Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for making an automated telephone call more interactive and intelligent by saving responses gathered from a previous call and using that information to build more personal and engaging subsequent interactions. An initial telephone call can be designed with data needs in mind. Relevant responses from the initial calls can be captured and stored and a follow-up call can be created that includes dialogs that reference specific information from the previous interactions with the system. Such build call techniques can be utilized on outbound, as well as inbound calls, and can simulate a human being's ability to listen, remember and refer to past conversations, making the automated telephone calls more interactive and effective.

Abstract: A system for conducting a telephonic speech recognition application includes an automated telephone device for making telephonic contact with a respondent and a speech recognition device which, upon the telephonic contact being made, presents the respondent with at least one introductory prompt for the respondent to reply to; receives a spoken response from the respondent; and performs a speech recognition analysis on the spoken response to determine a capability of the respondent to complete the application. If the speech recognition device, based on the spoken response to the introductory prompt, determines that the respondent is capable of competing the application, the speech recognition device presents at least one application prompt to the respondent.

Abstract: A system for determining the status of an answered telephone during the course of an outbound telephone call includes an automated telephone calling device for placing a telephone call to a location having a telephone number at which a target person is listed, upon the telephone call being answered, initiating a prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person and receiving a spoken response from an answering person and a speech recognition device for performing a speech recognition analysis on the spoken response to determine a status of the spoken response. If the speech recognition device determines that the answering person is the target person, the speech recognition device initiates a speech recognition application with the target person.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described in which spoken voice prompts can be produced in a manner such that they will most likely have the desired effect, for example to indicate empathy, or produce a desired follow-up action from a call recipient. The prompts can be produced with specific optimized speech parameters, including duration, gender of speaker, and pitch, so as to encourage participation and promote comprehension among a wide range of patients or listeners. Upon hearing such voice prompts, patients/listeners can know immediately when they are being asked questions that they are expected to answer, and when they are being given information, as well as the information that considered sensitive.

Abstract: A system for determining the status of an answered telephone during the course of an outbound telephone call includes an automated telephone calling device for placing a telephone call to a location having a telephone number at which a target person is listed, upon the telephone call being answered, initiating a prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person and receiving a spoken response from an answering person and a speech recognition device for performing a speech recognition analysis on the spoken response to determine a status of the spoken response. If the speech recognition device determines that the answering person is the target person, the speech recognition device initiates a speech recognition application with the target person.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described in which spoken voice prompts can be produced in a manner such that they will most likely have the desired effect, for example to indicate empathy, or produce a desired follow-up action from a call recipient. The prompts can be produced with specific optimized speech parameters, including duration, gender of speaker, and pitch, so as to encourage participation and promote comprehension among a wide range of patients or listeners. Upon hearing such voice prompts, patients/listeners can know immediately when they are being asked questions that they are expected to answer, and when they are being given information, as well as the information that considered sensitive.

Abstract: A system for conducting a telephonic speech recognition application includes an automated telephone device for making telephonic contact with a respondent and a speech recognition device which, upon the telephonic contact being made, presents the respondent with at least one introductory prompt for the respondent to reply to; receives a spoken response from the respondent; and performs a speech recognition analysis on the spoken response to determine a capability of the respondent to complete the application. If the speech recognition device, based on the spoken response to the introductory prompt, determines that the respondent is capable of competing the application, the speech recognition device presents at least one application prompt to the respondent.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described in which spoken voice prompts can be produced in a manner such that they will most likely have the desired effect, for example to indicate empathy, or produce a desired follow-up action from a call recipient. The prompts can be produced with specific optimized speech parameters, including duration, gender of speaker, and pitch, so as to encourage participation and promote comprehension among a wide range of patients or listeners. Upon hearing such voice prompts, patients/listeners can know immediately when they are being asked questions that they are expected to answer, and when they are being given information, as well as the information that considered sensitive.

Abstract: A system for determining the status of an answered telephone during the course of an outbound telephone call includes an automated telephone calling device for placing a telephone call to a location having a telephone number at which a target person is listed, upon the telephone call being answered, initiating a prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person and receiving a spoken response from an answering person and a speech recognition device for performing a speech recognition analysis on the spoken response to determine a status of the spoken response. If the speech recognition device determines that the answering person is the target person, the speech recognition device initiates a speech recognition application with the target person.

Abstract: A speech analysis system uses one or more digital processors to reconstruct a speech signal by accurately extracting speech formants from a digitized version of the speech signal. The system extracts the formants by determining an estimated instantaneous frequency and an estimated instantaneous bandwidth of speech resonances of the digital version of the speech signal in real time. The system digitally filters the digital speech signal using a plurality of complex digital filters in parallel having overlapping bandwidths to ensure that substantially all of the bandwidth of the speech signal is covered. This virtual chain of overlapping complex digital filters produces a corresponding plurality of complex filtered signals. A first estimated frequency and a first estimated bandwidth is generated for each of the filtered signals, and speech resonances of the input speech signal are identified therefrom.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described in which spoken voice prompts can be produced in a manner such that they will most likely have the desired effect, for example to indicate empathy, or produce a desired follow-up action from a call recipient. The prompts can be produced with specific optimized speech parameters, including duration, gender of speaker, and pitch, so as to encourage participation and promote comprehension among a wide range of patients or listeners. Upon hearing such voice prompts, patients/listeners can know immediately when they are being asked questions that they are expected to answer, and when they are being given information, as well as the information that considered sensitive.

Abstract: A method for transcribing an audio response includes: A. constructing an application including a plurality of queries and a set of expected responses for each query, the set including a plurality of expected responses to each query in a textual form; B. posing each of the queries to a respondent with a querying device; C. receiving an audio response to each query from the respondent; D. performing a speech recognition function on each audio response with an automatic speech recognition device to transcribe each audio response to a textual response to each query; E. recording each audio response with a recording device; and F. comparing, with the automatic speech recognition device, each textual response to the set of expected responses for each corresponding query to determine if each textual response corresponds to any of the expected responses in the set of expected responses for the corresponding query.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described in which spoken voice prompts can be produced in a manner such that they will most likely have the desired effect, for example to indicate empathy, or produce a desired follow-up action from a call recipient. The prompts can be produced with specific optimized speech parameters, including duration, gender of speaker, and pitch, so as to encourage participation and promote comprehension among a wide range of patients or listeners. Upon hearing such voice prompts, patients/listeners can know immediately when they are being asked questions that they are expected to answer, and when they are being given information, as well as the information that considered sensitive.

Abstract: The present invention is a system and method for creating and implementing transactional speech applications (SAs) using Web technologies, without reliance on server-side standard or custom services. A transactional speech application may be any application that requires interpretation of speech in conjunction with a speech recognition (SR) system, such as, for example, consumer survey systems. A speech application in accordance with the present invention is represented within a Web page, as an application script that interprets semantic objects according to a context. Any commonly known scripting language can be used to write the application script, such as JavaScript (or ECMAScript), PerlScript, and VBscript. The present invention is “Web-based” to the extent that it implements Web technologies, but it need not include or access the World Wide Web.

Abstract: A method and system are provided that enhance human/machine communication so as to more closely approximate natural human/human communication by more effectively establishing communications links for human-interactive media. Specifically, the speed and quality of the connection are improved by the method and system, resulting in a more natural user experience. The method includes a communication system receiving a call request from a requestor. The communication system has a Connection Proxy (CP) and a plurality of Endpoints (EPs). The CP has an endpoint state table (EST) configured to store state information associated with each of the plurality of endpoints (EPs). Based on the call request, the CP selects an EP using the EST. If the selected EP accepts the requested communications link, the CP establishes a communications link that excludes the CP itself. The CP also updates the EST based on a response to the call request from the selected EP.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described in which spoken voice prompts can be produced in a manner such that they will most likely have the desired effect, for example to indicate empathy, or produce a desired follow-up action from a call recipient. The prompts can be produced with specific optimized speech parameters, including duration, gender of speaker, and pitch, so as to encourage participation and promote comprehension among a wide range of patients or listeners. Upon hearing such voice prompts, patients/listeners can know immediately when they are being asked questions that they are expected to answer, and when they are being given information, as well as the information that considered sensitive.

Abstract: A system for determining the status of an answered telephone during the course of an outbound telephone call includes an automated telephone calling device for placing a telephone call to a location having a telephone number at which a target person is listed, upon the telephone call being answered, initiating a prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person and receiving a spoken response from an answering person and a speech recognition device for performing a speech recognition analysis on the spoken response to determine a status of the spoken response. If the speech recognition device determines that the answering person is the target person, the speech recognition device initiates a speech recognition application with the target person.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described in which spoken voice prompts can be produced in a manner such that they will most likely have the desired effect, for example to indicate empathy, or produce a desired follow-up action from a call recipient. The prompts can be produced with specific optimized speech parameters, including duration, gender of speaker, and pitch, so as to encourage participation and promote comprehension among a wide range of patients or listeners. Upon hearing such voice prompts, patients/listeners can know immediately when they are being asked questions that they are expected to answer, and when they are being given information, as well as the information that considered sensitive.

Abstract: A system for determining the status of an answered telephone during the course of an outbound telephone call includes an automated telephone calling device for placing a telephone call to a location having a telephone number at which a target person is listed, upon the telephone call being answered, initiating a prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person and receiving a spoken response from an answering person and a speech recognition device for performing a speech recognition analysis on the spoken response to determine a status of the spoken response. If the speech recognition device determines that the answering person is the target person, the speech recognition device initiates a speech recognition application with the target person.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for determining an instantaneous frequency and an instantaneous bandwidth of a speech resonance of a speech signal. The method includes receiving a speech signal having a real component; filtering the speech signal so as to generate a plurality of filtered signals such that the real component and an imaginary component of the speech signal are reconstructed; and generating a first estimated frequency and a first estimated bandwidth of a speech resonance of the speech signal based on both a first filtered signal of the plurality of filtered signals and a single-lag delay of the first filtered signal.