Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for performing focus detection, referential ambiguity resolution and mood classification in accordance with multi-modal input data, in varying operating conditions, in order to provide an effective conversational computing environment for one or more users.

Abstract: In a network environment that includes a plurality of nodes and that uses a markup language to create documents, a method for filtering the documents is provided. The method includes the step of, upon receiving a request from a requesting node among the plurality of nodes, constructing an input Document Object Model (DOM) based on a document corresponding to the request. The input DOM is stored. Elements of the input DOM that have previously been stored are identified. The input DOM is filtered to obtain a filtered DOM, based on at least one pre-specified rule being applied to the input DOM.

Abstract: A microphone bearing slider on a diagonal seatbelt member, together with a tethering tape that is positioned along the diagonal seatbelt, from a seatbelt hanger member to the buckle with attachment to the slider, in combination, operate to position the microphone at the same precise location for vocal transmission at each deployment, and to return the assembly to a storage position with no addition attention being required on the part of the communicating person.

Abstract: A method of validating production of a biometric attribute allegedly associated with a user comprises the following steps. A first signal is generated representing data associated with the biometric attribute allegedly received in association with the user. A second signal is also generated representing data associated with at least one feature detected in association with the production of the biometric attribute allegedly received from the user. Then, the first signal and the second signal are compared to determine a correlation level between the biometric attribute and the production feature, wherein the validation of the production of the biometric attribute depends on the correlation level. Accordingly, the invention serves to provide substantial assurance that the biometric attribute offered by the user has been physically generated by the user.

Abstract: A structural means is provided that positions an operator's voice communication microphone in a vehicle in the vicinity of the visor without interfering with the movement and functions of the visor. The positioning being achieved by attaching a portion of a microphone holder in connection with an escutcheon- type plate that is part of the visor retention and the visor support member and attaching the microphone to another portion of the microphone holder so as to extend the microphone to a position above the visor when the visor is in the stored position.

Abstract: Feature vectors representing each of a plurality of overlapping frames of an arbitrary, text independent speech signal are computed and compared to vector parameters and variances stored as codewords in one or more codebooks corresponding to each of one or more enrolled users to provide speaker dependent information for speech recognition and/or ambiguity resolution. Other information such as aliases and preferences of each enrolled user may also be enrolled and stored, for example, in a database. Correspondence of the feature vectors may be ranked by closeness of correspondence to a codeword entry and the number of frames corresponding to each codebook are accumulated or counted to identify a potential enrolled speaker. The differences between the parameters of the feature vectors and codewords in the codebooks can be used to identify a new speaker and an enrollment procedure can be initiated.

Abstract: A method of identifying homophones of a word uttered by a user from at least a portion of existing words of a vocabulary of a speech recognition engine comprises the steps of: a user uttering the word; decoding the uttered word; computing respective measures between the decoded word and at least a portion of the other existing vocabulary words, the respective measures indicative of acoustic similarity between the word and the at least a portion of other existing words; if at least one measure is within a threshold range, indicating, to the user, results associated with the at least one measure, the results preferably including the decoded word and the other existing vocabulary word associated with the at least one measure; and the user preferably making a selection depending on the word the user intended to utter.

Abstract: Apparatus for preventing unauthorized use of a voice dialing system and, particularly, a call forwarding feature associated with the system whereby system users may forward a telephone number respectively associated therewith to a remote location in order to receive phone calls at the remote location, comprises: a database for pre-storing telephone numbers of system users and for pre-storing acoustic models respectively representative of speech associated with each system user, the acoustic models respectively corresponding to the telephone numbers; and a speaker identification module operatively coupled to the database for obtaining and decoding a speech sample from a potential system user during the potential users' attempt to make a telephone call, the speaker identification module comparing the decoded speech sample obtained with the pre-stored acoustic model associated with the telephone number dialed by the potential user; whereby if the decoded speech sample substantially matches the pre-stored ac

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for performing speaker recognition comprise processing a video signal associated with an arbitrary content video source and processing an audio signal associated with the video signal. Then, an identification and/or verification decision is made based on the processed audio signal and the processed video signal. Various decision making embodiments may be employed including, but not limited to, a score combination approach, a feature combination approach, and a re-scoring approach. In another aspect of the invention, a method of verifying a speech utterance comprises processing a video signal associated with a video source and processing an audio signal associated with the video signal. Then, the processed audio signal is compared with the processed video signal to determine a level of correlation between the signals. This is referred to as unsupervised utterance verification.

Abstract: A telephone voice mail messaging system for performing recognition of characters included in a telephone message left by a caller includes: speaker recognition means, responsive to the telephone message, for extracting a voice model of the caller from the telephone message and comparing the voice model of the caller against a plurality of pre-obtained voice model's respectively associated with a plurality of potential callers to find a pre-obtained voice model from among the plurality of pre-obtained voice models that matches the voice model of the caller and, if the matching pre-obtained voice model is found, then the speaker recognition means identifying at least one pre-obtained set of characters attributed to a potential caller from among the plurality of potential callers associated with the matching pre-obtained voice model; character spotting means, responsive to the telephone message, for identifying sets of characters in the telephone message; and comparator means for comparing characters of the

Abstract: A method for recognizing an individual based on attributes associated with the individual comprises the steps of: pre-storing at least two distinctive attributes of the individual during at least one enrollment session; contemporaneously extracting the at least two distinctive attributes from the individual during a common recognition session; segmenting the pre-stored attributes and the extracted attributes according to a sequence of segmentation units; indexing the segmented pre-stored and extracted attributes so that the segmented pre-stored and extracted attributes corresponding to an identical segmentation unit in the sequence of segmentation units are associated to an identical index; and respectively comparing the segmented pre-stored and extracted attributes associated to the identical index to each other to recognize the individual.

Abstract: Fast and detailed match techniques for speaker recognition are combined into a hybrid system in which speakers are associated in groups when potential confusion is detected between a speaker being enrolled and a previously enrolled speaker. Thus the detailed match techniques are invoked only at the potential onset of saturation of the fast match technique while the detailed match is facilitated by limitation of comparisons to the group and the development of speaker-dependent models which principally function to distinguish between members of a group rather than to more fully characterize each speaker. Thus storage and computational requirements are limited and fast and accurate speaker recognition can be extended over populations of speakers which would degrade or saturate fast match systems and degrade performance of detailed match systems.

Abstract: A method of controlling access of a speaker to one of a service and a facility, the method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving first spoken utterances of the speaker, the first spoken utterances containing indicia of the speaker; (b) decoding the first spoken utterances; (c) accessing a database corresponding to the decoded first spoken utterances, the database containing information attributable to a speaker candidate having indicia substantially similar to the speaker; (d) querying the speaker with at least one question based on the information contained in the accessed database; (e) receiving second spoken utterances of the speaker, the second spoken utterances being representative of at least one answer to the at least one question; (f) decoding the second spoken utterances; (g) verifying the accuracy of the decoded answer against the information contained in the accessed database serving as the basis for the question; (h) taking a voice sample from the utterances of the speaker and processing the voic

Abstract: A speaker recognition system for selectively permitting access by a requesting speaker to one of a service and facility include an acoustic front-end for computing at least one feature vector from a speech utterance provided by the requesting speaker; a speaker dependent codebook store for pre-storing sets of acoustic features, in the form of codebooks, respectively corresponding to a pool of previously enrolled speakers; a speaker identifier/verifier module operatively coupled to the acoustic front-end, wherein: the speaker identifier/verifier module identifies, from identifying indicia provided by the requesting speaker, a previously enrolled speaker as a claimed speaker; further, the speaker identifier/verifier module associates, with the claimed speaker, first and second groups of previously enrolled speakers, the first group being defined as speakers whose codebooks are respectively acoustically similar to the claimed speaker (i.e.

Abstract: Apparatus for providing repetitive enrollment in a plurality of biometric recognition systems based on an initial enrollment is provided. The apparatus includes an extractor for extracting a biometric attribute from a user. Further, a server is included, operatively coupled to the extractor, for interfacing with the plurality of biometric recognition systems to receive requests for biometric attributes therefrom and transmit biometric attributes thereto. The server has a memory device for storing the biometric attribute.

Abstract: Speaker recognition is attempted on input speech signals concurrently with provision of input speech signals to a speech recognition system. If a speaker is recognized, a speaker dependent model which has been trained on an enrolled speaker is supplied to the speech recognition system. If not recognized, then a speaker-independent recognition model is used or, alternatively, the new speaker is enrolled. Other speaker specific information such as a special language model, grammar, vocabulary, a dictionary, a list of names, a language and speaker dependent preferences can also be provided to improve the speech recognition function or even configure or customize the speech recognition system or the response of any system such as a computer or network controlled in response thereto. A consistency check in the form of a decision tree is preferably provided to accelerate the speaker recognition process and increase the accuracy thereof.

Abstract: Feature vectors representing each of a plurality of overlapping frames of an arbitrary, text independent speech signal are computed and compared to vector parameters and variances stored as codewords in one or more codebooks corresponding to each of one or more enrolled users to provide speaker dependent information for speech recognition and/or ambiguity resolution. Other information such as aliases and preferences of each enrolled user may also be enrolled and stored, for example, in a database. Correspondence of the feature vectors may be ranked by closeness of correspondence to a codeword entry and the number of frames corresponding to each codebook are accumulated or counted to identify a potential enrolled speaker. The differences between the parameters of the feature vectors and codewords in the codebooks can be used to identify a new speaker and an enrollment procedure can be initiated.

Abstract: A technique to improve the recognition accuracy when transcribing speech data that contains data from a wide range of environments. Input data in many situations contains data from a variety of sources in different environments. Such classes include: clean speech, speech corrupted by noise (e.g., music), non-speech (e.g., pure music with no speech), telephone speech, and the identity of a speaker. A technique is described whereby the different classes of data are first automatically identified, and then each class is transcribed by a system that is made specifically for it. The invention also describes a segmentation algorithm that is based on making up an acoustic model that characterizes the data in each class, and then using a dynamic programming algorithm (the viterbi algorithm) to automatically identify segments that belong to each class. The acoustic models are made in a certain feature space, and the invention also describes different feature spaces for use with different classes.

Abstract: A speech recognition system is disclosed useful in, for example, hands-free voice telephone dialing applications. The system will match a spoken word (token) to one previously enrolled in the system. The system will thereafter synthesize or replay the recognized word so that the speaker can confirm that the recognized word is indeed the correct word before further action is taken. In the case of voice activated dialing, this avoids wrong numbers. The token itself is not explicitly recorded; rather, only the lefemes may be recorded from which the token can be reconstructed for playback. This greatly reduces the amount of disk space that is needed for the database as well as provides the ability to reconstruction data in real time for synthesis use by a local name recognition machine.

Abstract: The present invention is a portable client PDA with a touch screen or other equivalent user interface and having a microphone and local central processing unit (CPU) for processing voice commands and for processing biometric data to provide user verification. The PDA also includes a memory for storing financial and personal information of the user and I/O capability for reading and writing information to various cards such as smartcards, magnetic cards, optical cards or EAROM cards. The PDA includes a Universal Card, which is common generic smartcard with a unique imprint provided by a service provider, on which selected financial or personal information stored in the PDA can be downloaded to perform certain consumer transactions.