Abstract: A reconfigurable vehicle user interface system is presented. A vehicle user interface has a touch sensitive input devices such as touchpads and a touch screen that have specific function commands mapped to them. A user can select which function commands are mapped to which portions of the touch screen. This allows a user to customize the steering wheel function commands.

Abstract: Accordingly, a virtual keypad system for inputting text is provided. A virtual keypad system includes a remote controller having at least one touchpad incorporated therein and divided into a plurality of touch zones. A display device is in data communication with the remote controller and is operable to display a user interface including a keypad, where each key of the keypad is mapped to a touch zone of the touchpad. A prediction module, in response to an operator pressing a given touch zone to select a particular character, performs one or more key prediction methods to predict one or more next plausible keys. A key mapping module remaps the touch zones of the touchpad to the keys of the keypad based on the one or more next plausible keys.

Abstract: A reconfigurable vehicle user interface system is presented. A vehicle user interface has a touch sensitive input devices such as touchpads and a touch screen that have specific function commands mapped to them. A user can select which function commands are mapped to which portions of the touch screen. This allows a user to customize the steering wheel function commands.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for identifying objects in an image. The method includes: capturing a series of images of a scene using a camera; receiving a topographical map for the scene that defines distances between objects in the scene; determining distances between objects in the scene from a given image; approximating identities of objects in the given image by comparing the distances between objects as determined from the given image in relation to the distances between objects from the map. The identities of objects can be re-estimated using features of the objects extracted from the other images.

Abstract: Accordingly, a virtual keypad system for inputting text is provided. A virtual keypad system includes a remote controller having at least one touchpad incorporated therein and divided into a plurality of touch zones. A display device is in data communication with the remote controller and is operable to display a user interface including a keypad, where each key of the keypad is mapped to a touch zone of the touchpad. A prediction module, in response to an operator pressing a given touch zone to select a particular character, performs one or more key prediction methods to predict one or more next plausible keys. A key mapping module remaps the touch zones of the touchpad to the keys of the keypad based on the one or more next plausible keys.

Abstract: A multilingual text-to-speech system includes a source datastore of primary source parameters providing information about a speaker of a primary language. A plurality of primary filter parameters provides information about sounds in the primary language. A plurality of secondary filter parameters provides information about sounds in a secondary language. One or more secondary filter parameters is normalized to the primary filter parameters and mapped to a primary source parameter.

Abstract: A speech processing system is provided for customizing speech parameters across speech applications in a networked environment. The speech processing system includes: a speech processing application residing on a first computing device, where the speech processing application is operable to capture customized speech parameters for a given user and communicate the customized speech parameters across a network; and an intermediary speech processor residing on a second computing device in the networked environment, where the intermediary speech processor adapted to receive the customized speech parameters and is operable to transform the customized speech parameters for use on a third computing device.

Abstract: A graphic user interface system for use with a content based retrieval system includes an active display having display areas. For example, the display areas include a main area providing an overview of database contents by displaying representative samples of the database contents. The display areas also include one or more query areas into which one or more of the representative samples can be moved from the main area by a user employing gesture based interaction. A query formulation module employs the one or more representative samples moved into the query area to provide feedback to the content based retrieval system.

Abstract: Accordingly, a virtual keypad system for inputting text is provided. A virtual keypad system includes a remote controller having at least one touchpad incorporated therein and divided into a plurality of touch zones. A display device is in data communication with the remote controller and is operable to display a user interface including a keypad, where each key of the keypad is mapped to a touch zone of the touchpad. A prediction module, in response to an operator pressing a given touch zone to select a particular character, performs one or more key prediction methods to predict one or more next plausible keys. A key mapping module remaps the touch zones of the touchpad to the keys of the keypad based on the one or more next plausible keys.

Abstract: A user authentication method includes receiving a transformed password, determining a password based on the transformed password, making a comparison between the transformed password and a record of at least one previously received transformed password, and determining whether to authenticate a user based on the password and results of the comparison.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for data entry by voice under adverse conditions is disclosed. More specifically it provides a way for efficient and robust form filling by voice. A form can typically contain one or several fields that must be filled in. The user communicates to a speech recognition system and word spotting is performed upon the utterance. The spotted words of an utterance form a phrase that can contain field-specific values and/or commands. Recognized values are echoed back to the speaker via a text-to-speech system. Unreliable or unsafe inputs for which the confidence measure is found to be low (e.g. ill-pronounced speech or noises) are rejected by the spotter. Speaker adaptation is furthermore performed transparently to improve speech recognition accuracy. Other input modalities can be additionally supported (e.g. keyboard and touch-screen). The system maintains a dialogue history to enable editing and correction operations on all active fields.

Abstract: An information notification system includes an input receiving activity information relating to a user activity category and/or environment information relating to a user environment category. A delivery module determines a manner of notification delivery based on the user activity category and the user environment category. An output communicates a notification to the user in accordance with the manner of delivery.

Abstract: A multilingual text-to-speech system includes a source datastore of primary source parameters providing information about a speaker of a primary language. A plurality of primary filter parameters provides information about sounds in the primary language. A plurality of secondary filter parameters provides information about sounds in a secondary language. One or more secondary filter parameters is normalized to the primary filter parameters and mapped to a primary source parameter.

Abstract: A system for tuning the text-to-speech conversion process having a text-to-speech engine that converts the input text into a processed text form which includes speech features. A visual editing interface displaying the processed text form using graphical indicators on an output device to allow a user to edit the text and graphical indicators to modify the speech features of the text input.

Abstract: A voice-tag editor develops voice-tag “sounds like” pairs for a voice-tagging lexicon. The voice-tag editor is receptive of alphanumeric characters input by a user. The alphanumeric characters are indicative of a voice tag and/or “sounds like” text. The voice-tag editor is configured to allow the user to view and edit the alphanumeric characters. A text parser connected to the voice-tag editor generates normalized text corresponding to the “sounds like” text. The normalized text serves as recognition text for the voice tag and is displayed by the voice-tag editor. A storage mechanism is connected to the editor. The storage mechanism updates the lexicon with the alphanumeric characters which represent voice-tag “sounds like” pairs.

Abstract: A method and system provide for run-time modification of synthesized speech. The method includes the step of generating synthesized speech based on textual input and a plurality of run-time control parameter values. Real-time data is generated based on an input signal, where the input signal characterizes an intelligibility of the speech with regard to a listener. The method further provides for modifying one or more of the run-time control parameter values based on the real-time data such that the intelligibility of the speech increases. Modifying the parameter values at run-time as opposed to during the design stages provides a level of adaptation unachievable through conventional approaches.

Abstract: A speech processing system is provided for customizing speech parameters across speech applications in a networked environment. The speech processing system includes: a speech processing application residing on a first computing device, where the speech processing application is operable to capture customized speech parameters for a given user and communicate the customized speech parameters across a network; and an intermediary speech processor residing on a second computing device in the networked environment, where the intermediary speech processor adapted to receive the customized speech parameters and is operable to transform the customized speech parameters for use on a third computing device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for data entry by voice under adverse conditions is disclosed. More specifically it provides a way for efficient and robust form filling by voice. A form can typically contain one or several fields that must be filled in. The user communicates to a speech recognition system and word spotting is performed upon the utterance. The spotted words of an utterance form a phrase that can contain field-specific values and/or commands. Recognized values are echoed back to the speaker via a text-to-speech system. Unreliable or unsafe inputs for which the confidence measure is found to be low (e.g. ill-pronounced speech or noises) are rejected by the spotter. Speaker adaptation is furthermore performed transparently to improve speech recognition accuracy. Other input modalities can be additionally supported (e.g. keyboard and touch-screen). The system maintains a dialogue history to enable editing and correction operations on all active fields.

Abstract: A speech synthesizer customization system provides a mechanism for generating a hierarchical customized user database. The customization system has a template management tool for generating the templates based on customization data from a user and associated replicated dynamic synthesis data from a text-to-speech (TTS) synthesizer. The replicated dynamic synthesis data is arranged in a dynamic data structure having hierarchical levels. The customization system further includes a user database that supplements a standard database of the synthesizer. The tool populates the user database with the templates such that the templates enable the user database to uniformly override subsequently generated speech synthesis data at all hierarchical levels of the dynamic data structure.

Abstract: A speech synthesis system for generating voice dialog for a message frame having a fixed and a variable portion. A prosody module selects a prosodic template for each of the fixed and variable portions wherein at least one portion comprises a phrase of multiple words. An acoustic module selects an acoustic template for each of the fixed and variable portions wherein at least one portion comprises a phrase of multiple words. A frame generator concatenates the respective prosodic templates and acoustic templates. A sound module generates the voice dialog in accordance with the concatenated prosodic and acoustic templates.