Re: Voice browser patent

You may also look at http://www.phonebrowser.com which can directly
access existing HTML and provide a conversational interface using
transcoding.  PhoneBrowser also plans to fully support the W3C voice
markup language.
-- 
		Michael K. Brown
		Bell Labs, Rm. 2D-534, (908) 582-5044
		600 Mountain Ave., Murray Hill, NJ 07974
		mkb@research.bell-labs.com

"Larson, Jim A" wrote:
> 
> Len,
> 
> Thanks for the update.  This is an interested approach for browsing HTML
> pages using voice.
> 
> The Voice Browser Working Group is currently working on languages for
> specifying voice dialog, as opposed to generating voice dialogs from HTML.
> Currently, several developers are creating technology for enabling users to
> access HTML pages using a voice interface.  For example, Vocal Point [
> http://www.vocalpoint.com ] and Internet Speech [
> http://www.internetspeech.com ] have technology that enables callers to
> browse existing HTML Web sites and avoids expensive re-coding of existing
> content.
> 
> You may also want to contact the VAI committee directly at <wai@w3.org>.
> They may have additional interests in your work.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Jim Larson
> Co-Chair, Voice Browser Working Group
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Leonard R. Kasday [mailto:kasday@acm.org]
> Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 12:14 PM
> To: www-voice@w3.org
> Subject: Voice browser patent
> 
> This is notification that a patent was issued last week that includes
> (among other things) a way to scan a web page via audio.
> 
> Basically, the web page is parsed into "elements" which may be HTML
> elements such as titles, etc. or heuristically selected parts of text, e.g.
> the first sentence of each paragraph.  Each element assigned a value, which
> might be thought of as "importance" or "salience".  The user sets a
> threshold value.
> 
> Then, when the user scans a page, everything above that threshold is read,
> and everything below the threshold is replaced with a babbling sound
> suggestive of a tape recorder played at high speed, with additional sounds
> giving an idea of what is being skipped (e.g. "bings" for links, snippets
> of skipped material).  For example, on one setting the user might hear the
> first and second level headings, plus the first two sentences of each
> paragraph, interspersed with babble, and punctuated by occasional
> "bings"  representing the skipped text and links.  The user can change the
> threshold at any point to change the level of detail heard, or simply read
> everything from that point.
> 
> This is just a partial, informal description.  The full text and images are
> online
> 
> Kasday, LR,  Aug. 22, 2000, Patent 6,108,629,  Method and apparatus for
> voice interaction over a network using an information flow controller
> 
> You can full text and images at
> the US patent office site http://patents.uspto.gov/access/search-bool.html
> Or IBM's patent server http://www.patents.ibm.com/
> 
> search on year 2000,  inventor kasday
> 
> Notes:
> 
> - This system would provide one way to address the Web Accessibility
> Initiatiative  (WAI) User Agent Guideline 7, Provide Navigation Mechanisms
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WD-UAAG10-20000818/#gl-navigation .  It would work
> best on pages being properly marked up in accordance with the WAI content
> guidelines http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505/ ,   The
> heuristics could be used in accessibility "filter" tools being considered
> by the WAI evaluation and repair tools group http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/
> 
> - I happen to be the inventor, but have no financial interest in this
> patent as the rights were assigned to the comany where I was employed at
> that time,  AT&T.    (So it could have been me or AT&T to post this
> email... I chatted with Lorrie Cranor, AT&T's W3C rep, and we decided I'd
> be the one).
> 
> - I'm posting this on the voice browser list and will point to it from the
> patent issue and web accessibility lists.   Please try to keep all
> discussion on the voice browser list to avoid scattering the discussion.
> 
> Len
> --
> Leonard R. Kasday, Ph.D.
> Institute on Disabilities/UAP and Dept. of Electrical Engineering at Temple
> University
> (215) 204-2247 (voice)                 (800) 750-7428 (TTY)
> http://astro.temple.edu/~kasday         mailto:kasday@acm.org
> 
> The WAVE web page accessibility evaluation assistant:
> http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave/

Received on Thursday, 31 August 2000 18:10:02 UTC