Configurable Phone Voice-Text Conversion for Accessibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile phones have limited functionality for users with hearing or visual impairments, and pose safety risks due to the need for hands-free operation, particularly while driving, as they cannot easily convert voice or text communications or access various phone features without visual or auditory cues.
Innovation Solution
A mobile phone system with a controller that includes an automatic speech recognition engine, interactive voice response engine, and text-to-voice engine, allowing users to configure inbound and outbound communications to be received in either voice or text format, enabling hands-free operation and interaction with natural language voice commands, and capable of converting spoken messages to text or vice versa.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If mobile phones provide basic voice and text communication functions, then communication capability is improved, but accessibility for users with hearing or visual impairments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile phone is designed to perform multiple communication functions including voice calls, text messaging, and real-time conversion between voice and text formats. This multi-functionality allows the device to serve diverse user needs, particularly benefiting users with hearing or visual impairments by providing both traditional communication modes and converted formats simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the output format parameter of communications based on user configuration and real-time needs. Voice communications can be converted to text, text communications can be converted to voice, allowing the same communication channel to adapt its parameters (format, modality) to improve accessibility for users with different impairments
2Ease of operation
If mobile phones require visual interaction for operation, then functionality access is improved, but safety for driving deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual/visual interaction mechanisms with voice-based interaction mechanisms. Users can operate the mobile phone through spoken commands rather than visually searching for buttons or navigating menus on a small screen, thereby eliminating the need for visual attention while driving and reducing distraction-related safety risks
3Object-affected harmful factors
If mobile phones provide hands-free operation capability, then driving safety is improved, but ease of configuration and feature access deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile phone system provides self-service through automated speech recognition and interactive voice response engines. The device automatically recognizes user commands, interprets intent, and executes appropriate functions without requiring manual configuration or visual verification, enabling truly hands-free operation where the system serves itself by understanding and responding to voice inputs
Data Source
AI summary
A land-based or mobile phone and methods are provided for receiving inbound communications as either voice or text, and then based on the user's configuration settings, the inbound communication is provided to the user as it was received or is automatically converted into a format that is desired by the user. The phone also takes voice or text that is input by the user of the phone and converts the user's input to either voice or text based on the configuration settings stored in the user's contact list or otherwise. The outbound communication is configured according to how the intended recipient wants to receive a communication based on the configuration settings stored in the user's contact list or otherwise. The phone includes a controller that determines how the phone will handle and process inbound and outbound communications. The controller includes a speech recognition engine.