Voice recognition for performing authentication and completing transactions in a systems interface to legacy systems

• US 8,831,949 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2001
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Steven G., Mills, Ralph J., Morton, Jr., Roland T., Davis, Mitchell E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Armstrong, Angela A
• Application Number:
  US09/892,665
• Time in Patent Office: 4,821 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/270.1, 704/275, 704/260, 709/201, 709/203, 709/240, 709/238, 709/250, 370/252
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/22 Interactive procedures; Man-machine interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security

Abstract

A method and system for a user to access back-end legacy systems via voice input. The user dials-in to a voice server using a portable access device. Using speech synthesis, the voice server provides a menu of operations from which the user can select. By speaking into the access device, the user selects an operation and provides any additional data needed for the operation. Using speech recognition, the voice server prepares a user request based on the spoken user input, that is forwarded to the systems interface, which may include a protocol server for providing a protocol interface and a transaction server for receiving user requests and generating legacy transactions based on the user requests. The systems interface retrieves information from the legacy systems based on the user request that is forwarded to the voice server, which formats and outputs the information to the access device.

Claims

1. A system for permitting a user to remotely access data, comprising:

an access device operated by the user; and

a systems interface to a plurality of legacy systems, the systems interface comprising;

a plurality of first servers for managing protocol, each of the plurality of first servers comprising an application programming interface (API) server,

a second server for generating legacy transactions comprising an API client server in communication with the API server of each of the plurality of first servers, and

a third server for providing a voice interface in communication with the plurality of first servers,

wherein the third server is adapted to receive voice inputs from the access device, format the voice inputs into a user request recognized by the plurality of first servers and forward the user request to one of the plurality of first servers, the user request being a request to retrieve responsive information from the plurality of legacy systems by the second server,

wherein the third server comprises logic for choosing from among a plurality of output formats for outputting the responsive information, the output formats comprising speech synthesized data to be heard by the user of the access device and text data to be presented to the user on a display on the access device,

wherein the third server is adapted such that if the user request is a data-intensive request, the responsive information is output via text data, the data-intensive request comprising a request for service order details to be retrieved from the plurality of legacy systems, and

wherein further the third server provides the user a menu of operations associated with the plurality of legacy systems.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the access device accesses the third server over a wireless communications network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the voice inputs include a voice exemplar provided by the user to log onto the systems interface.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the third server is adapted to identify the user based on the voice exemplar, and wherein the third server is adapted to forward log-on information to the first server so that the user can be logged on.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the log-on information comprises a user identification (user ID) and password retrieved based on the voice exemplar.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the user request is to retrieve responsive information from the legacy systems.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the third server receives the responsive information based on the legacy transactions, and wherein the third server formats the responsive information into an output for the access device.

8. A system for permitting a user to remotely access data, comprising:

a systems interface to a plurality of legacy systems, the systems interface comprising a plurality of protocol servers, each protocol server further comprising an application programming interface (API) server, a transaction server further comprising an API client, and means for providing a voice interface,

wherein the means for providing a voice interface is in communication with each of the plurality of protocol servers, each of the plurality of protocol servers is in communication with the transaction server and the transaction server is in communication with the plurality of legacy systems,

wherein further each of the plurality of protocol servers communicates with the API client of the transaction server via its own API server; and

an access device operable by the user to retrieve responsive information from the legacy systems by sending voice inputs to the systems interface,

wherein the means for providing a voice interface is programmed with software for converting the voice inputs into a user request and for converting the responsive information based on the user request into an output that can be presented by the access device, the means for providing a voice interface comprising logic for choosing from among a plurality of output formats for outputting the responsive information, the output formats comprising speech synthesized data to be heard by the user of the access device and text data to be presented to the user on a display on the access device, wherein further the means for providing a voice interface is adapted such that if the user request is a data-intensive request, the responsive information is not output via speech synthesized data, the data-intensive request comprising a request for service order details to be retrieved from the plurality of legacy systems, and wherein further the means for providing a voice interface provides the user a menu of operations associated with the plurality of legacy systems.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the software includes a voice authentication module, a speech recognition module, and a speech synthesis module.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the means for providing a voice interface is further programmed with software to provide a speech synthesized prompt to the user.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the prompt requests a voice exemplar for logging in.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the prompt requests that the user selects an operation associated with the plurality of legacy systems.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the prompt requests that the user provide other data needed to prepare the user request.

14. A system for remotely accessing legacy data through a systems interface to a plurality of legacy systems, comprising:

a wireless communications link;

an access device operated by a user over the wireless communications link;

a plurality of protocol servers interfacing with a transaction server which is in direct communication with the plurality of legacy systems for receiving a user request and for providing responsive information from the plurality of legacy systems based on the user request;

an application programming interface (API) server resident within each of the plurality of protocol servers;

an API client resident within the transaction server whereby the transaction server is enabled to communicate with each of the protocol servers via the API server resident within each of the protocol servers; and

a voice server in direct communication with the access device and each of the plurality of protocol servers, wherein the voice server includes at least one memory programmed with software for performing the following;

receiving a voice exemplar,

authenticating the user based on the voice exemplar,

receiving voice inputs from the user,

providing a menu of operations associated with the plurality of legacy systems to the user,

converting the voice inputs into the user request,

sending the user request to the protocol server,

receiving the responsive information, and

formatting the responsive information into an output wherein the voice server comprises logic for choosing from among a plurality of output formats for outputting the responsive information, the output formats comprising speech synthesized data to be heard by the user of the access device and text data to be presented to the user on a display on the access device, wherein the voice server is adapted such that if the user request is a data-intensive request, the responsive information is not output via speech synthesized data, wherein the data-intensive request comprises a request for service order details to be retrieved from the plurality of legacy systems.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the software comprises a voice authentication module, a speech recognition module, and a speech synthesis module.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the voice inputs comprises a selection of an option and data for that option.

17. A method for allowing a user to access data within a legacy system, comprising:

receiving a first voice input from a user of an access device;

processing the first voice input to authenticate the user;

providing a menu to the user, wherein the menu includes information associated with an operation associated with a legacy system;

receiving a second voice input from the user for selecting the operation associated with the legacy system from the menu;

receiving a third voice input from the user for providing data for the operation;

preparing a user request based on the second voice input and the third voice input;

transmitting the request to the legacy system via a communications interface comprising;

a plurality of protocol servers, each of the plurality of protocol servers further comprising an application program interface (API) server, and

a transaction server further comprising an API client whereby each of the plurality of protocol servers communicates with the transaction server;

receiving responsive information from a legacy system via the communications interface based on the user request; and

formatting the responsive information into an output for the access device, wherein the output includes voice synthesized data,

wherein the voice inputs are received at a voice server that is in communication with at least one of the plurality of protocol servers, the voice server comprising logic for choosing from among a plurality of output formats for outputting the responsive information, the output formats comprising speech synthesized data to be heard by the user of the access device and text data to be presented to the user on a display on the access device, and

wherein further the voice server is adapted such that if the user request is a data-intensive request, the responsive information is not output via speech synthesized data, the data-intensive request comprising a request for service order details to be retrieved from the legacy system.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of processing the first voice input includes identifying the user and forwarding log-in data to the protocol server to effectuate a log-in.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of sending the user request to the protocol server.