Abstract:
A virtual speech interface system and method ( 100 ) for controlling a client device ( 103 ) using speech commands for electronic devices that do not include integrated speech control capability includes a virtual speech interface client program ( 113 ) installed within the client device for controlling a client device application ( 104 ). A virtual speech interface server device ( 101 ) that is separate from the client device ( 103  is then used to interface with the client program ( 113 ). The virtual speech interface server device ( 101  includes at least one server ( 111 ) for sending and/or receiving command information to the virtual speech interface client program ( 113 ) for controlling the client device ( 103 ) using speech commands.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates in general to speech actuation and control and more specifically to virtual control of electronic devices using speech. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The development of dynamic, short range device-to-device communications technologies such as Bluetooth and HomeRF have made it attractive to construct personal communications systems that consist of a collection of specialized devices that collaborate to provide a custom suite of services to the user. For example, such a system could consist of a cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), digital camera, and/or print printer that permit a device to seamlessly connect with other electronic devices through a radio frequency (RF) link. 
     In such a system it would be useful if the devices could be controlled by speech where a user could speak one or more commands without the need to use touch screen or mechanical switches. This would enable the user to control a device in a hands free manner. An example might be adjusting various parameters of a digital camera while holding it to shoot a picture or speaking the email address of a recipient while using a two-way pager. While these devices could all eventually contain a Bluetooth transceiver or the functional equivalent, most of them will not be able to afford the overhead of a continuous speech recognizer and speech synthesizer. The software and hardware complement to accomplish such a task would require additional space for additional code not to mention the additional current drain that would be placed on the device due to the increased microprocessor requirements. 
     Thus the need exits for a mechanism to control devices by speech without requiring them to have integrated speech recognition and/or speech synthesis capabilities. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing operation of the VSI client device with the VSI server device. 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the initialization of the client device and compilation of client grammar. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the activation of the device grammar. 
     FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing recognition of the VSI client device by the VSI server device. 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing synthesis of textual information from the VSI server. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, the virtual speech interface (VSI) mechanism operates in a system  100  that consists of a VSI Server device  101  and one or more client devices  103  that contain a VSI client program ( 104 ) (hereafter referred to as “client”). The server device  101  contains a VSI server program used with a VSI server  111  (hereinafter referred to as a “server”) for facilitating the transfer of data from the server device  101  and the client  103 . The server device  101  is the only device in the system  100  that must contain a speech recognizer  105  and a speech synthesizer  107 . The speech recognizer  105  works with the VSI client device grammar  109  to interpret and process various client device commands input by a user while applying various recognition rules to insure these voice commands are recognized. The speech synthesizer  107  operates with the server  111  by taking output data from the client  103  through server  111  to annunciate voice data, instructions and/or information. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the client  103  has no speech input or output capability and can be any device that can communicate with the server  101  and is capable of containing the VSI client program  113 . 
     FIG. 2 shows the steps upon which a client device  103  joins with a server  101 . In this system, the client device becomes part of the system  201  while the VSI server is notified of the new VSI enabled device. The server requests  203  the client&#39;s VSI grammar and forwards  205  it to the speech recognizer. The speech recognizer compiles the client grammar  207  for use by the VSI server device. 
     As seen in FIG. 3, the steps of utilization of the client device with speech command capability  300  is shown. When the user indicates to the server that he wishes to use the client device  301 , the VSI server instructs the speech recognizer to activate  303  the client&#39;s VSI grammar, which now resides on the server device. This enables the speech recognizer to recognize and interpret the client&#39;s VSI commands for use and control of the client device. 
     The client&#39;s VSI grammar contains a set of rules that specify the proper syntax of each client command. Each rule will also include the specific information that is to be sent to the client by the VSI server to execute the command. This information, that may also be referred to as “command semantics”, is in a form that allows the recognizer to insert the information into a text string outputted by the recognizer and that can also be extracted by the VSI server. 
     An illustrative example client software code is shown below, along with the recognizer&#39;s output when the command is spoken. The format for the command semantics that can be used is to enclose the semantics in “[ ]” and to separate the semantic type from the value by a “:” within the brackets. The format of the directive to the speech recognizer to insert the command semantics into the recognizer output would be to enclose the information in “{ }”. However, this is only one example and it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the VSI mechanism will operate with any set of conventions that uniquely identify the command semantics. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 User Input 
                 display my calendar 
               
               
                   
                 Grammar Rule 
                 &lt;DisplayCalendar&gt;:display my 
               
               
                   
                   
                 calendar { [App:calendar] } 
               
               
                   
                   
                 { [Cmd:display] } { [Time:today] }; 
               
               
                   
                 Recognizer Output 
                 display my calendar [App: 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Calendar] [Cmd:display] [Time: 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Today] 
               
               
                   
                 Sent to Client 
                 {App:calendar] [Cmd:display] 
               
               
                   
                   
                 [Time:today] 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     In the example, the rule specifying the command to be recognized in “&lt;DisplayCalendar&gt;”, the command phase is “display my calendar”, and the command semantics are “[Cmd:display] [App:calendar] [Time:today]”. The command semantics capture the essence of the command without he verbiage and is the only thing sent to the client by the VSI server. The format of the Command Semantics is independent of any specific VSI client device. This would allow any developer of personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, etc. to develop VSI client programs more easily. 
     As seen in FIG. 4, the method of voice command execution  400  includes the user speaking  401  a client command i.e. the user issues the client device speech request to the server. The speech recognizer passes the recognized command as text along with the command semantics to the VSI server. The VSI server extracts  403  the command semantics and packages them for transfer  405  to the client device. When the client&#39;s VSI program receives  407  the semantic information for the command, it converts  409  the information into a device intrinsic internal command format. The command is then sent  411  to the appropriate application where the application executes  413  the command. 
     As seen in FIG. 5, the method of conveying  500  textual information from the client to the server device. When the client application wishes to render  501  textual information to the user, the VSI can be used to render that information as speech. This allows the user to receive the information in a hands-free manner. The client application sends  503  the textual information to the device&#39;s VSI client program. The client program then packages the text and command semantics indicating that it is to be sent as output information and sends it to the VSI server device. When the VSI server device receives the transfer, it extracts  505  the information and passes it to its VSI server program. The server inspects the command semantics and since it is for output, sends  507  this information to the server&#39;s speech synthesizer. The speech synthesizer then speaks  509  the text for interpretation by the user. Below is an example of the information the client might send to the VSI server. 
     [App:VSI Server] {Cmd:output] [text:This is the text to be spoken] 
     The VSI mechanism is also used to transfer commands and information that affect the control of the VSI client-server operation between the non-speech capable device (the client), and the device containing the VSI server (the server). As in client command input and output, command semantics are used to provide this information and to distinguish it from client input and output. The illustrative example below shows command semantics for the server requesting a client&#39;s grammar. 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Server Requesting Client&#39;s Grammar 
                 [App:VSI Client] [Cmd:GrammarRequest] 
               
               
                 Client Responding with Grammar 
                 [App:VSI Server] [Cmd:GrammarResponse] . . . Grammar . . . 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Thus, the virtual speech interface (VSI) of the present invention utilizes a client server architecture distributed around two devices i.e. the VSI server and the VSI client. It also utilizes a continuous speech recognizer and speech synthesizer. The combination of these elements provides a new capability to control devices by speech, even though these devices have no speech recognition or speech synthesis capabilities. 
     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the invention is not so limited. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.