Voice notification

Abstract

This disclosure relates to voice notifications and discloses an exemplary method comprising, at an electronic device: receiving an instruction to notify; based on receiving the instruction to notify: acquiring one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and based on determining that the user is not speaking: causing output associated with the notification to be provided.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Chinese invention patent application filed on April 30, 2020, with application number 2020103645757 and invention title "Voice Notification". Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates generally to voice notifications, and more specifically, to providing and responding to voice notifications. Background Technology

[0003] Intelligent automated assistants (or digital assistants) provide a beneficial interface between human users and electronic devices. Such assistants allow users to interact with devices or systems using natural language in voice and / or text. For example, a user can provide voice input containing their request to a digital assistant running on an electronic device. The digital assistant can interpret the user's intent from this voice input and act it out as a task. 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.

[0004] The electronic device is communicatively coupled to a peripheral device (e.g., a headset) configured to provide voice output associated with notifications received at the electronic device. It may be advantageous to provide such output at appropriate times and to allow for efficient user responses to such output. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This document discloses example methods. An exemplary method includes, at an electronic device: receiving an instruction to notify; based on receiving the instruction to notify: acquiring one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and based on determining that the user is not speaking: causing output associated with the notification to be provided.

[0006] This document discloses an example non-transitory computer-readable medium. 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: receive an instruction to notify; acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors based on the received instruction to notify; determine, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and, based on the determination that the user is not speaking, cause to provide output associated with the notification.

[0007] This document discloses an example electronic device. 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 performing the following operations: an instruction to receive a notification; based on the received notification instruction: acquiring one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and based on determining that the user is not speaking: causing output associated with the notification to be provided.

[0008] An exemplary electronic device includes means for: receiving an instruction to a notification; acquiring one or more data streams from one or more sensors based on the received instruction to a notification; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and, based on the determination that the user is not speaking, causing output associated with the notification to be provided.

[0009] This document discloses example methods. An exemplary method includes, at an electronic device: causing a first output associated with a received notification to be provided; after providing the first output: acquiring one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; based on the determination that the user is speaking: providing at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing received voice input requesting the execution of a task associated with the notification; receiving, from the external electronic device, an indication that the task has been initiated; and causing a second output based on the received indication to be provided.

[0010] This document discloses an example non-transitory computer-readable medium. 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: cause the device to provide a first output associated with a received notification; after providing the first output: acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determine, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and, based on the determination that the user is speaking: provide at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing received voice input requesting the execution of a task associated with the notification; receive, from the external electronic device, an indication that the task has been initiated; and cause the device to provide a second output based on the received indication.

[0011] This document discloses an example electronic device. 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 performing the following operations: causing a first output associated with a received notification to be provided; after providing the first output: acquiring one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and, based on determining that the user is speaking: providing at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing received voice input requesting the execution of a task associated with the notification; receiving, from the external electronic device, an indication that the task has been initiated; and causing a second output based on the received indication to be provided.

[0012] An exemplary electronic device includes means for: causing to provide a first output associated with a received notification; after providing the first output: acquiring one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; based on determining that the user is speaking: providing at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing received voice input requesting the execution of a task associated with the notification; receiving, from the external electronic device, an indication that the task has been initiated; and causing to provide a second output based on the received indication.

[0013] This document discloses example methods. An exemplary method includes, at an electronic device: receiving an instruction to receive a notification; based on receiving the instruction to receive the notification: determining whether output associated with the notification would interrupt a user associated with the electronic device; and based on determining that the output would not interrupt the user: causing the output to be provided; and based on determining that the output would interrupt the user: abandoning the process of causing the output to be provided.

[0014] This document discloses an example non-transitory computer-readable medium. 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: receive an instruction to notify; determine, based on the received instruction to notify, whether output associated with the notification will interrupt a user associated with the electronic device; and, based on the determination that the output will not interrupt the user, cause to provide output; and, based on the determination that the output will interrupt the user, abandon the cause to provide output.

[0015] This document discloses an example electronic device. 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, and the one or more programs include instructions for performing the following operations: an instruction to receive a notification; based on the instruction to receive a notification: determining whether output associated with the notification will interrupt a user associated with the electronic device; and based on determining that the output will not interrupt the user: causing the output to be provided; and based on determining that the output will interrupt the user: abandoning the action of causing the output to be provided.

[0016] An exemplary electronic device includes means for: receiving an instruction to a notification; determining, based on the received instruction to a notification, whether an output associated with the notification would interrupt a user associated with the electronic device; and, based on the determination that the output would not interrupt the user, causing the output to be provided; and, based on the determination that the output would interrupt the user, abandoning the causing of the output to be provided.

[0017] Providing voice output associated with a received notification at an appropriate time, based on the determination that the user is not speaking, allows for the provision of such output. For example, the voice notification output cannot be interrupted while the user is speaking, and can be provided even when the user is not speaking. This makes the user device interface more efficient (e.g., by automatically providing voice notification output to the user, by providing such output at appropriate times, and by relieving the user of the burden of manually checking notifications), which in turn reduces power consumption and extends device battery life by enabling users to use the device more quickly and efficiently.

[0018] Based on the determination that the user is speaking: providing at least a portion of one or more data streams to an external electronic device, this portion including data representing received voice input requesting the execution of a task associated with the notification, allows for efficient user response to voice notification output. For example, after providing voice notification output (e.g., a voice text message), the user can respond to the notification output by providing voice input (e.g., "reply"). Thus, data representing voice input can be provided to the external electronic device, which can initiate (or execute) the requested task based on that data. Furthermore, providing such data based on the determination that the user is speaking can improve user privacy by sending audio data from the user's device (one or more) to the external device (one or more) only when the user is speaking to their device (one or more). This advantageously prevents voice not directed at the user's device (one or more) (e.g., background voice) from being sent to the external device. In this way, the user device interface can be more efficient (e.g., by allowing efficient responses to voice notification outputs, by relieving users of the burden of manually responding to notifications (e.g., typing replies to text messages), and by improving user privacy), which in turn reduces power consumption and extends device battery life by enabling users to use the device more quickly and efficiently. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 Block diagrams are shown for systems and environments used to implement digital assistants, based on various examples.

[0020] Figure 2A A block diagram is shown for a portable multi-functional device that implements the client-side portion of a digital assistant according to various examples.

[0021] Figure 2B A block diagram illustrating exemplary components for event handling, based on various examples.

[0022] Figure 3 Portable multi-functional devices are shown that implement the client-side portion of a digital assistant according to various examples.

[0023] Figure 4 A block diagram of an exemplary multifunctional device having a display and a touch-sensitive surface, according to various examples.

[0024] Figure 5A An exemplary user interface for the menu of an application on a portable multi-functional device, based on various examples, is shown.

[0025] Figure 5B Exemplary user interfaces of multifunctional devices with touch-sensitive surfaces separate from the display are shown according to various examples.

[0026] Figure 6AThe images show personal electronic devices based on various examples.

[0027] Figure 6B A block diagram illustrating a personal electronic device based on various examples is provided.

[0028] Figure 7A A block diagram illustrating a digital assistant system or its server portion, based on various examples, is provided.

[0029] Figure 7B Examples are shown in Figure 7A The digital assistant functions shown.

[0030] Figure 7C A portion of the knowledge ontology is shown based on various examples.

[0031] Figure 8A The illustration shows an electronic device that provides output associated with a notification when the user of the device is not speaking, based on some examples.

[0032] Figure 8B The diagram illustrates a system for providing and responding to voice notifications, based on several examples.

[0033] Figure 8C The illustration shows an electronic device that provides output associated with a notification while the user of the device is speaking, based on some examples.

[0034] Figure 9A A flowchart illustrating the process of responding to a voice notification, based on some examples, is shown.

[0035] Figure 9B The diagram shows devices that provide notification output based on some examples.

[0036] Figure 9C The image shows users responding to notification outputs based on some examples.

[0037] Figure 9D The device shown provides an audio output indicating that a task has been initiated, based on some examples.

[0038] Figures 10A-10E The process for providing notifications is illustrated with various examples.

[0039] Figures 11A-11D The process for responding to a notification is illustrated with various examples.

[0040] Figure 12 The process for providing notifications is illustrated with various examples. Detailed Implementation

[0041] The accompanying drawings will be referenced in the following description of the examples, which illustrate specific examples that can be implemented by way of example. It should be understood that other examples may be used and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the individual examples.

[0042] This typically involves providing and responding to voice notifications. Using the techniques discussed in this article, voice notifications can be provided at the appropriate time, and users can respond to such notifications efficiently.

[0043] 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 only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the various examples described, 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 and second inputs are inputs, and in some cases, they are independent and distinct inputs.

[0044] The terminology used in the description of the various examples herein is for the purpose of describing particular examples only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various examples and the appended claims, the singular forms “a” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and / or” as used herein refers to and covers any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will also be understood that the terms “includes”, “including”, “comprises”, and / or “comprising”, when used in this specification, specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0045] Depending on the context, the term "if" can be interpreted as meaning "when" or "upon" or "in response to determination" or "in response to detection". Similarly, depending on the context, the phrases "if determination..." or "if detection [the stated condition or event]" can be interpreted as meaning "in response to determination..." or "in response to detection [the stated condition or event]".

[0046] 1. System and Environment

[0047] Figure 1A block diagram of system 100 according to various examples is shown. In some examples, system 100 implements a digital assistant. The terms "digital assistant," "virtual assistant," "intelligent automated assistant," or "automated 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 having steps and parameters designed to achieve the inferred user intent; inputting a specific request into the task flow based on the inferred user intent; executing the task flow by invoking programs, methods, services, APIs, etc.; and generating an output response to the user in an audible (e.g., voice) and / or visual form.

[0048] Specifically, a digital assistant can accept user requests that are at least partially in the form of natural language commands, requests, statements, narration, and / or inquiries. Typically, user requests seek an informational response or task from the digital assistant. A satisfactory response to a user request includes providing the requested informational response, performing the requested task, or a combination of both. For example, a user asks a 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 entrance of Central Park.” The user also requests 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 “Okay, coming right away,” and then send the appropriate calendar invitations to each of the user’s friends listed in the user’s electronic address book. During the performance of the requested task, the digital assistant sometimes interacts with the user in a sustained dialogue involving multiple exchanges of information over extended periods. Many other methods exist for interacting with a digital assistant to request information or perform various tasks. In addition to providing verbal responses and taking programmed actions, digital assistants also provide responses in other forms of video or audio, such as text, alerts, music, video, animation, etc.

[0049] like Figure 1 As 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") executing on user device 104 and a server-side portion 106 (hereinafter referred to as "DA server 106") executing on server system 108. DA client 102 communicates with DA server 106 via one or more networks 110. DA client 102 provides client-side functionality, such as user-oriented input and output processing, and communication with DA server 106. DA server 106 provides server-side functionality for any number of DA clients 102, each residing on a corresponding user device 104.

[0050] In some examples, 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 DA server 106. One or more processing modules 114 utilize data and models 116 to process voice input and determine user intent based on natural language input. Furthermore, one or more processing modules 114 perform task execution based on the inferred user intent. In some examples, 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 communication.

[0051] User equipment 104 can be any suitable electronic device. In some examples, user equipment 104 is a portable multi-functional device (e.g., see reference below). Figure 2A The aforementioned device 200), multifunctional device (for example, see below for reference) Figure 4 The device 400) or personal electronic device (e.g., referred to below) Figures 6A to 6B The device 600 is described above. A portable multifunction device is, for example, a mobile phone that also includes other functions such as a PDA and / or music player. Specific examples of portable multifunction devices include Apple Inc. (Cupertino, California). iPod and Devices. Other examples of portable multifunction devices include, but are not limited to, earbuds / headphones, speakers, and laptops or tablets. Additionally, in some examples, user device 104 is a non-portable multifunction device. Specifically, user device 104 is a desktop computer, game console, speaker, television, or set-top box. In some examples, user device 104 includes a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchscreen display and / or touchpad). Furthermore, user device 104 optionally includes one or more other physical user interface devices, such as a physical keyboard, mouse, and / or joystick. Various examples of electronic devices such as multifunction devices are described in more detail below.

[0052] 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 protocol, 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.

[0053] Server system 108 is implemented on one or more stand-alone data processing devices or a distributed computer network. In some examples, server system 108 also utilizes various virtual devices and / or services from third-party service providers (e.g., third-party cloud service providers) to provide potential computing and / or infrastructure resources for server system 108.

[0054] In some examples, user equipment 104 communicates with DA server 106 via a second user equipment 122. The second user equipment 122 is similar to or identical to user equipment 104. For example, the second user equipment 122 is similar to the one described below. Figure 2A , Figure 4 and Figures 6A to 6B The devices 200, 400, or 600 are described above. User equipment 104 is configured to be communicatively coupled to a second user equipment 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 equipment 122 is configured to act as a proxy between user equipment 104 and DA server 106. For example, a DA client 102 of user equipment 104 is configured to transmit information (e.g., a user request received at user equipment 104) to DA server 106 via the second user equipment 122. DA server 106 processes this information and returns relevant data (e.g., data content in response to the user request) to user equipment 104 via the second user equipment 122.

[0055] In some examples, user equipment 104 is configured to send a shortened request for data to a second user equipment 122 to reduce the amount of information transmitted from user equipment 104. The second user equipment 122 is configured to determine supplementary information to be added to the shortened request to generate a complete request to be transmitted to DA server 106. This system architecture can advantageously allow user equipment 104 (e.g., a watch or similar compact electronic device) with limited communication capabilities and / or limited battery power (e.g., a second user equipment 122 with strong communication capabilities and / or battery power, such as a mobile phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, etc.) acting as a proxy to DA server 106 to access the services provided by DA server 106. Although Figure 1 Only two user devices 104 and 122 are shown in this document, but it should be understood that in some examples, system 100 may include any number and type of user devices configured in this agent configuration to communicate with DA server system 106.

[0056] Although Figure 1 The digital assistant shown includes both a client-side component (e.g., DA client 102) and a server-side component (e.g., DA server 106), but in some examples, the digital assistant's functionality is implemented as a standalone application installed on the user's device. Furthermore, the functional division between the client and server components of the digital assistant can vary in different 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 the backend server.

[0057] 2. Electronic equipment

[0058] Now let’s turn our attention to the implementation of electronic devices for the client-side portion of a digital assistant. Figure 2AThis is a block diagram illustrating a portable multi-functional device 200 with a touch-sensitive display system 212 according to some embodiments. The touch-sensitive display 212 is sometimes referred to as a “touchscreen” for convenience, and is sometimes referred to as or called a “touch-sensitive display system.” 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 interface 218, RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, a speaker 211, a microphone 213, an input / output (I / O) subsystem 206, other input control devices 216, and an external port 224. Device 200 optionally includes one or more optical sensors 264. Device 200 optionally includes one or more contact strength 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 haptic output generators 267 for generating haptic outputs on device 200 (e.g., generating haptic outputs on a touch-sensitive surface such as the touch-sensitive display system 212 of device 200 or the touchpad 455 of device 400). These components optionally communicate via one or more communication buses or signal lines 203.

[0059] As used in this specification and claims, the term "intensity" of contact on a tactile surface refers to the force or pressure (force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., finger contact) on a tactile surface, or to a substitute (alternative) for the force or pressure of a contact on a tactile surface. The intensity of contact has a range of values ​​that includes at least four different values ​​and more typically hundreds of different values ​​(e.g., at least 256). The intensity of 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 tactile surface are optionally used to measure the force at different points on the tactile surface. In some embodiments, force measurements from multiple force sensors are combined (e.g., weighted average) to determine the estimated contact force. Similarly, the pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is optionally used to determine the pressure of the stylus on the tactile surface. Alternatively, the size and / or variation of the contact area detected on the touch-sensitive surface, the capacitance and / or variation of the touch-sensitive surface near the contact, and / or the resistance and / or variation of the touch-sensitive surface near the contact may optionally be used as substitutes 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 an intensity threshold (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in units corresponding to the substitute measurement) has been exceeded. 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 an intensity threshold (e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in units of pressure) has been exceeded. Using the intensity of the contact as an attribute of user input allows the user to access additional device functions that would otherwise be inaccessible to the user on smaller devices with limited physical space, such smaller devices being used (e.g., on a touch-sensitive display) to display power indications and / or receive user input (e.g., via a touch-sensitive display, touch-sensitive surface, or physical / mechanical controls, such as knobs or buttons).

[0060] As used in this specification and claims, the term "haptic output" refers to a physical displacement of the 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., the housing), or a displacement of a component relative to the center of mass of the device, which is detected by the user using the user's tactile sense. For example, when the device or a component of the device comes into contact with a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of the user's hand), the haptic output generated by the physical displacement will be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding to a perceived change in the physical characteristics of the device or a component of the device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or touchpad) may optionally be interpreted by the user as a "press-click" or "release-click" on a physically actuated button. In some cases, the user will feel a tactile sensation, such as a "press-click" or "release-click," even when a physically actuated button associated with a touch-sensitive surface that has been physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's movement does not move. For example, even when the smoothness of the tactile surface remains unchanged, the movement of the tactile surface can optionally be interpreted or sensed by the user as the "roughness" of the tactile surface. While such interpretations of touch by users will be limited by the individualized sensory perceptions of the user, many sensory perceptions of touch are common to most users. Therefore, when a tactile output is described as corresponding to a specific 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 its components that will generate the sensory perception of a typical (or ordinary) user.

[0061] It should be understood that device 200 is merely an example of a portable multifunctional device, and device 200 may optionally have more or fewer components than shown, may optionally combine two or more components, or may optionally have different configurations or arrangements of these components. Figure 2A The various components shown are implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both, including one or more signal processing and / or application-specific integrated circuits.

[0062] Memory 202 includes one or more computer-readable storage media. These computer-readable storage media are, for example, tangible and non-transitory. Memory 202 includes high-speed random access memory and also includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices. Memory controller 222 controls other components of device 200 to access memory 202.

[0063] In some examples, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 202 is used to store instructions (e.g., aspects of the processes described below) for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, a processor-integrated system, or other system from which instructions can be fetched and executed. In other examples, instructions (e.g., aspects of the processes described below) are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (not shown) of server system 108, or partitioned between the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 202 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of server system 108.

[0064] Peripheral interface 218 is used to couple the input and output peripherals of the device to CPU 220 and memory 202. One or more processors 220 run or execute various software programs and / or instruction sets stored in memory 202 to perform various functions of device 200 and process data. In some embodiments, peripheral interface 218, CPU 220, and memory controller 222 are implemented on a single chip, such as chip 204. In some other embodiments, they are implemented on separate chips.

[0065] RF (Radio Frequency) circuit 208 receives and transmits RF signals, also known as electromagnetic signals. RF circuit 208 converts electrical signals into electromagnetic signals and vice versa, and communicates with communication networks and other communication devices via electromagnetic signals. RF circuit 208 optionally includes well-known circuitry 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, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, memory, etc. RF circuit 208 optionally communicates wirelessly with networks and other devices, 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 circuitry for detecting near-field communication (NFC) fields, such as via near-field communication radio components. Wireless communication may optionally employ 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, Pure Data (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), and Wi-Fi (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE...). 802.11n and / or IEEE 802.11ac), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, email protocols (e.g., Internet Messaging 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 with Extended Utility (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 date of this document submission.

[0066] Audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, and microphone 213 provide an audio interface between the user and device 200. Audio circuitry 210 receives audio data from peripheral interface 218, converts the audio data into electrical signals, and transmits the electrical signals to speaker 211. Speaker 211 converts the electrical signals into sound waves that are audible to humans. Audio circuitry 210 also receives electrical signals converted from sound waves by microphone 213. Audio circuitry 210 converts the electrical signals into audio data and transmits the audio data to peripheral interface 218 for processing. Audio data is retrieved from and / or transmitted to memory 202 and / or RF circuitry 208 via peripheral interface 218. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 210 also includes a headset jack (e.g., ...). Figure 3 (312 in the text). The headset jack provides an interface between the audio circuitry 210 and a removable audio input / output peripheral device, such as an output-only headphone or a headset with both output (e.g., a mono or binaural headphone) and input (e.g., a microphone).

[0067] I / O subsystem 206 couples input / output peripherals on device 200, such as touchscreen 212 and other input control devices 216, to peripheral interface 218. I / O subsystem 206 optionally includes display controller 256, optical sensor controller 258, intensity sensor controller 259, haptic feedback controller 261, and one or more input controllers 260 for other input or control devices. One or more input controllers 260 receive electrical signals from / send electrical signals to other input control devices 216. Other input control devices 216 optionally include physical buttons (e.g., push-buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dial pads, slide switches, joysticks, click dials, etc. In some alternative embodiments, one or more input controllers 260 are optionally coupled to (or not coupled to) any of the following: keyboard, infrared port, USB port, and pointing device such as mouse. One or more buttons (e.g., Figure 3 Optionally, 308) includes volume up / down buttons for volume control of speaker 211 and / or microphone 213. One or more buttons optionally include push-button buttons (e.g., Figure 3 (306 in the middle).

[0068] A rapid press of the down button disengages the touchscreen 212 from its lock or initiates a process of unlocking the device using gestures on the touchscreen, as described in U.S. Patent Application 11 / 322,549, filed December 23, 2005, entitled "Unlocking a Device by Performing Gestures on an Unlock Image," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. A longer press of the down button (e.g., 306) powers the device 200 on or off. The user can customize the function of one or more buttons. The touchscreen 212 is used to implement virtual buttons or soft buttons and one or more soft keyboards.

[0069] The touch-sensitive display 212 provides input and output interfaces between the device and the user. The display controller 256 receives electrical signals from and / or sends electrical signals to the touchscreen 212. The touchscreen 212 displays visual output to the user. Visual output includes graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectively, "graphics"). In some embodiments, some or all of the visual output corresponds to user interface objects.

[0070] Touchscreen 212 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or sensor array that accepts input from a user based on tactile and / or haptic contact. Touchscreen 212 and display controller 256 (along with any associated modules and / or instruction set in memory 202) detect contact on touchscreen 212 (and any movement or interruption of that contact) and translate the detected contact into interaction with user interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages, or images) displayed on touchscreen 212. In an exemplary embodiment, the contact point between touchscreen 212 and the user corresponds to the user's finger.

[0071] Touchscreen 212 uses LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology, LPD (Light Emitting Polymer Display) technology, or LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology, but other display technologies may be used in other embodiments. Touchscreen 212 and display controller 256 use any of a variety of touch sensing technologies currently known or to be developed thereafter, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with touchscreen 212 to detect contact and any movement or interruption thereto. These various touch sensing technologies include, but are not limited to, capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies. In an exemplary embodiment, projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as that from Apple Inc. (Cupertino, California). and iPod The technology used.

[0072] In some embodiments, the touchscreen 212's touch-sensitive display is similar to the multi-touch pad described in the following 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 incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. However, the touchscreen 212 displays visual output from the device 200, while the touch-sensitive pad does not provide visual output.

[0073] In some embodiments, the touchscreen 212 has a touch-sensitive display as described in the following applications: (1) U.S. Patent Application No. 11 / 381,313, filed May 2, 2006, entitled “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller”; (2) U.S. Patent Application No. 10 / 840,862, filed May 6, 2004, entitled “Multipoint Touchscreen”; (3) U.S. Patent Application No. 10 / 903,964, filed July 30, 2004, entitled “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices”; (4) U.S. Patent Application No. 11 / 048,264, filed January 31, 2005, entitled “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices”; and (5) U.S. Patent Application No. 18, 2005, entitled “Mode-Based Graphical User Interfaces For Touch Sensitive Input”. U.S. Patent Application No. 11 / 038,590, entitled “Virtual Input Device Placement On A Touch Screen User Interface”, filed September 16, 2005; U.S. Patent Application No. 11 / 228,758, entitled “Virtual Input Device Placement On A Touch Screen User Interface”, filed September 16, 2005; U.S. Patent Application No. 11 / 228,700, entitled “Operation Of A Computer With A Touch Screen Interface”, filed September 16, 2005; U.S. Patent Application No. 11 / 228,737, entitled “Activating Virtual Keys Of A Touch-Screen Virtual Keyboard”, filed September 16, 2005; and U.S. Patent Application No. 11 / 367,749, entitled “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device”, filed March 3, 2006. The full text of all these applications is incorporated herein by reference.

[0074] Touchscreen 212 has a video resolution of over 100 dpi, for example. In some embodiments, the touchscreen has a video resolution of approximately 160 dpi. The user interacts with touchscreen 212 using any suitable object or accessory such as a stylus, finger, etc. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to operate primarily through finger-based touch and gestures, which may be less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger contact area of ​​a finger on the touchscreen. In some embodiments, the device translates coarse finger-based input into precise pointer / cursor positions or commands to perform the user-desired actions.

[0075] In some embodiments, in addition to the touchscreen, 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 touchscreen, does not display visual output. The touchpad is a touch-sensitive surface separate from the touchscreen 212, or an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touchscreen.

[0076] The device 200 also includes a power system 262 for supplying power to various components. The power system 262 includes a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., batteries, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power fault detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., light-emitting diodes (LEDs)), and any other components associated with the generation, management, and distribution of power in the portable device.

[0077] The device 200 also includes one or more optical sensors 264. Figure 2A An optical sensor 264 is shown coupled to an optical sensor controller 258 in the I / O subsystem 206. The optical sensor 264 includes a charge-coupled device (CCD) or 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 an imaging module 243 (also called a camera module), the optical sensor 264 captures still images or video. In some embodiments, the optical sensor is located at the rear of the device 200, opposite to the touchscreen display 212 at the front of the device, such that the touchscreen display is used as a viewfinder for still image and / or video image acquisition. In some embodiments, the optical sensor is located at the front of the device, such that an image of the user is acquired for use in video conferencing while the user views other video conferencing participants on the touchscreen display. In some embodiments, the position of the optical sensor 264 can be changed by the user (e.g., by rotating the lenses and sensors within the device housing), such that a single optical sensor 264 is used in conjunction with the touchscreen display for both video conferencing and still image and / or video image acquisition.

[0078] The device 200 may optionally also include one or more contact strength sensors 265. Figure 2A A contact strength sensor 265 is shown coupled to a strength sensor controller 259 in I / O subsystem 206. The contact strength sensor 265 optionally includes one or more piezoresistive strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, electro-force sensors, piezoelectric sensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, or other strength sensors (e.g., sensors for measuring the force (or pressure) of contact on a touch-sensitive surface). The contact strength sensor 265 receives contact strength information (e.g., pressure information or a substitute for pressure information) from the environment. In some embodiments, at least one contact strength sensor is arranged juxtaposed with or adjacent to a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitive display system 212). In some embodiments, at least one contact strength sensor is located on the rear of device 200, opposite to the touchscreen display 212 located on the front of device 200.

[0079] The device 200 also includes one or more proximity sensors 266. Figure 2A A proximity sensor 266 coupled to a peripheral device interface 218 is shown. Alternatively, the proximity sensor 266 is coupled to an input controller 260 in an I / O subsystem 206. The proximity sensor 266 performs as described in the following U.S. patent applications: 11 / 241,839, entitled "Proximity Detector In Handheld Device"; 11 / 240,788, entitled "Proximity Detector In Handheld Device"; 11 / 620,702, entitled "Using Ambient Light Sensor To Augment Proximity Sensor Output"; 11 / 586,862, entitled "Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices"; and 11 / 638,251, entitled "Methods And Systems For Automatic Configuration Of Peripherals," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In some implementations, the proximity sensor is turned off and the touchscreen 212 is disabled when the multifunction device is placed near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).

[0080] The device 200 optionally also includes one or more tactile output generators 267. Figure 2AA haptic output generator coupled to a haptic feedback controller 261 in I / O subsystem 206 is shown. The haptic output generator 267 optionally includes one or more electroacoustic devices such as speakers or other audio components; and / or electromechanical devices for converting energy into linear motion such as motors, solenoids, electroactive polymerizers, piezoelectric actuators, electrostatic actuators, or other haptic output generating components (e.g., components for converting electrical signals into haptic outputs on the device). A contact intensity sensor 265 receives haptic feedback generation instructions from a haptic feedback module 233 and generates a haptic output on device 200 that can be felt by a user of device 200. In some embodiments, at least one haptic output generator is juxtaposed or adjacent to a haptic surface (e.g., haptic display system 212) and optionally generates the haptic output by moving the haptic surface vertically (e.g., in / outward from the surface of device 200) or laterally (e.g., backward and forward in the same plane as the surface of device 200). In some implementations, at least one haptic output generator sensor is located on the rear of the device 200, opposite to the touch screen display 212 located on the front of the device 200.

[0081] The device 200 also includes one or more accelerometers 268. Figure 2A An accelerometer 268 coupled to a peripheral device interface 218 is shown. Alternatively, the accelerometer 268 is coupled to an input controller 260 in an I / O subsystem 206. The accelerometer 268 performs as described in the following U.S. patent publications: U.S. Patent Publication 20050190059, “Acceleration-based Theft Detection System for Portable Electronic Devices” and U.S. Patent Publication 20060017692, “Methods and Apparatuses For Operating A Portable Device Based On An Accelerometer,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, information is displayed on a touchscreen display in portrait or landscape view based on analysis of data received from one or more accelerometers. Device 200 optionally includes, in addition to one or more accelerometers 268, a magnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other global navigation system) receiver (not shown) for acquiring information about the position and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) of device 200.

[0082] In some embodiments, 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 program (or instruction set) 236. Furthermore, memory 202 stores data and models, such as user data and models 231. Additionally, in some embodiments, memory 202 ( Figure 2A ) or 470 ( Figure 4 Storage device / global internal state 257, such as Figure 2A and Figure 4 As shown in the diagram. Device / global internal state 257 includes one or more of the following: active application state, which indicates which applications (if any) are currently active; display state, which indicates what applications, views or other information occupy various areas of the touchscreen display 212; 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 orientation.

[0083] The operating system 226 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, iOS, WINDOWS, or embedded operating systems 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 and software components.

[0084] The communication module 228 facilitates communication with other devices via one or more external ports 224 and includes various software components for processing data received by the RF circuitry 208 and / or the external ports 224. The external ports 224 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire, etc.) are adapted to be directly coupled to other devices or indirectly coupled via a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). In some embodiments, the external port is connected to… (Trademark of Apple Inc.) The same or similar and / or compatible multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin) connectors used in Apple Inc. devices.

[0085] The contact / motion module 230 optionally detects contact with the touchscreen 212 (in conjunction with the display controller 256) and other touch-sensitive devices (e.g., touchpads or physical click-based rotary dials). 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 intensity of contact (e.g., the force or pressure of the contact, or an alternative to force or pressure), determining whether there is movement of the contact and tracking 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 which is represented by a series of contact data. These operations are optionally applied to single-point contact (e.g., single-finger contact) or multi-point simultaneous contact (e.g., "multi-touch" / multiple-finger contact). In some implementations, the contact / motion module 230 and the display controller 256 detect contact on the touchpad.

[0086] In some implementations, 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., determining whether the user has “clicked” an icon). In some implementations, at least a subset of the intensity thresholds is determined based on software parameters (e.g., the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholds of a specific physical actuator and can be adjusted without changing the physical hardware of the device 200). For example, the mouse “click” threshold for a touchpad or touchscreen can be set to any threshold in a wide range of predefined thresholds without changing the touchpad or touchscreen display hardware. Additionally, in some implementations, the user of the device is provided with software settings for adjusting one or more intensity thresholds in a set (e.g., by adjusting the individual intensity thresholds and / or by adjusting multiple intensity thresholds at once using a system-level click on the “intensity” parameter).

[0087] The touch / motion module 230 optionally detects the user's gesture input. Different gestures on a touch-sensitive surface have different contact patterns (e.g., different movements, timings, and / or intensities of the detected contact). 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-off (lift-away) event at the same (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 subsequently detecting a finger lift-off (lift-away) event.

[0088] The graphics module 232 includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on the touchscreen 212 or other displays, including components for altering the visual impact of the displayed graphics (e.g., brightness, transparency, saturation, contrast, or other visual characteristics). As used herein, the term "graphics" includes any object that can be displayed to a user, and non-limitingly includes text, web pages, icons (such as user interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations, etc.

[0089] In some implementations, the graphics module 232 stores data representing the 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 or the like, and, if necessary, also receives coordinate data and other graphic attribute data, and then generates screen image data for output to the display controller 256.

[0090] The haptic feedback module 233 includes various software components for generating instructions that are used by one or more haptic output generators 267 to produce haptic output at one or more locations on the device 200 in response to user interaction with the device 200.

[0091] In some examples, the text input module 234, which 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 that requires text input).

[0092] GPS module 235 determines the location of the device and provides that information for use in various applications (e.g., to phone 238 for use in location-based dialing; to camera 243 as image / video metadata; and to applications that provide location-based services, such as weather desktop apps, local yellow pages desktop apps, and map / navigation desktop apps).

[0093] The digital assistant client module 229 includes various client-side digital assistant commands to provide client-side functionality for the digital assistant. For example, the digital assistant client module 229 can accept audio 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 264, other input control devices 216, etc.). The digital assistant client module 229 can also provide audio output (e.g., voice output), visual output, and / or haptic output through various output interfaces of the portable multifunction device 200 (e.g., speaker 211, touch-sensitive display system 212, one or more haptic output generators 267, etc.). For example, output can be provided as voice, sound, alarms, text messages, menus, graphics, video, animation, vibration, and / or combinations of both or more of these. During operation, the digital assistant client module 229 communicates with the DA server 106 using RF circuitry 208.

[0094] User data and models 231 include various data associated with the user (e.g., user-specific vocabulary data, user preference data, user-specified name pronunciation, data from the user's electronic address book, to-do lists, shopping lists, etc.) to provide client-side functionality for the digital assistant. Furthermore, 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 ontology, task flow models, service models, etc.).

[0095] In some examples, the digital assistant client module 229 utilizes 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 contextual information, or a subset thereof, along with the user input to the DA server 106 to help infer the user's intent. In some examples, the digital assistant also uses the contextual information to determine how to prepare output and deliver it to the user. This contextual information is referred to as contextual data.

[0096] In some examples, the contextual information accompanying user input includes sensor information such as lighting, ambient noise, ambient temperature, and images or videos of the surrounding environment. 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 mode, and cellular signal strength. In some examples, information related to the software state of the DA server 106, such as the operation of the portable multifunction device 200, installed programs, past and current network activity, background services, error logs, and resource usage, is provided to the DA server 106 as contextual information associated with the user input.

[0097] In some examples, the digital assistant client module 229 selectively provides information (e.g., user data 231) stored on the portable multifunction device 200 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 natural language dialogue or other user interfaces when requested by the DA server 106. The digital assistant client module 229 transmits this additional input to the DA server 106 to assist the DA server 106 in intent inference and / or in realizing the user intent expressed in the user request.

[0098] The following is for reference. Figures 7A to 7C A more detailed description of the digital assistant follows. It should be understood that the digital assistant client module 229 may include any number of sub-modules of the digital assistant module 726 described below.

[0099] Application 236 includes the following modules (or instruction sets) or subsets or supersets thereof:

[0100] • Contacts module 237 (sometimes called address book or contact list);

[0101] • Telephone module 238;

[0102] • Video conferencing module 239;

[0103] • Email client module 240;

[0104] • Instant Messaging (IM) module 241;

[0105] Fitness support module 242;

[0106] • Camera module 243 for still images and / or video images;

[0107] • Image management module 244;

[0108] • Video player module;

[0109] Music player module;

[0110] • Browser module 247;

[0111] • Calendar module 248;

[0112] • Desktop mini-program module 249, which in some examples includes one or more of the following: weather desktop mini-program 249-1, stock desktop mini-program 249-2, calculator desktop mini-program 249-3, alarm clock desktop mini-program 249-4, dictionary desktop mini-program 249-5 and other desktop mini-programs acquired by the user and desktop mini-programs created by the user 249-6.

[0113] • Desktop app creator module 250 for creating user-created desktop apps 249-6;

[0114] • Search module 251;

[0115] • Video and music player module 252, which combines a video player module and a music player module;

[0116] Notepad module 253;

[0117] • Map module 254; and / or

[0118] • Online video module 255.

[0119] 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 access control, voice recognition, and voice duplication.

[0120] In conjunction with touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module 234, contact module 237 manages an address book or contact list (e.g., in application internal state 292 of contact module 237 stored in memory 202 or memory 470), including: adding one or more names to the address book; deleting names from the address book; associating phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, or other information with names; associating images with names; categorizing and classifying names; providing phone numbers or email addresses to initiate and / or facilitate communications via telephone 238, video conferencing module 239, email 240, or IM 241; and so on.

[0121] Combining RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, microphone 213, touchscreen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module 234, telephone module 238 is used to input character sequences corresponding to telephone numbers, access one or more telephone numbers in contact module 237, modify already entered telephone numbers, dial corresponding telephone numbers, initiate conversations, and disconnect or hang up when a conversation is completed. As described above, wireless communication uses any of a variety of communication standards, protocols, and technologies.

[0122] Combining RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, microphone 213, touchscreen 212, display controller 256, optical sensor 264, optical sensor controller 258, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234, contact module 237, and telephone module 238, video conferencing module 239 includes executable instructions to initiate, conduct, and terminate video conferences between the user and one or more other participants based on user instructions.

[0123] Incorporating RF circuitry 208, touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / 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 commands. Combined with image management module 244, email client module 240 makes it very easy to create and send emails containing still images or video images captured by camera module 243.

[0124] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module 234, instant messaging module 241 includes executable instructions for: inputting a character sequence corresponding to an instant message, modifying previously input characters, transmitting a corresponding instant message (e.g., using Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) protocols for telephone-based instant messaging or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for internet-based instant messaging), receiving an instant message, and viewing received instant messages. In some embodiments, the transmitted and / or received instant messages include graphics, photographs, audio files, video files, and / or other attachments such as those supported in MMS and / or Enhanced Messaging Services (EMS). As used herein, "instant message" 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).

[0125] Incorporating RF circuitry 208, touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234, GPS module 235, map module 254, and music player module, fitness support module 242 includes executable instructions for: creating fitness activities (e.g., with time, distance, and / or calorie burning goals); communicating with fitness sensors (exercise equipment); receiving fitness sensor data; calibrating sensors used to monitor fitness; selecting and playing music for fitness; and displaying, storing, and transmitting fitness data.

[0126] In conjunction with the touchscreen 212, display controller 256, one or more optical sensors 264, optical sensor controller 258, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, and image management module 244, camera module 243 includes executable instructions for: capturing still images or videos (including video streams) and storing them in memory 202, modifying the characteristics of still images or videos, or deleting still images or videos from memory 202.

[0127] Incorporating touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234, and camera module 243, image management module 244 includes executable instructions for arranging, modifying (e.g., editing), or otherwise manipulating, tagging, deleting, presenting (e.g., in a digital slideshow or album), and storing still images and / or video images.

[0128] Combining RF circuitry 208, touchscreen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module 234, browser module 247 includes executable instructions for browsing the Internet according to user instructions, including searching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portions thereof, as well as links to attachments and other files on web pages.

[0129] Combining RF circuitry 208, touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234, email client module 240, and browser module 247, calendar module 248 includes executable instructions to create, display, modify, and store calendars and associated data (e.g., calendar entries, to-dos, etc.) according to user instructions.

[0130] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touchscreen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234, and browser module 247, the desktop applet module 249 is a micro-application that can be downloaded and used by a user (e.g., weather desktop applet 249-1, stock market desktop applet 249-2, calculator desktop applet 249-3, alarm clock desktop applet 249-4, and dictionary desktop applet 249-5) or a user-created micro-application (e.g., user-created desktop applet 249-6). In some embodiments, the desktop applet includes HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) files, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) files, and JavaScript files. In some embodiments, the desktop applet includes XML (Extensible Markup Language) files and JavaScript files (e.g., Yahoo! desktop applet).

[0131] Combining RF circuit 208, touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234, and browser module 247, the desktop applet creator module 250 is used by the user to create desktop applets (e.g., to turn a user-specified portion of a webpage into a desktop applet).

[0132] In conjunction with the touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / 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) according to user instructions.

[0133] Incorporating touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, RF circuitry 208, and browser module 247, the video and music player module 252 includes executable instructions allowing users 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 touchscreen 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 (a trademark of Apple Inc.).

[0134] Combining the touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / 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 items, etc., according to user instructions.

[0135] Combining RF circuit 208, touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact / motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234, GPS module 235, and browser module 247, 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 shops and other points of interest at or near a specific location, and other location-based data) according to user instructions.

[0136] Incorporating touchscreen 212, display controller 256, touch / motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, RF circuitry 208, text input module 234, email client module 240, and browser module 247, the online video module 255 includes instructions allowing users to access, browse, receive (e.g., via streaming and / or downloading), play back (e.g., on the touchscreen or on a connected external display via external port 224), send emails with links to specific online videos, and otherwise manage online videos in one or more file formats (such as H.264). In some embodiments, instant messaging module 241 is used instead of email client module 240 to send links to specific online videos. Further descriptions of the online video application can be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 936,562, filed 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 December 31, 2007, entitled “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0137] Each of the modules and applications described above corresponds to an executable set of instructions for performing one or more of the functions described above and the methods described in this patent application (e.g., computer-implemented methods and other information processing methods as described herein). These modules (e.g., instruction sets) need not be implemented as standalone software programs, processes, or modules, and therefore various subsets of these modules can be combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. For example, a video player module can be combined with a music player module into a single module (e.g., Figure 2A(e.g., video and music player module 252). In some embodiments, memory 202 stores a subset of the aforementioned modules and data structures. Additionally, memory 202 stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

[0138] In some implementations, device 200 is a device on which the operation of a predefined set of functions is performed solely via a touchscreen and / or touchpad. By using a touchscreen and / or touchpad as the primary input control device for the operation of device 200, the number of physical input control devices (such as push-buttons, dials, etc.) on device 200 is reduced.

[0139] A predefined set of functions, uniquely performed via a touchscreen and / or touchpad, optionally includes navigation between user interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by a user, navigates device 200 from any user interface displayed on device 200 to a main menu, home menu, or root menu. In such embodiments, a "menu button" is implemented using a touchpad. In some other embodiments, the menu button is a physical push-button or other physical input control device, rather than a touchpad.

[0140] Figure 2B This 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 This includes an event classifier 270 (e.g., in operating system 226) and a corresponding application 236-1 (e.g., any one of the aforementioned applications 237 to 251, 255, 480 to 490).

[0141] Event classifier 270 receives event information and determines the application 236-1 to which the event information should be delivered and the application view 291 of application 236-1. Event classifier 270 includes event monitor 271 and event dispatcher module 274. In some embodiments, application 236-1 includes application internal state 292, which indicates one or more current application views displayed on touch-sensitive display 212 when the application is active or executing. In some embodiments, device / global internal state 257 is used by event classifier 270 to determine which application(s) is currently active, and application internal state 292 is used by event classifier 270 to determine the application view 291 to which the event information should be delivered.

[0142] In some implementations, the application internal state 292 includes additional information such as one or more of the following: recovery information to be used when the application 236-1 resumes execution, user interface state information indicating that information is being displayed or ready to be displayed by the application 236-1, a state queue for enabling the user to return to the previous state or view of the application 236-1, and a repeat / undo queue for the user's previous actions.

[0143] Event monitor 271 receives event information from peripheral device interface 218. The event information includes information about sub-events (e.g., user touches on touch-sensitive display 212 as part of a multi-touch gesture). Peripheral device 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 (via audio circuitry 210). The information received by peripheral device interface 218 from I / O subsystem 206 includes information from touch-sensitive display 212 or touch-sensitive surfaces.

[0144] In some implementations, event monitor 271 sends requests to peripheral device interface 218 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheral device interface 218 transmits event information. In other implementations, peripheral device interface 218 transmits event information only when a significant event occurs (e.g., receiving input above a predetermined noise threshold and / or receiving input for a predetermined duration).

[0145] In some implementations, the event classifier 270 also includes a hit view determination module 272 and / or an activity event recognizer determination module 273.

[0146] When the touch-sensitive display 212 displays more than one view, the hit view determination module 272 provides a software process for determining where a sub-event has occurred within one or more views. A view consists of controls and other elements that the user can see on the display.

[0147] 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 view (of the corresponding application) in which a touch is detected corresponds to a procedural level within the application's procedural hierarchy or view hierarchy. For example, the lowest-level view in which a touch is detected is called the hit view, and the set of events considered as correct input is determined at least in part based on the hit view of the initial touch that initiates the touch-based gesture.

[0148] 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 hierarchical structure, the hit view determination module 272 identifies the hit view as the lowest-level view in the hierarchical structure from which 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 forming an event or potential event) occurs. Once the 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 to which it was identified as the hit view.

[0149] The activity event recognizer determination module 273 determines which views(s) within the view hierarchy should receive a specific sub-event sequence. In some embodiments, the activity event recognizer determination module 273 determines that only the hit view should receive the specific sub-event sequence. In other embodiments, the activity event recognizer determination module 273 determines that all views including the physical location of the sub-event are actively participating views, and therefore determines that all actively participating views should receive the specific sub-event sequence. In other embodiments, even if the touch sub-event is entirely confined to the area associated with a particular view, the higher-level views in the hierarchy will still remain actively participating views.

[0150] Event assigner module 274 assigns event information to event identifiers (e.g., event identifier 280). In embodiments that include active event identifier determination module 273, event assigner module 274 delivers event information to the event identifier determined by active event identifier determination module 273. In some embodiments, event assigner module 274 stores event information in an event queue, which is retrieved by the corresponding event receiver 282.

[0151] 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 part of another module (such as contact / motion module 230) stored in memory 202.

[0152] In some embodiments, application 236-1 includes a plurality of event handlers 290 and one or more application views 291, each of which includes instructions for handling touch events occurring within a corresponding view of the application's user interface. Each application view 291 of application 236-1 includes one or more event recognizers 280. Typically, a corresponding application view 291 includes a plurality of event recognizers 280. In other embodiments, one or more event recognizers among the event recognizers 280 are part of a separate module, which is a higher-level object such as a user interface toolkit (not shown) from which application 236-1 inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a corresponding event handler 290 includes one or more of the following: a data updater 276, an object updater 277, a GUI updater 278, and / or event data 279 received from an event classifier 270. The event handler 290 utilizes or invokes the data updater 276, the object updater 277, or the GUI updater 278 to update the application's internal state 292. Alternatively, one or more application views in application view 291 include one or more corresponding event handlers 290. Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of data updater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater 278 are included in the corresponding application view 291.

[0153] The corresponding event recognizer 280 receives event information (e.g., event data 279) from the event classifier 270 and identifies events from the event information. The event recognizer 280 includes an event receiver 282 and an event comparator 284. In some embodiments, the event recognizer 280 also includes at least one subset of metadata 283 and event delivery instructions 288 (which includes sub-event delivery instructions).

[0154] Event receiver 282 receives event information from event classifier 270. The event information includes information about sub-events such as touch or touch movement. 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 touch movement, 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 (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a lateral orientation, or vice versa), and the event information includes corresponding information about the device's current orientation (also referred to as device pose).

[0155] Event comparator 284 compares event information with predefined event or sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines the event or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of the event or sub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 284 includes event definition 286. Event definition 286 contains definitions of events (e.g., predefined sequences 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, event 1 (287-1) is defined as a double-click on a displayed object. For example, a double-click includes a first touch (touch start) of a predetermined duration on the displayed object, a first lift-off of a predetermined duration (touch end), a second touch (touch start) of a predetermined duration on the displayed object, and a second lift-off of a predetermined duration (touch end). In another example, event 2 (287-2) is defined as a drag on a displayed object. For example, dragging includes a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for a predetermined duration, movement of the touch on the touch-sensitive display 212, and lifting off the touch (end of touch). In some embodiments, the event also includes information for one or more associated event handlers 290.

[0156] In some implementations, event definition 287 includes definitions of events for corresponding user interface objects. In some implementations, event comparator 284 performs a hit test to determine which user interface object is associated with the 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 the event handler associated with the sub-event and the object that triggered the hit test.

[0157] In some implementations, the definition of the corresponding event (287) also includes a delay action that delays the delivery of event information until it has been determined whether the sub-event sequence actually corresponds to or does not correspond to the event type of the event recognizer.

[0158] When the corresponding event recognizer 280 determines that the sub-event sequence 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 based on touch gestures are ignored. In this case, other event recognizers (if any) that remain active in the hit view continue to track and process the ongoing sub-events based on touch gestures.

[0159] In some embodiments, the corresponding event recognizer 280 includes metadata 283 having configurable attributes, flags, and / or lists instructing how the event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to actively participating event recognizers. In some embodiments, the metadata 283 includes configurable attributes, flags, and / or lists instructing how or how likely event recognizers can interact with each other. In some embodiments, the metadata 283 includes configurable attributes, flags, and / or lists instructing whether sub-events are delivered to different levels in a view or programmatic hierarchy.

[0160] In some implementations, when one or more specific sub-events of an event are identified, the corresponding event recognizer 280 activates the event handler 290 associated with the event. In some implementations, the corresponding event recognizer 280 delivers event information associated with the event to the event handler 290. Activating the event handler 290 is different from sending (and delaying) the sub-event to the corresponding hit view. In some implementations, the event recognizer 280 throws a tag associated with the identified event, and the event handler 290 associated with that tag retrieves the tag and executes a predefined procedure.

[0161] In some implementations, event delivery instruction 288 includes a sub-event delivery instruction that delivers 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 the sub-event sequence or to an actively participating view. The event handler associated with the sub-event sequence or the actively participating view receives the event information and executes a predetermined procedure.

[0162] In some implementations, 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 implementations, 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 location 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 touch-sensitive display.

[0163] In some implementations, one or more event handlers 290 include or have access to a data updater 276, an object updater 277, and a GUI updater 278. In some implementations, the 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 implementations, they are included in two or more software modules.

[0164] It should be understood that the above discussion regarding event handling for user touch on a touch-sensitive display also applies to other forms of user input used to operate the multifunction device 200 using an input device, and not all user input is initiated on the touchscreen. For example, mouse movement and mouse button presses optionally in conjunction with single or multiple keyboard presses or holds; touch movements on the touchpad, such as taps, drags, scrolls, etc.; stylus input; device movement; verbal commands; detected eye movements; biometric input; and / or any combination thereof may optionally be used as input corresponding to sub-events that define the event to be identified.

[0165] Figure 3A portable multifunction device 200 with a touchscreen 212 is shown according to some embodiments. The touchscreen 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 graphics by gesturing over the graphics, for example, 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, selection of one or more graphics occurs when the user breaks contact with one or more graphics. 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 scrolling (from right to left, from left to right, up and / or down) of a finger already in contact with the device 200. In some specific embodiments or in some cases, unintentional contact with a graphic does not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture over an application icon optionally does not select the corresponding application when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

[0166] Device 200 also includes one or more physical buttons, such as a "home" or menu button 304. As previously described, menu button 304 is used to navigate to any application 236 of a set of applications running on device 200. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touchscreen 212.

[0167] In some embodiments, device 200 includes a touchscreen 212, a menu button 304, a push-button 306 for powering on / off the device and locking the device, one or more volume control buttons 308, a SIM card slot 310, a headset jack 312, and a docking / charging external port 224. The push-button 306 is optionally used to power on / off the device by pressing the button and holding it in the pressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by pressing the button and releasing it before the predefined time interval has elapsed; and / or to unlock the device or initiate an unlocking process. In another embodiment, device 200 also accepts verbal input via microphone 213 for activating or deactivating certain functions. Device 200 also optionally includes one or more contact strength sensors 265 for detecting the intensity of contact on the touchscreen 212, and / or one or more haptic output generators 267 for generating haptic outputs for the user of device 200.

[0168] Figure 4This is a block diagram of an exemplary multi-functional device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface according to some embodiments. Device 400 need not be portable. In some embodiments, device 400 is a laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer, multimedia player device, navigation device, educational device (such as a children's learning toy), gaming system, or control device (e.g., a home controller or industrial controller). Device 400 typically includes one or more processing units (CPUs) 410, one or more network or other communication interfaces 460, memory 470, and one or more communication buses 420 for interconnecting these components. Communication bus 420 optionally includes circuitry (sometimes referred to as a chipset) that interconnects system components and controls communication between system components. Device 400 includes an input / output (I / O) interface 430 with a display 440, which is typically a touchscreen display. I / O interface 430 also optionally includes a keyboard and / or mouse (or other pointing device) 450 and a touchpad 455, and a haptic output generator 457 for generating haptic output on device 400 (e.g., similar to the reference above). Figure 2A The one or more tactile output generators 267 and sensors 459 (e.g., optical sensors, accelerometers, proximity sensors, touch sensors, and / or contact intensity sensors similar to those mentioned above) Figure 2A The one or more contact strength sensors 265). Memory 470 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid-state memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. Memory 470 optionally includes one or more storage devices located remotely from one or more CPUs 410. In some embodiments, memory 470 stores data with portable multifunction device 200. Figure 2A The memory 470 stores programs, modules, and data structures similar to those in the memory 202 of the portable multifunction device 200, or subsets thereof. Additionally, the memory 470 optionally stores additional programs, modules, and data structures not present in the memory 202 of the portable multifunction device 200. For example, the memory 470 of the device 400 optionally stores a drawing module 480, a rendering module 482, a word processing module 484, a website creation module 486, a disk editing module 488, and / or a spreadsheet module 490, while the portable multifunction device 200 ( Figure 2A The memory 202 optionally does not store these modules.

[0169] Figure 4Each of the aforementioned elements is stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices in some examples. Each of the aforementioned modules corresponds to an instruction set for performing the functions described above. The aforementioned modules or programs (e.g., instruction sets) need not be implemented as standalone software programs, processes, or modules; therefore, various subsets of these modules are combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 470 stores a subset of the aforementioned modules and data structures. Furthermore, memory 470 stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

[0170] Now let’s turn our attention to implementations of user interfaces that can be implemented, for example, on a portable multi-functional device 200.

[0171] Figure 5A An exemplary user interface for an application menu on a portable multifunction device 200 according to some embodiments is shown. 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:

[0172] One or more signal strength indicators 502 for wireless communications such as cellular signals and Wi-Fi signals;

[0173] Time 504;

[0174] Bluetooth indicator 505;

[0175] • Battery status indicator 506;

[0176] • Tray icon 508 with icons for commonly used applications, such as:

[0177] ○ The telephone module 238 has an icon 516 labeled "telephone", which optionally includes an indicator 514 indicating the number of missed calls or voicemails;

[0178] ○ An icon 518 labeled "Mail" in the email client module 240, which optionally includes an indicator 510 for the number of unread emails;

[0179] ○ The icon 520 labeled "Browser" in browser module 247; and

[0180] ○ The icon 522 labeled "iPod" for the video and music player module 252 (also known as the iPod (a trademark of Apple Inc.) module 252); and

[0181] • Icons of other applications, such as:

[0182] ○Icon 524 of IM module 241, which is marked as "message";

[0183] ○The icon 526 labeled "Calendar" in the calendar module 248;

[0184] ○ The icon 528 of the image management module 244, which is labeled "Photo".

[0185] ○ The icon 530 of camera module 243, which is labeled "camera";

[0186] ○ Icon 532 of the online video module 255, which is labeled "Online Video";

[0187] ○ The icon 534 in the Stock Market Desktop Mini Program 249-2 that is marked as "Stock Market";

[0188] ○The icon 536 in map module 254 that is labeled "map";

[0189] ○ The icon 538 in the Weather desktop mini-program 249-1 that is marked as "Weather";

[0190] ○ The icon labeled "Clock" in the alarm clock desktop mini-program 249-4;

[0191] ○ The icon 542 of the fitness support module 242 is labeled "fitness support";

[0192] ○ The icon 544 labeled "Notepad" in Notepad module 253; and

[0193] ○ An icon 546 labeled "Settings" is used to set the settings of the application or module, which provides access to the settings of the device 200 and its various applications 236.

[0194] It should be pointed out that, Figure 5A The icon labels shown are merely exemplary. For example, the icon 522 of the 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 a particular application icon includes the name of the application corresponding to that particular application icon. In some embodiments, the label of a particular application icon is different from the name of the application corresponding to that particular application icon.

[0195] Figure 5B A touch-sensitive surface 551 (e.g., separate from the display 550 (e.g., touchscreen display 212)) is shown. Figure 4 Devices (e.g., tablets or touchpads 455) Figure 4An exemplary user interface on device 400. Device 400 also optionally includes one or more contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more sensors in sensor 457) for detecting the intensity of contact on tactile surface 551 and / or one or more tactile output generators 459 for generating tactile output for the user of device 400.

[0196] While some examples of input on a reference touchscreen display 212 (which combines a touch-sensitive surface and a display) are given in the following examples, in some implementations, the device detects input on a touch-sensitive surface separate from the display, such as... Figure 5B As shown in the diagram. In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., Figure 5B 551) has a spindle (e.g., on the display (e.g., 550) that is aligned with the main axis on the display (e.g., Figure 5B The spindle corresponding to 553 in the figure (e.g., Figure 5B (552 in the example). According to these embodiments, the device detects the position corresponding to the corresponding position on the display (e.g., in the example). Figure 5B In the middle, 560 corresponds to 568 and 562 corresponds to 570) the contact with the touch-sensitive surface 551 at the location (e.g., Figure 5B (560 and 562 in the example). Thus, on touch-sensitive surfaces (e.g., Figure 5B 551 in the middle) and the display of a multi-functional device (e.g., Figure 5B When 550 is separated from 560, user input detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., contact with 560 and 562 and their movement) is used by the device to manipulate the user interface on the display. It should be understood that similar methods may be optionally used for other user interfaces described herein.

[0197] Additionally, while the examples below are primarily given with reference to finger input (e.g., finger touch, single-finger tap, finger swipe), it should be understood that in some implementations, one or more of these finger inputs may be replaced by input from another input device (e.g., mouse-based input or stylus input). For example, a swipe gesture may optionally be replaced by a mouse click (e.g., instead of a touch), followed by movement of the cursor along the swipe path (e.g., instead of movement of the touch). Similarly, a tap gesture may optionally be replaced by a mouse click while the cursor is over the location of the tap gesture (e.g., instead of detection of touch, followed by cessation of touch detection). Likewise, when multiple user inputs are detected simultaneously, it should be understood that multiple computer mice may optionally be used simultaneously, or mouse and finger touch may optionally be used simultaneously.

[0198] Figure 6AAn exemplary personal electronic device 600 is illustrated. Device 600 includes a body 602. In some embodiments, device 600 includes components relative to devices 200 and 400 (e.g., Figures 2A-4 Some or all of the features described herein. In some embodiments, device 600 has a touch-sensitive display 604, hereinafter referred to as touchscreen 604. As an alternative to or complement to touchscreen 604, device 600 has a display and a touch-sensitive surface. Similar to devices 200 and 400, in some embodiments, touchscreen 604 (or touch-sensitive surface) has one or more intensity sensors for detecting the intensity of an applied contact (e.g., a touch). The one or more intensity sensors of touchscreen 604 (or touch-sensitive surface) provide output data representing the intensity of the touch. The user interface of device 600 responds to touches based on touch intensity, meaning that touches of different intensities may invoke different user interface operations on device 600.

[0199] Techniques for detecting and processing touch intensity may exist, for example, in the relevant applications: international patent application PCT / US2013 / 040061, filed May 8, 2013, entitled “Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Displaying User Interface Objects Corresponding to an Application,” and international patent application PCT / US2013 / 069483, filed November 11, 2013, entitled “Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Transitioning Between Touch Input to Display Output Relationships,” each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0200] In some embodiments, device 600 has one or more input mechanisms 606 and 608. Input mechanisms 606 and 608 (if included) are physical in form. Examples of physical input mechanisms include push-buttons and rotatable mechanisms. In some embodiments, device 600 has one or more attachment mechanisms. Such attachment mechanisms (if included) allow device 600 to be attached to, for example, hats, glasses, earrings, necklaces, shirts, jackets, bracelets, watch straps, bangles, trousers, belts, shoes, wallets, backpacks, etc. These attachment mechanisms allow a user to wear device 600.

[0201] Figure 6BAn exemplary personal electronic device 600 is illustrated. In some embodiments, device 600 includes, relative to... Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 4 Some or all of the components described herein. Device 600 has a bus 612 that operatively couples I / O portion 614 to one or more computer processors 616 and memory 618. I / O portion 614 is connected to display 604, which may have touch-sensitive component 622 and optionally also has touch intensity-sensitive component 624. Furthermore, I / O portion 614 is connected to 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 pressable input device and a rotatable input device. In some examples, input mechanism 608 is a button.

[0202] In some examples, the input mechanism 608 is a microphone. The personal electronic device 600 includes, for example, various sensors such as a GPS sensor 632, an accelerometer 634, an orientation sensor 640 (e.g., a compass), a gyroscope 636, a motion sensor 638, and / or combinations thereof, all of which are operatively connected to the I / O section 614.

[0203] The memory 618 of the personal electronic device 600 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more computer processors 616, cause the computer processors to perform the techniques and processes described above. 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, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, a processor-containing system, or other system capable of retrieving and executing instructions from and from an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The personal electronic device 600 is not limited to... Figure 6B It can be the components and configurations, or it can include other components or additional components in a variety of configurations.

[0204] As used herein, the term "power indication" refers, for example, in devices 200, 400, 600, 800 and / or 810 ( Figure 2A , Figure 4 , Figures 6A-6B , Figure 8A , Figure 8C , Figures 9A-9D A graphical user interface object displayed on a screen. For example, images (e.g., icons), buttons, and text (e.g., hyperlinks) each constitute a display representation.

[0205] 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 specific implementations that include a cursor or other positional 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), the cursor is positioned on a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a...). Figure 4 The touchpad 455 or Figure 5B When an input (e.g., a press input) is detected on the touch-sensitive surface 551 of the display, the specific user interface element is adjusted according to the detected input. This applies to touchscreen displays (e.g., those capable of direct interaction with user interface elements on a touchscreen display) that enable direct interaction with user interface elements on the touchscreen display. Figure 2A The touch-sensitive display system 212 or Figure 5A In some embodiments of the touchscreen 212, a touch detected on the touchscreen acts as a "focus selector," such that when input (e.g., a press input by touch) is detected at the location of a particular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider, or other user interface element) on the touchscreen display, that particular user interface element is adjusted according to the detected input. In some embodiments, focus moves from one area of ​​the user interface to another without corresponding movement of the cursor or movement of a touch on the touchscreen display (e.g., moving focus from one button to another using tab keys or arrow keys); in these embodiments, the focus selector moves according to the movement of focus between different areas of the user interface. Regardless of the specific form the focus selector takes, the focus selector is typically a user-controlled user interface element (or a touch on the touchscreen display) that delivers the user-expected interaction with the user interface (e.g., by indicating to the device the element of the user interface that the user expects to interact with). For example, when a press input is detected on a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad or touchscreen), the position of the focus selector (e.g., a cursor, touch, or selection box) above the corresponding button will indicate to the user that they expect to activate the corresponding button (rather than other user interface elements shown on the device's display).

[0206] As used in the specification and claims, the term "characteristic intensity" of a contact refers to a characteristic of the 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 over 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, before or after contact begins to move, before contact ends, before or after contact intensity is detected to increase and / or before or after contact intensity decreases). The characteristic intensity of the 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 contact intensity over time). In some implementations, the feature intensity is compared to a set of one or more intensity thresholds to determine whether a user has performed an action. For example, the set of one or more intensity thresholds may include a first intensity threshold and a second intensity threshold. In this example, contact with a feature intensity not exceeding the first threshold results in a first action, contact with a feature intensity exceeding the first intensity threshold but not exceeding the second intensity threshold results in a second action, and contact with a feature intensity exceeding the second threshold results in a third action. In some implementations, a comparison between the feature intensity and one or more thresholds is used to determine whether to perform one or more actions (e.g., whether to perform the corresponding action or abort performing the corresponding action), rather than to determine whether to perform the first or second action.

[0207] In some implementations, a portion of the gesture is identified to determine the characteristic intensity. For example, a touch-sensitive surface receives a series of swipes that transition from a starting position to an ending position, where the intensity of the contact increases. In this example, the characteristic intensity of the contact at the ending position is based only on a portion of the series of swipes, rather than the entire swipe (e.g., the swipe contact is only the portion at the ending position). In some implementations, a smoothing algorithm is applied to the intensity of the swipe contact before determining its characteristic intensity. For example, the smoothing algorithm optionally includes one or more of the following: unweighted moving average smoothing algorithm, triangular smoothing algorithm, median filter smoothing algorithm, and / or exponential smoothing algorithm. In some cases, these smoothing algorithms eliminate narrow spikes or dips in the intensity of the swipe contact to achieve the purpose of determining the characteristic intensity.

[0208] The strength of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface is characterized relative to one or more strength thresholds, such as a contact detection strength threshold, a light press strength threshold, a deep press strength threshold, and / or one or more other strength thresholds. In some embodiments, the light press strength threshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device performs an operation typically associated with clicking a button on a physical mouse or touchpad. In some embodiments, the deep press strength threshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device performs an operation different from the operation typically associated with clicking a button on a physical mouse or touchpad. In some embodiments, when a contact with a characteristic strength lower than the light press strength threshold (e.g., and higher than the nominal contact detection strength threshold, where contacts lower than the nominal contact detection strength threshold are no longer detected) is detected, the device will move the focus selector based on the movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface without performing the operation associated with the light press strength threshold or the deep press strength threshold. Generally, unless otherwise stated, these strength thresholds are consistent across different groups of user interface figures.

[0209] An increase in contact intensity from 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 intensity from 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 intensity from 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 a contact on the touch surface. A decrease in contact intensity from above a contact detection intensity threshold to an intensity below the contact detection intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as detecting a contact being lifted off 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.

[0210] In some embodiments described herein, one or more operations are performed in response to detecting a gesture including 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 intensity of the contact (or multiple contacts) increases to above a press input intensity threshold. In some embodiments, the corresponding operation is performed in response to detecting that the intensity of the corresponding contact increases to above a press input intensity threshold (e.g., a "downward stroke" of the corresponding press input). In some embodiments, the press input includes the intensity of the corresponding contact increasing to above a press input intensity threshold and the intensity of the contact subsequently decreasing to below the press input intensity threshold, and the corresponding operation is performed in response to detecting that the intensity of the corresponding contact subsequently decreases to below the press input threshold (e.g., an "upward stroke" of the corresponding press input).

[0211] In some implementations, the device employs intensity hysteresis to avoid unintended inputs sometimes referred to as "jitter," wherein the device defines or selects a hysteresis intensity threshold that has a predefined relationship with 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 percentage of the press input intensity threshold). Therefore, in some implementations, a press input includes an increase in the intensity of the corresponding contact above the press input intensity threshold and a subsequent decrease in the intensity of that contact 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 below the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., an "upstroke" of the corresponding press input). Similarly, in some implementations, 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 the contact intensity subsequently decreases to an intensity equal to or below the hysteresis intensity threshold, and a corresponding operation is performed in response to detecting a press input (e.g., an increase or decrease in contact intensity depending on the environment).

[0212] For ease of explanation, optionally, the description of an operation triggered in response to a press input associated with a press input strength threshold or in response to a gesture including a press input is provided in response to detecting any of the following conditions: the contact strength increases to above the press input strength threshold, the contact strength increases from below a hysteresis strength threshold to above the press input strength threshold, the contact strength decreases to below the press input strength threshold, and / or the contact strength decreases to below the hysteresis strength threshold corresponding to the press input strength threshold. Additionally, in the example where the operation is described as being performed in response to detecting a decrease in contact strength below the press input strength threshold, the operation is optionally performed in response to detecting a decrease in contact strength below a hysteresis strength threshold corresponding to and less than the press input strength threshold.

[0213] 3. Digital Assistant System

[0214] Figure 7A Block diagrams of digital assistant systems 700 according to various examples are shown. In some examples, the digital assistant system 700 is implemented on a standalone 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 server and client parts, wherein the client part resides on one or more user devices (e.g., devices 104, 122, 200, 400, 600, 800, and / or 810) and communicates with the server part (e.g., server system 108) via one or more networks, for example, as... Figure 1 As shown in the image. In some examples, the digital assistant system 700 is... Figure 1 The specific implementation of the server system 108 (and / or DA server 106) shown is illustrated. It should be noted that the digital assistant system 700 is merely an example of a digital assistant system, and the digital assistant system 700 may have more or fewer components than shown, combine two or more components, or have different configurations or layouts of components. Figure 7A The various components shown 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.

[0215] 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.

[0216] 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).

[0217] In some examples, I / O interface 706 couples input / output devices 716 of digital assistant system 700, such as a display, keyboard, touchscreen, and microphone, to user interface module 722. I / O interface 706, together with user interface module 722, receives user input (e.g., voice input, keyboard input, touch input, etc.) and processes this input accordingly. In some examples, for instance, when the digital assistant is implemented on a standalone user device, digital assistant system 700 includes a user interface module 722. Figure 2A , Figure 4 , Figures 6A-6B , Figure 8A , Figure 8C and Figures 9A-9D Any of the components and I / O communication interfaces described in devices 200, 400, 600, 800, or 810. In some examples, digital assistant system 700 represents the server portion of a digital assistant implementation and can interact with the user through a client-side portion located on a user device (e.g., device 104, 200, 400, 600, 800, or 810).

[0218] In some examples, the network communication interface 708 includes one or more wired communication ports 712 and / or wireless transmission and reception circuitry 714. The one or more wired communication ports receive and transmit communication signals via one or more wired interfaces such as Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire, etc. The wireless circuitry 714 receives RF signals and / or optical signals from the communication network and other communication devices, and transmits RF signals and / or optical signals to the 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 via networks such as the Internet, intranets, and / or wireless networks such as cellular telephone networks, wireless local area networks (LANs), and / or metropolitan area networks (MANs).

[0219] In some examples, memory 702 or its computer-readable storage medium 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, memory 702 or its computer-readable storage medium stores instructions for performing the above-described processes. One or more processors 704 execute these programs, modules, and instructions, and read data from or write data to data structures.

[0220] Operating systems 718 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, iOS, OS X, WINDOWS, or embedded operating systems such as VxWorks) include various software components and / or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitate communication between various hardware, firmware, and software components.

[0221] The communication module 720 facilitates communication between the digital assistant system 700 and other devices via the network communication interface 708. For example, the communication module 720 communicates with electronic devices (such as those in…) Figure 2A , Figure 4 , Figures 6A to 6B The device 200, 400, or 600 shown communicates with the RF circuit 208. The communication module 720 also includes various components for processing data received by the wireless circuit 714 and / or the wired communication port 712.

[0222] The user interface module 722 receives commands and / or input from the user (e.g., from a keyboard, touchscreen, 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., voice, sound, animation, text, icons, vibration, haptic 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.).

[0223] Application 724 includes 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 standalone user device, application 724 includes user applications such as games, calendar applications, navigation applications, or email applications. If the digital assistant system 700 is implemented on a server, application 724 includes, for example, resource management applications, diagnostic applications, or scheduling applications.

[0224] The memory 702 also stores the 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: input / output processing module 728, speech-to-text (STT) processing module 730, natural language processing module 732, dialogue flow processing module 734, task flow processing module 736, service processing module 738, and speech synthesis processing module 740. Each of these modules has access to one or more, or subsets or supersets of, the following systems or data and models of the digital assistant module 726: knowledge ontology 760, vocabulary index 744, user data 748, task flow model 754, service model 756, and ASR system 758.

[0225] In some examples, using the processing modules, data, and models implemented in the digital assistant module 726, the digital assistant can perform at least some of the following: converting voice input into text; recognizing user intent expressed in natural language input received from the user; proactively eliciting and obtaining the information needed to fully infer the user intent (e.g., by disambiguating words, games, intents, etc.); determining a task flow to satisfy the inferred intent; and executing the task flow to satisfy the inferred intent.

[0226] In some examples, such as Figure 7B As shown, the I / O processing module 728 can... Figure 7A The I / O device 716 in the middle interacts with the user or through Figure 7AThe network communication interface 708 interacts with user equipment (e.g., device 104, device 200, device 400, or device 600) to receive 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 contextual information associated with the user input from the user equipment along with or shortly after receiving the user input. Contextual information includes user-specific data, vocabulary, and / or preferences associated with the user input. In some examples, the contextual information also includes the software and hardware states of the user equipment at the time the user request is received, and / or information related to the user's surrounding environment at the time 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 a 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 a speech recognizer) for speech-to-text conversion.

[0227] STT processing module 730 includes one or more ASR systems 758. The one or more ASR systems 758 can process speech input received through I / O processing module 728 to produce recognition results. 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 a Fourier transform on the speech input to extract spectral features characterizing the speech input as a sequence of representative multidimensional vectors. Additionally, 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 grammar language models, and other statistical models. Examples of speech recognition engines include engines based on Dynamic Time Warping (VTW) 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 representative features extracted by the front-end speech preprocessor to produce intermediate recognition results (e.g., phonemes, phoneme strings, and sub-words) and ultimately produce text recognition results (e.g., words, word strings, or symbol sequences). In some examples, the speech input is processed at least in part by a third-party service or on the user's device (e.g., device 104, device 200, device 400, or device 600) to produce the recognition results. Once the STT processing module 730 produces a recognition result containing a text string (e.g., words, or sequences of words, or sequences of symbols), the recognition result is passed to the natural language processing module 732 for intent inference. In some examples, the STT processing module 730 produces multiple candidate text representations of the speech input. Each candidate text representation is a sequence of words or symbols corresponding to the speech input. In some examples, each candidate text representation is associated with a speech 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. Alternatively, the five highest-ranked (n=5) candidate text representations are passed to the natural language processing module 732 for intent inference.

[0228] Further details regarding speech-to-text processing are described in U.S. Utility Model Patent Application Serial No. 13 / 236,942, entitled "Consolidating Speech Recognition Results," filed on September 20, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0229] In some examples, the STT processing module 730 includes a vocabulary of recognizable words and / or accesses that vocabulary via the speech-to-letter conversion module 731. Each vocabulary word is associated with one or more candidate pronunciations of a word represented in the speech recognition alphabet. Specifically, the vocabulary of recognizable words includes words associated with multiple candidate pronunciations. For example, the vocabulary includes words associated with... and The candidate pronunciations are associated with the word "tomato". Additionally, vocabulary words are associated with custom candidate pronunciations based on previous speech input from the user. These custom candidate pronunciations are stored in the STT processing module 730 and associated with a specific user via a user profile on the device. In some examples, candidate pronunciations are determined based on the spelling of the word and one or more linguistic and / or phonetic rules. In some examples, candidate pronunciations are generated manually, for example, based on known standard pronunciations.

[0230] In some examples, candidate pronunciations are ranked based on their prevalence. For example, candidate pronunciations... The ranking is higher than This is because the former is a more commonly used pronunciation (e.g., among all users, for users in a specific geographic region, or for any other suitable subset of users). In some examples, candidate pronunciations are ranked based on whether they are custom candidate pronunciations associated with a user. For example, custom candidate pronunciations rank higher than standard candidate pronunciations. This can be used to identify proper nouns with unique pronunciations that deviate from the canonical pronunciation. In some examples, candidate pronunciations are associated with one or more phonological features such as geographic origin, country, or ethnicity. For example, candidate pronunciations... Associated with the United States, and candidate pronunciation The candidate pronunciations are associated with the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the ranking of candidate pronunciations is based on one or more characteristics of the user (e.g., geographic origin, country, ethnicity, etc.) stored in the user profile on the device. For example, it can be determined from the user profile that the user is associated with the United States. Based on the user's association with the United States, candidate pronunciations... (US-related) Comparable candidate pronunciations (Related to the UK) It ranks higher. In some examples, one of the ranked candidate pronunciations can be selected as the predicted pronunciation (e.g., the most likely pronunciation).

[0231] Upon receiving voice input, the STT processing module 730 is used (e.g., using a sound model) to determine the phonemes corresponding to the voice input, and then attempts (e.g., using a language model) to determine the words that match those phonemes. For example, if the STT processing module 730 first identifies a sequence of phonemes corresponding to a portion of the voice input... It can then determine, based on vocabulary index 744, that the sequence corresponds to the word "tomato".

[0232] In some examples, the STT processing module 730 uses fuzzy matching techniques to determine words in a utterance. Therefore, for example, the STT processing module 730 determines phoneme sequences. This corresponds to the word "tomato," even if the specific phoneme sequence is not a candidate phoneme sequence for that word.

[0233] The digital assistant's natural language processing module 732 ("natural language processor") acquires 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 intentions" recognized by the digital assistant. An "executable intention" (or "user intention") represents a task that can be performed by the digital assistant and may have an associated task flow implemented in the task flow model 754. An associated task flow is a series of programmed actions and steps taken by the digital assistant to perform the task. The capabilities of the digital assistant depend on the number and type of task flows implemented and stored in the task flow model 754, or in other words, on the number and type of "executable intentions" recognized by the digital assistant. However, the effectiveness of the digital assistant also depends on its ability to infer the correct "one or more executable intentions" from user requests expressed in natural language.

[0234] 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, for example, contextual information associated with the user request from the I / O processing module 728. The natural language processing module 732 optionally uses the contextual information to clarify, supplement, and / or further define the information contained in the candidate text representation received from the STT processing module 730. Contextual information includes, for example, user preferences, the hardware and / or software state of the user's device, sensor information collected before, during, or shortly after the user request, previous interactions (e.g., conversations) between the digital assistant and the user, and so on. As described herein, in some examples, the contextual information is dynamic and varies with the time, location, content, and other factors of the conversation.

[0235] In some examples, natural language processing is based on, for example, a knowledge ontology 760. Knowledge ontology 760 is a hierarchical structure containing many nodes, each node representing an "executable intent" or an "attribute" associated with one or more of the "executable intent" or other "attributes." As mentioned above, an "executable intent" represents a task that a digital assistant can perform; that is, the task is "executable" or can be done. An "attribute" represents a parameter associated with a sub-aspect of an executable intent or another attribute. The connections between executable intent nodes and attribute nodes in knowledge ontology 760 define how the parameters represented by the attribute nodes are subordinate to the task represented by the executable intent nodes.

[0236] In some examples, the knowledge ontology 760 consists of executable intent nodes and attribute nodes. Within the knowledge ontology 760, each executable intent node is directly connected to or connected to one or more attribute nodes via one or more intermediate attribute nodes. Similarly, each attribute node is directly connected to or connected to one or more executable intent nodes via one or more intermediate attribute nodes. For example, as... Figure 7C As shown, knowledge ontology 760 includes a "Restaurant Reservation" node (i.e., an executable intent node). The attribute nodes "Restaurant", "Date / Time" (for reservations) and "Party Attendees" are all directly connected to the executable intent node (i.e., the "Restaurant Reservation" node).

[0237] Furthermore, the attribute nodes "Cuisine," "Price Range," "Phone Number," and "Location" are child nodes of the attribute node "Restaurant," and all are connected to the "Restaurant Reservation" node (i.e., the executable intent node) through the intermediate attribute node "Restaurant." For example, ... Figure 7C As shown, knowledge ontology 760 also includes a "Set Reminder" node (i.e., another executable intent node). The attribute nodes "Date / Time" (for setting reminders) and "Topic" (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 knowledge ontology 760.

[0238] An executable intent node, along with its linked attribute nodes, is described as a "domain." 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 knowledge ontology 760 shown includes examples of a restaurant reservation domain 762 and a reminder domain 764 within the knowledge ontology 760. The restaurant reservation domain includes an actionable intent node “Restaurant Reservation”, attribute nodes “Restaurant”, “Date / Time”, and “Participant Size”, and sub-attribute nodes “Cuisine”, “Price Range”, “Phone Number”, and “Location”. The reminder domain 764 includes an actionable intent node “Set Reminder” and attribute nodes “Topic” and “Date / Time”. In some examples, the knowledge 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 associated with many different domains (e.g., itinerary domain, travel booking domain, movie ticket domain, etc.).

[0239] although Figure 7C Two exemplary fields within knowledge ontology 760 are shown, but other fields include, for example, “Find a movie,” “Initiate a phone call,” “Find directions,” “Schedule a meeting,” “Send a message,” and “Provide answers to questions,” “Reading lists,” “Provide navigation instructions,” “Provide instructions for a task,” etc. The “Send a message” field is associated with the “Send a 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 sub-attribute nodes such as “Recipient name” and “Message address.”

[0240] In some examples, knowledge ontology 760 includes all domains (and thus executable intents) that a digital assistant can understand and act upon. In some examples, knowledge ontology 760 is modified, such as by adding or removing entire domains or nodes, or by modifying the relationships between nodes within knowledge ontology 760.

[0241] In some examples, nodes associated with multiple related executable intents are clustered under a “superdomain” in Knowledge Ontology 760. For example, the “Travel” superdomain includes clusters of travel-related attribute nodes and executable intent nodes. Travel-related executable intent nodes include “Flight Booking,” “Hotel Booking,” “Car Rental,” “Get Route,” “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, executable intent nodes for “Flight Booking,” “Hotel Booking,” “Car Rental,” “Get Route,” and “Find Points of Interest” share one or more of the attribute nodes “Starting Location,” “Destination,” “Departure Date / Time,” “Arrival Date / Time,” and “Number of People in Party.”

[0242] 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 called the "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, returning... Figure 7B The vocabulary associated with nodes of the "restaurant" attribute includes words such as "food," "drinks," "cuisine," "hunger," "eat," "pizza," "fast food," and "meals." Similarly, the vocabulary associated with nodes of the "initiate a phone call" action includes words and phrases such as "call," "make a phone call," "dial," "talk to," "call this number," and "make a phone call." The vocabulary index 744 optionally includes words and phrases from different languages.

[0243] Natural Language Processing (NLP) module 732 receives candidate text representations (e.g., one or more text strings or one or more sequences of symbols) from STT processing module 730 and, for each candidate representation, determines which nodes the words in the candidate text representation relate to. In some examples, if a word or phrase in a candidate text representation is found to be associated with one or more nodes in knowledge ontology 760 (via lexical index 744), the word or phrase "triggers" or "activates" those nodes. Based on the number and / or relative importance of the activated nodes, NLP module 732 selects one executable intent as the task 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 individual 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, such as whether the digital assistant has previously correctly interpreted similar requests from the user, are also considered in the node selection process.

[0244] 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- or long-term information for each user. In some examples, the natural language processing module 732 uses user-specific information to supplement the information contained in the user input to further refine the user's intent. For example, in response to a user request "Invite my friends to my birthday party," the natural language processing module 732 can access user data 748 to determine who the "friends" are and when and where the "birthday party" will be held, without requiring the user to explicitly provide such information in their request.

[0245] It should be recognized that, in some examples, the natural language processing module 732 is implemented using one or more machine learning agencies (e.g., neural networks). Specifically, the one or more machine learning agencies are configured to receive candidate text representations and contextual information associated with the candidate text representations. Based on the candidate text representations and the associated contextual information, the one or more machine learning agencies are configured to determine an intent confidence score based on a set of candidate executable intents. The natural language processing module 732 can select one or more candidate executable intents from the set of candidate executable intents based on the determined intent confidence score. In some examples, a knowledge ontology (e.g., knowledge ontology 760) is also utilized to select one or more candidate executable intents from the set of candidate executable intents.

[0246] Further details regarding the symbol string-based search of knowledge ontology are described in U.S. Utility Model Patent Application Serial No. 12 / 341,743, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Searching Using An Active Ontology,” filed on December 22, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0247] In some examples, once the natural language processing module 732 identifies an executable intent (or domain) based on a user request, it 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 these parameters are populated with specific information and requirements specified in the user request. For example, a user says, “Reserve a table at a sushi restaurant for 7 pm.” 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 for the “restaurant reservation” domain includes parameters such as {cuisine}, {time}, {date}, {number of people}, 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 partially structured query for the restaurant reservation domain, where the partially structured query includes the parameters {cuisine = “sushi”} and {time = “7 pm”}. However, in this example, the user's utterance contains insufficient information to complete a structured query associated with the domain. Therefore, based on the currently available information, no other necessary parameters such as {number of people at the party} and {date} are specified in the structured query. In some examples, the natural language processing module 732 uses the received context information to populate some parameters of the structured query. For example, in some examples, if a user requests a "nearby" sushi restaurant, the natural language processing module 732 uses GPS coordinates from the user's device to populate the {location} parameter in the structured query.

[0248] In some examples, the Natural Language Processing (NLP) module 732 identifies multiple candidate executable intents for each candidate text representation received from the STT processing module 730. Additionally, in some examples, a corresponding structured query (partially or entirely) is generated for each identified candidate executable intent. The NLP module 732 determines an intent confidence score for each candidate executable intent and ranks the candidate executable intents based on the intent confidence scores. In some examples, the NLP module 732 transmits one or more of the generated 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 intents 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 intents, along with corresponding one or more candidate text representations, are provided to the task flow processing module 736.

[0249] Further details regarding the inference of user intent based on multiple candidate executable intents determined from multiple candidate text representations of speech input are described in U.S. Utility Model Patent Application 14 / 298,725, filed June 6, 2014, entitled “System and Method for Inferring UserIntent From Speech Inputs,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0250] Task flow processing module 736 is configured to receive one or more structured queries from 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 task flow model 754. In some examples, task flow model 754 includes processes for obtaining additional information from the user, and task flows for performing actions associated with executable intentions.

[0251] As described above, to complete a structured query, the task flow processing module 736 needs to initiate additional dialogue with the user to obtain additional information and / or clarify potentially ambiguous statements. When such interaction is necessary, the task flow processing module 736 invokes the dialogue flow processing module 734 to participate in the dialogue with the user. In some examples, the dialogue flow processing module 734 determines how (and / or when) to request additional information from the user and receives and processes the user's response. The I / O processing module 728 presents questions to the user and receives answers from the user. In some examples, the dialogue flow processing module 734 presents dialogue output to the user via audible and / or visual output and receives input from the user via verbal or physical (e.g., click) responses. Continuing with the above example, when the task flow processing module 736 invokes the dialogue flow processing module 734 to determine the "party size" and "date" information for a 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 presents them to the user. Once a response is received from the user, the dialogue flow processing module 734 either fills 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.

[0252] Once the task flow processing module 736 has completed a structured query for the executable intent, it begins executing 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 based on 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 the restaurant and actually requesting a reservation for a specific number of people at a specific time for a specific party. For example, using a structured query such as: {restaurant reservation, restaurant = ABC Cafe, date = 3 / 12 / 2012, time = 7pm, number of people = 5}, the task flow processing module 736 can perform the following steps: (1) log in to ABC Cafe's server or such The restaurant reservation system, (2) inputs date, time and party number information on the website, (3) submits the form, and (4) creates a calendar entry for the reservation in the user's calendar.

[0253] In some examples, task flow processing module 736, with the assistance of service processing module 738 (“service processing module”), completes the task requested in the user input or provides the informational answer requested in the user input. For example, service processing module 738, on behalf of task flow processing module 736, initiates a phone call, sets a calendar entry, invokes a map search, invokes or interacts with other user applications installed on the user's device, and invokes or interacts with third-party services (e.g., restaurant reservation portals, social networking sites, bank portals, etc.). In some examples, the protocols and application programming interfaces (APIs) required for each service are specified through the corresponding service model in service model 756. Service processing module 738 accesses the appropriate service model for a service and, based on the service model, generates a request for that service according to the protocols and APIs required by that service.

[0254] For example, if a restaurant has enabled an online reservation service, it submits a service model that specifies the necessary parameters for making a reservation and the values ​​of those parameters to be sent to the online reservation service's API. 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 reservation parameters (e.g., time, date, number of party members) to the online reservation interface in a format appropriate to the online reservation service's API.

[0255] In some examples, the natural language processing module 732, the dialogue flow processing module 734, and the task flow processing module 736 are used together and repeatedly to infer and define the user's intent, obtain information to further clarify and refine the user's intent, and ultimately generate a response (i.e., output to the user, or complete the task) to satisfy the user's intent. The generated response is a dialogue response to the voice input that at least partially satisfies the user's intent. Additionally, in some examples, the generated response is output as voice output. In these examples, the generated response is sent to the speech synthesis processing module 740 (e.g., a speech synthesizer), which processes the generated response to synthesize the dialogue response in speech form. In other examples, the generated response is data content related to satisfying the user's request in the voice input.

[0256] 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 a first structured query of the received structured queries to attempt to complete the first structured query and / or execute one or more tasks or actions represented by the first structured query. In some examples, the first structured query corresponds to the highest-ranking executable intent. In other examples, the first structured query is selected from structured queries received based on a 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 necessary parameters), the task flow processing module 736 may continue to select and process a second structured query from the received structured queries that corresponds to a lower-ranking executable intent. For example, the second structured query may be selected based on the speech recognition confidence score of the corresponding candidate text representation, the intent confidence score of the corresponding candidate executable intent, missing necessary parameters in the first structured query, or any combination thereof.

[0257] The speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured to synthesize speech output for presentation to a user. The speech synthesis processing module 740 synthesizes speech output based on text provided by a 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 audible speech output. The speech synthesis processing module 740 uses any appropriate speech synthesis techniques to generate speech output from text, including but not limited to: concatenation synthesis, unit selection synthesis, diphone synthesis, domain-specific synthesis, formant synthesis, articulation synthesis, Hidden Markov Model (HMM) based synthesis, 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 those words. For example, phoneme strings are associated with words in the generated dialogue response. The phoneme strings are stored in metadata associated with the words. The speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured to directly process the phoneme strings in the metadata to synthesize words in speech form.

[0258] In some examples, instead of using a speech synthesis processing module 740 (or other alternatives), speech synthesis is performed on a remote device (e.g., server system 108), and the synthesized speech is sent to a user device for output to the user. For example, this could occur in some implementations where the output of a digital assistant is generated at the server system. And since server systems typically have greater processing power or more resources than user devices, they are likely to achieve higher quality speech output than client-side synthesis would achieve.

[0259] Additional details regarding digital assistants can be found in U.S. Utility Model Patent Application 12 / 987,982, entitled “Intelligent Automated Assistant,” filed January 10, 2011, and U.S. Utility Model Patent Application 13 / 251,088, entitled “Generating and Processing Task Items That Represent Tasks to Perform,” filed September 30, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0260] 4. Provide voice notifications

[0261] Figures 8A-8C and Figures 9A-9D Exemplary systems and technologies for providing and responding to voice notifications are illustrated. These figures illustrate some exemplary processes discussed below, including... Figures 10A-10E and Figures 11A-11D The processes 1000 and 1100.

[0262] Figure 8A The illustration shows electronic devices that provide output associated with notifications when the user of the device is not speaking, based on some examples. Specifically, in Figure 8A In this scenario, device 800 (e.g., a user's phone) receives a notification. The notification is a text message from the user's mother asking, "Where are you?". Using the techniques discussed below, device 800 determines that the user has not spoken since receiving the text message. For example, device 800 determines that the user has not spoken for a second predetermined period of time after receiving the text message, within a first predetermined period. Therefore, device 800 causes accessory device 810 to provide voice output of the text message. In this way, voice notification output can be provided at appropriate times, such as when the user is not speaking.

[0263] Device 800 may be implemented using, for example, devices 200, 400, or 600 discussed above. In some examples, device 800 includes the components described above. Figures 7A-7C The modules and functions of the digital assistant described herein. In some examples, device 800 includes at least some of the components and functions of system 820 described below. Figure 8A In the example, device 800 is a smartphone. However, device 800 can be any type of device, such as a telephone, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch), television, speaker, vehicle console, or any combination thereof.

[0264] Accessory device 810 is implemented, for example, using device 200, 400, or 600. In some examples, accessory device 810 includes at least some components and functions of system 820 as described below. In some examples, accessory device 810 is a peripheral device of device 800, located outside device 800, and / or has the same user as device 800. In some examples, accessory device 810 is communicatively coupled to device 800 to enable the exchange of data and / or commands between devices (e.g., via Bluetooth and / or any other communication protocol discussed relative to RF circuit 208). Figure 8A In the example, device 810 is a headset (e.g., wireless earbuds). However, device 810 can be any type of device, such as a telephone, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch), television, speaker, vehicle console, or any combination thereof.

[0265] In some examples, accessory device 810 includes one or more controllers (e.g., controller 222), processors (e.g., processor 220), memory (e.g., memory 202), microphones (e.g., microphone 213), audio output components (e.g., earbuds or earpieces), and communication modules and interfaces (e.g., wireless circuitry 714). In some examples, the one or more controllers and / or one or more processors of device 810 have fewer functions than the one or more controllers and / or one or more processors of device 800. For example, the one or more controllers and / or one or more processors of device 810 are better suited for performing limited functions such as audio signal processing, battery management, and wireless communication management.

[0266] In some examples, accessory device 810 cannot operate a digital assistant or can operate a digital assistant with limited capabilities. In some examples, accessory device 810 can operate a digital assistant with full capabilities. Therefore, in some examples, device 810 includes the features described above relative to... Figures 7A-7C At least some of the modules and functions of the digital assistant discussed. For example, device 810 may detect a trigger phrase (e.g., “Hi Siri”) to activate the digital assistant and transmit voice input to other devices (e.g., device 800) for further processing. However, in some examples, device 810 may not perform certain processing tasks, such as automatic speech recognition, intent determination, task flow processing, etc. In some examples, device 810 (e.g., earbuds) may not include a graphical user interface for displaying information, but only an audio interface to facilitate user interaction with the device.

[0267] Figure 8BA system 820 for providing and responding to voice notifications is illustrated according to several examples. In some examples, system 820 is implemented on a standalone computer system (e.g., devices 104, 122, 200, 400, 600, 800, or 810). In some examples, system 820 is distributed across multiple devices (e.g., devices 800 and 810), and the modules and functions of system 820 are divided in any way between devices 800 and 810. In some examples, some of the modules and functions of system 820 are divided into server and client portions, wherein the client portion resides on one or more user devices (e.g., devices 800 and / or 810) and communicates with the server portion (e.g., server systems 108, 900) via one or more networks, for example, as... Figure 1 As shown. System 820 is implemented using hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to perform the principles discussed herein.

[0268] System 820 is exemplary, and thus system 820 may have more or fewer components than those illustrated, may combine two or more components, or may have different component configurations or arrangements. Furthermore, although the following discussion describes functions performed at a single component of system 820, these functions may be performed at other components of system 820, and these functions may be performed at more than one component of system 820.

[0269] System 820 includes a notification module 830. Notification module 830 receives an instruction to notify and causes output (notification output) associated with the notification to be provided. In some examples, the instruction to receive a notification includes receiving (or generating) a notification at an electronic device. For example, in Figure 8A In this example, device 800 receives the text message "Where are you?" from the user's mother. In some examples, the instruction to receive the notification includes receiving an instruction from an external electronic device that receives the notification. For example, when device 800 (here, an external device) receives the notification, device 800 sends a notification instruction to device 810, and device 810 receives the instruction from device 800.

[0270] In some examples, notifications include text messages, email messages, instant messages, emergency alerts, phone / video call notifications, voicemail notifications, application notifications (e.g., notifications provided by applications installed on device 800, such as news notifications, delivery notifications, gate change notifications) or combinations thereof. In some examples, devices 800 and / or 810 generate notifications. Notifications generated by exemplary devices include low battery notifications, software update notifications, etc.

[0271] System 820 includes a sensor module 840. Sensor module 840 includes one or more sensors, such as one or more voice sensors 842 (e.g., microphones) and / or one or more vibration sensors 844 (e.g., bone conduction microphones, accelerometers, gyroscopes, velocity sensors, pressure sensors). In some examples, sensor module 840 acquires one or more data streams from the corresponding one or more sensors based on an instruction received by notification module 830 from the notification module 830. In some examples, sensor module 840 is implemented on device 810 (e.g., device 810 includes one or more voice sensors and / or one or more vibration sensors). In some examples, sensor module 840 (e.g., implemented on device 810) sends (e.g., streams) one or more data streams to device 800, and device 800 acquires one or more data streams. Acquiring one or more data streams allows determination of whether a user is speaking. Determining whether a user is speaking allows notification output to be provided when the user is not speaking. This provides the desired user experience by preventing interruption of the user's experience by voice notification output while the user is speaking.

[0272] In some examples, sensor module 840 simultaneously acquires data streams for a predetermined duration. For example, after receiving a notification instruction, sensor module 840 simultaneously samples data from a microphone and a bone conduction microphone for a predetermined duration (e.g., 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 6 seconds, 7 seconds, 8 seconds, 9 seconds, 10 seconds). Therefore, sensor module 840 can sample data for a predetermined duration (e.g., a time window) to detect user speech within that duration (e.g., to determine if the user is speaking). As described below, in some examples, if user speech is detected within the predetermined duration, no notification output is provided. In some examples, if user speech is not detected within the predetermined duration, notification output is provided. Therefore, the predetermined duration can represent a time window where notification output can be provided.

[0273] System 820 includes a determining module 850. The determining module 850 determines whether to provide notification output based on an instruction received from the notification module 830. In some examples, determining whether to provide notification output includes determining whether the user will be interrupted by the notification output. In some examples, determining whether the user will be interrupted by the notification output includes determining whether the user is speaking. For example, if it is determined that the user is speaking, listening to, for example, media or another person, or otherwise engaging in the activity, then it is determined that the user will be interrupted by the notification output. For example, if it is determined that the user is not speaking, listening, or otherwise engaging in the activity, then it is determined that the user will not be interrupted by the notification output.

[0274] In some examples, determining whether a user will be notified of an output interruption additionally or alternatively includes determining whether the notification is important, time-sensitive, and / or relevant, as discussed below with respect to notification model 854. For example, if the notification is determined to be important, time-sensitive, and / or relevant, it is determined that the user will not be notified of an output interruption. For example, if the notification is determined to be unimportant, without timeliness, and / or irrelevant, it is determined that the user will be notified of an output interruption.

[0275] In some examples, the determining module 850 acquires one or more data streams from the sensor module 840 and determines whether a user is speaking based on processing the acquired one or more data streams. In some examples, the determining module 850 is implemented on device 810, such that device 810 locally processes one or more data streams to determine whether a user is speaking. In some examples, the determining module is implemented on device 800, such that device 810 sends one or more data streams to device 800 and device 800 processes the one or more data streams. In some examples, some functions and components of the determining module 850 are implemented on device 800, while other functions and components are implemented on device 810. For example, device 810 processes some types of data streams (e.g., data streams from a vibration sensor), while device 800 processes other types of data streams (e.g., data streams from a microphone).

[0276] In some examples, the determination module 850 includes a speech detector 852 configured to process the data stream. In some examples, the speech detector 852 includes a speech activity detector (VAD) configured to detect speech in the data stream. In some examples, the speech detector 852 divides the input data stream into frames (e.g., portions) of predetermined lengths (e.g., 25 ms, 50 ms, 100 ms, 200 ms, 300 ms, 400 ms, or 500 ms). In some examples, the speech detector 852 determines whether each frame indicates that a user is speaking (indicating user speech). For example, the speech detector 852 determines the probability of user speech in each frame and / or makes a "yes" or "no" decision regarding the presence of user speech in each frame. In this way, the speech detector 852 can identify the boundaries of user speech in the data stream and determine one or more durations during which the user is speaking or not speaking.

[0277] In some examples, determining that a user is not speaking includes determining that the user is not speaking for a predetermined duration (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, or 5 seconds). In some examples, determining that a user is not speaking includes determining that a portion of the data stream having a predetermined duration indicates no user voice. For example, if the voice detector 852 determines that a 2-second portion of the data stream indicates no user voice, then the determination module 850 determines that the user is not speaking. Therefore, it is advantageous to provide notification output during the pause (or stop) of user voice.

[0278] In some examples, determining that a user is speaking includes determining that the user is speaking within a predetermined duration, such as a time window for acquiring one or more data streams. For example, if the speech detector 852 detects user speech throughout the time window (e.g., the user speech does not pause within the predetermined duration of the time window), then the determination module 850 determines that the user is speaking.

[0279] In some examples, the determination module 850 determines whether a first data stream acquired from a speech sensor (or a portion thereof) indicates user speech. In some examples, determining whether the first data stream indicates user speech includes analyzing time-domain and / or frequency-domain characteristics of the first data stream to determine whether such characteristics indicate human speech. Exemplary time-domain characteristics include zero-crossing rate, short-time energy, spectral energy, spectral flatness, and autocorrelation. Exemplary frequency-domain characteristics include Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, linear predictive cepstral coefficients, and Mel-frequency discrete wavelet coefficients. In addition to analyzing such characteristics, those skilled in the art will understand that any other suitable technique (e.g., comparing the data stream to a human speech model) can be used to determine whether the data stream indicates user speech. For example, the speech detector 852 processes the first data stream to determine that a 2-second portion of the data stream indicates user speech. For example, the speech detector 852 determines that each frame in a consecutive series of frames (with a total duration of 2 seconds) indicates user speech.

[0280] Processing only the first data stream may not always accurately determine whether the user of device 810 is speaking. Specifically, while processing the first data stream can accurately determine whether speech is generally present, such processing may fail to distinguish the user's speech from other speech (e.g., background noise that includes speech). For example, if the user is in a noisy environment (e.g., a coffee shop) and is not speaking, processing only the first data stream may incorrectly lead to the determination that the user is speaking. Therefore, in some examples, a second data stream (e.g., in addition to or alternatively in addition to the first data stream) is processed to determine whether the user is speaking.

[0281] In some examples, the determining module 850 determines whether the second data stream acquired from the vibration sensor (or a portion thereof) indicates user speech. In some examples, determining that the second data stream indicates user speech includes determining that the second data stream indicates vibrations consistent with user speech. For example, when the vibration sensor 844 includes a bone conduction microphone, determining that the second data stream indicates user speech includes determining that the second data stream (e.g., accelerometer data) indicates vibrations consistent with sound conduction through the human skull. For example, the speech detector 852 processes the second data stream to determine that a 2-second portion of the data stream indicates user speech.

[0282] Processing the second data stream allows for a more accurate determination of whether the user of device 810 is speaking. Specifically, the second data stream (e.g., from a bone conduction microphone of device 810) can be more sensitive to the user's voice and less sensitive to background noise. For example, by detecting skull vibrations caused by the user's voice, the bone conduction microphone can produce a relatively strong signal when the user is speaking. However, even in the presence of background noise, the bone conduction microphone may produce a relatively weak signal (or no signal) when the user is not speaking, because the background noise may not cause sufficient vibration of the user's skull.

[0283] In some examples, the determining module 850 determines whether a user is speaking based on a first data stream and a second data stream. For example, if both the first and second data streams (parts thereof) indicate user speech, the data streams may indicate that the user is speaking for a specific duration. Therefore, based on the determination that both the first and second data streams indicate user speech, the determining module 850 determines that the user (e.g., for the specific duration) is speaking. As another example, if the first data stream (or a portion thereof) indicates user speech and the second data stream (or a portion thereof) indicates no user speech, the data streams may indicate background noise rather than user speech. Therefore, based on the determination that the first data stream indicates user speech and the determination that the second data stream indicates no user speech, the determining module 850 determines that the user (e.g., for the specific duration) is not speaking.

[0284] In some examples, the determination module 850 simultaneously acquires and processes the data streams in parallel to determine whether the user is speaking. Therefore, in some examples, portions of the first and second data streams used to determine whether the user is speaking have the same duration and are acquired simultaneously. For example, the speech detector 852 determines that a 2-second first portion of the first data stream indicates user speech. The speech detector 852 simultaneously determines that a 2-second second portion of the second data stream (acquired simultaneously with the first portion) indicates no user speech. Therefore, the speech detector 852 determines that the user did not speak during the 2-second duration (e.g., the detected speech was merely background noise).

[0285] In some examples, the determining module 850 determines that a portion of the data stream indicating user speech has a duration less than a threshold duration (e.g., 0.5 seconds, 0.4 seconds, 0.3 seconds, 0.2 seconds, 0.1 seconds). In some examples, based on this determination, the determining module 850 determines that the user was not speaking (e.g., during that duration). This prevents brief sensor signals from being misinterpreted as user speech. For example, short sounds generated by the user of device 810 (e.g., coughing, sneezing, clearing the throat, etc.) may cause a short portion of the second data stream (e.g., from a vibration sensor) to indicate user speech. However, because these portions may have a duration less than the threshold duration, they will not be misinterpreted as user speech. For example, the voice detector 852 determines that within a 2-second portion of the second data stream, a 0.3-second portion indicates user speech (e.g., the user sneezes), while the remainder of the 2-second portion indicates no user speech. However, because the duration of the 0.3-second portion is less than the threshold duration, the voice detector 852 determines that the user was not speaking during the 0.3-second portion. Therefore, the voice detector 852 determined that the user was not speaking during the entire 2-second segment.

[0286] In some examples, the determination module 850 only determines whether to provide output associated with the current (e.g., most recent) notification. For example, if the determination module 850 determines that the user is speaking during a time window after the notification is received, then no notification output is provided later after that time window. For example, the determination module 850 does not acquire one or more data streams after the time window to determine again whether to provide notification output. In some examples, the determination module 850 acquires one or more data streams again to determine whether to provide output associated with a subsequent notification when an indication is received for a subsequent notification.

[0287] In other examples, the determining module 850 determines (e.g., re-determines) whether to provide output associated with the previous notification (the previous notification output). In some examples, the determining module 850 determines whether to provide the previous notification output based on the notification module 830 receiving an indication of a subsequent (e.g., current) notification. In some examples, the determining module 850 determines whether to provide the previous notification output if the previous notification has a high relevance score, as discussed below with respect to notification model 854. In some examples, the previous notification output is provided along with the current notification output. Thus, if the previous notification output was not initially provided (e.g., the user was speaking when the previous notification was received (or shortly thereafter), it can be provided later along with the current notification output.

[0288] Providing previous notification output may be desirable for a variety of reasons. For example, if the previous notification is short (e.g., a short text message), it may be desirable to provide previous notification output to quickly inform the user of all unread messages. Therefore, in some examples, the determining module 850 determines whether the length of the previous notification (e.g., word count, audio length) is below a threshold length. In some examples, if the length is determined to be below the threshold length, the determining module 850 determines whether to provide previous notification output according to the techniques discussed herein.

[0289] For example, it might be desirable to provide the output of a previous notification to provide context for the current notification output. For instance, if a previous message from the sender said "Let's have dinner together," and a current message from the same sender says "Let's go to an Italian restaurant," then both messages might be expected to be output. Therefore, in some examples, the determining module 850 determines whether a previous notification is relevant to the current notification. In some examples, if a previous notification is determined to be relevant to the current notification, the determining module 850 determines whether to provide the output of the previous notification according to the techniques discussed herein.

[0290] Exemplary factors used to determine whether a previous notification is related to the current notification include the sender of the notification (e.g., whether the notification came from the same sender), the time of the notification (e.g., whether the notification was received within a short period of time), the content of the notification (e.g., whether the notification is related to the same topic), and whether the previous notification has been output (e.g., read). For example, the determination module 850 determines that the text message “Let’s go to an Italian restaurant” is related to the previous text message “Let’s have dinner together” because the messages came from the same sender, were received within a short period of time (e.g., 1 minute), and / or were related to the dining topic. Therefore, if the previous notification output (“Let’s have dinner together”) was not initially provided, the previous notification output may subsequently be provided along with the current notification output (“Let’s go to an Italian restaurant”). For example, after receiving the message “Let’s go to an Italian restaurant”, the user is determined to be not speaking, and the notification outputs “Let’s have dinner together” and “Let’s go to an Italian restaurant” are provided successively.

[0291] In some examples, based on the determination that the user is not speaking, notification module 830 causes to provide notification output. In some examples, causing to provide notification output includes using the speaker of an electronic device to provide the output (e.g., device 810 uses a speaker to provide the output). In some examples, causing to provide notification output includes causing an external electronic device to provide the output (e.g., notification module 830 causes device 810 to provide the output). In some examples, the output includes audio output, displayed output (e.g., text output), haptic output, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the notification output includes the content of the notification (e.g., text content, audio content, video content). In some examples, the notification output does not include the content of the notification, but instead includes audio prompts, haptic prompts, and / or visual cues (e.g., ringtones, vibrations, and / or displayed icons).

[0292] exist Figure 8A In this scenario, the user is determined to be silent. Specifically, within a 7-second time window following the receipt of the text message, a 2-second duration is determined to be without user voice. During this duration, device 810 provides the audio output "Mom said 'Where are you?'"

[0293] In some examples, based on determining that the user is speaking, the notification module 830 refrains from providing notification output (e.g., output including notification content). In some examples, based on determining that the user is speaking, the notification module 830 causes (e.g., at device 810) to provide a second output associated with the notification. In some examples, the duration of the second output is shorter than the duration of the output that would be provided if the user is not speaking. For example, the output provided to a currently speaking user includes short sounds, such as a ringing, whistling, or chiming. In contrast, the output provided to a currently non-speaking user includes, for example, the entire content of the notification (e.g., text and / or audio content). Thus, the notification output can be appropriately adjusted based on whether the user is speaking.

[0294] Figure 8C The illustration shows electronic devices that provide output associated with notifications while the user of the device is speaking, based on some examples. Specifically, in Figure 8C In the example, device 800 receives a text message from the user's mother. Device 800 sends an indication of the received notification to device 810, and in response, device 810 samples the data stream from the microphone and vibration sensor within a 7-second time window. This is determined based on the data stream of the user speaking during the time window (e.g., no 2-second pauses in the user's speech within the 7-second window). Therefore, device 810 abandons outputting the content of the text message while the user is speaking. Instead, as shown, device 810 provides a short "ding" sound to alert the user to the text message.

[0295] In some examples, notification module 830 causes notification output to be provided for a maximum duration (e.g., 10 seconds, 20 seconds, or 30 seconds). In some examples, notification module 830 terminates the provision of notification output after the maximum duration has elapsed. This prevents device 810 from providing notification output for an unintended long duration. For example, if device 800 receives a message containing the text of an entire novel, device 810 does not provide audio output of the entire novel.

[0296] In some examples, when notification module 830 causes to provide the current notification output (e.g., when device 810 provides notification output), notification module 830 receives an indication for a second (e.g., subsequent) notification. For example, when device 810 outputs “Mom said 'Where are you?'”, device 800 receives a subsequent notification, a text message from Carly asking “What’s for dinner?”. In some examples, based on the received indication for the subsequent notification, notification module 830 causes to provide an output associated with the subsequent notification (subsequent notification output) after providing the current notification output. For example, device 810 provides the voice output “Carly said 'What’s for dinner?’” after providing the voice output “Mom said 'Where are you?'”.

[0297] In some examples, subsequent notification output is provided even when it is uncertain whether the user is speaking. In other examples, subsequent notification output is provided only after it is determined that the user is not speaking. In some examples, only a predetermined number (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or 5) of subsequent notification outputs are provided and / or only for a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 seconds, 20 seconds, or 30 seconds). This prevents device 810 from providing notification output for an unexpectedly long duration (e.g., if the user of device 810 is a particularly active member of a group chat).

[0298] In some examples, notification module 830 determines whether a notification has already been prompted to the user. In some examples, based on the determination that a notification has already been prompted to the user, notification module 830 refrains from causing (e.g., at device 810) to provide output associated with the notification. For example, notification module 830 does not cause sensor module 840 and / or determination module 850 to acquire one or more data streams and determine whether the user is speaking. In this way, the same notification is not repeatedly provided.

[0299] In some examples, determining whether a user has been prompted with a notification includes determining that an external electronic device has provided output associated with the notification. For example, notification module 830 determines that a computer (outside devices 800 and 810) has (e.g., via a display) provided the text message “Where are you?”. In some examples, based on determining that an external electronic device has provided output associated with the notification, notification module 830 refrains from providing further output associated with the notification. For example, notification module 830 does not cause device 810 to output “Mom said 'Where are you?'”.

[0300] In some examples, determining whether a user has been notified includes determining that the user has interacted with the notification on the electronic device. In some examples, determining that the user has interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has selected the notification (e.g., selected a message), listened to the notification (e.g., listened to a voicemail), deleted the notification, replied to the notification, viewed the notification (e.g., was viewing and / or touching device 800 when the notification was received), etc. For example, notification module 830 determines that the user has selected the text message “Where are you?” on device 800. In some examples, based on determining that the user has interacted with the notification, notification module 830 abandons the provision of output associated with the notification.

[0301] return Figure 8B System 820 also includes a termination module 860. Termination module 860 is configured to terminate (e.g., stop) the provision of notification output in response to various user inputs. Therefore, a user can quickly terminate unwanted notification output at device 810 using the techniques discussed below.

[0302] In some examples, when device 810 provides notification output, termination module 860 (e.g., implemented on device 810) detects voice input. In some examples, detecting voice input includes determining that the user is speaking according to the techniques discussed herein. In some examples, in response to detecting voice input, termination module 860 causes device 810 to stop providing notification output. Thus, the user can quickly stop unwanted notification output by speaking to device 810.

[0303] In some examples, when device 810 provides notification output, termination module 860 detects a signal instructing the device to be removed. For example, one or more accelerometers of device 810 detect a signal instructing the removal of device 810 from the user's ear and send that signal to termination module 860. In some examples, in response to the detection of such a signal, termination module 860 causes device 810 to stop providing notification output. Thus, the user can quickly stop unwanted notification output by removing device 810 from the user's ear (or from another location occupied by device 810).

[0304] In some examples, when device 810 provides output associated with a notification, termination module 860 detects a predetermined gesture performed at the device. Exemplary predetermined gestures include tap gestures, double-tap gestures, single-finger swipe gestures, two-finger swipe gestures, etc. In some examples, termination module 860 uses one or more pressure sensors, one or more touch sensors, and / or one or more accelerometers included in device 810 to detect such gestures. In some examples, in response to detecting a predetermined gesture, termination module 860 causes device 810 to stop providing notification output. Thus, a user can quickly stop unwanted notification output by performing a gesture (e.g., double-tap) at device 810.

[0305] As discussed, one aspect of this disclosure relates to determining whether to provide notification output by determining whether the user is speaking. However, whether the user is speaking may only be one of many factors considered in determining whether to provide notification output. For example, as described below, determining whether to provide notification output may alternatively or additionally be based on the importance of the determined notification (e.g., its urgency) and / or the timeliness of the determined notification (e.g., whether now is a good time to provide notification output).

[0306] In some examples, the determination module 850 includes a notification model 854. In some examples, the notification model 854 is configured to determine the importance and / or timeliness of a notification based on techniques discussed below. In some examples, the notification model 854 includes one or more neural networks (e.g., regressive neural networks (RNNs), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), etc.) and / or other machine learning models trained to determine the importance and / or timeliness of a notification.

[0307] In some examples, notification model 854 determines an importance score for the notification, representing its significance. In some examples, notification model 854 determines the importance score based on contextual information associated with the notification (notification context). Exemplary notification context includes the sender of the notification, whether the user has previously received a notification from the sender, previous user responses to notifications from the sender, the time of the notification, the content of the notification, the relevance of the notification to previous notifications, the length of the notification, the type of notification (e.g., text message, email, application notification), the relevance of the notification to the user's current context, the user's notification settings, etc. In some examples, notification model 854 determines such contextual information and uses such contextual information (or a combination of such contextual information) to determine and / or adjust the importance score of the notification.

[0308] For example, if notification model 854 determines that the sender of the notification is the user's favorite contact (e.g., the user's mother), the importance score of the notification is increased (e.g., above a threshold). Conversely, if notification model 854 determines that the sender of the notification is not the user's favorite contact (e.g., an unknown source, a spam provider blocked by the user), the importance score of the notification is decreased (e.g., below a threshold). Furthermore, notification model 854 performs content and / or sentiment analysis on the content of the notification to determine its importance score. For example, if sentiment and / or content analysis indicates that the notification is urgent (e.g., including words such as "now," "important," "urgent"), the importance score of the notification is increased. Similarly, if notification model 854 determines that the notification is related to a previous notification (e.g., the notification is related to the same topic and / or comes from the same sender), the importance score of the notification is increased. Finally, if notification model 854 determines that the length of the notification is short (e.g., below a threshold number of words, less than a threshold time), the importance score of the notification is increased. For example, if notification model 854 determines that the type of notification is a predetermined type (e.g., text message), the importance score of the notification is increased. Conversely, if notification model 854 determines that the type of notification is not a predetermined type (e.g., email, application notification), the importance score of the notification is decreased.

[0309] For example, notification model 854 performs content analysis on notifications to determine whether the notification is relevant to the user's current context (e.g., current location, current activity, etc.). For instance, if the user's current context indicates that he or she is waiting for a flight (e.g., determined by the user's location and / or calendar data) and the notification is determined to be flight-related (e.g., including gate change information), the notification's importance score is increased. Similarly, if the user's current context indicates that he or she is in a fitness session (e.g., determined based on the fitness app being launched), and the notification is determined to be fitness-related (e.g., including information related to calories burned), the notification's importance score is increased. Furthermore, if the user's notification settings indicate a preference for specific types of notifications (e.g., text messages), the importance scores for those types of notifications are increased.

[0310] In some examples, notification model 854 determines whether the importance score of a notification exceeds (or does not exceed) one or more thresholds. For example, an importance score below the lower threshold (low importance score) indicates that the corresponding notification is not important, while an importance score above the upper threshold (high importance score) indicates that the corresponding notification is important. In some examples, notification model 854 causes notification module 830 to provide notification-related output based on determining that the importance score of a notification exceeds a threshold. For example, in Figure 8AIn the text message from the user’s mother asking “Where are you?”, the message was determined to have a high importance score because (1) the user’s mother is the user’s favorite contact and / or (2) the user had previously received a notification from his mother.

[0311] In some examples, notification model 854 determines a timeliness score for a notification that represents its timeliness. In some examples, notification model 854 determines the timeliness score based on contextual information associated with the user (user context). Exemplary user context includes the user's location, user notification settings, device settings (e.g., low power mode, do not disturb mode), user travel rate, the user's current activity (e.g., driving, turning while driving, in a meeting, in a fitness session, listening to music, watching a movie), user state (e.g., sleeping, awake), how long ago the user last stopped providing notification output (as discussed above), whether the user is speaking (as discussed above), whether another device provided notification output, whether the user is in a conversation, etc. In some examples, notification model 854 determines such contextual information and uses such contextual information (or a combination of such contextual information) to determine and / or adjust the timeliness score of the notification.

[0312] For example, if notification model 854 determines that device 800 is in Do Not Disturb mode, the timeliness score of the notification is reduced (e.g., below a threshold). Similarly, if notification model 854 determines that the user is currently engaged in a first set of predetermined activities (e.g., in a meeting determined by calendar data, or in a fitness session determined by a fitness application that is being launched), the timeliness score of the notification is reduced. Similarly, if notification model 854 determines that the user is currently engaged in a second set of predetermined activities (e.g., listening to music), the timeliness score of the notification is increased (e.g., above a threshold). Similarly, if it is determined that the user recently (e.g., before a predetermined duration) terminated a previous notification output, the timeliness score of the notification is reduced. Similarly, if it is determined that the user is speaking (as discussed above), the timeliness score of the notification is reduced. Similarly, if it is determined that the user is not speaking, the timeliness score of the notification is increased.

[0313] For example, notification model 854 collects and analyzes information from one or more sensors in sensor module 840 and determines whether the information indicates that the user is engaged in conversation. For instance, notification model 854 determines the time when the user is speaking or not speaking, based on the techniques discussed above, and determines whether that time coincides with a user conversation (e.g., a duration with alternating user speech cycles and periods without user speech cycles). For instance, notification model 854 determines whether the direction of a sound is directed towards the user, whether the sound includes human speech, and / or the proximity of the sound source. In some examples, notification model 854 collects and analyzes information before, during, or after receiving a notification (e.g., within a predetermined duration) or regardless of whether a notification is received (e.g., continuously collecting information). In some examples, if the information indicates that the user is engaged in conversation, the timeliness score of the notification is improved. In some examples, if the information indicates that the user is not engaged in conversation, the timeliness score of the notification is reduced.

[0314] In some examples, notification model 854 determines whether a notification's timeliness score exceeds (or does not exceed) one or more thresholds. For example, a timeliness score below a lower threshold (low timeliness score) indicates that the corresponding notification is not very timely, while a timeliness score above an upper threshold (high timeliness score) indicates that the corresponding notification is very timely. In some examples, notification model 854 causes notification module 830 to provide notification-related output based on determining that the notification's timeliness score exceeds a threshold.

[0315] In some examples, notification model 854 determines the relevance score of a notification based on its timeliness score and / or importance score. Therefore, in some examples, notification model 854 combines the determined importance score and timeliness score of a notification to determine whether a summary relevance score (e.g., indicating the current relevance of the notification) should be provided. For example, a relevance score above a threshold (high relevance score) indicates that a corresponding notification output should be provided, while a relevance score below the threshold (low relevance score) indicates that a corresponding notification output should not be provided. Therefore, in some examples, notification model 854 causes notification module 830 to provide output associated with the notification based on determining that the notification's relevance score exceeds a threshold. Determining the relevance score based on both the importance score and the timeliness score improves the decision on when to provide notification output. For example, an unwanted notification from a spam provider might be determined to be time-sensitive (e.g., the user is not in a meeting) but not important. Therefore, the relevance score of the unwanted notification is determined to be low, and no spam message output is provided.

[0316] In some examples, notification model 854 includes training module 856. Training module 856 is configured to train notification model 854 to determine whether a notification is important, timely, and / or relevant (e.g., determining an importance score, a timeliness score, and / or a relevance score). In some examples, training module 856 uses data obtained from a large number of users to train notification model 854. In some examples, such data indicates appropriate (and / or inappropriate) user context for providing notification output. For example, such data indicates that users typically do not want notification output during a meeting and / or typically want notification output while listening to music. Therefore, training notification model 854 using data obtained from a large number of users allows for improved determination of notification scores (e.g., importance score, timeliness score, relevance score). For example, notification model 854 is trained to determine a high timeliness score for a notification when it is determined that a user is listening to music (e.g., because the training data indicates that most users want notification output while listening to music).

[0317] In some examples, training module 856 uses data acquired for specific users (e.g., users of devices 800 and 810) to train notification model 854. In some examples, such data indicates appropriate (and / or inappropriate) user context for providing notification output to a specific user. Therefore, training notification model 854 using such data allows for personalized determination of whether to provide notification output. For example, if such data indicates that a user of device 800 does not want notification output while listening to music, notification model 854 is trained to determine a low timeliness score for the notification when it is determined that the user is listening to music.

[0318] In some examples, training module 856 collects user engagement data and uses this data to train notification model 854. User engagement data includes data related to user interaction with notifications (and / or notification outputs) at devices 800 and / or 810. For example, user engagement data indicates whether a user has interacted with a notification (e.g., responded to a notification, deleted a notification, rejected a notification) and / or whether a user has stopped notification output. Training notification model 854 using user engagement data improves the decision on whether to provide notification output to a particular user.

[0319] For example, suppose notification model 854 determines, based on contextual information, that no notification output should be provided (e.g., determining a low relevance score for the notification). However, user engagement data collected by training module 856 indicates that a user has interacted with the notification (e.g., replied to the notification). This could indicate that notification model 854 should have determined, based on contextual information, to provide notification output (e.g., should have determined a high relevance score). Therefore, based on such user engagement data, notification model 854 is trained to determine a high relevance score for subsequent notifications associated with a context that matches (or is similar to) that context. Thus, device 810 can provide notification output for the desired subsequent notification.

[0320] For example, suppose notification model 854 determines, based on contextual information, that a notification output should be provided (e.g., determining a high relevance score for the notification). Therefore, device 810 provides the notification output. However, user engagement data collected by training module 856 indicates that the user terminated the notification output when device 810 provided it. This could indicate that notification model 854 should not have yet determined to provide the notification output based on contextual information (e.g., a low relevance score should have been determined). Therefore, based on this user engagement data, notification model 854 is trained to determine a low relevance score for subsequent notifications associated with a context that matches (or is similar to) that context. Thus, device 810 may not provide notification output for unwanted subsequent notifications.

[0321] In some examples, a notification score (e.g., importance score, timeliness score, relevance score) influences whether it is determined that a user is speaking. For example, when notification module 830 receives an indication of a notification, notification model 854 determines the notification score. In some examples, it is uncertain whether a user is speaking based on a notification score below a threshold. For example, sensor module 840 does not acquire one or more data streams, and determination module 850 is uncertain whether one or more data streams indicate user speech. In some examples, it is determined whether a user is speaking based on a notification score above a threshold, as discussed above. Thus, in some examples, only highly relevant notifications cause device 800 and / or 810 to acquire data streams to determine whether a user is speaking (and thus whether to provide notification output).

[0322] In some examples, the relevance score of a notification influences how it is determined whether a user is speaking. For example, the time window for acquiring a data stream is based on a determined relevance score of the notification. For example, sensor module 840 adjusts the time window based on the determined relevance score of the notification. For example, if the relevance score of the notification is high (e.g., compared to a low relevance score), sensor module 840 extends the time window. This extends the time window from which highly relevant notification output can be provided, which in turn increases the chance of providing such notification output. As another example, the predetermined duration for determining whether a user is not speaking is based on a determined relevance score of the notification. For example, determination module 850 adjusts the predetermined duration based on the relevance score of the notification. For example, if the relevance score of the notification is high (e.g., compared to a low relevance score), determination module 850 shortens the predetermined duration. This allows highly relevant notification output to be provided during shorter pauses in the user's speech, thereby increasing the chance of providing such output.

[0323] In some examples, the notification score influences how the notification output is provided. For instance, notification output may be provided with different volumes, speeds, pitches, colors, fonts, sizes, and versions (e.g., including only the notification source and / or a shorter version including only the first sentence of the notification). For example, if the notification score is determined to be high, the notification module 830 causes the provided notification output to have a higher volume and / or to provide the entire content of the notification. Conversely, if the notification score is determined to be low, the notification module 830 causes the provided notification output to have a lower volume and / or to provide a shorter version of the notification output (e.g., only the sender's name).

[0324] In some examples, the notification's score influences when the notification output is provided. For instance, if a notification's importance score is high, but its current timeliness score is low, the notification module 830 waits until the timeliness score is high before providing the notification output. This allows the notification module 830 to wait an appropriate amount of time to provide important notification output. For example, if a user is currently in a meeting and receives an important notification, the notification model 854 determines that the notification's timeliness score is low. However, after the user finishes the meeting, the notification model 854 determines that the timeliness score is now high. The notification module 830 therefore ensures that the notification output is provided after the meeting. As another example, if a user is currently speaking and receives an important notification, the notification model 854 determines that the notification's timeliness score is low (e.g., because the user is speaking). However, when the user is not speaking, the notification model 854 determines that the timeliness score is now high. Therefore, the notification module 830 ensures that the notification output is provided when the user finishes speaking.

[0325] 5. Respond to voice notifications

[0326] Figure 9A A flowchart illustrating the process of responding to voice notifications, based on some examples, is shown. Figure 9A In this context, devices 810, 800, and digital assistant (DA) server 900 interact to respond to voice notifications. In some examples, DA server 900 uses the above-mentioned... Figure 1 The digital assistant server 106 discussed is used for implementation. In some examples, devices 810 and 800 are client devices and communicate with the DA server 900 and / or with each other via one or more networks, for example, Figure 1 As shown.

[0327] While some of the processes described below are performed by specific devices (e.g., devices 800, 810, 900), such processes may be performed at other devices, and may be performed at more than one device (e.g., at devices 800 and 900). Furthermore, the following processes may be performed by any system or device or component thereof described herein, including but not limited to device 800, device 810, DA server 900, and / or system 820.

[0328] In some examples, this is made possible (e.g., by notification module 830) by providing output (notification output) associated with the received notification. For example, as Figure 9A As shown, device 810 (e.g., using a device speaker) provides notification output. In some examples, device 800 causes device 810 to provide notification output.

[0329] Figure 9B A device 810 providing notification output is shown according to some examples. Specifically, in Figure 9B In this scenario, device 800 (e.g., the user's phone) receives a text message from the user's mother asking, "Where are you?". Device 800 then uses the techniques discussed above to enable device 810 to provide the audio output, "Mom said 'Where are you?'".

[0330] Back Figure 9A In some examples, after providing notification output, one or more data streams are acquired from one or more sensors (e.g., via sensor module 840). For example, as Figure 9A As shown, device 810 acquires one or more data streams from one or more sensors included in device 810. In some examples, such as Figure 9A As shown, device 810 sends (e.g., streams) one or more data streams to device 800, and device 800 acquires one or more data streams.

[0331] In some examples, at least a portion of one or more data streams includes data representing received voice input requesting the performance of a task associated with the notification. Therefore, acquiring one or more data streams allows a user to respond to the notification output. For example, when the notification output is “Mom said 'Where are you?'”, data representing received voice input “Reply I’m at home” can be acquired. The voice input can then be processed to perform the task of replying to the user’s mother.

[0332] Figure 9C The diagram shows users responding to notification outputs based on some examples. Specifically, in Figure 9C In the process, after device 810 provides the audio output "Mom said 'Where are you?'", the user provides the voice input "Reply I'm at home". Device 810 acquires one or more data streams including data representing the voice input.

[0333] In some examples, voice input does not include a trigger phrase for activating the digital assistant (e.g., "wake up," "hey Siri," "hey assistant," etc.). This allows users to respond efficiently to notification outputs without needing to activate the digital assistant using a trigger phrase.

[0334] In some examples, acquiring a data stream includes simultaneously acquiring data streams for a predetermined duration. Therefore, the predetermined duration may represent a time window during which device 810 listens for voice input in response to a notification output. For example, if no user voice is detected during the time window, device 810 stops listening for voice input (e.g., stops acquiring one or more data streams).

[0335] In some examples, sensor module 840 adjusts the time window based on the notification. For instance, if (e.g., via notification model 854) it determines that the score (e.g., relevance score) of a notification is high, sensor module 840 extends that time window (e.g., compared to a case where the score is low). This can advantageously extend the time window during which a user can respond to a relevant notification (e.g., because the user may expect to respond to a relevant notification). As another example, if notification model 854 determines that the length of a notification exceeds a threshold (e.g., the notification contains more than the threshold number of words), sensor module 840 extends that time window. This can extend the time window during which a user can respond to a long notification (e.g., because the user may take longer to respond to a long notification).

[0336] In some examples (e.g., by determining module 850), it is determined whether a user associated with an electronic device (e.g., devices 800 and 810) is speaking based on one or more acquired data streams. According to the above relative to... Figures 8A-8CAny of the techniques discussed can be used to determine whether a user is speaking. For example, determining whether a user is speaking includes determining whether a data stream acquired from a vibration sensor (e.g., a bone conduction microphone) indicates user speech within a predetermined duration (e.g., 0.2 seconds, 0.3 seconds, 0.4 seconds, or 0.5 seconds). Figure 9A As shown, in some examples, device 800 determines whether a user is speaking based on one or more data streams acquired from device 810. In other examples, device 810 determines whether a user is speaking (e.g., the determination module 850 is implemented at least partially on device 810). Figure 9C In the example, the system determines that the user is speaking based on the voice input "Reply that I am at home".

[0337] In some examples, based on the determination that a user is speaking, at least a portion of one or more acquired data streams is provided to an external electronic device. In some examples, the external electronic device is located outside the device that determines the user is speaking. In some examples, this portion includes a data stream acquired from a voice sensor (e.g., a microphone). In some examples, this portion includes data representing received voice input requesting the performance of a task associated with the notification (e.g., “Reply: I’m at home”). Exemplary tasks associated with the notification include replying to the notification, forwarding the notification, deleting the notification, marking the notification as important, calling the sender of the notification, repeating the notification, marking the notification as read / unread, retrieving information about the notification (e.g., sender, time), etc.

[0338] In some examples, the external electronic device is the DA server 900. For example, such as... Figure 9A As shown, device 800 (e.g., via one or more networks, such as...) Figure 1 The device 800 provides data representing received voice input (e.g., received from device 810) to the DA server 900. The DA server 900 then receives data from the device 800. In some examples, the external electronic device is device 800. For example, device 810 provides data representing received voice input to device 800, and device 800 receives the data. In some examples, device 800 also sends data to a second external electronic device (e.g., DA server 900).

[0339] Providing data representing received voice input to external electronic devices allows the voice input to be processed to initiate a task associated with the notification. For example, as described below, device 800 and / or DA server 900 process the voice input “Reply I’m at home” to initiate a task to reply to the user’s mother. Furthermore, providing such data based on determining that the user is speaking prevents audio data (e.g., background voice) acquired by user device 800 and / or 810 from being sent to other devices (e.g., DA server 900) when the user is not speaking. Operating user device 800 and / or 810 in this way improves user privacy because audio data acquired at the user device is not automatically sent to other devices. Instead, audio data is only sent when it instructs the user to speak (e.g., requesting to perform a task associated with the notification output).

[0340] In some examples, based on the determination that the user is not speaking, one or more data streams are abandoned from being provided to external electronic devices. In some examples, determining that the user is not speaking, according to the techniques discussed above, includes determining that one or more data streams indicate that there is no user voice for a predetermined duration (e.g., a time window during which device 810 listens for voice input in response to a notification output). In some examples, based on the determination that the user is not speaking, one or more data streams are discarded (e.g., by devices 800 and / or 810). Operating devices 800 and / or 810 in this manner improves user privacy. Specifically, as discussed, audio data acquired at user devices 800 and / or 810 may be sent to other devices only if the data indicates user voice. If the audio data indicates no user voice, the data may be discarded.

[0341] In some examples, it is determined whether the voice input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with the notification. In some examples, such determination includes determining the intent based on the voice input and determining whether the intent is an intent to perform an action associated with the notification. In some examples, one or more intents to perform an action associated with the notification are predetermined based on the type and / or content of the notification. For example, message notifications (e.g., text messages, instant messages, emails) have corresponding intents such as replying to the notification, forwarding the notification, deleting the notification, marking the notification as important, calling the sender of the notification, repeating the notification, marking the notification as read / unread, retrieving information about the notification (e.g., sender, time), etc. However, intents such as retrieving weather information and performing a web search are not corresponding intents for message notifications. As another example, weather notifications (e.g., provided by a weather application) have corresponding intents such as retrieving more weather information (e.g., associated with the voice input “What’s the weather like there on Thursday?”). However, the intent to reply to a message is not corresponding to the intent for a weather notification. Figure 9CIn the example, it is determined that the voice input “reply 'I am at home'” is associated with the intent to perform the action associated with the message notification “Where are you?”

[0342] In some examples, such as Figure 9A As shown, DA server 900 (e.g., using natural language processing module 732) determines whether the voice input is associated with an intent to perform an action related to the notification. In other examples, device 800 and / or 810 (e.g., using natural language processing module 732 implemented on device 800 and / or 810) determines whether the voice input is associated with an intent to perform an action related to the notification.

[0343] In some examples, a task is initiated based on an intent determined to be associated with the voice input and to perform an action related to the notification. In some examples, task initiation includes performing a task (e.g., replying to the user's mother, "I'm home"). In some examples, a task is initiated based on a determined intent (e.g., determined based on the voice input). For example, a task is initiated to reply to a text message asking "Where are you?" based on a determined intent to reply to a notification. In some examples, such as... Figure 9A As shown, DA server 900 (e.g., using task flow processing module 736) initiates the task. In other examples, devices 800 and / or 810 (e.g., using task flow processing module 736 implemented on devices 800 and / or 810) initiate the task.

[0344] Initiating tasks in this way allows only tasks related to the provided notification output to be initiated. For example, suppose device 810 provides the notification output "Mom said 'Where are you?'" Figure 9C In this device, a user asks a friend, "What's the weather like?" The voice input "What's the weather like?" is directed to the user's friend, not the digital assistant. While the voice input can still be processed to determine the intent, the determined intent (e.g., to get weather information) is not the intent to perform the action associated with the notification output. Therefore, no task based on that intent is initiated, and no result based on that task is provided to the user. For example, device 810 will not respond to the user asking a friend "What's the weather like?" by unexpectedly outputting "45 degrees and it's raining."

[0345] In some examples, an indication that a task has been initiated is received. In some examples, device 800 receives an indication that a task has been initiated from DA server 900. For example, DA server 900 generates an indication that a task has been initiated (e.g., an instruction to perform a task, such as replying to a text message). In some examples, such as... Figure 9A As shown, DA server 900 sends an indication to device 800 that a task has been initiated. In some examples, based on relative to... Figures 7A-7CIn the technology discussed, device 800 performs a task based on an instruction (e.g., replying to a text message) and generates a response based on the performance of the task (e.g., “Okay, I have replied ‘I am at home’”).

[0346] In some examples, device 810 receives an indication that a task has been initiated from device 800. For example, DA server 900 generates a result based on the task initiation. In some examples, DA server 900 sends the result to device 800. For example, DA server 900 generates an instruction to reply with a text message and sends the result to device 800. In some examples, device 800 uses the result to generate an indication that a task has been initiated. For example, device 800 executes the instruction to reply with a text message and generates an indication that device 800 has replied with a text message (e.g., a response "Okay, I have replied 'I am at home'"). In some examples, device 800 sends the indication that a task has been initiated to device 810.

[0347] In some examples, this causes the device 800 to provide output based on a received indication that a task has been initiated. In some examples, the output based on the received indication includes audio output, text output, and / or haptic output indicating that a task has been initiated. For example, when device 800 receives an indication from DA server 900, device 800 causes device 810 to provide output based on the received indication, such as... Figure 9A As shown in the diagram. For example, device 800 enables device 810 to provide a response generated based on the execution of a task.

[0348] Figure 9D A device 810 is shown, according to some examples, providing audio output indicating that a task has been initiated. Specifically, consistent with the aforementioned technology, when the user... Figure 9C After the user says "Reply that I am at home", device 810 provides an audio output saying "Okay, I have replied 'I am at home'".

[0349] In some examples, when device 810 receives an indication from device 800 that a task has been initiated, device 810 causes to provide output based on the received indication. For example, in Figure 9D In this context, device 810 utilizes the device's speaker to provide output (e.g., "Okay, I have replied 'I am at home'").

[0350] 6. The process of providing notifications

[0351] Figures 10A-10EA process 1000 for providing notifications is illustrated according to various examples. For example, process 1000 may be performed using one or more electronic devices implementing a digital assistant. In some examples, process 1000 may be performed using a client-server system (e.g., system 100), and the boxes of process 1000 may be divided in any way between a server (e.g., DA server 106) and client devices. In other examples, the boxes of process 1000 may be divided between a server and multiple client devices (e.g., mobile phones and smartwatches). Therefore, while portions of process 1000 are described herein as being performed by a specific device of the client-server system, it should be understood that process 1000 is not limited thereto. In other examples, process 1000 may be performed using only client devices (e.g., user device 104) or only multiple client devices. In process 1000, some boxes may be optionally combined, the order of some boxes may be optionally changed, and some boxes may be optionally omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performed in conjunction with process 1000.

[0352] At box 1002, (e.g., via notification module 830) an instruction to receive a notification is provided. In some examples, the instruction to receive a notification includes receiving an instruction from an external electronic device, where the notification is received, as shown in box 1004. In some examples, the instruction to receive a notification includes receiving the notification at an electronic device, as shown in box 1006.

[0353] At box 1008, based on the instruction of the received notification: (e.g., via sensor module 840) acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors. In some examples, acquiring one or more data streams includes acquiring one or more data streams simultaneously for a predetermined duration, as shown in box 1010. In some examples, the predetermined duration is based on a determined relevance score of the notification. In some examples, the electronic device includes one or more sensors. In some examples, the electronic device includes a headset. In some examples, acquiring one or more data streams includes acquiring one or more data streams from an external electronic device that includes one or more sensors, as shown in box 1012. In some examples, the one or more sensors include a microphone and a vibration sensor. In some examples, the one or more data streams include a first data stream acquired from the microphone and a second data stream acquired from the vibration sensor.

[0354] At box 1014, (e.g., by determining module 850) it is determined whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking based on one or more data streams. In some examples, determining that a user is not speaking includes determining, based on one or more data streams, that the user is not speaking for a second predetermined duration, as shown in box 1016. In some examples, determining whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking includes determining that a first data stream indicates that the user is speaking, as shown in box 1018. In some examples, determining whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking includes determining that a second data stream indicates that the user is speaking, as shown in box 1020. In some examples, determining whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking includes determining that the user is speaking based on determining that a first data stream indicates that the user is speaking and based on determining that a second data stream indicates that the user is speaking, as shown in box 1022.

[0355] In some examples, determining whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking includes determining that a first data stream indicates the user is speaking, as shown in box 1024. In some examples, determining whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking includes determining that a second data stream indicates the user is not speaking, as shown in box 1026. In some examples, determining whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking includes determining that the user is not speaking based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking, as shown in box 1028. In some examples, determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking includes determining that a first portion of the first data stream indicates the user is speaking. In some examples, determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking includes determining that a second portion of the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking. In some examples, the first and second portions have the same duration. In some examples, the first and second portions are acquired at the same time.

[0356] In some examples, determining whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking includes determining that one or more data streams include a third portion indicating that the user is speaking, as shown in box 1030. In some examples, determining whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking includes determining that the duration of the third portion is less than a threshold duration, as shown in box 1032. In some examples, determining whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking includes determining that the user is not speaking based on determining that the duration of the third portion is less than a threshold duration, as shown in box 1034.

[0357] At box 1036, based on the determination that the user is not speaking: (e.g., via notification module 830) cause output associated with the notification to be provided. In some examples, the output associated with the notification includes the content of the notification. In some examples, causing the output associated with the notification to be provided includes using the speaker of an electronic device to provide the output, as shown in box 1038. In some examples, causing the output associated with the notification to be provided includes causing an external electronic device to provide the output, as shown in box 1040.

[0358] In some examples, based on determining that the user is speaking: (e.g., via notification module 830) the provision of output associated with the notification is abandoned, as shown in box 1042. In some examples, based on determining that the user is speaking: (e.g., via notification module 830) a second output associated with the notification is provided, the duration of which is shorter than that of the first output, as shown in box 1044.

[0359] In some examples, voice input is detected when output is provided (e.g., via termination module 860), as shown in box 1046. In some examples, output is terminated (e.g., via termination module 860) in response to the detection of voice input, as shown in box 1048.

[0360] In some examples, when output is provided, a signal indicating device removal is detected (e.g., via termination module 860), as shown in box 1050. In some examples, in response to the detection of a signal indicating device removal, output is terminated (e.g., via termination module 860), as shown in box 1052.

[0361] In some examples, when providing output, a predetermined gesture performed at the electronic device is detected (e.g., via termination module 860), as shown in box 1054. In some examples, in response to detecting a predetermined gesture performed at the electronic device, the output is terminated (e.g., via termination module 860), as shown in box 1056.

[0362] In some examples, an instruction to receive a second notification is received (e.g., via notification module 830) when the output associated with the notification is provided, as shown in box 1058. In some examples, based on the instruction to receive the second notification, the output associated with the notification is provided (e.g., via notification module 830) after the output associated with the notification is provided, as shown in box 1060.

[0363] In some examples, (e.g., by determining module 850) it is determined whether the second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification, as shown in box 1062. In some examples, based on the determination that the second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification, providing the output associated with the notification is abandoned, as shown in box 1064. In some examples, providing the output associated with the notification is performed based on the determination that the second external electronic device has not yet provided a second output associated with the notification.

[0364] In some examples, (e.g., via notification model 854) an importance score for the notification is determined based on contextual information associated with the notification, as shown in box 1066. In some examples, (e.g., via notification model 854) it is determined whether the importance score exceeds a first threshold, as shown in box 1068. In some examples, providing output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the importance score exceeds the first threshold.

[0365] In some examples, (e.g., via notification model 854) a timeliness score for the notification is determined based on contextual information associated with the user, as shown in box 1070. In some examples, (e.g., via notification model 854) it is determined whether the timeliness score exceeds a second threshold, as shown in box 1072. In some examples, providing output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold.

[0366] The above references Figures 10A-10E The described operation is optionally determined by Figures 1-4 , Figures 6A-6B , Figures 7A-7C , Figures 8A-8C and Figures 9A-9D The process 1000 can be implemented using the components depicted herein. For example, the operation of process 1000 can be implemented by system 820, device 800, device 810, and / or DA server 900, or any of their components. Those skilled in the art will readily understand how to implement this based on… Figures 1-4 , Figures 6A-6B , Figures 7A-7C , Figures 8A-8C and Figures 9A-9D The components depicted are used to perform other processes.

[0367] 7. The process of responding to a notification

[0368] Figures 11A-11DA process 1100 for responding to a notification is illustrated according to various examples. For example, process 1100 may be performed using one or more electronic devices implementing a digital assistant. In some examples, process 1100 may be performed using a client-server system (e.g., system 100), and the boxes of process 1100 may be divided in any way between a server (e.g., DA server 106) and client devices. In other examples, the boxes of process 1100 may be divided between a server and multiple client devices (e.g., mobile phones and smartwatches). Therefore, while portions of process 1100 are described herein as being performed by a specific device of the client-server system, it should be understood that process 1100 is not limited thereto. In other examples, process 1100 may be performed using only client devices (e.g., user device 104) or only multiple client devices. In process 1100, some boxes may be optionally combined, the order of some boxes may be optionally changed, and some boxes may be optionally omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performed in conjunction with process 1100.

[0369] At block 1102, a first output associated with the received notification is provided (e.g., by notification module 830). In some examples, providing the first output includes using a speaker of an electronic device (e.g., device 810) to provide the first output, as shown in block 1104. In some examples, the electronic device includes headphones. In some examples, providing the first output includes causing a second external electronic device (e.g., 810) to provide the first output, as shown in block 1106.

[0370] At block 1108, after providing the first output: (e.g., via sensor module 840) one or more data streams are acquired from one or more sensors. In some examples, the one or more sensors include a microphone and a vibration sensor. In some examples, the one or more data streams include a first data stream acquired from the microphone and a second data stream acquired from the vibration sensor. In some examples, an electronic device (e.g., 810) includes one or more sensors. In some examples, a second external electronic device (e.g., 810) includes one or more sensors.

[0371] In some examples, acquiring one or more data streams includes acquiring one or more data streams simultaneously over a predetermined duration, as shown in box 1110. In some examples, acquiring one or more data streams includes acquiring one or more data streams from a second external electronic device (e.g., device 810), as shown in box 1112.

[0372] At box 1114, (e.g., by determining module 850) it is determined whether a user associated with an electronic device is speaking based on one or more data streams. In some examples, determining whether a user is speaking includes determining whether a second data stream indicates that the user is speaking for a second predetermined duration, as shown in box 1116. In some examples, determining whether a user is speaking includes determining that the second data stream includes a portion indicating that the user is speaking, as shown in box 1118. In some examples, determining whether a user is speaking includes determining whether the duration of the portion indicating that the user is speaking is less than a threshold duration, as shown in box 1120. In some examples, determining whether a user is speaking includes determining that the user is not speaking based on determining that the duration is less than a threshold duration, as shown in box 1122.

[0373] In some examples, determining whether a user is speaking includes determining that a first data stream indicates the user is speaking, as shown in box 1124. In some examples, determining whether a user is speaking includes determining that a second data stream indicates the user is not speaking, as shown in box 1126. In some examples, determining whether a user is speaking includes determining that the user is not speaking based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking, as shown in box 1128.

[0374] At box 1130, based on the determination that the user is speaking: at least a portion of one or more data streams is provided to an external electronic device (e.g., 800, 900), the portion including data representing received voice input indicating a request to perform a task associated with the notification. In some examples, the voice input does not include a trigger phrase for activating the digital assistant.

[0375] In some examples, at an external electronic device (e.g., 800): data representing a request to perform a task associated with a notification is received from an electronic device (e.g., 810), as shown in box 1132. In some examples, at an external electronic device (e.g., 800): data is sent to a second external electronic device (e.g., 900), as shown in box 1134. In some examples, at an external electronic device (e.g., 800): based on sending data to the second external electronic device: a result of task initiation is received from the second external electronic device, as shown in box 1136. In some examples, at an external electronic device: based on receiving a result of task initiation: an indication that a task has been initiated is sent to an electronic device (e.g., 810), as shown in box 1138.

[0376] In some examples, at an external electronic device (e.g., 900): data representing a request to perform a task associated with the notification is received from an electronic device (e.g., 800), as shown in box 1040. In some examples, at the external electronic device: it is determined whether the voice input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with the notification, as shown in box 1042. In some examples, at the external electronic device: based on the determination that the voice input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with the notification: a task is initiated, as shown in box 1144. In some examples, at the external electronic device: based on the determination that the voice input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with the notification: an indication that the task has been initiated is sent to the electronic device (e.g., 800), as shown in box 1146.

[0377] In some examples, based on the determination that the user is not speaking: one or more data streams are abandoned from being supplied to an external electronic device, as shown in box 1148. In some examples, based on the determination that the user is not speaking: one or more data streams are discarded, as shown in box 1150.

[0378] At box 1152, an indication that a task has been initiated is received from an external electronic device (e.g., 800 or 900).

[0379] At block 1154, a second output based on the received instruction is provided (e.g., by notification module 830). In some examples, providing the second output includes using a speaker of an electronic device (e.g., 810) to provide the second output, as shown in block 1156. In some examples, providing the second output includes causing a second external electronic device (e.g., 810) to provide the second output, as shown in block 1158.

[0380] The above references Figures 11A-11D The described operation is optionally determined by Figures 1-4 , Figures 6A-6B , Figures 7A-7C , Figures 8A-8C and Figures 9A-9D The components described herein shall be used to implement the process. For example, the operation of process 1100 may be implemented by system 820, device 800, device 810 and / or DA server 900 or any of their components. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand how to implement the process based on... Figures 1-4 , Figures 6A-6B , Figures 7A-7C , Figures 8A-8C and Figures 9A-9D The components depicted are used to perform other processes.

[0381] 8. The process of providing notifications

[0382] Figure 12A process 1200 for providing notifications is illustrated according to various examples. For example, process 1200 may be performed using one or more electronic devices implementing a digital assistant. In some examples, a client-server system (e.g., system 100) is used to perform process 1200, and the boxes of process 1200 may be divided in any way between a server (e.g., DA server 106) and client devices. In other examples, the boxes of process 1200 may be divided between a server and multiple client devices (e.g., mobile phones and smartwatches). Therefore, while portions of process 1200 are described herein as being performed by a specific device of the client-server system, it should be understood that process 1200 is not limited thereto. In other examples, process 1200 may be performed using only client devices (e.g., user device 104) or only multiple client devices. In process 1200, some boxes may be optionally combined, the order of some boxes may be optionally changed, and some boxes may be optionally omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performed in conjunction with process 1200.

[0383] At box 1202, (e.g., via notification module 830) an instruction to receive a notification is received.

[0384] At box 1204, based on the instruction received regarding the notification (e.g., via determining module 850), it is determined whether the output associated with the notification will interrupt the user associated with the electronic device (e.g., 800, 810). In some examples, determining whether the output associated with the notification will interrupt the user includes determining whether the user is speaking, listening (e.g., listening to media or another person), or otherwise engaging in an activity. In some examples, determining whether the output associated with the notification will interrupt the user includes determining whether the notification is important, time-sensitive, and / or relevant.

[0385] At box 1206, output is provided (e.g., via notification module 830) based on the determination that the output will not interrupt the user.

[0386] At box 1208, the user is interrupted based on the determined output, causing (e.g., via notification module 830) to abandon the provision of output.

[0387] The above reference Figure 12 The described operation is optionally determined by Figures 1-4 , Figures 6A-6B , Figures 7A-7C , Figures 8A-8C and Figures 9A-9D The components described herein shall be used to implement the process. For example, the operation of process 1200 may be implemented by system 820, device 800, device 810 and / or DA server 900 or any of their components. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand how to implement the process based on... Figures 1-4 , Figures 6A-6B , Figures 7A-7C , Figures 8A-8C and Figures 9A-9D The components depicted are used to perform other processes.

[0388] According to some specific embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) is provided that stores one or more programs executable 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.

[0389] According to some specific embodiments, an electronic device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided, which includes means for performing any of the methods and processes described herein.

[0390] According to some specific embodiments, an electronic device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided, the electronic device including a processing unit configured to perform any of the methods and processes described herein.

[0391] According to some specific embodiments, an electronic device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided, the electronic device including 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.

[0392] Some exemplary aspects of this disclosure will be described below.

[0393] Aspect 1. A method for providing a notification, the method comprising:

[0394] At electronic devices:

[0395] Instructions to receive notifications;

[0396] According to the instructions received in the notification:

[0397] Acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors;

[0398] Determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking based on the one or more data streams; and

[0399] Based on the determination that the user was not speaking:

[0400] This enables the provision of output associated with the notification.

[0401] Aspect 2. The method according to aspect 1, wherein the output associated with the notification includes the content of the notification.

[0402] Aspect 3. The method according to any one of aspects 1 or 2 further includes:

[0403] Based on the determination that the user is speaking:

[0404] Abandoning this would result in providing the output associated with the notification; and

[0405] This enables the provision of a second output associated with the notification, the duration of which is shorter than that of the first output.

[0406] Aspect 4. The method according to any one of aspects 1-3, wherein the one or more are obtained

[0407] The data stream includes:

[0408] Simultaneously acquire the one or more data streams within a predetermined duration. Aspect 5. The method according to aspect 4, wherein the predetermined duration is based on...

[0409] The relevance score of the notification is determined.

[0410] Aspect 6. The method according to any one of Aspects 1-5, wherein it is determined that the user is not speaking

[0411] The speech included:

[0412] It is determined, based on the one or more data streams, that the user was not speaking for a second, predetermined duration.

[0413] Aspect 7. The method according to any one of Aspects 1-6, wherein:

[0414] The one or more sensors include a microphone and a vibration sensor; and

[0415] The one or more data streams include a first data stream acquired from the microphone and a second data stream acquired from the vibration sensor.

[0416] Aspect 8. The method according to aspect 7, wherein the electronic device associated with it is determined.

[0417] Whether a user is speaking includes:

[0418] It is determined that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking;

[0419] Determine that the second data stream indicates that the user is speaking; and

[0420] Based on the determination that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking, and based on the determination

[0421] The second data stream indicates that the user is speaking:

[0422] It has been determined that the user is speaking.

[0423] Aspect 9. The method according to any one of Aspects 7 or 8, wherein the electronic device is determined

[0424] Whether the user is speaking, as associated with the device, includes:

[0425] It is determined that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking;

[0426] Determine that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking; and

[0427] Based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking, it is determined that the user is not speaking. Aspect 10. The method according to aspect 9, wherein:

[0428] Determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking includes determining that a first portion of the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking;

[0429] Determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking includes determining that a second portion of the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking;

[0430] The first part and the second part have the same duration; and

[0431] The first part and the second part were acquired at the same time.

[0432] Aspect 11. The method according to any one of Aspects 1-10, wherein the electronic device is determined

[0433] Whether the user is speaking, as associated with the device, includes:

[0434] The one or more data streams are determined to include a third portion indicating that the user is speaking;

[0435] Determining that the duration of the third portion is lower than the threshold duration; and

[0436] Based on the determination that the duration of the third part is lower than the threshold duration:

[0437] It was determined that the user was not speaking.

[0438] Aspect 12. The method according to any one of Aspects 1-11, wherein the electronic device includes

[0439] Over-ear headphones.

[0440] Aspect 13. The method according to aspect 12, wherein:

[0441] The electronic device includes the one or more sensors;

[0442] The instruction to receive the notification includes receiving the instruction from an external electronic device, wherein the notification is received at the external electronic device; and

[0443] Providing the output associated with the notification includes using the speaker of the electronic device to provide the output.

[0444] Aspect 14. The method according to aspect 13 further includes:

[0445] When providing the output:

[0446] Detecting voice input; and

[0447] In response to the detection of the voice input, the output is terminated.

[0448] Aspect 15. The method according to any one of aspects 13 or 14, further comprising:

[0449] When providing the output:

[0450] The signal indicating that the detection device has been removed; and

[0451] In response to the detection of the signal, the output is terminated.

[0452] Aspect 16. The method according to any one of aspects 13-15, further comprising:

[0453] When providing the output:

[0454] Detecting a predetermined gesture performed at the electronic device; and

[0455] The output is terminated in response to the detection of the predetermined gesture.

[0456] Aspect 17. The method according to any one of Aspects 1-11, wherein:

[0457] The instruction to receive the notification includes receiving the notification at the electronic device;

[0458] Acquiring the one or more data streams includes acquiring the one or more data streams from an external electronic device including the one or more sensors; and

[0459] Providing the output associated with the notification includes causing the external electronic device to provide the output.

[0460] Aspect 18. The method according to any one of aspects 1-17, further comprising:

[0461] When providing the output associated with the notification:

[0462] Instructions to receive a second notification; and

[0463] According to the instructions received in the second notification:

[0464] After providing the output associated with the notification, the output associated with the second notification is then provided.

[0465] Aspect 19. The method according to any one of aspects 1-18, further comprising:

[0466] Determine whether the second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification; and based on the determination that the second external electronic device has provided an output associated with the notification...

[0467] The associated second output:

[0468] Abandoning this would result in providing the output associated with the notification; and

[0469] The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the second external electronic device has not yet provided the second output associated with the notification.

[0470] Aspect 20. The method according to any one of aspects 1-19, further comprising:

[0471] The importance score of the notification is determined based on contextual information associated with the notification; and

[0472] Determine whether the importance score exceeds a first threshold; and

[0473] The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the importance score exceeds the first threshold.

[0474] Aspect 21. The method according to any one of aspects 1-20, further comprising:

[0475] The timeliness score of the notification is determined based on contextual information associated with the user; and

[0476] Determine whether the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold; and

[0477] The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold.

[0478] Aspect 22. A method for responding to a notification, the method comprising:

[0479] At electronic devices:

[0480] This enables the provision of a first output associated with the received notification;

[0481] After providing the first output:

[0482] Acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors;

[0483] Determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking based on the one or more data streams;

[0484] Based on the determination that the user is speaking:

[0485] Provide at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing received voice input that requests the execution of a task associated with the notification;

[0486] Receive an indication from the external electronic device that the task has been initiated; and

[0487] This enables the provision of a second output based on the received instruction.

[0488] Aspect 23. The method according to aspect 22, wherein the voice input does not include a function for initiating

[0489] Triggering phrases for digital assistants.

[0490] Aspect 24. The method according to any one of aspects 22 or 23 further comprises:

[0491] Based on the determination that the user was not speaking:

[0492] Abandoning the provision of the one or more data streams to the external electronic device; and

[0493] Discard the one or more data streams.

[0494] Aspect 25. The method according to any one of aspects 22-24, wherein the one or more are obtained

[0495] The data streams include:

[0496] Simultaneously acquire the one or more data streams within a predetermined duration. Aspect 26. The method according to any one of aspects 22-25, wherein:

[0497] The one or more sensors include a microphone and a vibration sensor; and

[0498] The one or more data streams include a first data stream acquired from the microphone and a second data stream acquired from the vibration sensor.

[0499] Aspect 27. The method according to aspect 26, wherein determining whether the user is speaking includes determining whether the second data stream indicates that the user is speaking for a second predetermined duration.

[0500] Aspect 28. The method according to any one of Aspects 26 or 27, wherein the user is determined to be

[0501] Whether or not someone is speaking includes:

[0502] The second data stream is determined to include a portion indicating that the user is speaking;

[0503] Determine whether the duration of the portion indicating that the user is speaking is below a threshold duration; and

[0504] Based on the determination that the duration is lower than the threshold duration:

[0505] It was determined that the user was not speaking.

[0506] Aspect 29. The method according to any one of Aspects 26-28, wherein determining whether the user...

[0507] The speech includes:

[0508] It is determined that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking;

[0509] Determine that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking; and

[0510] Based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking, it is determined that the user is not speaking. Aspect 30. The method according to any one of aspects 22-29, wherein the electronic device includes...

[0511] Over-ear headphones.

[0512] Aspect 31. The method according to aspect 30, wherein:

[0513] The electronic device includes the one or more sensors;

[0514] Providing the first output includes using the speaker of the electronic device to provide the first output; and

[0515] Providing the second output includes providing the second output using the speaker.

[0516] Aspect 32. The method according to aspect 31 further includes:

[0517] At the external electronic device:

[0518] The electronic device receives data representing the received voice input, which requests the execution of the task associated with the notification.

[0519] Send the data to a second external electronic device; and

[0520] According to the data being sent to the second external electronic device:

[0521] Receive the result of the task initiation from the second external electronic device; and

[0522] Based on the received result of the initiation based on the task:

[0523] The instruction that the task has been initiated is sent to the electronic device.

[0524] Aspect 33. The method according to any one of Aspects 22-30, wherein:

[0525] Providing the first output includes providing the first output via a second external electronic device, the second external electronic device including the one or more sensors;

[0526] Acquiring the one or more data streams includes acquiring the one or more data streams from the second external electronic device; and

[0527] Providing the second output includes causing the second external electronic device to provide the second output.

[0528] Aspect 34. The method according to aspect 33 further includes:

[0529] At the external electronic device:

[0530] The electronic device receives data representing the received voice input, which requests the execution of the task associated with the notification.

[0531] Determine whether the voice input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with the notification; and

[0532] Based on the determination that the voice input is associated with the intent to perform an action related to the notification:

[0533] Initiate the task; and

[0534] The instruction that the task has been initiated is sent to the electronic device.

[0535] Aspect 35. A method for providing a notification, the method comprising:

[0536] At electronic devices:

[0537] Instructions to receive notifications;

[0538] According to the instructions received in the notification:

[0539] Determine whether the output associated with the notification will interrupt the user associated with the electronic device; and

[0540] Based on the determination that the output will not interrupt the user:

[0541] This enables the provision of the output; and

[0542] Based on the determination that the output will interrupt the user:

[0543] Abandoning this will result in providing the stated output.

[0544] Aspect 36. An electronic device comprising:

[0545] One or more processors;

[0546] Memory; and

[0547] 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...

[0548] The program includes instructions for performing the following operations:

[0549] Instructions to receive notifications;

[0550] According to the instructions received in the notification:

[0551] Acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors;

[0552] Determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking based on the one or more data streams; and

[0553] Based on the determination that the user was not speaking:

[0554] This enables the provision of output associated with the notification.

[0555] Aspect 37. An electronic device comprising:

[0556] One or more processors;

[0557] Memory; and

[0558] 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...

[0559] The program includes instructions for performing the following operations:

[0560] This enables the provision of a first output associated with the received notification;

[0561] After providing the first output:

[0562] Acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors;

[0563] Determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking based on the one or more data streams;

[0564] Based on the determination that the user is speaking:

[0565] Provide at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing received voice input that requests the execution of a task associated with the notification;

[0566] Receive an indication from the external electronic device that the task has been initiated; and

[0567] This enables the provision of a second output based on the received instruction.

[0568] Aspect 38. An electronic device comprising:

[0569] One or more processors;

[0570] Memory; and

[0571] 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...

[0572] The program includes instructions for performing the following operations:

[0573] Instructions to receive notifications;

[0574] According to the instructions received in the notification:

[0575] Determine whether the output associated with the notification will interrupt the user associated with the electronic device; and

[0576] Based on the determination that the output will not interrupt the user:

[0577] This enables the provision of the output; and

[0578] Based on the determination that the output will interrupt the user:

[0579] Abandoning this will result in providing the stated output.

[0580] Aspect 39. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, wherein

[0581] One or more programs include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:

[0582] Instructions to receive notifications;

[0583] According to the instructions received in the notification:

[0584] Acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors;

[0585] Determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking based on the one or more data streams; and

[0586] Based on the determination that the user was not speaking:

[0587] This enables the provision of output associated with the notification.

[0588] Aspect 40. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, wherein

[0589] One or more programs include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:

[0590] This enables the provision of a first output associated with the received notification;

[0591] After providing the first output:

[0592] Acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors;

[0593] Determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking based on the one or more data streams;

[0594] Based on the determination that the user is speaking:

[0595] Provide at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing received voice input that requests the execution of a task associated with the notification;

[0596] Receive an indication from the external electronic device that the task has been initiated; and

[0597] This enables the provision of a second output based on the received instruction.

[0598] Aspect 41. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, wherein

[0599] One or more programs include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:

[0600] Instructions to receive notifications;

[0601] According to the instructions received in the notification:

[0602] Determine whether the output associated with the notification will interrupt the user associated with the electronic device; and

[0603] Based on the determination that the output will not interrupt the user:

[0604] This enables the provision of the output; and

[0605] Based on the determination that the output will interrupt the user:

[0606] Abandoning this will result in providing the stated output.

[0607] Aspect 42. An electronic device comprising means for performing the following operations:

[0608] Instructions to receive notifications;

[0609] According to the instructions received in the notification:

[0610] Acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors;

[0611] Determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking based on the one or more data streams; and

[0612] Based on the determination that the user was not speaking:

[0613] This enables the provision of output associated with the notification.

[0614] Aspect 43. An electronic device comprising means for performing the following operations:

[0615] This enables the provision of a first output associated with the received notification;

[0616] After providing the first output:

[0617] Acquire one or more data streams from one or more sensors;

[0618] Determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking based on the one or more data streams;

[0619] Based on the determination that the user is speaking:

[0620] Provide at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing received voice input that requests the execution of a task associated with the notification;

[0621] Receive an indication from the external electronic device that the task has been initiated; and

[0622] This enables the provision of a second output based on the received instruction.

[0623] Aspect 44. An electronic device comprising means for performing the following operations:

[0624] Instructions to receive notifications;

[0625] According to the instructions received in the notification:

[0626] Determine whether the output associated with the notification will interrupt the user associated with the electronic device; and

[0627] Based on the determination that the output will not interrupt the user:

[0628] This enables the provision of the output; and

[0629] Based on the determination that the output will interrupt the user:

[0630] Abandoning this will result in providing the stated output.

[0631] Aspect 45. An electronic device comprising:

[0632] One or more processors;

[0633] Memory; and

[0634] 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...

[0635] The program includes instructions for performing the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 21. Aspect 46. A system comprising:

[0636] One or more processors of one or more electronic devices;

[0637] One or more memories of the one or more electronic devices; and

[0638] One or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the one or more memories and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for performing the method according to any one of aspects 22-34.

[0639] Aspect 47. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, wherein...

[0640] 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 method according to any one of aspects 1-21.

[0641] Aspect 48. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, wherein...

[0642] One or more programs include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of one or more electronic devices, cause the one or more electronic devices to perform the method according to any one of aspects 22-34.

[0643] Aspect 49. An electronic device comprising:

[0644] Apparatus for performing the method according to any one of aspects 1-21.

[0645] Aspect 50. A system comprising:

[0646] Apparatus for performing the method according to any one of aspects 22-34.

[0647] For purposes of explanation, the foregoing description has been given by reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussion above is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible based on the teachings above. These embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of these techniques and their practical applications. Others skilled in the art will thus be able to best utilize these techniques and the various embodiments with various modifications suitable for the particular intended use.

[0648] While this 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 this disclosure and examples as defined by the claims.

[0649] As described above, one aspect of this technology involves collecting and using data from various sources to improve the relevance of notification outputs provided to users. This disclosure anticipates that, in some instances, such collected data may include personal information that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate specific individuals. Such personal information may include demographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, Twitter IDs, home addresses, data or records related to a user's health or health status (e.g., vital sign measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or any other identifying or personal information.

[0650] This disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data in the techniques of this invention can be beneficial to users. For example, personal information data can be used to provide notification outputs relevant to a specific user. Furthermore, this disclosure also contemplates other uses of personal information data that are beneficial to users. For example, health and fitness data can be used to provide insights into a user's overall health status or as positive feedback for individuals using technology to pursue health goals.

[0651] This disclosure assumes 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 generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy and security of personal information data. Such policies should be easily accessible to users and should be updated as data collection and / or use change. Personal information from users should be collected for the entity's lawful and reasonable purposes and not shared or sold outside of these lawful uses. Furthermore, such collection / sharing should be conducted only after obtaining informed consent from users. In addition, such entities should consider taking any necessary steps to protect and safeguard access to such personal information data and ensure that others with access to such personal information data comply with their privacy policies and processes. Additionally, such entities may be subject to third-party evaluations to demonstrate their compliance with widely accepted privacy policies and practices. Furthermore, policies and practices should be adapted to the specific types of personal information data collected and / or accessed, and to applicable laws and standards, including specific considerations regarding jurisdiction. For example, in the United States, the collection or acquisition of certain health data may be governed by federal and / or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); while in other countries, health data may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Therefore, different privacy practices should be maintained for different types of personal data in each country.

[0652] Regardless of the foregoing, this disclosure also contemplates implementation schemes for users to selectively block the use or access to personal information data. That is, this disclosure contemplates providing hardware and / or software components to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, in cases where contextual information associated with a user is collected (e.g., to improve the determination of whether a notification is relevant), the inventive technology can be configured to allow the user to opt-in or opt-out to participate in the collection of personal information data at any time during or after the registration period. Alternatively, the user may choose not to provide contextual information for determining whether a notification is relevant. Furthermore, the user may choose to limit the duration for which such contextual information is maintained. In addition to providing opt-in and opt-out options, this disclosure envisions providing notifications related to access to or use of personal information. For example, the user may be notified when downloading an application that their personal information data will be accessed, and then reminded again just before the application accesses the personal information data.

[0653] Furthermore, the purpose of this disclosure is to manage and process personal information data to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Once data is no longer needed, this risk can be minimized by limiting data collection and deleting data. Additionally, and where applicable, including in certain health-related applications, data deidentification can be used to protect user privacy. Where appropriate, deidentification 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 the city level rather than address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data among users), and / or other methods.

[0654] Therefore, while this disclosure broadly covers the use of personal information data to implement one or more of the various disclosed embodiments, it is also contemplated that various embodiments can be implemented without access to such personal information data. That is, various embodiments of the present invention will not be rendered inoperable due to the absence of all or part of such personal information data. For example, the relevance of a notification can be determined based on non-personal information data (e.g., the content of a notification) or an absolute minimum amount of personal information (such as content requested by a device associated with a user, other non-personal information that can be used to determine whether a notification is relevant, or publicly available information).

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, said one or more programs including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: Instructions to receive notifications; Before acquiring one or more data streams from a microphone or vibration sensor to determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking, it is determined whether the user has interacted with the notification on the second electronic device; Based on the instruction received from the notification and based on the determination that the user has not yet interacted with the notification: A first data stream is acquired from the microphone and a second data stream is acquired from the vibration sensor; Based on the first data stream and the second data stream, determine whether the user is speaking; Based on the determination that the user was not speaking: This enables the provision of output associated with the notification; and Based on the determination that the user has interacted with the notification: Abandoning this allows providing output associated with the notification without acquiring the one or more data streams used to determine whether the user is speaking.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, The output associated with the notification includes the content of the notification.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more programs further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: Based on the determination that the user is speaking: Abandoning this allows for the provision of output associated with the notification; and This enables the provision of a second output associated with the notification, the duration of which is shorter than that of the first output.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, Acquiring the first data stream and the second data stream includes: The first data stream and the second data stream are acquired simultaneously within a predetermined duration.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein, The predetermined duration is based on the determined relevance score of the notification.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, Determining that the user is not speaking includes: Based on the first data stream and the second data stream, it is determined that the user has not been speaking for a second predetermined duration.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, Determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes: It is determined that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; It is determined that the second data stream indicates that the user is speaking; and Based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and based on determining that the second data stream indicates the user is speaking: It has been determined that the user is speaking.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, Determining whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes: It is determined that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; It is determined that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking; and Based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking, it is determined that the user is not speaking.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein: Determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking includes determining that a first portion of the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; Determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking includes determining that a second portion of the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking; The first part and the second part have the same duration; and The first part and the second part are acquired simultaneously.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, Determining whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes: Determining the first and second data streams includes a third portion indicating that the user is speaking; It was determined that the duration of the third portion was less than the threshold duration; and Based on the determination that the duration of the third part is lower than the threshold duration: It was determined that the user was not speaking.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, The electronic device includes headphones.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 11, wherein: The electronic device includes the microphone and the vibration sensor; The instruction to receive the notification includes receiving the instruction from an external electronic device, the notification being received on the external electronic device; and Providing the output associated with the notification includes providing the output through the speaker of the electronic device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 12, wherein, The one or more programs further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: When providing the output: Detect voice input; and In response to the detection of the voice input, the output is terminated.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 12, wherein, The one or more programs further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: When providing the output: The signal indicating that the detection device has been removed; and In response to the detection of the signal, the output is terminated.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 12, wherein, The one or more programs further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: When providing the output: Detect a predetermined gesture performed on the electronic device; and In response to the detection of the predetermined gesture, the output is terminated.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein: The instruction to receive the notification includes receiving the notification on the electronic device; Acquiring the first data stream and the second data stream includes acquiring the first data stream and the second data stream from an external electronic device including the microphone and the vibration sensor; and Providing output associated with the notification includes causing the external electronic device to provide the output.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more programs further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: When providing output associated with the notification: Receive instructions from the second notification; and As instructed upon receiving the second notification: After providing the output associated with the notification, provide the output associated with the second notification.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more programs further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: Determine whether the second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification; and Based on the determination that the second external electronic device has provided the second output associated with the notification: Abandoning this would result in providing the output associated with the notification; and The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on the determination that the second external electronic device has not provided the second output associated with the notification.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more programs further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: Based on the contextual information associated with the notification, an importance score is determined for the notification; and Determine whether the importance score exceeds a first threshold; and The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the importance score exceeds the first threshold.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more programs further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: Based on contextual information associated with the user, a timeliness score for the notification is determined; and Determine whether the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold; and The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold.

21. 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 including instructions for the following operations: Instructions to receive notifications; Before acquiring one or more data streams from a microphone or vibration sensor to determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking, it is determined whether the user has interacted with the notification on the second electronic device; Based on the instruction received from the notification and based on the determination that the user has not yet interacted with the notification: A first data stream is acquired from the microphone and a second data stream is acquired from the vibration sensor; Based on the first data stream and the second data stream, determine whether the user is speaking; Based on the determination that the user was not speaking: This enables the provision of output associated with the notification; and Based on the determination that the user has interacted with the notification: Abandoning this allows providing output associated with the notification without acquiring the one or more data streams used to determine whether the user is speaking.

22. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein, The output associated with the notification includes the content of the notification.

23. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein, The one or more programs also include instructions for the following operations: Based on the determination that the user is speaking: Abandoning this allows for the provision of output associated with the notification; and This enables the provision of a second output associated with the notification, the duration of which is shorter than that of the first output.

24. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein acquiring the first data stream and the second data stream comprises: The first data stream and the second data stream are acquired simultaneously within a predetermined duration.

25. The electronic device according to claim 24, wherein, The predetermined duration is based on the determined relevance score of the notification.

26. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein, Determining that the user is not speaking includes: Based on the first data stream and the second data stream, it is determined that the user has not been speaking for a second predetermined duration.

27. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein, Determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes: It is determined that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; It is determined that the second data stream indicates that the user is speaking; and Based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and based on determining that the second data stream indicates the user is speaking: It has been determined that the user is speaking.

28. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein, Determining whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes: It is determined that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; It is determined that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking; and Based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking, it is determined that the user is not speaking.

29. The electronic device according to claim 28, wherein: Determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking includes determining that a first portion of the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; Determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking includes determining that a second portion of the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking; The first part and the second part have the same duration; and The first part and the second part are acquired simultaneously.

30. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein, Determining whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes: Determining the first and second data streams includes a third portion indicating that the user is speaking; It was determined that the duration of the third portion was less than the threshold duration; and Based on the determination that the duration of the third part is lower than the threshold duration: It was determined that the user was not speaking.

31. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein, The electronic device includes headphones.

32. The electronic device according to claim 31, wherein: The electronic device includes the microphone and the vibration sensor; The instruction to receive the notification includes receiving the instruction from an external electronic device, the notification being received on the external electronic device; and Providing the output associated with the notification includes providing the output through the speaker of the electronic device.

33. The electronic device of claim 32, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for performing the following operations: When providing the output: Detect voice input; and In response to the detection of the voice input, the output is terminated.

34. The electronic device of claim 32, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for performing the following operations: When providing the output: The signal indicating that the detection device has been removed; and In response to the detection of the signal, the output is terminated.

35. The electronic device of claim 32, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for performing the following operations: When providing the output: Detect a predetermined gesture performed on the electronic device; and In response to the detection of the predetermined gesture, the output is terminated.

36. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein: The instruction to receive the notification includes receiving the notification on the electronic device; Acquiring the first data stream and the second data stream includes acquiring the first data stream and the second data stream from an external electronic device including the microphone and the vibration sensor; and Providing output associated with the notification includes causing the external electronic device to provide the output.

37. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for performing the following operations: When providing output associated with the notification: Receive instructions from the second notification; and As instructed upon receiving the second notification: After providing the output associated with the notification, provide the output associated with the second notification.

38. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for performing the following operations: Determine whether the second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification; and Based on the determination that the second external electronic device has provided the second output associated with the notification: Abandoning this would result in providing the output associated with the notification; and in, The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on the determination that the second external electronic device has not provided the second output associated with the notification.

39. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for performing the following operations: Based on the contextual information associated with the notification, an importance score is determined for the notification; and Determine whether the importance score exceeds a first threshold; and in, The output associated with the notification is provided based on determining that the importance score exceeds the first threshold.

40. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for performing the following operations: Based on contextual information associated with the user, a timeliness score for the notification is determined; and Determine whether the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold; and in, The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold.

41. A method for providing a notification, the method comprising: At electronic devices: Instructions to receive notifications; Before acquiring one or more data streams from a microphone or vibration sensor to determine whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking, it is determined whether the user has interacted with the notification on the second electronic device; Based on the instruction received from the notification and based on the determination that the user has not yet interacted with the notification: A first data stream is acquired from the microphone and a second data stream is acquired from the vibration sensor; Based on the first data stream and the second data stream, determine whether the user is speaking; Based on the determination that the user was not speaking: This enables the provision of output associated with the notification; and Based on the determination that the user has interacted with the notification: Abandoning this allows providing output associated with the notification without acquiring the one or more data streams used to determine whether the user is speaking.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein, The output associated with the notification includes the content of the notification.

43. The method of claim 41, further comprising: Based on the determination that the user is speaking: Abandoning this decision results in providing the output associated with the notification; and This enables the provision of a second output associated with the notification, the duration of which is shorter than that of the first output.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein acquiring the first data stream and the second data stream comprises: The first data stream and the second data stream are acquired simultaneously within a predetermined duration.

45. The method according to claim 44, wherein, The predetermined duration is based on the determined relevance score of the notification.

46. ​​The method according to claim 41, wherein, Determining that the user is not speaking includes: Based on the first data stream and the second data stream, it is determined that the user has not been speaking for a second predetermined duration.

47. The method according to claim 41, wherein, Determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes: It is determined that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; It is determined that the second data stream indicates that the user is speaking; and Based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and based on determining that the second data stream indicates the user is speaking: It has been determined that the user is speaking.

48. The method according to claim 41, in, Determining whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes: It is determined that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; It is determined that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking; and Based on determining that the first data stream indicates the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking, it is determined that the user is not speaking.

49. The method according to claim 48, wherein: Determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking includes determining that a first portion of the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; Determining that the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking includes determining that a second portion of the second data stream indicates the user is not speaking; The first part and the second part have the same duration; and The first part and the second part are acquired simultaneously.

50. The method according to claim 41, wherein, Determining whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes: Determining the first and second data streams includes a third portion indicating that the user is speaking; It was determined that the duration of the third portion was less than the threshold duration; and Based on the determination that the duration of the third part is lower than the threshold duration: It was determined that the user was not speaking.

51. The method according to claim 41, wherein, The electronic device includes headphones.

52. The method according to claim 51, wherein: The electronic device includes the microphone and the vibration sensor; The instruction to receive the notification includes receiving the instruction from an external electronic device, the notification being received on the external electronic device; and Providing the output associated with the notification includes providing the output through the speaker of the electronic device.

53. The method of claim 52, further comprising: When providing the output: Detect voice input; and In response to the detection of the voice input, the output is terminated.

54. The method of claim 52, further comprising: When providing the output: The signal indicating that the detection device has been removed; and In response to the detection of the signal, the output is terminated.

55. The method of claim 52, further comprising: When providing the output: Detect a predetermined gesture performed on the electronic device; and In response to the detection of the predetermined gesture, the output is terminated.

56. The method according to claim 41, wherein: The instruction to receive the notification includes receiving the notification on the electronic device; Acquiring the first data stream and the second data stream includes acquiring the first data stream and the second data stream from an external electronic device including the microphone and the vibration sensor; and Providing output associated with the notification includes causing the external electronic device to provide the output.

57. The method of claim 41, further comprising: When providing output associated with the notification: Receive instructions from the second notification; and As instructed upon receiving the second notification: After providing the output associated with the notification, provide the output associated with the second notification.

58. The method of claim 41, further comprising: Determine whether the second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification; and Based on the determination that the second external electronic device has provided the second output associated with the notification: Abandoning this would result in providing the output associated with the notification; and The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on the determination that the second external electronic device has not provided the second output associated with the notification.

59. The method of claim 41, further comprising: An importance score for the notification is determined based on contextual information associated with the notification. and Determine whether the importance score exceeds a first threshold; and The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the importance score exceeds the first threshold.

60. The method of claim 41, further comprising: The timeliness score of the notification is determined based on the context information associated with the user; and Determine whether the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold; and The provision of the output associated with the notification is performed based on determining that the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold.

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