IVR System Adaptor for Visual Interactive Voice Response Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IVR systems are limited in providing a visual interface to callers, especially those using traditional 'dumb' telephones, while modern users with intelligent devices like smartphones desire a more robust visual experience, necessitating a method to adapt IVR systems to support visual IVR services without altering existing infrastructure.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of an IVR system adaptor that includes a proxy IVR interface and a visual interaction renderer, allowing users to opt for either audio-only or multimedia calls, translating messages between VXML and HTML5 formats to enable visual interactions on user devices, thereby upgrading existing IVR systems to support VIVR services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an existing IVR system is converted to support visual IVR (VIVR) service, then the system can provide a broader range of automated information and reduce wait times for users with intelligent devices, but the system complexity increases due to the need to support both traditional audio-only and visual multimedia interfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an adaptor as an intermediary component that sits between the existing IVR system and the user device. The adaptor includes a proxy IVR interface that intercepts media player output and a visual interaction renderer that translates VXML messages to HTML5, enabling visual IVR functionality without modifying the core IVR system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The adaptor is divided into distinct functional segments: the proxy IVR interface segment that handles audio stream interception and message translation, and the visual interaction renderer segment that processes VXML to HTML5 conversion. This segmentation allows each component to be developed and maintained independently.
2Ease of manufacture
If an adaptor is introduced to enable visual IVR functionality, then existing IVR systems can be upgraded to support multimedia calls without altering the existing infrastructure, but the device complexity increases due to the addition of the adaptor component
Solution Approach 1:
The adaptor serves as a intermediary layer that enables VIVR functionality by translating between the existing IVR system's VXML format and HTML5 format for visual devices, without requiring modifications to the core IVR infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The adaptor creates a visual copy of the audio IVR experience by translating VXML messages into HTML5 format, allowing users with intelligent devices to interact with the IVR system through both audio and visual channels simultaneously.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system provides both audio-only and multimedia call options, then user experience is enhanced by allowing users to choose their preferred interaction mode, but the ease of operation decreases due to the need for users to understand and select between different call types
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects the user device type and provides the appropriate interface (audio-only for traditional phones, multimedia for intelligent devices) without requiring users to manually configure or understand technical call mode options.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring users to select their preferred call mode, the system inverts the approach by automatically determining the appropriate mode based on the user device capabilities and presenting the suitable interface without user intervention.
Data Source
AI summary
An interactive voice response (IVR) system adaptor causes the media player of an IVR system to present a user with a first option to proceed with an audio-only call and a second option to experience a multimedia call including display of visual information on the user device. When the user selects the first option, the proxy IVR interface passes first messages output from the media player to an application server of the IVR system, and passes second messages from the application server to the media player. When the user selects the second option, the IVR system adaptor receives third messages from the user device, translates the third messages into the first messages, passes the first messages to the application server, in response thereto receives the second messages from the application server, converts the second messages to fourth messages, and sends the fourth messages to the user device.