Method and apparatus of simulating and stimulating human speech and teaching humans how to talk

• US 20050154594A1
• Filed: 01/09/2004
• Published: 07/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Stephen C. Beck
• Original Assignee: Stephen C. Beck
• Inventors: Beck, Stephen C.
• Application Number:
  US10/754,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20050154594A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/276
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/04 Speaking with audible presentation of the material to be studied G09B5/04
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

This invention comprises a method and apparatus for combining electronic voice recognition circuits, electronic voice synthesis circuits, electronic computational artificial intelligence algorithms and computer programs in an interactive learning process, so as to simulate the experience of learning to talk, speak words, phrases, and sentences, and other types of human speech. The invention may be embodied in a number of specific forms, ranging from voice and audio systems and experiences operating over communications systems or as entertainment and educational experiences operating on personal computers, video game systems, portable computing machines, and the like. The invention may also be embodied in self-contained, portable electronic toys and games, including, but necessarily limited to, dolls, plush animals, creatures or character figures and sculptures.

Claims

1. A children'"'"'s play method for creating the appearance of teaching a toy character to progressively learn a language, said method comprising the steps of:

defining a target word;

receiving by the toy character the target word zero or more times over a first period of time defined by one or more predetermined criteria;

speaking and/or displaying by the toy character during the first time period of one or more protowords related to the toy character but not to the target word;

then receiving by the toy character the target word zero or more times over a second period of time defined by one or more predetermined criteria;

speaking and/or displaying by the toy character during the second time period of one or more metawords related to the target word, or a combination of one or more such protowords and one or more such metawords;

then receiving by the toy character the target word zero or more times over a third period of time defined by one or more predetermined criteria; and

speaking and/or displaying by the toy character during the third time period of one or more target words, or a combination of one or more target words and one or more such metawords, or a combination of one or more target words and one or more such protowords, or a combination of one or more target words and one or more such protowords and one or more such metawords.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein said one or more predetermined criteria are based on passage of time, activity by a user, and/or one or more sensor readings.

3. The method of claim 1:

wherein the metawords are algorithmically determined.

4. The method of claim 1:

wherein a set of learning-level information related to the target word is stored into one or more memory devices.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of:

resetting the stored set of learning-level information to its original natural state of knowing only protowords.

6. The method of claim 4:

wherein the set of learning-level information is represented by a set of mathematical matrices.

7. The method of claim 1:

wherein the predetermined criteria defining the first period of time, the predetermined criteria defining the second period of time, and/or the predetermined criteria defining the third period of time are controlled by a learning-level switch indicating speed of learning.

8. The method of claim 1:

wherein the speaking and/or displaying step during the first period of time, the speaking and/or displaying step during the second period of time, and/or the speaking and/or displaying step during the third period of time includes translating the target word into a different language.

9. The method of claim 1:

wherein the toy character learns a new target word only after the target word has been fully learned.

10. A program product for use in a computer system that executes program steps recorded in one or more computer-readable media to perform a method of simulated speech learning by a toy character;

said program product comprising;

one or more computer-readable media; and

a program of computer-readable instructions executable by the computer to perform a method, the program comprising one or more program components stored in said one or more computer-readable media, said method comprising the steps of;

providing a target word;

receiving by the toy character the target word zero or more times over a first period of time defined by one or more predetermined criteria;

speaking and/or displaying by the toy character during the first time period of one or more protowords related to the toy character but not to the target word;

then receiving by the toy character the target word zero or more times over a second period of time defined by one or more predetermined criteria;

speaking and/or displaying by the toy character during the second time period of one or more metawords related to the target word, or a combination of one or more such protowords and one or more such metawords;

then receiving by the toy character the target word zero or more times over a third period of time defined by one or more predetermined criteria; and

speaking and/or displaying by the toy character during the third time period of one or more target words, or a combination of one or more target words and one or more such metawords, or a combination of one or more target words and one or more such protowords, or a combination of one or more target words and one or more such protowords and one or more such metawords.

11. The program product of claim 10:

wherein at least one of the receiving steps includes receiving the target word at least once by the toy character.

12. The program product of claim 10:

wherein the method further comprises the step of updating a set of learning-level information related to the target word, including incrementing one or more counters indicating the number of times the toy character has received the target word.

13. The program product of claim 12:

wherein the updating step includes incrementing one or more counters indicating the number of times the target word has been used in speaking and/or displaying by the toy character.

14. The program product of claim 10:

Wherein at least one of the receiving steps by the toy character includes receiving the target word through one or more sensors.

15. The program product of claim 14:

wherein the one or more sensors include a radio frequency (RF) ID tag sensor.

16. A device for simulated speech learning by a toy character, said device comprising:

a central processing unit; and

a program memory that stores programming instructions that are executed by the central processing unit such that a method is performed;

said method comprising the steps of;

providing a target word;

receiving by the toy character the target word zero or more times over a first period of time defined by one or more predetermined criteria;

speaking and/or displaying by the toy character during the first time period of one or more protowords related to the toy character but not to the target word;

then receiving by the toy character the target word zero or more times over a second period of time defined by one or more predetermined criteria;

speaking and/or displaying by the toy character during the second time period of one or more metawords related to the target word, or a combination of one or more such protowords and one or more such metawords;

then receiving by the toy character the target word zero or more times over a third period of time defined by one or more predetermined criteria; and

speaking and/or displaying by the toy character during the third time period of one or more target words, or a combination of one or more target words and one or more such metawords, or a combination of one or more target words and one or more such protowords, or a combination of one or more target words and one or more such protowords and one or more such metawords.

17. The device of claim 16:

wherein a set of learning-level information related to the target word is stored into one or more memory devices.

18. The device of claim 17:

wherein the set of learning-level information is represented by a set of mathematical matrices.

19. A play method for creating the appearance that a toy character is learning to speak, said method comprising the steps of:

providing the toy character with a target word;

providing the toy character with potential outputs including the following which are arranged in order from lower to higher level;

outputs that include one or more protowords related to the toy character but not to the target word;

outputs that include one or more metawords related to the target word; and

outputs that include one or more repetitions of the target word;

providing the toy character with potential learning levels that correspond to the potential output levels;

sequentially increasing and updating the learning level to an active one based on one or more predetermined criteria; and

providing active output from the toy character of one or more of the potential outputs based on the active learning level;

available output at any active learning level being only the potential output associated with that active learning level and any lower potential outputs, but not any higher potential outputs.

20. The method of claim 19:

wherein the increasing and updating step is affected by sensors.

21. A method of simulated progressive speech learning by a toy character, the method comprising the steps of:

storing a dictionary of words and/or sounds;

setting an initial learning-level information;

receiving a word, the word a target word found in the dictionary;

recognizing the received word;

retrieving the learning-level information for the received word; and

generating an output based on the retrieved learning-level information.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of:

receiving and recognizing additional one or more words.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of:

determining a concatenated output by concatenating one or more words and/or one or more sounds from the dictionary and/or from algorithmically determined words and/or sounds;

the concatenated output having a relationship to the received and recognized additional one or more words.

24. A method for causing a toy character to appear to learn target speech;

said method comprising the steps, both performed by the toy character, of;

speaking or displaying protospeech generally associated with the toy character, but generally not associated with the target speech; and

responding by first waiting for at least one predetermined event, and then speaking or displaying other speech that is generally along a progression from the protospeech toward the target speech.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein:

the progression is substantially not monotonic in advancing from the protospeech toward the target speech;

whereby the toy character appears to sometimes forget what has been previously learned.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein:

advancement along the progression is generally statistical.