System and method for providing advertisements in an integrated voice navigation services environment

• US 8,452,598 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2011
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerence Inc.
• Original Assignee: VoiceBox Technologies, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Tjalve, Michael, Salomon, Ari, Baldwin, Larry, Cheung, Catherine, Kennewick, Michael R., Menaker, Sam, Zimmerman, Bernie, Dichristo, Philippe, Armstrong, Lynn, Guttigoli, Sheetal
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Huyen X.
• Application Number:
  US13/341,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20120109753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 515 Days
• Field of Search: 704/231, 704/235, 704/257, 704/251, 704 1- 10, 704/270, 704/255, 704/270.1, 455/456.1, 379/218.01, 709/217
• US Class Current: 704/257
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/00 Speech recognition G10L17/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/04 Segmentation; Word boundary detection
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/08 Speech classification or search
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/19 Grammatical context, e.g. disambiguation of the recognition hypotheses based on word sequence rules
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/193 Formal grammars, e.g. finite state automata, context free grammars or word networks
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue

Abstract

The system and method described herein may provide advertisements in an integrated voice navigation services environment. In particular, one or more advertisements may be identified based on affinities among a current location associated with a navigation device and shared knowledge and information used to interpret natural language utterances that relate to a navigation context, wherein the one or more advertisements may then be presented via a multi-modal output. As such, the shared knowledge and the information relating to the navigation context may provide the system and method with dynamic awareness relating to context, available information sources, domain knowledge, and user behavior and preferences, among other things, which may be used to deliver targeted and contextually relevant advertisements in the integrated navigation services environment.

Claims

1. A method for providing advertisements in conjunction with telematics services, comprising:

receiving, from a location detection system, a current location associated with a navigation device;

retrieving, by a processor, information indicative of a preference of a user of the telematics services;

identifying, by the processor, one or more advertisements that have an affinity to the current location and that have a target audience that matches the information indicative of the preference of the user; and

generating, by the processor, an output to present the one or more advertisements via the navigation device, wherein the information indicative of the preference of the user is based on long-term shared knowledge used to interpret natural language utterances from the user that relate to a navigation service in conjunction with telematics services, and wherein the long-term shared knowledge includes information indicative of the user'"'"'s demographics.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the output includes a system-generated speech utterance that presents the one or more advertisements via a speaker coupled to the navigation device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, at the location detection system, information relating to the one or more advertisements over a data channel.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the location detection system is configured to identify the current location by detecting proximity of a radio frequency identifier to the navigation device, and wherein the data channel is associated with the radio frequency identifier.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more advertisements include an image, a banner, an audio message, a video message, a promotional offer, a coupon, or a data stream.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a natural language utterance at an input device coupled to the navigation device, wherein the natural language utterance relates to a navigation context; and

generating a probable interpretation associated with the natural language utterance in the navigation context using the long-term shared knowledge, wherein the one or more advertisements are further identified based on the probable interpretation associated with the natural language utterance and based on the affinity to the current location associated with the navigation device and based on the long-term shared knowledge.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more advertisements include a local community guide relevant to the current location associated with the navigation device, and wherein identifying the one or more advertisements having the affinity to the current location comprises identifying an affinity between the local community guide and the current location.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the local community guide includes recommendations associated with points of interest, events, restaurants, stores, activities, or tourist attractions relevant to the current location associated with the navigation device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the local community guide includes information associated with maps, destinations, directories, traffic, parking, or weather relevant to the current location associated with the navigation device.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

updating the one or more affinities based on one or more peers associated with the user or one or more communities associated with the user; and

generating the local community guide based on the one or more updated affinities among the user that spoke the natural language utterance and the one or more peers associated with the user, the one or more communities associated with the user, the current location associated with the navigation device, or the long-term shared knowledge.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the probable interpretation comprises tracking, in a context stack, a previously invoked domain agent.

12. A system for providing advertisements in conjunction with telematics services, comprising:

a location detection system configured to identify a current location associated with a navigation device; and

a processor configured to;

retrieve information indicative of a preference of a user of the telematics services;

identify one or more advertisements that have an affinity to the current location and that have a target audience that matches the information indicative of the preference of the user; and

generate an output to present the one or more advertisements, wherein the information indicative of the preference of the user is based on long-term shared knowledge used to interpret natural language utterances from the user that relate to a navigation service in conjunction with telematics services, and wherein the long-term shared knowledge includes information indicative of the user'"'"'s demographics.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a speaker configured to output a system-generated speech utterance associated with the output to present the one or more advertisements.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the location detection system is further configured to receive information relating to the one or more advertisements over a data channel.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the location detection system is configured to identify the current location by detecting proximity of a radio frequency identifier to the navigation device, and wherein the data channel is associated with the radio frequency identifier.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more advertisements include an image, a banner, an audio message, a video message, a promotional offer, a coupon, or a data stream.

17. The system of claim 12, further comprising an input device configured to receive a natural language utterance that relates to a navigation context, wherein the processor is further configured to:

generate a probable interpretation associated with the natural language utterance in the navigation context using the long-term shared knowledge; and

identify the one or more advertisements based on the probable interpretation associated with the natural language utterance and based on the current location associated with the navigation device and based on the long-term shared knowledge.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more advertisements include a local community guide relevant to the current location associated with the navigation device, and wherein the processor is configured to identify the one or more advertisements having the affinity to the current location by identifying an affinity between the local community guide and the current location.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to:

update the one or more affinities based on one or more peers associated with the user or one or more communities associated with the user; and

generate the local community guide based on the one or more updated affinities among the user that spoke the natural language utterance and the one or more peers associated with the user, the one or more communities associated with the user, the current location associated with the navigation device, or the long-term shared knowledge.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the local community guide includes recommendations associated with points of interest, events, restaurants, stores, activities, or tourist attractions relevant to the current location associated with the navigation device.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the local community guide includes information associated with maps, destinations, directories, traffic, parking, or weather relevant to the current location associated with the navigation device.

22. A navigation device for providing advertisements in conjunction with telematics services, wherein the navigation device comprises one or more processors configured to:

identify a current location associated with the navigation device;

retrieve information indicative of a preference of a user of the telematics services;

identify one or more advertisements that have an affinity to the current location and that have a target audience that matches the information the information indicative of the preference of the user; and

generate an output to present the one or more advertisements, wherein the information indicative of the preference of the user is based on long-term shared knowledge used to interpret natural language utterances from the user that relate to a navigation service in conjunction with telematics services, and wherein the long-term shared knowledge includes information indicative of the user'"'"'s demographics.

23. The navigation device of claim 22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to output a system-generated speech utterance associated with the output includes to present the one or more advertisements via a speaker.

24. The navigation device of claim 22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive information relating to the one or more advertisements over a data channel.

25. The navigation device of claim 24, wherein the navigation device is configured to identify the current location by detecting proximity of a radio frequency identifier to the navigation device, and wherein the data channel is associated with the radio frequency identifier.

26. The navigation device of claim 22, wherein the one or more advertisements include an image, a banner, an audio message, a video message, a promotional offer, a coupon, or a data stream.

27. The navigation device of claim 22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

receive a natural language utterance that relates to a navigation context; and

generate a probable interpretation associated with the natural language utterance in the navigation context using the long-term shared knowledge, wherein the one or more processors are configured to further identify the one or more advertisements based on the probable interpretation associated with the natural language utterance and based on the current location associated with the navigation device and based on the long-term shared knowledge.

28. The navigation device of claim 27, wherein the one or more advertisements include a local community guide relevant to the current location associated with the navigation device, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to identify the one or more advertisements having the affinity to the current location by identifying an affinity between the local community guide and the current location.

29. The navigation device of claim 28, wherein the local community guide includes recommendations associated with points of interest, events, restaurants, stores, activities, or tourist attractions relevant to the current location associated with the navigation device.

30. The navigation device of claim 28, wherein the local community guide includes information associated with maps, destinations, directories, traffic, parking, or weather relevant to the current location associated with the navigation device.

31. The navigation device of claim 28, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

update the one or more affinities based on one or more peers associated with the user or one or more communities associated with the user; and

generate the local community guide based on the one or more updated affinities among the user that spoke the natural language utterance and the one or more peers associated with the user, the one or more communities associated with the user, the current location associated with the navigation device, or the long-term shared knowledge.