Personal Virtual Assistant

• US 20090018834A1
• Filed: 09/23/2008
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Derek Sanders, Richard M. Ulmer, Robert S. Cooper
• Original Assignee: Derek Sanders, Richard M. Ulmer, Robert S. Cooper
• Inventors: Sanders, Derek, Cooper, Robert S., Ulmer, Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US12/235,840
• Publication Number:
  US 20090018834A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/257
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/527 Centralised call answering arrangements not requiring operator intervention

Abstract

A computer-based virtual assistant includes a virtual assistant application running on a computer capable of receiving human voice communications from a user of a remote user interface and transmitting a vocalization to the remote user interface, the virtual assistant application enabling the user to access email and voicemail messages of the user, the virtual assistant application selecting a responsive action to a verbal query or instruction received from the remote user interface and transmitting a vocalization characterizing the selected responsive action to the remote user interface, and the virtual assistant waiting a predetermined period of time, and if no canceling indication is received from the remote user interface, proceeding to perform the selected responsive action, and if a canceling indication is received from the remote user interface halting the selected responsive action and transmitting a new vocalization to the remote user interface. Also a method of using the virtual assistant.

Claims

1. A computer-based virtual assistant comprising:

a virtual assistant server running at least one virtual assistant application capable of receiving human voice communications from a user of a remote user interface and transmitting vocalizations to the remote user interface;

at least two speech recognition servers, each of said at least two speech recognition servers running a speech recognition engine adapted to receive speech input and return text output based on the speech input; and

a speech recognition server load balancer receiving speech recognition requests from the virtual assistant application and sending the speech recognition requests from the virtual assistant application to an available one of the at least two speech recognition servers.

2. The computer-based virtual assistant of claim 1 wherein said speech recognition server load balancer provides the speech recognition requests from the virtual assistant server to the first available one of the at least two speech recognition servers.

3. The computer-based virtual assistant of claim 1 including a compilation server for compiling dynamic grammars.

4. The computer-based virtual assistant of claim 1 including a license manager server dispensing licenses to requesting components.

5. The computer-based virtual assistant of claim 1 wherein the virtual assistant application enables the user to send voice mail messages.

6. The computer-based virtual assistant of claim 1, wherein the virtual assistant application enables the user to reply to and forward email messages.

7. The computer-based virtual assistant according to claim 1, wherein the virtual assistant application enables the user to access scheduling data of the user.

8. The computer-based virtual assistant according to claim 1, wherein the virtual assistant application is configured to inform the user via a pager when a new voice or email message arrives.

9. The computer-based virtual assistant according to claim 1, wherein the virtual assistant application is configured to filter incoming voice mail and email as instructed by the user.

10. The computer-based virtual assistant according to claim 1, wherein the virtual assistant application is configured to enable the user to send and receive voice mail messages, to reply to and forward email messages and to access scheduling data of the user.

11. The computer-based virtual assistant according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communications interface to communicate over a network, the network being one of a public switched telephone network, a packet switched telephone network, and a wireless telecommunications network.

12. A method comprising:

providing a virtual assistant server running at least one virtual assistant application capable of receiving human voice communications from a remote user interface and transmitting vocalizations to the remote user interface;

providing at least two speech recognition servers, each of said at least two speech recognition servers running a speech recognition engine adapted to receive speech input and return text output based on the speech input;

receiving a speech recognition request from the virtual assistant application; and

performing load balancing among the at least two speech recognition servers to provide the speech recognition request to an available one of the speech recognition servers.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said performing load balancing comprises performing load balancing among the at least two speech recognition servers to provide the speech recognition request to the first available one of the speech recognition servers.

14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

receiving voice mail messages via the virtual assistant application.

15. The method according to claim 12 further comprising:

replying to and forwarding email messages via the virtual assistant application.

16. The method according to claim 15 further comprising:

accessing scheduling data of the user via the virtual assistant application.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the transmitting step occurs over a network, selected from the group consisting of a public switched telephone network, a packet switched telephone network, and a wireless telecommunications network.

18. The method of claim 12 including compiling dynamic grammars.

19. The method of claim 12 including dispensing licenses to requesting components of the at least two speech recognition servers.

20. The method of claim 12 including:

receiving voice mail messages via the virtual assistant application;

replying to and forwarding email messages via the virtual assistant application; and

accessing scheduling data of the user via the virtual assistant application.

21. A computer-based virtual assistant comprising:

a virtual assistant server running at least one virtual assistant application capable of receiving human voice communications from a remote user interface and transmitting vocalizations to the remote user interface;

at least one speech recognition server running a speech recognition engine adapted to receive speech input and return text output based on the speech input; and

a compilation server for compiling dynamic grammars.

22. The computer-based virtual assistant of claim 21 wherein said at least one speech recognition server comprises first and second speech recognition servers and including a speech recognition server load balancer receiving speech recognition requests from the virtual assistant and sending the speech recognition requests from the virtual assistant server to an available one of the at least two speech recognition servers.

23. The computer-based virtual assistant of claim 21 wherein said speech recognition server load balancer provides the speech recognition requests from the virtual assistant server to the first available one of the at least two speech recognition servers.

24. The computer-based virtual assistant of claim 21 including a license manager server dispensing licenses to requesting components of the at least one speech recognition server.