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

An audio signal processing apparatus and method using pitch information to change a length of predictive residual signals while maintaining continuity and thereby enabling conversion of a reproduction speed without changing a pitch and enabling a conversion of speed by a small amount of calculation, comprising shortening or extending residual signals on a time axis while maintaining pitch information, cutting out signals and connecting of different pitch sections in the respective frames based on resemblance of signals at the time of shortening, and extending predictive residual signals in respective frames by extrapolation at the time of extension. An audio signal compressed or expanded on the time axis can be reproduced without changing the pitch by synthesizing an audio signal by an LPC synthesis filter based on the generated new predictive residual signals.

Audio signal processing apparatus and signal processing method of the same

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly and accurately classify an input signal to generate a descriptor corresponding to the classification and to retrieve the input signal on the basis of the classification result or the descriptor. SOLUTION: A time section dividing block 3 which divides an audio signal into blocks, for example, every one second, a feature extraction part 4 which extracts an 18-dimensional feature quantity related to the signal attribute from the audio signal in the block, and a vector quantization part 5 which classifies the audio signal in each block to a category by a vector quantization method using a VQ code book 8 and a feature vector consisting of the 18-dimension feature quantity are provided. A classification label and its reliability as the classification result are outputted from the vector quantization part 5 as a descriptor. When signal retrieval is performed in a succeeding stage, the classification result or the descriptor is used. COPYRIGHT: (C)2001,JPO

Method and device for signal classification, method and device for descriptor generation, and method and device for signal retrieval

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a speech synthesis device which is capable of easily determining a spectral emphasis characteristic considering to cope with a frequency characteristic and acoustic feeling and has also a high degree of freedom when setting the characteristics. SOLUTION: This device sends a synthesized speech signal obtained by synthesizing exciting signals ex(n) through a synthesis filter 12 to a spectrum emphasis filter 13 and outputs it with the spectrum emphasized. A vocal tube parameter from an input terminal 21 is transformed into LSP(Line Spectrum Pair) frequency in a parameter transformation circuit 23, and is interpolated between an equal interval line spectrum and frequency in a LSP interpolation circuit 24, and a transfer function of the spectrum emphasis filter 13 is determined based on the interpolated LSP frequency.

Speech synthesis device

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a signal recording and reproducing apparatus whereby a user searches its desired reproduction position and reproduces it from a recorded video signal and/or audio signal SOLUTION: In the case of recording a video signal and/or audio signal, a feature vector generating section 20 of the signal recording and reproducing apparatus 1 generates a characteristic vector characterizing the video signal and/or audio signal, and also records the feature vector to a recording section 10 In the case of reproducing the recorded video signal and/or audio signal, a registration section 40 registers the characteristic vector or the like in the vicinity of a position designated by a user as a book mark When the user designates any of the book marks, a matching detection section 60 searches a matching position on the basis of the feature vector of the book mark and the recorded feature vector, and a reproduction section 20 starts reproducing the video signal and/or audio signal at the reproduction position set by a reproduction position decision section 70 on the basis of the matching position COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Signal recording and reproducing apparatus and method, signal reproducing apparatus and method, and program and recording medium

Of the acoustic signals held in a data-recording section 1, the input acoustic signal s1 (sampled for max. pitch cycle × 2) is read from the process-start position P. A low-pass filter 7 controls the high-band component of the acoustic signal s1. An decimation section 8 performs appropriate down-sampling on the signal output from the low-pass filter 7. The signal, thus down-sampled, is read into a signal buffer section 9. A down-sampled, input acoustic signal s2 is transferred from the signal buffer section 9 to a pitch-calculating section 3, which calculates a pitch cycle s3.

Masayuki Nishiguchi

Papers

Audio signal processing apparatus and signal processing method of the same

Method and device for signal classification, method and device for descriptor generation, and method and device for signal retrieval

Speech synthesis device

Signal recording and reproducing apparatus and method, signal reproducing apparatus and method, and program and recording medium

Apparatus for converting reproducing speed and method of converting reproducing speed