Smart Communications Assistant Audio Interface Message Prioritization

Solution Overview

Problem

Users face difficulties in accessing and processing text-based communications, such as emails and messages, through speech interfaces due to the complexity of understanding and prioritizing long messages, which is more cognitively demanding than reading them, especially in situations where displays are not readily available.

Innovation Solution

A smart communications assistant with an audio interface that gathers messages from multiple sources, analyzes their content, and provides summaries and prioritization, allowing users to interact via verbal commands and receive detailed information or summaries of selected messages.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If long text-based communications are accessed through speech interfaces, then users can access communications without a display, but the cognitive load and time required to process the messages increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccessibility of communicationsVSAvoidtime to process messages

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments long communications into smaller, manageable units by identifying and extracting key information points. The system divides messages into discrete topics or themes, presenting them as separate speech segments rather than continuous text, which reduces the cognitive burden and time required to process the overall communication.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system extracts essential information from long communications by identifying key entities, actions, and decisions. It pulls out only the most relevant content while filtering out redundant or less important details, presenting a condensed version that maintains the core meaning while significantly reducing processing time and cognitive load.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Adaptability or versatility

If long text-based communications are read through speech interfaces, then users can access communications without a display, but the concentration and focus required increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccessibility of communicationsVSAvoidcognitive ease of processing

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments long communications into smaller, manageable units by identifying and extracting key information points. The system divides messages into discrete topics or themes, presenting them as separate speech segments rather than continuous text, which reduces the cognitive burden and time required to process the overall communication.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary processing layer that translates long-form text into a structured speech format with natural pauses and transitions. This intermediary representation maintains the original meaning while adapting it to the constraints of auditory processing, making it easier to follow and understand without requiring intense concentration.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If electronic devices read long messages aloud, then users can access communications without a display, but the process takes a long time

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccessibility of communicationsVSAvoidspeed of message access

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts essential information from long communications by identifying key entities, actions, and decisions. It pulls out only the most relevant content while filtering out redundant or less important details, presenting a condensed version that maintains the core meaning while significantly reducing processing time and cognitive load.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary analysis and processing of communications before they are presented to the user. It pre-identifies key information, structures content into logical segments, and prepares optimized speech outputs in advance, which accelerates the overall message delivery speed while maintaining comprehensiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3698356B1Smart communications assistant with audio interface

Publication Date: 2024.06.05 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

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AI summary

Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for a smart communications assistant with an audio interface. One method includes an operation for getting messages addressed to a user. The messages are from one or more message sources and each message comprising message data that includes text. The method further includes operations for analyzing the message data to determine a meaning of each message, for generating a score for each message based on the respective message data and the meaning of the message, and for generating a textual summary for the messages based on the message scores and the meaning of the messages. A speech summary is created based on the textual summary and the speech summary is then sent to a speaker associated with the user. The audio interface further allows the user to verbally request actions for the messages.