System and method of developing automatic speech recognition vocabulary for voice activated services

• US 7,139,706 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2002
• Issued: 11/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mavenir Systems Incorporated (Mavenir Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Comverse Incorporated (Mavenir Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yuschik, Matthew John
• Primary Examiner(s): Storm, Donald L.
• Application Number:
  US10/216,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20030004719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,562 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 704/243
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/065 Adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/1822 Parsing for meaning understanding

Abstract

A comprehensive system is provided for designing a voice activated user interface (VA UI) having a semantic and syntactic structure adapted to the culture and conventions of spoken language for the intended users. The system poses, to at least one respondent, a hypothetical task to be performed; asks each of the at least one respondent for a word that the respondent would use to command the hypothetical task to be performed; receives, from each of the at least one respondent, a command word; develops a list of command words from the received command word; and rejects the received command word, if the received command word is acoustically similar to another word in the list of command words. The approach is general across languages and encompasses universal variables of language and culture. Also provided are prompting grammar and error handling methods adapted to such user interfaces.

Claims

1. A method of developing an automatic speech recognition (ASR) vocabulary for a voice activated service, comprising:

a. posing, to at least one respondent, a hypothetical task to be performed;

b. asking each of the at least one respondent for a word that the respondent would use to command the hypothetical task to be performed;

c. receiving, from each of the at least one respondent, a command word;

d. developing a list of command words from the received command word;

e. rejecting the received command word, if the received command word is acoustically similar to another word in the list of command words; and

f. selecting for the list of command words a command word that is both semantically equivalent to the received command word and relatively frequently received, when the received command word is rejected.

2. A method of developing an automatic speech recognition (ASR) vocabulary for a voice activated service, comprising:

a. posing, to at least one respondent, a hypothetical task to be performed;

b. asking each of the at least one respondent for a word that the respondent would use to command the hypothetical task to be performed;

c. receiving, from each of the at least one respondent, a command word;

d. developing a list of command words from the received command word;

e. rejecting the received command word, if the received command word is acoustically similar to another word in the list of command words;

g. posing additional hypothetical tasks; and

h. ordering the posed hypothetical tasks from less complex tasks to more complex tasks.

3. A method of developing an automatic speech recognition (ASR) vocabulary for a voice activated service, comprising:

a. posing, to at least one respondent, a hypothetical task to be performed;

b. asking each of the at least one respondent for a word that the respondent would use to command the hypothetical task to be performed;

c. receiving, from each of the at least one respondent, a command word;

d. developing a list of command words from the received command word;

e. rejecting the received command word, if the received command word is acoustically similar to another word in the list of command words,

wherein developing the list of command words includes;

d(1). identifying a menu of command functions for the voice activated service; and

d(2). including in the list of command words, for each of the command functions, a command word frequently used by respondents for indicating a task corresponding to the command function.