SPEECH CONTROL OF COMPUTING DEVICES

• US 20090018830A1
• Filed: 08/23/2007
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Vandinburg GmbH
• Original Assignee: Vandinburg GmbH
• Inventors: EMMANUEL, Ezechias
• Application Number:
  US11/843,982
• Publication Number:
  US 20090018830A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/235
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context

Abstract

The invention relates to techniques of controlling a computing device via speech. A method realization of the proposed techniques comprises the steps of transforming speech input into a text string comprising one or more input words; performing a context-related mapping of the input words to one or more functions for controlling the computing device; and preparing an execution of the identified function. Another realization is related to a remote speech control of computing devices.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a computing device via speech, comprising the following steps:

transforming speech input into a text string comprising one or more input words;

comparing each one of the one or more input words with context mapping words in a context mapping table, in which at least one context mapping word is associated with at least one function for controlling the computing device and at least one of the at least one function is associated with multiple context mapping words;

identifying, in case at least one of the one or more input words matches with one of the context mapping words, the function associated with the matching context mapping word; and

preparing an execution of the identified function.

2. The method according to claim 1,

wherein a context mapping word represents in textual form an aspect of the functionality of the function the context mapping word is associated with.

3. The method according to claim 1,

wherein multiple context mapping words associated with a function represent alias names of the function the context mapping words are associated with.

4. The method according to claim 1,

wherein context mapping words represent a function or one or more aspects of it in different human languages.

5. The method according to claim 1,

wherein a context mapping word is associated with a function parameter.

6. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the step of preparing the execution of the identified function comprises at least one of providing a text string representing a call of the identified function and providing an executable program code representing the identified function on the computing device.

7. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the step of identifying the function comprises, in case an input word matches a context mapping word associated with multiple functions, identifying one function of the multiple functions which is associated with multiple matching context mapping words.

8. The method according to claim 7,

wherein the step of comparing each one of the one or more input words with context mapping words comprises the step of buffering an input word in a context buffer in case the input word matches a context mapping word that is associated with two or more functions.

9. The method according to claim 8,

wherein the step of buffering the input word comprises buffering the input word in the context buffer including, for each of the two or more functions or function parameters associated with the input word, an indication of the function or function parameter.

10. The method according to claim 9,

wherein the step of identifying the function comprises comparing indications of functions or function parameters of two or more input words buffered in the context buffer and identifying corresponding indications.

11. The method according to claim 1,

comprising the further step of comparing an input word with function names in a function name mapping table, in which each of the function names represents one of the functions for controlling the computing device.

12. The method according to claim 11,

comprising the further step of identifying, in case the input word matches with at least a part of a function name, the function associated with the at least partly matching function name.

13. The method according to claim 11,

wherein the function name mapping table further comprises function parameters for comparing the function parameters with input words.

14. The method according to claim 11,

wherein entries corresponding to the same function or function parameter in the context mapping table and the function name mapping table are linked with each other.

15. The method according to claim 14,

wherein a linked entry in the function name mapping table is associated with executable program code representing at least a part of a function.

16. The method according to claim 1,

comprising the further steps of

comparing input words with irrelevant words in an irrelevant words mapping table;

and

in case an input word matches with an irrelevant word, excluding the input word from identifying the function.

18. A computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of claim 1 when the computer program product is executed on one or more computing devices.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, stored on a computer readable recording medium.

17. A method of controlling a computing device via speech, wherein the method is performed in a control device and in a speech input device remotely arranged from the control device, the method comprising the steps of

transforming, in the speech input device, speech input into speech data representing the speech input;

establishing a data transmission connection for transmitting the speech data between the remotely arranged speech input device and the control device; and

converting, in the control device, the speech data into one or more control commands for controlling the computing device.

20. A control device for controlling a computing device via speech, comprising:

a speech recognition component adapted to transform speech input into a text string comprising one or more input words;

a matching component adapted to compare each one of the one or more input words with context mapping words in a context mapping table, in which at least one context mapping word is associated with at least one function for controlling the computing device and at least one of the at least one function is associated with multiple context mapping words;

an identification component adapted to identify, in case at least one of the one or more input words matches with one of the context mapping words, the function associated with the matching context mapping word; and

a preparation component adapted to prepare an execution of the identified function.

21. The control device according to claim 20,

the control device being implemented on the mobile or stationary computing device.

22. A system for controlling a computing device via speech, wherein the system comprises a control device and a speech input device;

and

the speech input device is adapted to transform speech input into speech data representing the speech input;

the control device is adapted to convert the speech data into one or more control commands for controlling the computing device; and

each of the speech input device and the control device comprises a data interface adapted to establish a data transmission connection for transmitting the speech data between the remotely arranged speech input device and the control device.