METHOD FOR ENHANCING THE PLAYBACK OF INFORMATION IN INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE SYSTEMS

• US 20100017000A1
• Filed: 07/15/2008
• Published: 01/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rajnai, Charles, Lewis, Steven, Pulz, Gregory
• Granted Patent: US 8,983,841 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/94
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/10 Prosody rules derived from text; Stress or intonation
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/04 Time compression or expansion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00

Abstract

A network communication node includes an audio outputter that outputs an audible representation of data to be provided to a requester. The network communication node also includes a processor that determines a categorization of the data to be provided to the requester and that varies a pause between segments of the audible representation of the data in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

Claims

1. A network communication node, comprising:

an audio outputter that outputs an audible representation of data to be provided to a requester; and

a processor that determines a categorization of the data to be provided to the requester and that varies a pause between segments of the audible representation of the data in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

2. The network communication node according to claim 1, wherein the categorization varies in accordance with a perceived familiarity with the data to the requester.

3. The network communication node according to claim 1, wherein the audible representation is obtained and output as part of a scripted call flow.

4. The network communication node according to claim 2, wherein the processor modifies the data by increasing a playback speed of the data, in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

5. The network communication node according to claim 2, wherein the processor modifies the data by adding pauses to the playback of the data, in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

6. The network communication node according to claim 2, wherein the processor modifies the intonation of the playback of the data, in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

7. The network communication node according to claim 1, wherein the network communication node comprises an interactive voice unit.

8. The network communication node according to claim 7, wherein the interactive voice unit service node comprises a voice over Internet protocol interactive voice unit

9. A method for modifying an audible representation of data, comprising:

outputting the audible representation of data to be provided to a requester;

determining a categorization of the data to be provided to the requester; and

varying a pause between segments of the audible representation of the data in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

10. The method for modifying an audible representation of data according to claim 9, wherein the categorization comprises a quantified degree of perceived familiarity of the requester to the data.

11. The method for modifying an audible representation of data according to claim 9, further comprising executing a call flow script and receiving information associated with the perceived degree of familiarity of the requester to the data, based on the call flow script.

12. The method for modifying an audible representation of data according to claim 10, further comprising modifying the data by increasing a playback speed of the data, in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

13. The method for modifying an audible representation of data according to claim 10, further comprising modifying the data by adding pauses to the playback of the data, in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

14. The method for modifying an audible representation of data according to claim 10, further comprising modifying the intonation of a playback of the data, in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

15. The method for modifying an audible representation of data according to claim 9, wherein the outputting of the audible representation is performed by a network communication node.

16. The method for modifying an audible representation of data according to claim 15, wherein the network communication node is a voice over Internet protocol network communication node.

17. A computer readable tangible medium for storing a computer program that modifies an audible representation of data, the computer readable medium comprising:

an audio outputting code segment, recorded on the medium, that outputs the audible representation of data to be provided to a requester; and

a processing code segment, recorded on the medium, that determines a categorization of the data to be provided to the requester and that varies a pause between segments of the audible representation of the data in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

18. The computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein the processing code segment quantifies a degree of perceived familiarity of the requester to the data.

19. The computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein the audio outputting code segment outputs a scripted call flow and the processing code segment receives information associated with the perceived degree of familiarity of the requester to the data, based on the scripted call flow.

20. The computer readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the processing code segment modifies the data by increasing a playback speed of the data, in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

21. The computer readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the processing code segment modifies the data by adding pauses to the playback of the data, in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.

22. The computer readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the processing code segment modifies intonation of a playback of the data, in accordance with the categorization of the data to be provided to the requester.