Speech synthesis apparatus and selection method
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsPaul St John Brittan, Roger Cecil Ferry Tucker
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Abstract
A speech synthesizer includes plural synthesis engines each having different characteristics and converting text-form utterances into speech form. One of the synthesis engines is selected as the current operative engine for producing speech-form utterances for a speech application. If the overall quality of the speech-form utterance produced by the text-to-speech converter of the current operative synthesis engine becomes inadequate, a different engine is selected as the current operative synthesis engine.
Claims10
Speech synthesis apparatus arranged to process an input to produce corresponding speech-form utterances, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of synthesis engines having different characteristics and each comprising a text-to-speech converter arranged to convert text-form utterances into speech form;
- a synthesis-engine selector arranged to select one of the synthesis engines as the current operative engine, the selected synthesis engine being arranged to receive said input and to produce speech-form utterances for a speech application in response thereto;
- and
- an assessment arrangement arranged to assess the overall quality of the speech-form utterances produced by the current operative synthesis engine C1 and to provide an action indicator to the synthesis-engine select, without changing said input, in response to the current speech form is inadequate;
- the synthesis-engine selector being arranged to be responsive to action indictor provided thereto to select a different synthesis engine from said plurality to serve as the current operative engine.
A method of synthesizing speech with an apparatus arranged to process an input to produce corresponding speech-from utterances, the apparatus including plural speech synthesis engines for converting text type form into speech utterance form, different ones of the engines having different characteristics;
- the method comprising (a) selecting one of the engines as the operative engine that produces the speech-form utterances for a speech application, (b) assessing the overall quality of the speech-form utterances produced by the current operative synthesis engine based on confidence score to provide an action indicator, and (c) responding to the action indicator by selecting, without changing the input, another one of the engines as the operative engine in response to the selected engine producing a speech form utterance having inadequate quality, the another one of the engines being selected as a new current operative engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.