System, method, and apparatus for providing interpretive communication on a network

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention comprises a system, method, and apparatus that provides for the utilization of a relatively real-time or near real-time interpretation or translation that may be utilized preferably for a relatively short duration of time on a network. A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides online, real-time, short-duration interpreting services in a network-based format. In preferred embodiments, the interpreting system comprises at least one provider computer, such as a server, wherein the provider computer is capable of communicating with user computers via a network. In one preferred embodiment, the provider computer provides a series of web pages that allow access to the interpreting system, including, but not limited to, a request for service page, wherein a user can access the system and input a request for interpreting services. Interpreting services are then provided to a user and a third party desiring to communicate with the user via the network.

1 . A method for providing language interpretation service performances on a computer network, the language interpretation service performances being operable with interpretation service performances by a plurality of human interpreters, having at least one provider performance site computer, at least one first user computer, at least one second user computer and at least one aggregation site computer, and wherein each of the plurality of human interpreters has a predefined set of service criteria, the method comprising the steps of,
 i) establishing for each of the plurality of human interpretation service performance providers one or more predefined sets of service performance criteria from among the following: (a) the source languages from and to which interpretation services will be performed (b) the price of the interpretation performance services to be performed; (c) the physical location of one or more of the providers (d) interpretation service performance to be provided via audio-only means; (d) interpretation service performance to be provided via video-only means; (e) interpretation service performance to be provided via audio-video means; (f) when the interpretation service performance will be provided;   (ii) receiving a request from a first user for a communication service performance on at least one aggregation site computer, the user requiring at least one of the plurality of human interpreters to facilitate communication with a second user, the request for communication services including user-selected service criteria from among the following: (a) the source languages from and to which interpretation services will be performed (b) the price of the interpretation performance services to be performed; (c) the physical location of one or more of the providers (d) interpretation service performance to be provided via audio-only means; (d) interpretation service performance to be provided via video-only means; (e) interpretation service performance to be provided via audio-video means; (f) when the interpretation service performance will be provided;   (iii) comparing, on at least one of the aggregation site computers, the user-selected service criteria with one or more predefined sets of service criteria of the plurality of human interpreters to determine a degree of match;   (iv) presenting to the first user, one or more selectable profiles of human interpreters based upon one or more degrees of match;   (v) selecting one or more of the plurality of human interpreters from the one or more selectable profiles;   (vi) transmitting, from the first user computer, information to be interpreted to the one or more selected human interpreters; and   (vii) receiving, on the first user computer and second user computer, a responsive performance of interpretation services from the one or more selected human interpreters, wherein the response is performed by the one or more selected human interpreters and corresponds to an interpretation of the transmitted information from the first user computer.