Abstract: A method of authentication is disclosed. When a user registers with an enterprise, the enterprise instructs the user to select sounds from a selection of sounds. Any sound that the user selects is designated as a “type-A” sound and any sound that is not so designated is deemed a “type-B” sound. To authenticate the user, the enterprise combines type-A sounds and type-B sounds into a temporal series of sounds and constructs questions about the series that can only be answered by someone who can recognize and distinguish type-A sounds from type-B sounds. The series of sounds and the questions are then transmitted to the user. If the user is able to answer the questions, then he or she is authenticated, and if not, then he or she is not authenticated.

Abstract: A method of receiving a call from a first caller that is requesting for assistance with a product. Once the call center receives the call, a call-processing switch routes the first caller to a first agent. Once the caller is routed to the first agent, a first message is transmitted to both the first caller's terminal and the first agent's terminal. After the first message is presented to the first caller and the first agent, the call-processing switch will monitor the communications stream for distress. During monitoring of the communications stream, the call-processing switch will estimate whether a level of distress is present in the communications stream. If it is estimated by the call-processing switch that there is distress present in the communications stream, the call-processing switch will transmit a second message to the first caller's terminal and the first agent's terminal.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that enables a first call participant, such as an agent at a call center, to project a carefully-controlled appearance towards a second call participant, such as a customer calling for technical support, while on a video call. Using the real-time image of the first call participant while on a video call, as well as additional information, the system of the illustrative embodiment selects and superimposes a visual background that appears to the caller as being behind the agent. The visual background can be selected to cater towards what the caller expects or wants to see, or what the message is that the agent-represented business wants to convey. The system of the illustrative embodiment can dynamically change the visual background during a call or from one call to another, depending on factors related to the calling party, factors related to the called party, and so forth.

Abstract: The present invention enables service agents in a call center to monitor portions of calls that are especially error-prone (e.g., automated speech recognition of an address, etc.), while portions of calls that are not error-prone occur without any human monitoring. An interactive voice response (IVR) system script (e.g., a VXML script, etc.) is divided into a plurality of independent dialog sequences, each of which is assigned a human-monitoring requirement that indicates whether (and optionally, to what degree) the dialog sequence requires monitoring by a service agent. In addition, instances of the dialog sequences in calls are prioritized based on an indication of caller intelligibility during (i) prior dialog sequences in the current call, and (ii) prior calls involving the same caller and/or the same contact identifier (e.g., telephone number, email address, Internet Protocol address, etc.).

Abstract: An interactive voice response (IVR) system is disclosed that can intelligently resume delivery of interrupted media streams. The IVR system determines if any prior portions of an interrupted media stream should be re-transmitted after the interruption has ceased, based on one or more of (i) the contents of the interrupted stream, (ii) the duration of the interruption, and (iii) the state of a software application of the interactive voice response (IVR) system.

Abstract: A system that improves searching based on a search term by first capturing successful search strategies and then offering them in the results of a subsequent search based on the same search term. In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a search engine collects successful search sequences based on a search term, a database stores the search sequences and then provides them to the search engine in response to subsequent uses of the search term. The search engine comprises a data capture mechanism that gives a searcher a way of indicating when a successful search has been completed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for enabling an interactive voice response (IVR) system to deliver a video stream to a telecommunications terminal and handle events related to the video stream. In particular, the illustrative embodiment overcomes two disadvantages of the prior art. First, the illustrative embodiment enables events to be generated and caught by a script of an IVR system at any time during a call. Second, the illustrative embodiment enables events to be handled in parallel with the execution of a script of the IVR system, thereby enabling the performing of actions response to a stream-related event without halting or interfering with other tasks of the IVR script.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that features a transport vehicle in which a responsive object is present, such as a truck in which a cellphone is present, in which the object is equipped to provide location or other state information when queried. The transport vehicle is outfitted with a proxy that represents the responsive object. The proxy is configured such that it is better able than the responsive object to estimate the responsive object's location or state. The vehicle is also outfitted with i) sensors that detect the responsive object and ii) sensors that detect state information of the vehicle. The object sensors are able to query the object in the same way as the querying device would query that object in the prior art. Using information from the sensors, the proxy then responds to the query on behalf of the responsive object, and an authentication device processes the query.

Abstract: A method comprising receiving, at a call-processing switch, a call from a calling entity in which the calling entity is a natural person and a telecommunications terminal, and, wherein the call received at the call-processing switch comprises (i) the identity of the caller telecommunications terminal, (ii) the identity of the caller, and (iii) the geo-location of the calling entity.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for potentially increasing sales of a retail organization using location-based technology. The illustrative embodiment comprises a location-aware application that can infer when a first customer is potentially interested in purchasing a particular item during a visit to a retail location, and can infer when there is a second customer at the retail location who is familiar with that item (e.g., a customer who previously purchased that item, etc.). When such a match occurs, the second customer is notified of the presence of the first customer, and of the first customer's potential interest in purchasing the item, and is encouraged to provide assistance to the first customer (e.g., discuss features of the item with the first customer, discuss advantages of the item in comparison to other items, etc.).

Abstract: An apparatus and associated methods are disclosed that enable a speech-recognition system to perform functions related to the geo-locations of wireless telecommunications terminal users. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, a geo-spatial grammar is employed that comprises rules concerning the geo-locations of users, and a speech-recognition system uses the geo-spatial grammar to estimate the geo-locations of wireless telecommunications terminal users and generate actions in location-aware applications, in addition to its usual function of identifying words and phrases in spoken language. The present invention is advantageous in a variety of location-aware applications, such as interactive voice response (IVR) systems, voice-activated navigation systems, voice search, and voice dialing.

Abstract: Methods are disclosed for servicing incoming calls at a call center based on one or more of the following: the geo-locations of the calling telecommunications terminals; the direction of movement of the calling telecommunications terminals (e.g., north, south, toward a particular geo-location or area, away from a particular geo-location or area, etc.); the speed of movement of the calling telecommunications terminals; and the local time at the calling telecommunications terminal. For example, in accordance with the illustrative embodiments, a person who calls the Home Depot® call center from his or her cell phone while in a Home Depot® store might be given priority over another call that was received earlier but was not placed from a Home Depot® store.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for intelligently delivering components of a multimedia content stream (e.g., audio component, video component, etc.) to a telecommunications terminal based on the quality of service (QoS) for transmissions received at the terminal. The illustrative embodiment is disclosed in the context of an interactive voice response system, but is applicable in a wide variety of other telecommunications systems and applications.

Abstract: A method of receiving a call from a first caller that is requesting for assistance with a product. Once the call center receives the call, a call-processing switch routes the first caller to a first agent. Once the caller is routed to the first agent, a first message is transmitted to both the first caller's terminal and the first agent's terminal. After the first message is presented to the first caller and the first agent, the call-processing switch will monitor the communications stream for distress. During monitoring of the communications stream, the call-processing switch will estimate whether a level of distress is present in the communications stream. If it is estimated by the call-processing switch that there is distress present in the communications stream, the call-processing switch will transmit a second message to the first caller's terminal and the first agent's terminal.

Abstract: A method of authentication is disclosed. When a user registers with an enterprise, the enterprise instructs the user to select sounds from a selection of sounds. Any sound that the user selects is designated as a “type-A” sound and any sound that is not so designated is deemed a “type-B” sound. To authenticate the user, the enterprise combines type-A sounds and type-B sounds into a temporal series of sounds and constructs questions about the series that can only be answered by someone who can recognize and distinguish type-A sounds from type-B sounds. The series of sounds and the questions are then transmitted to the user. If the user is able to answer the questions, then he or she is authenticated, and if not, then he or she is not authenticated.

Abstract: An apparatus and methods are disclosed for authenticating users of wireless telecommunications terminals. A user is authenticated by instructing the user to travel to a geo-location, where the geo-location is referred to by an identifier that the user has previously associated with the geo-location. When the user chooses identifiers that are meaningful to the user, but that do not indicate the associated geo-locations to other people, the user can be securely authenticated via the following procedure: (i) select one of the identifiers that the user has defined, (ii) instruct the user to “go to <identifier>,” and (iii) declare the user authenticated if and only if the user visits the geo-location associated with <identifier> before a timeout expires.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable an interactive voice response (IVR) system to generate video content in addition to audio content (e.g., synthesized speech, etc.). The video content is based on the state of the IVR system, the video display capacity of the calling telecommunications terminal, and information supplied by the user via a telecommunications terminal. The illustrative embodiment generates video content based on the text from which the audio content is generated. In particular, the video content comprises an abridged version of this text that is suitable for display at the telecommunications terminal. In the illustrative embodiment, the abridged version of the text is generated via syntactic and semantic processing. In addition, an abridged version of user-supplied information is generated and incorporated into the video content.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed that enable an interactive voice response (IVR) system to select, tailor, and deliver a “filler” content stream to a calling telecommunications terminal during a delay in a call (e.g., when performing automated speech recognition, retrieving other content, etc.). The delivery of the filler content can reduce the chance that the caller terminates the call prematurely, and can also be used to provide information to the caller, advertise new products, etc. The filler content can be based on one or more of the following: the date and time, the identity of the caller, a prior call to the IVR system, the type of the calling telecommunications terminal, and a content stream that the IVR system is in the process of retrieving.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that features a transport vehicle that carries responsive objects in which the objects are equipped to provide state information about their states when queried. The transport vehicle is outfitted with a proxy that represents the responsive objects. The proxy is configured such that it is better able than the responsive objects to receive state query signals from a querying device. The vehicle is also outfitted with I) sensors that detect the responsive objects and ii) sensors that detect state information of the vehicle, in which both sets of sensors provide information to the proxy. The object sensors are able to detect the state of each responsive object or query the object about its state in the same way as the querying device would query those objects in the prior art. The proxy then responds to the query on behalf of the responsive objects.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable an interactive voice response (IVR) system to deliver content streams of various media types (e.g., video, audio, etc.) to telecommunications terminals. The illustrative embodiment provides extensions to the Voice extensible Markup Language (VXML) standard that enable an IVR system script to specify the playback order, timing, and coordination of multiple content streams (e.g., whether an audio stream and a video stream should be played back concurrently or serially; whether a particular content stream should finish before playback of another content stream commences; whether a content stream that is currently playing should be stopped and supplanted with another content stream, etc.).