Initiating actions based on partial hotwords

• US 9,620,114 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2016
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Sharifi, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): YEN, ERIC L
• Application Number:
  US15/299,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20170040020A1
• Time in Patent Office: 172 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/02 Feature extraction for speech recognition; Selection of recognition unit
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/08 Speech classification or search
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/18 using natural language modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/1815 Semantic context, e.g. disambiguation of the recognition hypotheses based on word meaning
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/28 Constructional details of speech recognition systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/088 Word spotting
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, receiving audio data; determining that an initial portion of the audio data corresponds to an initial portion of a hotword; in response to determining that the initial portion of the audio data corresponds to the initial portion of the hotword, selecting, from among a set of one or more actions that are performed when the entire hotword is detected, a subset of the one or more actions; and causing one or more actions of the subset to be performed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving audio data;

determining, by a component of a mobile computing device that remains activated when the mobile computing device is in a low power state, that the audio data encodes a likely utterance of a prefix of a predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in a wakened state; and

(a) in response to determining, by the component of a mobile computing device that remains activated when the mobile computing device is in a low power state, that the audio data encodes the likely utterance of a prefix of a predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state, and (b) before the component of the mobile computing device or any other component of the mobile computing device determines that the audio data or other audio data encodes a likely utterance of the entire predetermined activation term, activating a hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that the audio data encodes a likely utterance of the prefix of the predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises:

identifying one or more acoustic features of the audio data;

comparing the one or more acoustic features of the audio data to one or more acoustic features associated with one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms stored in a database, the one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms including the prefix of the predetermined activation term; and

based on the comparing, determining that the audio data corresponds to the prefix of the predetermined activation term.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that the audio data encodes a likely utterance of the prefix of the predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises:

obtaining a transcription of the audio data;

comparing the transcription of the audio data to one or more transcriptions associated with one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms, the one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms including the prefix of the predetermined activation term; and

based on the comparing, determining that the audio data corresponds to the prefix of the predetermined activation term.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein activating the hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises providing an interrupt signal that initializes the hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein activating the hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises:

selecting a set of one or more actions that are associated with the prefix of the predetermined activation term; and

causing the one or more actions of the set to be performed.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the one or more actions of the set include actions whose respective results are not discernible to a user of the computing device performing the actions.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the component of a mobile computing device that remains activated when the mobile computing device is in a low power state, that the audio data or other audio data encodes a likely utterance of the entire predetermined activation term; and

after determining that the audio data or other audio data encodes a likely utterance of the entire predetermined activation term, determining that the entire predetermined activation term includes a particular activation term that triggers semantic interpretation of an additional term of one or more terms that follow the particular activation term.

8. A system comprising:

one or more processors and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

receiving audio data;

determining, by a component of a mobile computing device that remains activated when the mobile computing device is in a low power state, that the audio data encodes a likely utterance of a prefix of a predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in a wakened state; and

(a) in response to determining, by the component of a mobile computing device that remains activated when the mobile computing device is in a low power state, that the audio data encodes the likely utterance of a prefix of a predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state, and (b) before the component of the mobile computing device or any other component of the mobile computing device determines that the audio data or other audio data encodes a likely utterance of the entire predetermined activation term, activating a hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations of determining that the audio data encodes a likely utterance of the prefix of the predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises:

identifying one or more acoustic features of the audio data;

comparing the one or more acoustic features of the audio data to one or more acoustic features associated with one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms stored in a database, the one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms including the prefix of the predetermined activation term; and

based on the comparing, determining that the audio data corresponds to the prefix of the predetermined activation term.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations of determining that the audio data encodes a likely utterance of the prefix of the predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises:

obtaining a transcription of the audio data;

comparing the transcription of the audio data to one or more transcriptions associated with one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms, the one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms including the prefix of the predetermined activation term; and

based on the comparing, determining that the audio data corresponds to the prefix of the predetermined activation term.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations of activating the hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises providing an interrupt signal that initializes the hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device in the wakened state.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations of activating the hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises:

selecting a set of one or more actions that are associated with the prefix of the predetermined activation term; and

causing the one or more actions of the set to be performed.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more actions of the set include actions whose respective results are not discernible to a user of the computing device performing the actions.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining, by the component of a mobile computing device that remains activated when the mobile computing device is in a low power state, that the audio data or other audio data encodes a likely utterance of the entire predetermined activation term; and

after determining that the audio data or other audio data encodes a likely utterance of the entire predetermined activation term, determining that the entire predetermined activation term includes a particular activation term that triggers semantic interpretation of an additional term of one or more terms that follow the particular activation term.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving audio data;

determining, by a component of a mobile computing device that remains activated when the mobile computing device is in a low power state, that the audio data encodes a likely utterance of a prefix of a predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in a wakened state; and

(a) in response to determining, by the component of a mobile computing device that remains activated when the mobile computing device is in a low power state, that the audio data encodes the likely utterance of a prefix of a predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state, and (b) before the component of the mobile computing device or any other component of the mobile computing device determines that the audio data or other audio data encodes a likely utterance of the entire predetermined activation term, activating a hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations of determining that the audio data encodes a likely utterance of the prefix of the predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises:

identifying one or more acoustic features of the audio data;

comparing the one or more acoustic features of the audio data to one or more acoustic features associated with one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms stored in a database, the one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms including the prefix of the predetermined activation term; and

based on the comparing, determining that the audio data corresponds to the prefix of the predetermined activation term.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations of determining that the audio data encodes a likely utterance of the prefix of the predetermined activation term that initiates activation of a hardware component of the mobile computing device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises:

obtaining a transcription of the audio data;

comparing the transcription of the audio data to one or more transcriptions associated with one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms, the one or more prefixes of predetermined activation terms including the prefix of the predetermined activation term; and

based on the comparing, determining that the audio data corresponds to the prefix of the predetermined activation term.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations of activating the hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises providing an interrupt signal that initializes the hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations of activating the hardware component of the mobile device that (i) would otherwise be deactivated when the mobile computing device is in the low power state and (ii) is otherwise activated when the mobile computing device is in the wakened state comprises:

selecting a set of one or more actions that are associated with the prefix of the predetermined activation term; and

causing the one or more actions of the set to be performed.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more actions of the set include actions whose respective results are not discernible to a user of the computing device performing the actions.