Low data transmission rate and intelligible speech communication

• US 6,502,073 B1
• Filed: 06/07/2000
• Issued: 12/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kent Ridge Digital Labs
• Original Assignee: Kent Ridge Digital Labs
• Inventors: Xu, Jun, Li, Haizhou, Guan, Cuntai
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorvil, Richemond
• Assistant Examiner(s): NOLAN, DANIEL A
• Application Number:
  US09/462,799
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 704/256, 704/251-257, 704/500, 704/501, 704/503, 704/1-8, 704/10, 704/276, 341/28
• US Class Current: 704/255
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/0018 Speech coding using phonetic or linguistical decoding of the source; Reconstruction using text-to-speech synthesis

Abstract

A method of processing speech representative of ideograms for speech communication using an asynchronous communication channel (21) is disclosed. The method includes the step of processing speech units of a speech and data indicative of the speech units. Each speech unit is representative of an ideogram or a plurality of semantically related ideograms (500-508). The data indicative of the speech units is discretely communicable on the asynchronous communication channel (21). By communicating the data indicative of the speech units, a substantially low data transmission rate and intelligible speech communication is achieved.

Claims

1. A method of processing speech representative of ideograms for speech communication using an asynchronous communication channel, said method including the step of:

processing speech units of a speech and data indicative of said speech units, wherein each speech unit is representative of an ideogram or a plurality of semantically related ideograms and said data indicative of said speech units is discretely communicable on said asynchronous communication channel for providing substantially low data transmission rate and intelligible speech communication.

2. The method according to claim 1, further including the step of processing data dependent on the speech pattern of said speech in relation to one or both of the time and frequency domains, said dependent data communicable on said asynchronous communication channel.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said speech processing step includes the step of processing said data indicative of said speech units for transmission on said asynchronous communication channel.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said speech processing step further includes the step of performing continuous speech recognition on said speech.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said continuous speech recognition step includes the step of using an acoustic model.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein said speech processing step further includes the step of performing prosody analysis on said speech for providing prosody parameters of said speech, said prosody parameters being communicable on said asynchronous communication channel.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein said speech processing step further includes the step of parsing sentences in said speech to provide said speech units.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said speech processing step further includes the step of processing said data indicative of speech units received from said asynchronous communication channel.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said speech processing step further includes the step of synthesizing said speech using said speech units.

10. A method of processing speech representative of ideograms for speech communication using an asynchronous communication channel, said method including the steps of:

processing meaning groups of a speech and data representing said meaning groups, wherein each meaning group is formed from at least one ideogram identifiable by a meaning and said data representing said meaning group is discretely communicable on said asynchronous communication channel; and

processing data dependent on the speech pattern of said speech in relation to one of both of the time and frequency domains, said dependent data communicable on said asynchronous communication channel

whereby substantially low data transmission rate and intelligible speech communication is provided.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said speech processing step includes the step of processing said data representative of said meaning groups for transmission on said asynchronous communication channel.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said speech processing step further includes the step of parsing sentences in said speech to provide said meaning groups.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said speech processing step further includes the step of performing continuous speech recognition.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said continuous speech recognition step includes the step of using an acoustic model.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein said speech processing step further includes the step of performing prosody analysis on said speech for providing prosody parameters of said speech, said prosody parameters being communicable on said asynchronous communication channel.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein said speech processing step includes the step of processing said data representative of said meaning groups received from said asynchronous communication channel.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said speech processing step further includes the step of synthesizing said speech using said meaning groups.

18. A speech processing device, including:

a speech digitizer for processing a speech in an ideographic language and digitized speech thereof; and

a semantic processor for processing said digitized speech by processing speech units representative of an ideogram in said speech or a plurality of semantically related ideograms and data indicative of said speech units which are discretely communicable on an asynchronous communication channel for providing substantially low data transmission rate and intelligible speech communication.

19. The device according to claim 18, further including a speech pattern processor for processing data dependent on the speech pattern of said speech in relation to one of both of the time and frequency domains, said dependent data communicable on said asynchronous communication channel.

20. The device according to claim 19, further including a transmission controller for transmitting said data indicative of said speech units and said data dependent on the speech pattern of said speech.

21. The device according to claim 20, wherein said speech digitizer includes a continuous speech recognizer.

22. The device according to claim 21, wherein said continuous speech recognizer receives input from an acoustic model.

23. The device according to claim 22, wherein said semantic processor includes a prosody analyzer.

24. The device according to claim 23, wherein said semantic processor further includes a sentence parsing means for parsing sentences in said speech to provide said speech units.

25. The device according to claim 19, further including a receiving controller for receiving data indicative of said speech units and said data dependent on said speech pattern of said speech.

26. The device according to claim 25, wherein the semantics processor includes a speech synthesizer for synthesizing said speech using said speech units and said data dependent on said speech pattern of said speech.

27. A speech communication system for an asynchronous communication channel, including:

a speech processing device for processing a speech in an ideographic language and digitized speech thereof by processing speech units representative of an ideogram in said speech or a plurality of semantically related ideograms and data indicative of said speech units which are discretely communicable; and

a communication controller for communicating said speech information on said asynchronous communication channel for providing substantially low data transmission rate and intelligible speech communication.

28. The system according to claim 27, further including a speech pattern processor for processing data dependent on the speech pattern of said speech in relation to one of both of the time and frequency domains, said dependent data communicable on said asynchronous communication channel.

29. The system according to claim 28, wherein said communication controller includes a transmission controller for transmitting said data indicative of said speech units and said data dependent on the speech pattern of said speech.

30. The system according to claim 29, wherein said speech processing device includes a continuous speech recognizer.

31. The system according to claim 30, wherein said continuous speech recognizer receives input from an acoustic model.

32. The system according to claim 31, wherein said speech processing device further includes a prosody analyzer.

33. The system according to claim 32, wherein said speech processing device further includes a sentence parsing means for parsing sentences in said speech to provide said speech units.

34. The system according to claim 28, wherein said communication further includes a receiving controller for receiving data indicative of said speech units and said data dependent on said speech pattern of said speech.

35. The device according to claim 34, wherein said speech processing device includes a speech synthesizer for synthesizing said speech using said speech units and said data dependent on said speech pattern of said speech.

36. A computer program product for processing speech for communication on an asynchronous communication channel, including:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for causing the processing of speech representative of ideograms for speech communication, said computer program product having;

computer readable program code means for processing speech units of a speech and data indicative of said speech units, wherein each speech unit is representative of an ideogram or a plurality of semantically related ideograms and said data indicative of said speech units is discretely communicable on said asynchronous communication channel for providing substantially low data transmission rate and intelligible speech communication.

37. The computer program product according to claim 36, further including computer readable program code means for processing data dependent on the speech pattern of said speech in relation to one or both of the time and frequency domains, said dependent data communicable on said asynchronous communication channel.

38. The computer program product according to claim 36, wherein said computer readable program code means for processing includes means for processing said data indicative of said speech units for transmission on said asynchronous communication channel.

39. The computer program product according to claim 36, further including computer readable program code means for parsing sentences in said speech to provide said speech units.

40. The computer program product according to claim 39, further including computer readable program code means for synthesizing said speech using said speech units.