Attention-aware virtual assistant clears

Abstract

Systems and processes for operating an intelligent automated assistant are provided. An exemplary process includes initiating a virtual assistant session in response to receiving a user input. Based on initiating the virtual assistant session, the process includes determining whether one or more criteria indicating an expressed user disinterest are satisfied based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device. Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating an expressed user disinterest are satisfied before a first time, the process includes automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session before the first time. The first time is defined by a setting of the electronic device. Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating an expressed user disinterest are not satisfied before the first time, the process includes automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application number 201980006407.6, priority date June 1, 2018, application date March 29, 2019, and invention name “ATTENTION-AWARENESS VIRTUAL ASSISTANT CLEARING”.

[0002] This application claims priority to Danish Patent Application No. PA 2018 70382, “ATTENTION AWARE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT DISMISSAL,” filed on June 12, 2018, U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 039,099, “ATTENTION AWARE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT DISMISSAL,” filed on July 18, 2018, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 679,332, “ATTENTION AWARE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT DISMISSAL,” filed on June 1, 2018. The contents of each of these patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates generally to intelligent automated assistants, and more particularly, to efficient cleanup of intelligent automated assistant sessions. Background Art

[0004] Intelligent automated assistants (or digital assistants) can provide a favorable interface between human users and electronic devices. Such assistants can allow users to interact with devices or systems using natural language in voice form and / or text form. For example, a user can provide a voice input containing a user request to a digital assistant running on an electronic device. The digital assistant can interpret the user's intent from the voice input and operationalize the user's intent into tasks. These tasks can then be performed by executing one or more services of the electronic device, and relevant output in response to the user's request can be returned to the user.

[0005] Operating a digital assistant requires power, which is a limited resource on a handheld or portable device that relies on a battery and typically runs a digital assistant. Therefore, it may be desirable to operate a digital assistant in an energy-efficient manner. Summary of the invention

[0006] Example methods are disclosed herein. An example method includes, at an electronic device having one or more processors, initiating a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input. Based on initiating the virtual assistant session, the method includes determining whether one or more criteria indicating an expressed user disinterest are met based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device. Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating an expressed user disinterest are met before a first time, the method includes automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session before the first time. The first time is defined by a setting of the electronic device. Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating an expressed user disinterest are not met before the first time, the method includes automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time.

[0007] Example non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed herein. An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs. The one or more programs include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: initiate a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input; determine whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device based on initiating the virtual assistant session; and automatically deactivate the virtual assistant session before a first time based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met before a first time, wherein the first time is defined by a setting of the electronic device; and automatically deactivate the virtual assistant session at a first time based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are not met before the first time.

[0008] An example electronic device is disclosed herein. An example electronic device includes one or more processors; a memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for the following operations: in response to receiving user input, initiating a virtual assistant session; in accordance with initiating the virtual assistant session, determining whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are satisfied based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device; and in accordance with determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are satisfied before a first time, automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session before a first time, wherein the first time is defined by a setting of the electronic device; and in accordance with determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are not satisfied before the first time, automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time.

[0009] An example electronic device includes means for initiating a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input; determining, based on initiating the virtual assistant session, whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are satisfied based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device; and automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session before a first time based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are satisfied before a first time, wherein the first time is defined by a setting of the electronic device; and automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are not satisfied before the first time.

[0010] An example method is disclosed herein. An example method includes, at an electronic device having one or more processors: in response to receiving user input, initiating a virtual assistant session; in accordance with initiating the virtual assistant session, determining whether one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are satisfied based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device; in accordance with determining that the one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are satisfied before a first time, forgoing deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time, wherein the first time is a predetermined duration after a second time at which a final result of the virtual assistant session is presented; and in accordance with determining that the one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are not satisfied before the first time, deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time.

[0011] An example non-transitory computer-readable medium is disclosed herein. An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs. The one or more programs include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: initiate a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input; determine whether one or more criteria representing expressed user participation are met based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device based on initiating the virtual assistant session; abandon deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time based on determining that the one or more criteria representing expressed user participation are met before a first time, wherein the first time is a predetermined duration after a second time at which a final result of the virtual assistant session is presented; and deactivate the virtual assistant session at the first time based on determining that the one or more criteria representing expressed user participation are not met before the first time.

[0012] An example electronic device is disclosed herein. An example electronic device includes one or more processors; a memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for the following operations: initiating a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input; determining whether one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are satisfied based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device in accordance with initiating the virtual assistant session; abandoning deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time in accordance with determining that the one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are satisfied before a first time, wherein the first time is a predetermined duration after a second time at which a final result of the virtual assistant session is presented; and deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time in accordance with determining that the one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are not satisfied before the first time.

[0013] An example electronic device includes means for: initiating a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input; determining, based on initiating the virtual assistant session, whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are satisfied based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device; forgoing deactivating the virtual assistant session at a first time based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are satisfied before a first time, wherein the first time is a predetermined duration after a second time at which a final result of the virtual assistant session is presented; and deactivating the virtual assistant session at the first time based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are not satisfied before the first time.

[0014] Determining whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met (and / or whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are met) based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device allows for determining whether the user is participating in the virtual assistant session. Knowing whether the user is participating will allow for intelligent decisions to be made about whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session. For example, if the user is not participating, the device may deactivate the virtual assistant session to save battery power and processing power. As another example, if the user is participating, the device may forgo deactivating the virtual assistant session, so the user can continue to interact with the virtual assistant session (and so the virtual assistant session will not be deactivated while the user is still interacting with it). In this way, the user-device interface is made more efficient (e.g., by deactivating the virtual assistant session when the user is not participating, by preventing the deactivation of the virtual assistant session when the user actively participates, or by reducing user input to re-initiate a virtual assistant session that was erroneously deactivated), which in addition reduces power usage and extends the battery life of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly and efficiently. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 A block diagram is shown of a system and environment for implementing a digital assistant according to various examples.

[0016] Figure 2A A block diagram of a portable multifunction device that implements the client-side portion of a digital assistant according to various examples is shown.

[0017] Figure 2B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for event processing according to various examples.

[0018] Figure 3 A portable multifunction device implementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant according to various examples is shown.

[0019] Figure 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface according to various examples.

[0020] Figure 5A An exemplary user interface of a menu of applications on a portable multifunction device is shown according to various examples.

[0021] Figure 5B An exemplary user interface for a multifunction device having a touch-sensitive surface separate from the display is shown according to various examples.

[0022] Fig. 6A A personal electronic device according to various examples is shown.

[0023] Figure 6B A block diagram illustrating a personal electronic device according to various examples is shown.

[0024] Fig. 7A A block diagram of a digital assistant system or a server portion thereof according to various examples is shown.

[0025] Figure 7B According to various examples, Fig. 7A The capabilities of the digital assistant shown in .

[0026] Figure 7C A portion of an ontology according to various examples is shown.

[0027] FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D Exemplary techniques for operating a digital assistant at an electronic device are shown.

[0028] Fig. 9 A block diagram of a system configured to operate a digital assistant session according to various examples is shown.

[0029] FIG. 10A to FIG. 10B A process for operating a digital assistant according to various examples is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] In the following description of the examples, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which specific examples that may be implemented are shown by way of illustration. It should be understood that other examples may be used and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the various examples.

[0031] The present disclosure as a whole relates to determining whether to deactivate a virtual assistant session based on determining whether a user is engaged in a virtual assistant session. For example, if the user is not engaged in a virtual assistant session, the virtual assistant session may be automatically deactivated to save battery power and processing power. If the user is engaged in a virtual assistant session, automatic deactivation of the virtual assistant may be waived or delayed so that the virtual assistant session is not deactivated while the user is engaged. In this way, the user experience when operating the virtual assistant is improved.

[0032] Although the following description uses the terms "first," "second," etc. to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by the terms. These terms are simply used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the various described examples, a first input may be referred to as a second input, and similarly, a second input may be referred to as a first input. Both the first input and the second input are inputs, and in some cases are independent and different inputs.

[0033] The terms used in the description of various examples described herein are only for the purpose of describing specific examples and are not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of various examples described and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to also include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term "and / or" used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will also be understood that the term "includes", "including", "comprises" and / or "comprising" when used in this specification specifies the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or their groupings.

[0034] Depending on the context, the term "if" may be interpreted to mean "when" or "upon" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting." Similarly, the phrases "if it is determined that ..." or "if [a stated condition or event] is detected" may be interpreted to mean "upon determining that ..." or "in response to determining that ..." or "upon detecting [a stated condition or event]" or "in response to detecting [a stated condition or event]," depending on the context.

[0035] 1. System and Environment

[0036] Figure 1 A block diagram of a system 100 according to various examples is shown. In some examples, the system 100 implements a digital assistant. The terms "digital assistant," "virtual assistant," "intelligent automated assistant," or "automatic digital assistant" refer to any information processing system that interprets natural language input in spoken and / or textual form to infer user intent and performs actions based on the inferred user intent. For example, to act on an inferred user intent, the system performs one or more of the following steps: identifying a task flow with steps and parameters designed to implement the inferred user intent, inputting specific requirements into the task flow according to the inferred user intent; executing the task flow by calling a program, method, service, API, etc.; and generating an output response to the user in an audible (e.g., voice) and / or visual form.

[0037] Specifically, the digital assistant is capable of accepting user requests in the form of at least partially natural language commands, requests, statements, narrations and / or inquiries. Typically, the user requests to seek an informative answer or perform a task from the digital assistant. A satisfactory response to the user's request includes providing the requested informative answer, performing the requested task, or a combination of the two. For example, the user asks the digital assistant a question, such as "Where am I now?" Based on the user's current location, the digital assistant answers "You are near the West Gate of Central Park." The user also requests to perform a task, such as "Please invite my friends to my girlfriend's birthday party next week." In response, the digital assistant can confirm the request by saying "OK, right away", and then send a suitable calendar invitation to each of the user's friends listed in the user's electronic address book on behalf of the user. During the execution of the requested task, the digital assistant sometimes interacts with the user in a continuous dialogue involving multiple information exchanges over a long period of time. There are many other methods of interacting with the digital assistant to request information or perform various tasks. In addition to providing verbal responses and taking programmed actions, the digital assistant also provides responses in other video or audio forms, such as text, alarms, music, videos, animations, etc.

[0038] like Figure 1As shown, in some examples, the digital assistant is implemented according to a client-server model. The digital assistant includes a client-side portion 102 (hereinafter referred to as "DA client 102") executed on a user device 104 and a server-side portion 106 (hereinafter referred to as "DA server 106") executed on a server system 108. The DA client 102 communicates with the DA server 106 via one or more networks 110. The DA client 102 provides client-side functionality, such as user-oriented input and output processing, and communication with the DA server 106. The DA server 106 provides server-side functionality for any number of DA clients 102, each located on a corresponding user device 104.

[0039] In some examples, the DA server 106 includes a client-facing I / O interface 112, one or more processing modules 114, data and models 116, and an I / O interface 118 to external services. The client-facing I / O interface 112 facilitates client-facing input and output processing of the DA server 106. One or more processing modules 114 utilize the data and models 116 to process voice input and determine user intent based on natural language input. In addition, one or more processing modules 114 perform task execution based on inferred user intent. In some examples, the DA server 106 communicates with external services 120 via one or more networks 110 to complete tasks or collect information. The I / O interface 118 to external services facilitates such communications.

[0040] User device 104 can be any suitable electronic device. In some examples, user device 104 is a portable multi-function device (e.g., Figure 2A The device 200 described above), a multifunctional device (eg, as described below with reference to Figure 4 The device 400) or a personal electronic device (eg, as described below) FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B The portable multifunction device is, for example, a mobile phone that also includes other functions (such as a PDA and / or a music player function). Specific examples of portable multifunction devices include the Apple iPod and Device. Other examples of portable multifunction devices include, but are not limited to, earbuds / headphones, speakers, and laptops or tablets. In addition, in some examples, user device 104 is a non-portable multifunction device. Specifically, user device 104 is a desktop computer, a game console, a speaker, a television, or a television set-top box. In some examples, user device 104 includes a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screen display and / or a trackpad). In addition, user device 104 optionally includes one or more other physical user interface devices, such as a physical keyboard, a mouse, and / or a joystick. Various examples of electronic devices such as multifunction devices are described in more detail below.

[0041] Examples of one or more communication networks 110 include local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs), such as the Internet. One or more communication networks 110 are implemented using any known network protocols, including various wired or wireless protocols, such as Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communication protocol.

[0042] The server system 108 is implemented on one or more stand-alone data processing devices or distributed computer networks. In some examples, the server system 108 also uses various virtual devices and / or services of third-party service providers (e.g., third-party cloud service providers) to provide the potential computing resources and / or infrastructure resources of the server system 108.

[0043] In some examples, the user device 104 communicates with the DA server 106 via a second user device 122. The second user device 122 is similar or identical to the user device 104. For example, the second user device 122 is similar to the user device 104 described below with reference to Figure 2A , Figure 4 as well as FIG. 6A to FIG. 6BThe device 200, 400 or 600 described. The user device 104 is configured to be communicatively coupled to the second user device 122 via a direct communication connection (such as, Bluetooth, NFC, BTLE, etc.) or via a wired or wireless network (such as, a local Wi-Fi network). In some examples, the second user device 122 is configured to act as a proxy between the user device 104 and the DA server 106. For example, the DA client 102 of the user device 104 is configured to transmit information (e.g., a user request received at the user device 104) to the DA server 106 via the second user device 122. The DA server 106 processes the information and returns relevant data (e.g., data content in response to the user request) to the user device 104 via the second user device 122.

[0044] In some examples, the user device 104 is configured to send an abbreviated request for data to a second user device 122 to reduce the amount of information transmitted from the user device 104. The second user device 122 is configured to determine supplemental information to add to the abbreviated request to generate a complete request for transmission to the DA server 106. The system architecture can advantageously allow user devices 104 with limited communication capabilities and / or limited battery power (e.g., a watch or similar compact electronic device) to access services provided by the DA server 106 by using a second user device 122 (e.g., a mobile phone, laptop, tablet, etc.) with greater communication capabilities and / or battery power as a proxy to the DA server 106. Although Figure 1 Only two user devices 104 and 122 are shown, but it should be understood that in some examples, the system 100 may include any number and type of user devices configured to communicate with the DA server system 106 in this proxy configuration.

[0045] Although Figure 1 The digital assistant shown in includes both a client-side portion (e.g., DA client 102) and a server-side portion (e.g., DA server 106), but in some examples, the functionality of the digital assistant is implemented as a stand-alone application installed on a user device. In addition, the division of functionality between the client and server portions of the digital assistant may vary in different specific implementations. For example, in some examples, the DA client is a thin client that only provides user-facing input and output processing functions and delegates all other functions of the digital assistant to a backend server.

[0046] 2. Electronic devices

[0047] Attention now turns to embodiments of electronic devices for implementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant. Figure 2Ais a block diagram showing a portable multifunction device 200 with a touch-sensitive display system 212 according to some embodiments. The touch-sensitive display 212 is sometimes referred to as a "touch screen" for convenience, and is sometimes referred to as or referred to as a "touch-sensitive display system." The device 200 includes a memory 202 (which optionally includes one or more computer-readable storage media), a memory controller 222, one or more processing units (CPUs) 220, a peripheral device interface 218, an RF circuit 208, an audio circuit 210, a speaker 211, a microphone 213, an input / output (I / O) subsystem 206, other input control devices 216, and an external port 224. The device 200 optionally includes one or more optical sensors 264. The device 200 optionally includes one or more contact force sensors 265 for detecting the intensity of contact on the device 200 (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface of the device 200 such as the touch-sensitive display system 212). Device 200 optionally includes one or more tactile output generators 267 for generating tactile output on device 200 (e.g., generating tactile output on a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive display system 212 of device 200 or touch pad 455 of device 400). These components optionally communicate via one or more communication buses or signal lines 203.

[0048] As used in this specification and claims, the term "intensity" of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the force or pressure (force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a finger contact) on the touch-sensitive surface, or to a surrogate (surrogate) of the force or pressure of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The intensity of a contact has a range of values ​​that includes at least four different values ​​and more typically includes hundreds of different values ​​(e.g., at least 256). The intensity of a contact is optionally determined (or measured) using various methods and various sensors or combinations of sensors. For example, one or more force sensors below or adjacent to the touch-sensitive surface are optionally used to measure the force at different points on the touch-sensitive surface. In some implementations, force measurements from multiple force sensors are combined (e.g., weighted averaged) to determine an estimated contact force. Similarly, the pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is optionally used to determine the pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitive surface. Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on the touch-sensitive surface and / or its change, the capacitance of the touch-sensitive surface near the contact and / or its change, and / or the resistance of the touch-sensitive surface near the contact and / or its change are optionally used as a substitute for the force or pressure of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface. In some embodiments, the substitute measurement of the contact force or pressure is used directly to determine whether the intensity threshold has been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in units corresponding to the substitute measurement). In some embodiments, the substitute measurement of the contact force or pressure is converted into an estimated force or pressure, and the estimated force or pressure is used to determine whether the intensity threshold has been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in units of pressure). Using the intensity of the contact as an attribute of the user input allows the user to access additional device functions that would otherwise be inaccessible to the user on a smaller device with limited real estate, which is used to display an enable indication (e.g., on a touch-sensitive display) and / or receive user input (e.g., via a touch-sensitive display, a touch-sensitive surface, or a physical control / mechanical control, such as a knob or button).

[0049] As used in this specification and claims, the term "tactile output" refers to a physical displacement of a device relative to a previous position of the device, a physical displacement of a component of the device (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface) relative to another component of the device (e.g., a housing), or a displacement of a component relative to the center of mass of the device, which will be detected by a user using the user's sense of touch. For example, in the case where a device or a component of the device is in contact with a user's touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of the user's hand), the tactile output generated by the physical displacement will be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding to a perceived change in a physical characteristic of the device or component of the device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is optionally interpreted by the user as a "press click" or "release click" to a physical actuation button. In some cases, the user will feel a tactile sensation, such as a "press click" or "release click", even when the physical actuation button associated with the touch-sensitive surface that is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's movement does not move. As another example, even when there is no change in the smoothness of the touch-sensitive surface, movement of the touch-sensitive surface may optionally be interpreted or sensed by the user as "roughness" of the touch-sensitive surface. Although such a user's interpretation of touch will be limited by the user's individualized sensory perceptions, many sensory perceptions of touch are common to most users. Thus, when a tactile output is described as corresponding to a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., "press click," "release click," "roughness"), unless otherwise stated, the generated tactile output corresponds to a physical displacement of the device or a component thereof that would generate that sensory perception for a typical (or average) user.

[0050] It should be understood that device 200 is only one example of a portable multifunction device, and that device 200 optionally has more or fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or more components, or optionally has a different configuration or arrangement of the components. Figure 2A The various components shown in the EMBODIMENTS 2000 are implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and / or application specific integrated circuits.

[0051] The memory 202 includes one or more computer-readable storage media. These computer-readable storage media are, for example, tangible and non-transitory. The memory 202 includes a high-speed random access memory and also includes a non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices. The memory controller 222 controls other components of the device 200 to access the memory 202.

[0052] In some examples, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 202 is used to store instructions (e.g., for performing various aspects of the processes described below) for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus, such as a computer-based system, a system containing a processor, or other system that can fetch instructions from an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus and execute the instructions. In other examples, the instructions (e.g., for performing various aspects of the processes described below) are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (not shown) of server system 108, or are divided between the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 202 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of server system 108.

[0053] The peripheral device interface 218 is used to couple the input and output peripheral devices of the device to the CPU 220 and the memory 202. The one or more processors 220 run or execute various software programs and / or instruction sets stored in the memory 202 to perform various functions of the device 200 and process data. In some embodiments, the peripheral device interface 218, the CPU 220, and the memory controller 222 are implemented on a single chip such as the chip 204. In some other embodiments, they are implemented on separate chips.

[0054] RF (radio frequency) circuit 208 receives and sends RF signals, also known as electromagnetic signals. RF circuit 208 converts electrical signals into / converts electromagnetic signals into electrical signals, and communicates with communication networks and other communication devices via electromagnetic signals. RF circuit 208 optionally includes well-known circuits for performing these functions, including but not limited to antenna systems, RF transceivers, one or more amplifiers, tuners, one or more oscillators, digital signal processors, codec chipsets, user identity modules (SIM) cards, memory, etc. RF circuit 208 optionally communicates with networks and other devices through wireless communications, such as the Internet (also known as the World Wide Web (WWW)), intranets, and / or wireless networks (such as cellular telephone networks, wireless local area networks (LANs), and / or metropolitan area networks (MANs)). RF circuit 208 optionally includes well-known circuits for detecting near field communication (NFC) fields, such as through short-range communication radio components. Wireless communication optionally uses any of a variety of communication standards, protocols and technologies, including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolution, Data-Only (EV-DO), HSPA, HSPA+, Dual Cell HSPA (DC-HSPDA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11d), IEEE 802.11e, IEEE 802.11f, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11g). 802.11n and / or IEEE 802.11ac), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, email protocols (e.g., Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) and / or Post Office Protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Utilizing Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)) and / or Short Message Service (SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols that have not yet been developed as of the filing date of this document.

[0055] The audio circuit 210, speaker 211, and microphone 213 provide an audio interface between a user and the device 200. The audio circuit 210 receives audio data from the peripheral device interface 218, converts the audio data into electrical signals, and transmits the electrical signals to the speaker 211. The speaker 211 converts the electrical signals into sound waves audible to humans. The audio circuit 210 also receives electrical signals converted from sound waves by the microphone 213. The audio circuit 210 converts the electrical signals into audio data and transmits the audio data to the peripheral device interface 218 for processing. The audio data is retrieved from and / or transmitted to the memory 202 and / or the RF circuit 208 via the peripheral device interface 218. In some embodiments, the audio circuit 210 also includes a headset jack (e.g., Figure 3 The headset jack provides an interface between the audio circuit 210 and a removable audio input / output peripheral device, such as an output-only headset or a headset with both output (e.g., a single-ear headset or a dual-ear headset) and input (e.g., a microphone).

[0056] The I / O subsystem 206 couples input / output peripherals on the device 200, such as a touch screen 212 and other input control devices 216, to a peripheral device interface 218. The I / O subsystem 206 optionally includes a display controller 256, an optical sensor controller 258, an intensity sensor controller 259, a tactile feedback controller 261, and one or more input controllers 260 for other input or control devices. One or more input controllers 260 receive / send electrical signals from other input control devices 216. Other input control devices 216 optionally include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, slide switches, joysticks, click wheels, etc. In some alternative embodiments, the input controller 260 is optionally coupled to any of the following (or none of the following): a keyboard, an infrared port, a USB port, and a pointing device such as a mouse. One or more buttons (e.g., Figure 3 308 in ) optionally includes an up / down button for volume control of the speaker 211 and / or the microphone 213. The one or more buttons optionally include a push button (e.g., Figure 3 306 in ).

[0057] A quick press of the push button disengages the lock of the touch screen 212 or begins the process of using gestures on the touch screen to unlock the device, as described in U.S. Patent Application 11 / 322,549, entitled "Unlocking a Device by Performing Gestures on an Unlock Image," filed on December 23, 2005, U.S. Patent 7,657,849, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A longer press of the push button (e.g., 306) turns the device 200 on or off. The user can customize the function of one or more buttons. The touch screen 212 is used to implement virtual buttons or soft buttons and one or more soft keyboards.

[0058] The touch-sensitive display 212 provides an input interface and an output interface between the device and the user. The display controller 256 receives electrical signals from the touch screen 212 and / or sends electrical signals to the touch screen 212. The touch screen 212 displays visual output to the user. The visual output includes graphics, text, icons, videos, and any combination thereof (collectively referred to as "graphics"). In some embodiments, some or all of the visual output corresponds to user interface objects.

[0059] The touch screen 212 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or sensor group that accepts input from a user based on tactile and / or haptic contact. The touch screen 212 and display controller 256 (together with any associated modules and / or instruction sets in memory 202) detect contact (and any movement or interruption of the contact) on the touch screen 212 and convert the detected contact into interaction with a user interface object (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages, or images) displayed on the touch screen 212. In an exemplary embodiment, the point of contact between the touch screen 212 and the user corresponds to the user's finger.

[0060] The touch screen 212 uses LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologies may be used in other embodiments. The touch screen 212 and display controller 256 use any of a variety of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with the touch screen 212 to detect contact and any movement or interruption thereof, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies. In an exemplary embodiment, projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as in the Apple ® from Apple Inc. (Cupertino, California). and iPod The technology used in.

[0061] In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive display of the touch screen 212 is similar to the multi-touch-sensitive trackpads described in U.S. Patents 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), 6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and / or 6,677,932 (Westerman), and / or U.S. Patent Publication 2002 / 0015024A1, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. However, the touch screen 212 displays visual output from the device 200, whereas the touch-sensitive trackpad does not provide visual output.

[0062] In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive display of the touch screen 212 is as described in the following applications: (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 381,313, filed on May 2, 2006, entitled “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller”; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 840,862, filed on May 6, 2004, entitled “Multipoint Touchscreen”; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 903,964, filed on July 30, 2004, entitled “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices”; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 048,264, filed on January 31, 2005, entitled “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices”; (5) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 051,694, filed on January 18, 2005, entitled “Mode-Based Graphical User Interfaces For Touch Sensitive Input Devices”; and (9) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 367,749, filed on March 3, 2006, entitled “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device.” All of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0063] The touch screen 212 has, for example, a video resolution of more than 100 dpi. In some embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution of about 160 dpi. The user contacts the touch screen 212 using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, etc. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to work primarily through finger-based contacts and gestures, which may not be as precise as stylus-based input due to the larger contact area of ​​a finger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device converts rough finger-based input into precise pointer / cursor positions or commands for performing the actions desired by the user.

[0064] In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, the device 200 also includes a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating specific functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive area of ​​the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output. The touchpad is a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the touch screen 212 or an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.

[0065] Device 200 also includes a power system 262 for powering the various components. Power system 262 includes a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., batteries, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, power fault detection circuits, power converters or inverters, power status indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), and any other components associated with the generation, management, and distribution of power in a portable device.

[0066] The device 200 also includes one or more optical sensors 264 . Figure 2A An optical sensor coupled to an optical sensor controller 258 in the I / O subsystem 206 is shown. The optical sensor 264 includes a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistor. The optical sensor 264 receives light projected through one or more lenses from the environment and converts the light into data representing an image. In conjunction with the imaging module 243 (also called a camera module), the optical sensor 264 captures a static image or video. In some embodiments, the optical sensor is located at the rear of the device 200, opposite to the touch screen display 212 at the front of the device, so that the touch screen display is used as a viewfinder for static images and / or video image acquisition. In some embodiments, the optical sensor is located at the front of the device so that the user's image is obtained for video conferencing while the user views other video conference participants on the touch screen display. In some embodiments, the position of the optical sensor 264 can be changed by the user (e.g., by rotating the lens and sensor in the device housing) so that a single optical sensor 264 is used with the touch screen display for both video conferencing and static image and / or video image acquisition.

[0067] Device 200 optionally also includes one or more contact intensity sensors 265 . Figure 2A A contact force sensor is shown coupled to a force sensor controller 259 in the I / O subsystem 206. The contact force sensor 265 optionally includes one or more piezoresistive strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, electrical force sensors, piezoelectric force sensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, or other force sensors (e.g., sensors for measuring the force (or pressure) of contact on a touch-sensitive surface). The contact force sensor 265 receives contact force information (e.g., pressure information or a surrogate for pressure information) from the environment. In some embodiments, at least one contact force sensor is juxtaposed or adjacent to a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitive display system 212). In some embodiments, at least one contact force sensor is located on the rear of the device 200, opposite the touch screen display 212 located on the front of the device 200.

[0068] Device 200 also includes one or more proximity sensors 266 . Figure 2A A proximity sensor 266 is shown coupled to the peripherals interface 218. Alternatively, the proximity sensor 266 is coupled to the input controller 260 in the I / O subsystem 206. The proximity sensor 266 is implemented as described in the following U.S. patent applications: No. 11 / 241,839, entitled "Proximity Detector In Handheld Device"; No. 11 / 240,788, entitled "Proximity Detector In Handheld Device"; No. 11 / 620,702, entitled "Using Ambient Light Sensor To Augment Proximity Sensor Output"; No. 11 / 586,862, entitled "Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices"; and No. 11 / 638,251, entitled "Methods And Systems For Automatic Configuration Of Peripherals", which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. In some embodiments, when the multifunction device is placed near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call), the proximity sensor turns off and the touch screen 212 is disabled.

[0069] Device 200 optionally also includes one or more tactile output generators 267. Figure 2AA tactile output generator coupled to a tactile feedback controller 261 in the I / O subsystem 206 is shown. The tactile output generator 267 optionally includes one or more electroacoustic devices such as a speaker or other audio component; and / or an electromechanical device for converting energy into linear motion such as a motor, solenoid, electroactive polymer, piezoelectric actuator, electrostatic actuator, or other tactile output generating component (e.g., a component for converting an electrical signal into a tactile output on the device). The contact force sensor 265 receives tactile feedback generation instructions from the tactile feedback module 233 and generates a tactile output on the device 200 that can be felt by a user of the device 200. In some embodiments, at least one tactile output generator is arranged in juxtaposition or proximity to a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display system 212) and optionally generates a tactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface vertically (e.g., inward / outward of the surface of the device 200) or laterally (e.g., backward and forward in the same plane as the surface of the device 200). In some embodiments, at least one tactile output generator sensor is located on the back of the device 200, opposite the touch screen display 212 located on the front of the device 200.

[0070] Device 200 also includes one or more accelerometers 268 . Figure 2A An accelerometer 268 coupled to the peripheral device interface 218 is shown. Alternatively, the accelerometer 268 is coupled to the input controller 260 in the I / O subsystem 206. The accelerometer 268 is implemented as described in the following U.S. patent publications: U.S. Patent Publication 20050190059, "Acceleration-basedTheft Detection System for Portable Electronic Devices" and U.S. Patent Publication 20060017692, "Methods And Apparatuses For Operating A Portable Device Based OnAn Accelerometer", both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In some embodiments, information is displayed in a portrait view or a landscape view on the touch screen display based on analysis of data received from one or more accelerometers. The device 200 optionally includes a magnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other global navigation system) receiver (not shown) in addition to one or more accelerometers 268 for obtaining information about the position and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) of the device 200.

[0071] In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 202 include an operating system 226, a communication module (or instruction set) 228, a contact / motion module (or instruction set) 230, a graphics module (or instruction set) 232, a text input module (or instruction set) 234, a global positioning system (GPS) module (or instruction set) 235, a digital assistant client module 229, and an application (or instruction set) 236. In addition, memory 202 stores data and models, such as user data and models 231. In addition, in some embodiments, memory 202 ( Figure 2A ) or 470( Figure 4 ) storage device / global internal state 257, such as Figure 2A and Figure 4 . The device / global internal state 257 includes one or more of the following: an active application state, which indicates which applications (if any) are currently active; a display state, which indicates what applications, views, or other information occupy various areas of the touch screen display 212; a sensor state, including information obtained from the device's various sensors and input control devices 216; and position information about the device's position and / or posture.

[0072] The operating system 226 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, iOS, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and / or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.), and facilitating communication between various hardware components and software components.

[0073] The communication module 228 facilitates communication with other devices through one or more external ports 224, and also includes various software components for processing data received by the RF circuit 208 and / or the external port 224. The external port 224 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire, etc.) is suitable for coupling directly to other devices, or indirectly through a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). In some embodiments, the external port is connected to (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

[0074] The contact / motion module 230 optionally detects contact with the touch screen 212 (in conjunction with the display controller 256) and other touch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). The contact / motion module 230 includes various software components for performing various operations related to contact detection, such as determining whether contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger press event), determining the contact strength (e.g., the force or pressure of the contact, or a substitute for the force or pressure of the contact), determining whether there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one or more finger drag events), and determining whether the contact has stopped (e.g., detecting a finger lift event or contact disconnection). The contact / motion module 230 receives contact data from the touch-sensitive surface. Determining the movement of the contact point optionally includes determining the rate (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and / or acceleration (change in magnitude and / or direction) of the contact point, the movement of the contact point being represented by a series of contact data. These operations are optionally applied to a single point of contact (e.g., a single finger contact) or multiple points of simultaneous contact (e.g., "multi-touch" / multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments, the contact / motion module 230 and display controller 256 detect contact on the touch pad.

[0075] In some embodiments, the contact / motion module 230 uses a set of one or more intensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has "clicked" an icon). In some embodiments, at least a subset of the intensity thresholds are determined based on software parameters (e.g., the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholds of specific physical actuators and can be adjusted without changing the physical hardware of the device 200). For example, without changing the touchpad or touchscreen display hardware, the mouse "click" threshold of a touchpad or touchscreen can be set to any one of a large range of predefined thresholds. In addition, in some specific implementations, a software setting is provided to the user of the device for adjusting one or more intensity thresholds in a set of intensity thresholds (e.g., by adjusting individual intensity thresholds and / or by utilizing a system-level click on an "intensity" parameter to adjust multiple intensity thresholds at once).

[0076] The contact / motion module 230 optionally detects gesture input from a user. Different gestures on a touch-sensitive surface have different contact patterns (e.g., different motions, timings, and / or intensities of the detected contacts). Therefore, gestures are optionally detected by detecting specific contact patterns. For example, detecting a finger tap gesture includes detecting a finger press event, and then detecting a finger lift (lift-off) event at the same location (or substantially the same location) as the finger press event (e.g., at the location of an icon). As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on a touch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger press event, then detecting one or more finger drag events, and then detecting a finger lift (lift-off) event.

[0077] The graphics module 232 includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on the touch screen 212 or other display, including components for changing the visual impact (e.g., brightness, transparency, saturation, contrast, or other visual characteristics) of the displayed graphics. As used herein, the term "graphics" includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including, without limitation, text, web pages, icons (such as user interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations, etc.

[0078] In some embodiments, the graphics module 232 stores data representing graphics to be used. Each graphic is optionally assigned a corresponding code. The graphics module 232 receives one or more codes specifying the graphics to be displayed from an application program, etc., along with coordinate data and other graphic attribute data if necessary, and then generates screen image data to be output to the display controller 256.

[0079] The tactile feedback module 233 includes various software components for generating instructions used by the one or more tactile output generators 267 to produce tactile outputs at one or more locations on the device 200 in response to user interaction with the device 200 .

[0080] The text input module 234, which in some examples is a component of the graphics module 232, provides a soft keyboard for entering text in various applications (e.g., contacts 237, email 240, IM 241, browser 247, and any other application requiring text input).

[0081] The GPS module 235 determines the location of the device and provides this information for use in various applications (e.g., to the phone 238 for use in location-based dialing; to the camera 243 as picture / video metadata; and to applications that provide location-based services, such as the Weather widget, the Local Pages widget, and the Maps / Navigation widget).

[0082] The digital assistant client module 229 includes various client-side digital assistant instructions to provide the client-side functions of the digital assistant. For example, the digital assistant client module 229 can accept sound input (e.g., voice input), text input, touch input and / or gesture input through various user interfaces of the portable multifunction device 200 (e.g., microphone 213, one or more accelerometers 268, touch-sensitive display system 212, one or more optical sensors 229, other input control devices 216, etc.). The digital assistant client module 229 can also provide output in the form of audio (e.g., voice output), output in the form of visual output and / or output in the form of tactile output through various output interfaces of the portable multifunction device 200 (e.g., speaker 211, touch-sensitive display system 212, one or more tactile output generators 267, etc.). For example, the output is provided as voice, sound, alarm, text message, menu, graphic, video, animation, vibration and / or a combination of two or more of the above. During operation, the digital assistant client module 229 uses the RF circuit 208 to communicate with the DA server 106.

[0083] User data and models 231 include various data associated with the user (e.g., user-specific vocabulary data, user preference data, user-specified name pronunciations, data from the user's electronic address book, to-do items, shopping lists, etc.) to provide client-side functionality of the digital assistant. In addition, user data and models 231 include various models for processing user input and determining user intent (e.g., speech recognition models, statistical language models, natural language processing models, knowledge ontologies, task flow models, service models, etc.).

[0084] In some examples, the digital assistant client module 229 utilizes the various sensors, subsystems, and peripherals of the portable multifunction device 200 to collect additional information from the surrounding environment of the portable multifunction device 200 to establish a context associated with the user, the current user interaction, and / or the current user input. In some examples, the digital assistant client module 229 provides the context information, or a subset thereof, to the DA server 106 along with the user input to help infer the user's intent. In some examples, the digital assistant also uses the context information to determine how to prepare and transmit output to the user. The context information is referred to as context data.

[0085] In some examples, contextual information accompanying the user input includes sensor information, such as lighting, ambient noise, ambient temperature, images or videos of the surrounding environment, etc. In some examples, the contextual information may also include the physical state of the device, such as device orientation, device location, device temperature, power level, speed, acceleration, motion pattern, cellular signal strength, etc. In some examples, information related to the software state of the DA server 106, such as the running process of the portable multifunction device 200, installed programs, past and current network activities, background services, error logs, resource usage, etc., is provided to the DA server 106 as contextual information associated with the user input.

[0086] In some examples, the digital assistant client module 229 selectively provides information stored on the portable multifunction device 200 (e.g., user data 231) in response to a request from the DA server 106. In some examples, the digital assistant client module 229 also elicits additional input from the user via a natural language dialog or other user interface upon request by the DA server 106. The digital assistant client module 229 transmits the additional input to the DA server 106 to assist the DA server 106 in inferring intent and / or implementing the user intent expressed in the user request.

[0087] Reference below FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C A more detailed description of the digital assistant is provided. It should be appreciated that the digital assistant client module 229 may include any number of sub-modules of the digital assistant module 726 described below.

[0088] The application 236 includes the following modules (or instruction sets) or a subset or superset thereof:

[0089] Contacts module 237 (sometimes referred to as address book or contact list);

[0090] Telephone module 238;

[0091] Video conferencing module 239;

[0092] Email client module 240;

[0093] Instant messaging (IM) module 241;

[0094] Fitness support module 242;

[0095] A camera module 243 for still images and / or video images;

[0096] Image management module 244;

[0097] Video player module;

[0098] Music player module;

[0099] Browser module 247;

[0100] Calendar module 248;

[0101] A widget module 249, which in some examples includes one or more of the following: a weather widget 249-1, a stock widget 249-2, a calculator widget 249-3, an alarm clock widget 249-4, a dictionary widget 249-5, and other widgets acquired by the user and a widget 249-6 created by the user;

[0102] A widget creator module 250 for forming a user-created widget 249-6;

[0103] Search module 251;

[0104] Video and music player module 252, which merges the video player module and the music player module;

[0105] Notepad module 253;

[0106] Map module 254; and / or

[0107] Online video module 255.

[0108] Examples of other applications 236 stored in memory 202 include other word processing applications, other image editing applications, drawing applications, rendering applications, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, and voice reproduction.

[0109] In combination with the touch screen 212, display controller 256, touch / motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module 234, the contact module 237 is used to manage an address book or contact list (for example, stored in the application internal state 292 of the contact module 237 in memory 202 or memory 470), including: adding one or more names to the address book; deleting names from the address book; associating telephone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, or other information with names; associating images with names; categorizing and classifying names; providing telephone numbers or email addresses to initiate and / or facilitate communications via telephone 238, video conferencing module 239, email 240, or IM 241; and the like.

[0110] In conjunction with RF circuit 208, audio circuit 210, speaker 211, microphone 213, touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module 234, phone module 238 is used to enter a character sequence corresponding to a phone number, access one or more phone numbers in contact module 237, modify an already entered phone number, dial a corresponding phone number, conduct a conversation, and disconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed. As described above, wireless communications use any of a variety of communication standards, protocols, and technologies.

[0111] In combination with the RF circuit 208, the audio circuit 210, the speaker 211, the microphone 213, the touch screen 212, the display controller 256, the optical sensor 264, the optical sensor controller 258, the contact / motion module 230, the graphics module 232, the text input module 234, the contact module 237 and the telephone module 238, the video conferencing module 239 includes executable instructions for initiating, conducting and terminating a video conference between a user and one or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

[0112] In conjunction with RF circuit 208, touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module 234, email client module 240 includes executable instructions for creating, sending, receiving, and managing emails in response to user instructions. In conjunction with image management module 244, email client module 240 makes it very easy to create and send emails with still images or video images captured by camera module 243.

[0113] In conjunction with the RF circuit 208, the touch screen 212, the display controller 256, the contact / motion module 230, the graphics module 232, and the text input module 234, the instant messaging module 241 includes executable instructions for the following operations: inputting a character sequence corresponding to an instant message, modifying previously input characters, transmitting a corresponding instant message (e.g., using a short message service (SMS) or multimedia message service (MMS) protocol for telephone-based instant messaging or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-based instant messaging), receiving instant messages, and viewing received instant messages. In some embodiments, the transmitted and / or received instant messages include graphics, photos, audio files, video files, and / or other attachments such as those supported in MMS and / or enhanced messaging services (EMS). As used herein, "instant messaging" refers to both telephone-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMS or MMS) and Internet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS).

[0114] In combination with the RF circuit 208, the touch screen 212, the display controller 256, the contact / motion module 230, the graphics module 232, the text input module 234, the GPS module 235, the map module 254, and the music player module, the fitness support module 242 includes executable instructions for: creating a workout (e.g., with time, distance, and / or calorie burn goals); communicating with fitness sensors (sports equipment); receiving fitness sensor data; calibrating sensors for monitoring fitness; selecting and playing music for fitness; and displaying, storing, and transmitting fitness data.

[0115] In combination with the touch screen 212, the display controller 256, one or more optical sensors 264, the optical sensor controller 258, the touch / motion module 230, the graphics module 232, and the image management module 244, the camera module 243 includes executable instructions for the following operations: capturing still images or videos (including video streams) and storing them in the memory 202, modifying the characteristics of the still images or videos, or deleting the still images or videos from the memory 202.

[0116] In conjunction with the touch screen 212, display controller 256, touch / motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234, and camera module 243, the image management module 244 includes executable instructions for arranging, modifying (e.g., editing), or otherwise manipulating, labeling, deleting, presenting (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), and storing still images and / or video images.

[0117] In combination with the RF circuit 208, the touch screen 212, the display controller 256, the touch / motion module 230, the graphics module 232 and the text input module 234, the browser module 247 includes executable instructions for browsing the Internet in accordance with user instructions, including searching, linking to, receiving and displaying web pages or portions thereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

[0118] In combination with the RF circuit 208, the touch screen 212, the display controller 256, the touch / motion module 230, the graphics module 232, the text input module 234, the email client module 240 and the browser module 247, the calendar module 248 includes executable instructions for creating, displaying, modifying and storing calendars and data associated with the calendar (e.g., calendar entries, to-do items, etc.) in accordance with user instructions.

[0119] In combination with the RF circuit 208, the touch screen 212, the display controller 256, the contact / motion module 230, the graphics module 232, the text input module 234, and the browser module 247, the desktop widget module 249 is a mini-application that can be downloaded and used by the user (e.g., the weather desktop widget 249-1, the stock desktop widget 249-2, the calculator desktop widget 249-3, the alarm desktop widget 249-4, and the dictionary desktop widget 249-5) or a mini-application created by the user (e.g., the user-created desktop widget 249-6). In some embodiments, the desktop widget includes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In some embodiments, the desktop widget includes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file (e.g., the Yahoo! desktop widget).

[0120] In combination with the RF circuit 208, the touch screen 212, the display controller 256, the touch / motion module 230, the graphics module 232, the text input module 234 and the browser module 247, the desktop widget creator module 250 is used by users to create desktop widgets (for example, to turn a user-specified portion of a web page into a desktop widget).

[0121] In combination with the touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232 and text input module 234, the search module 251 includes executable instructions for searching the memory 202 for text, music, sound, images, videos and / or other files that match one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specified search terms) in accordance with user instructions.

[0122] In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, RF circuitry 208, and browser module 247, video and music player module 252 includes executable instructions that allow a user to download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored in one or more file formats (such as MP3 or AAC files), as well as executable instructions for displaying, presenting, or otherwise playing back video (e.g., on touch screen 212 or on an external display connected via external port 224). In some embodiments, device 200 optionally includes the functionality of an MP3 player such as an iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.).

[0123] In conjunction with the touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232 and text input module 234, the notepad module 253 includes executable instructions for creating and managing notes, to-do lists, etc. according to user instructions.

[0124] In combination with the RF circuit 208, the touch screen 212, the display controller 256, the touch / motion module 230, the graphics module 232, the text input module 234, the GPS module 235 and the browser module 247, the map module 254 is used to receive, display, modify and store maps and data associated with the maps (e.g., driving directions, data related to stores and other points of interest at or near a particular location, and other location-based data) in accordance with user instructions.

[0125] In conjunction with the touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio circuit 210, speaker 211, RF circuit 208, text input module 234, email client module 240, and browser module 247, the online video module 255 includes instructions that allow a user to access, browse, receive (e.g., by streaming and / or downloading), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or on a connected external display via external port 224), send an email with a link to a specific online video, and otherwise manage online videos in one or more file formats (such as H.264). In some embodiments, the instant messaging module 241 is used instead of the email client module 240 to send a link to a specific online video. Additional descriptions of online video applications can be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 936,562, filed on June 20, 2007, entitled “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” and U.S. Patent Application No. 11 / 968,067, filed on December 31, 2007, entitled “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0126] Each of the modules and applications described above corresponds to an executable instruction set for performing one or more of the functions described above and the methods described in this patent application (e.g., the computer-implemented methods and other information processing methods described herein). These modules (e.g., instruction sets) do not have to be implemented as separate software programs, processes, or modules, and therefore various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. For example, a video player module may be combined with a music player module into a single module (e.g., Figure 2AIn some embodiments, the memory 202 stores a subset of the above modules and data structures. In addition, the memory 202 stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

[0127] In some embodiments, the device 200 is a device on which the operation of a predefined set of functions is performed exclusively through a touch screen and / or a touch pad. By using a touch screen and / or a touch pad as the primary input control device for the operation of the device 200, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons, dials, etc.) on the device 200 is reduced.

[0128] A predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through a touch screen and / or a touch pad optionally includes navigation between user interfaces. In some embodiments, the touch pad, when touched by a user, navigates the device 200 to a main menu, a home menu, or a root menu from any user interface displayed on the device 200. In such embodiments, a touch pad is used to implement a "menu button." In some other embodiments, the menu button is a physical push button or other physical input control device, rather than a touch pad.

[0129] Figure 2B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for event processing according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 202 ( Figure 2A ) or memory 470( Figure 4 ) includes an event classifier 270 (e.g., in the operating system 226) and a corresponding application 236-1 (e.g., any one of the aforementioned applications 237 to 251, 255, 480 to 490).

[0130] The event classifier 270 receives event information and determines the application 236-1 and the application view 291 of the application 236-1 to which the event information is to be delivered. The event classifier 270 includes an event monitor 271 and an event distributor module 274. In some embodiments, the application 236-1 includes an application internal state 292 that indicates one or more current application views displayed on the touch-sensitive display 212 when the application is active or executing. In some embodiments, the device / global internal state 257 is used by the event classifier 270 to determine which application(s) is currently active, and the application internal state 292 is used by the event classifier 270 to determine the application view 291 to which the event information is to be delivered.

[0131] In some embodiments, the application internal state 292 includes additional information, such as one or more of the following: resumption information to be used when the application 236-1 resumes execution, user interface state information indicating that information is being displayed or is ready to be displayed by the application 236-1, a state queue for enabling a user to return to a previous state or view of the application 236-1, and a repeat / undo queue of previous actions taken by the user.

[0132] Event monitor 271 receives event information from peripherals interface 218. Event information includes information about sub-events (e.g., a user touch on touch-sensitive display 212 as part of a multi-touch gesture). Peripherals interface 218 transmits information it receives from I / O subsystem 206 or sensors such as proximity sensor 266, one or more accelerometers 268, and / or microphone 213 (through audio circuit 210). The information that peripherals interface 218 receives from I / O subsystem 206 includes information from touch-sensitive display 212 or a touch-sensitive surface.

[0133] In some embodiments, event monitor 271 sends requests to peripheral device interface 218 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheral device interface 218 transmits event information. In other embodiments, peripheral device interface 218 transmits event information only when there is a significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predetermined noise threshold and / or receiving an input for more than a predetermined duration).

[0134] In some embodiments, the event classifier 270 also includes a hit view determination module 272 and / or an active event identifier determination module 273.

[0135] When the touch-sensitive display 212 displays more than one view, the hit view determination module 272 provides software procedures for determining where within one or more views a sub-event has occurred. A view consists of controls and other elements that a user can see on the display.

[0136] Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is a set of views, sometimes referred to herein as application views or user interface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-based gestures occur. The application views (of the respective application) in which a touch is detected correspond to a programmatic level within a programmatic hierarchy of applications or a view hierarchy. For example, the lowest level view in which a touch is detected is called a hit view, and the set of events that are considered to be correct input is determined at least in part based on the hit view of the initial touch that started the touch-based gesture.

[0137] The hit view determination module 272 receives information related to sub-events of touch-based gestures. When an application has multiple views organized in a hierarchy, the hit view determination module 272 identifies the hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy where the sub-events should be processed. In most cases, the hit view is the lowest level view in which the initiating sub-event (e.g., the first sub-event in a sequence of sub-events that form an event or potential event) occurs. Once a hit view is identified by the hit view determination module 272, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related to the same touch or input source for which it was identified as the hit view.

[0138] Active event recognizer determination module 273 determines which view or views within the view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determination module 273 determines that only the hit view should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizer determination module 273 determines that all views that include the physical location of the sub-event are actively participating views, and therefore determines that all actively participating views should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if a touch sub-event is completely confined to an area associated with one particular view, higher views in the hierarchy will still remain as actively participating views.

[0139] Event distributor module 274 distributes event information to event identifiers (e.g., event identifier 280). In embodiments including active event identifier determination module 273, event distributor module 274 delivers the event information to the event identifier determined by active event identifier determination module 273. In some embodiments, event distributor module 274 stores the event information in an event queue, which is retrieved by corresponding event receiver 282.

[0140] In some embodiments, operating system 226 includes event classifier 270. Alternatively, application 236-1 includes event classifier 270. In yet another embodiment, event classifier 270 is a standalone module or is part of another module stored in memory 202, such as contact / motion module 230.

[0141] In some embodiments, the application 236-1 includes multiple event handlers 290 and one or more application views 291, each of which includes instructions for handling touch events occurring in a corresponding view of the user interface of the application. Each application view 291 of the application 236-1 includes one or more event identifiers 280. Typically, the corresponding application view 291 includes multiple event identifiers 280. In other embodiments, one or more event identifiers in the event identifier 280 are part of an independent module, which is a higher-level object such as a user interface toolkit (not shown) or the application 236-1 from which methods and other properties are inherited. In some embodiments, the corresponding event handler 290 includes one or more of the following: data updater 276, object updater 277, GUI updater 278, and / or event data 279 received from the event classifier 270. The event handler 290 utilizes or calls the data updater 276, object updater 277, or GUI updater 278 to update the application internal state 292. Alternatively, one or more of the application views in the application views 291 include one or more corresponding event handlers 290. In addition, in some embodiments, one or more of the data updater 276, the object updater 277, and the GUI updater 278 are included in the corresponding application view 291.

[0142] The corresponding event identifier 280 receives event information (e.g., event data 279) from the event classifier 270 and identifies the event from the event information. The event identifier 280 includes an event receiver 282 and an event comparator 284. In some embodiments, the event identifier 280 also includes metadata 283 and at least a subset of event delivery instructions 288 (which includes sub-event delivery instructions).

[0143] The event receiver 282 receives event information from the event classifier 270. The event information includes information about sub-events such as touches or touch movements. Depending on the sub-event, the event information also includes additional information, such as the location of the sub-event. When the sub-event involves the movement of a touch, the event information also includes the rate and direction of the sub-event. In some embodiments, the event includes the device rotating from one orientation to another orientation (e.g., from a longitudinal orientation to a transverse orientation, or vice versa), and the event information includes corresponding information about the current orientation of the device (also referred to as the device posture).

[0144] Event comparator 284 compares event information with predefined event or sub-event definitions, and based on the comparison, determines an event or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event or sub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 284 includes event definition 286. Event definition 286 includes the definition of an event (e.g., a predefined sequence of sub-events), such as event 1 (287-1), event 2 (287-2), and other events. In some embodiments, sub-events in event (287) include, for example, touch start, touch end, touch move, touch cancel, and multi-touch. In one example, the definition of event 1 (287-1) is a double-click on a displayed object. For example, a double-click includes a first touch (touch start) of a predetermined duration on a displayed object, a first lift-off (touch end) of a predetermined duration, a second touch (touch start) of a predetermined duration on a displayed object, and a second lift-off (touch end) of a predetermined duration. In another example, the definition of event 2 (287-2) is a drag on a displayed object. For example, dragging includes a touch (or contact) of a predetermined duration on a displayed object, movement of the touch on the touch-sensitive display 212, and lifting of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments, the event also includes information for one or more associated event handlers 290.

[0145] In some embodiments, event definition 287 includes a definition of an event for a corresponding user interface object. In some embodiments, event comparator 284 performs a hit test to determine which user interface object is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an application view displaying three user interface objects on touch-sensitive display 212, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitive display 212, event comparator 284 performs a hit test to determine which of the three user interface objects is associated with the touch (sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a corresponding event handler 290, the event comparator uses the result of the hit test to determine which event handler 290 should be activated. For example, event comparator 284 selects an event handler associated with a sub-event and the object that triggered the hit test.

[0146] In some embodiments, the definition of the corresponding event (287) also includes a delay action that delays the delivery of the event information until it has been determined that the sub-event sequence does or does not correspond to the event type of the event identifier.

[0147] When a corresponding event recognizer 280 determines that a sequence of sub-events does not match any event in event definition 286, the corresponding event recognizer 280 enters an event impossible, event failed, or event ended state, after which subsequent sub-events of the touch-based gesture are ignored. In this case, other event recognizers (if any) that remain active for the hit view continue to track and process sub-events of the ongoing touch-based gesture.

[0148] In some embodiments, the corresponding event identifier 280 includes metadata 283 with configurable properties, flags, and / or lists that indicate how the event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to actively participating event identifiers. In some embodiments, metadata 283 includes configurable properties, flags, and / or lists that indicate how event identifiers interact or can interact with each other. In some embodiments, metadata 283 includes configurable properties, flags, and / or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to different levels in a view or programmatic hierarchy.

[0149] In some embodiments, when one or more specific sub-events of an event are identified, the corresponding event identifier 280 activates the event handler 290 associated with the event. In some embodiments, the corresponding event identifier 280 delivers the event information associated with the event to the event handler 290. Activating the event handler 290 is different from sending (and deferred sending) the sub-events to the corresponding hit view. In some embodiments, the event identifier 280 throws a tag associated with the identified event, and the event handler 290 associated with the tag obtains the tag and performs a predefined process.

[0150] In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 288 include sub-event delivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-event without activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event delivery instruction delivers the event information to an event handler associated with a sub-event sequence or to an actively participating view. An event handler associated with a sub-event sequence or with an actively participating view receives the event information and executes a predetermined process.

[0151] In some embodiments, data updater 276 creates and updates data used in application 236-1. For example, data updater 276 updates phone numbers used in contact module 237 or stores video files used in video player module. In some embodiments, object updater 277 creates and updates objects used in application 236-1. For example, object updater 277 creates new user interface objects or updates the position of user interface objects. GUI updater 278 updates the GUI. For example, GUI updater 278 prepares display information and sends the display information to graphics module 232 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

[0152] In some embodiments, event handler 290 includes or has access to data updater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater 278. In some embodiments, data updater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater 278 are included in a single module of the corresponding application 236-1 or application view 291. In other embodiments, they are included in two or more software modules.

[0153] It should be understood that the above discussion of event processing of user touches on a touch-sensitive display also applies to other forms of user input that utilize input devices to operate the multifunction device 200, and not all user input is initiated on the touch screen. For example, mouse movement and mouse button presses, optionally in conjunction with single or multiple keyboard presses or hold; contact movement on a touch pad, such as tapping, dragging, scrolling, etc.; stylus input; movement of the device; verbal commands; detected eye movement; biometric input; and / or any combination thereof are optionally used as input corresponding to sub-events defining the event to be recognized.

[0154] Figure 3A portable multifunction device 200 with a touch screen 212 according to some embodiments is shown. The touch screen optionally displays one or more graphics within a user interface (UI) 300. In this embodiment and other embodiments described below, a user can select one or more of these graphics by, for example, making gestures on the graphics using one or more fingers 302 (not drawn to scale in the figure) or one or more styluses 303 (not drawn to scale in the figure). In some embodiments, when the user interrupts contact with one or more graphics, selection of one or more graphics will occur. In some embodiments, gestures optionally include one or more taps, one or more swipes (from left to right, from right to left, up and / or down) and / or rolling of fingers that have been in contact with the device 200 (from right to left, from left to right, up and / or down). In some specific implementations or in some cases, inadvertent contact with a graphic will not select the graphic. For example, when the gesture corresponding to the selection is a tap, a swipe gesture that sweeps over an application icon optionally does not select the corresponding application.

[0155] The device 200 also includes one or more physical buttons, such as a "home" or menu button 304. As previously described, the menu button 304 is used to navigate to any application 236 in a set of applications executing on the device 200. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on the touch screen 212.

[0156] In some embodiments, the device 200 includes a touch screen 212, a menu button 304, a push button 306 for powering the device on / off and for locking the device, one or more volume adjustment buttons 308, a user identity module (SIM) card slot 310, an earphone jack 312, and a docking / charging external port 224. The push button 306 is optionally used to turn the device on / off by pressing the button and keeping the button in a pressed state for a predefined time interval; lock the device by pressing the button and releasing the button before the predefined time interval passes; and / or unlock the device or initiate an unlocking process. In an alternative embodiment, the device 200 also accepts speech input for activating or deactivating certain functions through a microphone 213. The device 200 also optionally includes one or more contact strength sensors 265 for detecting the strength of contact on the touch screen 212, and / or one or more tactile output generators 267 for generating tactile output for a user of the device 200.

[0157] Figure 44 is a block diagram of an exemplary multi-function device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface according to some embodiments. Device 400 does not have to be portable. In some embodiments, device 400 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device (such as a children's learning toy), a game system, or a control device (e.g., a home controller or an industrial controller). Device 400 typically includes one or more processing units (CPUs) 410, one or more network or other communication interfaces 460, a memory 470, and one or more communication buses 420 for interconnecting these components. Communication bus 420 optionally includes circuits (sometimes referred to as chipsets) that interconnect system components and control communications between system components. Device 400 includes an input / output (I / O) interface 430 with a display 440, which is typically a touch screen display. I / O interface 430 also optionally includes a keyboard and / or mouse (or other pointing device) 450 and a touchpad 455, a tactile output generator 457 for generating tactile output on device 400 (e.g., similar to the above reference Figure 2A The one or more tactile output generators 267 described above), sensors 459 (e.g., optical sensors, acceleration sensors, proximity sensors, touch sensors, and / or contact intensity sensors (similar to those described above with reference to Figure 2A The memory 470 may include one or more storage devices located away from the CPU 410. In some embodiments, the memory 470 stores information related to the portable multifunction device 200 ( Figure 2A ) or a subset thereof. In addition, memory 470 optionally stores additional programs, modules, and data structures not present in memory 202 of portable multifunction device 200. For example, memory 470 of device 400 optionally stores drawing module 480, presentation module 482, word processing module 484, website creation module 486, disk editing module 488, and / or spreadsheet module 490, while portable multifunction device 200( Figure 2A )'s memory 202 optionally does not store these modules.

[0158] Figure 4Each of the above-mentioned elements in some examples is stored in one or more previously mentioned memory devices. Each module in the above-mentioned modules corresponds to an instruction set for performing the above-mentioned functions. The above-mentioned modules or programs (e.g., instruction sets) do not have to be implemented as independent software programs, processes or modules, so the various subsets of these modules are combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 470 stores a subset of the above-mentioned modules and data structures. In addition, memory 470 stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

[0159] Attention is now turned to embodiments of a user interface that may be implemented on, for example, portable multifunction device 200.

[0160] Figure 5A An exemplary user interface of an application menu on portable multifunction device 200 is shown according to some embodiments. A similar user interface is implemented on device 400. In some embodiments, user interface 500 includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

[0161] one or more signal strength indicators 502 of one or more wireless communications such as cellular signals and Wi-Fi signals;

[0162] Time 504;

[0163] Bluetooth indicator 505;

[0164] Battery status indicator 506;

[0165] A tray 508 with icons for commonly used applications, such as:

[0166] o an icon 516 of the phone module 238 labeled “Phone” which optionally includes an indicator 514 of the number of missed calls or voice messages;

[0167] o an icon 518 of the email client module 240 labeled “Mail”, which optionally includes an indicator 510 of the number of unread emails;

[0168] o An icon 520 labeled "Browser" of the browser module 247; and

[0169] o an icon 522 labeled “iPod” of a video and music player module 252 (also referred to as an iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 252); and

[0170] Icons for other apps, such as:

[0171] o Icon 524 of IM module 241 labeled "Message";

[0172] o An icon 526 labeled “Calendar” of the calendar module 248;

[0173] o Icon 528 labeled "Photos" of the image management module 244;

[0174] o An icon 530 labeled “Camera” of the camera module 243;

[0175] o An icon 532 labeled "Online Video" of the online video module 255;

[0176] o Icon 534 labeled "Stock Market" of the Stock Market widget 249-2;

[0177] o An icon 536 labeled “Map” of the map module 254;

[0178] o Icon 538 labeled "Weather" of the Weather widget 249-1;

[0179] v Icon 540 labeled as “clock” of the alarm clock desktop applet 249-4;

[0180] ο An icon 542 labeled “Fitness Support” of the fitness support module 242;

[0181] o An icon 544 of the notepad module 253 labeled "Notepad"; and

[0182] o An icon 546 labeled “Settings” for a settings application or module that provides access to settings for the device 200 and its various applications 236.

[0183] It should be noted that Figure 5A The icon labels shown in are exemplary only. For example, icon 522 of video and music player module 252 is optionally labeled "Music" or "Music Player". Other labels are optionally used for various application icons. In some embodiments, the label of the corresponding application icon includes the name of the application corresponding to the corresponding application icon. In some embodiments, the label of a particular application icon is different from the name of the application corresponding to the particular application icon.

[0184] Figure 5B A touch-sensitive surface 551 (eg, touch screen display 212) is shown having a touch-sensitive surface 551 (eg, Figure 4 tablet or touch pad 455) of the device (e.g., Figure 4Device 400 also optionally includes one or more contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more of sensors 457) for detecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface 551 and / or one or more tactile output generators 459 for generating tactile output for a user of device 400.

[0185] Although some of the examples that follow will be given with reference to input on a touch screen display 212 (where a touch-sensitive surface and a display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detects input on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display, such as Figure 5B In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., Figure 5B 551) has a main axis (e.g., Figure 5B 553) corresponding to the principal axis (for example, Figure 5B According to these embodiments, the device detects a position corresponding to a corresponding position on the display (e.g., Figure 5B , 560 corresponds to 568 and 562 corresponds to 570) at a contact with touch-sensitive surface 551 (eg, Figure 5B Thus, on a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., Figure 5B 551) and a display of a multi-function device (e.g., Figure 5B When the user input detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., contacts 560 and 562 and their movement) is separated, the device is used to manipulate the user interface on the display. It should be understood that similar methods are optionally used for other user interfaces described herein.

[0186] In addition, although the following examples are primarily given with reference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, single-finger tap gestures, finger swipe gestures), it should be understood that in some embodiments, one or more of these finger inputs are replaced by input from another input device (e.g., mouse-based input or stylus input). For example, a swipe gesture is optionally replaced by a mouse click (e.g., instead of contact), followed by movement of the cursor along the path of the swipe (e.g., instead of movement of the contact). As another example, a tap gesture is optionally replaced by a mouse click when the cursor is over the location of the tap gesture (e.g., instead of detecting contact, followed by ceasing to detect contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs are detected simultaneously, it should be understood that multiple computer mice are optionally used simultaneously, or a mouse and finger contact are optionally used simultaneously.

[0187] Fig. 6AAn exemplary personal electronic device 600 is shown. Device 600 includes a body 602. In some embodiments, device 600 includes a body 602 relative to devices 200 and 400 (e.g., Figure 2A-Figure 4 ) or some or all of the features described in the foregoing. In some embodiments, device 600 has a touch-sensitive display screen 604, referred to hereinafter as touch screen 604. As an alternative or in addition to touch screen 604, device 600 has a display and a touch-sensitive surface. As with devices 200 and 400, in some embodiments, touch screen 604 (or touch-sensitive surface) has one or more intensity sensors for detecting the intensity of contact (e.g., touch) being applied. One or more intensity sensors of touch screen 604 (or touch-sensitive surface) provide output data representing the intensity of the touch. The user interface of device 600 responds to touch based on the intensity of the touch, which means that touches of different intensities can invoke different user interface operations on device 600.

[0188] Technology for detecting and processing touch intensity may be found, for example, in related applications: International Patent Application PCT / US2013 / 040061, filed on May 8, 2013, entitled “Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Displaying UserInterface Objects Corresponding to an Application,” and International Patent Application PCT / US2013 / 069483, filed on November 11, 2013, entitled “Device, Method, and Graphical UserInterface for Transitioning Between Touch Input to Display OutputRelationships,” each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0189] In some embodiments, the device 600 has one or more input mechanisms 606 and 608. The input mechanisms 606 and 608, if included, are physical. Examples of physical input mechanisms include push buttons and rotatable mechanisms. In some embodiments, the device 600 has one or more attachment mechanisms. Such attachment mechanisms, if included, may allow the device 600 to be attached to, for example, hats, glasses, earrings, necklaces, shirts, jackets, bracelets, watchbands, bracelets, pants, belts, shoes, wallets, backpacks, etc. These attachment mechanisms allow the user to wear the device 600.

[0190] Figure 6BAn exemplary personal electronic device 600 is shown. In some embodiments, the device 600 includes a Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 4 Some or all of the components described. Device 600 has a bus 612 that operatively couples an I / O portion 614 to one or more computer processors 616 and a memory 618. I / O portion 614 is connected to a display 604, which may have a touch-sensitive component 622 and, optionally, also a touch-intensity sensitive component 624. In addition, I / O portion 614 is connected to a communication unit 630 for receiving application and operating system data using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), cellular and / or other wireless communication technologies. Device 600 includes input mechanisms 606 and / or 608. For example, input mechanism 606 is a rotatable input device or a depressible input device and a rotatable input device. In some examples, input mechanism 608 is a button.

[0191] In some examples, input mechanism 608 is a microphone. Personal electronic device 600 includes, for example, various sensors such as GPS sensor 632, accelerometer 634, orientation sensor 640 (e.g., compass), gyroscope 636, motion sensor 638, and / or combinations thereof, all of which are operably connected to I / O portion 614.

[0192] The memory 618 of the personal electronic device 600 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more computer processors 616, for example, cause the computer processors to perform the above-described techniques and processes. The computer-executable instructions are also stored and / or transmitted, for example, in any non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus, such as a computer-based system, a system containing a processor, or other system that can obtain instructions from an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus and execute the instructions. The personal electronic device 600 is not limited to Figure 6B components and configurations, but may include other components or additional components in a variety of configurations.

[0193] As used herein, the term “indicative representation” refers to an indication in a device 200, 400, 600, and / or 800 ( Figure 2A , Figure 4 , FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B ,as well as FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D ) is a user-interactive graphical user interface object displayed on a display screen of a computer. For example, an image (e.g., an icon), a button, and text (e.g., a hyperlink) each constitute an affordance.

[0194] As used herein, the term "focus selector" refers to an input element used to indicate the current portion of a user interface with which a user is interacting. In some implementations that include a cursor or other position marker, the cursor acts as a "focus selector" such that when the cursor is over a particular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider, or other user interface element), a focus selector is displayed on a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., Figure 4 Touchpad 455 or Figure 5B In the event that an input (e.g., a press input) is detected on the touch-sensitive surface 551 in FIG. 5 , the particular user interface element is adjusted according to the detected input. In the case that a touch screen display (e.g., Figure 2A A touch sensitive display system 212 or Figure 5A In some implementations of the touch screen 212 in FIG. 1 , a contact detected on the touch screen acts as a “focus selector” such that when an input (e.g., a press input by the contact) is detected at the location of a particular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider, or other user interface element) on the touch screen display, the particular user interface element is adjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some implementations, the focus moves from one area of ​​the user interface to another area of ​​the user interface without corresponding movement of a cursor or movement of a contact on the touch screen display (e.g., by using a tab key or arrow keys to move the focus from one button to another); in these implementations, the focus selector moves in accordance with the movement of the focus between different areas of the user interface. Regardless of the specific form the focus selector takes, the focus selector is typically a user interface element (or contact on the touch screen display) that is controlled by the user to deliver the user's intended interaction with the user interface (e.g., by indicating to the device the element of the user interface with which the user desires to interact). For example, when a press input is detected on a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad or touchscreen), the position of a focus selector (e.g., a cursor, contact, or selection box) over a corresponding button will indicate that the user intends to activate the corresponding button (rather than other user interface elements shown on the device display).

[0195] As used in the specification and claims, the term "characteristic intensity" of a contact refers to a characteristic of a contact based on one or more intensities of the contact. In some embodiments, the characteristic intensity is based on multiple intensity samples. The characteristic intensity is optionally based on a predefined number of intensity samples or a set of intensity samples collected during a predetermined time period (e.g., 0.05 seconds, 0.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds, 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds) relative to a predefined event (e.g., after contact is detected, before contact is detected to be lifted off, before or after contact starts to move, before contact ends, before or after contact intensity is detected to increase, and / or before or after contact intensity is detected to decrease). The characteristic intensity of a contact is optionally based on one or more of the following: the maximum value of the contact intensity, the mean value of the contact intensity, the average value of the contact intensity, the value at the top 10% of the contact intensity, the half-maximum value of the contact intensity, the 90% maximum value of the contact intensity, etc. In some embodiments, the duration of the contact is used when determining the characteristic intensity (e.g., when the characteristic intensity is the average value of the intensity of the contact over time). In some embodiments, the feature strength is compared to a set of one or more strength thresholds to determine whether the user has performed an operation. For example, the set of one or more strength thresholds includes a first strength threshold and a second strength threshold. In this example, a contact whose feature strength does not exceed the first threshold results in a first operation, a contact whose feature strength exceeds the first strength threshold but does not exceed the second strength threshold results in a second operation, and a contact whose feature strength exceeds the second threshold results in a third operation. In some embodiments, a comparison between the feature strength and one or more thresholds is used to determine whether to perform one or more operations (e.g., whether to perform the corresponding operation or give up performing the corresponding operation), rather than to determine whether to perform the first operation or the second operation.

[0196] In some embodiments, a portion of a gesture is identified for determining characteristic strength. For example, a touch-sensitive surface receives a continuous swipe contact that transitions from a starting position and reaches an end position, where the strength of the contact increases. In this example, the characteristic strength of the contact at the end position is based only on a portion of the continuous swipe contact, rather than the entire swipe contact (e.g., the swipe contact is only located at the portion at the end position). In some embodiments, a smoothing algorithm is applied to the strength of the swipe contact before determining the characteristic strength of the contact. For example, a smoothing algorithm optionally includes one or more of the following: an unweighted sliding average smoothing algorithm, a triangular smoothing algorithm, a median filter smoothing algorithm, and / or an exponential smoothing algorithm. In some cases, these smoothing algorithms eliminate narrow peaks or depressions in the strength of the swipe contact to achieve the purpose of determining the characteristic strength.

[0197] The intensity of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface is characterized relative to one or more intensity thresholds such as a contact detection intensity threshold, a light press intensity threshold, a deep press intensity threshold, and / or one or more other intensity thresholds. In some embodiments, the light press intensity threshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will perform an operation typically associated with clicking a button of a physical mouse or touchpad. In some embodiments, the deep press intensity threshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will perform an operation different from the operation typically associated with clicking a button of a physical mouse or touchpad. In some embodiments, when a contact having a characteristic intensity below the light press intensity threshold (e.g., and above a nominal contact detection intensity threshold, contacts lower than the nominal contact detection intensity threshold are no longer detected) is detected, the device will move the focus selector according to the movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface without performing an operation associated with the light press intensity threshold or the deep press intensity threshold. Generally speaking, unless otherwise stated, these intensity thresholds are consistent between different groups of user interface illustrations.

[0198] An increase in contact feature intensity from an intensity below a light press intensity threshold to an intensity between the light press intensity threshold and the deep press intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as a "light press" input. An increase in contact feature intensity from an intensity below a deep press intensity threshold to an intensity above the deep press intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as a "deep press" input. An increase in contact feature intensity from an intensity below a contact detection intensity threshold to an intensity between the contact detection intensity threshold and the light press intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as detecting contact on the touch surface. A decrease in contact feature intensity from an intensity above the contact detection intensity threshold to an intensity below the contact detection intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as detecting contact lifted from the touch surface. In some embodiments, the contact detection intensity threshold is zero. In some embodiments, the contact detection intensity threshold is greater than zero.

[0199] In some embodiments described herein, one or more operations are performed in response to detecting a gesture that includes a corresponding press input or in response to detecting a corresponding press input performed using a corresponding contact (or multiple contacts), wherein the corresponding press input is detected at least in part based on detecting that the strength of the contact (or multiple contacts) increases to above a press input strength threshold. In some embodiments, the corresponding operation is performed in response to detecting that the strength of the corresponding contact increases to above the press input strength threshold (e.g., a "down stroke" of the corresponding press input). In some embodiments, the press input includes an increase in the strength of the corresponding contact to above the press input strength threshold and the strength of the contact subsequently decreases to below the press input strength threshold, and the corresponding operation is performed in response to detecting that the strength of the corresponding contact subsequently decreases to below the press input threshold (e.g., an "up stroke" of the corresponding press input).

[0200] In some embodiments, the device employs intensity hysteresis to avoid unexpected inputs sometimes referred to as "jitter," where the device defines or selects a hysteresis intensity threshold that has a predefined relationship to a press input intensity threshold (e.g., the hysteresis intensity threshold is X intensity units lower than the press input intensity threshold, or the hysteresis intensity threshold is 75%, 90%, or some reasonable proportion of the press input intensity threshold). Thus, in some embodiments, a press input includes an increase in the intensity of the corresponding contact to above the press input intensity threshold and a subsequent decrease in the intensity of the contact to below the hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to the press input intensity threshold, and a corresponding operation is performed in response to detecting that the intensity of the corresponding contact subsequently decreases to below the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., an "upward stroke" of the corresponding press input). Similarly, in some embodiments, a press input is detected only when the device detects that the contact intensity increases from an intensity equal to or below the hysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity equal to or above the press input intensity threshold and, optionally, that the contact intensity subsequently decreases to an intensity equal to or below the hysteresis intensity, and a corresponding operation is performed in response to detecting the press input (e.g., an increase in contact intensity or a decrease in contact intensity, depending on the circumstances).

[0201] For ease of explanation, optionally, a description of an operation performed in response to a press input associated with a press input intensity threshold or in response to a gesture including a press input is triggered in response to detecting any of the following: contact intensity increasing to above the press input intensity threshold, contact intensity increasing from an intensity below a hysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity above the press input intensity threshold, contact intensity decreasing to below the press input intensity threshold, and / or contact intensity decreasing to below a hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to the press input intensity threshold. Additionally, in examples where an operation is described as being performed in response to detecting that the intensity of the contact decreases below the press input intensity threshold, the operation is optionally performed in response to detecting that the intensity of the contact decreases below a hysteresis intensity threshold that corresponds to and is less than the press input intensity threshold.

[0202] 3. Digital Assistant System

[0203] Fig. 7A A block diagram of a digital assistant system 700 according to various examples is shown. In some examples, the digital assistant system 700 is implemented on a stand-alone computer system. In some examples, the digital assistant system 700 is distributed across multiple computers. In some examples, some of the modules and functions of the digital assistant are divided into a server portion and a client portion, where the client portion is located on one or more user devices (e.g., devices 104, 122, 200, 400, 600, or 800) and communicates with the server portion (e.g., server system 108) via one or more networks, such as Figure 1 In some examples, the digital assistant system 700 is Figure 1 Specific implementation of the server system 108 (and / or DA server 106) shown in . It should be noted that the digital assistant system 700 is only one example of a digital assistant system, and the digital assistant system 700 has more or fewer components than shown, combines two or more components, or may have a different configuration or layout of components. Fig. 7A The various components shown in the drawings are implemented in hardware, software instructions for execution by one or more processors, firmware (including one or more signal processing integrated circuits and / or application specific integrated circuits), or a combination thereof.

[0204] The digital assistant system 700 includes a memory 702, an input / output (I / O) interface 706, a network communication interface 708, and one or more processors 704. These components can communicate with each other via one or more communication buses or signal lines 710.

[0205] In some examples, memory 702 includes non-transitory computer-readable media, such as high-speed random access memory and / or non-volatile computer-readable storage media (e.g., one or more disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices).

[0206] In some examples, the I / O interface 706 couples the input / output devices 716 of the digital assistant system 700, such as a display, keyboard, touch screen, and microphone, to the user interface module 722. The I / O interface 706 and the user interface module 722 receive user input (e.g., voice input, keyboard input, touch input, etc.) and process the input accordingly. In some examples, for example, when the digital assistant is implemented on a stand-alone user device, the digital assistant system 700 includes a plurality of components related to the user interface module 722. Figure 2A , Figure 4 , FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B and FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D In some examples, digital assistant system 700 represents a server portion of a specific implementation of a digital assistant, and can interact with a user through a client-side portion located on a user device (e.g., device 104, 200, 400, 600, or 800).

[0207] In some examples, the network communication interface 708 includes one or more wired communication ports 712 and / or wireless transmission and reception circuits 714. One or more wired communication ports receive and send communication signals via one or more wired interfaces such as Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc. The wireless circuit 714 receives RF signals and / or optical signals from a communication network and other communication devices and sends RF signals and / or optical signals to a communication network and other communication devices. Wireless communication uses any of a variety of communication standards, protocols and technologies, such as GSM, EDGE, CDMA, TDMA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, VoIP, Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communication protocol. The network communication interface 708 enables the digital assistant system 700 to communicate with other devices through a network, such as the Internet, an intranet and / or a wireless network such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and / or a metropolitan area network (MAN).

[0208] In some examples, the memory 702 or the computer-readable storage medium of the memory 702 stores programs, modules, instructions, and data structures, including all or a subset of the following: operating system 718, communication module 720, user interface module 722, one or more application programs 724, and digital assistant module 726. Specifically, the memory 702 or the computer-readable storage medium of the memory 702 stores instructions for performing the above processes. One or more processors 704 execute these programs, modules, and instructions, and read data from or write data to data structures.

[0209] The operating system 718 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, iOS, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and / or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.), and facilitates communication between various hardware, firmware, and software components.

[0210] The communication module 720 facilitates communication between the digital assistant system 700 and other devices through the network communication interface 708. For example, the communication module 720 and the electronic devices (such as Figure 2A , Figure 4 , FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B The communication module 720 also includes various components for processing data received by the wireless circuit 714 and / or the wired communication port 712.

[0211] The user interface module 722 receives commands and / or input from the user (e.g., from a keyboard, touch screen, pointing device, controller, and / or microphone) via the I / O interface 706 and generates user interface objects on the display. The user interface module 722 also prepares output (e.g., speech, sound, animation, text, icon, vibration, tactile feedback, lighting, etc.) and transmits it to the user via the I / O interface 706 (e.g., through a display, audio channel, speaker, touchpad, etc.).

[0212] Applications 724 include programs and / or modules configured to be executed by the one or more processors 704. For example, if the digital assistant system is implemented on a stand-alone user device, applications 724 include user applications such as games, calendar applications, navigation applications, or mail applications. If the digital assistant system 700 is implemented on a server, applications 724 include, for example, resource management applications, diagnostic applications, or scheduling applications.

[0213] The memory 702 also stores a digital assistant module 726 (or the server portion of the digital assistant). In some examples, the digital assistant module 726 includes the following submodules or subsets or supersets thereof: an input / output processing module 728, a speech-to-text (STT) processing module 730, a natural language processing module 732, a dialog flow processing module 734, a task flow processing module 736, a service processing module 738, and a speech synthesis processing module 740. Each of these modules has access to one or more of the following systems or data and models of the digital assistant module 726 or a subset or superset thereof: a knowledge ontology 760, a vocabulary index 744, user data 748, a task flow model 754, a service model 756, and an ASR system 758.

[0214] In some examples, using the processing modules, data, and models implemented in the digital assistant module 726, the digital assistant may perform at least some of the following: converting voice input into text; recognizing user intent expressed in natural language input received from a user; proactively eliciting and obtaining information needed to fully infer user intent (e.g., by disambiguating words, games, intents, etc.); determining a task flow for satisfying the inferred intent; and executing the task flow to satisfy the inferred intent.

[0215] In some examples, such as Figure 7B As shown in FIG. , the I / O processing module 728 can be Fig. 7A The I / O device 716 interacts with the user or through Fig. 7AThe network communication interface 708 in interacts with a user device (e.g., device 104, device 200, device 400, or device 600) to obtain user input (e.g., voice input) and provide a response to the user input (e.g., as voice output). The I / O processing module 728 optionally obtains context information associated with the user input from the user device along with or shortly after receiving the user input. The context information includes user-specific data, vocabulary, and / or preferences related to the user input. In some examples, the context information also includes the software state and hardware state of the user device when the user request is received, and / or information related to the user's surrounding environment when the user request is received. In some examples, the I / O processing module 728 also sends follow-up questions related to the user request to the user and receives answers from the user. When the user request is received by the I / O processing module 728 and the user request includes voice input, the I / O processing module 728 forwards the voice input to the STT processing module 730 (or speech recognizer) for speech-to-text conversion.

[0216] The STT processing module 730 includes one or more ASR systems 758. The one or more ASR systems 758 can process the speech input received by the I / O processing module 728 to produce a recognition result. Each ASR system 758 includes a front-end speech preprocessor. The front-end speech preprocessor extracts representative features from the speech input. For example, the front-end speech preprocessor performs Fourier transform on the speech input to extract the spectral features that characterize the speech input as a sequence of representative multidimensional vectors. In addition, each ASR system 758 includes one or more speech recognition models (e.g., acoustic models and / or language models) and implements one or more speech recognition engines. Examples of speech recognition models include hidden Markov models, Gaussian mixture models, deep neural network models, n-gram language models, and other statistical models. Examples of speech recognition engines include engines based on dynamic time warping and engines based on weighted finite state transformers (WFST). One or more speech recognition models and one or more speech recognition engines are used to process the extracted representative features of the front-end speech preprocessor to produce intermediate recognition results (e.g., phonemes, phoneme strings and sub-words), and finally produce text recognition results (e.g., words, word strings, or symbol sequences). In some examples, the voice input is at least partially processed by a third-party service or processed on the user's device (e.g., device 104, 200, 400, 600 or 800) to produce recognition results. Once the STT processing module 730 generates a recognition result containing a text string (e.g., a word, or a sequence of words, or a sequence of symbols), the recognition result is transmitted to the natural language processing module 732 for intention inference. In some examples, the STT processing module 730 generates multiple candidate text representations of the voice input. Each candidate text representation is a sequence of words or symbols corresponding to the voice input. In some examples, each candidate text representation is associated with a voice recognition confidence score. Based on the speech recognition confidence score, the STT processing module 730 ranks the candidate text representations and provides the n best (e.g., the n highest ranked) candidate text representations to the natural language processing module 732 for intent inference, where n is a predetermined integer greater than zero. For example, in one example, only the highest ranked (n=1) candidate text representation is delivered to the natural language processing module 732 for intent inference. For another example, the 5 highest ranked (n=5) candidate text representations are delivered to the natural language processing module 732 for intent inference.

[0217] Further details regarding speech-to-text processing are described in U.S. Utility Patent Application Serial No. 13 / 236,942, filed on September 20, 2011, entitled “Consolidating Speech Recognition Results,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0218] In some examples, the STT processing module 730 includes a vocabulary of recognizable words and / or accesses the vocabulary via the speech-to-alphabet conversion module 731. Each vocabulary word is associated with one or more candidate pronunciations of the word represented in the speech recognition phonetic alphabet. Specifically, the vocabulary of recognizable words includes words associated with multiple candidate pronunciations. For example, the vocabulary includes words associated with and In some examples, the candidate pronunciations for the words are associated with candidate pronunciations for the word "tomato". Additionally, vocabulary words are associated with custom candidate pronunciations based on previous speech input from the user. Such custom candidate pronunciations are stored in the STT processing module 730 and associated with a particular user via a user profile on the device. In some examples, the candidate pronunciations for the words are determined based on the spelling of the words and one or more linguistic and / or phonetic rules. In some examples, the candidate pronunciations are manually generated, for example, based on a known standard pronunciation.

[0219] In some examples, candidate pronunciations are ranked based on their prevalence. Ranked higher than Because the former is a more common pronunciation (e.g., among all users, for users in a particular geographic region, or for any other suitable subset of users). In some examples, the candidate pronunciations are ranked based on whether the candidate pronunciation is a custom candidate pronunciation associated with the user. For example, a custom candidate pronunciation is ranked higher than a standard candidate pronunciation. This can be used to identify proper nouns with unique pronunciations that deviate from the standard pronunciation. In some examples, the candidate pronunciation is associated with one or more speech features such as geographic origin, country, or ethnicity. For example, the candidate pronunciation associated with the United States, while the candidate pronunciation associated with the United Kingdom. In addition, the ranking of the candidate pronunciations is based on one or more characteristics of the user (e.g., geographic origin, country, ethnicity, etc.) in a user profile stored on the device. For example, it may be determined from the user profile that the user is associated with the United States. Based on the user being associated with the United States, the candidate pronunciations are ranked (associated with the United States) Comparable candidate pronunciations (associated with the United Kingdom) is ranked higher. In some examples, one of the ranked candidate pronunciations may be selected as the predicted pronunciation (eg, the most likely pronunciation).

[0220] When speech input is received, the STT processing module 730 is used to determine (e.g., using an acoustic model) a phoneme corresponding to the speech input and then attempts to determine (e.g., using a language model) a word that matches the phoneme. For example, if the STT processing module 730 first identifies a phoneme sequence corresponding to a portion of the speech input It can then determine based on the lexical index 744 that the sequence corresponds to the word "tomato".

[0221] In some examples, the STT processing module 730 uses fuzzy matching techniques to determine words in an utterance. Thus, for example, the STT processing module 730 determines the phoneme sequence corresponds to the word "tomato", even though this particular phoneme sequence is not a candidate phoneme sequence for that word.

[0222] The digital assistant's natural language processing module 732 ("natural language processor") obtains the n best candidate text representations ("word sequences" or "symbol sequences") generated by the STT processing module 730 and attempts to associate each candidate text representation with one or more "executable intents" recognized by the digital assistant. An "executable intent" (or "user intent") represents a task that can be executed by the digital assistant and can have an associated task flow implemented in the task flow model 754. The associated task flow is a series of programmed actions and steps taken by the digital assistant to perform the task. The scope of the digital assistant's capabilities depends on the number and variety of task flows that have been implemented and stored in the task flow model 754, or in other words, on the number and variety of "executable intents" recognized by the digital assistant. However, the effectiveness of the digital assistant also depends on the assistant's ability to infer the correct "one or more executable intents" from user requests expressed in natural language.

[0223] In some examples, in addition to the sequence of words or symbols obtained from the STT processing module 730, the natural language processing module 732 also receives context information associated with the user request, for example, from the I / O processing module 728. The natural language processing module 732 optionally uses the context information to clarify, supplement and / or further qualify the information contained in the candidate text representation received from the STT processing module 730. The context information includes, for example, user preferences, hardware and / or software state of the user's device, sensor information collected before, during, or shortly after the user's request, previous interactions (e.g., conversations) between the digital assistant and the user, and the like. As described herein, in some examples, the context information is dynamic and changes with the time, location, content, and other factors of the conversation.

[0224] In some examples, natural language processing is based on, for example, knowledge ontology 760. Knowledge ontology 760 is a hierarchical structure containing many nodes, each node representing an "executable intent" or an "attribute" related to one or more of the "executable intent" or other "attributes". As described above, an "executable intent" represents a task that the digital assistant can perform, that is, the task is "executable" or can be performed. "Attributes" represent parameters associated with sub-aspects of an executable intent or another attribute. The connection between executable intent nodes and attribute nodes in knowledge ontology 760 defines how the parameters represented by the attribute nodes are subordinate to the tasks represented by the executable intent nodes.

[0225] In some examples, the knowledge ontology 760 is composed of executable intent nodes and attribute nodes. In the knowledge ontology 760, each executable intent node is directly connected to or connected to one or more attribute nodes through one or more intermediate attribute nodes. Similarly, each attribute node is directly connected to or connected to one or more executable intent nodes through one or more intermediate attribute nodes. For example, Figure 7C As shown, ontology 760 includes a "restaurant reservation" node (i.e., an executable intent node). The attribute nodes "restaurant", "date / time" (for reservations), and "party size" are all directly connected to the executable intent node (i.e., the "restaurant reservation" node).

[0226] In addition, the attribute nodes "cuisine", "price range", "telephone number", and "location" are child nodes of the attribute node "restaurant", and are all connected to the "restaurant reservation" node (i.e., executable intent node) through the intermediate attribute node "restaurant". Figure 7C As shown, ontology 760 also includes a "set reminder" node (i.e., another executable intent node). The attribute nodes "date / time" (for setting reminders) and "subject" (for reminders) are both connected to the "set reminder" node. Since the attribute "date / time" is related to both the task of making a restaurant reservation and the task of setting a reminder, the attribute node "date / time" is connected to both the "restaurant reservation" node and the "set reminder" node in ontology 760.

[0227] Executable intent nodes, together with their linked attribute nodes, are described as "domains". In this discussion, each domain is associated with a corresponding executable intent and refers to a set of nodes (and the relationships between these nodes) associated with a particular executable intent. For example, Figure 7CThe ontology 760 shown in includes an example of a restaurant reservation domain 762 and an example of a reminder domain 764 within the ontology 760. The restaurant reservation domain includes an executable intent node "restaurant reservation", attribute nodes "restaurant", "date / time" and "party size", and sub-attribute nodes "cuisine", "price range", "phone number" and "location". The reminder domain 764 includes an executable intent node "set reminder" and attribute nodes "subject" and "date / time". In some examples, the ontology 760 consists of multiple domains. Each domain shares one or more attribute nodes with one or more other domains. For example, in addition to the restaurant reservation domain 762 and the reminder domain 764, the "date / time" attribute node is also associated with many different domains (e.g., itinerary scheduling domain, travel booking domain, movie ticket domain, etc.).

[0228] although Figure 7C Two exemplary domains within ontology 760 are shown, but other domains include, for example, "find a movie," "make a phone call," "find directions," "schedule a meeting," "send a message," and "provide answers to questions," "read a list," "provide navigation instructions," "provide instructions for a task," etc. The "send message" domain is associated with the "send message" executable intent node, and further includes attribute nodes such as "one or more recipients," "message type," and "message body." The attribute node "recipients" is further defined, for example, by child attribute nodes such as "recipient name" and "message address."

[0229] In some examples, ontology 760 includes all domains (and thus executable intents) that a digital assistant can understand and act upon. In some examples, ontology 760 is modified, such as by adding or removing entire domains or nodes, or by modifying the relationships between nodes within ontology 760.

[0230] In some examples, nodes associated with multiple related executable intents are clustered under a "superdomain" in the knowledge ontology 760. For example, the "travel" superdomain includes a cluster of attribute nodes and executable intent nodes related to travel. Executable intent nodes related to travel include "ticket booking", "hotel booking", "car rental", "get directions", "find points of interest", and so on. Executable intent nodes under the same superdomain (e.g., the "travel" superdomain) have multiple shared attribute nodes. For example, the executable intent nodes for "ticket booking", "hotel booking", "car rental", "get directions", and "find points of interest" share one or more of the attribute nodes "starting location", "destination", "departure date / time", "arrival date / time", and "party size".

[0231] In some examples, each node in the knowledge ontology 760 is associated with a set of words and / or phrases related to the attribute or executable intent represented by the node. The corresponding set of words and / or phrases associated with each node is a so-called "vocabulary" associated with the node. The corresponding set of words and / or phrases associated with each node is stored in the vocabulary index 744 associated with the attribute or executable intent represented by the node. For example, return Figure 7B , the vocabulary associated with the node of the "restaurant" attribute includes words such as "food", "drinks", "cuisine", "hunger", "eat", "pizza", "fast food", "meals", etc. For another example, the vocabulary associated with the node of the "make phone call" executable intent includes words and phrases such as "call", "make a phone call", "dial", "talk to...", "call the number", "call", etc. The vocabulary index 744 optionally includes words and phrases in different languages.

[0232] The natural language processing module 732 receives candidate text representations (e.g., one or more text strings or one or more symbol sequences) from the STT processing module 730, and for each candidate representation, determines which nodes the words in the candidate text representation involve. In some examples, if a word or phrase in the candidate text representation is found to be associated with one or more nodes in the knowledge ontology 760 (via the vocabulary index 744), the word or phrase "triggers" or "activates" those nodes. Based on the number and / or relative importance of the activated nodes, the natural language processing module 732 selects one of the executable intents as the task that the user intends the digital assistant to perform. In some examples, the domain with the most "triggered" nodes is selected. In some examples, the domain with the highest confidence (e.g., based on the relative importance of its various triggered nodes) is selected. In some examples, the domain is selected based on a combination of the number and importance of the triggered nodes. In some examples, additional factors are also considered in the process of selecting nodes, such as whether the digital assistant has previously correctly interpreted similar requests from the user.

[0233] User data 748 includes user-specific information, such as user-specific vocabulary, user preferences, user address, user's default second language, user's contact list, and other short-term or long-term information for each user. In some examples, natural language processing module 732 uses user-specific information to supplement the information contained in the user input to further qualify the user's intent. For example, for a user request to "invite my friends to my birthday party," natural language processing module 732 can access user data 748 to determine who "friends" are and when and where the "birthday party" will be held, without requiring the user to explicitly provide such information in their request.

[0234] It should be recognized that in some examples, the natural language processing module 732 is implemented using one or more machine learning mechanisms (e.g., neural networks). Specifically, the one or more machine learning mechanisms are configured to receive candidate text representations and context information associated with the candidate text representations. Based on the candidate text representations and the associated context information, the one or more machine learning mechanisms are configured to determine an intent confidence score based on a set of candidate executable intents. The natural language processing module 732 may select one or more candidate executable intents from a set of candidate executable intents based on the determined intent confidence scores. In some examples, a knowledge ontology (e.g., knowledge ontology 760) is also utilized to select one or more candidate executable intents from a set of candidate executable intents.

[0235] Additional details of searching knowledge ontologies based on symbolic strings are described in U.S. Utility Patent Application Serial No. 12 / 341,743, filed on December 22, 2008, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Searching Using An Active Ontology,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0236] In some examples, once the natural language processing module 732 identifies an executable intent (or domain) based on a user request, the natural language processing module 732 generates a structured query to represent the identified executable intent. In some examples, the structured query includes parameters for one or more nodes within the domain of the executable intent, and at least some of the parameters are filled with specific information and requirements specified in the user request. For example, the user says "help me reserve a seat at 7pm at the sushi restaurant." In this case, the natural language processing module 732 is able to correctly identify the executable intent as "restaurant reservation" based on the user input. According to the knowledge ontology, the structured query of the "restaurant reservation" domain includes parameters such as {cuisine}, {time}, {date}, {party number}, etc. In some examples, based on voice input and text derived from the voice input using the STT processing module 730, the natural language processing module 732 generates a partial structured query for the restaurant reservation domain, wherein the partial structured query includes parameters {cuisine = "sushi type"} and {time = "7pm"}. However, in this example, the user utterance contains insufficient information to complete the structured query associated with the domain. Therefore, based on the currently available information, other necessary parameters such as {number of party members} and {date} are not specified in the structured query. In some examples, the natural language processing module 732 populates some parameters of the structured query with the received contextual information. For example, in some examples, if the user requests a sushi restaurant "nearby", the natural language processing module 732 populates the {location} parameter in the structured query with the GPS coordinates from the user's device.

[0237] In some examples, the natural language processing module 732 identifies multiple candidate executable intentions for each candidate text representation received from the STT processing module 730. In addition, in some examples, a corresponding structured query is generated (partially or completely) for each identified candidate executable intention. The natural language processing module 732 determines the intent confidence score for each candidate executable intention and ranks the candidate executable intention based on the intent confidence score. In some examples, the natural language processing module 732 transmits the generated one or more structured queries (including any completed parameters) to the task flow processing module 736 ("task flow processor"). In some examples, one or more structured queries for the m best (e.g., the m highest ranked) candidate executable intentions are provided to the task flow processing module 736, where m is a predetermined integer greater than zero. In some examples, one or more structured queries for the m best candidate executable intentions are provided to the task flow processing module 736 together with the corresponding one or more candidate text representations.

[0238] Additional details for inferring user intent based on multiple candidate executable intents determined based on multiple candidate textual representations of speech input are described in U.S. utility model patent application 14 / 298,725, entitled “System and Method for Inferring User Intent From Speech Inputs,” filed on June 6, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0239] The task flow processing module 736 is configured to receive one or more structured queries from the natural language processing module 732, complete the structured queries (if necessary), and perform the actions required to "complete" the user's final request. In some examples, the various processes necessary to complete these tasks are provided in the task flow model 754. In some examples, the task flow model 754 includes a process for obtaining additional information from the user, and a task flow for performing actions associated with an executable intent.

[0240] As described above, in order to complete the structured query, the task flow processing module 736 needs to initiate an additional dialogue with the user in order to obtain additional information and / or clarify the utterances that may be ambiguous. When it is necessary to conduct such an interaction, the task flow processing module 736 calls the dialogue flow processing module 734 to participate in the dialogue with the user. In some examples, the dialogue flow processor module 734 determines how (and / or when) to request additional information from the user, and receives and processes the user response. The question is provided to the user and the answer is received from the user through the I / O processing module 728. In some examples, the dialogue flow processing module 734 presents the dialogue output to the user via an audible output and / or a visual output, and receives input from the user via a verbal or physical (e.g., click) response. Continuing the above example, when the task flow processing module 736 calls the dialogue flow processing module 734 to determine the "party number" and "date" information for the structured query associated with the domain "restaurant reservation", the dialogue flow processing module 734 generates questions such as "how many people in a row?" and "which day to book?" and passes them to the user. Once the answer is received from the user, the dialog flow processing module 734 fills in the structured query with the missing information, or passes the information to the task flow processing module 736 to complete the missing information based on the structured query.

[0241] Once the task flow processing module 736 has completed the structured query for the executable intent, the task flow processing module 736 begins to execute the final task associated with the executable intent. Therefore, the task flow processing module 736 executes the steps and instructions in the task flow model according to the specific parameters contained in the structured query. For example, the task flow model for the executable intent "restaurant reservation" includes steps and instructions for contacting a restaurant and actually requesting a reservation for a specific party size at a specific time. For example, using a structured query such as: {restaurant reservation, restaurant = ABC Cafe, date = 3 / 12 / 2012, time = 7pm, party size = 5}, the task flow processing module 736 can perform the following steps: (1) Log in to the server of ABC Cafe or such A restaurant reservation system that (2) enters date, time, and party size information into a form on the website, (3) submits the form, and (4) creates a calendar entry for the reservation in the user's calendar.

[0242] In some examples, the task flow processing module 736 completes the task requested in the user input or provides the informational answer requested in the user input with the assistance of the service processing module 738 ("service processing module"). For example, the service processing module 738 initiates a phone call, sets a calendar entry, invokes a map search, invokes or interacts with other user applications installed on the user device, and invokes or interacts with third-party services (e.g., restaurant reservation portals, social networking sites, bank portals, etc.) on behalf of the task flow processing module 736. In some examples, the protocols and application programming interfaces (APIs) required for each service are specified by the corresponding service models in the service model 756. The service processing module 738 accesses the appropriate service model for the service and generates a request for the service according to the protocol and API required by the service based on the service model.

[0243] For example, if the restaurant has enabled an online reservation service, the restaurant submits a service model that specifies the necessary parameters for making a reservation and transmits the values ​​of the necessary parameters to the API of the online reservation service. When requested by the task flow processing module 736, the service processing module 738 can use the web address stored in the service model to establish a network connection with the online reservation service and send the necessary parameters for the reservation (e.g., time, date, party size) to the online reservation interface in a format according to the API of the online reservation service.

[0244] In some examples, the natural language processing module 732, the dialog flow processing module 734, and the task flow processing module 736 are used together and repeatedly to infer and define the user's intention, obtain information to further clarify and refine the user's intention, and finally generate a response (i.e., output to the user, or complete the task) to meet the user's intention. The generated response is a dialogue response to the voice input that at least partially meets the user's intention. In addition, in some examples, the generated response is output as a voice output. In these examples, the generated response is sent to a speech synthesis processing module 740 (e.g., a speech synthesizer), where the generated response can be processed to synthesize the dialogue response in the form of speech. In other examples, the generated response is data content related to satisfying the user request in the voice input.

[0245] In an example where the task flow processing module 736 receives multiple structured queries from the natural language processing module 732, the task flow processing module 736 first processes the first structured query of the received structured query in an attempt to complete the first structured query and / or perform one or more tasks or actions represented by the first structured query. In some examples, the first structured query corresponds to the highest-ranked executable intent. In other examples, the first structured query is selected from the structured query received based on the combination of the corresponding speech recognition confidence score and the corresponding intent confidence score. In some examples, if the task flow processing module 736 encounters an error during the processing of the first structured query (e.g., due to the inability to determine the necessary parameters), the task flow processing module 736 may continue to select and process the second structured query corresponding to the executable intent with a lower ranking in the received structured query. For example, the second structured query is selected based on the speech recognition confidence score represented by the corresponding candidate text, the intent confidence score of the corresponding candidate executable intent, the missing necessary parameters in the first structured query, or any combination thereof.

[0246] The speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured to synthesize speech output for presentation to the user. The speech synthesis processing module 740 synthesizes speech output based on the text provided by the digital assistant. For example, the generated dialogue response is in the form of a text string. The speech synthesis processing module 740 converts the text string into an audible speech output. The speech synthesis processing module 740 uses any appropriate speech synthesis technology to generate speech output from the text, including but not limited to: concatenation synthesis, unit selection synthesis, diphone synthesis, domain-specific synthesis, formant synthesis, pronunciation synthesis, synthesis based on hidden Markov model (HMM) and sine wave synthesis. In some examples, the speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured to synthesize individual words based on phoneme strings corresponding to these words. For example, the phoneme string is associated with the words in the generated dialogue response. The phoneme string is stored in the metadata associated with the word. The speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured to directly process the phoneme string in the metadata to synthesize the words in speech form.

[0247] In some examples, instead of (or in addition to) using the speech synthesis processing module 740, speech synthesis is performed on a remote device (e.g., server system 108), and the synthesized speech is sent to the user device for output to the user. For example, this may occur in some implementations where the output of the digital assistant is generated at the server system. And because the server system typically has more processing power or more resources than the user device, it is possible to obtain higher quality speech output than client-side synthesis would achieve.

[0248] Additional details about digital assistants can be found in U.S. utility patent application 12 / 987,982, entitled “Intelligent Automated Assistant,” filed on January 10, 2011, and U.S. utility patent application 13 / 251,088, entitled “Generating and Processing Task Items That Represent Tasks to Perform,” filed on September 30, 2011, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0249] 4. Exemplary Techniques for Operating Virtual Assistants

[0250] FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D An exemplary technique for operating a virtual assistant at an electronic device 800 is shown. The device 800 is, for example, similar or identical to the device 200 or 400 described above. In some examples, the device 800 includes the device described above. Figure 7A-7C In some examples, device 800 includes system 900 ( Fig. 9 ) components and functions.

[0251] As described below, in some examples, different default behaviors for deactivating a virtual assistant session are employed depending on how the virtual assistant session was initiated. For example, if user input received via a button of an electronic device initiates a virtual assistant session, it is likely that the user is holding the device and therefore wishes to interact with the virtual assistant session for an extended duration. Thus, if Fig. 8A As shown, the default behavior of such initiation is not to deactivate the virtual assistant session (e.g., until the display of the electronic device turns off). For another example, if user input at an external electronic device (e.g., a wired or wireless headset) initiates a virtual assistant session, it is possible that the user initiates the virtual assistant session to make a quick request (e.g., check the weather, check stock prices, etc.). Figure 8C As shown, the default behavior for this type of initiation is to deactivate the virtual assistant session shortly after the request is completed (e.g., after the virtual assistant provides a response).

[0252] However, in some examples, the default behavior associated with each way of initiating a virtual assistant may not be desirable. For example, if the default behavior is to not deactivate the virtual assistant session, and the user is not engaged in the virtual assistant session, then it may not be desirable to continue executing the virtual assistant session (e.g., because executing the virtual assistant session consumes battery power and / or because the user is not interested in interacting with the virtual assistant session). For another example, if the default behavior is to deactivate the virtual assistant session shortly after a request is completed, and the user is still engaged in the virtual assistant session after the request is completed, then it may not be desirable to deactivate the virtual assistant session (e.g., because the user is still reading the presented results and / or wishes to make another request to the virtual assistant session).

[0253] Thus, in some examples, it may be desirable to override the default behavior for deactivating a virtual assistant session based on whether the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session. For example, if the default behavior is to not deactivate the virtual assistant session (e.g., until the display of the electronic device turns off), then it is determined whether the user is not engaged in the virtual assistant session. Figure 8B As shown, if the user is not engaged, the default behavior takes over and the virtual assistant is deactivated (e.g., before the display turns off). As another example, if the default behavior is to deactivate the virtual assistant session shortly after the request is completed, it is determined whether the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session after the request is completed. Fig.8D As shown, if the user engages, the default behavior of deactivating the virtual assistant session shortly after the request is completed is taken over and the virtual assistant session continues to execute.

[0254] Fig. 8A An exemplary timeline is shown for operating a virtual assistant session on device 800 according to a default behavior that does not deactivate the virtual assistant session until a time defined by a device setting (e.g., the time when the display turns off). As discussed, in some examples, the default behavior may be undesirable, causing the virtual assistant to continue to execute despite the user not participating in the session.

[0255] As shown, at time T1, device 800 initiates a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input corresponding to one or more predetermined types. For example, user 802 interacts with a button (e.g., a physical button or a virtual button) on device 800 to cause device 800 to initiate a virtual assistant session. In some examples, initiating a virtual assistant session includes providing an audio output. In some examples, initiating a virtual assistant session includes displaying a user interface associated with the virtual assistant session (e.g., displayed in the foreground of a user interface displayed on display 804). In some examples, initiating a virtual assistant session includes energizing a processor circuit configured to operate a virtual assistant. In some examples, initiating a virtual assistant includes initiating one or more programs or modules (e.g., digital assistant module 726).

[0256] In some examples, the device 800 determines the type of user input used to initiate a virtual assistant session. For example, the device 800 determines whether the type of user input is a first type or a second type. In some examples, the first type of user input includes gesture input (e.g., swipe) received via a touch-sensitive display of the electronic device, input received via a physical button of the electronic device (e.g., a "home" button), and / or input received via a virtual button of the electronic device (e.g., a button displayed on the display). In some examples, the second type of user input includes input received from an external electronic device (e.g., input from a wired or wireless headset), voice input (e.g., voice input for initiating a virtual assistant, such as "Hey, Siri"), and / or motion input (e.g., motion of the electronic device that initiates the virtual assistant).

[0257] In some examples, each type of user input is associated with a different default behavior for deactivating the virtual assistant session. For example, the device 800 infers from a first type of input that the user wishes to interact with the virtual assistant session for an extended duration. Therefore, if the device 800 determines that the type of user input is the first type, the default behavior is to not deactivate the virtual assistant session (e.g., until the display of the electronic device goes out (e.g., not displayed)). As another example, the device 800 infers from a second type of input that the user does not wish to interact with the virtual assistant session for an extended duration. Therefore, if the device 800 determines that the type of user input is the second type, the default behavior is to deactivate the virtual assistant session for a predetermined duration (e.g., a short duration) after the user request is completed.

[0258] exist Fig. 8A In this example, the input for initiating the virtual assistant session is a first type of input (e.g., a swipe or a virtual button). Therefore, as shown, the default behavior is not to deactivate the virtual assistant session (e.g., until a time defined by the device settings).

[0259] After initiating the virtual assistant session, at time T2, user 802 provides input to the virtual assistant session (e.g., "set a timer for ten minutes"). The virtual assistant of device 800 receives the input and performs a task based on the input (e.g., according to the above description with respect to FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C For example, the virtual assistant session performs the task of setting a timer and presents a result “setting a timer for 10 minutes” (e.g., presented on display 804).

[0260] In some examples, results presented during a virtual assistant session are final results (e.g., "setting timer for 10 minutes"). However, in some examples, some results presented during a virtual assistant session are not final results. For example, if the virtual assistant session engages in multiple rounds of interaction (e.g., interactions in which input is provided to the virtual assistant and the virtual assistant responds by eliciting further input), then the result that elicits further input is not a final result. For example, if a user provides the input "send message" and the virtual assistant session responds by outputting "send message to whom?", then "send message to whom?" is not a final result. Thus, in some examples, a final result is a presentation result for which the virtual assistant does not expect further user responses and / or does not expect further results to be presented.

[0261] Device 800 at a certain time (e.g., at Fig. 8A The final result of the virtual assistant session is presented at time T3 in the display 804 . For example, if the virtual assistant provides an audio output of the final result (e.g., the virtual assistant performs text-to-speech of "setting a timer for 10 minutes"), the final result time is the time when the virtual assistant completes providing the audio output (e.g., completes the audio output of "10 minutes"). In some examples, the virtual assistant session displays the final result (e.g., displays "setting a timer for 10 minutes" on display 804). Therefore, in some examples, the final result time is the time when the final result is displayed. In some examples, the final result time is a predetermined duration (e.g., 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, etc.) after the time when the final result is displayed.

[0262] In this example, after the device 800 presents the final result, the user 802 is no longer involved in the virtual assistant session. For example, as shown, the user 802 is not watching the device 800 at time T4 and has put the device 800 down beside him. However, because the user 802 uses the first type of input (e.g., button press) to initiate the virtual assistant session, the device 800 operates according to the default behavior of deactivating the virtual assistant session until the time defined by the device settings (e.g., the screen lock time). As shown, this may unexpectedly cause the virtual assistant to continue to execute (e.g., between time T4 and T5) even if the user is not involved in the virtual assistant session.

[0263] In some examples, the device setting is a user-configurable setting associated with a screen lock time or a screen dimming time. For example, a user specifies a screen lock time of 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, or 5 minutes. The screen lock time of 2 minutes specifies that, for example, the device turns off the display screen after no user input (e.g., tactile input, motion input, audio input, gaze input, and / or detection of the user's face, etc.) is detected at the device for 2 minutes. In some examples, the device setting specifies not to automatically turn off the screen and / or not to automatically dim the screen. In such examples, a virtual assistant session that operates according to the default behavior of not deactivating the virtual assistant session will not be deactivated (e.g., until the electronic device runs out of battery).

[0264] In some examples, the device setting is a user-configurable setting associated with the virtual assistant. For example, the device setting specifies that the virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated a predetermined duration (e.g., 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes) after the time the virtual assistant session is initiated. For another example, the device setting specifies that the virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated a predetermined duration after the time the final result of the virtual assistant session is presented.

[0265] In some examples, device 800 may be configured to automatically detect a problem at a time defined by device settings (e.g., at Fig. 8A The device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session at time T5 (at time T5 in the figure). For example, the screen lock setting specifies that the display 804 is turned off five minutes after no user input is detected. When the display 804 is turned off at time T5, the device 800 deactivates the virtual assistant session at time T5. As another example, the screen dimming setting specifies that the display 804 is dimmed five minutes after no user input is detected. When the display 804 is dimmed, the device 800 deactivates the virtual assistant session. In some examples, automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session includes deactivating the virtual assistant session without receiving explicit user input to deactivate the virtual assistant session. The explicit user input to deactivate the virtual assistant session includes, for example, touching or pressing a physical or virtual button, a swipe gesture on the display, and / or audio and / or text input (e.g., explicit audio and / or text input for deactivating the virtual assistant session, such as "power off", "disappear", "close", etc.).

[0266] In some examples, deactivating the virtual assistant session includes stopping display of a user interface associated with the virtual assistant session (e.g., replacing display of the virtual assistant user interface with display of a home screen user interface or a user interface associated with another application). In some examples, deactivating the virtual assistant session includes turning off a display. In some examples, deactivating the virtual assistant session includes turning off processor circuitry configured to operate the virtual assistant (e.g., circuitry of a main processor). In some examples, deactivating the virtual assistant includes deactivating one or more programs or modules (e.g., digital assistant module 726).

[0267] like Fig. 8A As shown, the default behavior of not deactivating the virtual assistant session until a time defined by the device settings may be undesirable. Specifically, although the user is not engaged in the virtual assistant session, there is a time period (e.g., between T4 and T5) during which the virtual assistant continues to execute (e.g., the virtual assistant user interface is displayed in the foreground of the user interface). This may result in significant battery power and processing power consumption of the device (e.g., particularly if the screen is locked for a long time or the device settings specify not to turn off the screen). Therefore, in some examples, it may be desirable to override the default behavior by automatically deactivating the virtual assistant when it is determined that the user is not engaged in the virtual assistant session (or shortly thereafter).

[0268] Figure 8B An exemplary timeline for automatically deactivating a virtual assistant session is shown. Figure 8B In the embodiment of the present invention, the default behavior of not deactivating the virtual assistant session (e.g., not deactivating until the screen lock time) is overridden. Specifically, as described below, the device determines that the user is not interested in (e.g., not engaged in) the virtual assistant session, and the device deactivates the virtual assistant session before a time associated with a device setting (e.g., the screen lock time).

[0269] exist Figure 8B , at time T1, user 802 initiates a virtual assistant session by providing user input (e.g., by interacting with a button of device 800). In response, device 800 initiates a virtual assistant session. For example, device 800 displays a virtual assistant user interface on display 804.

[0270] In some examples, device 800 determines the type of user input. In this example, because the user input is received via a button of device 800, device 800 determines that the type of user input is a first type. Therefore, the default behavior is to not deactivate the virtual assistant session until a time defined by the device settings (recall that in some examples, different types of input are each associated with a different default behavior).

[0271] At time T2, user 802 provides input to the virtual assistant session requesting a task (e.g., "setting a timer for 10 minutes"). Device 800 determines the task based on the input, performs the task, and presents the final result of the virtual assistant session at time T3. For example, device 800 presents an audio output "setting a timer for 10 minutes" at time T3.

[0272] In some examples, the device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session after the time when the final result of the virtual assistant session is presented. For example, the device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session for a predetermined duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, 6 seconds) after the time when the final result of the virtual assistant session is presented. In some examples, once the final result is presented, the device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session. In some examples, once the virtual assistant session is initiated, the device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session.

[0273] In some examples, the device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session based on determining that the type of user input used to initiate the virtual assistant session is a first type. For example, as discussed, the first type of input is associated with a default behavior of not deactivating the virtual assistant session. Therefore, the device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session to determine whether to override the default behavior (e.g., by automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session before the screen lock time).

[0274] In some examples, determining whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session includes determining whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device. In some examples, determining whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session includes determining a probability of not being interested in the virtual assistant session. For example, if one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met, the probability of not being interested in the virtual assistant session increases. If one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are not met, the probability of not being interested in the virtual assistant session decreases. In some examples, if the probability of not being interested is greater than a predetermined threshold and / or if one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met, it is determined that the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session.

[0275] Exemplary criteria for indicating expressed user disinterest are discussed below.

[0276] Exemplary criteria include the direction of the user's gaze. For example, the device 800 includes one or more forward cameras and / or rearward cameras. The device 800 analyzes the data collected by the one or more cameras to determine the direction of the user's gaze. If the device 800 determines that the direction of the user's gaze is pointing to the device, the criterion indicating that the user is not interested in the expression is not met. If the device 800 determines that the direction of the user's gaze is not pointing to the device, the criterion indicating that the user is not interested in the expression is met. In some examples, if the device 800 cannot determine the user's gaze direction based on the camera data, the data is not considered when determining whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session. In some examples, if the device 800 cannot determine the user's gaze direction based on the camera data (for example, the user's face and / or gaze is not detected by one or more cameras), the data is considered to indicate that the user's gaze is not directed to the device.

[0277] Exemplary criteria include determining a duration of time that the user's gaze is not directed toward the device. For example, the device 800 collects data from one or more cameras and determines whether the user's gaze is directed toward the electronic device for a predetermined duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, 6 seconds, 7 seconds, 8 seconds, 9 seconds, 10 seconds, etc.). If the device 800 determines that the user's gaze is not directed toward the device during the predetermined duration (e.g., the camera data indicates that the user's gaze is not directed toward the device for any portion of the predetermined duration), the criterion for expressing the user's lack of interest is met. In some examples, if the device 800 determines that the user's gaze is directed toward the electronic device during the predetermined duration (e.g., the camera data indicates that the user's gaze is directed toward the device for at least a portion of the predetermined duration), the criterion for expressing the user's lack of interest is not met.

[0278] In some examples, determining whether the user's gaze is directed at the electronic device for a predetermined duration includes collecting one or more samples of the user's gaze during the predetermined duration. For example, during an exemplary predetermined duration of 6 seconds, the device 800 collects four samples of camera data. By way of example, a first sample is collected at 0 seconds (e.g., a predetermined duration after which the final result is presented), a second sample is collected at 2 seconds, a third sample is collected at 4 seconds, and a fourth sample is collected at 6 seconds. In some examples, if each of the camera data samples indicates that the user's gaze is not directed at the device, the standard indicating that the user is not interested in the expression is met. In some examples, if at least one of the camera data samples indicates that the user's gaze is directed at the device, the standard indicating that the user is not interested in the expression is not met. In some examples, if only the first sample indicates that the user's gaze is directed at the device, the standard indicating that the user is not interested in the expression is met.

[0279] An exemplary criterion includes determining that user gaze toward the electronic device has ceased. In some examples, determining that user gaze toward the electronic device has ceased includes determining that the user gaze is directed toward the device at a first time, and then determining that the user gaze is no longer directed toward the device at a second time after the first time (e.g., for a predetermined duration). In some examples, if the device 800 determines that the user gaze toward the electronic device has ceased, the criterion for indicating expressed user disinterest is met. In some examples, if the device 800 does not determine that the user gaze toward the electronic device has ceased, the criterion for indicating expressed user disinterest is not met.

[0280] Exemplary criteria include whether a user's face (or a portion thereof) is detected. For example, device 800 includes one or more cameras, and device 800 analyzes data collected from the one or more cameras to determine whether a user's face (e.g., a face of a specific user, not any user-specific face) is detected. In some examples, if device 800 does not detect the user's face, the criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met. In some examples, if device 800 detects the user's face, the criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are not met.

[0281] Exemplary criteria include a duration of time that the user's face is not detected. In some examples, determining the duration of time that the user's face is not detected is performed similar to the above-mentioned techniques for determining a duration that the user's gaze is not directed toward the electronic device.

[0282] An exemplary criterion includes that the electronic device no longer detects the user's face. In some examples, determining that the electronic device no longer detects the user's face is performed similar to the above-mentioned techniques for determining that the user's gaze toward the electronic device has ceased.

[0283] In some examples, the user selects how he or she wants to deactivate the virtual assistant session based on face detection and / or gaze detection. For example, device 800 includes a user-configurable setting that specifies (1) deactivating the virtual assistant session when a gaze direction is determined not to be directed toward the device (e.g., for a predetermined duration) (e.g., even if a face is detected), or (2) deactivating the virtual assistant session when a face is not detected (e.g., for a predetermined duration).

[0284] An exemplary criterion includes lowering of the electronic device. For example, the device 800 includes one or more sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, etc.) configured to detect motion of the electronic device. The device 800 analyzes data collected using the one or more sensors to determine lowering of the device (e.g., lowering of the device from near the user's face to near the user's waist, a lowering motion of placing the device on a table, etc.). If the device 800 determines lowering, the criterion for expressing user disinterest is met. If the device 800 does not determine lowering, the criterion for expressing user disinterest is not met.

[0285] Exemplary criteria include the orientation of the electronic device. For example, device 800 includes one or more sensors (e.g., a gyroscope, a camera, a proximity sensor, a light sensor, etc.) configured to detect the orientation of the device. Device 800 analyzes data collected using the one or more sensors to determine whether the electronic device is facing downward (e.g., horizontal with the display facing downward). If device 800 determines that it is facing downward, the criteria indicating the expressed user disinterest are met. If device 800 determines that it is not facing downward, the criteria indicating the expressed user disinterest are not met.

[0286] Exemplary criteria include whether the electronic device is in an enclosed space. Exemplary enclosed spaces include pockets, bags, drawers, wallets, etc. For example, the device 800 includes one or more sensors (e.g., cameras, light sensors, microphones, proximity sensors, etc.) configured to determine whether the electronic device is in an enclosed space. The device 800 analyzes the data collected from the one or more sensors to determine whether it is in an enclosed space. Any technology currently known or later developed for determining whether an electronic device is in an enclosed space may be used. For example, the device 800 uses proximity sensor data indicating the presence of an object very close to the device (e.g., touching the device, being less than 2 cm from the device, etc.) in conjunction with light sensor data indicating low levels of light to determine that the device is in an enclosed space. If the device 800 determines that it is in an enclosed space, the standard indicating that the user is not interested in the expression is met. If the device 800 determines that it is not in an enclosed space, the standard indicating that the user is not interested in the expression is not met.

[0287] Exemplary criteria include whether the display of the electronic device is covered (e.g., by a user's hand). For example, the device 800 includes one or more sensors (e.g., a camera, a light sensor, a microphone, a proximity sensor, etc.) configured to determine whether the display of the device is covered. The device 800 analyzes data collected from the one or more sensors to determine whether its display is covered. For example, the device 800 uses forward-facing light sensor data indicating that a low level of light (or no light) is detected and / or forward-facing proximity sensor data indicating that an object is touching the display of the device to determine that the display is covered. If the device 800 determines that its display is covered, the criteria for indicating expressed user disinterest are met. If the device 800 determines that its display is not covered, the criteria for indicating expressed user disinterest are not met.

[0288] In some examples, the device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session for a first predetermined duration (e.g., 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1 minute, etc.). For example, the device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session for a first predetermined duration after the time (e.g., time T3) at which the final result of the virtual assistant session is presented. In some examples, if the device 800 determines that the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session during the first predetermined duration, the device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session (e.g., when it is determined that the user is not interested). In some examples, if the device 800 does not determine that the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session during the first predetermined duration (e.g., none of the above criteria indicating that the user is not interested is determined to be met), the device 800 abandons automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session (e.g., until a time defined by the device settings), and the device 800 stops determining whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session (e.g., stops sampling camera data).

[0289] Thus, in some examples, if the device 800 does not determine that the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session during the first predetermined duration, the device 800 takes a default behavior of not automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session (e.g., until a time defined by the device settings). This can provide the advantage of saving battery power and processing power that would otherwise be consumed by determining whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session (e.g., for longer than the first predetermined duration). This can also improve device usability by continuing to execute the virtual assistant session while the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session (e.g., because the user may be engaged in the virtual assistant session if it is not determined that the user is not interested during the first predetermined duration).

[0290] In some examples, determining that the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session will prevent automatic deactivation of the virtual assistant session (e.g., until a time defined by device settings). For example, if device 800 determines that the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session during the first predetermined duration (and before time T4 when the virtual assistant is deactivated due to a determination that the user is not interested), device 800 takes the default action of not automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session.

[0291] In some examples, if device 800 determines that the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session during a first predetermined duration, device 800 proceeds to determine whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session for a second predetermined duration (e.g., 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, etc.). For example, device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session for the second predetermined duration starting from the time when the user is determined to be engaged (e.g., according to the above example).

[0292] In some examples, determining whether a user is participating in a virtual assistant session includes determining whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user participation are met based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device. In some examples, determining whether a user is participating in a virtual assistant session includes determining a probability of participating in a virtual assistant session. For example, if one or more criteria indicating expressed user participation are met, the probability of participating in a virtual assistant session increases. If one or more criteria indicating expressed user participation are not met, the probability of participating in a virtual assistant session decreases. In some examples, if the probability of participation is greater than a predetermined threshold and / or if one or more criteria indicating expressed user participation are met, it is determined that the user is participating in a virtual assistant session.

[0293] Exemplary criteria for representing expressed user engagement are discussed below.

[0294] Exemplary criteria include the direction of the user's gaze. For example, similar to the above-described techniques, device 800 determines the direction of the user's gaze. If device 800 determines that the direction of the user's gaze is directed toward the device (e.g., for a predetermined duration), then the criteria for indicating expressed user engagement are met. If device 800 determines that the direction of the user's gaze is not directed toward the device, then the criteria for indicating expressed user engagement are not met.

[0295] Exemplary criteria include whether a user's face (or a portion thereof) is detected. For example, similar to the above-described techniques, device 800 analyzes the obtained camera data to determine whether a user's face is detected. If device 800 detects the user's face, the criteria for expressing user engagement are met. If device 800 does not detect the user's face, the criteria for expressing user engagement are not met.

[0296] Exemplary criteria include whether a touch on the electronic device is detected. For example, the device 800 determines whether a touch is detected on a touch-sensitive display and / or a touch-sensitive button of the device. If the device 800 detects a user touch, the criteria for expressing user engagement are met. If the device 800 does not detect a user touch, the criteria for expressing user engagement are not met.

[0297] Exemplary criteria include elevation of the electronic device (e.g., an elevation motion that raises the electronic device to eye level). For example, device 800 determines whether data obtained using one or more motion sensors indicates elevation of the device. If the data indicates elevation, the criteria for indicating expressed user engagement are met. If the data does not indicate elevation, the criteria for indicating expressed user engagement are not met.

[0298] exist Figure 8B In the example shown, device 800 determines that user 802 is not interested in the virtual assistant session. For example, device 800 determines that the gaze of user 802 is not directed toward device 800. In addition, for example, device 800 does not detect any indication that the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session.

[0299] In some examples, based on determining that the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session (e.g., before time T5 defined by device settings), device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session at time T4 (e.g., before time T5). For example, at time T4, the home screen user interface replaces the virtual assistant user interface. In some examples, operating and displaying the home screen user interface requires less battery power and processing power than operating the virtual assistant (e.g., displaying the virtual assistant user interface). Therefore, as Figure 8B As shown, by not operating the virtual assistant session between the inactivity time and the inactivity time defined by the device settings (e.g., between T4 and T5), battery power and processing power are conserved.

[0300] In some examples, based on determining that the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session (e.g., before a time defined by the device settings), the device 800 displays an enable indication indicating that the virtual assistant session will be deactivated. For example, the device 800 displays the enable indication on the display 804 for a predetermined duration (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. seconds). During the predetermined duration, if the user interacts with the enable indication (e.g., touches the enable indication and / or clicks on the enable indication with a mouse cursor), deactivating the virtual assistant session is abandoned. For example, the device 800 adopts the default behavior of not deactivating the virtual assistant session (e.g., until time T5 defined by the device settings). If the user does not interact with the enable indication, the device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session at the end of the predetermined duration. Therefore, in some examples, the displayed enable indication provides a visual indication that deactivation is about to occur and that the user's interaction with the enable indication will prevent deactivation.

[0301] In some examples, based on not determining that the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session, device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session at a time defined by device settings (e.g., at time T5).

[0302] In some examples, the context of the electronic device affects whether and / or how the virtual assistant session is deactivated. For example, if a navigation application is executing when the virtual assistant is initiated, it may not be desirable for the virtual assistant user interface to replace the user interface associated with the navigation application for an extended duration. This may be because the user wants to see navigation instructions while driving. Therefore, in some examples, if a navigation application is executing when the virtual assistant session is initiated, the virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated for a short duration after the final results are presented.

[0303] Exemplary device contexts and how device contexts affect virtual assistant deactivation are discussed below.

[0304] As discussed, exemplary device contexts include application contexts. For example, device 800 determines whether a predetermined application is executing on device 800 when a virtual assistant session is initiated. If the predetermined application is executing, the virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated for a short duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, or 6 seconds) after the final result is presented. If the predetermined application is not executing, then in some examples, the device determines whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session based on any of the techniques discussed herein. In some examples, the predetermined application is an application configured to provide navigation services (e.g., a map application).

[0305] Exemplary device contexts include whether the device is paired with an external electronic device. For example, device 800 determines whether it is paired with an external electronic device via a wired or wireless communication medium (e.g., If device 800 is paired with an external electronic device, the virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated a short duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, or 6 seconds) after the final result is presented. In some examples, the virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated for a short duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, or 6 seconds) after the final result is presented. The electronic device paired with the external electronic device (the vehicle console) indicates that the user is in a vehicle and may not wish to be disturbed by the initiated virtual assistant session. Therefore, in some examples, if the device 800 is paired with an external electronic device, the device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session shortly after presenting the final result.

[0306] Exemplary device contexts include device modes and / or settings. For example, device 800 determines whether it is in a "do not disturb mode" (e.g., a device mode in which the audio and / or tactile output of notifying the user about incoming communications is limited). If device 800 is in "do not disturb" mode, then a short duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, or 6 seconds) after presenting the final result, device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session.

[0307] As another example, the device 800 determines whether it is in a "low power mode" (e.g., a mode configured to save battery power). In some examples, if the battery charge of the device 800 drops below a predefined charge (e.g., below 20%, 10%, 5%, etc.), the device 800 enters a low power mode (e.g., by user request). If the device 800 determines that it is in a low power mode, the device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session for a short duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, or 6 seconds) after presenting the final result. In this way, if the battery is low, the device 800 automatically deactivates the initiated virtual assistant session shortly after the request is completed to save battery power.

[0308] It should be understood that the above-described contexts are merely exemplary, and in some examples, other device contexts are considered when determining whether to deactivate a virtual assistant session and / or how to deactivate a virtual assistant session. For example, device 800 may consider its location, the current time, its speed of movement, its device type (e.g., phone, watch, speaker, vehicle console, etc.), whether it is locked (e.g., via a passcode) when the virtual assistant session is initiated, whether it is outputting audio when the virtual assistant session is initiated, the domain of the results presented by the virtual assistant session, and / or the type of external electronic device with which it is paired when determining whether to deactivate a virtual assistant session and / or how to deactivate a virtual assistant session.

[0309] In some examples, the device 800 determines whether one or more of the above-mentioned scenarios meet predetermined conditions (e.g., a predetermined location, a predetermined time, a predetermined device type, a predetermined domain, etc.). If the scenario meets the predetermined conditions, the virtual assistant session operates according to a first default behavior (e.g., automatically deactivates for a short duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, or 6 seconds) after presenting the final result). In some examples, the device 800 determines whether to replace the first default behavior according to the techniques discussed herein. If the scenario does not meet the predetermined conditions, the virtual assistant session operates according to a second default behavior (e.g., automatically deactivates until a time defined by the device settings). In some examples, the device 800 determines whether to replace the second default behavior according to the techniques discussed herein.

[0310] Figure 8C An exemplary timeline of operating a virtual assistant session according to a default behavior of automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session a predetermined duration (e.g., a short duration) after the time a final result is presented is shown. As discussed, deactivating the virtual assistant session according to a predetermined duration may be undesirable if the user is still engaged in the virtual assistant session.

[0311] exist Figure 8C , at time T1, user 802 initiates a virtual assistant session by providing input via an external electronic device (e.g., pressing a button on wireless headset 806). Device 800 determines that the input is a second type of input, and operates the virtual assistant session according to a default behavior of automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session for a predetermined duration after the time of presenting a final result.

[0312] At time T2, user 802 provides a request to the virtual assistant session (e.g., "What's the news today?"). The virtual assistant performs a task based on the user request and presents the final result at time T3. For example, the virtual assistant session provides an audio output "Here is some news" and displays one or more news articles at time T3 (e.g., displayed on display 804).

[0313] After presenting the final result, user 802 participates in the virtual assistant session. For example, as shown, the gaze direction of user 802 is directed toward device 800 (e.g., because user 802 is reading a news article). However, due to the default behavior, device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session at time T4. Time T4 is a predetermined duration (e.g., 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. seconds) after time T3 associated with the presentation of the final result. For example, device 800 replaces the virtual assistant user interface (containing the news article) with the home screen user interface at time T4.

[0314] As shown, this default behavior may be undesirable because the virtual assistant session is still deactivated despite the user's participation in the virtual assistant session. Therefore, in some examples, it may be desirable to forgo automatic deactivation of the virtual assistant session.

[0315] Fig.8D An exemplary timeline for abandoning automatic deactivation of a virtual assistant session is shown. Fig.8D In the example, the default behavior of automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session a predetermined duration after presentation of the final result is overridden based on determining that the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session.

[0316] exist Fig.8D , at time T1, user 802 initiates a virtual assistant session by providing input via an external electronic device (e.g., pressing a button on wireless headset 806). This input is an input of the second type. Therefore, the default behavior is to deactivate the virtual assistant session a predetermined duration after the time when the final result is presented (e.g., at time T4).

[0317] At time T2, user 802 provides a request to the virtual assistant session (e.g., "What's the news today?"). The virtual assistant performs a task based on the user request and presents a final result at time T3. For example, the virtual assistant session provides an audio output "Here's some news" and displays one or more news articles. As described below, the device 800 then determines whether the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session to determine whether to override the default behavior of automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session shortly after the request is completed.

[0318] In some examples, once the final result is presented, the device 800 determines whether the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session. In some examples, the device 800 determines whether the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session a predetermined duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, 6 seconds) after the time the final result is presented.

[0319] In some examples, the device 800 determines whether the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session based on determining that the type of user input used to initiate the virtual assistant session is the second type. For example, as discussed, the second type of input is associated with a default behavior of automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session shortly after the request is completed. Therefore, the device 800 determines whether the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session to determine whether to override the default behavior (e.g., by forgoing automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session shortly after the request is completed).

[0320] In this example, device 800 determines that user 802 is engaged in a virtual assistant session (eg, prior to time T4 at which the virtual assistant session would be automatically deactivated).

[0321] Determining whether the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session is performed according to any of the above techniques. For example, if one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are met, then the device 800 determines that the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session. For example, if Fig.8D As shown, device 800 determines that user 802 is engaged in a virtual assistant session because user 802's gaze is directed toward device 800 (e.g., because user 802 is reading a news article).

[0322] In some examples, based on determining that the user is engaged in a virtual assistant session (e.g., before time T4), the device 800 abandons automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session at time T4. For example, as shown, the virtual assistant user interface remains displayed on the display 804 at time T4. In this way, the device usability is improved by abandoning the automatic deactivation of the virtual assistant session when the user is engaged in a virtual assistant session.

[0323] In some examples, based on giving up automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session at time T4, device 800 determines whether the user is not interested in the virtual assistant session (e.g., based on any of the above techniques). For example, if after time T4, user 802 becomes uninterested in the virtual assistant session (e.g., user 802 looks away from device 800), then when user disinterest is detected (e.g., when user 802 looks away or shortly thereafter), device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session.

[0324] In some examples, based on abandoning automatic deactivation of the virtual assistant session at time T4, device 800 abandons automatic deactivation of the virtual assistant session (e.g., until a time defined by device settings).

[0325] In some examples, based on not determining that the user participated in the virtual assistant session before time T4, device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session at time T4. For example, if device 800 determines that none of the above criteria indicating expressed user participation is met before time T4, device 800 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session at time T4.

[0326] Fig. 9A block diagram of a system configured to operate a virtual assistant session according to various examples is shown. In some examples, system 900 is implemented on a standalone computer system (e.g., any of devices 104, 106, 200, 400, 600, or 800). In some examples, system 900 is distributed across multiple devices. For example, some of the components and functions of system 900 are divided into a server portion and a client portion, where the client portion is located on one or more user devices (e.g., devices 104, 106, 200, 400, 600, or 800) and communicates with the server portion (e.g., server system 108) via one or more networks, such as Figure 1 as shown in .

[0327] Discussed below Fig. 9 The corresponding functions of each box in are optionally implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to implement the principles of the examples described herein. In addition, it should be noted that system 900 is only one example of a system for deactivating a virtual assistant session, and system 900 may have more or fewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or may have a different configuration or arrangement of components. In addition, although the following discussion describes functions performed at a single component of system 900, it should be understood that these functions may be performed at other components of system 900, and these functions may be performed at more than one component of system 900.

[0328] System 900 includes an input unit 902, a virtual assistant unit 918, a user engagement unit 920, a settings unit 922, a type determination unit 924, and a context unit 926. In some examples, the components of system 900 include the above Figure 8B and Fig.8D The system 900 includes a method for performing the process 1000 ( FIG. 10A to FIG. 10B ) operations are described below.

[0329] The input unit 902 includes various input devices, such as one or more cameras 904, one or more accelerometers 906, one or more microphones 908, one or more gyroscopes 910, one or more light sensors 912, one or more proximity sensors 914, and / or one or more touch sensors 916 (e.g., touch-sensitive buttons, touch-sensitive display screens, etc.). The input devices shown are merely exemplary, and many other types of input devices may be included in the input unit 902.

[0330] Inputs collected by the various input devices, respectively, are provided to, for example, the user engagement unit 920 and the virtual assistant unit 918. As described below, based on the input from the input unit 902, the user engagement unit 920 and / or the virtual assistant unit 918 determine whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session according to the techniques discussed herein.

[0331] The virtual assistant unit 918 is configured to operate a virtual assistant session according to any of the techniques discussed herein. For example, the virtual assistant unit 918 provides the virtual assistant session described above with respect to FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C In some examples, the virtual assistant unit 918 initiates a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input. In some examples, the virtual assistant unit 918 automatically deactivates the virtual assistant session (e.g., based on a determination from the user engagement unit 920 to automatically deactivate the virtual assistant session).

[0332] The user engagement unit 920 determines whether the user is engaged in the virtual assistant session according to any of the techniques discussed herein. For example, the user engagement unit 920 determines whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are met, and determines whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met. In some examples, the user engagement unit 920 determines to automatically deactivate (e.g., at a certain time) the virtual assistant session according to any of the examples discussed herein. In some examples, the user engagement unit 920 determines to forgo (e.g., at a certain time) automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session according to any of the examples discussed herein.

[0333] In some examples, the user engagement unit 920 includes a neural network and / or is implemented using any suitable machine learning technique. For example, based on input provided by the input unit 902, the setting unit 922, the type determination unit 924, and / or the context unit 926, respectively, the machine learning model determines whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session and / or when to deactivate the virtual assistant session according to the examples herein. In some examples, the machine learning model is trained (e.g., over time) to determine whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session and / or when to deactivate the virtual assistant session based on the corresponding input.

[0334] The settings unit 922 is configured to operate the electronic device according to the device settings. For example, the settings unit 922 is configured to accept user input specifying device settings (e.g., screen lock time) and operate the electronic device according to the device settings. In some examples, the settings unit 922 provides one or more device settings to the user engagement unit 920, and the user engagement unit 920 considers the one or more device settings when determining whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session and / or when to deactivate the virtual assistant session according to the techniques discussed herein.

[0335] The type determination unit 924 is configured to determine the type of user input used to initiate the virtual assistant session. For example, according to the examples herein, the type determination unit 924 determines whether the user input is of the first type or the second type. In some examples, the type determination unit 924 provides the determined user input type to the user engagement unit 920. According to the examples herein, the user engagement unit 920 determines whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session and / or when to deactivate the virtual assistant session based on the determined user input type.

[0336] According to the examples herein, the context unit 926 is configured to determine the context of the electronic device. For example, the context unit 926 determines whether a predetermined application is executing when the virtual assistant is initiated. In some examples, the context unit 926 provides one or more determined contexts to the user engagement unit 920. According to the examples herein, the user engagement unit 920 determines whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session and / or when to deactivate the virtual assistant session based on the one or more determined contexts.

[0337] 5. Process for Automatically Deactivating Virtual Assistant Sessions

[0338] FIG. 10A to FIG. 10B A process 1000 for operating a digital assistant according to various examples is shown. For example, process 1000 is performed using one or more electronic devices (e.g., device 800) that implement a digital assistant. In some examples, process 1000 is performed using a client-server system (e.g., system 100), and the boxes of process 1000 are divided in any manner between a server (e.g., DA server 106) and a client device. In other examples, the boxes of process 1000 are divided between a server and multiple client devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smart watch). Therefore, although parts of process 1000 are described herein as being performed by a specific device of a client-server system, it should be understood that process 1000 is not limited thereto. In other examples, process 1000 is performed using only a client device (e.g., user device 104) or only multiple client devices. In process 1000, some boxes are optionally combined, the order of some boxes is optionally changed, and some boxes are optionally omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performed in conjunction with process 1000.

[0339] As described below, process 1000 includes initiating a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input (e.g., a button press or an audio input, such as “Hey, Siri”). In some examples, as discussed, a type of user input is determined, and different strategies for deactivating the virtual assistant session are employed based on the determined type of input. For example, based on determining that the input is of a first type (e.g., a button press), it is determined whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met (e.g., whether the user's gaze is not directed toward the electronic device). Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met before a first time defined by settings of the electronic device (e.g., before a time specified by a screen lock setting), the virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated before the first time. Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are not met before the first time, the virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated at the first time (e.g., when the display screen is turned off).

[0340] In some examples, based on determining that the input is of the second type (e.g., audio input, such as “Hey, Siri”), determining whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are met (e.g., whether the user’s gaze is directed toward the device). Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are met before a second time (the second time is a predetermined duration after a third time at which an end result of the virtual session is presented) (e.g., before the virtual assistant session will be automatically deactivated), forgoing deactivating the virtual assistant session at the second time. Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are not met before the second time, deactivating the virtual assistant session at the second time.

[0341] Determining whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met (and / or whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are met) based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device allows for determining whether the user is participating in the virtual assistant session. Knowing whether the user is participating will allow for intelligent decisions to be made about whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session. For example, if the user is not participating, the device may deactivate the virtual assistant session to save battery power and processing power. As another example, if the user is participating, the device may forgo deactivating the virtual assistant session, so the user can continue to interact with the virtual assistant session (and so the virtual assistant session will not be deactivated while the user is still interacting with it). In this way, the user-device interface is made more efficient (e.g., by deactivating the virtual assistant session when the user is not participating, by preventing the deactivation of the virtual assistant session when the user actively participates, or by reducing user input to re-initiate a virtual assistant session that was erroneously deactivated), which in addition reduces power usage and extends the battery life of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly and efficiently.

[0342] At block 1002, a virtual assistant session is initiated (e.g., by virtual assistant unit 918) in response to receiving user input (e.g., from input unit 902). Figure 8B As shown, a virtual assistant user interface including “How may I help you?” is displayed on display 804.

[0343] In some examples, initiating a virtual assistant session includes providing an audio output. In some examples, initiating a virtual assistant session includes displaying a user interface associated with the virtual assistant session (e.g., displayed on display 804).

[0344] At box 1004, the type of user input is determined (e.g., by unit 924). As discussed, in some examples, different types of user input are associated with different default behaviors for deactivating the virtual assistant session that can be overridden. Thus, determining the type of user input allows the default behavior for deactivating the virtual assistant session to be correctly determined, which in turn allows the strategy for overriding the default behavior to be correctly determined. In this way, the virtual assistant session can be deactivated when the user is not engaged in it, and may not be deactivated when the user is engaged in it, making the user-device interface more efficient, as described above.

[0345] At box 1006, based on initiating the virtual assistant session, it is determined (e.g., by unit 920) whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device (e.g., data from input unit 902).

[0346] In some examples, based on determining that the type of user input is a first type (block 1004, First Type), determining whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met is performed. In some examples, the first type of user input includes input received via a physical button on the electronic device or via a virtual button on the electronic device.

[0347] In some examples, the first final result of the virtual assistant session is presented at a second time, and a determination is performed after the second time whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are satisfied. Figure 8B After time T3 in the determination is performed whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met.

[0348] Determining whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met after the second time allows for determining user disinterest at an appropriate time. For example, the user may have been interested in the virtual assistant session before the second time (e.g., while the virtual assistant session is presenting results), and thus it may not be necessary to determine whether the user was disinterested in the virtual assistant session before the second time. In this way, battery power and processing power are prevented from being consumed to determine user disinterest at an inappropriate time.

[0349] The techniques described below for determining whether one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are met can allow accurate determination that the user is not interested in a virtual assistant session. In this way, the electronic device can accurately determine that the virtual assistant session is deactivated when the user is not interested.

[0350] In some examples, based on determining (e.g., by unit 920) that the direction of the user's gaze is not directed toward the electronic device, as shown in box 1008, one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are satisfied.

[0351] In some examples, the lowering of the electronic device is determined (eg, by unit 920 ), as shown in block 1010 , based on satisfying one or more criteria indicative of expressed user disinterest.

[0352] In some examples, based on determining (e.g., by unit 920) that the electronic device is facing downward, as shown in box 1012, one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest are satisfied.

[0353] In some examples, based on determining (eg, by unit 920 ) that the electronic device is in an enclosed space, as shown in block 1014 , one or more criteria indicative of expressed user disinterest are satisfied.

[0354] In some examples, if one or more of the respective determinations of blocks 1008 , 1010 , 1012 , and 1014 are made, then one or more criteria indicative of expressed user disinterest are determined to be met.

[0355] At block 1016, based on determining one or more criteria indicating that the user is not interested in the expressed content at the first time (e.g., Figure 8B The virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated before the first time (e.g., by unit 918 at time T5). Figure 8B deactivated at time T4 in the example).

[0356] In some examples, the first time is defined by a setting of the electronic device. In some examples, the setting of the electronic device is a user-configurable setting associated with a screen lock time or a screen dimming time.

[0357] In some examples, deactivating the virtual assistant session includes stopping display of a user interface associated with the virtual assistant session. Figure 8B As shown, the virtual assistant user interface that displays the results is replaced with the home screen user interface.

[0358] In some examples, at a fifth time (eg, Figure 8B The method further comprises: automatically deactivating the virtual assistant session before the first time according to the time T4 in the example of FIG. 1 , and further deactivating the virtual assistant session .... Figure 8B If no touch is detected on the screen or button of the electronic device (between time T3 and T4 in the example), the virtual assistant session is automatically deactivated at a fifth time. In some examples, this advantageously prevents the virtual assistant session from being deactivated when the user determines to be engaged in the virtual assistant session (e.g., the user touch may indicate engagement in the virtual assistant session).

[0359] At block 1018, based on determining (e.g., by element 920) that one or more criteria indicating expressed user disinterest were not met before the first time, the virtual assistant session is terminated at the first time (e.g., Figure 8B The time T5) is automatically deactivated.

[0360] In some examples, a determination is made (eg, by unit 926 ) as to whether a predetermined application (eg, a map application) is executing when the user input is received, as shown in box 1020 .

[0361] In some examples, based on determining that a predetermined application was executing when the user input was received, the virtual assistant session is deactivated a predetermined duration after a fourth time associated with a third presentation of a third end result of the virtual assistant session, as shown in box 1022.

[0362] In some examples, it may not be desirable for the virtual assistant user interface to interrupt display of user interfaces associated with certain applications (e.g., particularly in examples where display of the virtual assistant user interface replaces display of a user interface associated with the application). For example, if the application is configured to provide navigation services (e.g., a map application), it may not be desirable to replace the user interface of such application with the virtual assistant user interface for an extended duration (e.g., because the user wants to see navigation directions while driving, biking, running, etc.). Thus, deactivating the virtual assistant session in this manner improves the user experience by allowing the device to quickly return to the user interface of the desired application. The user experience is further improved because the initiated virtual assistant can perform the task requested by the user and the impact of the initiated virtual assistant on the displayed application user interface is minimized.

[0363] return Fig. 10A At box 1024, based on initiating the virtual assistant session, it is determined (e.g., by unit 920) whether one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are met based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device.

[0364] In some examples, based on determining that the type of user input is a second type (block 1004, second type), determining whether one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are met is performed. In some examples, the second type of user input includes input or audio input received from an external electronic device (e.g., headphones 806).

[0365] The techniques described below for determining whether one or more criteria representing expressed user participation are met can allow accurate determination of user participation in a virtual assistant session. In this way, the electronic device can accurately determine whether to deactivate the user when the user is participating in the virtual assistant session.

[0366] In some examples, based on determining (e.g., by unit 920) that the direction in which the user is looking is directed toward the electronic device, as shown in box 1026, one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are satisfied.

[0367] In some examples, based on detecting (e.g., by unit 920) a touch on a button or screen of the electronic device, as shown in box 1028, one or more criteria indicating expressed user engagement are met.

[0368] In some examples, based on determining (eg, by element 920 ) that elevation of the electronic device satisfies one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement, as shown in block 1030 .

[0369] In some examples, if one or more of the respective determinations of blocks 1026 , 1028 , 1030 are made, then one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are determined to be met.

[0370] At block 1032, based on determining one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement at a first time (e.g., Fig.8D The first time is the second time when the final result of the virtual assistant session is presented (e.g., Fig.8D For example, Fig.8D As shown, at time T4, the virtual assistant user interface displaying the results remains displayed.

[0371] At block 1034, the virtual assistant session is deactivated at a first time (e.g., by unit 918) based on determining that one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement were not met before the first time. In some examples, deactivating the virtual assistant session includes ceasing display of a user interface associated with the virtual assistant session.

[0372] In some examples, a determination is made (eg, by unit 926 ) as to whether a predetermined application is executing when the user input is received, as shown in block 1036 .

[0373] In some examples, based on determining that a predetermined application was executing when the user input was received, the virtual assistant session is deactivated (e.g., by unit 918) for a second predetermined duration after the second time, as shown in box 1038.

[0374] References FIG. 10A to FIG. 10B The described operations are optionally performed by Figures 1 to 4 , FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B , FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C , FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D as well as Fig. 9 For example, the operations of process 1000 may be implemented by, among other things, virtual assistant unit 918 and user participation unit 920. A person of ordinary skill in the art would clearly know how to implement the process 1000 based on the components shown in FIG. Figures 1 to 4 , FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B as well as FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C , FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D as well as Fig. 9 The components shown in FIG. 8 are used to implement other processes.

[0375] According to some specific implementations, a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) is provided, which stores one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of an electronic device, the one or more programs including instructions for performing any of the methods or processes described herein.

[0376] According to some implementations, an electronic device (eg, a portable electronic device) is provided that includes means for performing any of the methods and processes described herein.

[0377] According to some implementations, an electronic device (eg, a portable electronic device) is provided that includes a processing unit configured to perform any of the methods and processes described herein.

[0378] According to some specific implementations, an electronic device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided, which includes one or more processors and a memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for performing any of the methods and processes described herein.

[0379] For the purpose of explanation, the preceding description is described by reference to specific embodiments. However, the above exemplary discussion is not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the disclosed precise form. According to the above teachings, many modifications and variations are possible. These embodiments are selected and described in order to best explain the principles of these technologies and their practical applications. Others skilled in the art can thus best utilize these technologies and various embodiments with various modifications suitable for the intended specific use.

[0380] Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It should be understood that such changes and modifications are considered to be included within the scope of the disclosure and examples defined by the claims.

[0381] As described above, one aspect of the present technology is to collect and use data available from various sources to improve decisions about whether to deactivate a virtual assistant session and / or when to deactivate a virtual assistant session. The present disclosure contemplates that, in some instances, such collected data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data may include demographic data, location-based data, phone numbers, email addresses, Twitter IDs, home addresses, data or records related to the user's health or health level (e.g., vital sign measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or any other identifying or personal information.

[0382] The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data in the present technology can be used to benefit the user. For example, the personal information data can be used to determine the user's participation in the virtual assistant session (e.g., by detecting the user's face). Therefore, the use of such personal information enables an accurate determination of whether to deactivate the virtual assistant session based on the determined user participation. In addition, the present disclosure also anticipates other uses of personal information data that benefit the user. For example, health and fitness data can be used to provide insights into the user's overall health, or can be used as positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue health goals.

[0383] This disclosure envisions that entities responsible for collecting, analyzing, disclosing, transmitting, storing or otherwise using such personal information data will comply with established privacy policies and / or privacy practices. Specifically, such entities should implement and adhere to privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy and security of personal information data. Such policies should be easily accessible to users and should be updated as the collection and / or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable purposes of the entity and not shared or sold outside of these legitimate uses. In addition, such collection / sharing should be performed after receiving informed consent from the user. In addition, such entities should consider taking any necessary steps to defend and secure access to such personal information data and ensure that others who have access to personal information data comply with their privacy policies and processes. In addition, such entities may subject themselves to third-party assessments to demonstrate their compliance with widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adjusted to specific types of personal information data collected and / or accessed, and to applicable laws and standards including specific considerations of jurisdiction. For example, in the United States, the collection or access of certain health data may be governed by federal and / or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), while health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Therefore, different privacy practices should be maintained in each country for different types of personal data.

[0384] Regardless of the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates implementation schemes in which users selectively block the use or access of personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates providing hardware elements and / or software elements to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, with respect to the collection and storage of a user's facial features, the technology of the present invention may be configured to allow a user to choose to "opt in" or "opt out" at any time during or after registration for a service to participate in the collection of personal information data. As another example, a user may choose not to provide data representing facial features to an electronic device. As another example, a user may choose to limit the length of time that data representing facial features is retained, or completely prohibit the collection and use of data representing facial features. In addition to providing "opt-in" and "opt-out" options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications related to access or use of personal information. For example, a user may be notified that their personal information data will be accessed when downloading an application, and then be reminded again just before the personal information data is accessed by the application.

[0385] Furthermore, it is an object of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risks can be minimized by limiting data collection and deleting data once it is no longer needed. Additionally, and when applicable, including in certain health-related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect the privacy of users. Where appropriate, de-identification can be facilitated by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or characteristics of stored data (e.g., collecting location data at a city level rather than an address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and / or other methods.

[0386] Thus, while the present disclosure broadly covers the use of personal information data to implement one or more of the various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that various embodiments may also be implemented without access to such personal information data. That is, various embodiments of the present technology will not fail to function properly due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. For example, a determination of whether a user is participating in a virtual assistant session may be made based on non-personal information data or an absolute minimum amount of personal information (such as content requested by a device associated with the user, other non-personal information such as the orientation and / or elevation or lowering of a device, or publicly available information).

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: initiating a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input; Presenting the final result of the virtual assistant session at the first opportunity; Based on initiating the virtual assistant session, determining whether one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device, wherein: Determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied includes determining that a direction of a user gaze is directed toward the electronic device based on data obtained within a first predetermined duration after the first time, wherein the first predetermined duration begins after a second predetermined duration has elapsed since the first time; Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied before a second time, forgoing deactivating the virtual assistant session at the second time, wherein the second time is a third predetermined duration after the first time; and Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement were not met before the second time, deactivating the virtual assistant session at the second time.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein: The one or more programs also include instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: Determining a type of the user input; as well as Wherein, based on determining that the type of the user input is a second type of user input, determining whether the one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are satisfied is performed.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 2, wherein: The second type of user input includes input received from an external electronic device or audio input.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein: Determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are met includes detecting a touch on a button or on a screen of the electronic device.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein: Determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied includes determining elevation of the electronic device.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein: The one or more programs also include instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: determining whether a predetermined application is executing when the user input is received; and Based on determining that the predetermined application was executing when the user input was received, deactivating the virtual assistant session a fourth predetermined duration after the first time.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein: Initiating the virtual assistant session includes providing audio output.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein: Initiating the virtual assistant session includes displaying a user interface associated with the virtual assistant session.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein: Deactivating the virtual assistant session includes ceasing the display of the user interface associated with the virtual assistant session.

10. An electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; Memory; as well as One or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs comprising instructions for: initiating a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input; Presenting the final result of the virtual assistant session at the first opportunity; in accordance with initiating the virtual assistant session, determining whether one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device, wherein determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied comprises determining a direction of a user gaze toward the electronic device based on data obtained within a first predetermined duration after the first time, wherein the first predetermined duration begins after a second predetermined duration has elapsed since the first time; Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied before a second time, forgoing deactivating the virtual assistant session at the second time, wherein the second time is a third predetermined duration after the first time; and Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement were not met before the second time, deactivating the virtual assistant session at the second time.

11. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions for: determining a type of the user input; and in, Based on determining that the type of the user input is a second type of user input, determining whether the one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are satisfied is performed.

12. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein: The second type of user input includes input received from an external electronic device or audio input.

13. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein: Determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are met includes detecting a touch on a button or on a screen of the electronic device.

14. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein: Determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied includes determining elevation of the electronic device.

15. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions for: determining whether a predetermined application is executing when the user input is received; and Based on determining that the predetermined application was executing when the user input was received, deactivating the virtual assistant session a fourth predetermined duration after the first time.

16. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein: Initiating the virtual assistant session includes providing audio output.

17. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein: Initiating the virtual assistant session includes displaying a user interface associated with the virtual assistant session.

18. The electronic device according to claim 17, wherein: Deactivating the virtual assistant session includes ceasing the display of the user interface associated with the virtual assistant session.

19. A method for operating a virtual assistant, the method comprising: At Electronic Equipment: initiating a virtual assistant session in response to receiving user input; Presenting the final result of the virtual assistant session at the first opportunity; in accordance with initiating the virtual assistant session, determining whether one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied based on data obtained using one or more sensors of the electronic device, wherein determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied comprises determining a direction of a user gaze toward the electronic device based on data obtained within a first predetermined duration after the first time, wherein the first predetermined duration begins after a second predetermined duration has elapsed since the first time; Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied before a second time, forgoing deactivating the virtual assistant session at the second time, wherein the second time is a third predetermined duration after the first time; and Based on determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement were not met before the second time, deactivating the virtual assistant session at the second time.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: Determining a type of the user input; as well as Wherein, based on determining that the type of the user input is a second type of user input, determining whether the one or more criteria representing expressed user engagement are satisfied is performed.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein: The second type of user input includes input received from an external electronic device or audio input.

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein: Determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are met includes detecting a touch on a button or on a screen of the electronic device.

23. The method according to claim 19, wherein: Determining that the one or more criteria indicative of expressed user engagement are satisfied includes determining elevation of the electronic device.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising: determining whether a predetermined application is being executed when the user input is received; as well as Based on determining that the predetermined application was executing when the user input was received, deactivating the virtual assistant session a fourth predetermined duration after the first time.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein: Initiating the virtual assistant session includes providing audio output.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein: Initiating the virtual assistant session includes displaying a user interface associated with the virtual assistant session.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein: Deactivating the virtual assistant session includes ceasing the display of the user interface associated with the virtual assistant session.

Images