Personalized, automated receptionist

• US 9,519,827 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2014
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Guo, Shang Q., Jones, Christopher P., Lenchner, Jonathan, Masters, Nathan, Mazzella, Daniel A., Oravec, James A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Desire, Gregory M
• Application Number:
  US14/582,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20160188960A1
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/006 based on simulated virtual individual or collective life forms, e.g. social simulations or particle swarm optimisation [PSO]
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/194 References adjustable by an adaptive method, e.g. learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• 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

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for creating a personalized, automated receptionist are provided herein. A method for providing an automated receptionist for a host user includes obtaining one or more images of a work environment of the host user; processing the one or more images to determine if at least one visitor is present in the work environment; and if the at least one visitor is determined to be present in the work environment, notifying the host user that the at least one visitor is present in the work environment, wherein at least one of the steps are performed by at least one hardware device. The method may be initiated, for example, when the host user is not present in the work environment. The automated receptionist can optionally (i) provide a greeting to the at least one visitor; (ii) enable communication between the at least one visitor and the host user; and/or (iii) provide one or more information items to the at least one visitor when the host user is not present.

Claims

1. A computer program product for providing an automated receptionist for a host user, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform the following steps:

performing a learning process comprising;

obtaining one or more images of a work environment of said host user;

processing, using at least one hardware device, said one or more images to determine if one or more of at least one visitor and said host user are present in said work environment, wherein said processing comprises;

learning, using at least one hardware device, a name of said at least one visitor, wherein said learning comprises processing one or more items of speech of one or more of said at least one visitor and said host user;

associating, using at least one hardware device, one or more faces in said one or more images of said at least one visitor with one or more of said learned names of said at least one visitor; and

if said visitor is determined to be present in said work environment, notifying said host user that said visitor is present in said work environment.

2. A system for providing an automated receptionist for a host user, said system comprising:

a memory; and

at least one hardware device coupled to the memory and configured for;

performing a learning process comprising;

obtaining one or more images of a work environment of said host user;

processing, using at least one hardware device, said one or more images to determine if one or more of at least one visitor and said host user are present in said work environment, wherein said processing comprises;

learning, using at least one hardware device, a name of said at least one visitor, wherein said learning comprises processing one or more items of speech of one or more of said at least one visitor and said host user;

associating, using at least one hardware device, one or more faces in said one or more images of said at least one visitor with one or more of said learned names of said at least one visitor; and

if said visitor is determined to be present in said work environment, notifying said host user that said visitor is present in said work environment.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said at least one hardware device is further configured for learning one or more commands for said automated receptionist from said host user.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein said at least one hardware device is further configured for initiating said method when said host user is not in said work environment.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein said at least one hardware device is further configured for providing a greeting to said at least one visitor.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said greeting includes said learned name of said at least one visitor.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein said at least one hardware device is further configured for enabling communication between said at least one visitor and said host user, wherein said host user is not in said work environment.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein said at least one hardware device is further configured for providing one or more information items to said at least one visitor when said host user is not in said work environment.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said one or more information items are provided to said at least one visitor following a determination that said at least one visitor has authorization for accessing said one or more information items.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein said said step of notifying said host user that said at least one visitor is present in said work environment further comprises a notification of an identity of said at least one visitor.

12. The system of claim 2, wherein said step of associating said one or more faces in said one or more images of said at least one visitor further comprises employing provided names of said at least one visitor.

13. The system of claim 2, wherein one or more faces in said one or more images of said at least one visitor are correlated with one or more of calendar, email and contacts of said host user.

14. The system of claim 2, wherein said at least one hardware device is further configured to provide audio and visual information to the host user if the said at least one visitor is unknown to the host user.

11. The system of 2, wherein said at least one hardware device is further configured to evaluate at least one of said obtained associations of said one or more faces and said one or more names of said at least one visitor.