Abstract: A virtual human interface for conducting survey questioning comprises a system and method which may include a script file which may include survey question data, response pattern data, expression data, advertising data, entertainment data, lobbying data and/or processing instructions. The expression data may include mouth and eye expression data along with respective duration data indicative of the length of time of respective visual representations. The virtual human interface may interact With a user by representing a character object that personifies communicative behavior to make interaction more natural and enjoyable.

Abstract: A virtual human interface application for conducting surveys comprises a system and method which include a script file which may include survey question data, response pattern data, advertising data, entertainment data, lobbying data and/or processing instructions. The system and method include an image generator providing a representation of a character communicating data from the script file, and also include script and response processing modules to seek and/or clarify responses from a user as well as to advertise to the user, persuade the user, encourage or reward the user, possibly based on patterns detected in the user's responses. The system and method automate the distribution of survey questions, the collection of survey data and processing and formatting of survey results.

Abstract: A method of constructing a catalog of the files stored on the network comprised of a plurality of interconnected computers each having a plurality of files stored thereon is comprised of the following steps: (a) establishing a queue containing at least one address representative of a file stored on one of the interconnected computers; (b) ranking each address in the queue according to the popularity of the file represented by that address; (c) downloading the file corresponding to the address in the queue having the highest ranking; (d) processing the downloaded file to generate certain information about the downloaded file for the catalog; (e) adding to the queue any addresses found in the downloaded file; (f) determining the popularity of the files represented by the addresses in the queue according to how often a file is referenced by a computer other than the computer on which the file is stored; and (g) repeating steps (b) through (g).

Abstract: An apparatus and method of creating a digital library from audio data and video images. The method includes the steps of transcribing the audio data and marking the transcribed audio data with a first set of time-stamps and indexing the transcribed audio data. The method also includes the steps of digitizing the video data and marking the digitized video data with a second set of time-stamps related to the first set of time-stamps and segmenting the digitized video data into paragraphs according to a set of rules. The steps of storing the indexed audio data and the digitized video data with their respective sets of time-stamps is also provided. The method also includes the step of passing the transcribed audio data through a natural language interpreter before indexing the transcribed audio data. A method and apparatus for searching the digital library is disclosed.

Abstract: A method of constructing a catalog of files stored on a network comprised of a plurality of interconnected computers each having a plurality of files stored thereon. The method is accomplished by establishing a queue containing at least one address representative of a file stored on one of the interconnected computers, ranking each address in the queue according to the popularity of the file presented by the address, downloading the file corresponding to the address in the queue having the highest ranking, processing the downloaded file to generate certain information about the downloaded file for the catalog, adding to the queue any addresses found in the downloaded file, and determining the popularity of file represented by the addresses in the queue according to how often a file is referenced by a computer other than the computer on which the file is stored.

Abstract: A method for skimming digital audio and video data, wherein the video data is partitioned into video segments and the audio data has been transcribed, is comprised of the steps of selecting representative frames from each of the video segments. The representative frames are combined to form an assembled video sequence. Keywords contained in the corresponding transcribed audio data are identified and extracted. The extracted keywords are assembled into an audio track. The assembled video sequence and audio track are output together. An apparatus for carrying out the disclosed method is also disclosed.