text:
This is how the offense should play, get to the line and move the ball. Defense needs a little more work and more communication but all and all, great game.
I'm happy with 30 wins. This team is a work in progress. Give them time.
I'd be happy with 40 wins and no playoff appearance.
I want 40 plus wins and a playoff berth, or D'Antoni must get fired.
If the Knicks don't win 50 games, this season is a failure. I want a championship.
This is how the offense should play, get to the line and move the ball. Defense needs a little more work and more communication but all and all, great game.
Another person who is finding his shot back is Douglas.
Felton is playing the point better now lets hope he has a great game against his old team at home Tuesday. Lets continue this winning streak on the road at home. LETS GO KNICKS!!!!
Omfg listen I've never seen a clipper game and was this pumped this is rediculous.
Regarding Blake, if he doesn't get hurt,especially the way he plays, he will be A 30-12-5 guy. I honestly can say if he didt get hurt last year he would have done these things last year because I saw their preseason games he is just a beast. I've never seen anyone like him at that size it's lik Ronny turiafs hustle and heart, lebron's athleticism, amare's size, and from what I've been seeing on some of his post moves and shots with his foot quickness he can have some hakeem type moves(that spin and reverse on amare). One last thing he is only what 22 years old! Ihope he doesn't re-up wit lac if he ever becomes a fa imagine that in the garden!
...now onto the team lol. Great game by stat,felt, and gallo. Hopefully they keep this up.but then again the last 3games was against the kings,warriors, and clips, but they can use this for a stepping stone to a playoff berth.
Gallo explodes for 17 in the 4th. Back-2-back games where he lights it up in the final quarter. Good job.
Good things happen when you hit easy shots, get to the free throw line, and get into a rhythm. THEN, when you pull up from downtown you have a greater chance to his those long range bombs.... b/c you are feelin' it!
STAT leads by example again. 39 & 11.
25 points off the bench.
Knicks need either Gallo or Chandler to step up and be that 3rd scoring threat, especially when the 4th Quarter arrives.
Last edited by mafra; Nov 21, 2010 at 01:40.
Another rampage for Gallo. 13/13 from line. 7/11. 30+ points. Solid D, steals, some dishing and boarding,
And you can't put a price on having the confidence and ability to take over games, finish games off....
If we can snag a M. Gasol this offseason we are mint. With OR without Melo!!!
A legit bigman 5 with defense and offensive production. Alongside STAT and Gallo. L.E.T.H.A.L.
Felton is Felton. Btw, how come his .480+ shooting and like .390 3pt %.....and 7+ assists is going so under the radar..
We may have found a 17-7-5 with speed and solid D and solid range, slowly finding his way into D'ant's style.
We be looking like a legit team. With cap and assets.
If Melo could play the 2, that'd be unreal. But if he can't, we may want to truly hang tight for a SG to power move into. Or if Melo is just a FA, which would be too much to resist for Walsh no matter his position and the clash with Gallo.
I really want to believe in this team, all considered I still think the jury is out on what type of season we will have. While I am happy that our team had a positive road trip 3-1, The teams we beat were crappy and missing key pieces. This smells a lot like those wins against Chicago and Washington.
Gallo: I'm giving him a whole 2 paragraphs here because I have been impressed with his play of late. He has cut down his errors include forced shots and settling for 3's. While Gallo has been hitting 3's at a reasonable pace, he will become a consistent third option if he can get to the line and into the paint the way he has in these last 3 games.
Gallo seems to have settled down a bit and between STAT, Gallo and Felton we are closing out teams in the fourth. Forget his 30 points, 17 in the fourth is by far the most promising stat of this game. Gallo has been delivering points at critical times in the game: Ending runs, delivering dagger 3's, getting to and being automatic at the line. The question that remains is can he play like this against the teams that matter.
While these victories allows fans to take a sigh of relief, I still think they haven't proven much. The Knicks got some comfortable wins against 3 College Teams, you have to expect that. Knicks still got a laundry list of things to improve.
1. Defense - The Knicks have been playing decent defense in spurts. Other times you see guys like Eric Gordon get a wide open lane to the hole that ends in an uncontested dunk. That speaks more to team defense as individual defense just maybe a strong suit on this team. If the Knicks can eliminate mental lapses and mis-communications holding teams to 100 or less and winning comfortably at around 107-110. Being so reliant on our offense is a risky preposition, (don't expect 40 and 30 from STAT and Gallo every night.)
2. Dominating at the Garden - is what the visitors doing this season Knicks are 1-4 at home and if they expect to make the playoffs they gotta hold serve at home. A win against the Bobcats (5-8) is key.
3. Remember how you are winning: Knicks need to continue to move the ball, keep 3 point shooting down and playing good defense.
Side note: If Anthony "Potential" Randolph doesn't play a single minute for the rest of the season will anyone care?
Last edited by BleedOrange&Blue; Nov 21, 2010 at 02:05.
While it's obvious the Knicks have been padding the win column with "easy" prey.... TOR, WASH, LAC, SAC.... Teams like that. STILL, Knicks aren't the type of team that should assume any game is a gimme... SO...
Let's just say.... in order for the Knicks to win.... They need that 3rd scoring option to emerge ESPECIALLY in the 4th quarter. Douglas did it twice, and now Gallo has done it 3 times.
STAT-FELTON is not enough to carry the load down the stretch of games.
Basically, in order to win, Gallo/Douglas/Chandler... One of these 3 have to be there to get baskets when the game is winding down. Do that and we win.
Let's go 7-3 in the next 10 and really get back on track.
6-8 now.... Go 7-3 the next 10 games and get to 13-11. The schedule gets hard then, but we should have confidence (after going on a 13-3 run).
First things first. Blake Griffin is a Beast. Secondly, why does it look like we have so few set plays, and why so few pick and rolls. Looks like even against the weakest defense in the league, we labor to set plays. This must change
Really excited the knicks are on a 3 game streak and hope they can take it through to the bobcats game and get it done there too. My boy gallo is killing right now
Very cool game thread. This was one of the best games I've watched in a long time. Blake Griffin is for real, but Amar'e gave better than he took, since we won.
Still the Knicks' defense sucked butt-wind. How many times do you let opponents skate through the defense with a free path to the rim. Crazy.
But it was fun.
once again, Knicks looking great against sh*tty team.
2 games in a row one opponent scores over 40+.
another game in which Knicks give up 110+ points.
aside from continued crappy defense, a hallmark of any 'Antoni team,
Knicks continue to score more, which is the way mustachecoach wins.
can Gallipini continue excellent play, going to line more than he shoots 3's?
can Feltip continue the driving dishing swishing teardrop excellence?
can STUD continue domination?
can Mrs. Fields continue to fold laundry?
I assume the answer is yes and no, what I like is the fact that Knicks are
getting to the free throw line more than they're shooting 3's.
43-51 FTA - amazing!
11-24 from 3 - great!
22 dimes to 11 TOs - excellent!
Felton +18 +/- (20 pts, 7 dimes, 7 steals - awesomeness)
Laundry +13 +/- (slowly becoming my favorite Knick)
Gallipini +12 +/- (another fantastic clutch game, bravisimo!)
Moscow +8 +/- (one poor defensive play, good presence)
Tony Chill -8 +/- (wha happen there? clutch 3's...!)
Skywalker not doing much, I'd rather see Randolph get some minutes rather than stew in the D'oghouse.
the poor boys confidence is wilting each DNP! sadface!
Blake Griffin is a behemoth, happy to see STUD school him with sheer w'illpower.
good game all around by the big 3, STUD, Feltip and Gallipini, each with 40+ minutes.
will they last the season with short rotay? only time will tellyo!


text:
'Failed policies put responders at risk' during Sandy
EMS, EMTs are demanding policy changes, citing poor administrative planning
The Gazette
NEW YORK — Prior to a City Council Oversight Hearing examining the city's disaster management plan before, during, and after Hurricane Sandy, EMS members, led by Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics and Fire Inspectors Local 2507 President Israel Miranda and Uniformed EMS Officers Union Local 3621 President Vincent Variale, joined Councilmember Elizabeth S. Crowley, chair of the Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee, to illustrate failed policies and planning that put responders at increased risk during the storm. Poor administrative planning and an unmanageable span of control made it difficult for EMS personnel to operate during Hurricane Sandy, and a lack of a clear chain of command led to conflicting orders and mismanagement.
"Even on a normal day EMS members face numerous challenges because the city ignores Department of Homeland Security guidelines that call for a span of control of one supervisor to five members. Yet even after an independent arbitrator ruled the FDNY is violating these guidelines, EMS supervisors oversee an unmanageable 20 or more members," said Crowley. "Our medics performed admirably during Sandy in spite of this failed administrative policy that led to poor communication and decisions that unnecessarily placed our responders in harm's way and prevented some of them from doing their jobs during Hurricane Sandy."
"We are saddened by any lives that were lost during the storm," said Variale. "If not for the commitment and dedication of the front-line members of the EMS Command, many more lives may have been lost."
Full story: EMS, EMT Responders, Crowley Demand Policy Changes

subset: commoncrawl


text: I guess this is a question for any taller guys. Do any of you run bar risers? or high bend bars? I am 6'2" and finding the right bar height has been an issue with my dirtbikes. On my dirtbike I ended up with high bend bars and about an inch risers. From most videos I have watched it seems that most people are kind of hunched over. so am I just being a baby about it? I can see the advantage of having a lower center of gravity for balancing but I dont think my spine agrees. Just wanted to hear some peoples opinions.


text: YOu know what I used to have when I was a kid? Tonka trucks that were made from real g'damn steel. Not this cheap plastic shyt you see nowadays. For a kid playing in a dirt pile in the back yard, you need a steel dumptruck. Can you even get them anymore, or are they banned because the edges might get rusty and scratch a child??


text:
i have bought a pair every year for the last 3 years.Still have the first pair,but am going to order another.I have never paid more than $29.99 for golf shoes and as long as i can get these on closeout every year i never will.
Good solid shoe, comfortable and water proof
This shoe is a winner at any price. Comfortable from day one!
Got these shoes because of the price and history with wearing footjoys.Great shoe, great size selection, and definitely needs to be in the description that these are very water tight so stomp right thru that puddle.
Ordering was easy, the price was excellent, and the delivery was prompt. I am very happy with my new shoes and with GlobalGolf!


text:
Cooking With Myra: Filling the empty places
By Myra Starkey
Oct. 16, 2012 at 5:16 a.m.
A couple of weeks ago, my youngest sister called to tell me that my dad was losing weight. My mother died a few months ago, and her death has been hard for all of us, especially my father. My three sisters and I have kept his days and weekends busy. We visit him frequently and leave him with lists of things he needs to do, such as doctor appointment dates. We try to keep his freezer full of home-cooked, ready-to-go meals. But we are certainly no substitute for his bride of 52 years, and all of us realize he is lonely.
Death is part of all of our lives sooner or later, and no matter who or when, we never seem prepared to accept it. My father's happiness is important to me, so I have suggested what any daughter would: that he move here. He is almost 80 and in relatively good shape, but I would like to be able to keep an eye on him as he gets older. When I suggested this, he simply looked at me like you would a small child and said, "We'll see," which as I remember from growing up with him means "not likely anytime soon."
Dad is a young-at-heart 79-year-old. He is active in his church as a deacon, visits the shut-ins (elderly who cannot leave their homes) and is currently helping the widows in the church kitchen cooking soup. He has also learned to use an iPhone, which prompted him to send me a picture of himself hovering over a steaming pot of soup with a large ladle in his hand. He had a smile on his face for the first time in months. I could practically hear the widow ladies in the background laughing at his jokes.
My father has always been happiest when he is helping someone. When I was growing up, he frequently invited strangers to eat supper with us or delivered fish (his catch of the day) to folks who needed some food. I can honestly say he never closed his hand to someone with a genuine need. He has continued to deliver food to the local volunteer firefighters near his house on a regular basis and now is spending his days giving away most of mom's stuff. My mom was a collector of many things, and they were precious to her. However, Dad finds more joy in giving all that stuff away, and so my sisters and I have encouraged this behavior since it makes him so happy.
Last week, I urged dad to come for a visit, so I could get him to see a doctor friend of ours because he has lost weight and had trouble swallowing. I wanted to make sure he was OK.
I hated to tell him too much about the procedures before he actually arrived for fear he might not come do it. He needed a colonoscopy and esophageal scope. Those are not things one would look forward to. Once he got here, I revealed the plan, and he simply smiled and said, "I knew you were up to something," but agreed it was a good idea.
Dad has always had Mom to do things like make appointments, pay bills, clean house, wash clothes and cook on a daily basis. Her death has forced him to start learning to take care of most of these things himself. On my last trip home, I noticed a lot of the underwear and towels were pink so I told him about how it is necessary to separate the whites from the colors. I have taken over some of the mundane tasks, such as paying bills, and so now, he says he doesn't mind going to the mailbox because he has nothing to do except flip through the junk mail. I took him to the hospital on the morning of the procedures and thought of how some of our roles in life change as we grow older. Most of us who have been loved well by our parents feel a deep desire to care for them once we realize they need a little help in their lives. It's not that Dad could not have accomplished the task alone, but it would have been scary to awake in the recovery room alone without your loved one waiting to tell you of the doctor's good report.
Dad remained groggy because of the anesthesia for the remainder of the day. He remembered nothing of the procedure. He also did not even remember going to Wendy's afterward for a Frosty and a grilled chicken sandwich or to the pharmacy to pick up his medicine. He was back to being himself the next day, asking how he could help me. I told him that he could chop onions, celery and peel shrimp because we were going to have shrimp creole the next day.
Myra Starkey lives in Victoria. Write her in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901, or email email@example.com.


text:
No Image
Aida Estate · 2005 · Cabernet Sauvignon
Our 30 year old Aida Zinfandel vines continue to produce beautiful fruit allowing us to craft a uniquely elegant and refined Napa Valley Zinfandel.
In the glass our 2003 Zinfandel is a deep ruby framed with brackish hues. The nose opens with white pepper, brambly blackberries and boysenberries before revealing layers of stewed plums, coconut, and toffee. Fragrances of dried flowers intermixed with earth, tobacco and a Provencal herb characteristic entice you to your first sip.
Baked red fruit sweetness and spiced cake embrace the palate and balance flawlessly with tantalizing vanilla oak flavors. Round, velvety mouth feel combined with smooth and elegant tannins frame this full bodied and well structured wine. Our 2003 Aida Zinfandel is a savory red to drink now and over the next five years.
Technical Notes
September 4, 2004
20 months in American Oak, 85% new
Saury, Radoux
May 7, 2006
October 2007


text:
Franchise Tax Board News Release
tel 916.845.4800 | Public Affairs Office
cell 916.502.2587 | Denise Azimi
For immediate release
State's Top 250 Tax Debtors' Lists Recoups $100 Million
(Sacramento) - The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and Board of Equalization (BOE) announced today that collective efforts from the Internet posting of California's 250 largest unpaid state tax debtors has raised more than $100 million since the program's inception.
"Collecting these large unpaid tax debts is absolutely crucial, because every dollar collected helps spare schools, public safety, and other public services from severe budget cuts," said State Controller and FTB Chair John Chiang.
"California's tax cheats should know we are serious about making them follow the law," said Board of Equalization Chairman Jerome E. Horton. "Those who owe the BOE and FTB the most will continue to be exposed to public scrutiny to encourage them to pay their delinquencies."
State law (AB 1418, Horton) effective for 2007 established the requirement for FTB and BOE to each post a list of the 250 largest state income tax debtors who owe more than $100,000. Last fall, new state law (AB 1424, Perea), increased the number of posted top tax debtors to 500. It also authorizes the state to suspend the professional and/or drivers' licenses of the state's top 500 debtors until they resolve their accounts or enter into payment arrangements. It also authorizes the state to publish the titles and names of principal officers for business entity delinquencies.
Taxpayers on the Top 250 list are removed once the tax is paid or the taxpayer agrees to make payments under an approved installment agreement. Tax liabilities under appeal, in litigation, in bankruptcy proceedings, or under consideration for an offer in compromise are not included on the list.
The first Top 500 list for FTB will debut in April 2012. Also starting this year, FTB's complete list will be updated bi-annually in April and October on FTB's website at ftb.ca.gov. The Board of Equalization's listof the state's top sales and use tax delinquencies, is updated quarterly at boe.ca.gov.
Individual taxpayers on the list can contact FTB at 866.418.3702 to resolve their accounts. Business taxpayers can call 866.914.5594. Taxpayers on the BOE list can call 916.445.5167 to resolve their accounts.


text:
At long last, Omar Gonzalez received a well-deserved call-up to the U.S. national team for their annual January camp along with fellow centerback A.J. DeLaGarza and based on Jurgen Klinsmann's comments, the U.S. national team boss is excited to have the LA Galaxy centerback in the fold.
In an interview on Fox Soccer's Goals on Sunday, Klinsmann unveiled his 25-man roster for the U.S. National team's Jan. 29 match against Canada in Houston. During his conversation Klinsmann touched on a number of topics including Landon Donovan's future and the reasons for Gonzalez's inclusion.
The video of the interview is below, but Klinsmann's comments on Gonzalez are as follows:
(On Gonzalez stepping up to the International stage...)
KLINSMANN: "He needs to show us he's ready for a big step into international football. He needs to show us that he wants to break in. He needs to show us that he's ready to guide a back line, that he's ready to communicate a lot and take over the responsibility."
(On whether Gonzalez's knee surgery in early 2012 was the rationale for him being left off the U.S. roster as of late.
KLINSMANN: "If it wasn't for his injury at the beginning of last year, he would have been with us already on a regular basis. Yes, obviously [he has] tremendous physical abilities. He grew under Bruce Arena into a very good, solid centerback but national team is another level. And so we are happy to have him now finally with us in camp and to see him work on a daily basis."


text:
and is it true he was Sanchez's HS teammate?
so he CAN block!
and is it true he was Sanchez's HS teammate?
Last edited by Kentucky Jet; 09-01-2012 at 10:41 PM.
Some people on this board that think they know everything should really look over this link and learn a thing or two about a football's FO and their responsibilities...
Last edited by C Mart; 09-01-2012 at 10:47 PM.
so to sum thngs up
Jet fans appear reasonably happy about the pickup
SOJFs (who have been whining about the FO not addressing a blocking TE for 7 months) are now whining about the FO picking up a blocking TE
It's always hard to find reliable info on fringe players. These scouts have to write something, and they're not going to spend a lot of time on these guys. That's how players slip through the cracks. We know 6'4", and 260lbs. Sounds like a reliable receiver. 9 catches for 78 yards in the preseason is pretty good for the 4th TE. He put on extra weight in the offseason per request so it looks like the niners wanted him to be a blocking TE. If he can find a guy to block and get in his way at that size, that makes him our best blocker, an better than Conner. If he can find a soft spot and catch the ball that makes him the best blocking TE we've had here in a while. Would be nice not to have to tip off our plays. We could use a Novacek around here.
First Scotty McKnight, now Konrad Reuland.
And some people (*cough* Jordy, VT's Niece) say Sanchez is weak and has no pull.
Obviously he does, which is why I say if Mark really wanted Bray Edwards he'd be here.
Last edited by jetrider; 09-03-2012 at 02:16 AM.
Seriously? WTF does Sanchez know now about someone he hasn't played with in 8 frickin' years? Not to mention it was high school.
It was the scouts. Seriously.
If you want to continue to try and make your point that Sanchez had pull and wanted no part of Braylon, you'll have to come up with something better than this.
And I guess you're saying you know for a fact that HS buddies (former teammates precisely) don't stay in touch after they enter the pros and sign with different teams.
Just because you burned your bridges doesn't mean others do.
Sorry, it's YOU that needs to find a better argument.
Last edited by jetrider; 09-03-2012 at 03:37 AM.


text: So, in The Mind of Evil The Doctor not only demonstrates his knowledge of Chinese but also claims that he knows Mao personally and that Mao offered him to call him Zedong, a fact the Doctor seems to be proud of. Obviously, this also raises some ethical questions but mostly I started wondering when in Mao's life the Doctor met him and which Doctor it was. Was that ever expanded upon in the show or in tie-in fiction? Also, what are your thoughts on the matter? As it is the Third Doctor saying these things while he's still in exile on Earth, it must have been one of his predecessors. My money is on the First Doctor sometime before we meet him. In the early serials he seems to be less concerned about objectionable behaviour in the ethical department and he's on record saying the French revolution era is his favourite. So, a visit to revolutionary China sounds like something he could have done.


text: I was not alive in the 70s, I was born in the mid-80s and cannot remember any of the 80s either. So I do not know the answer to this question.. In the early to mid 1970s I believe Star Trek was very popular in North America with many people watching the re-runs in syndication and conventions starting up. I don't know just how popular it was. George Lucas has stated he went to these TREK conventions in the 1970s before he started Star Wars. Did it become such a phenomenon that the first big FX driven action/adventure/scifi movie would explode at the box office thanks to all this Star Trek mania? Is this what happened with Star Wars? Did it cash in on Star Trek mania? If Star Trek had made a movie like ST (2009) in the mid 70s would it have cashed in to the same extent that Star Wars did? (Instead of the bland and cerebral TMP, a more colourful, epic, action/adventure movie. I do like TMP though!) I am not starting a Star Trek vs Star Wars thread here because the answer to this may simply be NO. I am just curious what people who can remember the 70s think


text:
Today's Inside the Vault is with Megan Sawyer. She spends much of her time on creating the "living" spaces of the world – cities, towns, and landscapes. If our team were to have super powers, one of them would be the ability to create large, beautiful environments for exploration. Megan helps make that happen. For those who might recognize Megan, she had a feature in the documentary included with the Collector's Edition of Oblivion.
What's your job at
I'm an environment artist. I work on everything from houses tolandscape textures. In Oblivion, I made the houses of Cheydinhal, sculpted the landscape around the whole city, created the bridges and cattails, and made the Dark Brotherhood entry door. I also created the landscape textures and overall feel of the Blackwood swamp region. Currently on Fallout I've worked on a few buildings, an area for the main quest, a lot of clutter, and am now working on landscape.
At night I fight crime!
What other games have you worked on?
TES IV:Oblivion, as well as the Knights of the Nine downloadable content pack and The Shivering Isles expansion. I'm fairly new to game dev, as I've only been working in it for about 4 years. Before that I was an artist up in NYC, and before that I was a college student.
What is the best part about being an artist? The worst part?
I should probably say the best part is that I'm a working artist and wound up getting a job related to my college major, but instead I'm going to be a big nerd and say that the best part is seeing your stuff in magazines. Nothing beats pointing out a house you made to your best friend while in EB Games. 🙂
The worst part is probably that art is very subjective, so I wind up reworking a lot of things that I thought were finished. Given that's the worst thing I can think of, I feel pretty lucky.
How did you get into the industry? Do you have any tips for breaking in?
I got in through a combination of very hard work, and complete dumb luck. I majored in 3D/Time based art at Carnegie Mellon and had an excellent education. In August 2001 I moved to NYC, intending on working for MTV and living my fabulous city life. Then a month later everything changed. I toughed it out for two years, until finally moving back to
Here are some things I think are handy in terms of "breaking in":
- Swallow your pride. One thing I've seen get in the way of a lot of industry hopefuls is a misplaced sense of entitlement/huge ego.
- It's 2% luck, 98% hard work. Make sure when you do get a lucky break, that you're prepared for it. Have your portfolio constantly updated and ready to show potential employers.
What is it like working there?
Awesome times a million. Seriously though, it's really cool. My coworkers are all very approachable and friendly. They're always doing fun things together
like organizing game nights or going to see movies together. I have unlimited club soda thanks to our soda fountain, free hot chocolate in the winter, and best of all, random healthy snacks like apples and bananas. Having worked places where the healthiest thing came from a vending machine, I appreciate that greatly. I also love my cubicle.
It's near the soundbooth so I'm always hearing gunshots or loud explosions, or Fallout music, or all three. I'm the type that's driven crazy when it's quiet and find construction noises soothing, so it suits me very well.
See? Awesome times a million.
Ever play the Fallout games?
Oddly, I never played them before we got the Fallout 3 license. I did acquire the games as soon as we got the license, and man, I love all the stuff they came with. That little booklet and everything is awesome. I'm such a sucker for games that come with cool stuff. I've never finished either one though — not for lack of interest, I'm
just very very bad at finishing games and very rarely do so. I've watched all of the speed runs, read everything I can on Fallout, studied screenshots, and watched every YouTube Fallout game play video I can.
What is your favorite type of game to play?
I like adventure games, and survival horror. The games I've played the most are King's Quest 3 and 4, Quest for Glory 1 & 2. and the Silent Hill series.
What is your favorite game from the past year?
Rayman: Raving Rabbids. BAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Also, Pokemon Diamond, and Animal Crossing. I just got my second birthday cake in Animal Crossing last month. That's either awesome or really scary, I'm still trying to decide which.
What games are you looking forward to?
Rock Band is definitely on my list. I love singing despite my complete inability to be any good at it. Spore sounds like it will be awesome, and I'm really looking forward to Fable 2, having thoroughly enjoyed the first one. I don't really play first person shooters, so the typical list of "Halo3, etc." doesn't have me jumping up and down (no offense to the Halo 3 devs, as I'm sure others will enjoy it!). I'm also excited about Autumn Moon's A Vampyre Story. I'm also looking forward to eventually seeing Soul Calibur 4, and Silent Hill 5.
What are you hobbies and interests?
My favorite hobby is going to concerts and club nights. I like older goth and industrial music, so it tends to be difficult to find concerts to attend but in the last few years I've manged to catch Dead Can Dance, Bauhaus (twice), Sisters of Mercy, Morrissey (twice) and a few other awesome bands. I'm really hoping KMFDM tours with their new album — I'm lame and missed them on the Hau Ruck tour. When there aren't any good concerts, I will occasionally venture out to a goth club. My less social activities include reading, being spooky, collecting Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy memorabilia, looking for turtles in my backyard, and watching random stuff from my DVD collection, including the Stargate SG-1 series, The Crow, and Nightmare Before Christmas for the 487th time.


text:
Sheriff Victor Rose told the Texarkana Gazette the bodies of Steve Duck, 55, and Tonuia Duck, 51, of Taylor were found Thursday in rural Lafayette County. Rose said investigators believe Steve Duck killed his wife then himself.
Rose said the two were in the process of divorcing but that a motive for the shooting has not been confirmed.


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|15 Aug 2017
|Filing date
|15 May 2014
|Priority date
|3 Jun 2002
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Robert A. Kennewick, David Locke, Michael R. Kennewick, SR., Michael R. Kennewick, JR., Richard Kennewick, Tom Freeman
|Original Assignee
|Nuance Communications, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (19), Classifications (5), Legal Events (2)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/365,516, entitled "Agent Architecture for Determining Meanings of Natural Language Utterances," which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,731,929 on May 20, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/747,547, entitled "Systems and Methods for Responding to Natural Language Speech Utterance," which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,502,738 on Mar. 10, 2009, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/452,147, entitled "Systems and Methods for Responding to Natural Language Speech Utterance," which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,398,209 on Jul. 8, 2008, and which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/384,388, filed Jun. 3, 2002, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to the retrieval of online information or processing of commands through a speech interface. More specifically, the invention is a fully integrated environment allowing users to submit natural language speech questions and commands. Information that is sought may be obtained from a wide range of disciplines, making local and network queries to obtain the information, and presenting results in a natural manner even in cases where the question asked or the responses received are incomplete, ambiguous or subjective. The invention may further allow users to control devices and systems either locally or remotely using natural language speech commands.
A machine's ability to communicate with humans in a natural manner remains a difficult problem. Cognitive research on human interaction shows that a person asking a question or giving a command typically relies heavily on context and the domain knowledge of the person answering. On the other hand, machine-based queries (e.g., questions, commands, requests, and/or other types of communications) may be highly structured and are not inherently natural to the human user. Thus, human questions and machine processing of queries may be fundamentally incompatible. Yet the ability to allow a person to make natural language speech-based queries remains a desirable goal.
Much work covering multiple methods has been done in the fields of natural language processing and speech recognition. Speech recognition has steadily improved in accuracy and today is successfully used in a wide range of applications. Natural language processing has previously been applied to the parsing of speech queries. Yet, current systems are generally unable to provide a complete environment for users to make natural language speech queries and receive natural sounding responses. There remains a number of significant barriers to creation of a complete natural language speech-based query and response environment.
According to an aspect of the invention, one object of the invention is to overcome these and other drawbacks of prior systems.
According to one aspect of the invention, in order for machines (e.g., computer devices) to properly respond to a question and/or a command that is in a natural language form, machine processable queries and commands may be formulated after the natural language question and/or command has been parsed and interpreted.
In another aspect of the invention, systems are provided which may overcome the deficiencies of prior systems through the application of a complete speech-based information query, retrieval, presentation and command environment. This environment makes maximum use of context, prior information, domain knowledge, and user specific profile data to achieve a natural environment for one or more users making queries or commands in multiple domains. Through this integrated approach, a complete speech-based natural language query and response environment may be created. Further, at each step in the process, accommodation may be made for full or partial failure and graceful recovery. The robustness to partial failure is achieved through the use of probabilistic and fuzzy reasoning at several stages of the process. This robustness to partial failure promotes the feeling of a natural response to questions and commands.
According to another aspect of the invention, the system comprises a speech unit interface device that receives spoken natural language queries, commands and/or other utterances from a user, and a computer device or system that receives input from the speech unit and processes the input (e.g., retrieves information responsive to the query, takes action consistent with the command and performs other functions as detailed herein). The system may further generate a natural language speech response in response to the user and/or generate a natural language speech message without any prompting from a user such as an alert message.
According to another aspect of the invention, the speech unit may be incorporated into the computer device or system, or may be a separate structure. If a separate structure, the speech unit may be connected to the computer device via a wired or wireless connection. If a wireless connection, a base unit may be connected to the computer, internally or externally, to communicate with the speech unit.
According to another aspect of the invention, the computer device or system may comprise a stand alone or networked PC, a PDA or other portable computer device, or other computer device or system. For convenience, these and other computer alternatives shall be referred to simply as a computer. One aspect of the invention comprises software that is installed onto the computer, where the software comprises one or more of the following modules: a speech recognition module for capturing the user input; a parser for parsing the input, a text to speech engine module for converting text to speech; a network interface for enabling the computer to interface with one or more networks; a graphical user interface module; and an event manager for managing events. Preferably, the event manager is in communication with a dictionary and phrases module, a user profile module that enables user profiles to be created, modified, and accessed, a personality module that enables various personalities to be created and used, an agent module, an update manager, and one or more databases.
According to another aspect of the invention domain specific behavior and information is organized into agents. Agents are autonomous executables that receive, process and respond to user questions, queries, and commands. The agents provide complete, convenient and re-distributable packages or modules of functionality, typically for a specific domain or application. Agents can be complete packages of executable code, scripts, links to information, and other forms of communication data, required to provide a specific package of functionality, usually in a specific domain. In other words, an agent includes everything that is needed to extend the functionality of the invention to a new domain. Further, agents and their associated data can be updated remotely over a network as new behavior is added or new information becomes available. Agents can use system resources and the services of other, typically more specialized, agents. Agents can be distributed and redistributed in a number of ways including on removable storage media, transfer over networks or attached to emails and other messages. An update manager is used to add new agents to the system or update existing agents.
According to another aspect of the invention, license management capabilities allowing the sale of agents by third parties to one or more users on a one time or subscription basis may be provided. In addition, users with particular expertise may create agents, update existing agents by adding new behaviors and information, and making these agents for other users.
In order to enhance the natural query and response environment, the system may format results in a manner enhancing the understandability to the user. The optimal formatting and presentation depends on the context of the questions, the contents of the response being presented, the history of the interaction with the user, the user's preferences and interests and the nature of the domain. Information presented in a rigid, highly formatted, or structured manner seems unnatural to most people. Thus a system simulates some aspects of human "personality". In some cases, the presentation of the response and the terms used are randomized so they do not appear rigidly formatted or mechanical. The use of other simulated personality characteristics is also desirable. For example, a response that may be upsetting to the user is best presented in a sympathetic manner. Finally, the results of many queries are long text strings, lists, tables or other lengthy sets of data. Natural presentation of this type of information presents particular challenges. Simply reading the long response is generally not preferred. Therefore the system parses the most important sections from the response and, at least initially, only reports these. Determining what parts of a long response are presented depends on the context of the questions, the contents of the response being presented, the history of the interaction with the user, the user's preferences and interests and the nature of the domain. At the same time the system gives the user interactive control over what information and how much information is being presented, to stop the response all together, or to take other actions.
According to another aspect of the invention, the system may process and respond to both questions or queries and commands. Keywords or context are used to determine if the user's utterance is a command or query. Some utterances can include both aspects of a command and a query or question. For example, a user may say, "record my favorite TV program". A query is required to determine the name, the channel, and time for the users favorite TV program. A command must be executed to set a video recorder to capture this program.
For each user utterance including a question or query or set of questions or queries, the system may perform multiple steps possibly including:
The above steps preferably are performed while accounting for the domain of expertise required, the context for the question or command, domain specific information, the history of the user's interaction, user preferences, information sources or commands available, and responses obtained from the sources. At each stage probabilistic or fuzzy set decision and matching methods can be applied to deal with inconsistent, ambiguous, conflicting and incomplete information or responses. In addition, the use of asynchronous queries that may result in rapid and graceful failure of some queries or commands may allow the system to robustly return results quickly and in a manner that seems natural to the user.
Many everyday questions are inherently subjective and result in answers that are a matter of option or consensus as much as fact. Such questions are often ad hoc in their nature, as well. The system, according to another aspect of the invention, may use probabilistic and fuzzy set decision and matching methods to first identify the subjective nature of the question and to evaluate a range of possible answers, selecting the one answer or few answers that best represent the type of result desired by the user. The context and expected results from a particular question may be highly dependent on the individual asking the question. Therefore, the system may create, store and use extensive personal profile information for each user. Information in the profile may be added and updated automatically as the user uses the system or may be manually added or updated by the user or by others. Domain specific agents may collect, store and use specific profile information, as may be required for optimal operations. Users can create commands for regularly used reports, automatically generated alerts, and other queries and for the formatting and presentation of results. The system may use profile data in interpreting questions, formulating queries, interpreting results of queries and presenting answers to the user. Examples of information in a user profile includes, history of questions asked, session histories, formatting and presentation preferences, special word spelling, terms of interest, special data sources of interest, age, sex, education, location or address, place of business, type of business, investments, hobbies, sports interests, news interests and other profile data.
To create a natural question and response environment, the system according to one aspect of the invention, may attempt to provide rapid responses without requiring any additional information. The system may determine the mostly likely context or domain for a user's question or command, for example, by using a real-time scoring system or other technique. Based on this determination, the system may invoke the correct agent. The agent makes one or more queries and rapidly returns a formatted response. Thus, a user can receive a direct response to a set of questions, each with a different response or context. In some cases, the available information, including the query results, may not adequately answer the question. In such a situation, the user may be asked one or more questions to resolve the ambiguity. Additional queries may then be made before an adequate response is made. In these cases, the system may use context information, user profile information and domain specific information to minimize the interaction with the user required to deliver a response.
If the confidence level of the domain or context score is not high enough to ensure a reliable response, the system can request that the user verify the question or command is correctly understood. In general, the question may be phrased to indicate the context of the question including all criteria or parameters. If the user confirms that the question is correct the system may proceed to produce a response. Otherwise, either the user can rephrase the original question, perhaps adding additional information to remove ambiguity, or the system may ask one or more questions to attempt to resolve the ambiguity or other actions may taken.
Although the system, according to another aspect of the invention, is intended to be able to accept most any natural language question or command, ambiguity can still be a problem. To assist users formulate concise questions and commands the system may support a voice query language. The language may help users clearly specify the keywords or contexts of the question or command along with the parameters or criteria. The system may provide built in training capabilities to help the user learn the best methods to formulate their questions and commands.
In order to make the responses to user's questions and commands seem more natural, the system may employ one or more dynamically invokeable personalities. Personalities have specific characteristics, which simulate the behavioral characteristics of real humans. Examples of these characteristics include, sympathy, irritation, and helpfulness. The personality also randomizes aspects of responses, just as a real human would do. This behavior includes randomization of terms used and the order of presentation of information. Characteristics of the personality are invoked using probabilistic or fuzzy set decision and matching methods, and using criteria including the context for the question, the history of the user's interaction, user preferences, information sources available, responses obtained from the sources.
According to another aspect of the invention, special procedures to present information that is in the form of long text strings, tables, lists or other long response sets may be employed. Simply presenting a long set of information in an ordered manner is not natural nor what most users have in mind. The system, using for example, probabilistic or fuzzy set matching methods, may extract the most relevant information to the user and presents these subsets first. Further the system may provide commands allowing the user to skip through the list, find keywords or key information in the list or stop processing the list altogether.
In addition to the ability to process user questions and commands, the invention may provide local or remote control functions for the system or for other devices. Users may initiate commands locally or remotely. Several techniques for executing remote operations are possible, for example, the use of a telephone or other audio connection. Other remote command techniques may be used. The processing of these commands is performed in a nearly identical manner to a question. One difference being that the result of the command is generally an action rather than a response. Examples of control operations supported by the invention include, finding and playing music, film, games or other entertainment media, control of the appliances or other electronic or electro-mechanical devices, security systems control, audio, text and video conferencing (including Voice over IP conferencing), operating integrated messaging environments and other control operations. By using an optional analog or digital telephone interface or a data network interface, the invention can provide remote control capability of the computer or and auxiliary devices connected to the computer. For example, if the computer is connected via an interface to one or more auxiliary devices, a remote user can use this capability to remotely control or program the operation of the auxiliary device. For example, this enables recording of a television program, checking the status of a home security system, checking voice mail messages, hearing and responding to email messages, and much more. For each user command utterance the system may execute a number of steps possibly including:
The system may be used in conjunction with a wide range of platform environments. These environments include, as a peripheral to a PC, a portable or wearable computer or other computer, embedded in a PC or other computer, on a personal digital assistant (e.g., a PDA with wireless networking capability, in a specialized device such as a bar code scanner or payment terminal, on a wireless telephone, or other platforms). If the invention is used with a mobile or portable device that has position location capability, the location data can be used by the invention as part of the context for user questions. A user may use the system on one or more devices. In this case history and profile information for the user may be synchronized between the multiple devices on a periodic basis or other basis.
According to another aspect of the invention, the system may be deployed in a network of devices using common base of agents, data, information, user profiles and histories. Each user can then interact with, and receive the same services and applications at any location equipped with the required device on the network. For example, multiple devices on which the invention is deployed, and connected to a network, can be placed at different locations throughout a home, place of business or other location. In such a case, the system may use the location of the particular device addressed by the user as part of the context for the questions asked.
Multiple users may use the system at different times or during interleaved or overlapping sessions. The system recognizes the user either by name or voice. Once the user is recognized, the system invokes the correct profile. If multiple users are addressing the system in overlapping or interleaved sessions, the system determines which user is stating each question or command and applies the correct profile and context. For applications requiring security, the user is verified, typically by using voiceprint matching or requesting a password or pass-phrase from the user. When multiple users are engaged in interleaved sessions, the system gracefully resolves conflicts using a probabilistic or fuzzy set decision method. This process simulates the manner in which a human would address multiple questions. For example, the system may answer short questions first at times, while answering questions in the order received at other times.
Given the desire for domain specific behavior, user specific behavior and domain specific information, the system, according to another aspect of the invention, may allow both users and content providers to extend the system capabilities, add data to local data sources, and add references to network data sources. To allow coverage of the widest possible range of topics, the system allows third party content developers to develop, distribute and sell specialized or domain specific system programs and information. Content is created though creation of new agents, scripting existing agents, adding new data to agents or databases and adding or modifying links to information sources. Distribution of this information is sensitive to the users interests and use history and to their willingness to pay or not.
According to another aspect of the invention, the system may allow users to disseminate their knowledge without programming. The system may include mechanisms that allow users to post and distribute agents and information in their particular areas of expertise, to improve system capability. Further, users can extend the system and configure it to their own preferences, add information to their profile to define new questions or queries, extend and modify existing questions and queries, add new data sources, update data sources, set preferences and specify presentation parameters for results.
Since the invention may operate in many environments, including environments with background noise, point noise sources and people holding conversations, filtering of speech input may be performed. The invention may use, for example, either one-dimensional or two-dimensional array microphones to receive human speech. The array microphones can be use fixed or employ dynamic beam forming techniques. The array pattern may be adjusted to maximize gain in the direction of the user and to null point noise sources. Speech received at the microphones may then be processed with analog or digital filters to optimize the bandwidth, cancel echoes, and notch-out narrow band noise sources. Following filtering, the system may use variable rate sampling to maximize the fidelity of the encoded speech, while minimizing required bandwidth. This procedure may be particularly useful in cases where the encoded speech is transmitted over a wireless network or link.
Some example applications for the invention include but are not limited to the following:
It will be appreciated that the foregoing statements of the features of the invention are not intended as exhaustive or limiting, the proper scope thereof being appreciated by reference to this entire disclosure and reasonably apparent variations and extensions thereof.
The invention will be described by reference to the preferred and alternative embodiments thereof in conjunction with the drawings in which:
The fact that most natural language queries are incomplete in their definition is a significant barrier to natural human query-response interaction between humans and machines. Further, some questions can only be interpreted in the context of previous questions, knowledge of the domain, or the user's history of interests and preferences. Thus, some natural language questions may not be easily transformed to machine processable form. Compounding this problem, many natural language questions are ambiguous or subjective. In these cases, the formation of a machine processable query and returning of a natural language response is difficult at best.
In order for machines (e.g., computer devices) to properly respond to a question or a command that is in a natural language form, machine processable queries and commands may be formulated after the natural form question or command has been parsed and interpreted. Depending on the nature of the question or command, there may not be a simple set of queries and commands that will return an adequate response. Several queries and commands may need to be initiated and even these queries and commands may need to be chained or concatenated to achieve a complete result. Further, no single available source may contain the entire set of results required. Thus multiple queries and/or commands, perhaps with several parts, may be needed for multiple data sources, which can be both local or on a network. Not all of these sources, queries and/or commands will return useful results or any results at all. Useful results that are returned are often embedded in other information, and from which they may need to be extracted. For example, a few key words or numbers often need to be "scraped" from a larger amount of other information in a text string, table, list, page or other information. At the same time, other extraneous information such as graphics or pictures needs to be removed to process the response. In any case, the multiple results must be evaluated and combined to form the best possible answer, even in the case where some queries do not return useful results or fail entirely. In cases where the question is ambiguous or the result inherently subjective, determining the best result to present is a complex process. Finally, to maintain a natural interaction, responses need to be returned rapidly to the user. Managing and evaluating complex and uncertain queries while maintaining real-time performance is a significant challenge.
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings, and describes exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Other embodiments are possible and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit, functionality and scope of the invention. Therefore, the following detailed descriptions are not meant to limit the invention.
The present invention provides a complete speech-based information query, retrieval, processing and presentation environment. In addition, the invention may be useful for control of the system itself and/or external devices. This integrated environment makes maximum use of context, prior information and domain and user specific profile data to achieve a natural environment for one or more users making queries or stating commands in multiple domains. Through this integrated approach, a complete speech-based natural language query, command and response environment may be created.
The system 90 may include a main unit 98 and a speech unit 128. Alternatively, the system 98 may only comprise of the main unit 98, the speech unit 128 being a completely separate system. The event manager 100 may mediate interactions between other components of the main unit 98. The event manager 100 provides a multi-threaded environment allowing the system 98 to operate on multiple commands or questions from multiple user sessions without conflict and in an efficient manner, maintaining real-time response capabilities.
Agents 106 contain packages of both generic and domain specific behavior for the system 98. Agents 106 may use nonvolatile storage for data, parameters, history information, and locally stored content provided in the system databases 102 or other local sources. User specific data, parameters, and session and history information that may determine the behavior of agents 106 are stored in one or more user profiles 110. Data determining system personality characteristics for agents are stored in the one or more personality module 108. The update manager 104 manages the automatic and manual loading and updating of agents 106 and their associated data from the Internet 136 or other network through the network interface 116.
The main user interface for the system 90, according to an embodiment of the invention, is through one or more speech units 128. The speech unit 128 includes one or more microphones, for example array microphone 134, to receive the utterances of the user. The speech received at the microphone 134 may be processed by filter 132 and passed to the speech coder 138 for encoding and compression. In one embodiment, a transceiver module 130 transmits the coded speech to the main unit 98. Coded speech received from the main unit 98 is detected by the transceiver 130, then decoded and decompressed by the speech coder 138 and annunciated by the speaker 136.
The one or more speech units 128 and the main unit 98 may communicate over a communication link. The communication link can include a wired or wireless link. According to one embodiment, the communication link comprises an RF link. The transceiver 130 on the speech unit communicates coded speech data bi-directionally over the communication link with the transceiver 126 on the main unit 98. According to another embodiment, RF link may use any standard local area wireless data protocols including the IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth or other standards. Alternatively, an infrared data link conforming to any suitable standard such as IrDA or other infrared standards can be used. In an alternative embodiment, wires connect the speech unit 128 and the main unit 98, eliminating the need for one speech coder 138. Other wired or wireless analog or digital transmission techniques can be used.
Coded speech received at the transceiver 126 on the main unit 98 is passed to the speech coder 122 for decoding and decompression. The decoded speech is processed by the speech recognition engine 120 using data in the dictionary and phrases module 112 and received from the agents 106. The recognized words and phrases are processed by the parser 118, which transforms them into complete commands and questions using data supplied by an agent[s] 106. The agent[s] 106 then process the commands or questions. The agent[s] 106 create queries to local databases 102 or though the network interface 116 to data sources on the Internet 136 or other networks. Commands typically result in actions taken by the system 90 itself (i.e., pause or stop), or to a remote device or data source (i.e., download data or program, or control a remote device), through the network interface to the Internet or other data interface.
The agents 106 return results of questions as responses to users. The response may be created using the results of information queries, the system personality 108 and the user preferences or other data in the user profile 110. The agents 106 generally present these results using the speech unit 128. The agents 106 create a response string, which is sent to the text to speech engine 124. The text to speech engine 124 creates the required utterances, which may be encoded and compressed by the speech coder 122. Once coded, the utterances are transmitted from the main unit 98 by the transceiver 126 to the transceiver 130 on the speech unit 128. The utterance is then decoded and decompressed by the speech coder 138 and output by the speaker 136.
The graphical user interface 114 can be used as a substitute or complement to the speech interface. For example, the graphical user interface 114 can be used to view and interact with graphical or tabular information in a manner more easily digested by the user. The graphical user interface can show system state and history in a more concise manner than the speech interface. Users can use the graphical user interface to create or extend agents 106. These operations can include scripting of agents, adding data to the agent or databases 102 used by the agent, adding links to information sources.
The system 90 may comprise of different types of agents. In one embodiment of the invention, generic and domain specific behavior and information may be organized into domain agents. A system agent, on the other hand, provides default functionality and basic services. The domain specific agents provide complete, convenient and re-distributable packages or modules for each application area. In other words, a domain agent includes everything needed to extend or modify the functionality of the system 90 in a current or new domain. Further, domain agents and their associated data can be updated remotely over a network as new behavior is added or new information becomes available. Domain agents may use the services of other, typically more specialized, agents and the system agent. Agents are distributed and redistributed in a number of ways including on removable storage media, transfer over networks or attached to emails and other messages. The invention may provide license management capability allowing the sale of agents by third parties to one or more users on a one time or subscription basis. In addition, users with particular expertise may create agents, update existing agents by adding new behaviors and information and making these agents to other users. A block diagram of an agent architecture according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in
Agents 106 receive and return events to the event manager 100. Both system agents 150 and domain agents 156 receive questions and commands from the parser 118. Based on keywords in the questions and commands and the structures of the questions and commands, the parser invokes the required agent[s]. Agents use the nonvolatile storage for data, parameters, history information and local content provided in the system databases 102. When the system starts-up or boots-up the agent manager 154 may load and initialize the system agent 150 and the one or more domain agents 156. At shutdown the agent manager unloads the agents. The agent manager 154 also performs license management functions for the domain agents 156 and content in the databases 102.
The system agent 150 manages the criteria handlers 152, which handle specific parameters or values (criteria) used to determine context for questions and commands. Both the system agent 150 and the domain agents 156 use the criteria handlers 152. The various domain agents 156 can use the services of the system agent 150 and of other, typically more specialized, domain agents 156. The system agent 150 and the domain agents 156 use the services of the agent library 158, which contains utilities for commonly used functions. The library may include utilities for text and string handling, network communications, database lookup and management, fuzzy and probabilistic evaluation, text to speech formats, and other utilities.
Domain agents 156 can be data-driven, scripted or created with compiled code. A base of generic agent is used as the starting point for data-driven or scripted agents. Agents created with compiled code are typically built into dynamically linkable or loadable libraries. Developers of agents can add new functionality to the agent library 158 as required. Details of agent distribution and update, and agent creation or modification are discussed in sections below.
The invention, according to another embodiment of the invention, may provide capabilities to distribute and update system agents 150, domain agents 156, agent library components 158, databases 102, and dictionary and phrase entries 112 over wireless or wired networks 136, including dial-up networks using the update manager 104. The network interface 116 may provide connections to one or more networks. The update manager 104 may also manages the downloading and installation of core system updates. The agent manager 154 may perform license management functions for the domain agents and the databases. The update manager 104 and agent manager 154 may perform these functions for all agents and database content including, agents and content available to all users or agents and content only available to certain users. Examples of agent and database components added or updated on a periodic basis include:
When a user requires or selects a new domain agent 156 or database element 102, the update manager 104 may connect to their source on the network 136 though the network interface 116, download and install the agent or data. To save system resources and to comply with any license conditions, the update manager 104 may uninstall agents that are no longer in use. In one embodiment of the invention, the update manager 104 periodically queries one or more sources of the licensed agents and database components to locate and download updates to agent executables, scripts or data as they become available. Alternatively, the agent sources may initiate the downloading of agent updates of the registered or licensed agents to the update manager as they become available.
The agent manager 154 may provide a license management client capable of executing most any license terms and conditions. When a particular agent 106 and/or database element 102 is required by a command, the agent manager 154 verifies that the use of the agent or data element is within the allowed terms and conditions, and if so, invokes the agent or allows access to the data element. License management schemes that can be implemented through the agent manager 154 include outright purchase, subscription for updates, one time or limited time use. Use of shared agents and data elements (such as those downloaded from web sites maintained by groups of domain experts) may also be managed by the agent manager 154.
If a question or command requires an agent, currently not loaded on the system, the agent manager 154 may search the network 136 through the network interface 116 to find a source for a suitable agent. Once located, the agent can be loaded under the control of the update manager 104, within the terms and conditions of the license agreement as enforced by the agent manger.
New commands, keywords, information, or information sources can be added to any domain agent 156 by changing agent data or scripting. These configuration capabilities may allow users and content developers to extend and modify the behavior of existing domain agents 156 or to create new domain agents 156 from a generic agent without the need to create new compiled code. Thus, the modification of the domain agents 156 may range from minor data-driven updates by even the most casual users, such as specifying the spelling of words, to development of complex behavior using the scripting language as would typically be done by a domain expert. The user can create and manage modifications to domain agents 156 through speech interface commands or using a graphical user interface 114. User-specific modifications of domain agents 156 are stored in conjunction with the user's profile 110 and accessed by the domain agent 156 at run-time.
The data used to configure data driven agents 156 are structured in a manner to facilitate efficient evaluation and to help developers with organization. These data are used not only by the agents 156, but also by the speech recognition engine 120, the text to speech engine 124, and the parser 118. Examples of some major categories of data include:
Commands and questions are interpreted, queries formulated, responses created and results presented based on the users personal or user profile 110 values. Personal profiles may include information specific to the individual, their interests, their special use of terminology, the history of their interactions with the system, and domains of interest. The personal profile data may be used by the agents 106, the speech recognition engine 120, the text to speech engine 124, and the parser 118. Preferences can include, special (modified) commands, past behavior or history, questions, information sources, formats, reports, and alerts. User profile data can be manually entered by the user and/or can be learned by the system 90 based on user behavior. User profile values may include:
End users may use the data driven agent 156 extension and modification facilities and values stored in user profiles 110 to create special reports, packages of queries, alerts and output formats. A single alert or report can be configured to use multiple data sources, values, and other variables (i.e., time, location, etc.) to condition or otherwise determine when an alert should be sent. For example, an alert can be generated by sampling a stock price every fifteen minutes and sending an alert if the price drops below some value. To create a report, the user first specifies a set of commands or questions. Next, the user creates or selects a format for the report. Finally the user may name the report. A report can have variable parameters. For example, a user may create a company stock report, and execute the report by stating its name and the company name, which gives the user selected information and in a specified format for that company. In another example, a user can create a "morning" report, which presents selected multimedia information from different sources (news, sports, traffic, weather) in the order and formats desired. Alerts and reports can be created using only voice commands and responses, commands and responses through the graphical user interface 114, or a combination of the two. To create a report, alert, or other specialized behavior, the user performs a number of steps including:
Filtering and noise elimination may be important in facilitating the various functionalities of the system 90. The accurate recognition and parsing of the user's speech requires the best possible signal to noise ratio at the input to the speech recognition engine 120. To accomplish the required improvements an array microphone 134 and a filter 132 are employed. According to an embodiment of the invention, the microphone array, filters and speech coder 138 are physically separated from the main unit 98 into a speech unit 128, and connected using a wireless link. Since bandwidth on a wireless connection is at a premium, the speech coder dynamically adapts the digitization rate and compression of the captured speech.
The speech unit 128 may use an array of microphones 134 to provide better directional signal capture and noise elimination than can be achieved with a single microphone. The microphone array can be one-dimensional (a linear array) or two-dimensional (a circle, square, triangle or other suitable shape). The beam pattern of the array can be fixed or made adaptive though use of analog or digital phase shifting circuitry. The pattern of the active array is steered to point in the direction of the one or more users speaking. At the same time nulls can be added to the pattern to notch out point or limited area noise sources. The use of the array microphone also helps reduce the cross talk between output from the text to speech engine 124 through the speaker 136 and detection of the user's speech.
The microphone can be complemented with an analog or digital (i.e., Voice over IP) speech interface. This interface allows a remote user to connect to the system and interact with it in the same manner possible if they were physically present.
The speech unit 128, according to an embodiment of the invention, may use an analog or digital filter 132 between the array microphone 134 and the speech coder 138. The pass band of the filter is set to optimize the signal to noise ratio at the input to the speech recognition engine 120. In some embodiments, the filter is adaptive, using band shaping combined with notch filtering to reject narrow-band noise. In one embodiment of the invention, the system 90 may employ adaptive echo cancellation in the filter. The echo cancellation helps prevent cross talk between output from the text to speech engine and detection of the user's speech as well as suppression of environmentally caused echoes. Algorithms comparing the background noise to the signal received from the user's speech are used to optimize the band-shaping parameters of the adaptive filter. Those skilled in the art will be familiar with multiple techniques used to construct suitable digital and analog filters.
The speech received by the array microphone 134 and passed through the filter 132 may be sent to the speech digitizer or coder 138. The speech coder 138 may use adaptive lossy audio compression to optimize bandwidth requirements for the transmission of the coded speech to the speech recognition engine 120 over a wireless link. The lossy coding may be optimized to preserve only the components of the speech signal required for optimal recognition. Further, the lossy compression algorithms that may be used may be designed to prevent even momentary gaps in the signal stream, which can cause severe errors in the speech recognition engine. The digitized speech may be buffered in the coder and the coder may adapt the output data rate to optimize the use of the available bandwidth. The use of the adaptive speech coder is particularly advantageous when a band-limited wireless link is used between the coder and the speech recognition engine.
In an alternative embodiment, the array microphone can be replaced by a set of physically distributed microphones or a headset worn by the user. The distributed microphones can be placed in different parts of a room or in different rooms. The distributed microphones can create a three-dimensional array to improve signal to noise ratio. The headset may use a wireless or wired connection.
While the invention is intended to be able to accept most any natural language question or command, ambiguity can still be a problem. To assist users formulate concise questions and commands the system 90 may support a voice query language. The language is structured to allow a variety of queries with minimal ambiguity. Thus, the voice query language helps users clearly specify the keywords or contexts of the question or command along with the parameters or criteria. The language provides a grammar to clearly specify the keyword used to determine the context and a set of one or criteria or parameters. A user asking a question or stating a command in the voice query language is nearly always guaranteed to receive a response.
The voice query language may be sensitive to the contents of the context stack. Thus, a following-on question can be asked using an abbreviated grammar, since keywords and criteria can be inherited from the stack. For example, the user can simply ask about another keyword if the criteria of the question remain constant.
The system 90, may provide built in training capabilities to help the user learn the best methods to formulate their questions and commands. The interactive training allows the user to audibly or visibly see the machine interpretation of their queries and provides suggestions on how to better structure a query. Using the interactive training a user can quickly become comfortable with the voice query language and at the same time learn how to optimize the amount of information required with each step of a dialog.
The output of the speech coder 122 may be fed to the speech recognition engine 120. The speech recognition engine 120 recognizes words and phrases, using information in the dictionary and phrase tables 112, and passes these to the parser 118 for interpretation. The speech recognition engine 120 may determine the user's identity by voice and name for each utterance. Recognized words and phrases may be tagged with this identity in all further processing. Thus, as multiple users engage in overlapping sessions, the tags added by the speech recognition engine 120 to each utterance allows other components of the system 90 to tie that utterance to the correct user and dialog. The user recognition capability may further be used as a security measure for applications, such as auctions or online shopping, where this is required. Voice characteristics of each user may be contained in the user profile 110.
A user may start a dialog with the system 90 when they first address it. This can be done by speaking a generic word ("computer") or addressing a specific name ("Fred"), which may be generally tied to a system personality 108. Once the user starts the dialog, it may be recognized by the speech recognition engine 120, using unique characteristics of the user's speech. At the end of a dialog or to interrupt a dialog, the user may utter a dismissal word ("good bye").
According to another embodiment of the invention, the system 90 may employ a speech recognition engine 120 seeding for improved word recognition accuracy, using data from the dictionary and phrase tables 112, user profiles 110, and the agents 106. At the same time, the fuzzy set possibilities or prior probabilities for the words in the dictionary and phrase tables may be dynamically updated to maximize the probability of correct recognition at each stage of the dialog. The probabilities or possibilities may be dynamically updated based on a number of criteria including the application domain, the questions or commands, contexts, the user profile and preferences, user dialog history, the recognizer dictionary and phrase tables, and word spellings.
For uncommon words or new vocabulary words, a user may be given the option to spell the words. The spelling may be done by saying the names or the letters or using a phonetic alphabet. The phonetic alphabet can be a default one or one of the user's choosing.
Alternatively, when a user uses a word that is not recognized at all or is not correctly recognized by the speech recognition engine 120 then the user may be asked to spell the word. The speech recognition engine 120 determines this condition based on confidence level for the scoring process. The word is looked up in the dictionary 112 and the pronunciation for the word is added to either the dictionary, the agent 106, or the user's profile 110. The word pronunciation can then be associated with the domain, the question, the context and the user. Though this process the speech recognition engine learns with time and improves accuracy. To assist users in spelling words an individualized phonetic alphabet can be used. Each user can modify the standard phonetic alphabets with words, which they can remember more easily.
Once the words and phrases have been recognized by the speech recognition engine 120, the tokens and user identification is passed to the parser 118. The parser 118 examines the tokens for the questions or commands, context and criteria. The parser 118 determines a context for an utterance by applying prior probabilities or fuzzy possibilities to keyword matching, user profile 110, and dialog history. The context of a question or command determines the domain and thereby, the domain agent 156, if any, to be evoked. For example, a question with the keywords "temperature" implies a context value of weather for the question. The parser dynamically receives keyword and associated prior probability or fuzzy possibility updates from the system agent 150 or an already active domain agent 156. Based on these probabilities or possibilities the possible contexts are scored and the top one or few are used for further processing.
The parser 118 uses a scoring system to determine the mostly likely context or domain for a user's question and/or command. The score is determined from weighting a number of factors, including the user profile 110, the domain agent's data content, and previous context. Based on this scoring, the system 90 invokes the correct agent. If the confidence level of the score is not high enough to ensure a reliable response, the system 90 may ask the user to verify whether the question and/or command is correctly understood. In general, the question that is asked by the system 90 may be phrased to indicate the context of the question including all criteria or parameters. For example, the question can be in the form of: "Did I understand that you want such-and-such?" If the user confirms that the question is correct the system proceeds to produce a response. Otherwise, the user can rephrase the original question, perhaps adding additional information to remove ambiguity, or the system can ask one or more questions to attempt to resolve the ambiguity.
Once the context for the question or command has been determined, the parser 118 can invoke the correct agent 156, 150. To formulate a question or command in the regular grammar used by agents, the parser 118 may determine required and optional values for the criteria or parameters. These criteria may have been explicitly supplied by the user or may need to be inferred. The parser 118 makes use of the criteria handlers 152 supplied by the system agent 150. The criteria handlers 152 provide context sensitive procedures for extracting the criteria or parameters from the user's question or command. Some criteria are determined by executing algorithms in the agent, while others may be determined by applying probabilistic of fuzzy reasoning to tables of possible values. Prior probabilities or fuzzy possibilities and associated values are received from a number of sources including the history of the dialog, the user profile 110, and the agent. Based on user responses, the prior probabilities or fuzzy possibilities are updated as the system learns the desired behavior. For a weather context, examples of criteria include, location, date and time. Other criteria can include command criteria (i.e., yes/no, on/off, pause, stop), and spelling. Special criteria handlers are available from the system agent for processing lists, tables, barge-in commands, long strings of text and system commands.
The criteria handlers 152 operate iteratively or recursively on the criteria extracted to eliminate ambiguity. This processing helps reduce the ambiguity in the user's question or command. For example, if the user has a place name (or other proper noun) in their utterance the parser 118 can use services of the domain agent 156 to look up tables in the databases 102 for place names or can attempt to determine which word is the proper noun from the syntax of the utterance. In another example, the user asks "what about flight one hundred and twenty too?". The parser and domain agent use flight information in the database and network information along with context to determine the most plausible interpretation among; flight 100 and flight 20 also, flight 100 and flight 22, flight 122, and the like.
Once the context and the criteria are determined, the parser 118 may form the question or command in a standard format or hierarchical data structure used for processing by the agents 150, 156. The parser 118 may fill in all required and some optional tokens for the grammar of the context. Often the tokens must be transformed to values and forms acceptable to the agents. The parser obtains the required transformations from the agents, dialog history or user profile 110. Examples of transformations or substitutions performed by the parser on tokens include:
The agents 150, 156 may receive a command or question once the parser 118 has placed it in the required standard format. Based on the context, the parser 118 evokes the correct agent to process the question or command.
Commands can be directed to the system 90 or to an external entity. System commands are generally directed to the system agent 150. Commands for external entities are generally processed by a domain agent 156, which includes the command context and behavior for the external entity.
Specific questions are generally directed to one of the domain agents 156. Based on the question or context and the parameters or criteria, the domain agent creates one or more queries to one or more local or external information sources. Questions can be objective or subjective in nature. Results for objective questions can often be obtained by structured queries to one or more local or network information sources. Even for objective questions, the system 90 may need to apply probabilistic or fuzzy set analysis to deal with cases of conflicting information or incomplete information. Information to answer subjective questions is generally obtained by one or more ad-hoc queries to local or network data sources, followed by probabilistic or fuzzy set evaluation of the one results to determine a best answer.
Once the domain agent 156 has formulated the one or more queries, they may be sent to local and/or network information sources. The queries are performed in an asynchronous manner to account for the fact that sources respond at different speeds or may fail to respond at all. Duplicate queries are sent to different information sources to ensure that at least one source responds with a useful result in a timely manner. Further, if multiple results are received in a timely manner, they can be scored by the system to determine which data is most reliable or appropriate. Examples of data sources accommodated include, HTTP data sources, sources with meta-data in various formats including XML, entertainment audio, video and game files including MP3, databases using query languages and structured responses such as SQL, and other data sources.
The local information sources can be stored in one or more system databases 102 or can be on any local data storage such as a set of CDs or DVDs in a player or other local data storage. Network information sources can be connected to the Internet 136 or other network and accessed through a series of plug-ins or adaptors, known as pluggable sources, in the network interface 116. The pluggable sources in the network interface 116 may be capable of executing the protocols and interpreting the data formats for the data sources of interest. The pluggable sources may provide information scraping data and procedures for each source to the domain agents 156. If a new type of data source is to be used, a new plug-in or adaptor can be added to the network interface 116.
The domain agent 156 evaluates the results of the one or more queries as they arrive. The domain agent 156 scores the relevance of the results based on results already received, the context, the criteria, the history of the dialog, the user profile 110 and domain specific information using probabilistic or fuzzy scoring techniques. Part of the dialog history is maintained in a context stack. The weight of each context for the scoring is based on the relevance of one context to another and the age of the contexts. Other scoring variables can be associated through the context stack. Contexts can also be exclusive, so that previous contexts have no weight in the scoring.
Based on the continuous scoring processes, the domain agent 156 may determine if a single best answer can be extracted. For most questions the desired result has a set of tokens that must be found to formulate an answer. Once a value has been found for each of these tokens the results are ready for presentation to the user. For example, for a question on weather, the tokens can include the date, day of week, predicted high temperature, predicted low temperature, chance of precipitation, expected cloud cover, expected type of precipitation and other tokens. Results processed in this manner include error messages. For subjective questions this determination is made by determining a most likely answer or answers, extracted by matching of the results received. If no satisfactory answer can be inferred from the results of the query the agent can do one of the following:
In any case, the domain agent 156 may continue to make queries and evaluate results until a satisfactory response is constructed. In doing so, the agent can start several overlapping query paths or threads of inquiry, typically mediated by the event manager 100. This technique, combined with the use of asynchronous queries from multiple data sources provides the real-time response performance required for a natural interaction with the user.
The domain agent 156 may apply conditional scraping operations to each query response as it is received. The conditional scraping actions depend on the context, the criteria, user profile 110, and domain agent coding and data. For each token to be extracted, a scraping criteria 152 may be created using the services of the system agent 150. The scraping criteria use format specific scraping methods including, tables, lists, text, and other scraping methods. One or more scraping criteria can be applied to a page or results set. Once additional results are received, the domain agent 156 can create new scraping criteria to apply to results already acquired. The conditional scraping process removes extraneous information, such as graphics, which need not be further processed or stored, improving system performance.
The domain agent 156 may strongly influence how the results are presented. For instance, once the domain agent 156 has created a satisfactory response to a question, the agent 156 may format that response for presentation. Typically, the domain agent 156 formats the response into the markup format used by the text to speech engine 124. The domain agent 156 may also format the result presentation using available format templates and based on the context, the criteria, and the user profile 110. Variable substitutions and transformations may be performed by the agent 156 to produce a response best understood and most natural to the user. Further, the order of presentation of tokens and the exact terminology used to create a more natural response to the user may be varied by the agent 156. The domain agent 156 may also select the presentation personality 108 to be used.
The domain agent 156, may select the presentation template, determine order of presentation for tokens and determine variable substitutions and transformations using probabilistic or fuzzy set decision methods. The template used to form the presentation can be from the domain agent itself or from the user profile 110. The user profile 110 can completely specify the presentation format or can be used to select and then modify an existing presentation format. Selection and formatting of presentation template can also depend on the presentation personality modules 108. At the same time, the characteristics of the personality used for the response are dynamically determined using probabilities or fuzzy possibilities derived from the context, the criteria, the domain agent itself and the user profile 110.
The domain agent 156 may apply a number of transformations to the tokens before presentation to the user. These variable substitutions and transformations are derived from a number of sources including, domain information carried by the agent, the context, the token values, the criteria, the personality module 108 to be used, and the user profile 110. Examples of variable substitutions and transformations include:
The system 90, according to another embodiment of the invention, may provide special purpose presentation capabilities for long text strings, tables, lists and other large results sets. Domain agents 156 may use special formatting templates for such results. The system agent 150 may provide special criteria handlers 152 for presentation and user commands for large results sets. The presentation templates used by the domain agents 156 for large results sets typically include methods for summarizing the results and then allowing the user to query the result in more detail. For example, initially only short summaries, such as headlines or key numbers, are presented. The user can then query the results set further. The criteria handlers 152 provide users with the capability to browse large results sets. Commands provided by the criteria handlers 152 for large results sets include, stop, pause, skip, rewind, start, and forward.
Some information, in formats such as video, pictures and graphics, may be best presented in a displayed format. The domain agents 156 may apply suitable presentation templates in these cases and present the information through the graphical user interface 114. The system agent 150 provides special criteria handlers 152 for presentation and user commands for display presentation and control.
Some of the steps depicting in
Once the meaning of the utterance has been determined, the appropriate domain agent[s] and the query and/or commands properly formatted for the agent[s] may be determined. Referring to
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Owner name: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, WASHINGTON
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Owner name: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC., WASHINGTON
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|14 Jan 2015
Owner name: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC., MASSACHUSETTS
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