Classifier-based system combination for spoken term detection

A method for processing a query, comprising:

• determining a plurality of sets of match candidates for a query using a processor, each of the plurality of sets of match candidates being independently determined from a plurality of diverse word lattice generation components of different type including at least one of acoustic model, decoding technique, audio segmentation, and training data type;
• merging the plurality of sets of match candidates by generating a first score for each match candidate to provide a merged set of match candidates;
• computing a second score for each match candidate of the merged set by training a classifier based upon at least one of keyword features and system features of that match candidate;
• and
• combining the first score and the second score to provide a final set of match candidates as matches to the query.

A computer readable storage medium comprising a computer readable program for processing a query, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform the steps of:

• determining a plurality of sets of match candidates for a query using a processor, each of the plurality of sets of match candidates being independently determined from a plurality of diverse word lattice generation components of different type;
• merging the plurality of sets of match candidates by generating a first score for each match candidate to provide a merged set of match candidates;
• computing a second score for each match candidate of the merged set based upon features of that match candidate;
• and
• combining the first score and the second score to provide a final set of match candidates as matches to the query.

A system for processing an audio query, comprising:

• a keyword search engine module configured to determine a plurality of sets of match candidates for a query using a processor, each of the plurality of sets of match candidates being independently determined from a plurality of diverse word lattice generation components of different type stored on a computer readable storage medium;
• a combination module configured to merge the plurality of sets of match candidates by generating a first score for each match candidate to provide a merged set of match candidates;
• and
• a classifier module configured to compute a second score for each match candidate of the merged set based upon features of that match candidate,
• the combination module further configured to combine the first score and the second score to provide a final set of match candidates as matches to the query.