Patents by Inventor Ann K. Syrdal
Ann K. Syrdal has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Publication number: 20150179162Abstract: A system, method and computer readable medium that enhances a speech database for speech synthesis is disclosed. The method may include labeling audio files in a primary speech database, identifying segments in the labeled audio files that have varying pronunciations based on language differences, identifying replacement segments in a secondary speech database, enhancing the primary speech database by substituting the identified secondary speech database segments for the corresponding identified segments in the primary speech database, and storing the enhanced primary speech database for use in speech synthesis.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 4, 2015Publication date: June 25, 2015Inventors: Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Publication number: 20150179163Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for generating a synthetic voice. A system configured to practice the method combines a first database of a first text-to-speech voice and a second database of a second text-to-speech voice to generate a combined database, selects from the combined database, based on a policy, voice units of a phonetic category for the synthetic voice to yield selected voice units, and synthesizes speech based on the selected voice units. The system can synthesize speech without parameterizing the first text-to-speech voice and the second text-to-speech voice. A policy can define, for a particular phonetic category, from which text-to-speech voice to select voice units. The combined database can include multiple text-to-speech voices from different speakers. The combined database can include voices of a single speaker speaking in different styles. The combined database can include voices of different languages.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 16, 2015Publication date: June 25, 2015Inventors: Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Publication number: 20150170637Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for detecting and correcting abnormal stress patterns in unit-selection speech synthesis. A system practicing the method detects incorrect stress patterns in selected acoustic units representing speech to be synthesized, and corrects the incorrect stress patterns in the selected acoustic units to yield corrected stress patterns. The system can further synthesize speech based on the corrected stress patterns. In one aspect, the system also classifies the incorrect stress patterns using a machine learning algorithm such as a classification and regression tree, adaptive boosting, support vector machine, and maximum entropy. In this way a text-to-speech unit selection speech synthesizer can produce more natural sounding speech with suitable stress patterns regardless of the stress of units in a unit selection database.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 23, 2015Publication date: June 18, 2015Inventors: Yeon-Jun KIM, Mark Charles BEUTNAGEL, Alistair D. CONKIE, Ann K. Syrdal
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Patent number: 9026442Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer-readable storage media for recognizing speech by adapting automatic speech recognition pronunciation by acoustic model restructuring. The method identifies an acoustic model and a matching pronouncing dictionary trained on typical native speech in a target dialect. The method collects speech from a new speaker resulting in collected speech and transcribes the collected speech to generate a lattice of plausible phonemes. Then the method creates a custom speech model for representing each phoneme used in the pronouncing dictionary by a weighted sum of acoustic models for all the plausible phonemes, wherein the pronouncing dictionary does not change, but the model of the acoustic space for each phoneme in the dictionary becomes a weighted sum of the acoustic models of phonemes of the typical native speech. Finally the method includes recognizing via a processor additional speech from the target speaker using the custom speech model.Type: GrantFiled: August 14, 2014Date of Patent: May 5, 2015Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Inventors: Andrej Ljolje, Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Patent number: 9002713Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, computer-implemented methods, and tangible computer-readable storage media for speaker recognition personalization. The method recognizes speech received from a speaker interacting with a speech interface using a set of allocated resources, the set of allocated resources including bandwidth, processor time, memory, and storage. The method records metrics associated with the recognized speech, and after recording the metrics, modifies at least one of the allocated resources in the set of allocated resources commensurate with the recorded metrics. The method recognizes additional speech from the speaker using the modified set of allocated resources. Metrics can include a speech recognition confidence score, processing speed, dialog behavior, requests for repeats, negative responses to confirmations, and task completions.Type: GrantFiled: June 9, 2009Date of Patent: April 7, 2015Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Inventors: Andrej Ljolje, Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Publication number: 20150081302Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for performing speaker verification. A system configured to practice the method receives a request to verify a speaker, generates a text challenge that is unique to the request, and, in response to the request, prompts the speaker to utter the text challenge. Then the system records a dynamic image feature of the speaker as the speaker utters the text challenge, and performs speaker verification based on the dynamic image feature and the text challenge. Recording the dynamic image feature of the speaker can include recording video of the speaker while speaking the text challenge. The dynamic feature can include a movement pattern of head, lips, mouth, eyes, and/or eyebrows of the speaker. The dynamic image feature can relate to phonetic content of the speaker speaking the challenge, speech prosody, and the speaker's facial expression responding to content of the challenge.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 24, 2014Publication date: March 19, 2015Inventors: Ann K. SYRDAL, Sumit CHOPRA, Patrick Haffner, Taniya MISHRA, Ilija ZELJKOVIC, Eric Zavesky
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Patent number: 8977552Abstract: A system, method and computer readable medium that enhances a speech database for speech synthesis is disclosed. The method may include labeling audio files in a primary speech database, identifying segments in the labeled audio files that have varying pronunciations based on language differences, identifying replacement segments in a secondary speech database, enhancing the primary speech database by substituting the identified secondary speech database segments for the corresponding identified segments in the primary speech database, and storing the enhanced primary speech database for use in speech synthesis.Type: GrantFiled: May 28, 2014Date of Patent: March 10, 2015Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P.Inventors: Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Patent number: 8965768Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for detecting and correcting abnormal stress patterns in unit-selection speech synthesis. A system practicing the method detects incorrect stress patterns in selected acoustic units representing speech to be synthesized, and corrects the incorrect stress patterns in the selected acoustic units to yield corrected stress patterns. The system can further synthesize speech based on the corrected stress patterns. In one aspect, the system also classifies the incorrect stress patterns using a machine learning algorithm such as a classification and regression tree, adaptive boosting, support vector machine, and maximum entropy. In this way a text-to-speech unit selection speech synthesizer can produce more natural sounding speech with suitable stress patterns regardless of the stress of units in a unit selection database.Type: GrantFiled: August 6, 2010Date of Patent: February 24, 2015Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Inventors: Yeon-Jun Kim, Mark Charles Beutnagel, Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Patent number: 8965767Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for generating a synthetic voice. A system configured to practice the method combines a first database of a first text-to-speech voice and a second database of a second text-to-speech voice to generate a combined database, selects from the combined database, based on a policy, voice units of a phonetic category for the synthetic voice to yield selected voice units, and synthesizes speech based on the selected voice units. The system can synthesize speech without parameterizing the first text-to-speech voice and the second text-to-speech voice. A policy can define, for a particular phonetic category, from which text-to-speech voice to select voice units. The combined database can include multiple text-to-speech voices from different speakers. The combined database can include voices of a single speaker speaking in different styles. The combined database can include voices of different languages.Type: GrantFiled: May 20, 2014Date of Patent: February 24, 2015Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Inventors: Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Publication number: 20150006179Abstract: Systems, computer-implemented methods, and tangible computer-readable media for generating a pronunciation model. The method includes identifying a generic model of speech composed of phonemes, identifying a family of interchangeable phonemic alternatives for a phoneme in the generic model of speech, labeling the family of interchangeable phonemic alternatives as referring to the same phoneme, and generating a pronunciation model which substitutes each family for each respective phoneme. In one aspect, the generic model of speech is a vocal tract length normalized acoustic model. Interchangeable phonemic alternatives can represent a same phoneme for different dialectal classes. An interchangeable phonemic alternative can include a string of phonemes.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 17, 2014Publication date: January 1, 2015Inventors: Andrej LJOLJE, Alistair D. CONKIE, Ann K. SYRDAL
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Publication number: 20140358540Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer-readable storage media for recognizing speech by adapting automatic speech recognition pronunciation by acoustic model restructuring. The method identifies an acoustic model and a matching pronouncing dictionary trained on typical native speech in a target dialect. The method collects speech from a new speaker resulting in collected speech and transcribes the collected speech to generate a lattice of plausible phonemes. Then the method creates a custom speech model for representing each phoneme used in the pronouncing dictionary by a weighted sum of acoustic models for all the plausible phonemes, wherein the pronouncing dictionary does not change, but the model of the acoustic space for each phoneme in the dictionary becomes a weighted sum of the acoustic models of phonemes of the typical native speech. Finally the method includes recognizing via a processor additional speech from the target speaker using the custom speech model.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 14, 2014Publication date: December 4, 2014Inventors: Andrej LJOLJE, Alistair D. CONKIE, Ann K. Syrdal
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Publication number: 20140350940Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer-readable storage media for unit selection synthesis. The method causes a computing device to add a supplemental phoneset to a speech synthesizer front end having an existing phoneset, modify a unit preselection process based on the supplemental phoneset, preselect units from the supplemental phoneset and the existing phoneset based on the modified unit preselection process, and generate speech based on the preselected units. The supplemental phoneset can be a variation of the existing phoneset, can include a word boundary feature, can include a cluster feature where initial consonant clusters and some word boundaries are marked with diacritics, can include a function word feature which marks units as originating from a function word or a content word, and/or can include a pre-vocalic or post-vocalic feature. The speech synthesizer front end can incorporates the supplemental phoneset as an extra feature.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 7, 2014Publication date: November 27, 2014Inventors: Alistair D. CONKIE, Mark BEUTNAGEL, Yeon-Jun KIM, Ann K. SYRDAL
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Patent number: 8897500Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for performing speaker verification. A system configured to practice the method receives a request to verify a speaker, generates a text challenge that is unique to the request, and, in response to the request, prompts the speaker to utter the text challenge. Then the system records a dynamic image feature of the speaker as the speaker utters the text challenge, and performs speaker verification based on the dynamic image feature and the text challenge. Recording the dynamic image feature of the speaker can include recording video of the speaker while speaking the text challenge. The dynamic feature can include a movement pattern of head, lips, mouth, eyes, and/or eyebrows of the speaker. The dynamic image feature can relate to phonetic content of the speaker speaking the challenge, speech prosody, and the speaker's facial expression responding to content of the challenge.Type: GrantFiled: May 5, 2011Date of Patent: November 25, 2014Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Inventors: Ann K. Syrdal, Sumit Chopra, Patrick Haffner, Taniya Mishra, Ilija Zeljkovic, Eric Zavesky
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Patent number: 8862470Abstract: Systems, computer-implemented methods, and tangible computer-readable media for generating a pronunciation model. The method includes identifying a generic model of speech composed of phonemes, identifying a family of interchangeable phonemic alternatives for a phoneme in the generic model of speech, labeling the family of interchangeable phonemic alternatives as referring to the same phoneme, and generating a pronunciation model which substitutes each family for each respective phoneme. In one aspect, the generic model of speech is a vocal tract length normalized acoustic model. Interchangeable phonemic alternatives can represent a same phoneme for different dialectal classes. An interchangeable phonemic alternative can include a string of phonemes.Type: GrantFiled: November 22, 2011Date of Patent: October 14, 2014Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Inventors: Andrej Ljolje, Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Publication number: 20140278431Abstract: A system, method and computer readable medium that enhances a speech database for speech synthesis is disclosed. The method may include labeling audio files in a primary speech database, identifying segments in the labeled audio files that have varying pronunciations based on language differences, identifying replacement segments in a secondary speech database, enhancing the primary speech database by substituting the identified secondary speech database segments for the corresponding identified segments in the primary speech database, and storing the enhanced primary speech database for use in speech synthesis.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 28, 2014Publication date: September 18, 2014Applicant: AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P.Inventors: Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Publication number: 20140257817Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for generating a synthetic voice. A system configured to practice the method combines a first database of a first text-to-speech voice and a second database of a second text-to-speech voice to generate a combined database, selects from the combined database, based on a policy, voice units of a phonetic category for the synthetic voice to yield selected voice units, and synthesizes speech based on the selected voice units. The system can synthesize speech without parameterizing the first text-to-speech voice and the second text-to-speech voice. A policy can define, for a particular phonetic category, from which text-to-speech voice to select voice units. The combined database can include multiple text-to-speech voices from different speakers. The combined database can include voices of a single speaker speaking in different styles. The combined database can include voices of different languages.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 20, 2014Publication date: September 11, 2014Applicant: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Inventors: Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Patent number: 8812315Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer-readable storage media for recognizing speech by adapting automatic speech recognition pronunciation by acoustic model restructuring. The method identifies an acoustic model and a matching pronouncing dictionary trained on typical native speech in a target dialect. The method collects speech from a new speaker resulting in collected speech and transcribes the collected speech to generate a lattice of plausible phonemes. Then the method creates a custom speech model for representing each phoneme used in the pronouncing dictionary by a weighted sum of acoustic models for all the plausible phonemes, wherein the pronouncing dictionary does not change, but the model of the acoustic space for each phoneme in the dictionary becomes a weighted sum of the acoustic models of phonemes of the typical native speech. Finally the method includes recognizing via a processor additional speech from the target speaker using the custom speech model.Type: GrantFiled: October 1, 2013Date of Patent: August 19, 2014Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Inventors: Andrej Ljolje, Alistair D. Conkie, Ann K. Syrdal
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Patent number: 8805687Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer-readable storage media for unit selection synthesis. The method causes a computing device to add a supplemental phoneset to a speech synthesizer front end having an existing phoneset, modify a unit preselection process based on the supplemental phoneset, preselect units from the supplemental phoneset and the existing phoneset based on the modified unit preselection process, and generate speech based on the preselected units. The supplemental phoneset can be a variation of the existing phoneset, can include a word boundary feature, can include a cluster feature where initial consonant clusters and some word boundaries are marked with diacritics, can include a function word feature which marks units as originating from a function word or a content word, and/or can include a pre-vocalic or post-vocalic feature. The speech synthesizer front end can incorporates the supplemental phoneset as an extra feature.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2009Date of Patent: August 12, 2014Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Inventors: Alistair D. Conkie, Mark Beutnagel, Yeon-Jun Kim, Ann K. Syrdal
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Publication number: 20140188480Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for generating customized text-to-speech voices for a particular application. The method comprises generating a custom text-to-speech voice by selecting a voice for generating a custom text-to-speech voice associated with a domain, collecting text data associated with the domain from a pre-existing text data source and using the collected text data, generating an in-domain inventory of synthesis speech units by selecting speech units appropriate to the domain via a search of a pre-existing inventory of synthesis speech units, or by recording the minimal inventory for a selected level of synthesis quality. The text-to-speech custom voice for the domain is generated utilizing the in-domain inventory of synthesis speech units. Active learning techniques may also be employed to identify problem phrases wherein only a few minutes of recorded data is necessary to deliver a high quality TTS custom voice.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 4, 2014Publication date: July 3, 2014Applicant: AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P.Inventors: Srinivas BANGALORE, Junlan Feng, Mazin G. Rahim, Juergen Schroeter, Ann K. Syrdal, David Schulz
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Patent number: 8744851Abstract: A system, method and computer readable medium that enhances a speech database for speech synthesis is disclosed. The method may include labeling audio files in a primary speech database, identifying segments in the labeled audio files that have varying pronunciations based on language differences, identifying replacement segments in a secondary speech database, enhancing the primary speech database by substituting the identified secondary speech database segments for the corresponding identified segments in the primary speech database, and storing the enhanced primary speech database for use in speech synthesis.Type: GrantFiled: August 13, 2013Date of Patent: June 3, 2014Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P.Inventors: Alistair Conkie, Ann K Syrdal