Nuance Communications, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Pryon Incorporated

Soonthorn Ativanichayaphong

Gerald Matthew McCobb

Charles Willard Cross, Jr

Igor Roditis Jablokov

David Jaramillo

David Nahamoo

Vaibhava Goel

Etienne Marcheret

Leslie Robert Wilson

Steven John Rennie

Marie Wenzel Meteer

Ellen Eide Kislal

Ciprian Agapi

Brien H Muschett

John Pruitt

Chul Sung

Bryan Dempsey

Joseph Allen Pruitt

Carmi Rothberg

Ajinkya Jitendra Zadbuke

Gregory Pelton

Marc White

Paritosh Dinubhai Patel

Yan Zun Li

Charles W Cross

Nicolae D Metianu

Lucas Siler

Neil Rohit Mallinar

Chui Sung

Dominique O'Donnell

Dominique O'donnell

Charles Willard Cross Jr

Disclosed are methods, systems, devices, apparatus, media, and other implementations that include a method for document processing (particularly for training of a machine learning question answering platform, and for ingestion of documents). The method includes obtaining a question dataset (e.g., either from public or private repositories of questions) comprising one or more source questions for document processing by a machine learning question-and-answer system that provides answer data in response to question data submitted by a user, modifying a source question from the question dataset to generate one or more augmented questions with equivalent semantic meanings as that of the source question, and processing a document with the one or more augmented questions.

Methods and systems for improved document processing and information retrieval

A question-answering system that receive a natural-language question includes a database to provide a basis for that answer and a structured-query generator that constructs a structured query from the question and uses it to obtain an answer to the question from the database.

Visual structure of documents in question answering

Disclosed are methods, systems, devices, apparatus, media, design structures, and other implementations, including a method that includes receiving a source document, applying one or more pre-processes to the source document to produce contextual information representative of the structure and content of the source document, and transforming the source document, based on the contextual information, to generate a question-and-answer searchable document.

Document pre-processing for question-and-answer searching

Disclosed are methods, systems, devices, apparatus, media, design structures, and other implementations, including a method that includes receiving, at a local device from a remote device, query data representative of a question relating to source content of a source document, and determining whether one or more pre-determined questions stored in a question-answer cache maintained at the local device matches the query data according to one or more matching criteria. The method further includes obtaining from the question-answer cache, in response to a determination that at least one of the pre-determined questions matches the query data received from the remote device, at least one answer data item, associated with at least one pre-determined question, corresponding to an answer to the question relating to the source content.

Systems and methods for question-and-answer searching using a cache

A method for prompting user input for a multimodal interface including the steps of providing a multimodal interface to a user, where the interface includes a visual interface having a plurality of input regions, each having at least one input field; selecting an input region and processing a multi-token speech input provided by the user, where the processed speech input includes at least one value for at least one input field of the selected input region; and storing at least one value in at least one input field.

Systems and methods for prompting multi-token input speech

Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for altering behavior of a multimodal application based on location. The multimodal application operates on a multimodal device supporting multiple modes of user interaction with the multimodal application, including a voice mode and one or more non-voice modes. The voice mode of user interaction with the multimodal application is supported by a voice interpreter. Altering behavior of a multimodal application based on location includes: receiving a location change notification in the voice interpreter from a device location manager, the device location manager operatively coupled to a position detection component of the multimodal device, the location change notification specifying a current location of the multimodal device; updating, by the voice interpreter, location-based environment parameters for the voice interpreter in dependence upon the current location of the multimodal device; and interpreting, by the voice interpreter, the multimodal application in dependence upon the location-based environment parameters.

Altering behavior of a multimodal application based on location

Speech-enabled content navigation and control of a distributed multimodal browser is disclosed, the browser providing an execution environment for a multimodal application, the browser including a graphical user agent ('GUA') and a voice user agent ('VUA'), the GUA operating on a multimodal device, the VUA operating on a voice server, that includes: transmitting, by the GUA, a link message to the VUA, the link message specifying voice commands that control the browser and an event corresponding to each voice command; receiving, by the GUA, a voice utterance from a user, the voice utterance specifying a particular voice command; transmitting, by the GUA, the voice utterance to the VUA for speech recognition by the VUA; receiving, by the GUA, an event message from the VUA, the event message specifying a particular event corresponding to the particular voice command; and controlling, by the GUA, the browser in dependence upon the particular event.

Speech-enabled content navigation and control of a distributed multimodal browser

Web service support for a multimodal client processing a multimodal application, the multimodal client providing an execution environment for the application and operating on a multimodal device supporting multiple modes of user interaction including a voice mode and one or more non-voice modes, the application stored on an application server, includes: receiving, by the server, an application request from the client that specifies the application and device characteristics; determining, by a multimodal adapter of the server, modality requirements for the application; selecting, by the adapter, a modality web service in dependence upon the modality requirements and the characteristics for the device; determining, by the adapter, whether the device supports VoIP in dependence upon the characteristics; providing, by the server, the application to the client; and providing, by the adapter to the client in dependence upon whether the device supports VoIP, access to the modality web service for processing the application.

Web service support for a multimodal client processing a multimodal application

A method of voice-enabling an application for command and control and content navigation can include the application dynamically generating a markup language fragment specifying a command and control and content navigation grammar for the application, instantiating an interpreter from a voice library, and providing the markup language fragment to the interpreter. The method also can include the interpreter processing a speech input using the command and control and content navigation grammar specified by the markup language fragment and providing an event to the application indicating an instruction representative of the speech input.

Method and apparatus for voice-enabling an application

Methods, apparatus, and computer program products are described for invoking tapered prompts in a multimodal application implemented with a multimodal browser and a multimodal application operating on a multimodal device supporting multiple modes of user interaction with the multimodal application, the modes of user interaction including a voice mode and one or more non-voice modes. Embodiments include identifying, by a multimodal browser, a prompt element in a multimodal application; identifying, by the multimodal browser, one or more attributes associated with the prompt element; and playing a speech prompt according to the one or more attributes associated with the prompt element.

Invoking tapered prompts in a multimodal application

Pausing a VoiceXML dialog of a multimodal application, including generating by the multimodal application a pause event; responsive to the pause event, temporarily pausing the dialogue by the VoiceXML interpreter; generating by the multimodal application a resume event; and responsive to the resume event, resuming the dialog. Embodiments are implemented with the multimodal application operating on a multimodal device supporting multiple modes of interaction including a voice mode and one or more non-voice modes, the multimodal application is operatively coupled to a VoiceXML interpreter, and the VoiceXML interpreter is interpreting the VoiceXML dialog to be paused.

Pausing a VoiceXML dialog of a multimodal application

Methods, apparatus, and computer program products are described for automatic speech recognition ('ASR') that include accepting by the multimodal application speech input and visual input for selecting or deselecting items in a selection list, the speech input enabled by a speech recognition grammar; providing, from the multimodal application to the grammar interpreter, the speech input and the speech recognition grammar; receiving, by the multimodal application from the grammar interpreter, interpretation results including matched words from the grammar that correspond to items in the selection list and a semantic interpretation token that specifies whether to select or deselect items in the selection list; and determining, by the multimodal application in dependence upon the value of the semantic interpretation token, whether to select or deselect items in the selection list that correspond to the matched words.

Automatic speech recognition with a selection list

System and methods for prompting user speech in multimodal devices

A method for providing help to voice-enabled applications, including multimodal applications, can include a step of identifying at least one speech grammar associated with a voice-enabled application. Help fields can be defined within the speech grammar. The help fields can include available speech commands for the voice enabled application. When the speech grammar is activated for use by the voice-enabled application, the available speech commands can be presented to a user of the voice-enabled application. The presented speech commands can be obtained from the help fields.

Dynamic help including available speech commands from content contained within speech grammars

A method of building a mixed-initiative grammar can include receiving one or more conjoin phrases, wherein each conjoin phrase is associated with a selected one of the plurality of directed dialog grammars, and receiving a user input specifying a selected grammar generation technique. The mixed-initiative grammar can be automatically generated, in accordance with the selected grammar generation technique, such that the mixed-initiative grammar specifies an allowable ordering of sets when interpreting a user spoken utterance and whether duplicative phrases are allowable within the user spoken utterance.

Growing community of inventors

Boca Raton, FL, United States of America

Soonthorn Ativanichayaphong