Voice Assistant Presence Detection via Distributed Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing voice assistant devices often activate unintentionally due to shared audio commands from multiple users in different rooms, leading to false activations and potential security or privacy issues, as they lack precise user and location detection capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system with distributed sensors and voice assistant devices that determine the presence of an activation source within specific regions, allowing only the local device to respond to voice commands and preventing multiple activations, while also enabling user identification and restricted access through presence detection and communication with other devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If voice assistant devices activate based on audio commands from multiple users in different rooms, then the device can respond to more users, but false activations occur and security/privacy issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the environment into multiple activation regions and distributes sensors throughout these regions. Each voice assistant device is associated with specific activation regions, allowing the system to segment the audio command reception space. This enables the device to determine which user is physically present in which region, preventing false activations from users in other regions while maintaining the ability to serve multiple users in their respective regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces sensors as intermediary devices that detect the physical presence of users and provide this information to the voice assistant device. These sensors act as mediators between the audio commands and the activation decision, allowing the system to verify both the audio command and the physical presence of the user before activation, thereby preventing false activations.
2Reliability
If distributed sensors are implemented to detect activation source presence, then false activations are prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensors in the distributed system are designed to serve multiple functions: they detect the physical presence of users for activation verification, identify which activation region a user is in, and provide location information for routing audio commands to the appropriate voice assistant device. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized devices, thereby limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system combines the sensor network with the existing voice assistant device architecture, integrating presence detection capabilities into the activation decision-making process. Rather than adding completely separate systems, the sensor data is merged with audio processing and user identification functions, creating a unified system that improves reliability without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Reliability
If presence detection is used to restrict access to voice commands, then security is improved, but ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of user presence through sensors before requiring voice commands. By pre-identifying which user is physically present in the activation region, the system can automatically associate audio commands with the correct user without requiring additional authentication steps. This preliminary action maintains security while preserving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The presence detection system automatically identifies and authenticates users based on their physical presence in activation regions, without requiring manual intervention or additional authentication actions from users. The system serves itself by using sensor data to determine which user should receive or execute commands, eliminating the need for users to manually grant access or select their profile.
Data Source
AI summary
A voice assistant device comprises an input to receive data defining an audio command; and processing circuitry to perform an operation defined by the audio command responsive to an activation of the voice assistant device; wherein the activation comprises determining presence of an activation source within an activation region from one or more sensors.