Lucent Technologies Inc.

At+t Corp.

Agere Systems Inc.

Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc.

At&t Ipm Corp.

Katherine Grace August

Theodore Sizer

Michelle McNerney

Theodore Ii Sizer

Gregory Alan Wright

Charles David Caldwell

Norman R Shaer

David Phillip Silverman

Joseph M Cannon

Thomas Baker

Qi P Li

Anthony James Grewe

Howard M Singer

Walter Etter

Albert Friedes

Ping-Wen Ong

Robert F Henrick

Elizabeth A Shriver

Chi-Lin Shih

Qiru Zhou

Mark Henry Hansen

Mark Logan Tuomenoksa

Steven M Herbst

Anthony Botzas

Jialin Zhong

Craig R Nohl

Daniel D Lee

Arun Chandrasekaran Surendran

Avi I Hauser

John M Manoyan

Chin-Sheng Chuang

Robert Duchatellier

Nadine Blackwood

An improved method and system for two way communications between multimedia providers and subscribers utilizes encryption technology for embedding a watermark containing specific data, or a pointer to specific data relating to a multimedia program in the principal program itself. The principal program may include, but is certainly not limited to a television broadcast, cable or satellite program, multimedia over the Internet, a paging service, or radio broadcast. The specific data may include web addresses, hyperlinks, telephone numbers, advertisements or any information related to the principal program. A decoder decodes the embedded data which may point to the related data stored in a database, or may include the related data. The related data is then delivered to the subscriber of the principal program through an appropriate medium, such ADSI, Internet, or radio. The subscriber receives the specific data, which may be delivered simultaneous with the delivery of the principal program, on an appropriate device, such as an ADSI enabled telephone, remote control or wireless telephone, or directly in a web browser. The specific data may also be available for retrieval at a later time. The decoding of the embedded data may occur at the subscriber's receiver, or preferably at a central location, such as the head end of a cable operator, satellite transmitter or Internet service provider.

Method and system for capture of location specific media related information and delivery through communications network

An information and communication system uses an web page like environment or 'Personal Space' to integrate a plurality of communication and monitoring functions. Home or enterprise automation components are linked together via wired or unwired network links and accessed via the Personal Space. Communications services are accessed through a wide variety of devices and facilitated by the Personal Space. Databases are built and used to customize user services. User profiles and system use patterns are compared and analyzed to continuously improve system performance.

Enterprise information and communication system having a transaction management engine for managing bills vouchers purchases and email notifications

A real-time networked telephony or computer system has a feature complex and/or applications that offer a class of features to a subscriber, including call information, and permits the subscriber to manage incoming and existing calls through available features accessed using spoken utterances. A speech processing unit coupled to the system interprets a subscriber's spoken utterances without requiring the subscriber to train the system to recognize his or her voice. The interpretation of spoken utterances is enabled by a system state database that is maintained at the speech processing unit and comprises a database of the possible system slates, including possible call flows for a call, and a database associated with the system state database comprising context-specific grammar that a subscriber may recite at respective points in the call flow. The speech processing unit may also convert message signals from the network to speech which is read to the subscriber using a text to speech translator. The network can identify the voice or subscriber voice, or language used and will thereafter recognize all further commands using specific grammar for that language as well as perform text-to-speech conversion using the identified language. Use of the features can be applied to update of grammars, profiles and templates, etc. by transmitting results of transactions.

Network provided information using text-to-speech and speech recognition and text or speech activated network control sequences for complimentary feature access

A receiver for receiving wireless packetized audio signals having packet headers, and packet payloads including encoded audio signals is provided. The receiver includes an audio decoder for decoding the encoded audio signals into digital audio signals, an audio error detector for detecting impulsive noise in the digital audio signals caused by corrupted payload packets, and a digital signal restoration unit for removing the impulsive noise from the digital audio signals. Further, a method of noise reduction includes the steps of receiving radio frequency packetized audio signals having packet headers, and packet payloads including encoded audio signals and demodulating the RF signals. The method further includes decoding the encoded audio signals into digital audio signals and detecting impulsive noise in the digital audio signals caused by corrupted payload packets. The method further includes removing the impulsive noise by reconstructing the corrupted digital audio signal.

System and method of noise reduction in receiving wireless transmission of packetized audio signals

A method and user interface which allow users to make decisions about how to pronounce words and parts of words based on audio cues and common words with well known pronunciations. Users input or select words for which they want to set or modify pronunciations. To set the pronunciation of a given letter or letter combination in the word, the user selects the letters and is presented with a list of common words whose pronunciations, or portions thereof, are substantially identical to possible pronunciations of the selected letters. The list of sample, common words is ordered based on frequency of correlation in common usage, the most common being designated as the default sample word, and the user is first presented with a subset of the words in the list which are most likely to be selected. In addition, the present invention allows for storage in the dictionary of several different pronunciations for the same word, to allow for contextual differences and individual preferences.

Graphical user interface and method for modifying pronunciations in text-to-speech and speech recognition systems

A method and apparatus for interactive language instruction is provided that displays text files for processing, provide key features and functions for interactive learning, displays facial animation, and provides a workspace for language building functions. The system includes a stored set of language rules as part of the text-to-speech sub-system, as well as another stored set of rules as applied to the process of learning a language. The method implemented by the system includes digitally converting text to audible speech, providing the audible speech to a user or student (with the aid of an animated image in selected circumstances), prompting the student to replicate the audible speech, comparing the student's replication with the audible speech provided by the system, and providing feedback and reinforcement to the student by, for example, selectively recording or playing back the audible speech and the student's replication.

Method and apparatus for interactive language instruction

The present invention provides for inductive pick-up devices employing a diversity and adaptive antenna arrangement. By utilizing diversity and adaptive antennas, the pick-up can be installed by a consumer without use of a computer monitor or other device to determine alignment. In addition, the arrangement increases the level of signal available to a data decoding system. In combining the two types of pick-ups and using the best features of both, we additionally gain performance on synchronizing frame rate and picking up data.

Diversity and adaptive antenna arrangements for inductive pick-ups

A virtual coach is provided in the form of a master communications device and one or more player associated communications devices. The master communication device includes a processor which receives information on game play conditions and/or player and game object locations, analyzes the information, and formulates an appropriate coaching instruction which is transmitted to one or more selected players.

Virtual assistant coach

A system and method for information searching comprising determination of, in fine granularity, a Community of Interest (COI), further data mining in search results, using at least one of COI and expert preferences to identify important knowledge, formulation and manipulation of results, and summarization of search results into a document like entity with dynamic attributes described. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for providing interactive dialogue and iterative search functions to find information on a large network of servers such as the world wide web.

System and method for providing interactive dialogue and iterative search functions to find information

A method for combining digital data with a perceptible program signal. The data stream is modulated onto an electromagnetic signal encoding the perceptible signal; the modulating employs a spread spectrum encoding of the data stream. The modulated program signal is transduced into perceptible form. A capture device receives the perceptible signal, and a decoder extracts the spread spectrum encoded data from the received signal. The method is particularly useful in encoding purchase information or watermarking information into the signal.

Integrating digital data with perceptible signals

In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus initiates a transaction and includes an acoustic data receiver, and microphone for receiving an audio signal having encoded data that is non-discernable by a listener and is transmitted as part of the audio signal. The microphone converts the sound waves into an electrical signal. A processor receives the electrical signal and retrieves transaction data that is part of the encoded data. A filter is associated with the microphone and removes a substantial portion of a human voice signal that may have been received within the microphone. Once the transaction data is retrieved, a telephone call can be originated and at least a portion of the transaction data can be transferred to a desired destination for initiating a transaction.

Apparatus and method for initiating a transaction having acoustic data

A technique for the blocking of individual programs and/or portions of programs transmitted in a source signal, e.g., a cable television signal. In particular, individual programs and/or portions of programs within a class of programs are blocked, while allowing for the viewing of certain other programs even within the same programming class. The transmitted source signal contains individual programs having a transparent program identifier and/or transparent content identifier associated with individual programs in the source signal transmission. As the source signal enters, e.g., a particular subscriber location, the source signal is monitored in accordance with a program viewing profile defined by the subscriber. That is, particular ones of the programs and/or portion thereof available in the source signal transmission supplied to the subscriber can either be unblocked, i.e., viewable, or blocked, i.e., unviewable, at the discretion of the subscriber. The blocking of particular ones of the programs and/or portion thereof is accomplished as a function of the transparent program identifier and/or transparent content identifier associated with a program which is embedded in the video and/or audio component of the source signal. The transparent identifiers are transmitted concurrently with the individual program as the source signal is received at the subscriber location. Advantageously, the subscriber is given complete control and selectivity over which programs and/or portions thereof are viewed, e.g., by children of the subscriber.

System and method for subscriber controlled signal blocking

In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus initiates a transaction and includes a capture device for capturing transaction data from marks contained on an object. The marks have a code corresponding to transaction data for initiating a transaction. The capture device includes a scanner, operable by a user, for reading marks contained on the object. A controller interprets the marks and retrieves the transaction data embedded in the marks. The capture device originates a telephone call and transfers at least a portion of the transaction data to a desired destination for initiating a transaction.

Apparatus and method for initiating a telephone transaction using a

A broadcast stream contains different types of information with the different types identified in the stream. An information processing device receives the broadcast stream and selectively captures (for future playback) only those pieces of information corresponding to one or more preselected types of information. In one embodiment, the broadcast stream is a radio broadcast and the different types are identified in digital sidebands of the radio signals. In other embodiments, the broadcast stream is embedded into audio signals or video signals using luminance or chrominance modulation or other spread spectrum techniques. A user is able to edit a personal profile that is stored in the device and contains the list of preselected types of information. In one embodiment, the device has an interface that allows the user to edit the personal profile, for example, by connecting the device to a personal computer running a profile-editing software program or by communicating with a service bureau that provides the profile-editing function. In this way, each information processing device can be programmed to capture only the subset of information in the broadcast stream in which the user is interested.

System for processing broadcast stream comprises a human-perceptible

In a telephone network, a platform is coupled to a profile database and a telecommunications relay center. A voice telephone or text telephone caller dials a telephone number for a text telephone subscriber. The platform receives the telephone call and generates voice and text prompts for the caller. The platform senses calling equipment type by listening for the caller's response to the prompts. The platform accesses the profile database and retrieves a prioritized sequence of one or more telephone numbers corresponding to activated locations for the text telephone subscriber. If the caller is a text telephone user, the text telephone call is routed by the platform directly to the text telephone subscriber. If the caller is a voice telephone user, the voice telephone call is relayed through the relay center to the text telephone subscriber.

Growing community of inventors

Matawan, NJ, United States of America

Katherine Grace August