Multiple Voice Assistant Activation Management Against False Triggers

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Solution Overview

Problem

Managing the activation of multiple voice assistants on a single computing platform is challenging, particularly when keywords for one assistant are detected while another is active, leading to potential random activations due to ambient noise or conversation interference.

Innovation Solution

Implementing an activation management system where only one voice assistant is active at a time, and if the keyword of another assistant is detected while active, it remains inactive, ensuring the current assistant is not interrupted.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the system supports multiple voice assistants with dedicated keywords, then the system can detect and respond to each keyword, but random activations may occur due to ambient noise or conversation interference

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemulti-assistant supportVSAvoidactivation accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

An activation manager is introduced as an intermediary component that receives keyword detections from multiple voice assistants and determines whether to actually activate them. The manager checks the current activation state and decides whether to allow activation, blocking spurious activations while permitting legitimate ones. This mediator resolves the contradiction by filtering out false positives caused by ambient noise or conversation interference.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Speed

If the system allows any detected keyword to activate its assistant, then keyword detection responsiveness is improved, but interruptions occur when one assistant is active and another keyword is detected

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvekeyword detection responsivenessVSAvoidconversation continuity
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts activation behavior based on the current state. When a voice assistant is already active, the activation manager dynamically blocks additional activations, maintaining conversation continuity. When no assistant is active, the system is dynamically ready to activate any detected keyword. This dynamic state-dependent behavior resolves the contradiction between responsiveness and stability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3973389B1Activation management for multiple voice assistants
Publication Date: 2025.10.08 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP3973389B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3973389B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3973389B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

A system and method include detection of a user utterance of one of plurality of voice keywords, each of the plurality of voice keywords associated with a respective voice assistant application, determination, in response to the detection of the one of the plurality of respective voice keywords, of whether any of the plurality of voice assistant applications are designated as uninterruptable, and, if it is determined that none of the plurality of voice assistant applications are designated as uninterruptable, activation of the one of the plurality of voice assistant applications associated with the detected keyword.