Distributed voice web architecture and associated components and methods

A method of providing a user with access to voice content on a network, the method comprising:

• receiving a first voice hyperlink control message transmitted from a voice browser in a first r emote voice content site;
• activating a voice hyperlink in response to the voice hyperlink control message to provide a user with voice access to a speech application in a second remote voice content site over a wide area network;
• receiving speech of the user;
• endpointing the speech of the user locally for automatic speech recognition, including concurrently applying, to the speech of the user, a first set of endpointing parameters for the voice browser and a second set of endpointing parameters for said speech application;
• transmitting endpointed speech of the user to the second remote voice content site via the wide area network for speech recognition;
• receiving remotely generated prompts transmitted over the wide area network;
• and
• playing the prompts to the user.

A method comprising:

• receiving remotely transmitted endpointed speech of a user over a network, the endpointed speech having been endpointed for automatic speech recognition by a remote device and transmitted onto the network by the remote device;
• recognizing the speech locally;
• generating a prompt in response to the speech;
• transmitting the prompt to the remote device over the network;
• and
• providing a voice hyperlink control message to the remote device over the network to allow the remote device to access a remote voice content site.

A method comprising:

• receiving endpointed speech of a user transmitted remotely over a wide area network, the endpointed speech having been endpointed for automatic speech recognition by a remote device and transmitted onto the wide area network by the remote device;
• recognizing the speech locally;
• generating a prompt in response to the speech;
• and
• transmitting the prompt to the remote device over the wide area network.

A device comprising:

• a voice interface to allow the device to receive speech from a user;
• an endpointer to perform endpointing of the speech of the user for automatic speech recognition;
• a network interface to connect the device to a wide area network;
• and
• a processor to control the device to cause the device to provide the user with voice access to a remote content site maintaining a speech application over the wide area network, wherein the processor is configured
• to transmit the endpointed speech of the user to a remote speech recognizer over the wide area network,
• to receive prompts via the wide area network, and
• to play the prompts to the user via the voice interface.

A gateway for use in a speech-enabled processing system, the gateway comprising:

• voice interface means for receiving speech from a user;
• endpointer means for endpointing the speech of the user for automatic speech recognition;
• network interface means for connecting the gateway to a wide area network;
• and
• control means for controlling the gateway to provide the user with voice access to a remote content site maintaining a speech-enabled application via the wide area network, the control means including
• means for transmitting results of said endpointing to the remote speech application over the wide area network,
• means for receiving prompts transmitted over the wide area network, and
• means for playing the prompts to the user using the voice interface means.

A voice content site on a network, the voice content site comprising:

• means for receiving remotely transmitted endpointed speech of a user over a network, the endpointed speech having been endpointed for automatic speech recognition and transmitted onto the network by a remote gateway having a voice connection with the user;
• means for recognizing the speech;
• means for generating a prompt in response to the speech;
• and
• means for transmitting the prompt to the gateway over the network.

An apparatus for operating a voice content site on a network, the method comprising:

• means for receiving endpointed speech of a user transmitted remotely over a wide area network, the endpointed speech having been endpointed for automatic speech recognition and transmitted onto the wide area network by a remote gateway having a voice connection with the user;
• means for recognizing the speech locally;
• means for generating a prompt in response to the speech;
• and
• means for transmitting the prompt to the gateway over the wide area network.

A speech-enabled processing system comprising:

• a gateway coupled to concurrently receive a plurality of telephone communications, each from a different user, via a telephony enabled network, the gateway configured to provide concurrently each of the users with sequential voice access to selected ones of a plurality of remote voice content sites, each of the remote voice content sites operating a speech application, at least some of the remote voice content sites coupled to the gateway via a wide area network, the gateway further configured to perform endpointing of speech of the user for automatic speech recognition and to output results of said endpointing in requests onto the wide area network, the results of said endpointing selectively directed by the gateway to appropriate ones of the remote content sites, the gateway further configured to receive prompts in responses via the wide area network and to play the prompts to the user;
• a first voice content site of the plurality of voice content sites, coupled to the gateway remotely via the wide area network, the voice content site configured to receive the requests via the wide area network and to perform speech recognition on the endpointed speech contained therein, the voice content site further configured to generate the prompts and to output the packetized prompts in the responses onto the wide area network;
• and
• a second voice content site of the plurality of voice content sites, coupled to the gateway, the second voice content site including a voice browser configured to control access by the gateway to the plurality of remote voice content sites, the voice browser configured to provide the gateway with voice hyperlink control messages to configure the gateway to selectively direct the results of said endpointing in response to speech from a user, to activate a voice hyperlink to a selected voice content site.