Method and system for providing speech dialogue applications

• US 8,583,441 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2006
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerence Operating Company (Cerence Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Block, Hans-Ulrich, Gehrke, Manfred, Regel-Brietzmann, Peter, Schachtl, Stefanie, Berton, Andr, Schn, Friedrich
• Primary Examiner(s): ALBERTALLI, BRIAN LOUIS
• Application Number:
  US12/223,916
• Publication Number:
  US 20100267345A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,569 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue

Abstract

A server for producing at least one speech dialogue application stores a formal description of a speech dialogue programmed into the description language and speech models for dialogue steps of the speech dialogue. A broadcasting transmitter digitally transmits produced speech dialogue applications to a radio set of mobile end terminals which are arranged in the transmission area thereof.

Claims

1. A method for providing local speech dialog applications on mobile terminals of vehicles, comprising:

producing local speech dialog applications by a server for transmission over local radio frequencies assigned to local transmission areas, each local radio frequency assigned at least one internet address of at least one local internet site from which the server automatically produces the local speech dialog applications, each local speech dialog application exhibiting a time stamp of a point in time when the local speech dialog application was produced, a formal description of a speech dialog in a description language and language models for individual dialog steps of the local speech dialog; and

transmitting at least one of the local speech dialog applications produced by the server via digital radio by a radio transmitter to a radio receiver of the mobile terminals in a local transmission area of the radio transmitter on one of the local radio reception frequencies.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local speech dialog applications further exhibit background system data.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the background system data are programmed in Java.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising transmitting the background system data with an associated speech dialog application by digital radio to the mobile terminals.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising, after receipt of the at least one local speech dialog application by the mobile terminal, retrieving the background system data via a bidirectional mobile radio interface of the mobile terminal.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the description language is an XML description language.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the speech dialog application exhibits a name for its identification.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the server is connected to a data network.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the data network is formed by the internet.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

storing the local speech dialog applications during production by the server in a first directory of the server; and

copying the local speech dialog applications from the first directory of the server to a second directory of the server as the local speech dialog applications are recognized as being complete.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said transmitting of the local speech dialog applications occurs from the second directory of the server by the radio transmitter to the radio receiver of the mobile terminals at regular intervals.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

storing the local speech dialog applications received by the radio receiver of the mobile terminal in a first directory of the mobile terminal; and

copying the local speech dialog applications from the first directory of the mobile terminal to a second directory of the mobile terminal if the time stamp thereof indicates that the local speech dialog application was produced more recently than a corresponding speech dialog application stored in the second directory of the mobile terminal.

13. A system for providing speech dialog applications on mobile terminals of vehicles, comprising:

a server producing local speech dialog applications for transmission over local radio frequencies assigned to local transmission areas, each local radio frequency assigned at least one internet address of at least one local internet site from which the server automatically produces the local speech dialog applications, each local speech dialog application exhibiting a time stamp of a point in time when the local speech dialog application was produced, a formal description, programmed in a description language, of a speech dialog and language models for individual dialog steps of the local speech dialog; and

a radio transmitter digitally transmitting at least one of the local speech dialog application produced by the server to the radio receivers of the mobile terminals in a local transmission area via a local radio reception frequency of the radio transmitter corresponding to the at least one of the local speech dialog applications.

14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the server is connected to a data network.

15. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the data network is the internet.

16. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein each mobile terminal of the vehicles exhibits a speech dialog machine for processing the local speech dialog applications and a background system with stored information dialog data.

17. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the speech dialog machine exhibits a speech interpretation unit for interpreting data which are output by an automatic speech recognition unit.

18. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the speech dialog machine exhibits an output unit for outputting data to a speech synthesis unit.

19. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the mobile terminal exhibits a transmitter-receiver unit for a mobile telephone connection to receive background system data.

20. A mobile terminal for a vehicle, receiving, from a radio transmitter via a local radio reception frequency, local speech dialog applications produced by a server, comprising:

a digital radio receiver receiving, over the local radio reception frequency of the radio transmitter in whose local transmission area the mobile terminal is located, the local speech dialog applications which exhibit a formal description, programmed in a description language, of a speech dialog and language models for dialog steps of the speech dialog, the local radio reception frequency corresponding to internet addresses of local internet sites from which the server automatically produced the local speech dialog applications for transmission in the local transmission area, where each local speech dialog application exhibits a time stamp of a point in time when the local speech dialog application was produced;

a speech dialog machine processing the local speech dialog applications; and

a background system with stored information dialog data.