Parallel Wireless Link Setup for Voice Assistant Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users of speech-controllable appliances experience delays between issuing an activation command and receiving a response from external devices due to the time required to establish a bi-directional wireless communication link, which can be up to 5-7 seconds, affecting the responsiveness and user experience.
Innovation Solution
The appliance initiates a bi-directional wireless communication connection with an external device in parallel with receiving and processing voice commands, allowing it to transmit audio signals and perform speech recognition tasks simultaneously, thereby reducing the delay by establishing communication and processing commands concurrently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the appliance establishes a bi-directional wireless communication link with an external device before receiving and processing voice commands, then communication reliability is improved, but the response time increases due to sequential processing
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance initiates the bi-directional wireless communication link establishment in advance, before the voice command is fully processed. The system starts the connection setup when the activation command is detected, allowing the communication channel to be ready before the actual command needs to be transmitted, thus reducing the overall response time while maintaining reliable communication
Solution Approach 2:
The appliance performs multiple tasks continuously and concurrently: establishing the wireless communication link, receiving the voice command, and processing the command all happen in an overlapping manner rather than strictly sequentially. This continuous execution of multiple useful actions reduces the total time required while ensuring communication reliability is maintained throughout the process
2Stability of the object's composition
If the appliance waits for the wireless communication connection to be fully established before transmitting audio signals, then communication stability is improved, but the operational speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance initiates the connection establishment process in advance and prepares the communication channel before the audio signal needs to be transmitted. The system performs preliminary actions to set up the wireless link, allowing the actual data transmission to begin as soon as the connection is ready, thus optimizing both stability and speed
Solution Approach 2:
The appliance dynamically adjusts its operation based on the connection status. Rather than rigidly waiting for complete establishment, the system transitions through different operational states, allowing audio signal transmission to begin as soon as the connection is sufficiently established, balancing stability requirements with speed optimization
3Measurement precision
If the appliance processes speech recognition tasks after establishing the communication link, then processing accuracy is maintained, but the overall system responsiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance initiates the speech recognition processing in advance, before the wireless communication link is fully established. The system starts analyzing the voice command as soon as it is received, rather than waiting for the connection to be complete, thus maintaining processing accuracy while significantly improving system responsiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The appliance performs speech recognition processing continuously and concurrently with the communication link establishment. The speech recognition task is initiated immediately upon receiving the voice command and continues in parallel with the connection setup, ensuring that processing accuracy is maintained while the overall system responsiveness is enhanced through overlapping operations
Data Source
AI summary
An appliance can include a microphone transducer configured to receive sound from an environment and to convert the received sound into an audio signal. The appliance can be configured to receive an input audio signal via the microphone transducer, responsive to an activation input. The appliance can be configured to initiate a bi-directional, wireless communication connection with an external device in parallel with receiving the input audio signal, and responsive to the activation input. The appliance can be configured to transmit an output audio signal corresponding to the input audio signal over the communication connection when the wireless communication connection is established. Related aspects also are described.