Synchronizing visual and speech events in a multimodal application

• US 8,571,872 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Cross, Charles W. Jr., Hollinger, Michael C., Jablokov, Igor R., Lewis, Benjamin D., Pike, Hilary A., Smith, Daniel M., Wintermute, David W., Zaitzeff, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): SAINT CYR, LEONARD
• Application Number:
  US13/249,717
• Publication Number:
  US 20120022875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 760 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/1815 Semantic context, e.g. disambiguation of the recognition hypotheses based on word meaning
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/105 Synthesis of the lips movements from speech, e.g. for talking heads

Abstract

Exemplary methods, systems, and products are disclosed for synchronizing visual and speech events in a multimodal application, including receiving from a user speech; determining a semantic interpretation of the speech; calling a global application update handler; identifying, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function in dependence upon the semantic interpretation; and executing the additional function. Typical embodiments may include updating a visual element after executing the additional function. Typical embodiments may include updating a voice form after executing the additional function. Typical embodiments also may include updating a state table after updating the voice form. Typical embodiments also may include restarting the voice form after executing the additional function.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a multimodal application executing on a computer processor, multimodal input from a multimodal browser of a device, wherein the multimodal input comprises speech from a user;

determining a semantic interpretation of at least a portion of the speech using a voice form;

calling a global application update handler of the multimodal application;

identifying, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation and a geographical location, wherein the additional processing function is independent of the voice form; and

executing the additional processing function, wherein the additional processing function executed depends on the semantic interpretation of the at least a portion of the speech,

wherein determining a semantic interpretation of at least a portion of the speech comprises determining a plurality of semantic interpretations of the at least a portion of the speech, and

wherein identifying, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function in dependence upon the semantic interpretation comprises identifying, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function for each of the plurality of semantic interpretations.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the additional processing function comprises providing content to the user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the content comprises an advertisement.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the voice form based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation after executing the additional processing function.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

exiting the voice form; and

restarting the voice form after executing the additional processing function.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating a visual element based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation after executing the additional processing function.

7. A system, comprising:

at least one computer processor;

at least one computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor; and

computer program instructions disposed within the computer memory that, when executed, cause the at least one computer processor to;

receive, by a multimodal application executing on a computer processor, multimodal input from a multimodal browser of a device, wherein the multimodal input comprises speech from a user;

determine a semantic interpretation of at least a portion of the speech using a voice form, the semantic interpretation comprising a plurality of semantic interpretations of the at least a portion of the speech;

call a global application update handler of the multimodal application;

identify, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation and a geographical location, for each of the plurality of semantic interpretations, wherein the additional processing function is independent of the voice form; and

execute the additional processing function, wherein the additional processing function executed depends on the semantic interpretation of the at least a portion of the speech.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising computer program instructions disposed within the computer memory that, when executed, cause the at least one computer processor to provide content to the user based at least in part upon the additional processing function.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the content comprises an advertisement.

10. The system of claim 7, further comprising computer program instructions disposed within the computer memory that, when executed, cause the at least one computer processor to update the voice form based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation after executing the additional processing function.

11. The system of claim 7, further comprising computer program instructions disposed within the computer memory that, when executed, cause the at least one computer processor to:

exit the voice form; and

restart the voice form after executing the additional processing function.

12. The system of claim 7, further comprising computer program instructions disposed within the computer memory that, when executed, cause the at least one computer processor to update a visual element based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation after executing the additional processing function.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on at least one computer processor, perform a method, comprising:

receiving, by a multimodal application executing on a computer processor, multimodal input from a multimodal browser of a device, wherein the multimodal input comprises speech from a user;

determining a semantic interpretation of at least a portion of the speech using a voice form;

calling a global application update handler of the multimodal application;

identifying, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation and a geographical location, wherein the additional processing function is independent of the voice form; and

executing the additional processing function, wherein the additional processing function executed depends on the semantic interpretation of the at least a portion of the speech,

wherein determining a semantic interpretation of at least a portion of the speech comprises determining a plurality of semantic interpretations of the at least a portion of the speech, and

wherein identifying, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function in dependence upon the semantic interpretation comprises identifying, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function for each of the plurality of semantic interpretations.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions that, when executed, provide content to the user based at least in part upon the additional processing function.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the content comprises an advertisement.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions that, when executed, update the voice form based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation after executing the additional processing function.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions that, when executed:

exit the voice form; and

restart the voice form after executing the additional processing function.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions that, when executed, update a visual element based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation after executing the additional processing function.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on at least one computer processor, perform a method, comprising:

receiving speech from a user;

determining a semantic interpretation of at least a portion of the speech; and

identifying, by a global application update handler, an additional processing function in dependence upon the semantic interpretation;

executing the additional processing function to provide an advertisement based at least in part upon the semantic interpretation and a geographical location,

wherein determining a semantic interpretation of at least a portion of the speech comprises determining a plurality of semantic interpretations of the at least a portion of the speech, and

wherein identifying, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function in dependence upon the semantic interpretation comprises identifying, by the global application update handler, an additional processing function for each of the plurality of semantic interpretations.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the speech is received using a voice form, and wherein the global application update handler is independent of the voice form.