Method and apparatus for optimizing a spoken dialog between a person and a machine

• US 6,859,776 B1
• Filed: 10/04/1999
• Issued: 02/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Wax, Tracy D., Prince, Michael A., Cohen, Michael H., Ehrlich, Steven C.
• Primary Examiner(s): McFadden, Susan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Opsasnick, Michael N.
• Application Number:
  US09/412,173
• Time in Patent Office: 1,968 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/270.1, 704/275
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal

Abstract

A network comprises a number of speech-enabled sites maintaining a number of voice pages. A central server on the network executes a voice browser which provides users with access to the sites using voice-activated hyperlinks. The server also maintains and brokers information associated with the users based on spoken dialogs between the users and the sites. In response to a user accessing a given ASR site, information about that user is provided by the server for use by that ASR site. The information is used by the ASR site to optimize a spoken dialog between the user and the ASR site by reducing the amount of information the user is required to provide during the dialog. Information about the user can thereby be shared between separate speech enabled sites, in a manner which is transparent to the user, in order to expedite the user'"'"'s interaction with those sites.

Claims

1. A method of executing a spoken dialog between a user and a speech-enabled site in a network including a plurality of voice-hyperlinked speech-enabled sites, the method comprising:

acquiring information associated with the user at a first speech-enabled site of the plurality of speech-enabled sites during a first spoken dialog between the user and the first speech-enabled site;

in response to the user initiating a voice hyperlink to access a second speech-enabled site of the plurality of speech-enabled sites, providing the information associated with the user to the second speech-enabled site; and

optimizing a second spoken dialog between the user and the second speech-enabled site by applying the information associated with the user to reduce a number of states of the second spoken dialog.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said optimizing the second spoken dialog comprises using the information associated with the user to reduce a number of items of information the user is required to speak during the second spoken dialog.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said optimizing the second spoken dialog comprises using the information associated with the user to reduce the length of the second dialog.

4. An apparatus configured to allow a user to interactively browse a telephony-based network, the apparatus comprising:

means for coupling a user to a first speech-enabled service at a first location on the network;

means for acquiring information associated with the user;

means for outputting an indication audibly detectable by the user, the indication corresponding to a second speech-enabled service at second location on the network;

means for detecting the user speaking an utterance matching the indication;

means for coupling the user to the second speech-enabled service in response to the user speaking an utterance matching the indication; and

means for providing the information associated with the user to the second speech-enabled service in response to the user speaking an utterance matching the indication, the information for use by the second speech-enabled service to optimize a spoken dialog between the user and the second speech-enabled service.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 4, further comprising means for using the information associated with the user at the second speech-enabled site to optimize a spoken dialog between the user and the second speech-enabled site.

6. A system comprising:

a first processing system configured to execute a speech-enabled browser, the browser configured to maintain information associated with a user; and

a second processing system coupled on a network to the first processing system and configured to operate as a speech-enabled site, the second processing system configured to

in response to receiving an access request from a remote user, transmit a request to the browser for the information associated with the user;

receive the information associated with the user in response to transmitting the request;

apply the information associated with the user to optimize a dialog with the user by reducing the number of required states of the dialog; and

execute the optimized dialog with the user.

7. A system as recited in claim 6, wherein the browser is further configured to broker the information for speech enabled sites on the network.

8. A system as recited in claim 7, wherein the browser is configured to broker the information associated with the user by selectively providing the speech-enabled sites with access to the information associated with the user.

9. A system as recited in claim 7, wherein the browser is configured to broker the information associated with the user by verifying access to the information by executing a user verification process.

10. A system comprising:

a first processing system configured to execute a speech-enabled browser, the browser configured to maintain information associated with a user; and

a second processing system coupled on a network to the first processing system and configured to operate as a speech-enabled site, the second processing system configured to

maintain data for executing a dialog with a user of a third processing system on the network;

receive an access request corresponding to activation of a voice hyperlink by the user;

in response to receiving the access request, transmit a request to the browser for the information associated with the user;

receive the information associated with the user in response to transmitting the request;

use the information associated with the user to optimize the dialog with the user; and

execute the optimized dialog with the user.

11. A system as recited in claim 10, wherein the first processing system is configured to broker the information for speech enabled sites on the network.

12. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein the fist processing system is configured to broker the information associated with the user by selectively providing the speech-enabled sites with access to the information associated with the user.

13. A system as recited in claim 12, wherein the first processing system is configured to broker the information associated with the user by verifying access to the information by performing a voiceprint analysis of the user.