Multi-user personalization at a voice interface device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10748543-B2
Application number	US-201916367177-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 27, 2019
Priority date	Oct 3, 2016
Publication date	Aug 18, 2020
Grant date	Aug 18, 2020

Abstract

A method at an electronic device with one or more microphones and a speaker includes receiving a first voice input; comparing the first voice input to one or more voice models; based on the comparing, determining whether the first voice input corresponds to any of a plurality of occupants, and according to the determination, authenticating an occupant and presenting a response, or restricting functionality of the electronic device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
at an electronic device with one or more microphones, a speaker, one or more processors, and memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors, the electronic device being located at a structure associated with a plurality of occupants and being configured to present information to the plurality of occupants:
receiving a first voice input associated with a request;
in response to receiving the first voice input, accessing one or more voice models each trained to a different one of the plurality of occupants;
comparing the first voice input to the one or more voice models;
based on the comparing, determining whether the first voice input corresponds to any of the plurality of occupants;
in accordance with a determination that the first voice input corresponds to a first occupant of the plurality of occupants, authenticating the first occupant, and presenting at the electronic device a response; and
in accordance with a determination that the first voice input corresponds to none of the plurality of occupants: restricting functionality of the electronic device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request is a request for personal information, the response includes the requested personal information with respect to the first occupant, and restricting functionality of the electronic device comprises acting on only requests that involve non-personal information.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the response is an audible response including personal account data in numerical form, and presenting the response comprises:
receiving the audible response from a content host; and
outputting the audible response.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
determining the request based on the first voice input; and
generating the response in accordance with the determined request.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein:
the determined request includes a request to the electronic device to awaken; and
the response includes an audible greeting, wherein the greeting includes an indication of an identity of the determined first occupant.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein:
the personal information includes an email, a calendar event, or a bank balance; and
generating the response in accordance with the determined request comprises obtaining the requested personal information with respect to the first occupant.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein:
obtaining the requested personal information with respect to the determined first occupant comprises accessing a personal account associated with the first occupant.

8. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
receiving a second voice input;
comparing the second voice input to the one or more voice models;
based on the comparing, determining that the second voice input corresponds to a second occupant of the plurality of occupants and authenticating the second occupant; and
presenting at the electronic device a response that includes the requested personal information with respect to the second occupant in accordance with the determination that the second voice input corresponds to the second occupant and in accordance with the authentication of the second occupant.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device includes a display; and
the method further comprising:
indicating, in accordance with the determination, that the electronic device has identified the first occupant by displaying on the display an indication of an identity of the first occupant, or by displaying a visual user interface associated with the first occupant; and
providing the first occupant an opportunity to verify the identification.

10. An electronic device located at a structure associated with a plurality of occupants and configured to present information to the plurality of occupants, the electronic device comprising:
one or more microphones;
a speaker;
one or more processors; and
memory storing one or more programs to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:
receiving a first voice input associated with a request;
in response to receiving the first voice input, accessing one or more voice models each trained to a different one of the plurality of occupants;
comparing the first voice input to the one or more voice models;
based on the comparing, determining whether the first voice input corresponds to any of the plurality of occupants;
in accordance with a determination that the first voice input corresponds to a first occupant of the plurality of occupants, authenticating the first occupant, and presenting at the electronic device a response; and
in accordance with a determination that the first voice input corresponds to none of the plurality of occupants: restricting functionality of the electronic device.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the request is a request for personal information, the response includes the requested personal information with respect to the first occupant, and restricting functionality of the electronic device comprises acting on only requests that involve non-personal information.

12. The device of claim 11 , comprising instructions for:
determining the request based on the first voice input; and
generating the response in accordance with the determined request.

13. The device of claim 12 , wherein:
the determined request includes a request to the electronic device to awaken; and
the response includes an audible greeting, wherein the greeting includes an indication of an identity of the determined first occupant.

14. The device of claim 12 , wherein:
the personal information includes an email, a calendar event, or a bank balance; and
the device comprises instructions for:
obtaining the requested personal information with respect to the first occupant.

15. The device of claim 14 , comprising instructions for:
accessing a personal account associated with the first occupant.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which, when executed by an electronic device being configured to present information to a plurality of occupants and having one or more microphones, a speaker, and one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform operations comprising:
receiving a first voice input associated with a request;
in response to receiving the first voice input, accessing one or more voice models each trained to a different one of the plurality of occupants;
comparing the first voice input to the one or more voice models;
based on the comparing, determining whether the first voice input corresponds to any of the plurality of occupants;
in accordance with a determination that the first voice input corresponds to a first occupant of the plurality of occupants, authenticating the first occupant, and presenting at the electronic device a response; and
in accordance with a determination that the first voice input corresponds to none of the plurality of occupants: restricting functionality of the electronic device.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the request is a request for personal information, the response includes the requested personal information with respect to the first occupant, and restricting functionality of the electronic device comprises acting on only requests that involve non-personal information.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17 , further comprising

Assignees

• Google Llc

Inventors

• Mixter Kenneth
• Melendo Casado Diego
• Xu Bibo

Classifications

• G06F3/167 Primary

  Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback · CPC title

• G10L15/08

  Speech classification or search · CPC title

• G10L2015/088

  Word spotting · CPC title

• G10L15/22

  Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue · CPC title

• G10L17/02

  Preprocessing operations, e.g. segment selection; Pattern representation or modelling, e.g. based on linear discriminant analysis [LDA] or principal components; Feature selection or extraction · CPC title