Joining users to communications via voice commands

• US 10,235,129 B1
• Filed: 06/29/2015
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Carlson, Ty Loren, Mutagi, Rohan
• Primary Examiner(s): Thomas-Homescu, Anne L
• Application Number:
  US14/753,933
• Time in Patent Office: 1,359 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/027 Concept to speech synthesisers; Generation of natural phrases from machine-based concepts generation of parameters for speech synthesis out of text G10L13/08
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5009 Adding a party to an existing conference conducting a computer conference, e.g. admission detection H04L12/1822
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/563 User guidance or feature selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

Techniques for joining a device of a third user to a communication between a device of a first user and a device of a second user are described herein. For instance, two or more users may utilize respective computing devices to engage in a telephone call, a video call, an instant-messaging session, or any other type of communication in which the users communicate with each other audibly and/or visually. In some instances, a first user of the two users may issue a voice command requesting to join a device of a third user to the communication. One or more computing devices may recognize this voice command and may attempt to join a device of a third user to the communication.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising;

receiving, during a communication session with a first mobile device of a first user and a second mobile device of a second user, from a first voice-controlled device of the first user, a first audio signal generated by the first voice-controlled device, the first audio signal including speech from the first user, wherein the first voice-controlled device is different from the first mobile device and the second mobile device;

performing speech-recognition on the first audio signal to identify a voice command, the voice command comprising a request to join a third user; and

at least partly in response to identifying the voice command;

determining that the first user is participating in the communication session;

determining a second voice-controlled device of the third user at which to attempt to contact the third user;

sending a query to the second voice-controlled device;

receiving, from the second voice-controlled device, a second signal representing a response to the query, the response indicating a request to join the communication session in which the first user is participating;

performing speech-recognition on the second signal to identify the response; and

connecting the second voice-controlled device of the third user to the communication session with the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

2. The system as recited in claim 1,

the acts further comprising:

accessing a contacts list associated with a first user account;

determining an identity of the first user that issued the voice command; and

determining the contacts list associated with the first user account using the identity of the first user.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, the acts further comprising:

accessing a global contacts list;

determining an identity of the first user that issued the voice command; and

determining an entry of the third user in the global contacts list using the identity of the first user.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, the acts further comprising determining, from multiple devices associated with the third user, a device that the third user was most recently active on, and wherein the determining the second voice-controlled device associated with the third user comprises selecting the device that the third user was most recently active on.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, the acts further comprising determining a rule created by the third user, the rule indicating which of multiple devices of the third user to select based at least in part on at least one of a time of day, a mode of communication that the third user is being requested to join, or an identity of at least one of the first user or the second user, and wherein the determining the second voice-controlled device comprises selecting the second voice-controlled device using the rule created by the third user.

6. A method comprising:

receiving, from a first voice-controlled device of a first user, a first audio signal that includes speech from the first user, the audio signal being sent during a communication session with a first device of the first user and a second device of a second user, the first voice-controlled device being separate from the first device and the second device;

performing speech-recognition on the first audio signal to identify a voice command, the voice command comprising a request to join a third user to the communication session; and

at least partly in response to identifying the voice command;

determining that the first user is participating in the communication session;

determining a third device to attempt to contact the third user;

sending a query to the third device to join the communication session;

receiving, from the third device, a third signal representing a response to the query; and

attempting to connect the third device to the communication session with the first device and the second device.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

determining a rule that maps respective devices of the third user to respective communication modes; and

determining a mode of the communication session;

and wherein determining the third device is based at least in part on the mode of the communication session.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising determining that the communication session comprises a voice-only communication session, and wherein the determining the third device comprises selecting a voice-controlled device or a mobile phone of the third user based at least in part on determining that the communication session comprises the voice-only communication session.

9. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising determining that the communication session comprises a video call, and wherein the determining the third device comprises selecting the third device based on the third device including a display for presenting video and a camera for capturing video based at least in part on determining that the communication session comprises the video call.

10. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising determining an identity of the second user, and wherein the determining the third device to attempt to contact is based at least in part on a relationship between the third user and at least one of the first user or the second user.

11. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

determining an order in which to attempt to contact the third user;

determining that an attempt to connect a fourth device of the third user to the communication session has failed; and

attempting to connect the third device to the communication session according to the order.

12. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising determining at least one of a current time of day or a current day of the week, and wherein determining the third device is based at least in part on the at least one of the current time of day or the current day of the week.

13. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising;

receiving, during a communication session with a first device of a first user and a second device of a second user, and from a third device of the first user, a first audio signal that includes speech from the first user;

performing speech-recognition on the first audio signal to identify a voice command, the voice command comprising a request to join a third user; and

at least partly in response to identifying the voice command;

determining that the request is to join the third user to the communication session with the first device and the second device;

determining a fourth device at which to attempt to contact the third user;

sending a query to the fourth device;

receiving, from the fourth device, a second signal representing a response to the query; and

attempting to connect the fourth device to the communication session with the first device and the second device.

14. The system as recited in claim 13, the acts further comprising:

determining a rule that maps respective devices of the third user to respective communication modes; and

determining a mode of the communication session; and

wherein determining the fourth device is based at least in part on the mode of the communication session.

15. The system as recited in claim 13, the acts further comprising determining that the communication session comprises a voice-only communication session, and wherein the determining the fourth device comprises selecting a voice-controlled device or a mobile phone of the third user based at least in part on determining that the communication session comprises the voice-only communication session.

16. The system as recited in claim 13, the acts further comprising determining that the communication session comprises a video call, and wherein the determining the fourth device comprises selecting the fourth device based on the fourth device including a display for presenting video and a camera for capturing video based at least in part on determining that the communication session comprises the video call.

17. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the determining the fourth device comprises determining multiple devices associated with the third user from the entry of the third user in a global contacts list.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, the acts further comprising determining at least one of a first identity of the first user or a second identity of the second user, and wherein the determining the entry of the third user in the contacts list is based at least in part on a relationship between the third user and at least one of the first user or the second user.

19. The system as recited in claim 13, the acts further comprising:

determining an order in which to attempt to contact the third user;

determining that an attempt to connect a fifth device of the third user to the communication session has failed; and

attempting to connect the fourth device to the communication session according to the order.