IN-VEHICLE TEXT MESSAGING EXPERIENCE ENGINE

• US 20120035923A1
• Filed: 08/09/2010
• Published: 02/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Krause, Kevin R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,781,838 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/235
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

The disclosed invention provides a system and apparatus for providing a telematics system user with an improved texting experience. A messaging experience engine database enables voice avatar/personality selection, acronym conversion, shorthand conversion, and custom audio and video mapping. As an interpreter of the messaging content that is passed through the telematics system, the system eliminates the need for a user to manually manipulate a texting device, or to read such a device. The system recognizes functional content and executes actions based on the identified functional content.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit, the system comprising:

a service provider backend system wirelessly linked to the telematics unit;

a user input linked to the service provider backend system for receiving from the user one or more texting parameters;

a network link from the service provider backend system to a data source containing information for translating a text unit to an audible utterance;

a messaging content lookup engine hosted on the telematics unit for translating between text and spoken language; and

a telematics voice interface from the telematics unit to the user to receive spoken commands and spoken data from the user, and an audio link from the telematics unit to a vehicle audio system to convey audio information to the user, whereby incoming text messages are parsed and translated into language by the messaging content lookup engine and are conveyed to the user via the audio link, and whereby user utterances are received by the telematics voice interface and translated into outgoing text messages by the messaging content lookup engine.

2. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 1, wherein the messaging content lookup engine includes a linked to a collection of audio files.

3. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 1, further comprising a vehicle display system linked to telematics unit to provide visual information associated with an incoming text message.

4. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 1, further comprising a wireless user device linked to the telematics unit to receive information from and pass information to the user.

5. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 4, wherein the wireless user device linked to the telematics unit is a cellular phone.

6. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 4, wherein the wireless user device linked to the telematics unit is linked to the telematics unit via one of a wireless link and a wired dock.

7. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 6, wherein the wireless link is a BLUETOOTH link.

8. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 6, wherein incoming text messages are received by the telematics system.

9. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 6, wherein incoming text messages are received by the wireless user device linked to the telematics unit.

10. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 1, wherein translating an incoming text into language by the messaging content lookup engine includes translating one or more abbreviation in the incoming text message.

11. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 1, wherein translating an incoming text into language by the messaging content lookup engine includes identifying a location in the text message and offering the user directions to the location when the text is audibly conveyed to the user.

12. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 1, wherein translating an incoming text into language by the messaging content lookup engine includes translating an abbreviation into an audible non-language utterance.

13. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 12, wherein the audible non-language utterance is a laugh.

14. The system for facilitating an improved user texting experience for a user of an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 1, wherein the messaging content lookup engine hosted on the telematics unit for translating between text and spoken language is configured to associate a gender with the spoken language.

15. A method for providing a texting experience to a vehicle user via an in-vehicle telematics unit, the method comprising:

receiving an incoming text message for the user at the telematics unit;

parsing the text message into discrete text units;

translating at least a portion of the discrete text units into audible speech at the telematics unit, and identifying one or more of the discrete text units as action units to be translated into an action, and translating the identified action units into the associated action; and

conveying the incoming text message to the user by audibly playing the portion translated into audible speech and executing the actions associated with the identified action units.

16. The method for providing a texting experience to a vehicle user via an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the identified one or more action units is translated into a non-language audible utterance, and wherein executing the actions associated with the identified action units includes playing a laugh recording.

17. The method for providing a texting experience to a vehicle user via an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 16, wherein the laugh recording is prerecorded by the user.

18. The method for providing a texting experience to a vehicle user via an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the identified one or more action units is translated into a location identification, and wherein executing the actions associated with the identified action units includes offering navigation directions to travel to the location.

19. The method for providing a texting experience to a vehicle user via an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 18, wherein the location identification comprises an @ preceding a location name and wherein the @ and the location name are translated into audible speech in addition to offering navigation directions to travel to the location.

20. The method for providing a texting experience to a vehicle user via an in-vehicle telematics unit according to claim 15, wherein the messaging content lookup engine hosted on the telematics unit for translating between text and spoken language is configured to associate a gender with the incoming text, the gender being selected based on an identity of the sender and being reflected in audible speech and non-speech utterances presented to the user.