Abstract: A method and apparatus for analyzing speech are provided. A method and apparatus for determining an emotion state of a speaker are provided, including providing an acoustic space having one or more dimensions, where each dimension corresponds to at least one baseline acoustic characteristic; receiving an utterance of speech by the speaker; measuring one or more acoustic characteristics of the utterance; comparing each of the measured acoustic characteristics to a corresponding baseline acoustic characteristic; and determining an emotion state of the speaker based on the comparison. An embodiment involves determining the emotion state of the speaker within one day of receiving the subject utterance of speech. An embodiment involves determining the emotion state of the speaker, where the emotion state of the speaker includes at least one magnitude along a corresponding at least one of the one or more dimensions within the acoustic space.

Abstract: Embodiments of the subject invention relate to a method and apparatus for remote evaluation of a subject's emotive and/or physiological state. Embodiments can utilize a device that can be used to determine the emotional and/or physiological state of a subject through the measurement and analysis of vital signs and/or speech. A specific embodiment relates to a device capable of remotely acquiring a subject's physiological and/or acoustic data, and then correlating and analyzing the data to provide an assessment of a subject's emotional and/or physiological state. In a further specific embodiment, the device can acquire such data, correlate and analyze the data, and provide the assessment of the subject's emotional state and/or physiological in real time.

Abstract: A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an interface for receiving an utterance of speech and converting the utterance into a speech signal, such as digital representation including a waveform and/or spectrum; and a processor for dividing the speech signal into segments and detecting the emotional information from speech. The system is designed by comparing the speech segments to a baseline to identify the emotion or emotions from the suprasegmental information (i.e., paralinguistic information) in speech, wherein the baseline is determined from acoustic characteristics of a plurality of emotion categories. Other embodiments are disclosed.