A context-aware voice guidance method is provided that interacts with other voice services of a user device. The voice guidance does not provide audible guidance while the user is making a verbal request to any of the voice-activated services. Instead, the voice guidance transcribes its output on the screen while the verbal requests from the user are received. In some embodiments, the voice guidance only provides a short warning sound to get the user's attention while the user is speaking on a phone call or another voice-activated service is providing audible response to the user's inquires. The voice guidance in some embodiments distinguishes between music that can be ducked and spoken words, for example from an audiobook, that the user wants to pause instead of being skipped. The voice guidance ducks music but pauses spoken words of an audio book in order to provide voice guidance to the user.

Context-aware voice guidance

A method of providing navigation on an electronic device when the display screen is locked. The method receives a verbal request to start navigation while the display is locked. The method identifies a route from a current location to a destination based on the received verbal request. While the display screen is locked, the method provides navigational directions on the electronic device from the current location of the electronic device to the destination. Some embodiments provide a method for processing a verbal search request. The method receives a navigation-related verbal search request and prepares a sequential list of the search results based on the received request. The method then provides audible information to present a search result from the sequential list. The method presents the search results in a batch form until the user selects a search result, the user terminates the search, or the search items are exhausted.

Voice instructions during navigation

A haptic feedback system is disclosed The system includes a plurality of remote transmitters that are remote from a location of interest on a surface of the system The system includes a signal generator that generates a signal for each of the remote transmitters The remote transmitters propagate the signals through a medium of the surface and the signals interfere at the location of interest such that a localized disturbance is generated at the location of interest

Localized haptic feedback

Method and apparatus for audio intelligibility enhancement and computing apparatus are provided. The method includes the following steps. Environment noise is detected by performing voice activity detection according to a detected audio signal from at least a microphone of a computing device. Noise information is obtained according to the detected environment noise and a first audio signal. A second audio signal is outputted by boosting the first audio signal under an adjustable headroom by the computing device according to the noise information and the first audio signal.

Method and apparatus for audio intelligibility enhancement and computing apparatus

Some embodiments provide a navigation application. The navigation application includes an interface for receiving data describing junctures along a route from a first location on a map to a second location on the map. The data for each juncture includes a set of angles at which roads leave the juncture. The navigation application includes a juncture decoder for synthesizing, from the juncture data, instruction elements for each juncture that describe different aspects of a maneuver to be performed at the juncture. The navigation application includes an instruction generator for generating at least two different instruction sets for a maneuver by combining one or more of the instruction elements for the juncture at which the maneuver is to be performed. The navigation application includes an instruction retriever for selecting one of the different instruction sets for the maneuver according to a context in which the instruction set will be displayed.

Navigation application with adaptive instruction text

On the basis of status information on a vehicle collected by a status information input interface from a navigation device, an ECU, and sensors, an S/N ratio estimating unit estimates, as an S/N ratio, the level of the ratio between the power of a component corresponding to audio-device output sound y(j) and that corresponding to noise sound n(j) contained in a microphone output signal. A transfer-function variation estimating unit estimates the level of a variation in a transfer function of an audio-device output audio signal transfer system. An adaptive characteristics controller controls a characteristic of a coefficient updating operation of a tap coefficient of an FIR filter performed by a coefficient updating unit of an adaptive filter, i.e., an adaptation (learning) characteristic of the adaptive filter, in response to the S/N ratio level and the level of the variation in the transfer function.

In-vehicle audio processing apparatus

In an apparatus for improving voice clarity by controlling a gain of a voice based on a sound pressure level of the voice and a sound pressure level of noise, it is determined whether a sound pressure level of a gain-controlled voice exceeds a maximum allowable level. If the sound pressure level exceeding the maximum allowable level is caused by audio sound, a sound pressure level of the audio sound is reduced. The sound pressure level of the audio sound is minimally reduced so that the sound pressure level of the voice becomes equal to or lower than the maximum allowable level.

Apparatus and method for improving voice clarity

In a voice intelligibility enhancement system that controls a gain of a voice signal based on noise power and voice power of the voice signal generated by a voice signal generation unit, it is detected whether the voice power is equal to or greater than a predetermined level, noise power output when the voice power is less than the predetermined level is measured and stored, noise power to be output when the voice power exceeds the predetermined level is estimated to be the stored noise power, and gain of a voice signal is controlled on the basis of the voice power and the estimated noise power

Voice Intelligibility Enhancement System and Voice Intelligibility Enhancement Method

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a voice output apparatus which adjusts gain of output voice according to surrounding noise, without depending on a hardware structure of a voice output stage. SOLUTION: In an output control section 21 of a voice output application section 2, regarding each divided voice data in which voice data D are divided for each time length Ts, a voice data PD to which gain adjustment according to a current volume level of surrounding noise is sequentially performed on a divided voice data for each time interval of the time length Ts, by using a gain adjustment section, is generated, while HDR in which an address and a size of the PD are indicated, is informed, and thereby, processing for requesting outputting of voice which generated voice data express, to a sound driver (output) 11, is performed. The sound driver (output) 11 sequentially outputs voice expressed by each voice data indicated by informed HDR express, from a speaker 6 via a sound output device 5. COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Voice output apparatus

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To immediately eliminate an audio sound signal and carry out speech recognition even when a state changes from a hands-free talking state into an audio state. SOLUTION: A microphone 71 detects sounds inside a vehicle outputted from a loudspeaker 52 and a human speaker. An unwanted sound signal eliminating section 73 generates a signal corresponding to an audio reproducing sound with an adaptive signal processing and eliminates the generated signal from the detected signal and then inputs the resultant signal into a speech recognizing device 74 in a first status (audio state), and generates a signal corresponding to the sound outputted from a loudspeaker for a receiver speech 52FR with the adaptive signal processing and eliminates the generated signal from the detected signal and inputs the resultant signal into a transmitter 75 in a second state (calling state). When the state changes from the first state into the second state, an adaptive filter parameter updated by the adaptive signal processing in the first state is stored in a parameter storage section 83, and when the state changes from the second state into the first state, the stored adaptive filter parameter is set on the adaptive filter and the adaptive signal processing is carried out. COPYRIGHT: (C)2002,JPO

Toru Marumoto

Papers

In-vehicle audio processing apparatus

Apparatus and method for improving voice clarity

Voice Intelligibility Enhancement System and Voice Intelligibility Enhancement Method

Voice output apparatus

Device for eliminating unwanted sound signal