System and dialog manager developed using modular spoken-dialog components

• US 9,257,116 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2014
• Issued: 02/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Di Fabbrizio, Giuseppe, Lewis, Charles Alfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Desir, Pierre-Louis
• Assistant Examiner(s): KOVACEK, DAVID M
• Application Number:
  US14/261,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20140324427A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 704/231, 704/246, 704251-257, 704270-278, 379 671- 72, 379 87- 8806, 379/88.13, 379 8816- 8826, 379 9001- 9303
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/00 Handling natural language data speech analysis or synthesis, speech recognition G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/191 Automatic line break hyphenation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/205 Parsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/35 Discourse or dialogue representation
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/06 Creation of reference templates; Training of speech recognition systems, e.g. adaptation to the characteristics of the speaker's voice G10L15/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/28 Constructional details of speech recognition systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/00 Speech or voice signal processing techniques to produce another audible or non-audible signal, e.g. visual or tactile, in order to modify its quality or its intelligibility G10L19/00 takes precedence
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/642 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing

Abstract

A dialog manager and spoken dialog service having a dialog manager generated according to a method comprising selecting a top level flow controller based on application type, selecting available reusable subdialogs for each application part, developing a subdialog for each application part not having an available subdialog and testing and deploying the spoken dialog service using the selected top level flow controller, selected reusable subdialogs and developed subdialogs. The dialog manager capable of handling context shifts in a spoken dialog with a user. Application dependencies are established in the top level flow controller thus enabling the subdialogs to be reusable and to be capable of managing context shifts and mixed initiative dialogs.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

selecting a top level recursive flow controller from a database, wherein the top level recursive flow controller isolates subdialog information of each subdialog in a plurality of subdialogs from other subdialogs in the plurality of subdialogs;

selecting, for a portion of an application below the top level recursive flow controller, an available reusable subdialog from the plurality of subdialogs; and

developing, via a processor and for a spoken dialog service, a subdialog for each remaining portion of the application not associated with the available reusable subdialog.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the available reusable subdialog is isolated from application dependencies of the application, the application dependencies being specific information provided to the application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the application dependencies are declared outside of code used for the developing of the available reusable subdialog.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the application uses dialog components in conjunction with an output template of the application in providing output in response to user input.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the available reusable subdialog and a developed subdialog manage mixed-initiative conversations with a user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the available reusable subdialog provides information to a user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the available reusable subdialog is selected to obtain one of a telephone number, a social security number, an address, and an account number.

8. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage device having instructions stored which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

selecting a top level recursive flow controller from a database, wherein the top level recursive flow controller isolates subdialog information of each subdialog in a plurality of subdialogs from other subdialogs in the plurality of subdialogs;

selecting, for a portion of an application below the top level recursive flow controller, an available reusable subdialog; and

developing, for a spoken dialog service, a subdialog for each remaining portion of the application not associated with the available reusable subdialog.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the available reusable subdialog is isolated from application dependencies of the application, the application dependencies being specific information provided to the application.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the application dependencies are declared outside of code used for the developing of the available reusable subdialog.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the application uses dialog components in conjunction with an output template of the application in providing output in response to user input.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the available reusable subdialog and a developed subdialog manage mixed-initiative conversations with a user.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the available reusable subdialog provides information to a user.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the available reusable subdialog is selected to obtain one of a telephone number, a social security number, an address, and an account number.

15. A computer-readable storage device having instructions stored which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

selecting a top level recursive flow controller from a database, wherein the top level recursive flow controller isolates subdialog information of each subdialog in a plurality of subdialogs from other subdialogs in the plurality of subdialogs;

selecting, for a portion of an application below the top level recursive flow controller, an available reusable subdialog; and

developing, via a processor and for a spoken dialog service, a subdialog for each remaining portion of the application not associated with the available reusable subdialog.

16. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the available reusable subdialog is isolated from application dependencies of the application, the application dependencies being specific information provided to the application.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the application dependencies are declared outside of code used for the developing of the available reusable subdialog.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the application uses dialog components in conjunction with an output template of the application in providing output in response to user input.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the available reusable subdialog and a developed subdialog manage mixed-initiative conversations with a user.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the available reusable subdialog provides information to a user.