Methods and systems for utilizing voice commands onboard an aircraft

• US 9,190,073 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2013
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Dong, Xian Qin, Qin, Xiao Long
• Primary Examiner(s): AZAD, ABUL K
• Application Number:
  US13/859,301
• Publication Number:
  US 20130197917A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• Field of Search: 704/275
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/183 using context dependencies, e.g. language models
• 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 2015/225 Feedback of the input speech
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0216 characterised by the method used for estimating noise
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/06 Transformation of speech into a non-audible representation, e.g. speech visualisation or speech processing for tactile aids G10L15/26 takes precedence

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for utilizing audio commands onboard an aircraft. A method comprises identifying a flight phase for the aircraft, resulting in an identified flight phase, receiving an audio input, resulting in received audio input, filtering the received audio input in a manner that is influenced by the identified flight phase for the aircraft, resulting in filtered audio input, and validating the filtered audio input as a first voice command of a first plurality of possible voice commands.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing voice commands onboard a vehicle, the method comprising:

determining a current operating state for the vehicle, the current operating state comprising a distinguishable operating phase of the vehicle associated with traversing the vehicle from a starting location to an ending location;

recognizing a received voice command as a first voice command of a plurality of possible voice commands, the first voice command being associated with one or more criterion that restrict execution of the first voice command, the one or more criterion including one or more allowed operating states and a safety criterion; and

in response to recognizing the received voice command,

validating the received voice command when the current operating state of the vehicle corresponds to an allowed operating state of the one or more allowed operating states associated with the first voice command and the safety criterion associated with the first voice command does not require confirmation;

prompting a user for confirmation before validation based on the safety criterion when the current operating state of the vehicle corresponds to an allowed operating state of the one or more allowed operating states associated with the first voice command and the safety criterion associated with the first voice command requires confirmation; and

invalidating the received voice command when the one or more allowed operating states associated with the first voice command does not allow execution of the first voice command during the current operating state; and

in response to validating the received voice command, providing the received voice command to a system onboard the vehicle that is associated with the received voice command, wherein the system executes the received voice command.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting, from a plurality of different noise models, a first noise model corresponding to the current operating state; and

filtering the received voice command in a manner that is influenced by the first noise model, resulting in a filtered voice command, wherein executing the first voice command comprises executing the first voice command in response to recognizing the filtered voice command as the first voice command.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the vehicle comprises an aircraft;

the system comprises an avionics system onboard the aircraft;

the received voice command is received via an audio input device onboard the aircraft;

the current operating state comprises a current flight phase of a plurality of flight phases; and

the first noise model corresponds to ambient noise proximate the audio input device onboard the aircraft during the current flight phase.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein each noise model of the plurality of different noise models corresponds to ambient noise proximate the audio input device onboard the aircraft during a respective flight phase of the plurality of flight phases.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the vehicle comprises an aircraft;

the system comprises an avionics system onboard the aircraft;

the received voice command is received via an audio input device onboard the aircraft;

the current operating state comprises a current flight phase of a plurality of flight phases; and

the first noise model corresponds to ambient noise within a cockpit of the aircraft during the current flight phase.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing feedback in response to invalidating the received voice command.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the feedback comprises a warning or a message.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein providing the feedback comprises generating an auditory warning.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the vehicle comprises an aircraft;

the system comprises an avionics system onboard the aircraft;

the current operating state comprises a current flight phase of a plurality of flight phases; and

the one or more allowed operating states comprise one or more allowed flight phases of the plurality of flight phases.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the criterion comprises a flight phase criterion which limits flight phases of the plurality of flight phases during which the first voice command may be executed.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the one or more criterion limit a range of acceptable input values for a parameter of the first voice command; and

the first voice command is not validated when the parameter of the received voice command is not within the range of acceptable input values.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the vehicle comprises an aircraft;

the system comprises an avionics system onboard the aircraft;

the current operating state comprises a current flight phase of a plurality of flight phases;

the one or more allowed operating states comprise one or more allowed flight phases of the plurality of flight phases;

the one or more criterion limit a range of acceptable input values for a parameter of the first voice command; and

the first voice command is not validated when the parameter of the received voice command is not within the range of acceptable input values.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein recognizing a received voice command as a first voice command of a plurality of possible voice commands comprises:

recognizing a first portion of audio input as a first command word of the first voice command based on a plurality of possible initial command words;

determining a plurality of possible second command words that may follow the first command word of the first voice command based on a subset of the first plurality of possible voice commands, wherein the first command word corresponds to an initial command word for each possible voice command of a subset of the first plurality of possible voice commands and each possible second command word of the plurality of possible second command words corresponds to a second command word of a respective voice command of the subset; and

recognizing a second portion of the audio input as a second command word of the first voice command based on the plurality of possible second command words.

14. A system for an aircraft comprising:

an avionics system onboard the aircraft;

an output device onboard the aircraft;

an audio input device onboard the aircraft, the audio input device being capable of receiving audio input;

a data storage element comprising a first plurality of possible voice commands, each voice command of the first plurality of possible voice commands being associated with one or more allowed flight phases and a safety criterion; and

a processing system coupled to the avionics system, the output device, the audio input device, and the data storage element, wherein the processing system is configured to;

identify a current flight phase for the aircraft, resulting in an identified flight phase;

recognize the audio input as a first voice command of the first plurality of possible voice commands;

invalidate the first voice command if a flight phase criterion associated with the first voice command does not allow execution of the first voice command during the identified flight phase;

prompt a user for confirmation of the first voice command via the output device before validation based on the safety criterion associated with the first voice command when the identified flight phase corresponds to an allowed flight phase of the one or more allowed flight phases associated with the first voice command;

validate the first voice command when the identified flight phase corresponds to an allowed flight phase of the one or more allowed flight phases associated with the first voice command and the safety criterion associated with the first voice command does not require confirmation; and

in response to validating the first voice command, provide the first voice command to the avionics system, wherein the avionics system is configured to execute the first voice command.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing system is configured to provide feedback in response to invalidating the first voice command.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the feedback comprises a warning or a message.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising an audio output device coupled to the processing system, wherein providing the feedback comprises generating an auditory warning via the audio output device.