An intelligent automated assistant system engages with the user in an integrated, conversational manner using natural language dialog, and invokes external services when appropriate to obtain information or perform various actions. The system can be implemented using any of a number of different platforms, such as the web, email, smartphone, and the like, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the system is based on sets of interrelated domains and tasks, and employs additional functionally powered by external services with which the system can interact.

Intelligent Automated Assistant

Media objects are transformed into active, connected objects via identifiers embedded into them or their containers. In the context of a user's playback experience, a decoding process extracts the identifier from a media object and possibly additional context information and forwards it to a server. The server, in turn, maps the identifier to an action, such as returning metadata, re-directing the request to one or more other servers, requesting information from another server to identify the media object, etc. The linking process applies to broadcast objects as well as objects transmitted over networks in streaming and compressed file formats.

Connected audio and other media objects

The various methods and devices described herein relate to devices which, in at least certain embodiments, may include one or more sensors for providing data relating to user activity and at least one processor for causing the device to respond based on the user activity which was determined, at least in part, through the sensors. The response by the device may include a change of state of the device, and the response may be automatically performed after the user activity is determined.

Automated Response to and Sensing of User Activity in Portable Devices

A virtual assistant uses context information to supplement natural language or gestural input from a user. Context helps to clarify the user's intent and to reduce the number of candidate interpretations of the user's input, and reduces the need for the user to provide excessive clarification input. Context can include any available information that is usable by the assistant to supplement explicit user input to constrain an information-processing problem and/or to personalize results. Context can be used to constrain solutions during various phases of processing, including, for example, speech recognition, natural language processing, task flow processing, and dialog generation.

Using context information to facilitate processing of commands in a virtual assistant

A method for detecting against unauthorized transmission of digital works comprises the steps of maintaining a registry of information permitting identification of digital copyrighted works, monitoring a network for transmission of at least one packet-based digital signal, extracting at least one feature from the at least one digital signal, comparing the extracted at least one feature with registry information and applying business rules based on the comparison result.

Copyright detection and protection system and method

A speech encoding method, a speech decoding method and corresponding apparatus capable of outputting non-buzzing spontaneous playback speech in a voiced portion includes a sinusoidal analysis encoding unit on the decoder side that detects the pitch of the voiced portion of the input speech signal. The pitch intensity information, which is a parameter containing the information representing not only the pitch intensity of the input speech signal but also the information representing proximity to the voiced speech or the unvoiced speech of the speech signal, is generated by a voiced/unvoiced (V/UV) discrimination unit and pitch intensity information generating circuit. The pitch intensity data is sent along with the encoded speech signal to the encoding side which then adds the noise component controlled on the basis of the pitch intensity information to the voiced portion of the encoded speech signal in a voiced speech synthesis portion and decodes and outputs the resulting signal.

Method and apparatus for encoding/decoding voiced speech based on pitch intensity of input speech signal

PURPOSE: To efficiently perform encoding by controlling bit allocation corresponding to the detection output of a pattern in the level change of data made into blocks in a time base direction CONSTITUTION: The pattern of the level change of blocked data after passing a blocking circuit 51 in the time base direction is detected, and the bit allocation in quantization at a quantization circuit 67 is controlled corresponding to the detection output Also, each unit time block B (time analysis block) from the blocking circuit 51 is divided into, for example, three; front, medium, and rear sub blocks Sf, Ss, and Se, and for example, the energy values in the sub blocks Sf, Ss, and Se are compared In such a way, the pattern of the level change of the data in the unit time block B (time analysis block) in the time base direction can be detected Thereby, it is possible to perform high efficiency encoding for digital data capable of performing the bit allocation on the optimum frequency axis corresponding to the transient change of an input signal on a time base COPYRIGHT: (C)1991,JPO&Japio

High efficiency encoder for digital data

Foe executing the code excitation linear prediction (CELP) coding, for example, α-parameters are taken out from the input speech signal by a linear prediction coding (LPC) analysis circuit 12. The α-parameters are then converted by an α-parameter to LSP converting circuit 13 into linear spectral pair (LSP) parameters and a vector of these line spectral pair (LSP) parameters is vector-quantized by a quantizer 14. The changeover switch 16 is controlled depending upon the pitch value detected by a pitch detection circuit 22 for selecting and using one of the codebook 15M for male voice and the codebook 15F for female voice for improving quantization characteristics without increasing the transmission bit rate.

Apparatus and method for speech encoding based on short-term prediction valves

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a signal processor for effectively transmitting the information regarding a calculated excitation degree to the user, and to provide its method. SOLUTION: In a video recording/playback device 1, an inputted video or audio signal is recorded on a recording section 121. By an excitation degree calculating section 122, the video or audio signal from the recording section 121 is acquired to calculate the excitation degree, and the calculated excitation degree is recorded on the recording section 121. By a video synthesizing section 123, the video or audio signal and the excitation degree are acquired from the recording section 121, and an excitation degree graph showing the temporal transition of the excitation degree is outputted e.g. by transparently or substitutionally synthesizing it to the video signal. The outputted video or audio signal is displayed on a display device not shown in Figure. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Signal processor and its method

In a quantization accuracy information encoding block, firstly, a brief shape extraction block (20) calculates an average value of quantization accuracy information in units of a certain number of quantization units. This average value becomes brief shape information. A brief shape encoding block (21) vector−quantizes the brief shape information while a residual signal calculation block (22) calculates a difference between the quantization accuracy information and the quantization brief shape vector. In a residual signal encoding block (23), a residual signal is made into a variable length code. The residual signal encoded and the brief shape information which has been vector−quantized are output.

Masayuki Nishiguchi

Papers

Method and apparatus for encoding/decoding voiced speech based on pitch intensity of input speech signal

High efficiency encoder for digital data

Apparatus and method for speech encoding based on short-term prediction valves

Signal processor and its method

Encoding apparatus and method, decoding apparatus and method, and program