System and method for control and training of avatars in an interactive environment

Abstract

A system operative to execute and train at least one avatar for each user of an interactive environment comprising a knowledge engine operative to continuously monitor each user's response to events in the interactive environment while each user controls the at least one avatar, a knowledge base operative to store each of the monitored user responses to events in the interactive environment and an action engine operative to control one or more actions of the at least one avatar for each user in the interactive environment based on the stored monitored responses regardless of each user's control of the at least one avatar.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system operative to execute and train at least one avatar in an interactive environment for each of one or more users, the system comprising:
 a plurality of client devices coupled to a network, each client device including at least a first knowledge engine operative to continuously monitor each user's response to a plurality of events in the interactive environment, the first knowledge engine including an event monitoring component, a response monitoring component and an operational mode management component; and 
 at least one server device coupled to the network including a memory, a knowledge base and a second knowledge engine, the second knowledge engine including a pattern analysis and recognition component, a categorization component and a knowledge base interface controller, the at least one server device operative to receive the monitored user responses from the first knowledge engine and to cause the at least one avatar to execute one or more actions in the interactive environment based on pattern analysis of the monitored user responses. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1  wherein each of the plurality of client devices further includes an action engine, the action engine operative to control the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment based on the monitored user responses. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one server device further includes an action engine, the action engine control operative to control the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment based on the monitored user responses. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated simulation environment. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 1  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated game environment. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1  wherein the event monitoring component is operative to continuously monitor events in the interactive environment and to report the monitored events to the second knowledge engine, the response monitoring component is operative to continuously monitor each user's responses to the plurality of events in the interactive environment and to report each monitored user response to the second knowledge engine, and the operational mode management component is operative to determine the actions of the at least one avatar in an operational mode in the interactive environment, the operational mode being one of a real user mode, an assisted duality mode, a competitive duality mode and an autonomous operational mode. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1  wherein the second knowledge engine further includes an action engine interface controller, the knowledge base interface controller operative to communicate between the pattern analysis and recognition component and the categorization component, the action engine interface controller operative to communicate requests for control actions to an action engine. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 7  wherein the pattern analysis and recognition component is operative to determine an association between each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment and each user's response. 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 7  wherein the categorization component is operative to categorize each user's response as a decision metric and a timing measure of each user's response as a performance metric. 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 7  wherein the knowledge base is operative to store in the memory one or more associations between each user response and each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 8  wherein the association is based on at least one of a frequency of occurrence measure and a statistical relevance measure. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 10  wherein the second knowledge engine is operative to search the one or more associations stored in the memory and to determine at least one decision metric and at least one performance metric to be applied by the at least one avatar in response to one or more events in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 2  wherein the action engine is operative to control the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in response to one or more requests from the second knowledge engine in at least one of an autonomous mode and a competitive duality mode of the interactive environment, each request of the second knowledge engine based on:
 one or more associations between each user response and each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment, and 
 a categorization of each user response according to a decision metric and a timing measure of each user response according to a performance metric. 
 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 3  wherein the action engine is operative to control the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in response to one or more requests from the second knowledge engine in at least one of an autonomous mode and a competitive duality mode of the interactive environment, each request of the second knowledge engine based on:
 one or more associations between each user response and each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment, and 
 a categorization of each user response according to a decision metric and a timing measure of each user response according to a performance metric. 
 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 6  wherein the real user mode comprises each user having exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 6  wherein the assisted duality mode comprises each user having shared control with the second knowledge engine and the action engine for supplemented execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 6  wherein the competitive duality mode comprises each user having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a first avatar of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment and the second knowledge engine and the an action engine having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a second avatar of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, the first avatar and the second avatar having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 6  wherein the competitive duality mode comprises each user having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a first plurality of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment and the second knowledge engine and the an action engine having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a second plurality of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, each plurality comprising a collaborative team having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 6  wherein the autonomous operational mode comprises the second knowledge engine and the an action engine having exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 19  wherein the autonomous operational mode further comprises a tournament mode in which the second knowledge engine and the action engine have exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users, each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       21. The system of  claim 19  wherein the autonomous operational mode further comprises a tournament mode in which the second knowledge engine and the action engine have exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users, each of the at least one avatar having at least one of a collaborative role and a competitive role in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       22. The system of  claim 20  wherein the at least one avatar is operative to communicate to each user. 
     
     
       23. The system of  claim 22  wherein the at least one avatar is operative to communicate to each user using at least one of an electronic mail emergency action message and a voice message based on synthetic speech generation. 
     
     
       24. The system of  claim 2  wherein the action engine comprises:
 a knowledge engine interface operative to receive requests from the second knowledge engine to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, 
 a rules database component operative to maintain a database of rules for execution control of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar, and 
 an action execution component operative to execute requests received from the knowledge engine interface to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment based on the database of rules for execution control maintained by the rules database component when the a user does not have exclusive control of the at least one avatar. 
 
     
     
       25. The system of  claim 24  wherein the action engine further comprises a subscriber registration component and an avatar activation component, the subscriber registration component operative to receive registration information from each user and to designate each user having registration information in a subscriber database as a registered user, the avatar activation component operative to activate at least one avatar for each registered user, the action execution component operative to execute received requests from the second knowledge engine to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar only for each registered user based on the rules for execution control maintained by the rules database component. 
     
     
       26. The system of  claim 3  wherein the action engine comprises:
 a knowledge engine interface operative to receive requests from the second knowledge engine to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, 
 a rules database component operative to maintain a database of rules for execution control of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar, and 
 an action execution component operative to execute requests received from the knowledge engine interface to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment based on the database of rules for execution control maintained by the rules database component when the a user does not have exclusive control of the at least one avatar. 
 
     
     
       27. The system of  claim 26  wherein the action engine further comprises a subscriber registration component and an avatar activation component, the subscriber registration component operative to receive registration information from each user and to designate each user having registration information in a subscriber database as a registered user, the avatar activation component operative to activate at least one avatar for each registered user, the action execution component operative to execute received requests from the second knowledge engine to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar only for each registered user based on the rules for execution control maintained by the rules database component. 
     
     
       28. A system operative to execute and train at least one avatar for each user of an interactive environment, the system comprising:
 at least one computing device operative to implement: 
 a knowledge engine operative to continuously monitor each user's response to events in the interactive environment while each user controls the at least one avatar; 
 a knowledge base operative to store each of the monitored user responses to the events in the interactive environment; and 
 an action engine operative to control one or more actions of the at least one avatar for each user in the interactive environment regardless of each user's control of the at least one avatar, the one or more actions based on pattern analysis of the stored monitored user responses. 
 
     
     
       29. The system of  claim 28  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated simulation environment. 
     
     
       30. The system of  claim 29  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated game environment. 
     
     
       31. The system of  claim 28  wherein the knowledge engine comprises an event monitoring component, a response monitoring component, an operational mode management component, the event monitoring component operative to continuously monitor events in the interactive environment, the response monitoring component operative to continuously monitor each user's responses to the events monitored by the event monitoring component, the operational mode management component operative to determine the one or more  actions of the at least one avatar in an operational mode of the interactive environment comprising at least one of a real user mode, an assisted duality mode, a competitive duality mode and an autonomous operational mode. 
     
     
       32. The system of  claim 31  wherein the knowledge engine further comprises a pattern analysis and recognition component, a categorization component, a knowledge base interface controller and an action engine interface controller, the pattern analysis and recognition component operative to determine an association between each of the monitored events in the interactive environment and each user's response, the categorization component operative to categorize each user's response as a decision metric and a timing measure of each user's response as a performance metric, the knowledge base further operative to store in a memory one or more associations between each user's response and each of the events in the interactive environment, the knowledge base interface controller operative to communicate each association between the monitored events and each user's response, the action engine interface controller operative to communicate requests for the one or more actions of the at least one avatar. 
     
     
       33. The system of  claim 32  wherein the association is based on at least one of a frequency of occurrence measure and a statistical relevance measure. 
     
     
       34. The system of  claim 32  wherein the knowledge engine is operative to search the one or more associations stored in the memory and to determine at least one decision metric and at least one performance metric to be applied by the at least one avatar in response to one or more events in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       35. The system of  claim 28  wherein the action engine is operative to control the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in response to one or more requests from the knowledge engine in at least one of an autonomous mode and a competitive duality mode of the interactive environment, each request of the knowledge engine based on:
 one or more associations between each user response and each of the a plurality of events in the interactive environment, and 
 a categorization of each user response according to a decision metric and a timing measure of each user response according to a performance metric. 
 
     
     
       36. The system of  claim 31  wherein the real user mode comprises each user having exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       37. The system of  claim 31  wherein the assisted duality mode comprises each user having shared control with the knowledge engine and the action engine for supplemented execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       38. The system of  claim 31  wherein the competitive duality mode comprises each user having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a first avatar of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment and the knowledge engine and the action engine having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a second avatar of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, the first avatar and the second avatar having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       39. The system of  claim 31  wherein the competitive duality mode comprises each user having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a first plurality of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment and the a second knowledge engine and the action engine having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a second plurality of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, each plurality comprising a collaborative team having competitive roles in the interactive environment, 
     
     
       40. The system of  claim 31  wherein the autonomous operational mode comprises the knowledge engine and the action engine having exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       41. The system of  claim 40  wherein the autonomous operational mode further comprises a tournament mode in which the knowledge engine and the action engine have exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users, each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       42. The system of  claim 40  wherein the autonomous operational mode further comprises a tournament mode in which the a second knowledge engine and the action engine have exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users, each of the at least one avatar having at least one of a collaborative role and a competitive role in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       43. The system of  claim 40  wherein the at least one avatar is operative to communicate to each user. 
     
     
       44. The system of  claim 43  wherein the at least one avatar is operative to communicate to each user using at least one of an electronic mail emergency action message and a voice message based on synthetic speech generation. 
     
     
       45. The system of  claim 28  wherein the action engine comprises:
 a knowledge engine interface operative to receive requests from the knowledge engine to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, 
 a rules database component operative to maintain a database of rules for execution control of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar, and 
 an action execution component operative to execute requests received from the knowledge engine interface to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment based on the database of rules for execution control maintained by the rules database component when the a user does not have exclusive control of the at least one avatar. 
 
     
     
       46. The system of  claim 43  wherein the action engine further comprises a subscriber registration component and an avatar activation component, the subscriber registration component operative to receive registration information from each user and to designate each user having registration information in a subscriber database as a registered user, the avatar activation component operative to activate at least one avatar for each registered user, the an action execution component operative to execute received requests from the knowledge engine to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar only for each registered user based on the rules for execution control maintained by the a rules database component. 
     
     
       47. A method operative to monitor and evaluate the responses of a user in an interactive environment, the user controlling at least one avatar in the interactive environment, the method comprising:
 monitoring events in the interactive environment using a knowledge engine; 
 monitoring each user's response to the monitored events in the interactive environment using the knowledge engine while each user controls the at least one avatar; and 
 evaluating each of the monitored user responses using pattern analysis techniques to determine an association between one or more of the monitored user responses and each monitored event in the interactive environment, the knowledge engine operative to apply the one or more pattern analysis techniques to the monitored user responses and each monitored event; and 
 storing the determined association for each of the evaluated user responses. 
 
     
     
       48. The method of  claim 47  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated simulation environment. 
     
     
       49. The method of  claim 47  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated game environment. 
     
     
       50. The method of  claim 47  further comprising categorizing each user response according to at least one decision metric, at least one performance metric and at least one emotion metric. 
     
     
       51. The method of  claim 47  wherein the association is based on at least one of a frequency of occurrence measure and a statistical relevance measure. 
     
     
       52. The method of  claim 47  wherein the knowledge engine comprises a first engine component and a second engine component, the first engine component included on a server device for evaluating the monitored user responses, determining the association and storing the determined association, and the second engine component included on a client device for monitoring the events in the interactive environment and for monitoring each user's response to the monitored events. 
     
     
       53. The method of  claim 47  wherein the knowledge engine is operative to search one or more of the stored associations and to determine for each stored association at least one decision metric, at least one performance metric and at least one emotion metric. 
     
     
       54. The method of  claim 53  wherein the at least one performance metric is a timing measure of each user response. 
     
     
       55. The method of  claim 47  wherein the knowledge engine comprises an event monitoring component and a response monitoring component, the event monitoring component operative for the monitoring of the events in the interactive environment, the response monitoring component operative for the monitoring of each user's response to the monitored events in the interactive environment while each user controls the at least one avatar. 
     
     
       56. The method of  claim 55  wherein the knowledge engine further comprises a pattern analysis and recognition component and a categorization component, the pattern analysis and recognition component operative for determining the association between the one or more of the monitored user responses and each monitored event in the interactive environment, the categorization component operative to categorize each of the monitored user responses based at least one of a decision metric, a performance metric and an emotion metric, the performance metric comprising a timing measure of each of the monitored user responses. 
     
     
       57. The method of  claim 53  wherein the at least one emotion metric is determined in part from the at least one performance metric and the at least one decision metric. 
     
     
       58. A method operative to control at least one avatar for each user of an interactive environment, the method comprising:
 continuously monitoring events in the interactive environment using a knowledge engine; 
 evaluating a plurality of stored associations using the knowledge engine, each association representing one or more user responses to a monitored event in the interactive environment, the knowledge engine operative to apply one or more pattern analysis techniques to the one or more user responses to the monitored event; 
 controlling one or more actions of the at least one avatar for each user of the interactive environment in response to one or more continuously monitored events, the controlling of the one or more actions performed using an action engine, the one or more controlled actions based on the plurality of evaluated stored associations; and 
 displaying on at least one output device the one or more controlled actions of the at least one avatar. 
 
     
     
       59. The method of  claim 58  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated simulation environment. 
     
     
       60. The method of  claim 58  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated game environment. 
     
     
       61. The method of  claim 58  further comprising categorizing the one or more user responses according to at least one of a decision metric, a performance metric and an emotion metric, the emotion metric based in part on the decision metric and the performance metric. 
     
     
       62. The method of  claim 58  wherein the plurality of stored associations are stored in a knowledge base. 
     
     
       63. The method of  claim 58  wherein the knowledge engine comprises an event monitoring component, a response monitoring component and an operational mode management component, the event monitoring component operative for performing the continuous monitoring of the events in the interactive environment, the response monitoring component operative to monitor the one or more user responses to a monitored event, the operational mode management component operative to determine the one or more controlled actions of the at least one avatar in an operational mode of the interactive environment comprising at least one of a real user mode, an assisted duality mode, a competitive duality mode and an autonomous operational mode. 
     
     
       64. The method of  claim 63  wherein the knowledge engine further comprises a pattern analysis and recognition component, a categorization component, a knowledge base interface controller and an action engine interface controller, the pattern analysis and recognition component operative to determine the plurality of stored associations, the categorization component operative to categorize each user's response according to a decision metric, a performance metric and an emotion metric, the knowledge base interface controller operative to communicate the plurality of stored associations, the action engine interface controller operative to communicate requests for the controlled one or more controlled actions of the at least one avatar. 
     
     
       65. The method of  claim 58  wherein the controlling of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar is performed regardless of each user's control of the at least one avatar using the action engine in at least one of an autonomous mode, an assisted duality mode and a competitive duality mode of the interactive environment. 
     
     
       66. The method of  claim 65  wherein the controlling of the one or more actions is based on one or more requests from the knowledge engine, each request of the knowledge engine based on the plurality of stored associations and a categorization of the one or more user responses according to at least one of a decision metric, a performance metric and an emotion metric, the emotion metric based in part on the decision metric and the performance metric. 
     
     
       67. The method of  claim 65  wherein the assisted duality mode comprises each user having shared control with the knowledge engine and the action engine for supplemented execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       68. The method of  claim 65  wherein the competitive duality mode comprises each user having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a first avatar of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment and the knowledge engine and the action engine having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a second avatar of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, the first avatar and the second avatar having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       69. The method of  claim 65  wherein the competitive duality mode comprises each user having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a first plurality of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment and the a second knowledge engine and the action engine having control over the execution of the one or more actions of a second plurality of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, each plurality comprising a collaborative team having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       70. The method of  claim 65  wherein the autonomous operational mode comprises the knowledge engine and the action engine having exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       71. The method of  claim 70  wherein the autonomous operational mode further comprises a tournament mode in which the knowledge engine and the action engine have exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users, each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       72. The method of  claim 70  wherein the autonomous operational mode further comprises a tournament mode in which the a second knowledge engine and the action engine have exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users, each of the at least one avatar having at least one of a collaborative role and a competitive role in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       73. The method of  claim 70  wherein the at least one avatar is operative to communicate to each user. 
     
     
       74. The method of  claim 73  wherein the at least one avatar is operative to communicate to each user using at least one of an electronic mail emergency action message and a voice message based on synthetic speech generation. 
     
     
       75. The method of  claim 66  wherein the action engine comprises:
 a knowledge engine interface operative to receive requests from the knowledge engine to control the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, 
 a rules database component operative to maintain a database of rules for the controlling of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar, and 
 an action execution component operative to execute requests received from the knowledge engine interface for the controlling of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment based on the database of rules when the a user does not have exclusive control of the at least one avatar. 
 
     
     
       76. The method of  claim 75  wherein the action engine further comprises a subscriber registration component and an avatar activation component, the subscriber registration component operative to receive registration information from each user and to designate each user having registration information in a subscriber database as a registered user, the avatar activation component operative to activate at least one avatar for each registered user, the action execution component operative to execute received requests from the knowledge engine for the controlling of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar only for each registered user based on the database of rules maintained by the rules database component. 
     
     
       77. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for performing a method comprising:
 continuously monitoring each user's response to monitored events in an interactive environment while each user controls at least one avatar, the monitoring of each user's response and the monitoring of the events performed using a knowledge engine; 
 storing an association between one or more of the continuously monitored user responses and each of the monitored events in the interactive environment, the knowledge engine operative to apply one or more pattern analysis techniques to the monitored user responses and each of the monitored events; 
 controlling one or more actions of the at least one avatar for each user in the interactive environment based on the stored association regardless of each user's control of the at least one avatar, the controlling of the one or more actions performed using an action engine; and 
 displaying the one or more controlled actions of the at least one avatar for each user in the interactive environment. 
 
     
     
       78. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 77  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated simulation environment. 
     
     
       79. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 77  wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated game environment. 
     
     
       80. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 77  wherein the knowledge engine is operative to store the association in a knowledge base. 
     
     
       81. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 77  wherein the controlling of the one or more actions is performed using the action engine when the an operational mode of the interactive environment is at least one of an assisted duality mode, a competitive duality mode and an autonomous mode. 
     
     
       82. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 80  wherein the knowledge engine is further operative to search the knowledge base for one or more stored associations. 
     
     
       83. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 77  wherein the action engine controls the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in response to at least one request from the knowledge engine. 
     
     
       84. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 80  wherein the knowledge engine is further operative to categorize the continuously monitored user responses according to at least one of a decision metric, a performance metric and an emotion metric, the emotion metric based in part on the decision metric and the performance metric. 
     
     
       85. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 81  wherein the assisted duality mode comprises each user having shared control of the one or more actions of the at least one avatar with a the knowledge engine and the action engine. 
     
     
       86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 81  wherein the competitive duality mode comprises each user controlling the one or more actions of a first avatar of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment and a the knowledge engine and the action engine controlling the one or more actions of a second avatar of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, the first avatar and the second avatar having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       87. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 81  wherein the competitive duality mode comprises each user controlling the one or more actions of a first plurality of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment and the a second knowledge engine and the action engine controlling the one or more actions of a second plurality of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment, each plurality comprising a collaborative team having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       88. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 81  wherein the autonomous mode comprises a the knowledge engine and the action engine exclusively controlling the one or more actions of the at least one avatar in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       89. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 88  wherein the autonomous mode further comprises a tournament mode in which the knowledge engine and the action engine exclusively control the one or more actions of each of the at least one avatar for each user, each of the at least one avatar for each user having competitive roles in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 88  wherein the autonomous mode further comprises a tournament mode in which the second knowledge engine and the action engine have exclusive control over the execution of the one or more actions of each of the at least one avatar for each of the one or more users, each of the at least one avatar having at least one of a collaborative role and a competitive role in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       91. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 88  wherein the at least one avatar is operative to communicate to each user. 
     
     
       92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 91  wherein the at least one avatar is operative to communicate to each user using at least one of an electronic mail emergency action message and a voice message based on synthetic speech generation. 
     
     
       93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 77  wherein the one or more controlled actions are displayed on at least one of a mobile device, a handheld device, a television, a portable computer and a desktop computer monitor. 
     
     
       94. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 93  wherein the mobile device is at least one of a mobile telephone, a smart phone and a personal digital assistant. 
     
     
       95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 93  wherein the handheld device is a handheld computer gaming console. 
     
     
       96. The system of  claim 8  wherein the pattern analysis and recognition component is further operative to apply one or more pattern analysis techniques to each of the continuously monitored user responses to the plurality of events in the interactive environment, and wherein the association is determined from the one or more applied pattern analysis techniques. 
     
     
       97. The system of  claim 32  wherein the pattern analysis and recognition component is further operative to apply one or more pattern analysis techniques to each of the continuously monitored user responses to the plurality of events in the interactive environment, and wherein the association is determined from the one or more applied pattern analysis techniques. 
     
     
       98. A server, comprising:
 a memory device configured to store instructions corresponding to a server knowledge engine; and   a processing device configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory device to:
 receive, from a client knowledge engine executing on a client, at least one response to at least one of a plurality of events occurring in an interactive environment; and 
 cause at least one avatar to execute at least one action in the interactive environment based at least in part on pattern analysis of the at least one response received from the client knowledge engine; 
   wherein the client knowledge engine comprises an event monitoring component configured to continuously monitor the interactive environment for a response to any of the plurality of events, a response monitoring component, and an operational mode management component; and   wherein the server knowledge engine comprises a pattern analysis and recognition component, a categorization component, and a knowledge base interface controller.   
     
     
       99. The server of claim 98, wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated simulation environment. 
     
     
       100. The server of claim 98, wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated game environment. 
     
     
       101. The server of claim 98, wherein the server knowledge engine is further configured to store an association between the at least one response and the at least one of the plurality of events in a database. 
     
     
       102. The server of claim 101, wherein the server knowledge engine is further configured to store the association based at least in part on a frequency of occurrence measure or a statistical relevance measure corresponding to the at least one response. 
     
     
       103. The server of claim 98, wherein the pattern analysis and recognition component is configured to recognize at least one pattern in the at least one response. 
     
     
       104. The server of claim 98, wherein the categorization component is configured to categorize the at least one response based at least in part on a decision metric, a performance metric, or an emotion metric. 
     
     
       105. The server of claim 98, wherein the pattern analysis and recognition component is configured to recognize at least one pattern in the at least one response based at least in part on a search of associations between the at least one response to the at least one of the plurality of events stored in a knowledge base. 
     
     
       106. A method, comprising:
 receiving, from a client knowledge engine executing on a client device, at least one response to at least one of a plurality of events occurring in an interactive environment; and   causing, using server knowledge engine executing on a server device, at least one avatar to execute at least one action in the interactive environment based at least in part on pattern analysis of the at least one response received from the client knowledge engine;   wherein the client knowledge engine comprises an event monitoring component configured to continuously monitor the interactive environment for a response to any of the plurality of events, a response monitoring component, and an operational mode management component; and   wherein the server knowledge engine comprises a pattern analysis and recognition component, a categorization component, and a knowledge base interface controller.   
     
     
       107. The method of claim 106, wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated simulation environment. 
     
     
       108. The method of claim 106, wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated game environment. 
     
     
       109. The method of claim 106, further comprising storing an association between the at least one response and the at least one of the plurality of events on a memory device. 
     
     
       110. The method of claim 109, further comprising storing the association based at least in part on a frequency of occurrence measure or a statistical relevance measure corresponding to the at least one response. 
     
     
       111. The method of claim 106, further comprising recognizing, using the server device, at least one pattern in the at least one response based at least in part on a decision metric, a performance metric, or an emotion metric. 
     
     
       112. The method of claim 106, further comprising recognizing, using the server device, at least one pattern in the at least one response based at least in part on a search of associations between the at least one response to the at least one of the plurality of events stored in a knowledge base. 
     
     
       113. A memory device having instructions stored thereon defining a server knowledge engine that, in response to execution by a processing device on a server device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, from a client knowledge engine executing on a client device, at least one response to at least one of a plurality of events occurring in an interactive environment; and   causing at least one avatar to execute at least one action in the interactive environment based at least in part on pattern analysis of the at least one response received from the client knowledge engine;   wherein the client knowledge engine comprises an event monitoring component configured to continuously monitor the interactive environment for a response to any of the plurality of events, a response monitoring component, and an operational mode management component; and   wherein the server knowledge engine comprises a pattern analysis and recognition component, a categorization component, and a knowledge base interface controller.   
     
     
       114. The memory device of claim 113, wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated simulation environment. 
     
     
       115. The memory device of claim 113, wherein the interactive environment is a computer-generated game environment. 
     
     
       116. The memory device of claim 113, wherein the operations further comprise storing an association between the at least one response and the at least one of the plurality of events in a database. 
     
     
       117. The memory device of claim 116, wherein the operations further comprise storing the association based at least in part on a frequency of occurrence measure or a statistical relevance measure corresponding to the at least one response. 
     
     
       118. The memory device of claim 113, wherein the operations further comprise recognizing at least one pattern in the at least one response based at least in part on a decision metric, a performance metric, or an emotion metric. 
     
     
       119. The memory device of claim 113, wherein the operations further comprise recognizing at least one pattern in the at least one response based at least in part on a search of associations between the at least one response to the at least one of the plurality of events stored in a knowledge base. 
     
     
       120. A client, comprising:
 a memory device configured to store instructions; and   a processing device configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory device;   wherein the instructions comprise:
 a knowledge engine operative to continuously monitor each user in an interactive environment for responses to at least one of a plurality of events occurring in the interactive environment and operative to store the responses to the at least one of the plurality of events in the interactive environment in a knowledge base; and 
 an action engine operative to control at least one of a plurality of avatars in the interactive environment without regard to a corresponding user's control of the at least one of the plurality of avatars based at least in part on pattern analysis of the stored responses in the knowledge base. 
   
     
     
       121. The client of claim 120, wherein the knowledge engine further comprises:
 an event monitoring component operative to continuously monitor the plurality of events in the interactive environment;   a response monitoring component operative to continuously monitor a plurality of responses to the plurality of events; and   an operational mode management component operative to determine at least one action of the at least one of the plurality of avatars in an a real user mode, an assisted duality mode, a competitive duality mode, or an autonomous operational mode.   
     
     
       122. The client of claim 121, wherein the knowledge engine further comprises:
 a pattern analysis and recognition component operative to determine an association between each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment and the plurality of responses;   a categorization component operative to categorize each of the plurality of responses based at least in part on a decision metric, a performance metric, or an emotion metric; and   wherein the knowledge engine is operative to store in the knowledge base the association between each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment and the plurality of responses.   
     
     
       123. The client of claim 122, wherein the association is based at least in part on a frequency of occurrence measure, a statistical relevance measure, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
       124. The client of claim 120, wherein the knowledge engine is operative to search the memory device to determine at least one decision metric or at least one performance metric to be applied by the at least one of the plurality of avatars in response to the at least one of the plurality of events in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       125. The client of claim 120, wherein the action engine is operative to control the at least one of the plurality of avatars in response to a request from the knowledge engine in an autonomous mode or a competitive duality mode of the interactive environment. 
     
     
       126. The client of claim 120, wherein the at least one of the plurality of avatars is operative to communicate with at least another of the plurality of avatars. 
     
     
       127. The client of claim 126, wherein the at least one of the plurality of avatars is operative to communicate with the at least another of the plurality of avatars using an electronic mail emergency action message or a voice message based on synthetic speech generation. 
     
     
       128. The client of claim 120, wherein the action engine further comprises:
 a knowledge engine interface operative to receive requests to control the at least one of the plurality of avatars in the interactive environment;   a rules database component operative to maintain a database of rules corresponding to the control; and   an action execution component operative to execute the requests to the at least one of the plurality of avatars in the interactive environment based at least in part on the database of rules.   
     
     
       129. The client of claim 120, wherein the action engine further comprises:
 a subscriber registration component operative to receive registration information; and   an avatar activation component operative to activate the at least one of the plurality of avatars based at least on the registration information.   
     
     
       130. A method, comprising:
 continuously monitoring, using a client computing device, each user in an interactive environment for responses to at least one of a plurality of events in the interactive environment;   storing, in a knowledge base, the responses to the at least one of the plurality of events in the interactive environment; and   controlling, using the client computing device, at least one of a plurality of avatars in the interactive environment without regard to a corresponding user's control of the at least one of the plurality of avatars based at least in part on receiving, from a server computing device, pattern analysis of the stored responses in the knowledge base.   
     
     
       131. The method of claim 130, further comprising:
 continuously monitoring, using the client computing device, the plurality of events in the interactive environment;   continuously monitoring, using the client computing device, the responses to the plurality of events;   storing the plurality of events monitored by the client computing device;   storing the plurality of responses monitored by the client computing device; and   determining at least one action of the at least one of the plurality of avatars in a real user mode, an assisted duality mode, a competitive duality mode, or an autonomous operational mode.   
     
     
       132. The method of claim 130, further comprising:
 determining an association between each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment and the plurality of responses;   categorizing each of the responses based at least in part on a decision metric, a performance metric, or an emotion metric; and   storing in the memory device the association between each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment and the responses.   
     
     
       133. The method of claim 132, wherein the association is based at least in part on a frequency of occurrence measure, a statistical relevance measure, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
       134. The method of claim 130, further comprising searching a memory device to determine at least one decision metric or at least one performance metric to be applied by the at least one of the plurality of avatars in response to the at least one of the plurality of events in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       135. The method of claim 130, further comprising controlling the at least one of the plurality of avatars in response to a request from the knowledge engine in an autonomous mode or a competitive duality mode of the interactive environment. 
     
     
       136. The method of claim 130, wherein the at least one of the plurality of avatars is operative to communicate with at least another of the plurality of avatars. 
     
     
       137. The method of claim 136, wherein the at least one of the plurality of avatars is operative to communicate with the at least another of the plurality of avatars using an electronic mail emergency action message or a voice message based on synthetic speech generation. 
     
     
       138. The method of claim 130, further comprising:
 receiving requests to control the at least one of the plurality of avatars in the interactive environment;   maintaining a database of rules corresponding to the control; and   executing the requests to control the at least one of the plurality of avatars in the interactive environment based at least in part on the database of rules.   
     
     
       139. The method of claim 130, further comprising:
 storing registration information in a registration database; and   activating the at least one of the plurality of avatars based at least on the registration information.   
     
     
       140. A memory device having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device on a client device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:
 continuously monitoring each user in an interactive environment for responses to at least one of a plurality of events in the interactive environment;   causing storage of the responses to the at least one of the plurality of events in the interactive environment; and   controlling at least one of a plurality of avatars in the interactive environment without regard to a corresponding user's control of the at least one of the plurality of avatars based at least in part on receiving, from a server device, pattern analysis of stored responses in the interactive environment.   
     
     
       141. The memory device of claim 140, wherein the operations further comprise:
 continuously monitoring, using the computing device, the plurality of events in the interactive environment;   continuously monitoring, using the computing device, a plurality of responses to the plurality of events;   storing the plurality of events monitored by the client device;   storing the plurality of responses monitored by the client device; and   determining at least one action of the at least one of the plurality of avatars in a real user mode, an assisted duality mode, a competitive duality mode, or an autonomous operational mode.   
     
     
       142. The memory device of claim 140, wherein the operations further comprise:
 determining an association between each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment and the plurality of responses;   categorizing each of the responses based at least in part on a decision metric, a performance metric, or an emotion metric; and   storing in the memory device the association between each of the plurality of events in the interactive environment and the responses.   
     
     
       143. The memory device of claim 142, wherein the association is based at least in part on a frequency of occurrence measure, a statistical relevance measure, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
       144. The memory device of claim 140, wherein the operations further comprise searching the memory device to determine at least one decision metric or at least one performance metric to be applied by the at least one of the plurality of avatars in response to the at least one of the plurality of events in the interactive environment. 
     
     
       145. The memory device of claim 140, wherein the operations further comprise controlling the at least one of the plurality of avatars in response to a request indicating an autonomous mode or a competitive duality mode of the interactive environment. 
     
     
       146. The memory device of claim 140, wherein the at least one of the plurality of avatars is operative to communicate with at least another of the plurality of avatars. 
     
     
       147. The memory device of claim 146, wherein the at least one of the plurality of avatars is operative to communicate with the at least another of the plurality of avatars using an electronic mail emergency action message or a voice message based on synthetic speech generation. 
     
     
       148. The memory device of claim 140, wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving requests to control the at least one of the plurality of avatars in the interactive environment;   maintaining a database of rules corresponding to the control; and   executing the requests to control the at least one of the plurality of avatars in the interactive environment based at least in part on the database of rules.   
     
     
       149. The memory device of claim 140, wherein the operations further comprise:
 storing registration information in a registration database; and   activating the at least one of the plurality of avatars based at least on the registration information.