Abstract: A method and apparatus of converting input text into an audio-visual speech stream resulting in a talking face image enunciating the text. This method of converting input text into an audio-visual speech stream comprises the steps of: recording a visual corpus of a human-subject, building a viseme interpolation database, and synchronizing the talking face image with the text stream. In a preferred embodiment, viseme transitions are automatically calculated using optical flow methods, and morphing techniques are employed to result in smooth viseme transitions. The viseme transitions are concatenated together and synchronized with the phonemes according to the timing information. The audio-visual speech stream is then displayed in real time, thereby displaying a photo-realistic talking face.

Abstract: Educational display boards are in widespread use—from classrooms to boardrooms. A display board is a thin substantially planar material imprinted with graphics and text that often conveys a relationship between elements. The present invention is specifically a design for interactive educational display boards upon which users interact by touching one contact associated with a term corresponding to a question, and one or more terms corresponding to an answer selection. User bodily resistance is sensed by the circuit as user input; to which the interactive display board responds with a variety of audio tunes and tones in relation to these user choices.

Abstract: A system and associated method for interactively scoring standardized test responses. The system maintains a database of tests, items that make up the tests, and features that make up the items. A user of the system requests a list of items in the database, and the system responds by presenting a list from which the user selects a plurality of items to be scored. The user selects a scoring mode, and the system scores the selected items according to the selected scoring mode. In an interactive scoring mode, the system scores the features of a selected item and presents to the user the feature scores, as well as an overall item score computed based on these feature scores. The user either accepts the scores as presented, changes one or more feature scores, or changes the overall item score. The system then rescores the item based on the user-entered scores and stores the new score in the database. This process is repeated for the remaining selected items.

Abstract: A real-time IMU simulator for an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) of an installed avionics system of a vehicle includes a 6DOF flight simulator; an IMU computer; and a 6DOF(Degree of Freedom) interface. The 6 DOF interface is connected between the 6DOF flight simulator and the IMU computer for transferring flight trajectory data from the 6DOF flight simulator to the IMU computer. The IMU computer is adapted for receiving flight state data and calculating IMU simulation data and outputting the IMU simulation data to an IMU signal generation board. The IMU signal generation board is adapted for receiving the IMU simulation data and generating IMU signals and injecting the IMU signals to the installed avionics system.

Abstract: A child care monitoring network integrates a centralized information dissemination system with live streaming video to increase parental involvement with child care workers and improve child care worker training, including provision for enabling parents to monitor their children during the workday over the Internet and for providing live training demonstrations during off-hours. A local area network connects video cameras to a multi-media computer for digitizing and compressing the video feed and supplying it to a regional broadcast server capable of delivering multiple broadcast video streams to parent subscribers either through direct Internet connections, or over a secured network connected to the Internet via a firewall. A pre-recorded video library and server may be provided in addition to the live video broadcast server for providing information and instruction to both parents seeking child care and to child care providers.

Abstract: With a purpose of providing a simulation device for fostering a virtual creature where the virtual creature is disciplined, the virtual creature is grown and fostered when a player conducts a corresponding treatment in response to a call or a request from the displayed virtual creature, the simulation device is provided with mark display units for displaying treatments for fostering the virtual creature by marks, and key switches for inputting a corresponding treatment by selecting a specific mark from a plurality of marks, the simulation device is provided with a storing unit for storing control data for fostering the virtual creature and a control unit where, when a treatment for fostering the virtual creature is input by operating the key switches, the control data in correspondence thereto is read from the storing unit and a control for fostering the virtual creature is conducted based on the read control data, and the simulation device is further constituted by a detecting circuit for detecting a call fr

Abstract: A method of computerized language instruction for a student. Based on data regarding past performance of the student, an adjustable speech recognizer is adjusted. An utterance is received from the student, and the utterance is processed using the adjusted adjustable speech recognizer. The adjustable speech recognizer may comprise an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) engine. A set of contexts is created. Each context includes a set of words and utterances selected to allow recognition of the words and utterances by a speech recognizer. For each context, a set of subcontexts is created. Each subcontext includes the words and utterances of the context and selected mispronunciations or misarticulations of the words and utterances of the context. Recursively passing a portion of a received utterance to an ASR engine is described.

Abstract: A storytelling book with clear loose-leaf page holders is provided so that a person, such as a child, can illustrate and narrate with text a story of his or her own invention on a series of insertion pages and then present that story to an audience. A selected number of pages comprising the insertion pages created by the storyteller, and corresponding insertion pages, are arranged in book-like fashion and bound together so that the book may be disposed either with the pages flat on a support or in easel-like disposition. A first side of one of the pages is disposed in proximity to a second side of an adjacent page when the book-like arrangement is in a closed condition. The pages are disposed so that the person listening to the story sees the first sides and their respective illustrations or pictures while the storyteller or reader sees the second page sides and their corresponding text.

Abstract: A learning system is provided which includes a plurality of student units for use by students, a teacher unit for use by a teacher, and a plurality of master storage devices that store information reproduced by the student units. The learning system includes a computer for use also by the teacher that operates to control each of the student units. The computer also provides the feature of assisting the teacher in the student testing process wherein student response information is displayed on the computer. During each question of a test, the computer displays to the teacher the amount of elapsed time of the current question, the question number, the number of students who currently have responded to the current question, the ratio of students who currently have responded to the current question to the total number of students, and a graph that identifies the number of students choosing a respective answer.

Abstract: A game display method displays a driving game which permits characters to be present in a city and can prevent cruel images of collisions with characters. Characters in a dangerous area are intentionally moved away from a motorbike B. Those H1, H2 of the characters behind the motorbike B as viewed in a moving direction of the motorbike B are intentionally moved away from a current position 01 of the motorbike B, a position of the center of the motorbike B. Those H3, H4, H5 of the characters in front of the motorbike B as viewed in the moving direction of the motorbike B are intentionally moved toward the back of the motorbike B, i.e., directions normal to a straight line interconnecting the position 01 of the center of the motorbike B and the characters H3, H4, H5. The characters H3, H4, who are forward left of the motorbike B, are moved left, and the character Hr, who is forward right, is moved right.

Abstract: A multipurpose learning device having a picture book including a plurality of pages, wherein the pages turned in a top-to-bottom hinged direction instead of a side-to-side hinged direction, a memory unit having audio and video data stored therein, the memory unit being detachably connected to a touch board. A surface of the touch board is declined to a predetermined angle for enabling a user to easily position an electronic pen perpendicular to the touch board. Each sheet of the picture book includes a blank page and a picture page and picture information corresponding to a picture on one of the pages is displayed on a host device, such as a television. A user moves the electronic pen over a blank page which is positioned over the touch board, and a cursor is displayed on the host device at a position corresponding to the position of the electronic pen over the blank page and touch board.

Abstract: A system for establishing a data session and a voice session for training a user on a computer program includes a customer workstation coupled to a selected agent workstation by a data network and a voice network. The customer workstation generates a session request in response to user input requesting assistance regarding the computer program. The data network and the voice network establish a data session and a voice session, respectively, between the customer workstation and the selected agent workstation in response to the session request.

Abstract: A visual display system and method for full and realistic stimulation of night vision goggles according to the present invention includes a display system for stimulating night vision goggles across a large dynamic range. The display system includes a high resolution head tracked area of interest display for a rear projection video display. The system time multiplexes the display of raster and calligraphic images in the area of interest. The system also includes a method of calligraphic light point projection that conserves power by using a head tracked slow speed high sensitivity electromagnetic deflection system to position an electron beam which is modulated in X-Y position in a calligraphic fashion by a high speed secondary yoke to create intense light point images for the area of interest display.

Abstract: A learning system is provided which includes a plurality of student units for use by students, a teacher unit for use by a teacher, and a plurality of master storage devices that store information reproduced by the student units. The learning system includes a computer for use also by the teacher that operates to control each of the student units. The computer also provides the feature of student tape auto compile in which the student units are controlled to record student responses/answers, selected student units are controlled to reproduce the respective recorded information in a predetermined format, and the master unit(s) is controlled to record the information output by the selected student units. Various user selections during student tape auto compile include which student recordings to be compiled, the compiling format (e.g., sequential by student, sequential by question number), amount of student recording time, and which master units are to be used during compiling.

Abstract: A remote education method and apparatus via an internet which has been widely used as an information network is provided. The remote education method and apparatus via the internet has an open structure which is not influenced by particular hardware or software, such as an operating system or a web browser. A remote education provider can construct a remote education server with a low cost in a minimum amount of time. Also users can easily connect to the remote education server via the internet to receive a remote education service. The remote education server provides an educational program including individual learning progress based on a learning evaluation and a performance management function and performs a discriminative education based on the ability of each individual.

Abstract: A method of grading an essay using an automated essay scoring system is provided. The method comprises the automated steps of (a) parsing the essay to produce parsed text, wherein the parsed text is a syntactic representation of the essay, (b) using the parsed text to create a vector of syntactic features derived from the essay, (c) using the parsed text to create a vector of rhetorical features derived from the essay, (d) creating a first score feature derived from the essay, (e) creating a second score feature derived from the essay, and (f) processing the vector of syntactic features, the vector of rhetorical features, the first score feature, and the second score feature to generate a score for the essay.

Abstract: Text symbols associated with audio data reproducible from a recording disc are displayed by downloading previously stored groups of text characters, each group representing a respective phrase of text. Each text character includes start/end bits to indicate the start and end of respective phrases as well as symbol identifying bits to identify a respective text symbol in the phrase. The start/end and symbol identifying bits of a downloaded group of text characters are used to assemble a phrase of text symbols; and the assembled phrase is displayed.

Abstract: An imaging system includes two sets of cameras: a first set for capturing optical mark or optical character recognition data and a second set for capturing visual images. Full visual images of pages containing answers to open-ended questions are retained and are retrievable by a reader such that an area of interest wherein the answer is expected is displayed, but the remaining area is also available for viewing. The system permits the alignment of a page based upon edge detection if the page contains only an open-ended answer, obviating the need for timing tracks. Hardware and software elements cooperate to store the image temporarily in a server having a response time commensurate with the scanner. The image is then processed with the use of high-performance index imaging for optical storage and retrieval, and then routed to a long-term storage device.

Abstract: The objective of this disclosure is to propose a method of designing an intelligent system assuring autonomy in problem solving to the largest extent. An architecture of a general purpose problem solving system and also a new modeling scheme for representing an object which may include human activity are discussed first. Then a special purpose problem solving system dedicated for a given problem is generated. It is extracted from a general purpose system using the object model as a template. Several new concepts are included in this disclosure to achieve this goal; a multi-level function structure and its corresponding knowledge structure, multiple meta-level operations, a level manager for building general purpose problem solving systems, a concept of multi-strata model to represent objects including human activity, and a method of extracting a special purpose system from a general purpose system and so on.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for recorded information conveyance and comprehension are provided that include a Virtual Interactive Teaching and Learning (VITAL) Center. The VITAL Center provides an interactive patient education and informed consent process that increases patient comprehension using presentations that offer a baseline education about medical and surgical procedures including the associated risks, benefits and alternatives. The patient's comprehension of the material is confirmed throughout the presentation using summary questions focused on key information. The patient is able to record their own questions or concerns about the procedure while watching the presentation. After the presentation is finished, A healthcare professional reviews the patient questions upon completion of the presentation, and any information the patient did not understand is further explained at this time.