Audio system and method for coordinating tasks

• US 8,700,405 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2010
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Plocher, Tom, Letsu-Dake, Emmanuel, De Mers, Robert E., Derby, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Abebe, Daniel D
• Application Number:
  US12/658,917
• Publication Number:
  US 20110202351A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,519 Days
• Field of Search: 704/260, 704/275, 709/244
• US Class Current: 704/260
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech 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: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A system includes a hands free mobile communication device. Software stored on a machine readable storage device is executed to cause the hands free mobile communication device to communicate audibly with a field operator performing field operations. The operator receives instructions regarding operations to be performed. Oral communications are received from the operator and are processed automatically to provide further instructions in response to the received oral communications.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a hands free mobile communication device;

a controller programmed to cause the hands free mobile communication device to communicate audibly with a field operator performing field operations to instruct the operator regarding operations to be performed, receive oral communications from the operator, and to process the received oral communications and provide further instructions responsive to the received oral communications, wherein the controller further automatically recognizes oral commands from the operator and provides further instructions based on the state of a procedure being executed by an automated process control system; and

multiple hands free mobile communication devices coupled to the controller, wherein the controller coordinates multiple field operators via the devices with each other and with a state of an automated control system.

2. The system of claim 1 and further comprising a storage device to store a program for execution by the controller.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the oral communications are recognized and converted to text commands and wherein the communication device is operable to receive and transmit non-oral input from the operator and switch seamlessly between oral and non-oral input modalities.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein one of the text commands causes recording of audible comments provided by the field operator.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the text commands further include done, pause, and resume commands operable while audible comments are being recorded.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the content and procedural context of a comment is analyzed to identify a recipient of an electronic communication including the comment.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein keywords in the comment are used to identify the recipient, and the communication includes a context in which the comment is entered.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the context includes a name of a procedure being performed by the field operator at the time the comment is provided.

9. The system of claim 4 wherein a comment is analyzed to generate a work order as a function of the content of the comment.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the audible instructions provided to instruct the operator are synthesized speech generated from the instructions.

11. A method comprising:

providing audible instructions to a field operator via a hands free communication device in accordance with a procedure written in a machine readable form;

receiving oral commands from the hands free mobile communication device as an operator performs the procedure in accordance with the audible instructions;

converting the oral commands to machine readable form to continue executing the procedure interactively via the hands free communication device; and

synchronizing instructions and commands via multiple hands free communication devices and a state of an automated control system such that multiple operators are instructed to perform tasks in the procedure in a manner that is synchronized with the automated control system and with each other operator.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein some tasks are performed in parallel and other tasks are performed only after receiving oral commands indicating that a predetermined task is completed.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein tasks are assigned to specific field operators and to the automated control system.

14. A machine readable device having instructions stored thereon to cause a machine to perform a method comprising:

providing audible instructions to a field operator via a hands free communication device in accordance with a procedure embodied in the instructions;

receiving oral commands from the hands free mobile communication device;

converting the oral commands to machine readable form to coordinate performance of the procedure interactively via the hands free communication device; and

synchronizing instructions and commands via multiple hands free communication devices and a state of an automated control system such that multiple operators are instructed to perform tasks in the procedure in a manner that is synchronized with the automated control system and with each other operator.

15. The machine readable device of claim 14 wherein some tasks are performed in parallel and other tasks are performed only after receiving oral commands indicating that a predetermined task is completed.

16. The machine readable device of claim 14 wherein tasks are assigned to specific field operators.