The present invention, roughly described, pertains to the field of the fetching of voice mark up documents from web servers, and interpreting the content of these documents in order to render the information on various devices with an auditory component such as a telephone.
The enormous success of the Internet has fueled a variety of mechanisms of access to Internet content anywhere, anytime. A classic example of such a philosophy is the implementation of Yahoo! content access to the Web through wireless devices, such as phones. Recently the notion of accessing web content through devices such as telephones has increased interest in the notion of “voice portals”. The idea behind voice portals is to allow access to the enormous Web content through not only the visual modality but also through the audio modality (from devices including but not limited to telephones).
Various forums and standards committees have been working to define a standard voice markup language to present content through devices such as a telephone. Examples of voice markup languages include VoxML, VoiceXML, etc. The majority of these languages conform to the syntactic rules of W3C eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Additionally, companies such as Motorola and IBM have Java versions of voice browsers available, such as Motorola's VoxML browser.
In order to accommodate the rapid growth of the number of registered users in a system which already serves millions of registered users (such as Yahoo!), a need exists for a highly distributed, scalable, and efficient voice browser system. Furthermore, the ability to seamlessly integrate a variety of audio into the system in a unified manner is needed. The audio rendered to a user often comes from various sources, such as, for example, audio advertisements recorded by sponsors, audio data collected by broadcast groups, and text to speech generated audio.
Furthermore, many conventional systems do not allow access to content, and therefore it is difficult to markup a wide variety of content in a voice markup language for conventional systems. In a portal such as Yahoo!, which has direct access to backend servers, a need exists for efficiently generating Voice XML documents from the backend servers that can provide general and personalized Web content. Additionally, a need exists for handling the variety of content offered by a large portal, such as Yahoo!.
The present invention, roughly described, includes the implementation of a voice browser: a browser that allows users to access web content using audio or multi-modal technology. The present invention was developed to allow universal access to voice portals through alternate devices including the standard telephone, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, etc. Backend servers provide information in the form of a Voice Markup Language which is then interpreted by the voice browser and rendered in multimedia form to the user on his/her device.
Alternative embodiments include multi-modal access through alternate devices such as wireless devices, palms, and any other device capable of multi-media (including speech) input or output capabilities.
An advantage of the voice browser architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention, is the ability to seamlessly integrate a variety of components including: various telephony platforms (e.g. PSTN, VOIP), scalable architecture, rapid context switching, and backend web content integration.
An embodiment of the voice browser includes a reentrant interpreter which allows the maintenance of separate contexts of documents that the user has chosen to visit, and a document caching mechanism which stores visited markup documents in an intermediary compiled form.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the matching of textual strings to prerecorded prompts by using typed prompt classes is provided.
A method executed by the voice browser includes use of a reentrant interpreter. In an embodiment, a user's request for a page is processed by the voice browser by checking to see if it is cacheable and is in a Voice Browser cache. If not found in the cache, then an HTTP request is made to a backend server. The backend server feeds the content into a template document, such as a yvxml document, which describes how properties should be presented. The voice browser first parses the page and then converts it into an intermediary form for efficiency reasons.
The intermediary form, according to an aspect of the present invention, is produced by encoding each XML tag into an appropriate ID, encoding the Tag state, extracting the PCDATA and attributes for each tag, and storing an overall depth-first traversal of the parse tree in the form of a linear array. The stored intermediate form can be viewed as a pseudo-assembly code which can be efficiently processed by the voice browser/interpreter in order to “execute” the content of the page.
In the case that the content is cacheable content, this intermediary form is cached. Thus, the next time the page is retrieved, interpretation can be started by switching the interpreter context to the cached page and setting the “program counter” to point to the first opcode of the processed yvxml document. The interpreter can reach a state in which the context is to be switched, at which point a new URI (or a form submission with appropriate fields) is created.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the Drawings which are described in narrative form in the Detailed Description of the Invention.
The invention will be described with respect to the particular embodiments thereof. Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent with reference to the specification and drawings in which:
In the Figures, like elements are referred to with like reference numerals. The Figures are more thoroughly described in narrative form in the Detailed Description of the Invention.
Voice browser 101 may be configured to integrate with any type of web content architecture component, such as backend server 102, content database 103, user databases/authentication 104, e-mail and message server 105, audio encoders/decoders 106, audio content 107, speech synthesis servers 108, speech recognition servers 109, telephony integration servers 110, broadcast server 111, etc. Voice browser 101 provides a user with access through a voice portal to content and information available on the Internet in an audio or multi-modal format. Information may be accessed through voice browser 101 by any type of electronic communication device, such as a standard telephone, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, etc.
A session is initiated with voice browser 101 through a voice portal using any of the above described devices. In an embodiment, once a session is established a unique identification is established for that session. The session may be directed to a specific starting point by, for example, a user dialing a specific telephone number, based on user information, or based on the particular device accessing the system. After the session has been established a “document request” is delivered to voice browser 101. As described herein a document request is a generalized reference to a user's request for a specific application, piece or information (such as news, sports, movie times, etc.) or for a specific callflow. A callflow may be initiated explicitly or implicitly. This may be either by default or by a user speaking keywords, or entering a particular keystroke.
In logic box 201 voice browser 101 receives a document request from a user. Upon receipt of a document request in logic box 202 it is determined whether the requested document is cacheable. If it is determined that the document is cacheable, control is passed to logic box 203. If however, it is determined in logic box 202 that the document is not cacheable, control is passed to logic box 204 and the process continues.
In logic box 203 it is determined whether the requested document is already located in voice browser cache 407 (
In logic box 204 voice browser 101 sends a “Request,” such as an HTTP request to backend server 102. It will be understood that a Request may be formatted using protocols other than HTTP. For example, a Request may be formatted using Remote Method Invocation (RMI), generic sockets (TCP/IP), or any other type of protocol.
Upon receipt of a Request, backend server 102 prepares a “Response,” such as an HTTP Response, containing the requested information. In an embodiment, the Response may be in a format similar to the Request or may be generated according to a XML template, such as a yvxml template, including tags and attributes, which describes how the properties of the response should be presented. In an example, templates, such as a yvxml template, separate presentation information of a document from document content.
In logic box 205 the Response is received and voice browser 101 parses the document. In an embodiment, the document is parsed using XML parser 406 (
In logic boxes 301 and 302 the tags of the Response, such as XML tags, are encoded into an appropriate ID and the Tag state (empty, start, end, PCDATA) is also encoded. It will be understood by one skilled in the art that PCDATA refers to character data type defined in XML.
In logic box 303 the PCDATA and attributes for each tag are extracted from the parsed document generating a parsed tree including leaf nodes. In an example, each node in the tree represents a tag. In logic box 304 an overall depth-first traversal of the parsed tree is stored in the form of a linear array. Once the parsed tree is generated and traversed, control is returned to the process 200 (
In logic box 207 the system determines whether the intermediary form of the Request generated in logic box 206 is cacheable. If the intermediate is not cacheable, control is passed to logic box 209 where the system executes the intermediary form of the Request, as described below. If the intermediate is cacheable, control is passed to logic box 208. In logic box 208, the intermediary form is stored in voice browser cache 407. By storing the intermediary form in cache 407 the next time a Request for that document is received, voice browser 101 will not need to retrieve, parse, and process the document into an intermediary form, thereby reducing the amount of time necessary to process and return the requested information.
In logic box 209 the intermediary form of the request which is stored in voice browser cache 407 (
In logic box 210 the stored intermediate form can be viewed and processed by voice browser 101 in order to “execute” and return the content of the document to the user. In an embodiment, execution may include playing a prompt back to the user, requesting a response from a user, collecting a response from a users producing audio version of text, etc.
According to an embodiment of the invention, reentrant interpreter 401 which maintains the separate contents of document which a user may access can operate in Dual-Tone, Multi-Frequency (DTMF) mode, Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) mode, or a combination of the two. Compiled Document Source Object 402 generates an intermediary form of a document. In an embodiment, Compiled Document Source Object 402 performs the method illustrated as logic box 206 shown in
Interpreter contexts 403 of
One advantage of such an approach is the ability to switch interpreter contexts quickly and efficiently. Within each document, interpretation may involve the dereferencing of labels and variables. This information is already stored in the interpreter context 403 the first time a user accesses a document.
Another advantage is one of state persistence. An example is when a user is browsing a document, chooses an option at a particular point in the document, transitions to the new chosen document, and exits the new document to return to the same state in the previous document. This is achievable with the ability of maintaining separate interpreter contexts for each document the user visits.
API Interface 404 enables the isolation of Text-To-Speech (TTS), ASR, and telephony from voice browser 101. In an embodiment, API 404 may be a Yahoo! Telephony Application Program Interface (YTAP). API 404 may be configured to perform various functions For example, API 404 may perform the functions of: collect digits, play TTS, play prompt, Enable/Disable bargein, Load ASR Grammar, etc. Collect digits collects inputs in the form of dual-tone multi-frequency input by a user. Play TTS sends text to TTS server 108 and streams the audio back to the user during execution (logic box 210,
XML Parser 406 is used to parse the documents as described with respect to logic box 205 (
Document Cache 407 allows the caching of compiled documents. When a cached document is retrieved from cache 407, there is no need to parse and generate an intermediate form of the stored document. The cached version of the document is stored in a form that may be readily interpreted by voice browser 101.
The method illustrated in
In logic box 503 the document is parsed by parser 406 and, in logic box 504, compiled into intermediate form by compiled document source object 402. Once the document has been parsed and compiled, control is passed to logic box 505.
In logic box 505 an Interpreter Context (IC) for the document is created. The IC maintains state information for the requested document. In logic box 506 reentrant interpreter 401 sets a program state “CurrentInterpreterContext” equal to the documents current IC and control is then passed to logic box 507 where it is determined by reentrant interpreter 401 whether the requested document is cacheable. If it is determined that the document is cacheable control is passed to logic box 508 and the document is added to cache 407. If however, it is determined in logic box 507 that the document is not cacheable, control is passed to logic box 509.
In logic box 509 instruction pointer (IP) 451 is set to an appropriate starting point depending on a last context switch. A context switch as described herein, is a transition from either one document to another, from one location within a document to another location within the same document, a request for different information, or any other request by a user to change there current session status. Context switches are described in greater deal with respect to
If CurrentState=START control is passed to logic box 603. In logic box 603, interpreter 401 executes a Push(CurrentXMLTag) into voice browser 101 memory and at logic box 604 executes ProcessStartTag(CurrentXMLTag). Once interpreter 401 has performed logic boxes 603 and 604, control is passed to logic box 701 (
If CurrentState=END control is passed to logic box 605 and a Pop(CurrentXMLTag) is performed, and in logic box 606 interpreter 401 executes a ProcessEndTag(CurrentXMLTag) Once interpreter 401 has performed logic boxes 605 and 606, control is passed to logic box 701 (
If CurrentState=EMPTY control is passed to logic box 607. In logic box 607 interpreter 401 executes a ProcessEmptyTag(CurrentXMLTag). Once interpreter 401 has performed logic box 607, control is passed to logic box 701 (
If CurrentState=PCDATA control is passed to logic box 608. In logic box 608 interpreter 401 sets LastTag=TopOfStack( ) and in logic box 609 executes a processPCDATA(LastTag). Once interpreter 401 has performed logic boxes 603 and 604, control is passed to logic box 701 (
In logic box 702 if it is determined that the switch is to another point in the local document control is passed to logic box 703 and interpreter 401 sets IP=newIP, and control is returned to logic box 507 (
In logic box 704 a determination is made as to whether the switch points to a new URI ‘Y’. If it is determined that the switch does point to a new URI ‘Y’ control is passed to logic box 706. Otherwise control is passed to logic box 705 where a determination is made as to whether the switch points to a new form submission with request ‘Y’. In an embodiment, a form submission refers to transition points when the execution of the session changes from one point to another within the same document, or results in the retrieval of another URI. If the determination is affirmative, control is passed to logic box 706. If however the determination is negative the interpreter continues execution of the current session.
In logic box 706 if ‘Y’ is determined to be cacheable, control is passed to logic box 707, otherwise control is passed to logic box 801 (
In logic box 708 the system sets CurrentInterpreterContext=CachedInterpreterContext(Y) and control is passed to logic box 709 where the IC is cleared (set to 0). Once the IC is cleared the method returns to logic box 507 of
In logic box 801 the system retrieves ‘Y’ from backend server 102 and parses ‘Y’ in logic box 802. In logic box 803 ‘Y’ is compiled into an intermediate form and in logic box 804 all variables and references are resolved. At logic box 805 the system sets the CurrentInterpreterContext=NewInterpreterContext(‘Y’).
In logic box 806 a determination is made as to whether ‘Y’ is cacheable. If ‘Y’ is cacheable control is passed to logic box 807 and interpreter 401 stores the CurrentInterpreterContext in cache 407, otherwise control is passed to logic box 808. In logic box 808 the IC is cleared (set to 0). Once the IC has been cleared control is returned to logic box 507 of
Returning now to
Prompt-audio object 408 may be configured to generate prerecorded audio, dynamic audio, text, video and other forms of advertisements during execution (logic box 210,
The information contained in prompt audio 408 may be organized into categories which are be periodically updated. For example, dynamic audio content for a specific category may be delivered to the system by any transmission means, such as ftp, from any location such as a broadcast station. Thus, an audio clip can then be referenced and rendered by voice browser 405 through API 404.
Pre-recorded audio contained in prompt audio 408 is differentiated from general audio files by audio tags. By prefixing the audio source attribute with a special symbol, the unique ID of the prerecorded audio to be played is specified. Typically, a number of these prerecorded audio are already in memory, and thus can be played efficiently through the appropriate API 404 function call during execution. Utilizing a unique ID for audio allows playing, storing, and organization of prompts more efficiently and reliably.
In the case of dynamic audio (such as daily news which may change periodically and needs to be refreshed) stored in prompt audio 408, there may be a separate audio server (not shown) that keeps track of the latest available audio clip in each category and updates the audio clip for each category with the most current, up-to-date information. Similar to pre-recorded audio, dynamic audio content for a specific category may be delivered to the system using any delivery means, such as ftp and may be periodically updated by the delivering party, such as a broadcast audio server.
Audio advertisements located in prompt audio 408 may be tailored to any type of infrastructure. For example, audio advertisements located in prompt audio 408 may be tailored to function with Yahoo!'s advertisement infrastructure. This tailoring is accomplished by providing a tag that specifies various attributes such as location, context, and device information. For example, a tag may include the device type (e.g. “phone”), context information (such as “finance”), the geographies of the caller based on which financial advertisement should be played, etc. This information is submitted to the advertisement server through API 404 which selects an appropriate advertisement for playing.
Interpreter 401 has objects that allow common dialog flow 409 options such as choosing from a list of options (via DTMF or ASR), and submission of forms with field variables. Standard transition commands allow the transition from one document to another (much like normal web browsers). The corresponding state information is also maintained in each interpreter context.
Another component of voice browser 101 is the implementation of the mapping of prompts to prerecorded audio, illustrated as text to audio prompt mapping 410, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The first issue is one of isolation of backend web server 102 from the actual recorded audio prompt list. It is often inefficient for backend server 102 to transform arbitrary text to prerecorded audio based on string matching.
From a backend server 102 point of view, the difference in the content provided to voice browser 101 with and without the dynamic typed text to prompt mapping mechanism 410 can be illustrated as shown in
Note that both the examples 1001 and 1002 shown in
The following section discusses the various advantages of the approach employed by an embodiment of the present invention. In a simple example where text feeds from different sources (e.g. different content providers) is presented to voice browser 101 through a voice portal, it is difficult to keep track of the latest set of audio prompts that are available to voice browser 101 for rendering.
An interesting example for this dynamic prompt mapping of text is stock tickers. When a new company is added, without the dynamic prompt mapping mechanism, all backend servers 102 that provide stock quote/ticker related information should update their code/data with the new entry in order to present the audio clip. With the dynamic prompt mapping mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, the voice browser's prompt mapping file(s) (in XML format) need to be updated once, and the effective audio rendering of this new company name is immediately achieved.
The efficiency of the approach, according to an embodiment of the present invention, arises out of the “class-based prompt mapping” mechanism. For instance, the total number of prerecorded prompts can be in the thousands of utterances. It is inefficient to parse each backend text string with all the prompt labels. Thus, each text region that is rendered is assigned a “prompt type/class”. The matching of text to the pre-recorded prompt labels is done only within the specified class. Furthermore the rendering can vary depending on the user or the type. As mentioned in an earlier example, the string NHL can be rendered as “National Hockey League” in the context of a sports category, while the system may need to read the sequence of letters “N H L” as a company name if it is in a finance stock ticker category.
Although the present invention has been described with respect to its preferred embodiment, that embodiment is offered by way of example, not by way of limitation. It is to be understood that various additions and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, all such additions and modifications are deemed to lie with the spirit and scope of the present invention as set out in the appended claims.
This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent Application No. 60/226,611, entitled “METHOD OF INTERPRETING AND PRESENTING WEB CONTENT USING A VOICE BROWSER,” filed Aug. 21, 2000, incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60226611 | Aug 2000 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09933956 | Aug 2001 | US |
Child | 11926915 | US |