Voice control system

• US 8,666,750 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2008
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Buck, Markus, Knig, Lars, Schmidt, Gerhard Uwe
• Primary Examiner(s): Desir, Pierre-Louis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Serrou, Abdelali
• Application Number:
  US12/023,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20080262849A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,224 Days
• Field of Search: 704/275, 704/251, 704/274, 704/270, 704/271, 704/270.1, 704/246, 704/231
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/28 Constructional details of speech recognition systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/78 Detection of presence or absence of voice signals switching of direction of transmission by voice frequency in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/10

Abstract

A voice control system allows a user to control a device through voice commands. The voice control system includes a speech recognition unit that receives a control signal from a mobile device and a speech signal from a user. The speech recognition unit configures speech recognition settings in response to the control signal to improve speech recognition.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a speech recognition unit configured to;

receive a first control signal comprising a radio signal from a wireless first mobile device associated with a first user, wherein the first control signal is unrelated to speech of the first user;

receive a first speech signal from the first user associated with the first mobile device;

receive an audio signal from the first mobile device and determine a distance of the first user by measuring a difference in transmission time between the radio signal and the audio signal; and

identify the first user from the first control signal and configure speech settings for speech recognition of speech by the first user based on the identity of the first user and the determined distance.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first control signal comprises radio signals from a binaural hearing aid.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first control signal comprises a resource identifier.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the speech recognition unit is further configured to activate speech recognition functionality after receiving the first control signal.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the speech recognition unit is further configured to receive a second control signal from a wireless second mobile device associated with a second user.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the speech recognition unit is further configured to receive a second speech signal from the second user associated with the second mobile device and give priority to commands of a higher priority one of the first and second users.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the speech recognition unit is further configured to determine a position of the first user in relation to the speech recognition system.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the speech recognition unit is further configured to adjust a speech recognition setting based upon the position of the first user.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system further includes a microphone may that can be adjusted based upon the distance of the first user.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the audio signal comprises a signal known by the speech recognition unit.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the audio signal indicates that voice control is activated.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the speech recognition unit is further configured to process the audio signal to determine acoustic properties of a room for adjusting settings of the speech recognition unit.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the speech recognition is further configured to receive a speech-recognized signal from the first mobile device, the speech-recognized signal comprising speech from the first user after speech recognition processing by the first mobile device.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the speech recognition unit is further configured to perform speech recognition using speech recognition from the first speech signal from the first user and the speech-recognized signal from the first mobile device.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein the speech-recognized signal from the first mobile device comprises a voice control action, wherein the speech recognition unit is further configured to perform an action in response to the voice control action.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the voice control action includes turning voice control on for the speech recognition unit.

17. A method, comprising:

receiving with a speech recognition unit a first control signal comprising a radio signal from a wireless first mobile device associated with a first user, wherein the first control signal is unrelated to speech of the first user;

receiving a first speech signal from the first user associated with the first mobile device;

receiving an audio signal from the first mobile device and determining a distance of the first user by measuring a difference in transmission time between the radio signal and the audio signal; and

identifying, using a computer processor, the first user from the first control signal and configuring speech settings for speech recognition of speech by the first user based on the identity of the first user and the determined distance.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the first control signal comprises radio signals from a binaural hearing aid.

19. The method according to claim 17, further including activating speech recognition functionality after receiving the first control signal.

20. The method according to claim 17, further including receiving a second control signal from a wireless second mobile device associated with a second user.

21. The method according to claim 20, further including receiving a second speech signal from the second user associated with the second mobile device and give priority to commands of a higher priority one of the first and second users.

22. The method according to claim 17, further including determining a position of the first user in relation to the speech recognition system.

23. The method according to claim 22, further including adjusting a speech recognition setting based upon the position of the first user.

24. The method according to claim 17, further including processing the audio signal to determine acoustic properties of a room for adjusting settings of the speech recognition unit.

25. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium having stored instructions that enable a machine to:

receive a first control signal comprising a radio signal from a wireless first mobile device associated with a first user, wherein the first control signal is unrelated to speech of the first user;

receive a first speech signal from the first user associated with the first mobile device;

receive an audio signal from the first mobile device and determine a distance of the first user by measuring a difference in transmission time between the radio signal and the audio signal; and

identify the first user from the first control signal and configure speech settings for speech recognition of speech by the first user based on the identity of the first user and the determined distance.