Supporting multiple speech enabled user interface consoles within a motor vehicle

• US 7,904,300 B2
• Filed: 08/10/2005
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerence Operating Company (Cerence Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Whitehead, William Russell, Hanson, Gary R., Woodward, Steven G., Charoenruengkit, Werayuth T., Abbott, Lisa, Ruback, Harvey M., Eckhart, John W., Florio, Michael, Badt, Daniel E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorvil; Richemond
• Assistant Examiner(s): BORSETTI, GREG
• Application Number:
  US11/200,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20070038461A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,036 Days
• Field of Search: 704/275
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications

Abstract

An in-vehicle system that shares speech processing resources among multiple applications located within a vehicle. The system can include one or more software applications, each associated with different functionally independent in-vehicle consoles. Each application can have a console specific user interface. The system can also include a single in-vehicle speech processing system implemented separately from the in-vehicle consoles. The speech processing system can execute speech processing tasks responsive to requests received from the applications. That is, the in-vehicle speech processing system can provide speech processing capabilities for the applications. The provided speech processing capabilities can include text-to-speech capabilities and speech recognition capabilities.

Claims

1. A method for use in a vehicle comprising a plurality of in-vehicle consoles comprising at least a first in-vehicle console and a second in-vehicle console, the method comprising acts, performed via a speech processor, of:

(A) receiving, at the speech processor, a first speech processing request from the first in-vehicle console, wherein the first in-vehicle console comprises a first computer running at least one first speech-enabled application, where the first speech processing request comprises at least one first signal indicative of a first spoken utterance;

(B) processing the first speech processing request to recognize first content in the first spoken utterance and generate a first processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized first content;

(C) sending the first processing result to the first in-vehicle console;

(D) receiving, at the speech processor, a second speech processing request from the second in-vehicle console, wherein the second in-vehicle console comprises a second computer running at least one second speech-enabled application, where the second speech processing request comprises at least one second signal indicative of a second spoken utterance;

(E) processing the second speech processing request to recognize second content in the second spoken utterance and generate a second processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized second content; and

(F) sending the second processing result to the second in-vehicle console;

wherein the first in-vehicle console and second in-vehicle console are configured to be operated independently and simultaneously.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one first speech-enabled application running on the first in-vehicle console is selected from a group consisting of a web browser, a movie player, and a video game.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first in-vehicle console is a removable device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first in-vehicle console has a dock that allows at least one external device to interoperate with the console.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the at least one external device is selected from a group consisting of a mobile phone, a portable MP3 player, a global positioning system, a personal data assistant, a signature capture device, a computing tablet, a notebook computer, a DVD player, a video gaming unit, a digital camera, and a portable storage device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first in-vehicle console has a microphone.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first in-vehicle console has a camera.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first processing result is a textual result.

9. A vehicle comprising:

a plurality of in-vehicle consoles comprising at least a first in-vehicle console and a second in-vehicle console configured to be operated independently and simultaneously, wherein the first in-vehicle console comprises a first computer running at least one first speech-enabled application, and wherein the second in-vehicle console comprises a second computer running at least one second speech-enabled application;

a speech processor programmed to service speech requests from the first and second in-vehicle consoles by;

receiving a first speech processing request from the first in-vehicle console, where the first speech processing request comprises at least one first signal indicative of a first spoken utterance;

processing the first speech processing request to recognize first content in the first spoken utterance and generate a first processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized first content; and

sending the first processing result to the first in-vehicle console;

receiving a second speech processing request from the second in-vehicle console, where the second speech processing request comprises at least one second signal indicative of a second spoken utterance;

processing the second speech processing request to recognize second content in the second spoken utterance and generate a second processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized second content; and

sending the second processing result to the second in-vehicle console.

10. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein the at least one first speech-enabled application running on the first in-vehicle console is selected from a group consisting of a web browser, a movie player, and a video game.

11. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein the first in-vehicle console is a removable device.

12. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein the first in-vehicle console has a dock that allows at least one external device to interoperate with the console.

13. The vehicle of claim 12 wherein the at least one external device is selected from a group consisting of a mobile phone, a portable MP3 player, a global positioning system, a personal data assistant, a signature capture device, a computing tablet, a notebook computer, a DVD player, a video gaming unit, a digital camera, and a portable storage device.

14. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein the first in-vehicle console has a microphone.

15. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein the first in-vehicle console has a camera.

16. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein the first in-vehicle console has a display.

17. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein the first in-vehicle console and second in-vehicle console are configured to be operated simultaneously by different users.

18. At least one nontransitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with a plurality of instructions that, when executed by at least one speech processor, perform a method comprising:

(A) receiving, at the speech processor, a first speech processing request from a first in-vehicle console, wherein the first in-vehicle console comprises a first computer running at least one first speech-enabled application, where the first speech processing request comprises at least one first signal indicative of a first spoken utterance;

(B) processing the first speech processing request to recognize first content in the first spoken utterance and generate a first processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized first content;

(C) sending the first processing result to the first in-vehicle console;

(D) receiving, at the speech processor, a second speech processing request from a second in-vehicle console, wherein the second in-vehicle console comprises a second computer running at least one second speech-enabled application, where the second speech processing request comprises at least one second signal indicative of a second spoken utterance;

(E) processing the second speech processing request to recognize second content in the second spoken utterance and generate a second processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized second content; and

(F) sending the second processing result to the second in-vehicle console;

wherein the first in-vehicle console and second in-vehicle console are configured to be operated independently and simultaneously.

19. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein the at least one first speech-enabled application running on the first in-vehicle console is selected from a group consisting of a web browser, a movie player, and a video game.

20. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein the first in-vehicle console has a dock that allows at least one external device to interoperate with the console.

21. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein the at least one external device is selected from a group consisting of a mobile phone, a portable MP3 player, a global positioning system, a personal data assistant, a signature capture device, a computing tablet, a notebook computer, a DVD player, a video gaming unit, a digital camera, and a portable storage device.

22. An in-vehicle system comprising:

at least a first console adapted to be operated by a first user;

at least a second console adapted to be operated by a second user; and

a speech processor to receive and process speech requests from the first and second consoles,

wherein the in-vehicle system is configured to service speech requests received simultaneously at the first console and the second console,

wherein the speech processor is configured to;

process a first speech processing request received from the first console and send a first result to the first console, the first result being responsive to the first speech processing request; and

process a second speech processing request received from the second console and send a second result to the second console, the second result being responsive to the second speech processing request; and

wherein the first console and the second console each is configured to run at least one speech-enabled application.

23. The in-vehicle system of claim 22, wherein the at least one speech-enabled application is selected from a group consisting of:

a web browser, a movie player, and a video game.

24. The in-vehicle system of claim 22, wherein the first console is a removable device.

25. The in-vehicle system of claim 22, wherein the first console has a dock that allows at least one external device to interoperate with the first console.

26. The in-vehicle system of claim 25, wherein the at least one external device is selected from a group consisting of:

a mobile phone, a portable MP3 player, a global positioning system, a personal data assistant, a signature capture device, a computing tablet, a notebook computer, a DVD player, a video gaming unit, a digital camera, and a portable storage device.

27. The in-vehicle system of claim 22, the first console further comprising a microphone and the second console further comprising a microphone.

28. A method for use in a vehicle comprising a plurality of in-vehicle consoles comprising at least a first in-vehicle console and a second in-vehicle console, the method comprising acts, performed via a speech processor, of:

(A) receiving, at the speech processor, a first speech processing request from the first in-vehicle console, wherein the first in-vehicle console comprises a first computer running at least one first speech-enabled application, where the first speech processing request comprises at least one first signal indicative of a first spoken utterance;

(B) processing the first speech processing request to recognize first content in the first spoken utterance and generate a first processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized first content;

(C) sending the first processing result to the first in-vehicle console;

(D) receiving, at the speech processor, a second speech processing request from the second in-vehicle console, wherein the second in-vehicle console comprises a second computer running at least one second speech-enabled application, where the second speech processing request comprises at least one second signal indicative of a second spoken utterance;

(E) processing the second speech processing request to recognize second content in the second spoken utterance and generate a second processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized second content; and

(F) sending the second processing result to the second in-vehicle console;

wherein the first in-vehicle console and second in-vehicle console are configured to be operated simultaneously by different users.

29. A vehicle comprising:

a plurality of in-vehicle consoles comprising at least a first in-vehicle console and a second in-vehicle console configured to be operated simultaneously by different users, wherein the first in-vehicle console comprises a first computer running at least one first speech-enabled application, and wherein the second in-vehicle console comprises a second computer running at least one second speech-enabled application;

a speech processor programmed to service speech requests from the first and second in-vehicle consoles by;

receiving a first speech processing request from the first in-vehicle console, where the first speech processing request comprises at least one first signal indicative of a first spoken utterance;

processing the first speech processing request to recognize first content in the first spoken utterance and generate a first processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized first content; and

sending the first processing result to the first in-vehicle console;

receiving a second speech processing request from the second in-vehicle console, where the second speech processing request comprises at least one second signal indicative of a second spoken utterance;

processing the second speech processing request to recognize second content in the second spoken utterance and generate a second processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized second content; and

sending the second processing result to the second in-vehicle console.

30. At least one nontransitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with a plurality of instructions that, when executed by at least one speech processor, perform a method comprising:

(A) receiving, at the speech processor, a first speech processing request from a first in-vehicle console, wherein the first in-vehicle console comprises a first computer running at least one first speech-enabled application, where the first speech processing request comprises at least one first signal indicative of a first spoken utterance;

(B) processing the first speech processing request to recognize first content in the first spoken utterance and generate a first processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized first content;

(C) sending the first processing result to the first in-vehicle console;

(D) receiving, at the speech processor, a second speech processing request from a second in-vehicle console, wherein the second in-vehicle console comprises a second computer running at least one second speech-enabled application, where the second speech processing request comprises at least one second signal indicative of a second spoken utterance;

(E) processing the second speech processing request to recognize second content in the second spoken utterance and generate a second processing result based, at least in part, on the recognized second content; and

(F) sending the second processing result to the second in-vehicle console;

wherein the first in-vehicle console and second in-vehicle console are configured to be operated simultaneously by different users.