Speech User Recognition via ASR Confidence and Location Data

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional speech recognition systems face challenges in accurately verifying the identity of users, leading to potential misidentification and unauthorized access, especially when multiple users speak the same utterance with different intentions.

Innovation Solution

The system incorporates a confidence output from the Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) component and secondary information such as device location and image data into the user recognition analysis, enhancing the accuracy of user verification by comparing speech characteristics with stored training data.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If traditional speech recognition systems are used for user verification, then the system is simple and easy to operate, but the accuracy of user verification is low leading to false verifications

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser verification accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple verification components into a unified system: ASR confidence output, speaker verification module, and secondary information processing are merged to work together. The speaker verification module integrates audio feature extraction, template matching, and confidence threshold evaluation to achieve accurate user verification while managing system complexity through modular design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Reliability

If only speech characteristics are used for user recognition, then the system is simple, but it cannot distinguish between multiple users speaking the same utterance with different intentions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser identification accuracyVSAvoidrecognition system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the verification process into distinct components: ASR processing for utterance recognition, speaker verification for identity confirmation, and secondary information analysis for contextual understanding. Each component processes specific features independently before integrating results, allowing the system to handle complex verification scenarios without overwhelming complexity in any single module.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent adds multiple verification dimensions beyond simple speech recognition. It incorporates speaker identity verification, confidence level assessment, secondary information analysis (device location, usage patterns), and intent determination. This multi-dimensional approach enables the system to distinguish between multiple users speaking the same utterance by evaluating different aspects simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Reliability

If speech recognition systems process all utterances, then productivity is high, but false verifications lead to unintended data disclosure

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveverification accuracyVSAvoidprocessing efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary verification actions before processing utterances. The speaker verification module checks audio characteristics against stored templates in advance, and the confidence threshold filter evaluates ASR confidence levels before triggering full processing. This preliminary screening prevents false verifications from reaching subsequent processing stages, reducing unintended data disclosure while maintaining high productivity by filtering out low-confidence cases early.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11270685B2Speech based user recognition
Publication Date: 2022.03.08 AMAZON TECH INC
  • US11270685B2 patent drawing
  • US11270685B2 patent drawing
  • US11270685B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Systems, methods, and devices for verifying a user are disclosed. A speech-controlled device captures a spoken command, and sends audio data corresponding thereto to a server. The server performs ASR on the audio data to determine ASR confidence data. The server, in parallel, performs user verification on the audio data to determine user verification confidence data. The server may modify the user verification confidence data using the ASR confidence data. In addition or alternatively, the server may modify the user verification confidence data using at least one of a location of the speech-controlled device within a building, a type of the speech-controlled device, or a geographic location of the speech-controlled device.