Voice-responsive command and control system and methodology for use in a signal measurement system

• US 7,027,991 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2002
• Issued: 04/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Karin, Michael J, Alexander, Jay A
• Primary Examiner(s): Azad, Abul K.
• Application Number:
  US10/107,913
• Publication Number:
  US 20020103651A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,477 Days
• Field of Search: 704/275, 704/270, 345/978
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/02 General constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/025 concerning dedicated user interfaces, e.g. GUI, or dedicated keyboards G01R31/31912 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 13/345 for displaying sampled signals by using digital processors by intermediate A.D. and D.A. convertors (control circuits for CRT indicators)
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/221 Announcement of recognition results
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command

Abstract

A speech-responsive command and control system and methodology for use in a signal measurement system, enabling an operator to control certain features and functions of the oscilloscope without using manual or graphical controls. A speech-responsive command and control system includes a speech recognition engine constructed and arranged to validate digital voice signals in accordance with an associated grammar file defining command and control utterances for controlling the signal measurement system. A voice controlled measurement system controller is also included. This controller is constructed and arranged to control the signal measurement system in response to text utterances validated by the speech recognition engine. The grammar may include rules defining acceptable command and control utterances suitable for controlling the signal measurement system. The speech recognition engine generates, for valid utterances, a text utterance representing the recognized utterance to the voice-controlled measurement system controller. The text utterance may be an ASCII string. In one embodiment, the system includes a natural language speech application interface. The NLSAI is constructed and arranged to parse the valid text utterances to generate command parameters included in the valid text utterances based upon a predetermined corpus comprising a list of all valid command an control utterances. A method for controlling a signal measurement system in response to voice commands is also disclosed. The method includes the steps of: 1) receiving a command utterance generated by the operator; 2) digitizing the command utterance; 3) determining whether the digitized command utterance is a valid command and control utterance; and 4) generating a system command to cause the signal measurement system to perform a function in response to the valid command and control utterance. Preferably, the method also includes the step of: 5) displaying the command utterance on a display operatively coupled to the signal measurement system.

Claims

1. A speech-responsive command and control system for enabling an operator to control an oscilloscope using voice commands, the control system-comprising:

a speech recognition engine that determines whether a digitized speech signal representing a received utterance is a valid command; and

a measurement system controller that selects at least one of a plurality of command processors corresponding to the valid command, and controls the oscilloscope using the selected command processor to implement the valid command, wherein the command processors include at least one command processor related to a scale of a waveform displayed by the oscilloscope, at least one command processor related an offset of the displayed waveform, and at least one command processor related to a trigger.

2. The system of claim 1,

wherein the speech recognition engine receives digital speech signals representing received utterances and validates the utterances in accordance with an associated grammar file comprising rules defining command and control utterances that control the oscilloscope.

3. The system-of claim 2,

wherein the associated grammar comprises rules specifying the syntax of predetermined command and control utterances.

4. The system of claim 2,

wherein the predetermined command and control utterances comprise those utterances that control a specific model or version of the oscilloscope.

5. The system of claim 2,

wherein the associated grammar comprises a context-free grammar notation of rules specifying the syntax of the predetermined command and control utterances.

6. The system of claim 5,

wherein the syntax rules of the associated grammar are implemented in BNF format.

7. The system of claim 1,

wherein the speech recognition engine is configured to provide the measurement system controller with a textual representation of validated utterances.

8. The system of claim 7,

wherein the textual representation of the validated utterance is an ASCII string.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the utterances can include a plurality of components, and wherein the system further comprises:

a natural language speech application interface (NLSAI) configured to parse each validated textual utterance and generate a token representing the command type along with command parameters contained within the text utterance.

10. The system of claim 9,

wherein the measurement controller generates system commands to control the oscilloscope based on the type of command and command parameters provided by the NLSAI and system state or configuration information as necessary to generate the system command.

11. The system-of claim 9,

wherein the NLSAI parses the utterance into its component parts using a natural language command and control corpus of possible utterances.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the command and control corpus comprises command and control utterances for specifically controlling the oscilloscope.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the oscilloscope further comprises:

a graphical user interface (GUI),

wherein the measurement system controller is configured to cause a rendering on the GUI of display messages indicating validated utterances.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the oscilloscope further comprises:

a graphical user interface (GUI),

wherein the measurement system controller is further configured to generate display controls state changes to cause the GUI to change states of associated display elements that would occur on the GUI to effect a same control of the oscilloscope.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises:

a microphone that receives sound waves on which commands are carried, the microphone generating analog speech signals representing received sound waves; and

a speech digitizer that digitizes the analog speech signals to generate the digitized speech signals processed by the speech recognition engine.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises:

a speech generator that generates digital speech signals in response to speech commands,

wherein the measurement system controller is configured to generate speech commands representing validated utterances,

wherein the speech digitizer that converts the digital speech signals to analog speech signals that are coverted to sound waves by the microphone.

17. A voice controlled oscilloscope responsive to a command and control utterances, the oscilloscope comprising:

an oscilloscope subsystem constructed and arranged to perform signal measurement operations in response to received system command signals; and

a speech-responsive command and control system for enabling an operator to control the oscilloscope subsystem using voice commands, the control system selecting at least one command processor corresponding to a command in a received utterance, and generating system command signals, using the selected command processor, that cause the oscilloscope subsystem to perform functions implementing the command specified in the received utterance, wherein the command processors include at least one command processor related to a scale of a waveform displayed by the oscilloscope, at least one command processor related an offset of the displayed waveform, and at least one command processor related to a trigger.

18. The oscilloscope of claim 17, wherein the speech-responsive command and control system comprises:

a speech recognition engine that determines whether a digitized speech signal representing a received utterance is a valid command, wherein the speech recognition engine receives digital speech signals representing received utterances and validates the utterances in accordance with an associated grammar file comprising rules defining a set of predetermined command and control utterances that control the oscilloscope; and

a measurement system controller that generates the system command signals to control the oscilloscope to implement validated utterances.

19. The oscilloscope of claim 18,

wherein the predetermined command and control utterances comprise those utterances that control a specific model or version of the oscilloscope.

20. The oscilloscope of claim 18,

wherein the speech recognition engine is configured to provide the measurement system controller with a representation of validated utterances.

21. The oscilloscope of claim 18, wherein the utterance can include a plurality of components, and wherein the system further comprises:

a natural language speech application interface (NLSAI) configured to parse each validated utterance and generate a token representing the command type along with command parameters contained within the utterance.

22. The oscilloscope of claim 21,

wherein the NLSAI parses the utterance into its component parts using a natural language command and control corpus comprising command and control utterances for specifically controlling the oscilloscope.

23. The oscilloscope of claim 17, wherein the oscilloscope further comprises:

a graphical user interface (GUI),

wherein the measurement system controller is further configured to generate display controls state changes to cause the GUI to change states of associated display elements that would occur on the GUI to effect a same control of the oscilloscope.

24. A speech-responsive command and control system for enabling an operator to control an oscilloscope using voice commands, the control system comprising:

speech recognition engine means for determining whether a digitized speech signal representing a received utterance is a valid command; and

measurement system control means for selecting at least one of a plurality of command processors corresponding to the valid command, and for controlling the oscilloscope, using the selected command processor, to implement the valid command, wherein the command processors comprise at least one command processor related to a scale of a waveform displayed by the oscilloscope, at least one command processor related an offset of the displayed waveform, and at least one command processor related to a trigger.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the speech recognition engine means comprises:

means for receiving digital speech signals representing received utterances; and

means for validating the utterances in accordance with an associated grammar file comprising rules defining command and control utterances that control the oscilloscope.

26. The system of claim 25,

wherein the associated grammar comprises rules specifying the syntax of predetermined command and control utterances for controlling the oscilloscope.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the utterances can include a plurality of components, and wherein the system further comprises:

a natural language engine means for parsing each validated utterance and for generating a token representing the command type along with command parameters contained within the utterance, wherein the natural language engine parses the utterance into its component parts using a natural language command and control corpus comprising command and control utterances for controlling the oscilloscope.

28. The system of claim 24, wherein the speech recognition engine means comprises:

means for generating a representation of validated utterances for use by the measurement system control means.

29. The system of claim 24, wherein the oscilloscope further comprises:

a graphical user interface (GUI), and wherein the system further comprises;

means for rendering on the GUI display messages indicating validated utterances.

means for generating display controls state changes to cause the GUI to change states of associated display elements that would occur on the GUI to effect a same control of the oscilloscope.

30. A method for controlling an oscilloscope in response to voice commands, the method comprising:

receiving a command utterance generated by the operator;

digitizing the command utterance;

determining whether the digitized command utterance is a valid command and control utterance;

selecting at least one of a plurality of command processors corresponding to the valid command, wherein the plurality of command processors comprise at least one command processor related to a scale of a waveform displayed by the oscilloscope, at least one command processor related an offset of the displayed waveform, and at least one command processor related to a trigger; and

generating one or more system command signals, using the selected command processor, to cause the oscilloscope-to perform one or more functions in response to the valid command and control utterance when the digitized command utterance is a valid command and control utterance.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein said determining whether the digitized command utterance is a valid command and control utterance comprises:

comparing said digitized command utterance with a predetermined grammar comprising rules defining valid command and control utterances.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein said generating one or more system command signals comprises:

obtaining oscilloscope state and configuration data as required to calculate command parameters of the system command,

wherein the one or more system command signals are generated based upon the obtained state and configuration data and the validated command utterance.

33. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of:

displaying the command utterance on a display operatively coupled to the oscilloscope.

34. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of:

receiving the command utterance through a microphone operatively coupled to the oscilloscope.

35. A signal measurement system comprising:

a signal acquisition subsystem configured to receive an electronic signal and determines information for use in displaying information regarding the received electronic signal;

a video display control subsystem configured to control displaying information on a graphical user interface in accordance with the information determined by the signal acquisition subsystem; and

a speech responsive command and control subsystem comprising;

a speech recognition engine configured to identify one or more valid commands included in a digitized speech signal; and

a measurement system controller comprising;

a validator configured to receive at least one token from the speech recognition engine regarding a valid command identified by the speech recognition engine;

a plurality of command processors each of which is configured to invoke one or more system commands in accordance with the received one or more tokens to cause the oscilloscope to perform one or more operations;

a command processor controller that is configured to access a command map to identify one or more command processors for processing the received token; and

a tutor configured to display one or more prompts on the graphical user interface requesting a user to speak a particular command, determine whether the received at least one token corresponds to the particular command, and display information on the graphical user interface regarding the whether received token corresponds to the particular command.

36. The oscilloscope of claim 35, wherein the plurality of command processors include at least one command processor related to a scale of a waveform displayed by the oscilloscope, at least one command processor related an offset of the displayed waveform, and at least one command processor related to a trigger;

and wherein the measurement system controller.