Word-level correction of speech input

• US 8,478,590 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: LeBeau, Michael J., Byrne, William J., Jitkoff, John Nicholas, Ballinger, Brandon M., Kristjansson, Trausti
• Primary Examiner(s): GUERRA-ERAZO, EDGAR X
• Application Number:
  US13/249,539
• Publication Number:
  US 20120022868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 641 Days
• Field of Search: 704/235, 704/246, 704/240, 704/276, 704/270, 704/275, 704/9, 704/251, 704/257, 704/10
• US Class Current: 704/235
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/137 Hierarchical processing, e.g. outlines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/232 Orthographic correction, e.g. spell checking or vowelisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/284 Lexical analysis, e.g. tokenisation or collocates
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/01 Assessment or evaluation of speech recognition 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
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications

Abstract

The subject matter of this specification can be implemented in, among other things, a computer-implemented method for correcting words in transcribed text including receiving speech audio data from a microphone. The method further includes sending the speech audio data to a transcription system. The method further includes receiving a word lattice transcribed from the speech audio data by the transcription system. The method further includes presenting one or more transcribed words from the word lattice. The method further includes receiving a user selection of at least one of the presented transcribed words. The method further includes presenting one or more alternate words from the word lattice for the selected transcribed word. The method further includes receiving a user selection of at least one of the alternate words. The method further includes replacing the selected transcribed word in the presented transcribed words with the selected alternate word.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

presenting a first phrase that includes one or more transcribed words from a word lattice on a display screen of a computing device;

receiving, at the computing device, a user selection of a word from the first phrase;

in response to receiving the user selection of the word, presenting on the display a screen of the computing device (i) one or more controls that each correspond to one or more alternate words for the user-selected word from the word lattice, and (ii) a control corresponding to a remove command for removing the user-selected word;

receiving, at the computing device, a user selection of the control corresponding to the remove command; and

in response to receiving the user selection of the control corresponding to the remove command, (i) selecting, from the word lattice, a second phrase that does not include the user-selected word, and (ii) replacing the first phrase with the second phrase on the display screen.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the display screen comprises a touch screen display, and wherein the user selections are received through the touch screen display.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the word lattice comprises nodes corresponding to the transcribed words and the alternate words, edges between the nodes that identify possible paths through the word lattice, and each path has an associated probability of being correct.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising identifying the alternate words for the user-selected word from one or more alternate paths between a beginning node and an ending node of the user-selected word in the word lattice.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising identifying the second alternate phrase for the presented transcribed words from at least one alternate path between a beginning node and an ending node of the first phrase in the word lattice.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more controls that each correspond to one or more alternate words and the control corresponding to the remove command are being presented in a drop down menu adjacent to the user-selected word.

7. A computer program product, encoded on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations for correcting words in transcribed text, the operations comprising:

presenting a first phrase that includes one or more transcribed words from a word lattice on a display screen of a computing device;

receiving, at the computing device, a user selection of a word from the first phrase;

in response to receiving the user selection of the word, presenting on the display a screen of the computing device (i) one or more controls that each correspond to one or more alternate words for the user-selected word from the word lattice, and (ii) a control corresponding to a remove command for removing the user-selected word;

receiving, at the computing device, a user selection of the control corresponding to the remove command; and

in response to receiving the user selection of the control corresponding to the remove command, (i) selecting, from the word lattice, a second phrase that does not include the user-selected word, and (ii) replacing the first phrase with the second phrase on the display screen.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the display screen comprises a touch screen display, and wherein the user selections are received through the touch screen display.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the word lattice comprises nodes corresponding to the transcribed words and the alternate words, edges between the nodes that identify possible paths through the word lattice, and each path has an associated probability of being correct.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, the operations further comprising identifying the alternate words for the user-selected word from one or more alternate paths between a beginning node and an ending node of the user-selected word in the word lattice.

11. The computer program product of claim 7, the operations further comprising identifying the second phrase from at least one alternate path between a beginning node and an ending node of the first phrase in the word lattice.

12. The computer-program product of claim 7, wherein the one or more controls that each correspond to one or more alternate words and the control corresponding to the remove command are being presented in a drop down menu adjacent to the user-selected word.

13. A computer-implemented system for correcting words in transcribed text, the system comprising:

a transcription system operable to receive speech audio data and in response transcribe the speech audio data into a word lattice; and

a computing device comprising;

a microphone operable to receive speech audio and generate the speech audio data,

a network interface operable to send the speech audio data to the transcription system and in response receive the word lattice from the transcription system,

a display screen operable to present one or more transcribed words from the word lattice,

a user interface operable to receive a user selection of at least one of the transcribed words, and

one or more processors and a memory storing instructions that when executed by the processors cause the computing device to perform operations to;

receive, at the computing device, a word lattice transcribed from the speech audio data by the transcription system;

present a first phrase that includes one or more transcribed words from a word lattice on a display screen of a computing device;

receive, at the computing device, a user selection of a word from the first phrase;

in response to receiving the user selection of the word, present on the display a screen of the computing device (i) one or more controls that each correspond to one or more alternate words for the user-selected word from the word lattice, and (ii) a control corresponding to a remove command for removing the user-selected word;

receive, at the computing device, a user selection of the control corresponding to the remove command; and

in response to receiving the user selection of the control corresponding to the remove command, (i) select, from the word lattice, a second phrase that does not include the user-selected word, and (ii) replace the first phrase with the second phrase on the display screen.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more controls that each correspond to one or more alternate words and the control corresponding to the remove command are being presented in a drop down menu adjacent to the user-selected word.