Voice recognition grammar selection based on context

• US 8,527,279 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2012
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Singleton, David P., Ghosh, Debajit
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Paras D
• Assistant Examiner(s): BAKER, MATTHEW H
• Application Number:
  US13/593,140
• Publication Number:
  US 20120316878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 376 Days
• Field of Search: 704275-277
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/065 Adaptation
• 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 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context

Abstract

The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method that includes receiving geographical information derived from a non-verbal user action associated with a first computing device. The non-verbal user action implies an interest of a user in a geographic location. The method also includes identifying a grammar associated with the geographic location using the derived geographical information and outputting a grammar indicator for use in selecting the identified grammar for voice recognition processing of vocal input from the user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

accessing, by a computer system, a search history that identifies one or more search queries that were previously submitted to one or more search services by a mobile computing device that is associated with a user;

accessing information that identifies one or more web pages that were previously displayed on the mobile computing device;

identifying, based at least in part on i) the search history of the mobile computing device, ii) search results associated with the one or more search queries in the search history, and iii) content included in the one or more web pages that were previously displayed on the mobile computing device, a geographic location to which future voice input from the user is likely to relate;

selecting, by the computer system and based at least in part on the identified geographic location, a first grammar from among a plurality of grammars, wherein the first grammar includes a vocabulary that is relevant to the identified geographic location; and

outputting, by the computer system, information that identifies the first grammar, wherein the outputted information causes a grammar used to analyze voice input from the mobile computing device to be changed to the first grammar.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the search results for the search queries are aggregated across a collection of search results that were provided to a plurality of users of the one or more search services.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, based at least in part on the search history of the mobile computing device, one or more topics to which future voice input from the user is likely to relate;

selecting, based at least in part on the identified one or more topics, a second grammar from among the plurality of grammars, wherein the second grammar includes a vocabulary that is relevant to the one or more topics; and

wherein the output information further identifies the second grammar and causes the grammar used to analyze the voice input from the mobile computing device to be changed to multiple grammars that include the first grammar and the second grammar.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the geographic location is identified independent of a current geographic location of the mobile computing device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device comprises a smartphone.

6. A computer-implemented method comprising:

accessing, by a computer system, information that identifies content that was previously requested by and displayed on a mobile computing device that is associated with a user, wherein the content comprises one or more web pages that were previously displayed on the mobile computing device;

identifying, based at least in part on the content that was previously requested and displayed on the mobile computing device, a geographic location to which future voice input from the user is likely to relate;

selecting, by the computer system and based at least in part on the identified geographic location, a first grammar from among a plurality of grammars, wherein the first grammar includes a vocabulary that is relevant to the geographic location; and

outputting, by the computer system, information that identifies the first grammar, wherein the outputted information causes a grammar used to analyze voice input from the mobile computing device to be changed to the first grammar.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

identifying particular portions of the content for which the user expressed at least a threshold level of interest; and

wherein the geographic location is identified based on the particular portions of the content.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the user is determined to have expressed at least the threshold level of interest in the particular portions when a user-controlled pointer hovers over the particular portions of the content for at least a threshold period of time.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

classifying, by the computer system, the content into one or more keywords;

selecting, based at least in part on the one or more keywords, a second grammar from among the plurality of grammars, wherein the second grammar includes a vocabulary that is relevant to the one or more keywords; and

wherein the output information further identifies the second grammar and causes the grammar used to analyze the voice input from the mobile computing device to be changed to multiple grammars that include the first grammar and the second grammar.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the geographic location is identified from the content based on the geographic location occurring in the content at least a threshold number of times.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the content comprises textual content that was displayed on the mobile computing device.

12. A computer system comprising:

one or more computing devices;

an interface of the one or more computing devices that is programmed to access information that identifies one or more of;

i) a search history that identifies one or more search queries that were previously input to a mobile computing device by a user and search results that are associated with the one or more search queries, and ii) content that was previously requested and displayed on the mobile computing device to the user, wherein the content comprises one or more web pages that were previously displayed on the mobile computing device;

a reverse geocoder that is installed on the one or more computing devices and that is programmed to identify a geographic location to which future voice input from the user is likely to relate based at least in part on one or more of;

i) the search history that identifies the one or more search queries that were previously input by the user and the associated search results, and ii) the content that was previously requested and displayed on the mobile computing device; and

a grammar index that is accessible by the one or more computing devices and that includes an index that correlates geographic locations to a plurality of grammars;

a grammar selector that is installed on the one or more computing devices and that is programmed to select a first grammar from among the plurality of grammars based at least in part the geographic location identified by the reverse geocoder, wherein the first grammar includes a vocabulary that is relevant to the geographic location;

wherein the interface is further programmed to output information that identifies the first grammar, wherein the outputted information causes a grammar used to analyze voice input from the mobile computing device to be changed to the first grammar.

13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein:

the one or more computing devices are further programmed to identify one or more topics to which future voice input from the user is likely to relate based at least in part on one or more of;

i) the search history that identifies the one or more search queries that were previously input to the mobile computing device by the user and the associated search results, and ii) the content that was previously requested and displayed on the mobile computing device;

the grammar selector is further programmed to select a second grammar from among the plurality of grammars based at least in part on the identified one or more topics, wherein the second grammar includes a vocabulary that is relevant to the one or more topics; and

the interface is further programmed to output the information to further identify the second grammar and wherein outputting the information further causes the grammar used to analyze the voice input from the mobile computing device to be changed to multiple grammars that include the first grammar and the second grammar.

14. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the geographic location is identified by the reverse geocoder independent of a current geographic location of the mobile computing device.

15. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the geographic location is identified by the reverse geocoder based on the geographic location occurring at least a threshold number of times in one or more of:

i) the search history that identifies the one or more search queries that were previously input to the mobile computing device by the user and the associated search results, and ii) the content that was previously requested and displayed on the mobile computing device.

16. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the search results for the search queries are aggregated across a collection of search results that were provided to a plurality of users of one or more search services.

17. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the reverse geocoder is further programmed to identify the geographic location based on particular portions of the content for which the user expressed at least a threshold level of interest.