KR102079321B1 - System and method for avatar service through cable and wireless web - Google Patents

Abstract

By storing and maintaining a plurality of rotation images according to movement for each layer constituting the avatar and metadata representing data, and providing metadata and rotation images corresponding to the movement on request, various operations of the avatar ( The present invention provides an avatar service system and method capable of expressing an action such as a motion or an expression.

Description

Avatar service system and method through wired and wireless web {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AVATAR SERVICE THROUGH CABLE AND WIRELESS WEB}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an avatar service system and method through a wired or wireless web.

In the case of an avatar provided by a service through a wired or wireless web, the avatar may be a combination of clothing, face, and accessories. However, such a prior art avatar moves even if there is no movement or moves, ignoring the combination of clothing / accessories and the like, and the entire avatar moves.

In other words, prior art avatars are composed of simple layers (faces / clothes / accessories), which consist of a combination of images with no movement or when there is movement, clothing / accessories other than faces disappear, i. This involves a problem that occurs. In addition, there is a problem that a separate plug-in such as flash or 'unity 3D' must be installed in order to animate the motion of the avatar.

In addition, the messenger service is an acquaintance-based service and supports a text-type chat without an avatar. For example, the messenger service adopts a format in which an image set by the user is displayed on behalf of the user, not the concept of an avatar.

In the present specification, a system and method for more effectively presenting an avatar on a wired or wireless web are provided.

By storing and maintaining a plurality of rotation images according to movement for each layer constituting the avatar and metadata representing data, and providing metadata and rotation images corresponding to the movement on request, various operations of the avatar ( The present invention provides an avatar service system and method capable of expressing an action such as a motion or an expression.

In addition to the layers constituting the avatar's body, items such as accessories or clothing added to the avatar are also composed of separate layers, and a plurality of rotating images are generated and maintained for each item layer, thereby The present invention provides an avatar service system and method for providing a rotation image of item layers corresponding to movements of the rare layers constituting the not only image, thereby improving image quality due to image rotation, as well as improving the overall quality of the avatar service.

In the chat service, the user can select an avatar and expand the range for optimizing the avatar, which not only induces the user's interest, but also moves the user away from the static text-based chat method through the avatar's movement. The present invention provides a chat service system and method that can express one's emotions realistically and give dynamicity to a conversation.

By providing a random chat function, users can provide a service that allows users to chat randomly with all users, and provides a separate chat log to check past conversations or avatar movements while using the avatar. The present invention provides a chat service system and method for enabling mobility to impart dynamics of conversation.

Recognize specific words in the chat content to automatically express the emotions and movements of the avatar, etc. Not providing the same speech bubble, but provides a variety of speech bubbles that vary depending on the chat content, the user can choose their own speech bubbles Provides a system and method.

A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing an avatar service method for providing an avatar service on the Internet, the method comprising: receiving a request for movement of an avatar; Extracting metadata and image data corresponding to the request from a database in which metadata regarding movement of the avatar and image data of each of the layers constituting the avatar are stored; And generating and providing motion data for applying the motion of the avatar to the avatar using the extracted metadata and image data, wherein the image data is generated according to the motion of each layer constituting the avatar. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of rotating images.

An avatar service system for providing an avatar service on the Internet, the avatar service system comprising: a request receiving unit configured to receive a request for an action of an avatar; A data extraction unit for extracting metadata and image data corresponding to the request from a database in which metadata regarding movement of the avatar and image data of each of layers of the avatar are stored; And an avatar motion processor configured to generate and provide motion data for applying the motion of the avatar to the avatar using the extracted metadata and image data, wherein the image data moves for each layer constituting the avatar. It provides an avatar service system comprising a plurality of rotating images according to.

A user terminal provided with an avatar service on the Internet, the user terminal comprising: an avatar display unit displaying an avatar on a screen; A request transmitter for transmitting a request for movement of the avatar to a server; And a data receiver configured to receive motion data for movement of the avatar from the server, wherein the metadata is stored by the server in a database in which metadata about movement of the avatar and image data of each of the layers constituting the avatar are stored. Metadata and image data corresponding to the request are extracted, and the motion data is generated in the server based on the extracted metadata and image data, and the avatar display unit is configured to display the avatar based on the motion data. A motion is displayed on the screen, and the image data provides a user terminal comprising a plurality of rotated images according to the motion for each layer constituting the avatar.

By storing and maintaining a plurality of rotation images according to movement for each layer constituting the avatar and metadata representing data, and providing metadata and rotation images corresponding to the movement on request, various operations of the avatar ( It can express an action such as a motion or an expression.

In addition to the layers constituting the avatar's body, items such as accessories or clothing added to the avatar are also composed of separate layers, and a plurality of rotating images are generated and maintained for each item layer, thereby By providing a rotation image of the item layers corresponding to the movement of the rare layers constituting the, it is possible not only to solve the image broken phenomenon due to the image rotation but also to improve the quality of the entire avatar service.

In the chat service, the user can select an avatar and expand the range in which the avatar can be optimized, thereby inducing the user's interest, and moving the avatar away from the static text-based chat method. It can express one's feelings realistically and give the dialogue dynamics.

By providing a random chat function, users can provide a service that allows users to chat randomly with all users, and provides a separate chat log to check past conversations or avatar movements while using the avatar. The movement can be made to give the dialogue dynamics.

Recognize certain words in the chat content to automatically express the emotions and movements of the avatar, such as a speech bubble that is variable according to the chat content instead of the same speech bubble, the user can directly choose his own speech bubble.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an environment in which a user terminal and a server are connected through a network according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing a database in an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an example for explaining image data for each layer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
4 illustrates an example of layers constituting a body of an avatar for movement of an avatar according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an example illustrating a process of extracting image data from a database according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 illustrates an example of metadata in an embodiment of the present invention.
7 illustrates an example of an avatar's movement according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 and 9 illustrate examples of the front and rear surfaces of an avatar composed of a plurality of layers according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 illustrates an example in which an skeleton layer representing an skeleton of an avatar, a body layer, and an item layer correspond to each other, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a diagram for one example of providing an avatar service on a mobile web according to one embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a diagram illustrating another example of providing an avatar service on a mobile web according to one embodiment of the present invention.
13 illustrates an example of providing an animal avatar according to an embodiment of the present invention.
14 is a diagram illustrating an item category structure of an avatar according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an avatar on a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
16 shows an example of a chat stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.
17 shows an example of a chat log in an embodiment of the present invention.
18 illustrates an example of a method of providing a chat log according to an embodiment of the present invention.
19 is an example for explaining a random chat function in an embodiment of the present invention.
20 is a view showing a chat room, a server, and a word database according to an embodiment of the present invention.
21 illustrates an example of speech bubbles of various shapes in an embodiment of the present invention.
22 is an example in which speech bubbles of various shapes are used in an embodiment of the present invention.
23 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an avatar service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
24 is a flowchart illustrating an avatar service method performed by an avatar service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
25 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an avatar service method performed by a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an environment in which a user terminal and a server are connected through a network according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 illustrates a user terminal 110, a server 120, and a network 130.

The user terminal 110 may be a wired communication terminal or a wireless communication terminal used by the user. The user terminal 110 may communicate with the server 120 through the network 130 using a communication module included in the user terminal 110. For example, when the user terminal 110 is a wireless communication terminal, the network 130 may be a wireless communication network using a base station and a gateway, or may be a wireless communication network for connecting to the Internet using an access point. . In addition, when the user terminal 110 is a wired communication terminal, the network 130 may be a wired communication network connected to the Internet using a local area network. Since such communication technology is well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The server 120 may be a system for providing an avatar service to the user terminal 110 in an avatar service, a chat service, a social network service (SNS), or a social network game (SNG). In the present embodiment, the server 120 may provide an avatar service to the user terminal 110. The avatar service according to the present embodiment may perform various actions for each layer used in the combination of avatars. It may mean a service for providing a. For example, the server 120 may be a system for providing a chatting service using an avatar to the user terminal 110. That is, the server 120 may provide an avatar capable of various movements to support the user to realistically express his or her emotions through the avatar.

2 is a view showing a database in an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the database 200 is proposed to enable various movements of the avatar, and as shown in FIG. 2, metadata 210 which is data about the movement of the avatar, and image data for each layer for configuring the avatar ( 220 may be stored and maintained respectively. In this case, the database 210 may be included in the server 120 or may be included in a separate system that provides data to the server 120 in association with the server 120. In this case, the server 120 may extract necessary metadata 210 and image data 220 from the database 200 and provide the extracted metadata 210 and the image data 220 to the user terminal 110. In this case, the server 120 may synthesize the image data 220 for each frame based on the metadata 210 and provide the synthesized animation to the user terminal 110. In addition, the server 120 provides the extracted simply extracted metadata 210 and the image data 220 to the user terminal 110, and based on the metadata 210 in the user terminal 110, the image data ( 220 may be synthesized and displayed for each frame. That is, in the avatar service system and method according to the present embodiment, avatars of various movements may be expressed through a method of synthesizing image data 220 for each layer according to the metadata 210.

3 is an example for explaining image data for each layer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which a total of 360 rotating images may be generated from 1 ° to 360 ° in 1 ° increments based on the central axis 310 for one layer. It is too natural that the rotation unit may be preset to another value (eg 2 ° or 5 °) as needed.

4 illustrates an example of layers constituting a body of an avatar for movement of an avatar according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 4, the avatar's body is divided into ten layers of head, torso, upper right arm, lower right arm, upper left arm, lower left arm, upper right leg, lower right leg, upper left leg and lower left leg. An example comprised with these is shown. Here, each of the layers includes a central axis and may rotate along the central axis. Of course, the avatar shown in FIG. 4 is just one example, and if necessary, the avatar may be configured with more layers to control more sophisticated motion.

5 is an example illustrating a process of extracting image data from a database according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows that 360 rotation images for each layer are stored in the database as image data, and that the rotation images necessary for representing the requested motion can be extracted and provided. First, in the database described in the example of FIG. 5, for each of the layers, a total of 360 rotating images are stored from 1 ° to 360 ° in units of 1 °. In this case, "layer code" may mean an identifier for identifying each layer. That is, FIG. 7 illustrates rotation images of 59 ° to 64 ° among rotation images of the layer having the “layer code” of “bd_x_a1_01”, and 251 ° to 251 of rotation images of the layer having the “layer code” of “bd_x_a2_00”. An example of extracting rotated images up to °, and rotated images from 346 ° to 351 °, respectively, among the rotated images of the layer having the "layer code" of "bd_x_a5_00" is shown.

Each layer can be rotated about the central axis according to the application of the rotating image, and the layers can be moved depending on where the central axis is located on the screen. The information about the rotation about the central axis or the position of the central axis may be included in the metadata. For example, the metadata may include information (coordinates) of where the center axis of the rotated image having an angle (rotation value, angle) of each layer should be located on the screen.

6 illustrates an example of metadata in an embodiment of the present invention. First, in FIG. 6, "ani01.xml" may mean that metadata is provided in the form of an eXtensible MarkUp Language (XML) for the identifier "ani01" for the requested movement. Also, the value of "scene frame" may be an identifier for identifying a frame. That is, "scene frame = 1" may mean the first frame of the motion corresponding to "ani01". "layer code" may mean an identifier for identifying a layer as described above. "z_order" may indicate the depth of layers in a frame. That is, as the value of "z_order" increases, this may mean that it is displayed on the front of the screen. "angle" may correspond to an identifier of a rotating image to be applied. That is, "angle = 0" may mean that a rotation image corresponding to 360 ° is applied. "offset_x" and "offset_y" may indicate coordinates. The coordinates may be absolute coordinates corresponding to the coordinates of the screen, or may be relative to the reference position of the area where the avatar is represented.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, when the user terminal 110 receives an avatar service by accessing the server 120 through the network 130, the server 120 moves the avatar from the user terminal 110. Receive a request associated with the. In this case, the server 120 may synthesize the image of the avatar with the requested movement and provide the synthesized image to the user terminal 110.

In another embodiment, the server 120 may extract metadata 210 and image data 220 related to the requested movement from the database 200 and provide them to the user terminal 110, and the user terminal 110. The image data 220 may be displayed on the screen for each frame based on the metadata 210. For example, the metadata 210 may be provided in the form of XML as described with reference to FIG. 6, and thus, an avatar service capable of various movements may be provided through a wired or wireless web. That is, the server 120 may generate an xml file through the metadata 210 and the image data 220 and provide the generated xml file to the user terminal 110. In this case, the server 120 may add the web address for the image data 220 to the XML file and provide it to the user terminal 110. The user terminal 110 may process an xml file through a web standard protocol such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language) 5, and at this time, the image data 220 is connected to the user terminal 110 through a web address added to the xml file. It may be provided as.

7 illustrates an example of an avatar's movement according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the avatar 700 may determine a movement based on the coordinates and rotation values of the layers constituting the avatar. When the coordinates and the rotation value of the rotation images of the layers are determined for each frame and each frame is sequentially displayed on the screen, an animation according to the movement of the avatar may be provided to the user. In addition, the position of the avatar may be moved by changing the same overall coordinate value of the avatar.

8 and 9 illustrate examples of the front and rear surfaces of an avatar composed of a plurality of layers according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIGS. 8 and 9 are examples in which the outer appearance of the avatar is implemented as a layer structure. A central axis may be preset for each layer, and a plurality of rotating images about the central axis preset for one layer may be provided. May exist. The plurality of rotated images may be stored as image data 220 for each layer in the database 200 described with reference to FIG. 2. That is, a plurality of rotation images exist for each of the plurality of layers, and the server 120 may provide rotation images and metadata necessary for the movement of the avatar. As described above, the user terminal 110 may combine and display the rotated images based on the metadata.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example in which an skeleton layer representing an armature of an avatar, a body layer, and an item layer correspond to each other. That is, the avatar according to the present embodiment indicates that the body and items attached to the bone can move together at the same time according to the movement of the bone. That is, by changing the coordinates and angles of the body layer and the item layer corresponding to the coordinates and angles at which the layer representing the skeleton is moved, it is possible to prevent the image from being broken.

11 is a diagram for one example of providing an avatar service on a mobile web according to one embodiment of the present invention. The screen 1100 is an example of a screen of a user's mobile terminal. In more detail, the screen 1100 shows an example of setting an avatar instead of a picture as a profile representative image of a social network service. In this case, the avatar may express its emotional state or situation by the avatar's movement (action such as expression or gesture).

12 is a diagram illustrating another example of providing an avatar service on a mobile web according to one embodiment of the present invention. The screen 1200 is an example of a screen of a user's mobile terminal. In more detail, the screen 1200 shows an example of a chat service screen using an avatar. In other words, not only chatting via text, but also the avatar's movement can communicate his or her emotional state or situation. 12 illustrates an example in which preset motions of the avatar are provided in advance, and a selected motion among the provided motions is reflected in the avatar of the user. However, the movement of the avatar can be selected through various methods. For example, the movement of the avatar may be selected by analyzing text input by the user.

As described above, the prior art avatar service provided on the web is simply a combination of images, and like a messenger, a web service is an acquaintance-based service, which supports chatting in a text form without an avatar or displays an image set by a user. Only support the technology. However, in the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in the example of FIGS. 11 and 12, even on a wired or wireless web, an avatar capable of expressing various movements and expressions without installing a separate program such as a plug-in may be supported. In particular, in a mobile web service An avatar service capable of moving an avatar may be provided.

Hereinafter, a mobile chat service including an avatar service according to embodiments of the present invention will be described.

Referring back to FIG. 12, when the avatar mounts an item, the movement of the avatar may also be applied to the item. That is, when the avatar is moving, items such as clothes or accessories mounted on the avatar are moved or rotated in response to the avatar's movement, thereby preventing the image from being broken.

In addition, in the chat service according to the present embodiment, not only the profile image of the other party but also his / her profile image may be displayed in the area where the chat log is displayed. That is, FIG. 12 further shows how the image 1210 of the user is displayed.

13 illustrates an example of providing an animal avatar according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG. 13 illustrates a first user interface 1310 through which a user can select not only a humanoid male avatar and a humanoid female avatar, but also an animal avatar. In addition, FIG. 13 further illustrates a second user interface 1310 in which the user can set the name of the selected avatar. The user interfaces may be provided to the user by an application installed on the user terminal.

14 is a diagram illustrating an item category structure of an avatar according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, in the avatar system according to the present embodiment, a gender may be assigned to the avatar, and a race (animal, etc.) attribute may be assigned in addition to the gender to generate a race avatar other than the humanoid avatar like the animal avatar. It is natural that other virtual races can be added as race attributes as needed. In addition, it is possible to change or wear individual elements by using various items such as the appearance and costume of the avatar, and the user can also control the movement of the avatar.

In addition, the application described with reference to FIG. 13 may further include at least one of user interfaces (not shown) of (1) to (7) below. Also, the user interfaces below (1) to (7) may be combined with each other.

(1) A closet interface for identifying items (or movements) provided to the user, items (or movements) purchased by the user. Here, the items may include not only items for setting an avatar's face such as a face shape, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, hair, and skin color, but also items such as clothes and accessories or pet items. . At this time, the pet can also have its own movement, it is also possible to move. In addition, the wardrobe interface may display items that can be worn and items that cannot be worn according to gender or race. Items (or movements) held by the user may be provided by being classified by category.

(2) Combination interface for pre-combining various items.

(3) avatar rotation interface for rotating the avatar. That is, the user may check the avatars combined through the combination interface while rotating the avatar using the avatar rotation interface.

(4) Random combination interface in which items are randomly combined. For example, when the random combination interface is selected in the upper category step, the application may randomly select and combine items from all items of the lower categories of the category. As another example, when a random combination interface is selected after entering a specific category, the application may randomly select and combine items from items of the corresponding category. In addition, the random combination interface may further include a function for combining items at random from among items owned by a user or a function for combining items at random among items sold.

(5) Item purchase interface for purchasing items such as clothing or accessories. At this time, the purchase interface may include a combination interface of (2). That is, users can pre-combine items in their avatars prior to purchase through the combination interface. In addition, the purchase interface may further include a shopping cart interface for storing the selected item. In this case, the items stored through the shopping cart interface may be automatically combined with their avatars in advance. The purchased item may be given a duration.

(6) Motion purchase interface for purchasing movements possible with avatars in combination with costumes. That is, the user may purchase and use additional movements in addition to the movements basically provided. The movement purchase interface may further include a pre-purchase movement execution interface for instructing his avatar to perform the selected movement even before purchasing the movement. That is, the application may play and show an animation in which the user's avatar performs a specific movement before the user purchases the movement.

(7) User interface for presenting items or movements to other users.

Items held by the user may be deleted through a delete function. In addition, at least some items may introduce a concept of recycling as needed to provide a user with a certain level of compensation when the items are deleted.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an avatar on a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, the moving means may be included as an item combined with the avatar. As described above, the avatar may be moved. For example, the avatar may be changed according to the movement of the avatar or a user input in a chat stage such as a chat window or a chat room. In this case, the avatar equipped with the vehicle item may move within the chat stage by the vehicle. In this specification, "chat window", "chat room" and "chat stage" are used interchangeably.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the server 120 may extract metadata 210 and image data 220 required from the database 200 according to a request transmitted from the user terminal 120. In this case, the request may be generated through control of an application installed in the user terminal 120.

The server 120 may generate the necessary animation using the extracted metadata 210 and the image data 220 and transmit the generated animation to the user terminal 120. In this case, the user terminal 120 may display the animation on the corresponding service screen like a chat window under the control of the application.

In this case, the server 120 may store and maintain the generated animation for a preset period. If the requested animation is already stored, the server 120 may transmit the stored animation to the user terminal 120 according to the request. That is, when the animation is not stored, the server 120 may generate the animation by extracting data from the database 200.

16 shows an example of a chat stage according to an embodiment of the present invention. The first screen 1610 and the second screen 1620 are examples of the screen of the user's mobile terminal, respectively. Here, the first screen 1610 shows the avatars of the users in a chat room accessed by a plurality of users, and the chat contents are displayed on the heads of the avatars. In this case, the user may move the avatar 1630 by setting a location 1640 for moving the user's avatar 1630. The second screen 1620 shows a state in which the avatar 1630 has moved to the location 1640 set by the user. In this case, the position of the avatar 1630 may be performed by collectively modifying the coordinates of the central axis of the rotated images constituting the avatar 1630. For example, when the user terminal 110 requests the server 120 to move the avatar 1630, the user terminal 110 may transmit coordinates for moving the avatar 1630 to the server 120. In this case, the server 120 may control the avatar 1630 to move using the received coordinates. In addition, the server 120 may transmit the changed location information of the avatar 1630 to other users participating in the chat. In this case, the position of the avatar 1630 may be changed on the screens of user terminals of other users.

As described above, according to embodiments of the present invention, the user can realistically express his or her emotions through the movement of the avatar, and the avatar service can be reflected not only in the chat service but also in the SNS or the SNG. In addition, by selecting an avatar in the chat service and expanding the range for optimizing the avatar, the user can not only induce user's interest but also communicate by moving the avatar in the chat window away from the static text-based chat method. It can give the dynamics of.

17 shows an example of a chat log in an embodiment of the present invention. When the chat is performed using the chat stage and the avatars as shown in FIG. 16, the application may include a separate chat log view interface. The screen 1700 is an example of a screen of a user's mobile terminal and shows a chat log. In this case, the chat log may include not only text input by the users for chatting, but also movements 1710 such as emotions or actions of the avatar.

18 illustrates an example of a method of providing a chat log according to an embodiment of the present invention. When N users are connected to one chat room (chat stage) 1810, the server 120 may generate a chat log 1820 for the chat stage 1810. In addition, the server 120 may record the text transmitted from the user terminals of the users or information on the movement of the avatar in the chat log 1820. In this case, when at least one of the users selects the chat log viewing interface, the server 120 may provide the chat log 1820 to the user terminal of the corresponding user. The user terminal receiving the chat log 1820 displays the received chat log 1820 on the screen, so that the user can check the conversation or the movement of the avatar as shown in the screen 1700 of FIG. 17.

19 is an example for explaining a random chat function in an embodiment of the present invention. The server 120 may identify users who request a random chat among the plurality of users 1900 using the chat service. That is, the server 120 may determine whether a random chat requester exists in step 1910, and generate a random chat room in step 1920 when the random chat requester exists. If there is no random chat requester, the server 120 may wait and perform step 1910. In this case, the server 120 may allow users to enter the random chat room in the order in which the random chat is requested, and may limit the number of people who can enter one random chat room. Accordingly, the server 120 may support random chats between users who request random chats at similar timings. In this case, when there are two or more random chat requesters in step 1910, the server 120 may generate a random chat room in step 1920.

20 is a view showing a chat room, a server, and a word database according to an embodiment of the present invention. The server 120 may transfer the chat contents received from the user terminals of the users entering the chat room 2100 to the user terminals of all users existing in the chat room 2100. In addition, the server 120 processes the avatar's movement in response to a request for the movement of the avatar received from the user terminals of users entering the chat room 2100, and transmits the avatar's movement to the chat room 2100. It can be delivered to the user terminals of all existing users.

In this case, the server 120 may include the word database 2200 or use the word database 2200 in association with a separate system including the word database 2200. In this case, the word database 2200 may store a predetermined word and an action tag which is a tag for the movement of the avatar. That is, when the chat content generated in the chat room 2100 includes a word stored in the word database 2200, the server 120 may search for the word in the word database 2200 to check the action tag of the associated avatar. have. In this case, the server 120 may apply a corresponding movement to the avatar through the identified action tag of the avatar.

For example, assume that the word database "laugh" and the action tag "laugh" are stored in association with each other in the word database 2200. In this case, when the word "laugh" exists in the chat content of the user A in the chat room 2100, the server 120 may check the action tag "smiley expression" through the word database 2200, and the user A May control the avatar to perform the movement of the "laughing facial expression". In this case, a plurality of words may be stored in the word database 2200 in association with one action tag.

  As such, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the avatar may be controlled to express the related movement by using the action tag even if the user does not directly select the movement of the avatar.

21 illustrates an example of speech bubbles of various shapes in an embodiment of the present invention. In the chat service according to the present embodiment, a user may select and use a specific speech bubble among various speech bubbles 2100 according to a preference. In addition, the speech balloon may be changed according to a specific character. For example, speech bubbles may be preset according to exclamation marks or question marks. In this case, when an exclamation point or a question mark enters the user's chat content, the user's speech bubble may be automatically selected as preset speech bubbles.

22 is an example in which speech bubbles of various shapes are used in an embodiment of the present invention. The screen 2200 is an example of a screen of a user's mobile terminal. In this case, when the input chat content includes an exclamation mark, the first speech bubble 1810 automatically shows a preset speech bubble according to the exclamation mark. In addition, the second speech balloon 1820 shows a state in which the speech balloon directly selected by the user is provided.

23 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an avatar service system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The avatar service system 2300 according to the present embodiment is a system corresponding to the server 120 described with reference to FIG. 1, and may provide an avatar service to a user on a wired / wireless web. The avatar service system 2300 may include a request receiver 2310, a data extractor 2320, and an avatar motion processor 2330 as shown in FIG. 23.

The request receiver 2310 receives a request for an action of the avatar. Here, the movement of the avatar may mean an animation composed of a plurality of frames in order to express the operation or facial expression (emotion) of the avatar.

The data extractor 2320 extracts metadata and image data corresponding to the request from a database in which metadata regarding movement of the avatar and image data of each of the layers constituting the avatar are stored. Here, each of the layers may include a central axis. In addition, the image data may include a plurality of rotation images to which rotations of different angles are applied with respect to a central axis with respect to one layer. The metadata may include information on a required layer and a required layer angle for each frame according to the avatar's movement, and information on at least one of a depth of a required layer and a coordinate to which a central axis of the required layer is to be applied. It may further include. In this case, the rotated image of the corresponding angle among the plurality of rotated images may be extracted from the database as image data according to the required layer angle. That is, the data extractor 2320 may check the angle of the rotation data to be extracted from the database through preset metadata according to the movement of the avatar, and extract the rotation data corresponding to the identified angle from the database.

The layer may include a skeleton layer representing a skeleton of the avatar, and may further include at least one of a body layer corresponding to the skeleton layer and an item layer including at least clothing and accessories. In this case, the data extractor 2320 may extract the rotation image corresponding to the body layer or the item layer according to the rotation of the skeleton layer, so that the body layer or the item layer may be rotated to match the rotation of the skeleton layer. Therefore, the image cracking phenomenon can be prevented.

The avatar motion processor 2330 generates and provides motion data for applying the avatar motion to the avatar using the extracted metadata and image data. In this case, the avatar may express a motion, an emotion, or the like according to the selected rotation data, and may be moved by constantly changing the coordinates of the central axis of the layers constituting the avatar.

In one embodiment, the avatar motion processor 2330 generates an animation corresponding to the avatar's movement as motion data using the extracted metadata and image data, and provides the generated motion data to the user terminal that has transmitted the request. Can be. That is, the avatar service system 2300 may generate an animation and provide the animation to the user terminal.

In another embodiment, the avatar motion processor 2330 generates motion data in the form of an extensible markup language (XML) based on the extracted metadata and the image data, and generates the motion data. The request may be provided to the user terminal that sent the request. In this case, an animation corresponding to the movement of the avatar may be generated in the user terminal based on the movement data in the form of an extensible markup language. That is, the animation may be generated at the user terminal.

In this case, the user terminal plays the animation at a necessary position and displays the animation on the screen, whereby a motion such as an avatar's motion or facial expression can be expressed.

24 is a flowchart illustrating an avatar service method performed by an avatar service system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The avatar service method according to the present embodiment may be performed by the avatar service system 2300 described with reference to FIG. 23.

In operation 2410, the avatar service system 2300 receives a request for movement of an avatar. Here, the movement of the avatar may mean an animation composed of a plurality of frames in order to express the operation or facial expression (emotion) of the avatar.

In operation 2420, the avatar service system 2300 extracts metadata and image data corresponding to the request from a database in which metadata regarding movement of the avatar and image data of each of the layers constituting the avatar are stored. Here, each of the layers may include a central axis. In addition, the image data may include a plurality of rotating images to which rotations of different angles are applied with respect to a central axis with respect to one layer. The metadata may include information about a required layer and a required layer angle for each frame according to the avatar's movement, and further include information about at least one of a depth of the required layer and coordinates to which the central axis of the required layer is applied. can do. In this case, the rotated image of the corresponding angle among the plurality of rotated images may be extracted from the database as image data according to the required layer angle. That is, the avatar service system 2300 may identify angles of rotation data to be extracted from the database through preset metadata according to the movement of the avatar, and extract rotation data corresponding to the identified angles from the database.

The layer may include a skeleton layer representing a skeleton of the avatar, and may further include at least one of a body layer corresponding to the skeleton layer and an item layer including at least clothing and accessories. In this case, the data extractor 2320 may extract the rotation image corresponding to the body layer or the item layer according to the rotation of the skeleton layer, so that the body layer or the item layer may be rotated to match the rotation of the skeleton layer. Therefore, the image cracking phenomenon can be prevented.

In operation 2430, the avatar service system 2300 generates and provides motion data for applying the motion of the avatar to the avatar by using the extracted metadata and image data. In this case, the avatar may express a motion, an emotion, or the like according to the selected rotation data, and may be moved by constantly changing the coordinates of the central axis of the layers constituting the avatar.

According to an embodiment, the avatar service system 2300 may generate an animation corresponding to the avatar's movement as the movement data using the extracted metadata and the image data, and provide the generated movement data to the user terminal transmitting the request. Can be. That is, the avatar service system 2300 may generate an animation and provide the animation to the user terminal.

In another embodiment, the avatar service system 2300 generates motion data in the form of an extensible markup language based on the extracted metadata and the image data, and transmits the generated motion data to the user terminal that transmits the request. Can provide. In this case, an animation corresponding to the movement of the avatar may be generated in the user terminal based on the movement data in the form of an extensible markup language. That is, the animation may be generated at the user terminal.

In this case, the user terminal plays the animation at a necessary position and displays the animation on the screen, whereby a motion such as an avatar's motion or facial expression can be expressed.

25 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The user terminal 2500 according to the present embodiment is a device corresponding to the user terminal 110 described with reference to FIG. 1 and may be a device that receives an avatar service on a wired / wireless web. As illustrated in FIG. 25, the user terminal 2500 may include an avatar display unit 2510, a request transmitter 2520, and a data receiver 2530.

The avatar display unit 2510 displays an avatar on the screen. For example, when the user accesses the avatar service through the user terminal 2500, the user terminal 2500 may receive information about the user's avatar from the server. In this case, the avatar display unit 2510 may display the avatar on the screen based on the information about the avatar. Here, the server may correspond to the avatar service system 2300 described with reference to FIG. 23.

The request transmitter 2520 transmits a request for the movement of the avatar to the server. In this case, metadata and image data corresponding to the request may be extracted by the server from a database in which metadata regarding movement of the avatar and image data of each of the layers constituting the avatar are stored. In other words, the server may extract metadata and image data corresponding to the request from the database.

Each of the layers may include a central axis, and the image data may include a plurality of rotating images to which rotations of different angles are applied with respect to the central axis with respect to one layer. In addition, the metadata may include information about a required layer and a required layer angle for each frame according to the avatar's movement. It may further include. In this case, the rotation image of the corresponding angle among the plurality of rotation images according to the required layer angle may be extracted by the server from the database as image data. That is, the server may identify angles of rotation data to be extracted from the database through preset metadata according to the movement of the avatar, and extract rotation data corresponding to the identified angles from the database.

The avatar may be moved by constantly changing the central axis coordinates of the layers constituting the avatar.

The data receiver 2530 receives movement data for movement of the avatar from a server. Here, the motion data may be generated at the server based on metadata and image data to be extracted from the database.

In one embodiment, the motion data may include an animation generated to correspond to the movement of the avatar using metadata and image data extracted from the server. That is, an animation may be generated in the server and provided to the user terminal 2500.

In another embodiment, the motion data may include data in the form of an extensible markup language generated based on the extracted metadata and the image data at the server. In this case, the user terminal 2500 may further include an animation generator (not shown) for generating an animation corresponding to the movement of the avatar based on the data of the scalable markup language. That is, the animation may be generated in the user terminal 2500.

In this case, the avatar display unit 2510 may display the movement of the avatar on the screen based on the movement data. For example, the avatar display unit 2510 may process the movement of the avatar by playing the generated animation on the screen. That is, as described above, the motion of the avatar may mean an animation composed of a plurality of frames to express the motion, facial expression (feeling), etc. of the avatar, and the avatar display unit 2510 plays the animation on the screen. The movement of the avatar may be applied to the avatar.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an avatar service method performed by a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The avatar service method according to the present embodiment may be performed by the user terminal 2500 described with reference to FIG. 25.

In operation 2610, the user terminal 2500 displays an avatar on the screen. For example, when the user accesses the avatar service through the user terminal 2500, the user terminal 2500 may receive information about the user's avatar from the server. In this case, the user terminal 2500 may display the avatar on the screen based on the information on the avatar. Here, the server may correspond to the avatar service system 2300 described with reference to FIG. 23.

In operation 2620, the user terminal 2500 transmits a request for the movement of the avatar to the server. In this case, metadata and image data corresponding to the request may be extracted by the server from a database in which metadata regarding movement of the avatar and image data of each of the layers constituting the avatar are stored. In other words, the server may extract metadata and image data corresponding to the request from the database.

Each of the layers may include a central axis, and the image data may include a plurality of rotating images to which rotations of different angles are applied with respect to the central axis with respect to one layer. In addition, the metadata may include information about a required layer and a required layer angle for each frame according to the movement of the avatar, and may include information on at least one of a depth of the required layer and coordinates to which the central axis of the required layer is to be applied. It may further include. In this case, the rotation image of the corresponding angle among the plurality of rotation images according to the required layer angle may be extracted by the server from the database as image data. That is, the server may identify angles of rotation data to be extracted from the database through preset metadata according to the movement of the avatar, and extract rotation data corresponding to the identified angles from the database.

The avatar may be moved by constantly changing the central axis coordinates of the layers constituting the avatar.

In operation 2630, the user terminal 2500 receives movement data for movement of the avatar from a server. Here, the motion data may be generated at the server based on metadata and image data to be extracted from the database.

In one embodiment, the motion data may include an animation generated to correspond to the movement of the avatar using metadata and image data extracted from the server. That is, an animation may be generated in the server and provided to the user terminal 2500.

In another embodiment, the motion data may include data in the form of an extensible markup language generated based on the extracted metadata and the image data in the server. In this case, the user terminal 2500 may further perform an operation (not shown) of generating an animation corresponding to the movement of the avatar based on the data in the form of an expandable markup language. That is, the animation may be generated in the user terminal 2500.

In this case, the user terminal 2500 may display the movement of the avatar on the screen based on the movement data. For example, the user terminal 2500 may play the generated animation on the screen to process the movement of the avatar. That is, as described above, the movement of the avatar may mean an animation composed of a plurality of frames to express the avatar's motion, facial expression (emotion), and the like, and the user terminal 2500 reproduces the animation on the screen. The movement of the avatar may be applied to the avatar.

23 to 26, reference may be made to the contents of FIGS. 1 to 22.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, metadata and data representing motion and a plurality of rotating images according to the motion for each layer constituting the avatar are stored and maintained in a database, respectively, and metadata corresponding to the motion as requested. By providing and rotating images, it is possible to express a variety of movements, such as the avatar's movements, facial expressions (emotions). In addition, not only the layers constituting the body of the avatar, but also items such as accessories or clothes added to the avatar are composed of separate layers, and a plurality of rotated images are generated and maintained for each item layer. In addition, by providing a rotation image of the item layers corresponding to the movement of the layers constituting the body, it is possible not only to solve the image breakage caused by the image rotation but also to improve the quality of the entire avatar service. In addition, in the chat service, the user can select an avatar and expand the range for optimizing the avatar, thereby inducing the user's interest, and moving away from the static text-based chat method through the avatar's movement. Users can express their feelings realistically and can impart dynamics of conversation. In addition, by providing a random chat function, users can provide a service that allows users to chat randomly with the entire user, and by providing a separate chat log, you can check the conversation or the movement of the avatar while using the avatar, It is possible to move the avatar so as to give the dialogue dynamics. In addition, by recognizing a certain word in the chat content can automatically express the emotions and movements of the avatar, such as not the same speech bubble, but provides a variable speech bubble according to the chat content, the user can directly choose his own speech bubble. .

Methods according to an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. Program instructions recorded on the media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts.

As described above, the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains various modifications and variations from these descriptions. This is possible.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims below but also by the equivalents of the claims.

110: user terminal
120: server
130: network

Claims (9)

A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute an avatar service method for providing an avatar service on the Internet, the method comprising:
The avatar service method,
Receiving a request for movement of the avatar;
Extracting metadata and image data corresponding to the request from a database in which metadata regarding movement of the avatar and image data of each of the layers constituting the avatar are stored; And
Generating and providing motion data for applying the motion of the avatar to the avatar using the extracted metadata and image data
Including,
The image data includes a plurality of rotating images to which rotations of different angles are applied according to the movement of the avatar based on the central axis included in each layer for each layer constituting the avatar,
Among the plurality of rotating images, a rotating image of a corresponding angle corresponding to the movement corresponding to the request is extracted from the database as the image data.
And a non-transitory computer readable recording medium. The method of claim 1,
Generating and providing the motion data,
Using the extracted metadata and image data to generate an animation corresponding to the motion of the avatar as the motion data, and to provide the generated motion data to the user terminal that transmitted the request.
And a non-transitory computer readable recording medium. The method of claim 1,
Generating and providing the motion data,
Generating motion data in the form of an extensible markup language (XML) based on the extracted metadata and the image data, and providing the generated motion data to a user terminal that has transmitted the request;
An animation corresponding to the movement of the avatar is generated in the user terminal based on the movement data in the form of the scalable markup language.
And a non-transitory computer readable recording medium. The method of claim 1,
The layer comprises a skeleton layer representing the skeleton of the avatar, further comprising at least one of a body layer corresponding to the skeleton layer and an item layer including at least clothing and accessories
And a non-transitory computer readable recording medium. In the avatar service system for providing an avatar service on the Internet,
A request receiver for receiving a request for an action of the avatar;
A data extraction unit for extracting metadata and image data corresponding to the request from a database in which metadata regarding movement of the avatar and image data for each of layers forming the avatar are stored; And
Avatar motion processor for generating and providing motion data for applying the motion of the avatar to the avatar using the extracted metadata and image data
Including,
The image data includes a plurality of rotating images to which rotations of different angles are applied according to the movement of the avatar based on the central axis included in each layer for each layer constituting the avatar,
Among the plurality of rotating images, a rotating image of a corresponding angle corresponding to the movement corresponding to the request is extracted from the database as the image data.
Avatar service system, characterized in that. In a user terminal provided with an avatar service on the Internet,
An avatar display unit for displaying the avatar on the screen;
A request transmitter for transmitting a request for movement of the avatar to a server; And
Data receiving unit for receiving motion data for the movement of the avatar from the server
Including,
Metadata and image data corresponding to the request are extracted by the server from a database in which metadata regarding movement of the avatar and image data of each of the layers constituting the avatar are stored;
The motion data is generated at the server based on the extracted metadata and image data.
The avatar display unit,
Display the motion of the avatar on the screen based on the motion data,
The image data includes a plurality of rotating images to which rotations of different angles are applied according to the movement of the avatar based on the central axis included in each layer for each layer constituting the avatar,
Among the plurality of rotation images, a rotation image of a corresponding angle corresponding to the movement corresponding to the request is extracted from the database as the image data.
User terminal characterized in that. The method of claim 6,
The motion data may include an animation generated to correspond to the motion using the extracted metadata and image data in the server. The method of claim 6,
The motion data includes data in the form of an extensible markup language (XML) generated by the server based on the extracted metadata and the image data.
An animation generator for generating an animation corresponding to the movement of the avatar based on the data of the scalable markup language type.
User terminal characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 8,
The avatar display unit,
The user terminal, characterized in that for processing the movement of the avatar by playing the generated animation on the screen.

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