VARIABLE TEXT-TO-SPEECH FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATION
First Claim
1. A text-to-speech (TTS) control system for use in an automotive vehicle comprising:
- at least one vehicle sensor adapted for measuring at least one operating state of the automotive vehicle;
a TTS engine operatively coupled to the at least one vehicle sensor and including;
a storage module adapted for storing a plurality of TTS audio parameters; and
at least one TTS tuning module adapted for updating at least one of the plurality of TTS audio parameters based on the at least one operating state of the automotive vehicle measured by the at least one vehicle sensor; and
a TTS speech synthesizer operatively coupled to the TTS engine and adapted for receiving the plurality of TTS audio parameters from the storage module and for producing a synthesized voice characterized by the plurality of TTS audio parameters.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A text-to-speech (TTS) system implemented in an automotive vehicle is dynamically tuned to improve intelligibility over a wide variety of vehicle operating states and environmental conditions. In one embodiment of the present invention, a TTS system is interfaced to one or more vehicle sensors to measure parameters including vehicle speed, interior noise, visibility conditions, and road roughness, among others. In response to measurements of these operating parameters, TTS voice volume, pitch, and speed, among other parameters, may be tuned in order to improve intelligibility of the TTS voice system and increase its effectiveness for the operator of the vehicle.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A text-to-speech (TTS) control system for use in an automotive vehicle comprising:
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at least one vehicle sensor adapted for measuring at least one operating state of the automotive vehicle; a TTS engine operatively coupled to the at least one vehicle sensor and including; a storage module adapted for storing a plurality of TTS audio parameters; and at least one TTS tuning module adapted for updating at least one of the plurality of TTS audio parameters based on the at least one operating state of the automotive vehicle measured by the at least one vehicle sensor; and a TTS speech synthesizer operatively coupled to the TTS engine and adapted for receiving the plurality of TTS audio parameters from the storage module and for producing a synthesized voice characterized by the plurality of TTS audio parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. In an automotive vehicle equipped with a text-to-speech (TTS) system, a method of increasing intelligibility of a synthesized TTS voice to compensate for environmental conditions comprises the steps of:
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measuring at least one operating state of the automotive vehicle; relating the at least one operating state of the automotive vehicle to a plurality of TTS audio parameters; updating the plurality of TTS audio parameters based on the at least one operating state of the automotive vehicle; storing the plurality of TTS audio parameters; applying the plurality of TTS audio parameters to the synthesized TTS voice to achieve increased intelligibility. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification