1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a system and method for dynamically optimizing parameters of a text-to-speech (“TTS”) system in response to automotive vehicle environmental conditions in order to maximize the intelligibility of a synthesized TTS voice. In particular, the invention is focused on a method of optimizing the TTS voice while minimizing distractions to a vehicle operator.
2. Description of Related Art
Systems incorporating text-to-speech (“TTS”) engines or synthesizers coupled to a database of textual data are well known and continue to find an ever-increasing number of applications. For example, automobiles equipped with TTS and speech-recognition capabilities simplify tasks that would otherwise distract a driver from driving. The uses of TTS systems in vehicles include controlling electronic systems aboard the vehicle, such as navigation systems or audio systems, receiving critical emergency broadcasts, and placing telephone calls, among others.
Certain environmental conditions, such as vehicle speed, interior noise, lighting conditions, and weather conditions, among others, can affect a driver's concentration level and may affect the driver's ability to pay attention to and comprehend TTS voice prompts. Some existing systems attempt to compensate for certain environmental conditions while generating TTS voice prompts for automotive vehicles. For example, some systems monitor vehicle speed or other vehicle operating parameters and attempt to schedule messages for time periods when a driver will be better equipped to listen to them, such as when a driver is stopped or moving slowly. Other systems relating to vehicle navigation may use vehicle speed and estimated driver reaction times to give verbal instructions, such as “turn right,” at appropriate times.
A co-pending application by the same inventors entitled, “VARIABLE TEXT-TO-SPEECH FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATION,” and incorporated herein by reference, describes a system addressing the problem that in responding to changing environmental conditions, a driver may be required to put more concentration into driving and controlling a vehicle, leaving less mental power available for other activities, including listening to and concentrating on a TTS system. In fact, under stressful driving conditions, a driver may perceive a slower TTS voice as being normal and a normal-speed voice as being too fast. On the other hand, under non-stressful conditions, a driver may require less mental effort, and a slower TTS voice may irritate or bore the driver. Likewise, other parameters of a TTS voice, such as pitch or volume, may also require tuning to optimize intelligibility to a driver under different environmental conditions. The above-referenced co-pending application provides a system that analyzes vehicle sensor data in order to apply corrections to various parameters of the TTS synthesized voice, such as voice speed, pitch, and volume, among others, to compensate for environmental conditions to achieve improved intelligibility across a wide variety of vehicle operating conditions.
However, when environmental or operating conditions change abruptly, applying calculated changes to a TTS system immediately can cause discontinuous changes in the character of a TTS voice that can be distracting to an operator of a vehicle. For example, while a slower speed of a TTS voice may not be noticeable to a driver under stressful driving conditions, an abrupt change from a normal to a slower-speed voice, as a driver accelerates, for example, may be noticeable and distracting. Thus, it would be useful to provide a system that applies changes to the character of a TTS voice in a manner that efficiently achieves near-optimal performance of the character of a TTS voice while making changes in a way that is unnoticeable and non-distracting to a vehicle operator.
A first embodiment of a TTS control system in accordance with the present invention comprises one or more vehicle sensors for measuring operating states of an automotive vehicle, a TTS voice synthesizer for producing a TTS voice, a phrase database for providing data to the TTS voice synthesizer, and a TTS processing engine. The TTS processing engine includes a TTS parameter database that stores parameters for characterizing the voice synthesized by the TTS voice synthesizer. The TTS engine also includes a TTS parameter calculation module that calculates ideal values of the parameters that characterize the TTS voice for the particular operating states of the vehicle as measured by the vehicle sensors. The TTS engine also includes a phrase break module that is adapted to identify breaks between phrases sent by the phrase database to the TTS voice synthesizer. In should be appreciated that a phrase may include a word, a group of words, a sentence, a command, or similar collection of sounds that are to be synthesized by the TTS voice synthesizer in a substantially continuous manner. Phrase breaks appear between multiple phrases synthesized by the TTS voice synthesizer and are characterized by pauses in the audio output. The phrase break module is adapted to control an update of the TTS parameter database and may be configured to prevent the parameter database from being updated in the middle of a phrase. In other words, the phrase break detector may allow the parameter database to be updated with the value calculated by the parameter calculation module when a phrase break is detected, and it may prevent an update from occurring when no break is detected. In this manner, potential distractions to the driver of the vehicle may be reduced.
In one embodiment of a TTS control system in accordance with the present invention, the phrase database may include special control characters that indicate to the TTS synthesizer that it should produce a pause or break in the synthesized message. The phrase break detector may be adapted to identify such control characters in order to determine that a phrase break is occurring.
In another embodiment, the phrase break detector parses messages sent to the TTS synthesizer and processes them in a manner similar to that of the synthesizer and identifies phrase breaks by noting a lack of commanded audio output. In such an embodiment, it may be advantageous to supply the phrase break detector with TTS message data that is advanced in time with respect to that sent to the TTS synthesizer in order to account for time delays in determining whether a phrase break is occurring.
In an alternative embodiment of a TTS control system, the TTS processing engine includes a parameter damping module adapted to apply a filter to the calculated values of the TTS voice characterization parameters. The damping operation is intended to reduce the rate and/or the maximum excursions of voice characterization parameters to prevent a change from being applied that is so large as to be jarring or distracting to the driver of the vehicle. In one embodiment of a damping module, calculated values of characterization parameters are subjected to a moving-average filter that averages the currently calculated value of each voice characterization parameter with several previous calculations of that value. This damping operation creates a low-pass filter that tends to smooth out some of the fastest variations in the values taken on by the voice characterization parameters.
In another embodiment of a damping module, the calculated parameter values are subjected to a slew-rate limiter. The slew-rate limiter sets a maximum rate at which a given parameter is allowed to vary. If the calculation of a new value for the parameter would result in a change greater than the slew rate would allow, the calculated value is limited to a smaller change consistent with the slew-rate limit.
In yet another embodiment of a damping module, the calculated parameter values are subjected to an exponential-decay filter that applies a decaying exponential time constant to changes in the calculated values. The time constant can be set to any value dictated by the requirements of the application.
Many other embodiments of damping modules are also possible, and other types of filtering operations that tend to smooth out rapid variations in parameter changes, such as low-pass filters and band-pass filters, would also fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention. Embodiments of TTS control systems that employ only a phrase break detector, only a damping module, or both a phrase break detector and a damping module also fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention.
In one embodiment of a TTS control system that includes both a phrase break detector and a damping module, the phrase break detector operates to prevent update of voice characterization parameters in the middle of a synthesized phrase. During a phrase break, a calculated value that has been processed by the damping module may be used to update the TTS parameter database in order to control the character of the TTS synthesized voice. When multiple voice characterization parameters are being controlled, each may be processed independently. Some parameters may be processed through a phrase break detector only, others by a damping module only, and others by both a phrase break detector and a damping module.
Further advantages and possible embodiments of the present invention will become clear to those skilled in the art by study of the following detailed description and the attached sheets of drawing that will first be described briefly.
A text-to-speech (TTS) system for automotive vehicles is presented that allows for tuning of TTS speech parameters to improve intelligibility across a wide variety of driving conditions while minimizing the distraction to a driver associated with abruptly changing characteristics of a TTS voice. A typical driving scenario is depicted in
The vehicle 104 then accelerates 112 to seventy miles per hour, and the driver again uses the TTS system during interval 108. The increased speed of the vehicle may increase the driver's stress and concentration levels and also increase engine, road, and wind noise. Accordingly, the speed of the synthesized TTS voice may be reduced to take into account the increased stress level of the driver, and the volume may be increased to compensate for the increased noise level due to the increased speed.
The vehicle then decelerates 114 back down to thirty-five miles per hour, and during this deceleration time interval 110, the driver may again use the TTS system. Ideally, because the driver's stress level may be dropping due to the decreasing speed, the speed of the synthesized voice should begin to increase, and because the noise levels are reducing, the volume should be decreasing. However, if these changes are applied while the TTS system is synthesizing a phrase, the changes to the voice characteristics may be very noticeable to the driver and quite distracting. Instead, it is advantageous to apply a damping mechanism that smoothes out abrupt changes to voice characteristics and to selectively apply changes during natural breaks in the phrasing of TTS messages to minimize distraction of the driver.
A first object of the invention is to prevent such jarring modifications of TTS voice characteristics by timing TTS voice updates to occur only during natural phase breaks.
TTS voice parameters stored in the TTS parameter database 412 are regularly loaded into the TTS voice synthesizer 416 to affect the speed, volume, pitch, and other characteristics of the synthesized voice. However, because the parameter database is updated only during natural phase breaks, the voice characteristics are also updated only during phase breaks. Of course, other methods of freezing the update of voice characteristics except during phrase breaks are also possible and would fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention. It should also be appreciated that a TTS processing engine with additional or fewer components than the embodiment described above would also fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, an embodiment of a TTS processing engine in accordance with the present invention could include a TTS parameter calculation module 406 that is adapted to perform the functions of the phrase break detector 408 and the switch 410. Other combinations and variations of a system that updates TTS voice characteristics during phrase breaks would also fall within the scope of the present invention.
Often during the course of vehicle operation, changes to vehicle state parameters occur very rapidly. For example, a vehicle may accelerate or decelerate very quickly; a window may be opened and then closed, increasing and then decreasing interior vehicle noise, etc. Under these rapidly changing conditions, it may be undesirable for a TTS system to react immediately by changing voice characteristic parameters because this may be distracting to an operator of the vehicle. Thus, it is a second object of the present invention to provide a damping system that introduces a settling time constant into the response of the TTS processing engine to prevent excessively rapid changes in TTS voice characteristics from distracting a vehicle operator.
The mechanisms for implementing the damping function are varied. For example, a moving average can be employed to average an ideal voice parameter over a certain number of preceding seconds, creating a low-pass-filtered version of the ideal voice parameter value that tends to smooth out the more rapid excursions in its value. Alternatively, changes in voice parameters can be slew-rate limited to limit the maximum rate of change of a voice parameter to a value that is not likely noticeable to the vehicle operator. In another embodiment, an exponential time constant can be applied to changes in the value of a voice parameter.
Other methods of implementing a damping function are possible and would also fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention. For systems including the adjustment of multiple voice parameters, such as voice speed, voice pitch, and voice volume, for example, different combinations of damping methods can be employed for each of the parameters requiring damping.
While
The foregoing description has presented several embodiments of a system for actively optimizing TTS speech synthesis to improve intelligibility of voice prompts in an automotive vehicle application while minimizing distractions to the driver. Other embodiments and advantages of the invention may be apparent to those skilled in the art, and such would lie within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The invention is further defined by the following claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3281959 | Kobler et al. | Nov 1966 | A |
4831654 | Dick | May 1989 | A |
5051924 | Bergeron et al. | Sep 1991 | A |
5157759 | Bachenko | Oct 1992 | A |
5177685 | Davis et al. | Jan 1993 | A |
5309546 | Baker et al. | May 1994 | A |
5406492 | Suzuki | Apr 1995 | A |
5442553 | Parrillo | Aug 1995 | A |
5634084 | Malsheen et al. | May 1997 | A |
5736941 | Schulte et al. | Apr 1998 | A |
5761640 | Kalyanswamy et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
5774071 | Konishi et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
5774854 | Sharman | Jun 1998 | A |
5835881 | Trovato et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
5935193 | Saiki | Aug 1999 | A |
5950161 | Kozuma et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
5987412 | Breen | Nov 1999 | A |
6115686 | Chung et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
6148285 | Busardo | Nov 2000 | A |
6173262 | Hirschberg | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6173263 | Conkie | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6282494 | Hsu | Aug 2001 | B1 |
6363342 | Shaw et al. | Mar 2002 | B2 |
6400809 | Bossemeyer, Jr. et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
6405027 | Bell | Jun 2002 | B1 |
6446040 | Socher et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6466653 | Hamrick et al. | Oct 2002 | B1 |
6539080 | Bruce et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
6557026 | Stephens, Jr. | Apr 2003 | B1 |
6604038 | Lesesky et al. | Aug 2003 | B1 |
6614422 | Rafii et al. | Sep 2003 | B1 |
6615186 | Kolls | Sep 2003 | B1 |
6636801 | Curbow | Oct 2003 | B2 |
6701231 | Borugian | Mar 2004 | B1 |
6757262 | Weisshaar et al. | Jun 2004 | B1 |
6944430 | Besris | Sep 2005 | B2 |
6964023 | Maes et al. | Nov 2005 | B2 |
7010489 | Lewis et al. | Mar 2006 | B1 |
20020016655 | Joao | Feb 2002 | A1 |
20020072908 | Case et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
20020103582 | Ohmura et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
20030068020 | Hamrick et al. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
20030076842 | Johansson et al. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
20030105639 | Naimpally et al. | Jun 2003 | A1 |
20030134629 | Ollis et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
20030139179 | Fuchs et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
20030195814 | Striemer | Oct 2003 | A1 |
20030224840 | Frank et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
20040029619 | Liang et al. | Feb 2004 | A1 |
20040046744 | Rafii et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20040048572 | Godfrey | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20040048577 | Godfrey et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20040068370 | Moody et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
20040116141 | Loven et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
20040167781 | Hirayama | Aug 2004 | A1 |
20040193422 | Fado et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
20040233868 | Farnham | Nov 2004 | A1 |
20050033585 | Shields | Feb 2005 | A1 |
20050038656 | Simpson | Feb 2005 | A1 |
20050171694 | Schrimer et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
20050192714 | Fong et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
20050267757 | Iso-Sipila et al. | Dec 2005 | A1 |
20060161343 | Agnew et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
20060224385 | Seppala | Oct 2006 | A1 |
20060229873 | Eide et al. | Oct 2006 | A1 |
20060271275 | Verma | Nov 2006 | A1 |
20060271283 | Fraser et al. | Nov 2006 | A1 |
20060287787 | Engstrom et al. | Dec 2006 | A1 |
20070005206 | Zhang et al. | Jan 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
0777210 | Jun 1997 | EP |
1327974 | Jul 2003 | EP |
58109921 | Jun 1983 | JP |
63065517 | Mar 1988 | JP |
2001033256 | Feb 2001 | JP |
2007114086 | Oct 2007 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20100057464 A1 | Mar 2010 | US |