POC Playback Control for Private Distributed Command Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing voice-assisted media playback systems face inefficiencies in command processing and user privacy concerns due to reliance on third-party cloud services that require extensive state information and may compromise user data privacy.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based control architecture utilizing a point-of-contact (POC) playback device that processes commands locally, determining target devices and implementation details, reducing reliance on third-party cloud services and enhancing user privacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If third-party cloud services are used for command processing, then voice-assisted control functionality is provided, but user privacy is compromised and cloud computing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cloud service as an intermediary layer between the user's playback system and third-party services. The cloud service receives voice commands, processes them through ASR and NLU, and translates them into system-specific commands without exposing user data to third parties. This mediator approach maintains functionality while protecting privacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the sensitive data processing functions (ASR, NLU, command interpretation) from third-party services and relocates them to a trusted cloud service operated by the system provider. This extraction removes the privacy risk while preserving the voice-controlled functionality.
2Adaptability or versatility
If third-party cloud services process commands, then voice control capability is provided, but cloud computing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial cloud processing by only sending necessary voice command data to the cloud service for ASR and NLU processing, rather than transmitting all system state information. This reduces cloud computing resource consumption while maintaining voice control capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the command processing into multiple stages: local voice detection and wake-word recognition, cloud-based ASR and NLU processing, and local command execution. This segmentation allows computationally intensive tasks to be performed locally when possible, reducing cloud computing costs.
3Measurement precision
If extensive state information is transmitted to cloud services, then command processing accuracy is improved, but data security is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by processing different types of information in different locations: sensitive system state information is processed locally without being transmitted to the cloud, while only anonymized voice command data is sent for ASR/NLU processing. This maintains processing accuracy for commands while protecting sensitive data security.
Solution Approach 2:
The cloud service acts as an intermediary that receives only necessary voice data for command interpretation, not the full system state. It processes this data through ASR and NLU to generate commands, then sends results back without retaining or exposing sensitive information, thus balancing accuracy with security.
Data Source
AI summary
Example techniques described herein involve a point-of-contact (POC) playback device that operates as an intermediary between the cloud and a media playback system that includes the POC playback device. As the intermediary, when the cloud issues a command to the media playback system, the POC playback device may perform some or all processing of the command to determine how to implement that command in the media playback system. For instance, the POC playback device may determine the target devices for a command, and then cause the target devices to carry out the command. This processing by the POC playback device may simplify control of the media playback system from the perspective of third party controllers, as these controllers need not have full and/or completely up-to-date knowledge of the media playback system functionality and status, among other possible benefits.