CONTEXT-AWARE VOICE GUIDANCE

• US 20130322665A1
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Published: 12/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lemay, Stephen O., van Os, Marcel, Forstall, Scott, Moore, Bradford A., Pylappan, Seejo K., Bennett, Jonathan A., Vulcano, Emanuele
• Granted Patent: US 9,997,069 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/300
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3611 using character input or menus, e.g. menus of POIs character input methods in general G06F3/0233
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3614 through interaction with a road map, e.g. selecting a POI icon on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3632 Guidance using simplified or iconic instructions, e.g. using arrows G01C21/365 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3638 including 3D objects and buildings three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects G06T17/00; geographic models G06T17/05
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096758 where no selection takes place on the transmitted or the received information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096855 where the output is provided in a suitable form to the driver details on I/O arrangements for onboard navigation computers G01C21/36
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/222 Barge in, i.e. overridable guidance for interrupting prompts
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/15 Transducers incorporated in visual displaying devices, e.g. televisions, computer displays, laptops
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 : Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A context-aware voice guidance method is provided that interacts with other voice services of a user device. The voice guidance does not provide audible guidance while the user is making a verbal request to any of the voice-activated services. Instead, the voice guidance transcribes its output on the screen while the verbal requests from the user are received. In some embodiments, the voice guidance only provides a short warning sound to get the user'"'"'s attention while the user is speaking on a phone call or another voice-activated service is providing audible response to the user'"'"'s inquires. The voice guidance in some embodiments distinguishes between music that can be ducked and spoken words, for example from an audiobook, that the user wants to pause instead of being skipped. The voice guidance ducks music but pauses spoken words of an audio book in order to provide voice guidance to the user.

Claims

1. A method of providing context aware audible navigation prompts on an electronic device, the electronic device comprising a plurality of services utilizing audio, the electronic device audio played on a plurality of stereo speakers, the method comprising:

suppressing verbal navigation prompts when a conversational audio session is active between a service in the plurality of services and a human using the electronic device;

determining that the electronic device has approved a next turn for navigation; and

playing a non-verbal audible prompt comprising directional information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises panning the voice prompt from a first set of speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers to a second set of speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers to provide the directional information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the turn for navigation is a right turn, wherein playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises:

playing a first set of non-verbal tunes on a set of left speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers; and

after playing the first set of tunes, playing a second set of non-verbal tunes on a set of right speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and second sets of tunes are different sets of tunes.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and second sets of tunes are a same set of tunes.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein each of the first and second set of tunes comprises only one tune.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the turn for navigation is a left turn, wherein playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises:

playing a first set of non-verbal tunes on a set of right speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers; and

after playing the first set of tunes, playing a second set of non-verbal tunes on a set of left speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the turn for navigation is a right turn, wherein playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises:

playing a first set of non-verbal tunes on a set of right speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers; and

after playing the first set of tunes, playing a second set of non-verbal tunes on a set of left speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the turn for navigation is a left turn, wherein playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises:

playing a first set of non-verbal tunes on a set of left speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers; and

after playing the first set of tunes, playing a second set of non-verbal tunes on a set of right speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises panning the non-verbal prompt to a left speaker in the set of stereo speakers when the voice prompt includes left directional information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises panning the non-verbal prompt to a right speaker in the set of stereo speakers when the voice prompt includes right directional information.

12. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program for providing context aware audible navigation prompts on an electronic device, the electronic device comprising a plurality of services utilizing audio, the electronic device audio played on a plurality of stereo speakers, the program executable by at least one processing unit of the electronic device, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

suppressing verbal navigational prompts when a conversational audio session is active between a service in the plurality of services and a human using the electronic device;

determining that the electronic device has approved a next turn for navigation; and

playing a non-verbal audible prompt comprising directional information.

13. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the set of instructions for playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises a set of instructions for panning the voice prompt from a first set of speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers to a second set of speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers to provide the directional information.

14. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the turn for navigation is a right turn, wherein the set of instructions for playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises sets of instructions for:

playing a first set of non-verbal tunes on a set of left speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers; and

playing a second set of non-verbal tunes on a set of right speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers after playing the first set of tunes.

15. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first and second sets of tunes are different sets of tunes.

16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first and second sets of tunes are a same set of tunes.

17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 14, wherein each of the first and second set of tunes comprises only one tune.

18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the turn for navigation is a left turn, wherein the set of instructions for playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises sets of instructions for:

playing a first set of non-verbal tunes on a set of right speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers; and

playing a second set of non-verbal tunes on a set of left speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers, after playing the first set of tunes.

19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the turn for navigation is a right turn, wherein the set of instructions for playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises sets of instructions for:

playing a first set of non-verbal tunes on a set of right speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers; and

playing a second set of non-verbal tunes on a set of left speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers, after playing the first set of tunes.

20. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the turn for navigation is a left turn, wherein the set of instructions for playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises sets of instructions for:

playing a first set of non-verbal tunes on a set of left speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers; and

playing a second set of non-verbal tunes on a set of right speakers in the plurality of stereo speakers, after playing the first set of tunes.

21. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the set of instructions for playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises a set of instructions for panning the non-verbal prompt to a left speaker in the set of stereo speakers when the voice prompt includes left directional information.

22. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the set of instructions for playing the non-verbal prompt comprising directional information comprises a set of instructions for panning the non-verbal prompt to a right speaker in the set of stereo speakers when the voice prompt includes right directional information.