Methods and apparatus for enhanced tactical radio performance

• US 9,622,053 B1
• Filed: 11/23/2015
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Heinen, Gregory W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rachedine, Mohammed
• Application Number:
  US14/948,955
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/01 Assessment or evaluation of speech recognition systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/221 Announcement of recognition results
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for tactical radios for receiving speech from a user in a microphone and converting the speech to text with a voice-to-text module. The radio provides the text to the user for verification by the user and receives an indication from the user for verification that the text corresponds to the speech. The radio then transmits the text.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving speech from a user in a microphone of a tactical radio having a processor and memory;

converting the speech to text with a voice-to-text module using the processor;

providing the text to the user for verification by the user;

receiving an indication from the user for verification that the text corresponds to the speech;

transmitting the text from the tactical radio; and

performing last ditch operation for the text transmitted from the tactical radio, wherein the last ditch operation involves multiple re-transmissions of the text.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing the text comprises displaying the text on a screen.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing the text comprises performing text-to-speech (TTS) for output from a loudspeaker of the tactical radio for verification of the speech received in the microphone of the tactical radio.

4. The method according to claim 1, further including translating the text from a first language to a second language.

5. The method according to claim 1, further including receiving a message from a device that received the transmitted text and analyzing the message to confirm receipt of the text.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the message includes a checksum corresponding to the text.

7. The method according to claim 5, further including detecting an error from the message from the device and retransmitting the text to the device.

8. The method according to claim 5, further including retransmitting the text until receiving a message indicating correct receipt of the text.

9. The method according to claim 1, further including performing cognitive processing of the text and gather intelligence information based on the cognitive processing of the text, wherein the cognitive processing comprises analyzing the text based on word choice, pronunciation and/or dialect and the intelligence information indicates at least one of likely country of origin, social alignment, level of education and threat level of the user.

10. The method according to claim 1, further including transmitting the text from the tactical radio and receiving a response from a further radio via an aircraft having relay capability.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein link margin, transmission reliability and power are conserved during the last ditch operation.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the last ditch operation relies on repeated queries or hails.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the re-transmissions of the text during the last ditch operation are based on multi-path reception, interference sources and polarization.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the text includes a rendezvous point, time, and/or current location information, and wherein the current location information includes latitude, longitude and altitude information.

15. A radio, comprising:

a processor and memory configured to;

receive speech from a user in a microphone of the radio;

convert the speech to text with a voice-to-text module using the processor;

display the text to the user for verification by the user;

receive an indication from the user for verification that the text corresponds to the speech; and

transmit the text from the radio; and

perform last ditch operation for the text transmitted from the radio, wherein the last ditch operation involves multiple re-transmissions of the text,

wherein the text is transmitted periodically and/or randomly in accordance with the last ditch operation.

16. The radio according to claim 15, wherein the processor and memory are further configured to format the text for text-to-speech (TTS) output from a loudspeaker of the radio for verification of the speech received in the microphone of the radio.

17. The radio according to claim 15, wherein the processor and memory are further configured to translate the text from a first language to a second language.

18. The radio according to claim 15, wherein the processor and memory are further configured to receive a message from a device that received the transmitted text and analzye the message to confirm receipt of the text.

19. An article, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored instructions that enable a machine to;

receive speech from a user in a microphone of a tactical radio having a processor and memory;

convert the speech to text with a voice-to-text module using the processor;

display the text to the user for verification by the user;

receive an indication from the user for verification that the text corresponds to the speech;

transmit the text from the tactical radio; and

perform last ditch operation for the text transmitted from the tactical radio, wherein the last ditch operation involves multiple re-transmissions of the text.