Speech Recognition Dialog Management
First Claim
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1. A method of flexible dialog management in a speech recognition system, the method comprising:
- receiving a spoken utterance from a user during an automated conversation between the user and a virtual agent;
attempting to recognize the spoken utterance with a phrase in an existing speech grammar;
if the spoken utterance fails to match a phrase in the speech grammar, resulting in a speech matching error, then processing the speech matching error by updating the speech grammar within one or more meaning categories to include an additional phrase that corresponds to a part or all of the spoken utterance.
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Abstract
Described is a speech recognition dialog management system that allows more open-ended conversations between virtual agents and people than are possible using just agent-directed dialogs. The system uses both novel dialog context switching and learning algorithms based on spoken interactions with people. The context switching is performed through processing multiple dialog goals in a last-in-first-out (LIFO) pattern. The recognition accuracy for these new flexible conversations is improved through automated learning from processing errors and addition of new grammars.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of flexible dialog management in a speech recognition system, the method comprising:
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receiving a spoken utterance from a user during an automated conversation between the user and a virtual agent; attempting to recognize the spoken utterance with a phrase in an existing speech grammar; if the spoken utterance fails to match a phrase in the speech grammar, resulting in a speech matching error, then processing the speech matching error by updating the speech grammar within one or more meaning categories to include an additional phrase that corresponds to a part or all of the spoken utterance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A speech recognition system with flexible dialog management, said system comprising:
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a communication interface receiving an utterance from a user during an automated conversation between the user and a virtual agent; a stored speech grammar; a speech recognition module attempting to recognize the utterance with a phrase in the stored speech grammar; a learning module processing a speech matching error in case of a failure in matching a phrase in the stored speech grammar by updating the stored speech grammar within one or more meaning categories to include an additional phrase that corresponds to a part or all of the utterance. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A content readable medium storing instructions for flexible dialog management in a speech recognition system, said instructions comprising:
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instructions for receiving a spoken utterance from a user during an automated conversation between the user and a virtual agent; instructions for attempting to recognize the spoken utterance with a phrase in an existing speech grammar; instructions for, if the spoken utterance fails to match a phrase in the speech grammar, resulting in a speech matching error, then processing the speech matching error by updating the speech grammar within one or more meaning categories to include an additional phrase that corresponds to a part or all of the spoken utterance.
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10. A method of flexible dialog management in a speech recognition system, the method comprising:
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conducting an automated conversation between a user and a virtual agent according to a first script to satisfy a first goal associated with a meaning category of a speech grammar; receiving a spoken utterance from the user; attempting to recognize the spoken utterance with a phrase in a focus grammar and an orienting grammar, the focus grammar being used to recognize one of responses to a prompt from the virtual agent, the orienting grammar being used to recognize one of a set of questions or topic change commands not covered by the focus grammar but related to a subject of the automated conversation; if the recognized utterance matches a phrase in the orienting grammar, storing the first script for the automated conversation in memory; determining a second goal associated with the matched phrase in the orienting grammar; conducting the automated conversation between the user and the virtual agent according to a second script to satisfy the second goal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A speech recognition system with flexible dialog management, said system comprising:
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an application conducting an automated conversation between a user and a virtual agent according to a first script to satisfy a first goal associated with a meaning category of a speech grammar; focus grammar used to recognize one of responses to a prompt from the virtual agent; orienting grammar used to recognize one of a set of questions or topic change commands related to a subject of the automated conversation; a communication engine receiving a spoken utterance from the user; and if the received spoken utterance matches a phrase in the orienting grammar, said system further comprising; a memory storing the first script for the automated conversation if the received spoken utterance matches a phrase in the orienting grammar; the application conducting the automated conversation between the user and the virtual agent according to a second script to satisfy a second goal. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A content readable medium storing instructions for flexible dialog management in a speech recognition system, said instructions comprising:
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instructions for conducting an automated conversation between a user and a virtual agent according to a first script to satisfy a first goal associated with a meaning category of a speech grammar; instructions for receiving a spoken utterance from the user; instructions for attempting to recognize the spoken utterance with a phrase in a focus grammar and an orienting grammar, the focus grammar being used to recognize one of responses to a prompt from the virtual agent, the orienting grammar being used to recognize one of a set of questions or topic change commands related to a subject of the automated conversation; if the recognized utterance matches a phrase in the orienting grammar, instructions for storing the first script for the automated conversation in memory; instructions for determining a second goal associated with the matched phrase in the orienting grammar; instructions for conducting the automated conversation between the user and the virtual agent according to a second script to satisfy the second goal. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification