Abstract: A communication system and method for displaying text captions corresponding to voice communications between an assisted user's mobile wireless device and a separate hearing user's device includes at least one communication component configured to enable the appliance to communicate with a relay, a display, and a processor operably coupled to the at least one communication component and the display. The processor is configured to enable the assisted user to establish an association between the appliance and the mobile device, receive text originating at the relay, the text corresponding to a transcript of the hearing user's voice signal originating at the hearing user's device, and cause text captions corresponding to the received text to be displayed on the display.

Abstract: One variation of a method for video conferencing includes, at a first device associated with a first user: capturing a first video feed; representing constellations of facial landmarks, detected in the first video feed, in a first feed of facial landmark containers; and transmitting the first feed of facial landmark containers to a second device. The method further includes, at the second device associated with a second user: accessing a first face model representing facial characteristics of the first user; accessing a synthetic face generator; transforming the first feed of facial landmark containers and the first face model into a first feed of synthetic face images according to the synthetic face generator; and rendering the first feed of synthetic face images.

Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods of the present invention relate to detecting a request for explanation in text. In an example, a method creates a discourse tree from a subset of text. The discourse tree includes nodes, each nonterminal node representing a rhetorical relationship between two of the fragments and each terminal node of the nodes of the discourse tree is associated with one of the fragments. The method forms a communicative discourse tree from the discourse tree by matching each fragment that has a verb to a verb signature. The method further identifies that the subset of text comprises a request for an explanation by applying a classification model trained to detect a request for an explanation to the communicative discourse tree.

Abstract: Embodiments relate to an intelligent computer platform to support natural language (NL) processing. The request is analyzed and a lexical answer type (LAT) related to the received request is identified. A knowledge graph (KG) related to the LAT is identified and leveraged to extract a first concept related to the LAT and a second concept related to the first concept. First and second clusters are created, with the first cluster having the LAT and first concept as qualifiers, and the second cluster having the first and second concepts as qualifiers. Each of the formed clusters is populated with one or more documents. An inter-cluster assessment is conducted based on the relevancy of the populated document(s) to the received input. In addition, a machine learning model (MLM) corresponding to the KG is identified and utilized to selectively augment the MLM with the LAT, first and second concepts, and a corresponding relationship to the inter-cluster assessment.

Abstract: This document describes a method for preparing narrative content, particularly for presentation as a multi-sensory experience including audio and visual effects and the like. The method involves stripping details from the narrative content and replacing some of them with sensory effects so as to avoid providing too much detail. The method should enable content designers to better adapt content to be expressed on modern storytelling devices. A system is described to assist with the transformation and suggested output devices are also presented.

Abstract: A videoconference apparatus and method coordinates a stationary view obtained with a stationary camera to an adjustable view obtained with an adjustable camera. The stationary camera can be a web camera, while the adjustable camera can be a pan-tilt-zoom camera. As the stationary camera obtains video, participants are detected and localized by establishing a static perimeter around a participant in which no motion is detected. Thereafter, if no motion is detected in the perimeter, any personage objects such as head, face, or shoulders which are detected in the region bounded by the perimeter are determined to correspond to the participant.

Abstract: A method of processing a speech signal for speaker recognition in an electronic apparatus includes: obtaining a speech signal of a first user; extracting a speech feature comprising a feature value from the speech signal; comparing the speech feature extracted from the speech signal of the first user with a predetermined reference value; selecting a first user feature that corresponds to the speech feature of the first user compared with the reference value; generating a recommended phrase used for speaker recognition based on the first user feature; and outputting the recommended phrase.

Abstract: A method for determining camera framing in a teleconferencing system comprises a process loop which includes acquiring an audio-visual frame from a captured a video data frame; detecting objects and extracting image features of the objects within the video data frame, ingesting the audio-visual frame into a context-based audio-visual map in an intelligent manner, and selecting targets from within the map for inclusion in an audio-video stream for transmission to a remote endpoint.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method and system for providing a visual indication that a video relay service (VRS) call originates from an inmate at a corrections facility, in which the method includes initiating a video relay service (VRS) call from a corrections facility between a called party and an inmate incarcerated at the corrections facility; and displaying a visual indication on a VRS client used by the called party, the visual indication including at least one of a visual indication that the VRS call is originating from a corrections facility, a visual indication that the VRS call is from an inmate incarcerated at a corrections facility, and a visual indication that the VRS call is being recorded.

Abstract: A user interacts with a virtual digital assistant with the intent that it provides assistance with a task. The user sends messages to the virtual digital assistant that include content obtained via user input at a client device. An intent determination model is applied to the content to identify the user's intent. The virtual digital assistant identifies agents that are capable of servicing the intent are identified and retrieves contextual data relating to the message from a data store. An intent arbitration model is used to select one of the agents which is activated to provide assistance with the task. The contextual information may include global metrics of agent performance and/or information regarding the user's preferences.

Abstract: A tele-presence system that includes a remote device coupled to a control station through a communication link. The remote device includes a remote monitor, a remote camera, a remote speaker and a remote microphone. Likewise, the control station includes a station monitor, a station camera, a station speaker and a station microphone. The control station displays a plurality of graphical icons that each represents a different type of communication link between the control station and the remote device. The graphical icons can be selected to allow a user of the control station to change the communication link between the remote device and its initial node.

Abstract: Systems and methods for facilitating virtual collaboration between users within virtual environments are disclosed. A plurality of users access a collaborative virtual environment system using interface devices to establish a virtual collaboration session in which users communicate via a bidirectional real-time communication channel and interact within a virtual environment. Annotations or other user interactions within the virtual environment are automatically propagated to each user in the virtual collaboration session in order to facilitate collaboration. Data from such virtual collaboration sessions may be captured for later use.

Abstract: A semantic analysis method, semantic analysis and non-transitory computer-readable medium are provided in this disclosure.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to solutions for eliminating undesired audio artifacts, such as background noises, on an audio channel. A process for implementing the technology can include receiving a set of audio segments, analyzing the segments using a first ML model to identify a first probability of unwanted background noises in the segments, and if the first probability exceeds a threshold, analyzing the segments using a second ML model to determine a second probability that the one or more background features exist in the segments. In some aspects, the process can include attenuating audio artifacts in the segments, if the second probability exceeds a second threshold. In some implementations, dynamic time stretching and shrinking can be applied to the noise attenuation. Systems and machine-readable media are also provided.

Abstract: Methods of and systems for identifying a discrete participant among a plurality of participants in an audio/video communication (e.g., video content, digital video content, audio content, and audio-visual content) that include: receiving the audio/video communication; identifying from the audio/video communication content (e.g., using metadata from the broadcast content to identify each participant) multiple identification-related features for each participant; associating a first identification-related feature of a first participant to a second identification-related feature of the first participant; organizing the associated identification-related features of the first participant into a feature class(es); logically relating a first feature class to a second feature class; and attributing a grouping of logically-related feature classes to the discrete participant.

Abstract: A device includes a transceiver, a storage device, and a processor. The transceiver receives an audio segment from a remote device, receives a request to communicate the audio segment to another remote device, and communicates the audio segment to the another remote device in response to the request to communicate the audio segment to the another remote device, the audio segment including at least one audio feature extracted from audio recorded by the device. The storage device stores the audio segment. The processor retrieves the audio segment from the storage device in response to the request to communicate the audio segment to the another remote device.

Abstract: Systems and methods for facilitating virtual collaboration between users within virtual environments are disclosed. A plurality of users access a collaborative virtual environment system using interface devices to establish a virtual collaboration session in which users communicate via a bidirectional real-time communication channel and interact within a virtual environment. Annotations or other user interactions within the virtual environment are automatically propagated to each user in the virtual collaboration session in order to facilitate collaboration. Data from such virtual collaboration sessions may be captured for later use.

Abstract: System and method for correcting for impulse noise in speech recognition systems. One example system includes a microphone, a speaker, and an electronic processor. The electronic processor is configured to receive an audio signal representing an utterance. The electronic processor is configured to detect, within the utterance, the impulse noise, and, in response, generate an annotated utterance including a timing of the impulse noise. The electronic processor is configured to segment the annotated utterance into silence, voice content, and other content, and, when a length of the other content is greater than or equal to an average word length for the annotated utterance, determine, based on the voice content, an intent portion and an entity portion. The electronic processor is configured to generate a voice prompt based on the timing of the impulse noise and the intent portion and/or the entity portion, and to play the voice prompt.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for determining orientation of an external audio device in a video conference, which may be used to provide congruent multimodal representation for a video conference. A camera of a video conferencing system may be used to detect a potential location of an external audio device within a room in which the video conferencing system is providing a video conference. Within the detected potential location, a visual pattern associated with the external audio device may be identified. Using the identified visual pattern, the video conferencing system may estimate an orientation of the external audio device, the orientation being used by the video conferencing system to provide spatial audio video congruence to a far end audience.

Abstract: A processing system including at least one processor may detect the presence of at least two users in a zone containing a network-connected device, obtain preferences and tolerance ranges of the at least two users with respect to the network-connected device, select a setting for the network-connected device in accordance with the preferences and tolerance ranges of the at least two users, and apply the setting to the network-connected device. The processing system may further detect a change of the setting, and adjust at least one of the preferences and tolerance ranges of the at least two users in response to the change of the setting.