DEVICE ARBITRATION FOR LISTENING DEVICES
First Claim
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1. A method of controlling which electronic device out of topology of interconnected electronic devices responds to a wake phrase, the method comprising:
- in an electronic device of the topology of interconnected electronic devices configured to listen for voice commands, receiving a wake phrase from a microphone of the electronic device;
recognizing the wake phrase; and
responsive to recognizing the wake phrase, waking the electronic device and controlling which one electronic device out of the topology of interconnected electronic devices plays an audio prompt that indicates an active listening state in response to the wake phrase, wherein the controlling invokes response arbitration rules selecting a single electronic device out of the topology of interconnected electronic devices according to a user preference indicating a primary device designation for the interconnected electronic devices or recorded activity detected by one or more hardware sensors of the electronic device.
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Abstract
An electronic device in a topology of interconnected electronic devices can listen for a wake phrase and voice commands. The device can control when and how it responds so that a single device responds to voice commands. Per-task device preferences can be stored for a user. If a preferred device is not available, the task can still be performed on a device that has appropriate capabilities. Machine learning can determine a user'"'"'s preferences. Power conservation and effective user interaction can result.
538 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of controlling which electronic device out of topology of interconnected electronic devices responds to a wake phrase, the method comprising:
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in an electronic device of the topology of interconnected electronic devices configured to listen for voice commands, receiving a wake phrase from a microphone of the electronic device; recognizing the wake phrase; and responsive to recognizing the wake phrase, waking the electronic device and controlling which one electronic device out of the topology of interconnected electronic devices plays an audio prompt that indicates an active listening state in response to the wake phrase, wherein the controlling invokes response arbitration rules selecting a single electronic device out of the topology of interconnected electronic devices according to a user preference indicating a primary device designation for the interconnected electronic devices or recorded activity detected by one or more hardware sensors of the electronic device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An electronic device configured to recognize a wake phrase when in a low-power standby state in an environment comprising a topology of interconnected electronic devices, the electronic device comprising:
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a plurality of hardware sensors comprising a microphone; a speaker; a stored preference indicating a primary device designation for the topology of interconnected electronic devices; and a stored device listening state, wherein the stored device listening state transitions from the low-power standby state upon recognition of the wake phrase as received by the microphone, and wherein the electronic device is configured to control which one electronic device out of the topology of interconnected electronic devices transitions to an active listening state and plays an audio prompt that indicates the active listening state in response to the wake phrase according to the stored preference indicating the primary device designation for the interconnected electronic devices or recorded activity detected by one or more of the hardware sensors of the electronic device. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. One or more machine-readable media comprising machine-executable instructions causing an electronic device to perform a method controlling which electronic device out of topology of interconnected electronic devices responds to a wake phrase, the method comprising:
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receiving a wake phrase of a virtual persona from a microphone of the electronic device; recognizing the wake phrase of the virtual persona in the electronic device; and responsive to recognizing the wake phrase of the virtual persona, waking the electronic device and controlling which one electronic device out of the topology of interconnected electronic devices plays an audio prompt that indicates a listening state in response to the wake phrase, wherein the controlling invokes arbitration rules selecting a single device out of the topology of interconnected electronic devices when a user preference indicating a primary device designation for the interconnected electronic devices indicates a primary device that is not available, based on recorded activity detected by one or more hardware sensors of the electronic device indicating that the single device is currently being used; receiving a command phrase from the microphone of the electronic device; recognizing a task in the command phrase; via a timeout, determining that a preferred device for the task is not available; responsive to determining that a preferred device for the task is not available, determining a fallback device for the task; and handing the task off to the fallback device.
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Specification