97 results about "Voice user interface" patented technology

A conversational, natural language voice user interface may provide an integrated voice navigation services environment. The voice user interface may enable a user to make natural language requests relating to various navigation services, and further, may interact with the user in a cooperative, conversational dialogue to resolve the requests. Through dynamic awareness of context, available sources of information, domain knowledge, user behavior and preferences, and external systems and devices, among other things, the voice user interface may provide an integrated environment in which the user can speak conversationally, using natural language, to issue queries, commands, or other requests relating to the navigation services provided in the environment.

A distributed voice user interface system includes a local device which receives speech input issued from a user. Such speech input may specify a command or a request by the user. The local device performs preliminary processing of the speech input and determines whether it is able to respond to the command or request by itself. If not, the local device initiates communication with a remote system for further processing of the speech input.

A cooperative conversational voice user interface is provided. The cooperative conversational voice user interface may build upon short-term and long-term shared knowledge to generate one or more explicit and/or implicit hypotheses about an intent of a user utterance. The hypotheses may be ranked based on varying degrees of certainty, and an adaptive response may be generated for the user. Responses may be worded based on the degrees of certainty and to frame an appropriate domain for a subsequent utterance. In one implementation, misrecognitions may be tolerated, and conversational course may be corrected based on subsequent utterances and/or responses.

A dynamic voice user interface system is provided. The dynamic voice user interface system interacts with a user at a first level of formality. The voice user interface system then monitors history of user interaction and adjusts the voice user interface to interact with the user with a second level of formality based on the history of user interaction.

A computer-based virtual assistant the behavior of which can be changed by the user, comprising a voice user interface for inputting information into and receiving information from the virtual assistant by speech, a communications network, a virtual assistant application running on a remote computer, the remote computer being electronically coupled to the user interface via the communications network, wherein the behavior of the virtual assistant changes responsive to user input. A computer-based virtual assistant that also automatically adapts its behavior is disclosed, comprising a voice user interface for inputting information into and receiving information from the virtual assistant by speech, a communications network, a virtual assistant application running on a remote computer, the remote computer being electronically coupled to the user interface via the communications network, wherein the remote computer is programmed to automatically change the behavior of the virtual assistant responsive to input received by the virtual assistant. As detailed below, the virtual assistant adapts to the user in many different ways based on the input the virtual assistant receives. Such input could be user information, such as information about the user's experience, the time between user sessions, the amount of time a user pauses when recording a message, the user's emotional state, whether the user uses words associated with polite discourse, and the amount of time since a user provided input to the virtual assistant during a session.

The invention enables creation of grammar networks that can regulate, control, and define the content and scope of human-machine interaction in natural language voice user interfaces (NLVUI). More specifically, the invention concerns a phrase-based modeling of generic structures of verbal interaction and use of these models for the purpose of automating part of the design of such grammar networks.

A voice user interface for accessing data is provided. This method and system receives a set of variables from a voice recognizer processing a voice request for information in a backend system; processes an integration method using the set of variables returned from the recognizer and an unstructured grammar based on entries in the database fields of a backend system; requests backend data from the backend system using the integration method and the set of variables as applied to the unstructured grammar; and receives backend data from the backend system responsive to the integration method used to request the backend data. Processes are described that add data associated with a database to increase the accuracy of interacting with the database through a voice interface and create the unstructured grammar for improved voice recognition capabilities.

A voice recognition method for a single sentence including a multi-instruction in an interactive voice user interface, method includes steps of detecting a connection ending by analyzing the morphemes of a single sentence on which voice recognition has been performed, separating the single sentence into a plurality of passages based on the connection ending, detecting a multi-connection ending by analyzing the connection ending and extracting instructions by specifically analyzing passages including the multi-connection ending and outputting a multi-instruction included in the single sentence by combining the instructions extracted in the step of extracting instructions. In accordance with the present invention, consumer usability can be significantly increased because a multi-operation intention can be checked in one sentence.

A system and method for facilitating the efficient development, testing and implementation of speech applications is disclosed which separates the speech user interface from the business logic. A speech user interface description is created devoid of business logic in the form of a machine readable markup language directly executable by the runtime environment based on business requirements. At least one business logic component is created separately for the speech user interface, the at least one business logic component being accessible by the runtime environment.

An apparatus and method for recognizing a voice command for use in an interactive voice user interface are provided. The apparatus includes a command intention belief generation unit that is configured to recognize a first voice command and that may generate one or more command intention beliefs for the first voice command. The apparatus also includes a command intention belief update unit that is configured to update each of the command intention beliefs based on a system response to the first voice command and a second voice commands. The apparatus also includes a command intention belief selection unit that is configured to select one of the updated command intention beliefs for the first voice command. The apparatus also includes an operation signal output unit that is configured to select a final command intention from the selected updated command intention belief and to output an operation signal based on the selected final command intention.

A system and method for speech-responsive voice messaging, in which a Speech-Responsive Voice Messaging System (SRVMS) preferably provides a hierarchically-simple speech user interface (UI) that enables subscribers to use speech to specify commands such as mailboxes, passwords, and digits. The SRVMS generates and evaluates candidate results. The SRVMS invokes a speech UI navigation operation or a voice messaging operation according to the outcome of the evaluation of the candidate results. In the preferred embodiment, the SRVMS determines whether the candidate results are good, questionable, or bad; and whether two or more candidate results are ambiguous due to a likelihood that each such result could be a valid command. If the candidate results are questionable or ambiguous, an ambiguity resolution UI prompts the subscriber to confirm whether the best candidate result is what the subscriber intended. In response to repeated speech recognition failures, the SRVMS transfers the subscriber to a Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) UI. Transfer to the DTMF UI is also performed in response to detection of predetermined DTMF signals issued by the subscriber while the speech UI is in context. The SRVMS provides a logging unit and a reporting unit which operate in parallel with the speech UI, in a manner that is transparent to subscribers. The logging unit directs the selective logging of subscriber utterances, and the reporting unit selectively generates and maintains system performance statistics on multiple detail levels.

Disclosed embodiments provide for personalizing a voice user interface of a remote multi-user service. A voice user interface for the remote multi-user service can be provided and voice information from an identified user can be received at the multi-user service through the voice user interface. A language model specific to the identified user can be retrieved that models one or more language elements. The retrieved language model can be applied to interpret the received voice information and a response can be generated by the multi-user service in response the interpreted voice information.

The invention generally relates to a method, apparatus, and system capable of changing a voice user interface possessing both operational characteristics and security characteristics based upon user-specific contextual information. The voice processing system consists of at least the following components: a voice user interface possessing both operational characteristics and security characteristics; a database to store user-specific contextual information; and a computer program to use the user-specific contextual information to dynamically change the operational characteristics of the voice user interface.

A system and method for processing voice requests from a user for accessing information on a computerized network and delivering information from a script server and an audio server in the network in audio format. A voice user interface subsystem includes: a dialog engine that is operable to interpret requests from users from the user input, communicate the requests to the script server and the audio server, and receive information from the script server and the audio server; a media telephony services (MTS) server, wherein the MTS server is operable to receive user input via a telephony system, and to transfer the user input to the dialog engine; and a broker coupled between the dialog engine and the MTS server. The broker establishes a session between the MTS server and the dialog engine and controls telephony functions with the telephony system.

An interactive response system mixes HSR subsystems with ASR subsystems to facilitate overall capability of voice user interfaces. The system permits imperfect ASR subsystems to nonetheless relieve burden on HSR subsystems. An ASR proxy is used to implement an IVR system, and the proxy dynamically determines how many ASR and HSR subsystems are to perform recognition for any particular utterance, based on factors such as confidence thresholds of the ASRs and availability of human resources for HSRs.

A fully automated, voice controlled business appointment/reservation system is provided. The system has a natural language voice user interface that emulates a live office administrator for appointment/reservation bookkeeping. It includes an efficient availability searching mechanism which enables a telephone user to quickly search and reserve available time slot based on his preference. Other described novel features and implementation improvements include method and system for voice controlled appointment/reservation cancellation, method and system for voice controlled appointment/reservation waiting list, method and system for new user service sign-up and account creation, method and system enabling sequential selective dialing of a telephone user list by voice command, and method and system for scheduling data administration by voice commands.

In one embodiment, history-based key phrase suggestions are provided for voice control of a home automation system. A host controller builds a history database that maintains a history of events, each event indicating one or more services activated, one or more scenes activated or one or more types of media content presented by the home automation system. A predictions process on the host controller selects a subset of the events of the history database based on a present condition of the home automation system to produce a predication dataset. A grammar process on a remote control or mobile device selects one or more intentions from a list used by a voice recognition engine, based on the prediction dataset. Each intention includes a key phrase paired with an action. A voice user interface (UI) process suggests key phrases from the one or more selected intentions in a voice control UI on the remote control or mobile device.