 31, 2018 Jane Doe New Question 1b Reply 1b
User001; should be Question 2b Reply 2b User003 improved Questioned
3b Reply 3b using multiple sensor such as temperature and optical
sensors 033 003.wav This new idea Jul. 31, 2018 Jeff Jackson New
would improve on current computer mouse technologies by putting a
heater in the mouse to warm the user hand 004 004.wav . . . Jul.
31, 2018 John Smith Feedback Question 1c User001 Required 005
005.wav . . . Jul. 31, 2018 John Smith New Question 1d Reply 1d
[0050] Table 5 below illustrates an exemplary survey database 138.
The database comprises process begins with (1) a Creativity Tool
Name which stores a brief description of the creativity tool and an
Idea ID 177 is the idea of the idea from the idea database 119 that
is being surveyed and, (2) a Creativity Tool Description stores a
detailed description of the creativity tool and a User ID 178 is
from the User profile database of the user who reviewed the idea
and, (3) the Creativity Tool Module stores the module name used to
access the creativity tool Question 1 179 is the first
preprogrammed question for the survey where they user reply is
stored and, (4) the Creativity Tool Third Party stores the third
party network(s) that are used for the creativity tool. Question n
represents any number of additional questions 180 after Question 1
and, (5) General Comments 181 field allows the user surveying the
idea to leave a general comment beyond the preprogrammed
question.
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Idea ID 177 User ID 178 Question 1 179
Question 2 180 General Comments 181 001 User001 User001 Reply to
User001 Reply to User001 General Question 1 Question n Comments 002
User002 User001 Reply to User001 Reply to User002 General Question
2 Question n Comments 003 User001 User001 Reply to User001 Reply to
User001 General Question 1 Question n Comments 004 User003 User001
Reply to User001 Reply to User003 General Question 3 Question n
Comments 005 User001 User001 Reply to User001 Reply to User001
General Question 1 Question n Comments
[0051] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a flow diagram illustrating
an exemplary method of implementing the ideation module 112 in
accordance with an embodiment. In step 901, keywords may be
received from the virtual assistant module 110. In step 902, the
creativity tools database 11 may be queried for the available
creativity tools or methods, for example, random tool selection, or
specific tools such as word association, word definition, AHA deck
etc. In step 903, the user profile database 120 may be queried for
user features, such as age, occupation, expertise, etc. In step
904, the correlation database 135 may be queried for creativity
tools that are correlated to user features present in the current
group. In step 905, the ideation module 112 queries whether there a
tool that is correlated to a present user trait with a correlation
coefficient greater than a certain threshold, such as 0.90. That
number is chosen as an example in this embodiment and could be
higher or lower in practice. In step 906, the ideation module 112
queries whether there is only one tool that has a greater than 0.90
correlation coefficient, for example. If there is only one, skip to
step 909. If there is more than one, in step 907, the correlated
tools may be listed for the user in order of most correlated to
least and poll for the user selection. In step 908, the user
selected creativity tool may be received and in step 909, the
selected creativity tool module may be executed, for example the
user selects Creativity Tool 1, then creativity tool 1 module is
executed.
[0052] In step 910, the keywords received from the virtual
assistant module 110 may be sent to the creativity tool. In step
911, the module receives data or keywords back from the creativity
tool and in step 912, the creativity tool data is then sent to the
user via the virtual assistant device 101. In step 913, the user is
then asked using the virtual assistant device 101 if they would
like to record an idea. If the user does not want to record an idea
they are asked if they want to hear more creativity tool data, then
in step 914, if yes, the user wants to record an idea the record
module is executed, once the record module has completed the user
is asked if they wish to record another idea. In step 915, the idea
may be scored in a manner and in step 916, the correlation module
133 may be executed to compare the score of the created idea with
the user feature(s) and the creativity tool used.
[0053] The ideation module 112 continues to loop back to step 907
until the user wants to select a new creativity tool or end the
session. In step 917, the user may then be asked if the idea needs
more input from an additional party or parties, such as a specific
individual or a member of a specific department such as marketing
or engineering. In step 918, the adjustment needed module 134 may
be executed to direct the idea to the appropriate parties for
additional enablement or development. In step 919, the user may
then be asked using the virtual assistant device 101 if they would
like to record an idea. If the user does not want to record an
idea, the user is asked if they want to hear more creativity tool
data and, if yes, in step 920 the user does want to hear more
creativity tool data, a prompt is sent to the creativity tool to
see more data and the module receives the data at step 911.
[0054] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a flow diagram
illustrating an exemplary method of implementing the correlation
module 133 in accordance with an embodiment. In step 1001, a prompt
from the ideation module 112 may be received. In step 1002, user
features may be received from the user profile database 120. User
features include attributes of the user and their role, such as a
42-year-old engineer or a 24-year-old marketing department head, as
well as activities the user is engaged in. These activities could
be things such as eating lunch or answering emails. In this
embodiment the activities are inferred from time of day and the
calendar database contents. The new idea record coming into the
system scores above the organizationally determined threshold that
makes an idea valuable to pursue. The system may then retrieves the
user features, in this example an engineer at 12:30 PM, and
retrieves the existing correlation data between the user features
and positive idea value and, in step 1003 recalculate the
correlation coefficients between the user features. In this
example, there exists a high correlation between engineers and
lunch time ideas that score well and in step 1004 the updated
correlation coefficients may be written in the correlation database
135. In step 1005, the system may return to the ideation module
112.
[0055] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a flow diagram
illustrating an exemplary method of implementing the adjustment
needed module 134 in accordance with an embodiment. In step 1101, a
prompt from the ideation module 112 may be received that the idea
created by the current user needs additional information or
enablement from another system user. In step 1102, the user may be
asked if the idea needs input from a specific party, such as the
director of marketing. In step 1103, the user may be asked if the
idea needs input from a specific department, such as any member of
the marketing department. In step 1104, the user response may be
written to the idea database 119 and in step 1105 returning to the
ideation module 112.
[0056] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a flow diagram
illustrating an exemplary method of implementing the scheduling
module 137 in accordance with an embodiment. In step 1201, the
calendar database 136 is polled for new data events, such as a new
calendar event being added or an existing event being moved or
cancelled. In step 1202, the scheduling module 137 may determine if
the new data event corresponds to the user related to that data
event being currently available for ideation. In step 1203, the
idea database 119 may be queried for ideas assigned to the
available user. In step 1204, the scheduling module 137 may
determine if the available user has any ideas assigned to them. In
step 1205, the scheduling module 137 may query the idea database
119 for ideas assigned to the available user department. In step
1206, the scheduling module 137 may determine if the available user
department has any ideas assigned to them. In step 1207, the
scheduling module 137 may present the idea from the idea database
119 to the user and go to step 913 of the ideation module 112. In
step 1208, if no ideas are assigned to the user or the department,
an ideation session may begin with the user at the beginning of the
ideation module 112. In step 1209, if the new data event does not
correspond to the user being currently available for an ideation
session, the idea database 112 may be queried for ideas added since
the last query.
[0057] In step 1210, the scheduling module 137 may determine if any
new ideas are present in the idea database 119. In step 1211, the
scheduling module 137 may determine if the new idea(s) are assigned
to a specific user. In 1212, the scheduling module 137 may
determine if the new idea(s) are assigned to a specific department.
In step 1213, the scheduling module 137 may determine if the needed
user(s) is available. In step 1214, the scheduling module 137 may
identify any available user(s) when the new ideas do not call for a
specific user or department and, (15) 515 messaging the available
user(s).
[0058] In step 1216, the scheduling module 137 may poll for the
messaged user(s) to respond "Yes" they do want to start an ideation
session, or "No" they do not want to ideate right now. If they do
want to ideate they are returned to the ideation module 112. If
they return to the ideation module 112 to work on an existing idea,
the user starts at step 913 of the ideation module 112. If the user
is not working on an existing idea the user may be returned to the
beginning of the ideation module 112, which will determine the
ideal tool correlated with the user current activity and other user
features. If the user responds "No" they do not want to ideate
right now the scheduling module 137 may, in step 1217, query the
calendar database 136 for future availability. If the new data
event is for an idea that requires a specific party or department
the list of users whose availability is queried in the calendar
database 136 is limited to those identified users. If the new data
event is for an unassigned idea the system looks for the next
available opening in the calendar database 136. In step 1218, an
ideation session may be added to the identified opening in the
calendar database 136 and return to polling the calendar database
136 for a new data event.
[0059] The foregoing detailed description of the technology has
been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is
not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the technology to the
precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are
possible in light of the above teaching. The described embodiments
were chosen in order to best explain the principles of the
technology, its practical application, and to enable others skilled
in the art to utilize the technology in various embodiments and
with various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the technology be
defined by the claim.
* * * * *