Audio Navigation Systems, Inc.

Ans, Inc.

Charles La Rue

Robert W Diller

An audio navigation system including an artificial intelligence routing algorithm which does not require any internal or external sensors to locate the vehicle. The interface with the driver is via voice input and voice output and is therefor visually non-distracting and safe to use when the vehicle is in motion. The hardware is built around an optical disk player and therefor can be used for entertainment as well as navigation functions. Digitized maps, compressed voice records and the computer programs are stored on an optical disk.

Sensor free vehicle navigation system utilizing a voice input/output interface for routing a driver from his source point to his destination point

A method and apparatus for identifying any one of a plurality of words, each word having an audible form represented by a sequence of spoken speech elements, with each speech element having a respective position in the sequence, which involves: receiving spoken speech elements of a word and interpreting each received speech element, wherein each spoken speech element .alpha. may be interpreted as any one of a plurality of different speech elements .beta., one of the speech elements .beta. being the same as speech element .alpha.; assigning to each of the possible speech elements a respective plurality of probabilities, P.sub..alpha..beta., that the speech element will be interpreted as a speech element .beta. when a speech element .alpha. has been spoken; storing data representing each word, the data for each word including identification of each speech element in the word and identification of the respective position of each speech element in the sequence of speech elements representing the word; receiving a sequence of speech elements spoken by a person and representing one of the stored words, and interpreting each speech element of the spoken word and the position of each speech element in the sequence of spoken speech elements; and comparing the interpreted speech elements with stored data representing each word of the plurality of words and performing a computation, using the probability, P.sub..alpha..beta., associated with each interpreted speech element .beta. to identify the word whose speech elements correspond most closely to interpreted speech elements.

Methods and apparatus for improving the reliability of recognizing words

An audio navigation system incorporating an audio CD player for playing an audio format CD constituting a data storage medium for the navigation system. The CD may store a database containing map data and navigation information, software including an algorithm for selecting a desired route between a designated starting point and destination, and speech data for generating audible spoken statements through a sound system. The audio CD player may be part of a sound system and may also play audio CDs carrying musical selections.

Navigation system utilizing audio CD player for data storage

A method for identifying any one of a plurality of utterances using a programmed digital computing system, each utterance having an audible form representable by a sequence of speech elements each having a respective position in the sequence. In the computing system, a digital representation corresponding to each of the plurality of utterances is stored a designation respective identifying is assigned to each utterance. A table composed of a plurality of entries is created, each entry being associated with a unique combination of a particular speech element and a particular position in the sequence of speech elements of the audible form of an utterance and storing in each entry the identifying designation of each of the plurality of utterances whose audible form is represented by a speech element sequence containing the particular speech element at the particular position with which that entry is associated; converting an utterance to be identified and spoken by a person into a sequence of speech elements each having a respective position in the sequence; reading each table entry associated with a speech element and position combination corresponding to the combination of a respective position in the sequence of the spoken utterance and the particular speech element at the respective position in the sequence of the spoken utterance; and determining which identifying designation appears most frequently in the entries which have been read in the reading step.

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La Canada, CA, United States of America

Charles La Rue