Structure skeletons for efficient voice navigation through generic hierarchical objects

• US 7,418,382 B1
• Filed: 10/01/1999
• Issued: 08/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Maes, Stephane H.
• Primary Examiner(s): OPSASNICK, MICHAEL N
• Application Number:
  US09/806,549
• Time in Patent Office: 3,252 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270.1, 704/275, 704/200.1, 709/236
• US Class Current: 704/236
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/285 Memory allocation or algorithm optimisation to reduce hardware requirements
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/355 Interactive dialogue design tools, features or methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42204 Arrangements at the exchange for service or number selection by voice at the terminal H04M1/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424
• 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 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/50 Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers H04M3/487 takes precedence; centralised dictation systems H04M11/10; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/00 Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres

Abstract

A system and method for providing fast and efficient conversation navigation via a hierarchical structure (structure skeleton) which fully describes functions and services supported by a dialog (conversational) system. In one aspect, a conversational system and method is provided to pre-load dialog menus and target addresses to their associated dialog managing procedures in order to handle multiple or complex modes, contexts or applications. For instance, a content server (web site) (106) can download a skeleton or tree structure (109) describing the content (page) (107) or service provided by the server (106) when the client (100) connects to the server (106). The skeleton is hidden (not spoken) to the user but the user can advance to a page of interest, or to a particular dialog service, by uttering a voice command which is recognized by the conversational system reacting appropriately (as per the user'"'"'s command) using the information contained within the skeleton. The skeleton (109) provides the necessary information to allow a user to quickly browse through multiple pages, dialog components, or NLU dialog forms to find information of interest without having to follow and listen to every possible page or form leading to a desired service or conversational transaction.

Claims

1. A system for providing conversational navigations comprising:

a server computing device comprising means for generating at least one hierarchical structured document, wherein the hierarchical structured document comprises a mapping of content pages that can be accessed from the server computing device or a mapping of logic of dialog services that can be accessed from the server computing device; and

a client computing device comprising means for enabling user access of the content pages or dialog services of the server computing device, wherein the client computing device processes the at least one hierarchical document to activate the content pages or the logic of the dialog services within the at least one hierarchical document so as to allow the user to directly access any one of the content pages or dialog services.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical structured document is a skeleton comprising a tree having a plurality of nodes with each node having a target address comprising one of a URI, (uniform resource locator) and socket address to information denoted by the corresponding node.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the mapping of the logic of dialog services comprises a mapping of the logic of an underlying application and dialog of each of the dialog services.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one hierarchical structured document allows the exchange of procedural and dialog objects for providing the dialog services to the client computing device for execution of the dialog services on the client computing device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for generating the at least one hierarchical structured document is a spidering application.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical structured document is pre-built.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical structured document is hidden to the user of the client computing device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical structured document can be interrogated by the user at any time that the hierarchical structured document is active.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical structured document can be interrogated by the user at the beginning of the dialog.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical structured document is a dialog component.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein each node comprises a target address to at least one object.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical structured document is implemented one of procedurally and declaratively.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical document is stored in the server computing device, the client computing device, a gateway, or a router.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein each node comprises a target address to a URL, (uniform resource locator) of a CML (conversational markup language) page associated with the node.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one hierarchical structured document is presented as a frame in a CML page.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the client computing device is a transcoder and the hierarchical structured document is used for performing logical transcoding by the transcoder to generate one of an HTML (hypertext markup language) page and a CML page.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the hierarchical structured document represents the structure of an HTML site.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the hierarchical structured document is one of multi-modal, speech only and GUI (graphical user interface) only.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein each node comprises a target address to a dialog manager responsible for providing a dialog service associated with the node.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the dialog manager provides form filling based NLU (natural language understanding).

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the dialog manager provides dedicated procedures.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the dialog manager provides FSG (finite state grammars).

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the dialog manager employs mixed initiative.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein the dialog manager employs machine directed dialog.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the dialog manager employs user directed dialog.

14. A computer readable medium encoded with computer executable program instructions, said computer executable instructions causing a computer to perform methods step comprising:

generating at least one hierarchical structured document, wherein the hierarchical structured document comprises a mapping of content pages that can be accessed from a server or a mapping of logic of dialog services that can be accessed from the server; and

enabling user access of the content pages or dialog services of the server by processing the at least one hierarchical document to activate the content pages or the logic of the dialog services within the at least one hierarchical document so as to allow the user to directly access any one of the content pages or dialog services.