Lucent Technologies Inc.

Michelle McNerney

Stephen Andrew Baker

Richard L Pastore

April Denise McGee

Robin S Wells

Katherine Grace August

Theodore Sizer

Qi P Li

Ping-Wen Ong

Elizabeth A Shriver

Rachel Youngran Yang

Qiru Zhou

Mark Henry Hansen

Chi-Lin Shih

Craig R Nohl

Jialin Zhong

Daniel D Lee

Arun Chandrasekaran Surendran

Chin-Sheng Chuang

Nadine Blackwood

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 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

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

User interface icon for a display screen of a communications terminal

The virtual reality mixed media meeting room functions to provide the user with a visually familiar conference format and conference controls that are intuitive to operate. In particular, the system presents the conference participants with a visual representation of the various communication equipment that is typically present in a conference room and that is available in the virtual reality mixed media conference. The operation of this communication equipment is analogous to that of the physical communication equipment, so the conference participant needs no training to actively and efficiently participate in the virtual reality mixed media conference. The various aspects of the virtual reality conference are presented in a rendering that emulates the physical appearance and presence of the physical participants and communication devices that would be present in a traditional conference room. The user interacts with the virtual reality mixed media meeting room via the graphical user interface in a point and click manner, thereby eliminating the need for the conference participant to be aware of specific controls or keyboard entries required in previous systems to control their participation in the conference. Furthermore, switching among the plurality of concurrently active virtual reality mixed media conferences to participate in one of these conferences is accomplished by a visually familiar mechanism, such as panning or traveling through a hallway that interconnects the various virtual reality mixed media 'conference rooms.' In addition to being able to move among a plurality of conferences, the conference participants in any selected conference can share applications and jointly participate in the modification of presentations and displays.

System for implementing multiple simultaneous meetings in a virtual

Growing community of inventors

Freehold, NJ, United States of America

Michelle McNerney