Abstract: A method for prompting user input for a multimodal interface including the steps of providing a multimodal interface to a user, where the interface includes a visual interface having a plurality of input regions, each having at least one input field; selecting an input region and processing a multi-token speech input provided by the user, where the processed speech input includes at least one value for at least one input field of the selected input region; and storing at least one value in at least one input field.

Abstract: A method for state transition in voice systems including: generating one or more stackable state macros, each of the one or more stackable state macros including a plurality of commands; saving the current state before executing another macro; enabling restoring the previous state after a plurality of commands is completed, allowing a user to utter voice commands to restore the individual state of components or the voice systems as a whole to the previous state or to a known home state. The method further utilizes voice commands not specific to the current state and is used specifically for automatically controlling a plurality of components of a vehicle.

Abstract: A prompt generation engine operates to dynamically extend prompts of a multimodal application. The prompt generation engine receives a media file having a metadata container. The prompt generation engine operates on a multimodal device that supports a voice mode and a non-voice mode for interacting with the multimodal device. The prompt generation engine retrieves from the metadata container a speech prompt related to content stored in the media file for inclusion in the multimodal application. The prompt generation engine modifies the multimodal application to include the speech prompt.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and products for testing a grammar used in speech recognition for reliability in a plurality of operating environments having different background noise that include: receiving recorded background noise for each of the plurality of operating environments; generating a test speech utterance for recognition by a speech recognition engine using a grammar; mixing the test speech utterance with each recorded background noise, resulting in a plurality of mixed test speech utterances, each mixed test speech utterance having different background noise; performing, for each of the mixed test speech utterances, speech recognition using the grammar and the mixed test speech utterance, resulting in speech recognition results for each of the mixed test speech utterances; and evaluating, for each recorded background noise, speech recognition reliability of the grammar in dependence upon the speech recognition results for the mixed test speech utterance having that recorded background noise.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for record disambiguation in a multimodal application operating on a multimodal device, the multimodal device supporting multiple modes of interaction including at least a voice mode and a visual mode, that include: prompting, by the multimodal application, a user to identify a particular record among a plurality of records; receiving, by the multimodal application in response to the prompt, a voice utterance from the user; determining, by the multimodal application, that the voice utterance ambiguously identifies more than one of the plurality of records; generating, by the multimodal application, a user interaction to disambiguate the records ambiguously identified by the voice utterance in dependence upon record attributes of the records ambiguously identified by the voice utterance; and selecting, by the multimodal application for further processing, one of the records ambiguously identified by the voice utterance in dependence upon the user interaction.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for adjusting a speech engine for a mobile computing device based on background noise, the mobile computing device operatively coupled to a microphone, that include: sampling, through the microphone, background noise for a plurality of operating environments in which the mobile computing device operates; generating, for each operating environment, a noise model in dependence upon the sampled background noise for that operating environment; and configuring the speech engine for the mobile computing device with the noise model for the operating environment in which the mobile computing device currently operates.

Abstract: A method and system for defining standard catch styles used in generating speech application code for managing catch events, in which a style-selection menu that allows for selection of one or more catch styles is presented. Each catch style represents a system response to a catch event. A catch style can be selected from the style-selection menu. For each selected catch style, the system can prepare a response for each catch event. If the selected catch style requires playing a new audio message in response to a particular catch event, a contextual message can be entered in one or more text fields. The contextual message entered in each text field corresponds to the new audio message that will be played in response to the particular catch event. In certain catch styles, the entered contextual message is different for each catch event, while in other catch styles, the entered contextual message is the same for each catch event.

Abstract: A method and system for testing code within a speech application. A test file can be automatically generated to verify the functionality of a new section of code within a graphical call flow builder application. A user can specify through a wizard two points on a path identifying the code section to be tested. The wizard can generate a test file and configure a path to a new subpath. Values are assigned to graphical call flow prompts along the path. Thus, the new code section is reached under the same path conditions for allowing repeatable testing. The system can include a test harness to test a new code section from within a context of the speech application, and a test controller for transitioning to the new code section. The test controller can run the test harness within the speech application to evaluate a functionality of the new code section.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program for assessing the quality of a call recipient response during an interactive voice dialog. Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to biometric analysis and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for call center agent quality assurance using biometric technologies. A solution for automated monitoring of call center agents' skill, mood, professionalism and behavior using biometric technologies and for providing appropriate action to improve customer handling and satisfaction is provided. The solution provides an automated method for detecting potential problems and preemptively taking action to provide consistent, quality customer service.

Abstract: Some example embodiments include a method of dynamically publishing directory information for a plurality of interactive voice response (‘IVR’) systems. The method includes receiving, by the IVR directory service on behalf of one of the IVR systems, a web services update request. The method includes determining, by the IVR directory service in response to the web services update request, updated directory information for the IVR system. The method includes updating the IVR system directory with the updated directory information for the IVR system. The method includes generating an updated voice mode user interface to reflect the updated IVR system directory with the updated directory information for the IVR system. The generating includes creating one more voice dialogs in accordance with the directory information, the one or more voice dialogs specifying a call flow defining the interaction between a caller and the IVR directory service.

Abstract: A prompt generation engine operates to dynamically extend prompts of a multimodal application. The prompt generation engine receives a media file having a metadata container. The prompt generation engine operates on a multimodal device that supports a voice mode and a non-voice mode for interacting with the multimodal device. The prompt generation engine retrieves from the metadata container a speech prompt related to content stored in the media file for inclusion in the multimodal application. The prompt generation engine modifies the multimodal application to include the speech prompt.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and computer program products are described for automatic speech recognition (‘ASR’) that include accepting by the multimodal application speech input and visual input for selecting or deselecting items in a selection list, the speech input enabled by a speech recognition grammar; providing, from the multimodal application to the grammar interpreter, the speech input and the speech recognition grammar; receiving, by the multimodal application from the grammar interpreter, interpretation results including matched words from the grammar that correspond to items in the selection list and a semantic interpretation token that specifies whether to select or deselect items in the selection list; and determining, by the multimodal application in dependence upon the value of the semantic interpretation token, whether to select or deselect items in the selection list that correspond to the matched words.

Abstract: A method for prompting user input for a multimodal interface including the steps of providing a multimodal interface to a user, where the interface includes a visual interface having a plurality of input regions, each having at least one input field; selecting an input region and processing a multi-token speech input provided by the user, where the processed speech input includes at least one value for at least one input field of the selected input region; and storing at least one value in at least one input field.

Abstract: A prompt generation engine operates to dynamically extend prompts of a multimodal application. The prompt generation engine receives a media file having a metadata container. The prompt generation engine operates on a multimodal device that supports a voice mode and a non-voice mode for interacting with the multimodal device. The prompt generation engine retrieves from the metadata container a speech prompt related to content stored in the media file for inclusion in the multimodal application. The prompt generation engine modifies the multimodal application to include the speech prompt.

Abstract: Speech enabled media sharing in a multimodal application including parsing, by a multimodal browser, one or more markup documents of a multimodal application; identifying, by the multimodal browser, in the one or more markup documents a web resource for display in the multimodal browser; loading, by the multimodal browser, a web resource sharing grammar that includes keywords for modes of resource sharing and keywords for targets for receipt of web resources; receiving, by the multimodal browser, an utterance matching a keyword for the web resource, a keyword for a mode of resource sharing and a keyword for a target for receipt of the web resource in the web resource sharing grammar thereby identifying the web resource, a mode of resource sharing, and a target for receipt of the web resource; and sending, by the multimodal browser, the web resource to the identified target for the web resource using the identified mode of resource sharing.

Abstract: A method for prompting user input for a multimodal interface including the steps of providing a multimodal interface to a user, where the interface includes a visual interface having a plurality of input regions, each having at least one input field; selecting an input region and processing a multi-token speech input provided by the user, where the processed speech input includes at least one value for at least one input field of the selected input region; and storing at least one value in at least one input field.

Abstract: Multimodal teleconferencing including receiving, by a multimodal teleconferencing module, a speech utterance from one of a plurality of participants in the multimodal teleconference; identifying the participant making the speech utterance as a current speaker; retrieving, by the multimodal teleconferencing module from accounts for the current speaker, content for display to the current speaker; retrieving, by the multimodal teleconferencing module from accounts for the current speaker, content for display to one or more other participants in the multimodal teleconference; providing, by the multimodal teleconferencing module to a multimodal teleconferencing client for display to the current speaker, an identification of the speaker and the content retrieved for the speaker; and providing, by the multimodal teleconferencing module to one or more of multimodal teleconferencing clients for display to the other participants, an identification of the current speaker with the content retrieved for the one or more ot

Abstract: Improving speech capabilities of a multimodal application including receiving, by the multimodal browser, a media file having a metadata container; retrieving, by the multimodal browser, from the metadata container a speech artifact related to content stored in the media file for inclusion in the speech engine available to the multimodal browser; determining whether the speech artifact includes a grammar rule or a pronunciation rule; if the speech artifact includes a grammar rule, modifying, by the multimodal browser, the grammar of the speech engine to include the grammar rule; and if the speech artifact includes a pronunciation rule, modifying, by the multimodal browser, the lexicon of the speech engine to include the pronunciation rule.

Abstract: A prompt generation engine operates to dynamically extend prompts of a multimodal application. The prompt generation engine receives a media file having a metadata container. The prompt generation engine operates on a multimodal device that supports a voice mode and a non-voice mode for interacting with the multimodal device. The prompt generation engine retrieves from the metadata container a speech prompt related to content stored in the media file for inclusion in the multimodal application. The prompt generation engine modifies the multimodal application to include the speech prompt.

Abstract: A method (10) in a speech recognition application callflow can include the steps of assigning (11) an individual option and a pre-built grammar to a same prompt, treating (15) the individual option as a valid output of the pre-built grammar if the individual option is a potential valid match to a recognition phrase (12) or an annotation (13) in the pre-built grammar, and treating (14) the individual option as an independent grammar from the pre-built grammar if the individual option fails to be a potential valid match to the recognition phrase or the annotation in the pre-built grammar.