Selection of a link in a received message for speaking reply, which is converted into text form for delivery
View Patent ↗A link, called an X-Link™ and is placed in a message (SMS, MMS, email etc.) that is sent to a user and displayed on their device (e.g. mobile telephone). When the link is selected by the user, it connects the user's device to a conversion system, enabling the user to speak a reply which is then converted to a text based reply message; the reply message is then sent to the original message sender (and/or another appropriate recipient). This approach enables a text message to be responded to by voice: it is an example of an asymmetric communication. There are many circumstances where this approach is very useful—for example if the message is a SMS and the recipient does not know how to respond using SMS, or is in an environment where it is difficult (perhaps when walking or driving).
1. A method of communication comprising:
receiving an audio message from a caller to a recipient;
transcribing the audio voice message to produce text;
providing a text message including the text and a link comprising information that links to a conversion system capable of converting speech to text and an identifier indicating a destination for a reply message, such that when the recipient selects the link, the recipient is connected to the conversion system to speak the reply message that is automatically transcribed into a reply text message and provided to the destination associated with the identifier; and
transmitting the text message to a mobile device of the recipient.
2. The method of claim 1 in which the text message is transmitted in a format selected from the group consisting of: SMS, MMS, IM, and e-mail.
3. The method of claim 1 , in which the identifier for the destination includes a telephone number, email address, IP address, IM address, and/or VoIP address.
4. The method of claim 1 , in which the information that links to the conversion system is a service number.
5. The method of claim 1 , in which the information that links to the conversion system comprises selectable text that, when selected, opens a voice channel to enable the reply to be stored for use by the conversion system.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a communication to connect in response to the recipient selecting the link;
prompting the recipient to provide speech input subsequent to connecting;
receiving speech input from the recipient;
transcribing the speech input from the recipient to text; and
automatically transmitting a text message including the text to the destination identified by the identifier in the link.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the speech input is transcribed, at least in part, using automatic speech recognition.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the audio message is transcribed, at least in part, using automatic speech recognition.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the destination associated with the identifier is a telephone number of the caller.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the destination associated with the identifier is an electronic address.
11. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instruction that, when executed by at least one processor, performs a method of communication comprising:
receiving an audio message from a caller to a recipient;
transcribing the audio voice message to produce text;
providing a text message including the text and a link comprising information that links to a conversion system capable of converting speech to text and an identifier indicating a destination for a reply message, such that when the recipient selects the link, the recipient is connected to the conversion system to speak the reply message that is automatically transcribed into a reply text message and provided to the destination associated with the identifier; and
transmitting the text message to a mobile device of the recipient.
12. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising:
receiving a communication to connect in response to the recipient selecting the link;
prompting the recipient to provide speech input subsequent to connecting;
receiving speech input from the recipient;
transcribing the speech input from the recipient to text; and
automatically transmitting a text message including the text to the destination identified by the identifier in the link.
13. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the speech input is transcribed, at least in part, using automatic speech recognition.
14. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the audio message is transcribed, at least in part, using automatic speech recognition.
15. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the destination associated with the identifier is a telephone number of the caller.
16. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the destination associated with the identifier is an electronic address.
17. A system for communication comprising:
a conversion system configured to:
receive an audio message from a caller to a recipient;
transcribe the audio voice message to produce text;
provide a text message including the text and a link comprising information that links to the conversion system capable of converting speech to text and an identifier indicating a destination for a reply message, such that when the recipient selects the link, the recipient is connected to the conversion system to speak the reply message that is automatically transcribed into a reply text message and provided to the destination associated with the identifier; and
transmit the text message to a mobile device of the recipient.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the conversion system is further configured to:
receive a communication to connect in response to the recipient selecting the link;
prompt the recipient to provide speech input subsequent to connecting;
receive speech input from the recipient;
transcribe the speech input from the recipient to text; and
automatically transmit a text message including the text to the destination identified by the identifier in the link.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the speech input is transcribed, at least in part, using automatic speech recognition.
20. The system of claim 17 , further comprising an automatic recognition system and wherein the audio message is transcribed, at least in part, using the automatic speech recognition system.
21. The system of claim 17 , wherein the destination associated with the identifier is a telephone number of the caller.
22. The system of claim 17 , wherein the destination associated with the identifier is an electronic address.