Method and apparatus for improved speech recognition with supplementary information

• US 6,983,244 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2003
• Issued: 01/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Junqua, Jean-Claude, Contolini, Matteo, Kuhn, Roland, Chengalvarayan, Rathinavelu
• Primary Examiner(s): Knepper, David D.
• Application Number:
  US10/652,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20050049860A1
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• Field of Search: 704231-245, 704270-275
• US Class Current: 704/231
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/08 Speech classification or search
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/10 using distance or distortion measures between unknown speech and reference templates
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition

Abstract

A method for improving recognition results of a speech recognizer uses supplementary information to confirm recognition results. A user inputs speech to a speech recognizer. The speech recognizer resides on a mobile device or on a server at a remote location. The speech recognizer determines a recognition result based on the input speech. A confidence measure is calculated for the recognition result. If the confidence measure is below a threshold, the user is prompted for supplementary data. The supplementary data is determined dynamically based on ambiguities between the input speech and the recognition result, wherein the supplementary data will distinguish the input speech over potential incorrect results. The supplementary data may be a subset of alphanumeric characters that comprise the input speech, or other data associated with a desired result, such as an area code or location. The user may provide the supplementary data verbally, or manually using a keypad, touchpad, touchscreen, or stylus pen.

Claims

1. A method for improving recognition results of a speech recognizer, comprising:

receiving input speech from a user;

determining one or more candidate matches based on the input speech;

generating a prompt to the user for supplementary information by assessing ambiguity that remains after said step of determining one or more candidate matches and tailoring said prompt to induce the user to supply additional information tending to resolve said ambiguity;

receiving the supplementary data from the user as a response to said prompt; and

selecting one of the one or more candidate matches based on the input speech and the supplementary data.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising interpreting the input speech at a speech recognizer.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the speech recognizer interprets the input speech based in part on the supplementary data.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating a confidence measure for the one or more candidate matches based on the input speech.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the user is prompted for the supplementary data if the confidence measure is below a threshold.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising modifying the confidence measure according to a speech model that is indicative of the user.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the supplementary data is a subset of alphanumeric characters comprising the input speech.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the supplementary data is at least one of an area code, a location, and initials of a name.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the supplementary data includes receiving the supplementary data through at least one of verbal input and manual input.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein manual input includes input from at least one of a keypad, a touchpad, a touchscreen, and a stylus pen.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising prompting the user to confirm the selected candidate match.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising establishing a communication between the user and an entity associated with the one of the one or more candidate matches.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein establishing the communication includes initiating at least one of a telephone call, an electronic mail message, a voicemail message, and a text message.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the entity is at least one of a company, a government agency, one or more persons, a location, and a service.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the supplementary data is related to ambiguities of the input speech.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein determining one or more candidate matches includes determining one or more candidate matches based on a recognition history of the one or more candidate matches, wherein the recognition history indicates if one of the one or more candidate matches is difficult for a speech recognizer to interpret.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising generating a confidence measure for the one or more candidate matches based on the input speech and the recognition history and prompting the user for the supplementary data if the confidence measure is below a threshold.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising adjusting at least one of the confidence measure and the threshold based on the recognition history.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the remote location is a directory assistance service.

20. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining an approximate match between the supplementary data and the one or more candidate matches based on at least one of typographical errors and misspellings in the supplementary data received from the user.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining an approximate match between the input speech and the one or more candidate matches based on at least one of the supplementary data and mispronunciations in the input speech.

22. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing information about an entity associated with the one of the one or more candidate matches to the user.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the entity is at least one of a company, a government agency, one or more persons, a location, and a service.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the information includes at least one of navigation information, directory assistance information, company information, and contact information relating to the entity.

25. The method of claim 1 further comprising prompting the user to input information to be transmitted to an entity associated with the one of the one or more candidate matches.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the entity is at least one of a company, a government agency, one or more persons, a location, and a service.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein the input speech is a subset of the one or more candidate matches.