Abstract: An observation system for observation calls to a call center includes an automatic call director (ACD) unit, an interactive voice response (IVR) unit, and a recorder unit. The ACD receives incoming calls to the call center and also queues and switches the calls to various lines of the call center. The IVR unit is connected to the ACD unit and interacts with a caller via an interactive computer program in which the caller enters a response to a prompt and the response causes the interactive program to provide the caller with information or another prompt. The recorder unit records calls to the call center from beginning to end, including prompts made by the IVR unit, callers responses to the prompts, and information provided by the IVR unit to the callers.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing telecommunications service to a customer while charging the customer based on one rate or tariff. The rate is set by the Telephone Company based on the distance between the endpoints of the services provided and the bandwidth specified by the customer for a particular end user. The customer simply chooses the type of handoff that it prefers for a protocol and the telecommunications company routes the data or telephone call in the most efficient means available while providing a throughput in accordance with the bandwidth that has been selected by the customer. Thus, using the method and apparatus of the current invention, the Telephone Company can take advantage of the parts of its infrastructure which are not currently being utilized efficiently in order to transport the data or voice call from the end user to the customer's point of presence.

Abstract: A speech recognition system (105) includes an acoustic front end (115) and a processing unit (125). The acoustic front end (115) receives frames of acoustic data and determines cepstral coefficients for each of the received frames. The processing unit (125) determines a number of peaks in the cepstral coefficients for each of the received frames of acoustic data and compares the peaks in the cepstral coefficients of a first one of the received frames with the peaks in the cepstral coefficients of at least a second one of the received frames. The processing unit (125) then segments the received frames of acoustic data based on the comparison.

Abstract: A system for visually representing call events in calls handled by an automated response system of a call processing center uses a recording of calls recorded from end to end. Events of interest that occurred during a recorded call are annotated and time stamped, and a call type of the call is determined. Time stamp data for predetermined significant events of the annotated events of interest is segregated, with the time stamp data providing timings for the predetermined significant events. The timings are tabulated by call type and bar graphs are prepared to illustrate the timings of the predetermined significant events for each call type.

Abstract: A system for assessing an automated call routing system's performance is structured to present a caller calling into the automated call routing system with a call that includes an interactive voice response (IVR) portion and, at an option of the caller, an caller/agent dialog portion. The system operates to monitor calls coming into the automated call routing system and to record end-to-end calls from among the calls coming into the automated call routing system. A sequence of events for the recorded calls is transcribed, including events occurring in the IVR portion and in the caller/agent dialog portion, to identify predetermined call events of interest. The transcribed calls are analyzed to infer a complete event sequence of each of the recorded calls. From the analysis, parameters are calculated corresponding to cost effectiveness and usability of the automated call routing system, based at least in part upon information obtained by the caller during the IVR portion.

Abstract: A method and system for dynamic service support is presented. A portal-page service and an interface bundle are installed at the gateway. A customer service at the gateway, based on the interface bundle, is installed at the gateway. The portal-page service searches for the customer service and generates a user interface for the customer service based on the customer service. The portal-page service generates a portal-page based on the user interface and the portal page service.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for improving the security of computer networks by providing a means operating passively on the network for detecting, reporting and responding to intruders. The system is comprised of a plurality of intruder sensor client computers and associated event correlation engines. Resident in the memory of the client computer and operating in the background is a Tactical Internet Device Protection (TIDP) component consisting of a passive intruder detector and a security Management Information Base (MIB). The passive intruder detector component of the TIDP passively monitors operations performed on the client computer and emits a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) trap to an event correlation engine when it identifies a suspected intruder. The event correlation engine, through the use of a behavior model loaded in its memory, determines whether the user's activities are innocent or those of a perspective intruder.

Abstract: A system facilitates the visualization of a network having multiple nodes. The system collects information from at least one of the nodes (510). The information describes network operation over a period of time. The system then reconstructs the network operation for the time period from the collected information (520) and presents the reconstructed network operation to an operator (530-550).

Abstract: A portal switch is provided that controls participation of merchants in on-line aggregators, such as portals, used for buying and selling goods and services. Merchants may enable or disable participation in an aggregator site by turning on or off software settings. When participation is enabled, the merchant's site makes its catalog entries and merchant profile available to the aggregator. By enabling or disabling the switch, the merchant actively expresses a willingness to participate in (or, conversely, a desire to be excluded from) the aggregator.

Abstract: An apparatus for logging events that occur during a call to a call center includes an analysis unit and a memory unit. The analysis unit analyzes a recording of a complete call to the call center. The memory unit automatically records, in an event log, information about events that occurred during an interaction between the caller and an interactive voice response (IVR) program of an IVR system of the call center. The analysis unit is programmed with the IVR program's call flow, such that all possible paths the caller may take while interacting with the IVR program are known by the analysis unit. The event log logs events in sequential order and includes data on at least one of the following: a prompt made by the IVR system to the caller, a touch-tone entry made by the caller in response to the prompt, a verbal answer spoken by the caller in response to the prompt, a period of silence, termination of the call by the caller, and transfer of the call to a live agent.

Abstract: A system for forming a database indexed with content-based parameters, corresponding to recordings of contacts to a contact center, includes an analysis unit, a mining unit, and a correlation unit. The analysis unit performs automated-portion analysis techniques to ascertain predetermined events occurring in recordings of automated portions of the contacts to the contact center. The mining unit performs audio mining of recordings of agent portions of the contacts to the contact center. The correlation unit correlates an event occurring in an agent portion of the recordings with a corresponding one of a plurality of content-based parameters selected to be used as indices of the database, and makes an entry in the database based on the correlated event and the corresponding content-based parameter.

Abstract: A system archives encryption keys used for encrypting information in a network (105). The system includes a plurality of nodes configured to collect one or more encryption keys generated at each node and to transmit the one or more collected encryption keys to a key archive (110) for storage in a database associated with the key archive (110). The key archive (110) is configured to receive encryptions keys transmitted from nodes in the network and to store the encryption keys in a database of the key archive.

Abstract: A system and method for routing telephone calls is based on identifying caller goals, and maximizing the benefit of routing the call to the appropriate call center. The appropriate call center is identified as the call center best equipped to respond to the needs of the caller. The cost or benefit is based on the fastest and least expensive way to answer a query posed by a caller. A probabilistic model of the caller's goals or call topics based on a response to a top-level prompt is used, along with a set of functions associating a utility or benefit with routing those call topics to destinations within the center. Maximum benefit routing allows for the separation of the caller's goals from those of the call center, thereby optimizing use of available resources.

Abstract: An automation benefit of an automated call processing center is quantified as saved agent-time by gathering event-sequence data for a plurality of calls received by the call processing center; calculating an amount of time a task would take if performed by an agent instead of by an automated unit, wherein the task is capable of being performed by the automated unit; examining the event-sequence data to determine whether the task, which is capable of being performed in the automated unit, actually was performed in the automated unit for the plurality of calls; determining an automation rate for the task by calculating what percentage of calls involving the task actually was performed by the automated unit; and calculating an automation benefit by multiplying the automation rate by an amount of agent-time saved by performing the task in the automated unit instead of by an agent, wherein the amount of agent-time saved corresponds to the amount of time the task would take if performed by an agent.

Abstract: A system for analyzing the performance of an interactive voice response (IVR) system operates to record from end to end plural calls from callers. For a plurality of calls, the system codes and annotates an agent-caller interaction, including a topic discussed during the interaction; detects a routing operation of the IVR system by detecting a sequence of events in the IVR system, with reference to a call-flow file that summarizes the call-flow model of the IVR system, for each call; and cross-tabulates routing information obtained from the detected sequence of events with results from the coded and annotated agent-caller interactions.

Abstract: A non-lethal personal deterrent device and system. In the event of an attack by an assailant upon a victim, a device held in the hand of the victim takes a digital video and/or still image of the face of the assailant, flashes a strobe light upon the assailant, audio blasts the assailant with a warning message, obtains location information of the scene of the attack via a global positioning system (GPS), picks up audio interplay between the assailant and the victim, and transmits audio, video, and position information along with victim identification information to a receiver/processor center. The center relays the information to an operator for verification purposes which, in turn, immediately relays the information to a slam cam receptive police department thereby providing the police department with the advantage of having this information prior to responding to this emergency.

Abstract: In accordance with the principles of the present invention, unwanted calls may be prevented. In particular, information about a particular destination is stored in a registry at a clearinghouse server located within a network, e.g., the public telephone network. When a call is being made to the destination, it is routed to the clearinghouse server. Identifying information such as caller-id data is retrieved and the registry is searched. If the caller is registered as being approved, the call is forwarded with information indicating that the call is “approved”. If the caller is not registered or is unknown, the call is forwarded with information indicating that call is “unregistered” or “unavailable”. A user at the destination is then able to quickly determine if the call is unwanted.

Abstract: A system (100) for mapping an underground object (145) includes a conduit location recording device 105 and a server (115). The conduit location recording device (105) senses an underground object (145), a unique identifier being associated with the sensed underground object (145), and determines a location of the underground object (145). The conduit location recording device (105) transmits, via a communications network (125), the unique identifier and determined location to the server (115) for storage in a database.

Abstract: In a computer system having a client/server architecture, a method is provided for generating reports based on information in a telecommunications provisioning and inventorying database (42). The method includes a server (50) presenting a user at a client end (10) with a page (56) offering parameters for formulating a report and scheduling the running and delivery of the report; the user selecting parameters upon which the report is to be formulated and scheduled; and the server (50) interfacing with the database (42) to retrieve information designated by the selected parameters and generating the report in accordance with the selected parameters.

Abstract: A method is provided for monitoring transmission signal interference in a bi-directional transmission/reception system in which a modulated signal received at a receiver location is subjected at the receiver location to analog to digital (A/D) conversion by an A/D converter 3, an output of which is routed to an input of a digital demodulator 6 for demodulation. The method includes the steps of accessing the output of the A/D converter 3 before the output is subjected to demodulation by the demodulator 6 and storing the accessed data in a storage buffer 7. The data stored in the storage buffer 7 is available for inspection to assist in determining the presence of signal interference.