U.S. patent application number 16/146963 was filed with the patent office on 2019-12-05 for accelerated task performance.
The applicant listed for this patent is Apple Inc.. Invention is credited to Oluwatomiwa ALABI, Kellie ALBERT, Cyrus D. IRANI, Ieyuki KAWASHIMA, Stephen O. LEMAY.
Application Number | 20190370292 16/146963 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 68693389 |
Filed Date | 2019-12-05 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190370292 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
IRANI; Cyrus D. ; et
al. |
December 5, 2019 |
ACCELERATED TASK PERFORMANCE
Abstract
Systems and processes for accelerating task performance are
provided. An example method includes, at an electronic device
including a display and one or more input devices, displaying, on
the display, a user interface including a suggestion affordance
associated with a task, detecting, via the one or more input
devices, a first user input corresponding to a selection of the
suggestion affordance, in response to detecting the first user
input: in accordance with a determination that the task is a task
of a first type, performing the task, and in accordance with a
determination that the task is a task of a second type different
than the first type, displaying a confirmation interface including
a confirmation affordance.
Inventors: |
IRANI; Cyrus D.; (Los Altos,
CA) ; ALABI; Oluwatomiwa; (San Francisco, CA)
; ALBERT; Kellie; (San Jose, CA) ; KAWASHIMA;
Ieyuki; (San Jose, CA) ; LEMAY; Stephen O.;
(Palo Alto, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Apple Inc. |
Cupertino |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
68693389 |
Appl. No.: |
16/146963 |
Filed: |
September 28, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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62679972 |
Jun 3, 2018 |
|
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62729967 |
Sep 11, 2018 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/90328 20190101;
G06F 3/0488 20130101; G06F 3/0482 20130101; H04L 51/10 20130101;
H04M 2250/22 20130101; G06F 3/04883 20130101; G06F 3/167 20130101;
G10L 2015/088 20130101; G10L 15/22 20130101; G10L 15/26 20130101;
G10L 15/1822 20130101; G06F 9/44 20130101; G06F 16/90332 20190101;
H04L 51/18 20130101; H04M 1/72569 20130101; G06F 9/451 20180201;
H04M 1/72522 20130101; G10L 2015/221 20130101; G10L 15/18 20130101;
G10L 21/10 20130101; G10L 2015/225 20130101; G10L 2015/223
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 16/9032 20060101
G06F016/9032; G06F 3/0488 20060101 G06F003/0488; G10L 15/22
20060101 G10L015/22 |
Claims
1. An electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; a
memory; one or more input devices; and one or more programs,
wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and
configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or
more programs including instructions for: displaying, on the
display, a user interface including a suggestion affordance
associated with a task, wherein the task associated with the
suggestion affordance is based on at least one of a plurality of
contextual characteristics associated with the electronic device;
detecting, via the one or more input devices, a first user input
corresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance; and in
response to detecting the first user input corresponding to the
selection of the suggestion affordance associated with the task:
determining whether the task is of a first type or of a second type
different than the first type; in accordance with the determination
that the task is the task of the first type, performing the task;
and in accordance with the determination that the task is the task
of a second type, displaying a confirmation interface including a
confirmation affordance.
2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein displaying, on the
display, a user interface including a suggestion affordance
associated with a task includes: in accordance with the task being
a task of the first type, displaying the suggestion affordance with
a glyph; and in accordance with the task being a task of the second
type, displaying the suggestion affordance without a glyph.
3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein displaying, on the
display, a user interface including a suggestion affordance
associated with a task includes: in accordance with a determination
that the task corresponds to a first set of tasks, displaying the
suggestion affordance with a glyph of a first type; and in
accordance with a determination that the task corresponds to a
second set of tasks different than the first set of tasks,
displaying the suggestion affordance with a glyph of a second type
different than the first type; and in accordance with a
determination that the task does not correspond to the first set of
tasks and does not correspond to the second set of tasks,
displaying the suggestion affordance without a glyph.
4. The electronic device of claim 1, the one or more programs
further including instructions for: while displaying the
confirmation interface: detecting a second user input corresponding
to a selection of the confirmation affordance; and in response to
detecting the second user input, performing the task.
5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the confirmation
interface includes an application affordance, the one or more
programs further including instructions for: detecting a third user
input corresponding to a selection of the application affordance;
and in response to detecting the third user input, executing an
application associated with the task.
6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein: the suggestion
affordance includes a visual indication of a parameter affecting
performance of the task; and executing the application associated
with the task includes preloading the application with the
parameter.
7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the confirmation
interface includes a cancel affordance, the one or more programs
further including instructions for: detecting a fourth user input
corresponding to a selection of the cancel affordance; and in
response to detecting the fourth user input, forgoing performing
the task.
8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the user interface
further includes a notification; and the suggestion affordance is
displayed in a first manner and the notification is displayed in a
second manner different than the first manner.
9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first user input
is an input of a first type, the one or more programs further
including instructions for: while displaying the user interface,
detecting a user input of a second type corresponding to a
selection of the suggestion affordance, wherein the second type is
different than the first type; and in response to detecting the
user input of the second type, displaying the confirmation
interface.
10. The electronic device of claim 1, the one or more programs
further including instructions for: determining whether the task is
a task of a first type.
11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein determining whether
the task is a task of a first type includes determining whether one
or more parameters associated with the task are valid.
12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein performing the task
includes causing the task to be performed by another electronic
device.
13. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user interface is
a lock screen user interface, a search user interface, or a digital
assistant user interface.
14. The electronic device of claim 1, the one or more programs
further including instructions for: determining a first set of
candidate tasks; and identifying the task from the first set of
candidate tasks, wherein the task is identified based on a
determination that a context of the device satisfies task
suggestion criteria.
15. The electronic device of claim 1, the one or more programs
further including instructions for: prior to displaying, on the
display, the user interface: determining, based on a first context
of the electronic device, whether context criteria has been
satisfied; in accordance with a determination that the context
criteria have been satisfied, determining a first set of candidate
tasks; determining, based on a second context of the electronic
device, whether heuristic criteria have been satisfied; in
accordance with a determination that the heuristic criteria have
been satisfied: determining a second set of candidate tasks
different from the first set of candidate tasks; and identifying
the task from the second set of candidate tasks; in accordance with
a determination that the heuristic criteria have not been satisfied
and the context criteria have been satisfied: identifying the task
from the first set of candidate tasks; and in accordance with a
determination that the heuristic criteria have not been satisfied
and the context criteria have not been satisfied: forgoing
determining the first set of candidate tasks and forgoing
determining the second set of candidate tasks.
16. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein displaying a user
interface includes: in accordance with a determination that the
electronic device is in a locked state, displaying the suggestion
affordance in a first visual state; and in accordance with a
determination that the electronic device is not in a locked state,
displaying the suggestion affordance in a second visual state
different than the first visual state.
17. A method, comprising: at an electronic device with a display
and one or more input devices: displaying, on the display, a user
interface including a suggestion affordance associated with a task,
wherein the task associated with the suggestion affordance is based
on at least one of a plurality of contextual characteristics
associated with the electronic device; detecting, via the one or
more input devices, a first user input corresponding to a selection
of the suggestion affordance; in response to detecting the first
user input corresponding to the selection of the suggestion
affordance associated with the task: determining whether the task
is of a first type or of a second type different than the first
type; in accordance with the determination that the task is the
task of the first type, performing the task; and in accordance with
the determination that the task is the task of a second type,
displaying a confirmation interface including a confirmation
affordance.
18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one
or more programs configured to be executed by one or more
processors of an electronic device with a display and one or more
input devices, the one or more programs including instructions for:
displaying, on the display, a user interface including a suggestion
affordance associated with a task, wherein the task associated with
the suggestion affordance is based on at least one of a plurality
of contextual characteristics associated with the electronic
device; detecting, via the one or more input devices, a first user
input corresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance;
and in response to detecting the first user input corresponding to
the selection of the suggestion affordance associated with the
task: determining whether the task is of a first type or of a
second type different than the first type; in accordance with the
determination that the task is the task of a first type, performing
the task; and in accordance with the determination that the task is
the task of a second type, displaying a confirmation interface
including a confirmation affordance.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein displaying, on the display, a
user interface including a suggestion affordance associated with a
task includes: in accordance with the task being a task of the
first type, displaying the suggestion affordance with a glyph; and
in accordance with the task being a task of the second type,
displaying the suggestion affordance without a glyph.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein displaying, on the display, a
user interface including a suggestion affordance associated with a
task includes: in accordance with a determination that the task
corresponds to a first set of tasks, displaying the suggestion
affordance with a glyph of a first type; and in accordance with a
determination that the task corresponds to a second set of tasks
different than the first set of tasks, displaying the suggestion
affordance with a glyph of a second type different than the first
type; and in accordance with a determination that the task does not
correspond to the first set of tasks and does not correspond to the
second set of tasks, displaying the suggestion affordance without a
glyph.
21. The method of claim 17, further comprising: while displaying
the confirmation interface: detecting a second user input
corresponding to a selection of the confirmation affordance; and in
response to detecting the second user input, performing the
task.
22. The method of claim 17, wherein the confirmation interface
includes an application affordance, further comprising: detecting a
third user input corresponding to a selection of the application
affordance; and in response to detecting the third user input,
executing an application associated with the task.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein: the suggestion affordance
includes a visual indication of a parameter affecting performance
of the task; and executing the application associated with the task
includes preloading the application with the parameter.
24. The method of claim 17, wherein the confirmation interface
includes a cancel affordance, further comprising: detecting a
fourth user input corresponding to a selection of the cancel
affordance; and in response to detecting the fourth user input,
forgoing performing the task.
25. The method of claim 17, wherein: the user interface further
includes a notification; and the suggestion affordance is displayed
in a first manner and the notification is displayed in a second
manner different than the first manner.
26. The method of claim 17, wherein the first user input is an
input of a first type, further comprising: while displaying the
user interface, detecting a user input of a second type
corresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance, wherein
the second type is different than the first type; and in response
to detecting the user input of the second type, displaying the
confirmation interface.
27. The method of claim 17, further comprising: determining whether
the task is a task of a first type.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein determining whether the task is
a task of a first type includes determining whether one or more
parameters associated with the task are valid.
29. The method of claim 17, wherein performing the task includes
causing the task to be performed by another electronic device.
30. The method of claim 17, wherein the user interface is a lock
screen user interface, a search user interface, or a digital
assistant user interface.
31. The method of claim 17, further comprising: determining a first
set of candidate tasks; and identifying the task from the first set
of candidate tasks, wherein the task is identified based on a
determination that a context of the device satisfies task
suggestion criteria.
32. The method of claim 17, further comprising: prior to
displaying, on the display, the user interface: determining, based
on a first context of the electronic device, whether context
criteria has been satisfied; in accordance with a determination
that the context criteria have been satisfied, determining a first
set of candidate tasks; determining, based on a second context of
the electronic device, whether heuristic criteria have been
satisfied; in accordance with a determination that the heuristic
criteria have been satisfied: determining a second set of candidate
tasks different from the first set of candidate tasks; and
identifying the task from the second set of candidate tasks; in
accordance with a determination that the heuristic criteria have
not been satisfied and the context criteria have been satisfied:
identifying the task from the first set of candidate tasks; and in
accordance with a determination that the heuristic criteria have
not been satisfied and the context criteria have not been
satisfied: forgoing determining the first set of candidate tasks
and forgoing determining the second set of candidate tasks.
33. The method of claim 17, wherein displaying a user interface
includes: in accordance with a determination that the electronic
device is in a locked state, displaying the suggestion affordance
in a first visual state; and in accordance with a determination
that the electronic device is not in a locked state, displaying the
suggestion affordance in a second visual state different than the
first visual state.
34. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein displaying, on the display, a user interface including
a suggestion affordance associated with a task includes: in
accordance with the task being a task of the first type, displaying
the suggestion affordance with a glyph; and in accordance with the
task being a task of the second type, displaying the suggestion
affordance without a glyph.
35. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein displaying, on the display, a user interface including
a suggestion affordance associated with a task includes: in
accordance with a determination that the task corresponds to a
first set of tasks, displaying the suggestion affordance with a
glyph of a first type; and in accordance with a determination that
the task corresponds to a second set of tasks different than the
first set of tasks, displaying the suggestion affordance with a
glyph of a second type different than the first type; and in
accordance with a determination that the task does not correspond
to the first set of tasks and does not correspond to the second set
of tasks, displaying the suggestion affordance without a glyph.
36. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, the one or more programs further including instructions for:
while displaying the confirmation interface: detecting a second
user input corresponding to a selection of the confirmation
affordance; and in response to detecting the second user input,
performing the task.
37. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein the confirmation interface includes an application
affordance, the one or more programs further including instructions
for: detecting a third user input corresponding to a selection of
the application affordance; and in response to detecting the third
user input, executing an application associated with the task.
38. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
37, wherein: the suggestion affordance includes a visual indication
of a parameter affecting performance of the task; and executing the
application associated with the task includes preloading the
application with the parameter.
39. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein the confirmation interface includes a cancel
affordance, the one or more programs further including instructions
for: detecting a fourth user input corresponding to a selection of
the cancel affordance; and in response to detecting the fourth user
input, forgoing performing the task.
40. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein: the user interface further includes a notification;
and the suggestion affordance is displayed in a first manner and
the notification is displayed in a second manner different than the
first manner.
41. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein the first user input is an input of a first type, the
one or more programs further including instructions for: while
displaying the user interface, detecting a user input of a second
type corresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance,
wherein the second type is different than the first type; and in
response to detecting the user input of the second type, displaying
the confirmation interface.
42. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, the one or more programs further including instructions for:
determining whether the task is a task of a first type.
43. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
42, wherein determining whether the task is a task of a first type
includes determining whether one or more parameters associated with
the task are valid.
44. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein performing the task includes causing the task to be
performed by another electronic device.
45. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein the user interface is a lock screen user interface, a
search user interface, or a digital assistant user interface.
46. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, the one or more programs further including instructions for:
determining a first set of candidate tasks; and identifying the
task from the first set of candidate tasks, wherein the task is
identified based on a determination that a context of the device
satisfies task suggestion criteria.
47. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, the one or more programs further including instructions for:
prior to displaying, on the display, the user interface:
determining, based on a first context of the electronic device,
whether context criteria has been satisfied; in accordance with a
determination that the context criteria have been satisfied,
determining a first set of candidate tasks; determining, based on a
second context of the electronic device, whether heuristic criteria
have been satisfied; in accordance with a determination that the
heuristic criteria have been satisfied: determining a second set of
candidate tasks different from the first set of candidate tasks;
and identifying the task from the second set of candidate tasks; in
accordance with a determination that the heuristic criteria have
not been satisfied and the context criteria have been satisfied:
identifying the task from the first set of candidate tasks; and in
accordance with a determination that the heuristic criteria have
not been satisfied and the context criteria have not been
satisfied: forgoing determining the first set of candidate tasks
and forgoing determining the second set of candidate tasks.
48. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein displaying a user interface includes: in accordance
with a determination that the electronic device is in a locked
state, displaying the suggestion affordance in a first visual
state; and in accordance with a determination that the electronic
device is not in a locked state, displaying the suggestion
affordance in a second visual state different than the first visual
state.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application 62/679,972, entitled "ACCELERATED TASK PERFORMANCE"
filed Jun. 3, 2018 and to U.S. Provisional Application 62/729,967,
entitled "ACCELERATED TASK PERFORMANCE", filed Sep. 11, 2018, the
entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD
[0002] This relates generally to digital assistants and, more
specifically, to accelerating task performance using a digital
assistant.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Intelligent automated assistants (or digital assistants) can
provide a beneficial interface between human users and electronic
devices. Such assistants can allow users to interact with devices
or systems using natural language in spoken and/or text forms. For
example, a user can provide a speech input containing a user
request to a digital assistant operating on an electronic device.
The digital assistant can interpret the user's intent from the
speech input, operationalize the user's intent into a task, and
perform the task. In some systems, performing tasks in this manner
may be constrained in the manner by which a task is identified. In
some cases, however, a user may be limited to a particular set of
commands such that the user cannot readily instruct a digital
assistant to perform a task using natural-language speech inputs.
Further, in many instances digital assistants fail to adapt based
on previous user behavior and in turn lack a desirable optimization
of user experience.
SUMMARY
[0004] Example methods are described herein. An example method
includes, at an electronic device with a display and a
touch-sensitive surface, displaying, on the display, a user
interface including a suggestion affordance associated with a task,
detecting, via the one or more input devices, a first user input
corresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance; in
response to detecting the first user input: in accordance with a
determination that the task is a task of a first type, performing
the task; and in accordance with a determination that the task is a
task of a second type different than the first type, displaying a
confirmation interface including a confirmation affordance.
[0005] Example electronic devices are described herein. An example
electronic device comprises one or more processors, a memory, and
one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored
in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more
processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:
displaying, on the display, a user interface including a suggestion
affordance associated with a task; detecting, via the one or more
input devices, a first user input corresponding to a selection of
the suggestion affordance; in response to detecting the first user
input: in accordance with a determination that the task is a task
of a first type, performing the task; and in accordance with a
determination that the task is a task of a second type different
than the first type, displaying a confirmation interface including
a confirmation affordance.
[0006] An example electronic device includes means for displaying,
on the display, a user interface including a suggestion affordance
associated with a task, means for detecting, via the one or more
input devices, a first user input corresponding to a selection of
the suggestion affordance, means for, in response to detecting the
first user input: in accordance with a determination that the task
is a task of a first type, performing the task; and in accordance
with a determination that the task is a task of a second type
different than the first type, displaying a confirmation interface
including a confirmation affordance.
[0007] Example non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed
herein. An example non-transitory computer-readable medium stores
one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed
by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the
electronic device to: display, on the display, a user interface
including a suggestion affordance associated with a task; detect,
via the one or more input devices, a first user input corresponding
to a selection of the suggestion affordance; in response to
detecting the first user input: in accordance with a determination
that the task is a task of a first type, perform the task; and in
accordance with a determination that the task is a task of a second
type different than the first type, display a confirmation
interface including a confirmation affordance.
[0008] Displaying a user interface including a suggestion
affordance and selectively requiring confirmation to perform a task
in response to selection of the suggestion affordance provides a
user with an easily recognizable and intuitive approach for
performing tasks on the electronic device, thereby reducing the
number of user inputs otherwise needed to perform such tasks. Thus,
displaying user interfaces in this manner enhances the operability
of the device and makes the user-device interface more efficient
(e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing
user mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,
additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of the
device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly and
efficiently.
[0009] An example method includes, at an electronic device having
one or more processors, displaying a plurality of candidate task
affordances including a candidate task affordance associated with a
task, detecting a set of inputs including a first user input
corresponding to a selection of the candidate task affordance
associated with the task, in response to detecting the set of user
inputs, displaying a first interface for generating a voice
shortcut associated with the task, while displaying the first
interface: receiving, by the audio input device, a natural-language
speech input, and displaying, in the first interface, a candidate
phrase, wherein the candidate phrase is based on the
natural-language speech input, after displaying the candidate
phrase, detecting, via the touch-sensitive surface, a second user
input, and in response to detecting the second user input,
associating the candidate phrase with the task.
[0010] An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
stores one or more programs. The one or more programs comprise
instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an
electronic device, cause the electronic device to display a
plurality of candidate task affordances including a candidate task
affordance associated with a task, detect a set of inputs including
a first user input corresponding to a selection of the candidate
task affordance associated with the task, in response to detecting
the set of user inputs, display a first interface for generating a
voice shortcut associated with the task, while displaying the first
interface: receive, by the audio input device, a natural-language
speech input, and display, in the first interface, a candidate
phrase, wherein the candidate phrase is based on the
natural-language speech input, after displaying the candidate
phrase, detect, via the touch-sensitive surface, a second user
input, and in response to detecting the second user input,
associate the candidate phrase with the task.
[0011] An example electronic device comprises one or more
processors, a memory, and one or more programs, where the one or
more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be
executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs
including instructions for displaying a plurality of candidate task
affordances including a candidate task affordance associated with a
task, detecting a set of inputs including a first user input
corresponding to a selection of the candidate task affordance
associated with the task, in response to detecting the set of user
inputs, displaying a first interface for generating a voice
shortcut associated with the task, while displaying the first
interface: receiving, by the audio input device, a natural-language
speech input, and displaying, in the first interface, a candidate
phrase, wherein the candidate phrase is based on the
natural-language speech input, after displaying the candidate
phrase, detecting, via the touch-sensitive surface, a second user
input, and in response to detecting the second user input,
associating the candidate phrase with the task.
[0012] An example electronic device comprises means for displaying
a plurality of candidate task affordances including a candidate
task affordance associated with a task, means for detecting a set
of inputs including a first user input corresponding to a selection
of the candidate task affordance associated with the task, means
for, in response to detecting the set of user inputs, displaying a
first interface for generating a voice shortcut associated with the
task, means for, while displaying the first interface: receiving,
by the audio input device, a natural-language speech input, and
displaying, in the first interface, a candidate phrase, wherein the
candidate phrase is based on the natural-language speech input,
means for, after displaying the candidate phrase, detecting, via
the touch-sensitive surface, a second user input, and means for, in
response to detecting the second user input, associating the
candidate phrase with the task.
[0013] Providing candidate phrases based on a natural-language
speech input and associating candidate phrases with respective
tasks allows a user to accurately and efficiently generate
user-specific voice shortcuts that can be used to perform tasks on
the electronic device. For example, allowing a user to associate
voice shortcuts with tasks in this manner allows a user to visually
confirm that a desired voice shortcut has been selected and
assigned to the correct task, thereby reducing the likelihood of an
incorrect or unwanted association. Thus, providing candidate
phrases in the manner described provides for more efficient use of
the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper
inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with
the device), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves
battery life of the device by enabling the user to use the device
more quickly and efficiently.
[0014] An example method includes, at an electronic device having
one or more processors, receiving context data associated with the
electronic device, determining, based on the context data, a task
probability for a task, determining, based on the context data, a
parameter probability for a parameter, wherein the parameter is
associated with the task, determining, based on the task
probability and the parameter probability, whether the task
satisfies suggestion criteria, in accordance with a determination
that the task satisfies the suggestion criteria, displaying, on the
display, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the task and the
parameter, and in accordance with a determination that the task
does not satisfy the suggestion criteria, forgoing displaying the
suggestion affordance.
[0015] An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
stores one or more programs. The one or more programs comprise
instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an
electronic device, cause the electronic device to receive context
data associated with the electronic device, determine, based on the
context data, a task probability for a task, determine, based on
the context data, a parameter probability for a parameter, wherein
the parameter is associated with the task, determine, based on the
task probability and the parameter probability, whether the task
satisfies suggestion criteria, in accordance with a determination
that the task satisfies the suggestion criteria, display, on the
display, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the task and the
parameter, and in accordance with a determination that the task
does not satisfy the suggestion criteria, forgo displaying the
suggestion affordance.
[0016] An example electronic device comprises one or more
processors, a memory, and one or more programs, where the one or
more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be
executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs
including instructions for receiving context data associated with
the electronic device, determining, based on the context data, a
task probability for a task, determining, based on the context
data, a parameter probability for a parameter, wherein the
parameter is associated with the task, determining, based on the
task probability and the parameter probability, whether the task
satisfies suggestion criteria, in accordance with a determination
that the task satisfies the suggestion criteria, displaying, on the
display, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the task and the
parameter, and in accordance with a determination that the task
does not satisfy the suggestion criteria, forgoing displaying the
suggestion affordance.
[0017] An example electronic device comprises means for means for
receiving context data associated with the electronic device, means
for determining, based on the context data, a task probability for
a task, means for determining, based on the context data, a
parameter probability for a parameter, wherein the parameter is
associated with the task, means for determining, based on the task
probability and the parameter probability, whether the task
satisfies suggestion criteria, means for, in accordance with a
determination that the task satisfies the suggestion criteria,
displaying, on the display, a suggestion affordance corresponding
to the task and the parameter, and means for in accordance with a
determination that the task does not satisfy the suggestion
criteria, forgoing displaying the suggestion affordance.
[0018] Selectively providing suggestion affordances associated with
tasks, as described herein, allows a user to efficiently and
conveniently perform tasks relevant to the user on the electronic
device. By way of example, suggestion affordances displayed by the
electronic device can correspond to tasks identified based on
context data of the electronic device, such as context data
indicative of prior use of the electronic device by the user. Thus,
selectively providing suggestions in this manner decreases the
number of inputs and amount of time needed for the user to operate
the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper
inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with
the device), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves
battery life of the device.
[0019] An example method includes, at an electronic device having
one or more processors, receiving a natural-language speech input,
determining whether the natural-language speech input satisfies
voice shortcut criteria, in accordance with a determination that
the natural-language speech input satisfies the voice shortcut
criteria: identifying a task associated with the voice shortcut,
and performing the task associated with the voice shortcut, and in
accordance with a determination that the natural-language speech
input does not satisfy the voice shortcut criteria: identifying a
task associated with the natural-language speech input, and
performing the task associated with the natural-language speech
input.
[0020] An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
stores one or more programs. The one or more programs comprise
instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an
electronic device, cause the electronic device to receive a
natural-language speech input, determine whether the
natural-language speech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria, in
accordance with a determination that the natural-language speech
input satisfies the voice shortcut criteria: identify a task
associated with the voice shortcut, and perform the task associated
with the voice shortcut, and in accordance with a determination
that the natural-language speech input does not satisfy the voice
shortcut criteria: identify a task associated with the
natural-language speech input, and perform the task associated with
the natural-language speech input.
[0021] An example electronic device comprises one or more
processors, a memory, and one or more programs, where the one or
more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be
executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs
including instructions for receiving a natural-language speech
input, determining whether the natural-language speech input
satisfies voice shortcut criteria, in accordance with a
determination that the natural-language speech input satisfies the
voice shortcut criteria: identifying a task associated with the
voice shortcut, and performing the task associated with the voice
shortcut, and in accordance with a determination that the
natural-language speech input does not satisfy the voice shortcut
criteria: identifying a task associated with the natural-language
speech input, and performing the task associated with the
natural-language speech input.
[0022] An example electronic device comprises means for means for
receiving a natural-language speech input, means for determining
whether the natural-language speech input satisfies voice shortcut
criteria, means for, in accordance with a determination that the
natural-language speech input satisfies the voice shortcut
criteria: identifying a task associated with the voice shortcut,
and performing the task associated with the voice shortcut, and
means for, in accordance with a determination that the
natural-language speech input does not satisfy the voice shortcut
criteria: identifying a task associated with the natural-language
speech input, and performing the task associated with the
natural-language speech input.
[0023] Performing tasks in response to natural-language speech
inputs (e.g., voice shortcuts), as described herein, provides an
intuitive and efficient approach for performing tasks on the
electronic device. By way of example, one or more tasks may be
performed in response to a natural-language speech input without
any additional input from the user. Accordingly, performing tasks
in response to natural-language speech inputs in this manner
decreases the number of inputs and amount of time needed for the
user to operate the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to
provide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes when
operating/interacting with the device), which, additionally,
reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device.
[0024] An example method includes, at an electronic device having
one or more processors, receiving, with a digital assistant, a
natural-language speech input, determining a voice shortcut
associated with the natural-language speech input, determining a
task corresponding to the voice shortcut, causing an application to
initiate performance of the task, receiving a response from the
application, wherein the response is associated with the task,
determining, based on the response, whether the task was
successfully performed, and providing an output indicating whether
the task was successfully performed.
[0025] An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
stores one or more programs. The one or more programs comprise
instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an
electronic device, cause the electronic device to receive, with a
digital assistant, a natural-language speech input, determine a
voice shortcut associated with the natural-language speech input,
determine a task corresponding to the voice shortcut, cause an
application to initiate performance of the task, receive a response
from the application, wherein the response is associated with the
task, determine, based on the response, whether the task was
successfully performed, and provide an output indicating whether
the task was successfully performed.
[0026] An example electronic device comprises one or more
processors, a memory, and one or more programs, where the one or
more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be
executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs
including instructions for receiving, with a digital assistant, a
natural-language speech input, determining a voice shortcut
associated with the natural-language speech input, determining a
task corresponding to the voice shortcut, causing an application to
initiate performance of the task, receiving a response from the
application, wherein the response is associated with the task,
determining, based on the response, whether the task was
successfully performed, and providing an output indicating whether
the task was successfully performed.
[0027] An example electronic device comprises means for means for
receiving, with a digital assistant, a natural-language speech
input, means for determining a voice shortcut associated with the
natural-language speech input, and means for determining a task
corresponding to the voice shortcut, means for causing an
application to initiate performance of the task, means for
receiving a response from the application, wherein the response is
associated with the task, means for determining, based on the
response, whether the task was successfully performed, and means
for providing an output indicating whether the task was
successfully performed.
[0028] Providing an output, as described herein, allows the digital
assistant to provide feedback and/or other information from an
application, for instance during the course of a dialog (e.g.,
conversational dialog) between a user and the digital assistant, in
an intuitive and flexible manner. By way of example, the digital
assistant may provide (e.g., relay) natural-language expressions
from an application to the user such that the user can interact
with the application without opening or otherwise directly
accessing the application. Accordingly, providing natural-language
outputs in this manner decreases the number of inputs and amount of
time needed for the user to operate the electronic device (e.g., by
helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing user
mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,
additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of the
device.
[0029] An example method includes receiving a plurality of media
items from an application, receiving context data associated with
the electronic device, determining a task based on the plurality of
media items and the context data, determining whether the task
satisfies suggestion criteria, in accordance with a determination
that the task satisfies the suggestion criteria, displaying, on the
display, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the task, and in
accordance with a determination that the task does not satisfy the
suggestion criteria, forgoing displaying the suggestion
affordance.
[0030] An example electronic device comprises one or more
processors, a memory, and one or more programs, wherein the one or
more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be
executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs
including instructions for receiving a plurality of media items
from an application, receiving context data associated with the
electronic device, determining a task based on the plurality of
media items and the context data, determining whether the task
satisfies suggestion criteria, in accordance with a determination
that the task satisfies the suggestion criteria, displaying, on the
display, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the task, and in
accordance with a determination that the task does not satisfy the
suggestion criteria, forgoing displaying the suggestion
affordance.
[0031] An example electronic device comprises means for receiving a
plurality of media items from an application, means for receiving
context data associated with the electronic device, means for
determining a task based on the plurality of media items and the
context data, means for determining whether the task satisfies
suggestion criteria, means for, in accordance with a determination
that the task satisfies the suggestion criteria, displaying, on the
display, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the task, and
means for, in accordance with a determination that the task does
not satisfy the suggestion criteria, forgoing displaying the
suggestion affordance.
[0032] An example non-transitory computer-readable medium stores
one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed
by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the
electronic device to receive a plurality of media items from an
application, receive context data associated with the electronic
device, determine a task based on the plurality of media items and
the context data, determine whether the task satisfies suggestion
criteria, in accordance with a determination that the task
satisfies the suggestion criteria, display, on the display, a
suggestion affordance corresponding to the task, and in accordance
with a determination that the task does not satisfy the suggestion
criteria, forgo displaying the suggestion affordance.
[0033] Selectively providing suggestion affordances corresponding
to tasks, as described herein, allows a user to efficiently and
conveniently perform tasks relevant to the user on the electronic
device. By way of example, suggestion affordances displayed by the
electronic device can correspond to tasks identified based on media
consumption and/or determined media preferences of the user. Thus,
selectively providing suggestions in this manner decreases the
number of inputs and amount of time needed for the user to operate
the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper
inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with
the device), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves
battery life of the device.
[0034] An example method includes receiving, using a digital
assistant, a user input including a shortcut; and in response to
receiving the user input including the shortcut: determining a set
of tasks associated with the shortcut; performing a first task of
the set of tasks, wherein the first task is associated with a first
application; providing a first response indicating whether the
first task was successfully performed; performing a second task of
the set of tasks, wherein the second task is associated with a
second application different than the first application; and after
providing the first response, providing a second response
indicating whether the second task was successfully performed.
[0035] An example electronic device comprises one or more
processors, a memory, and one or more programs, wherein the one or
more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be
executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs
including instructions for receiving, using a digital assistant, a
user input including a shortcut; and in response to receiving the
user input including the shortcut: determining a set of tasks
associated with the shortcut; performing a first task of the set of
tasks, wherein the first task is associated with a first
application; providing a first response indicating whether the
first task was successfully performed; performing a second task of
the set of tasks, wherein the second task is associated with a
second application different than the first application; and after
providing the first response, providing a second response
indicating whether the second task was successfully performed.
[0036] An example electronic device comprises means for receiving,
using a digital assistant, a user input including a shortcut; and
means for, in response to receiving the user input including the
shortcut: determining a set of tasks associated with the shortcut;
performing a first task of the set of tasks, wherein the first task
is associated with a first application; providing a first response
indicating whether the first task was successfully performed;
performing a second task of the set of tasks, wherein the second
task is associated with a second application different than the
first application; and after providing the first response,
providing a second response indicating whether the second task was
successfully performed.
[0037] An example non-transitory computer-readable medium stores
one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed
by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the
electronic device to receive, using a digital assistant, a user
input including a shortcut; and in response to receiving the user
input including the shortcut: determine a set of tasks associated
with the shortcut; perform a first task of the set of tasks,
wherein the first task is associated with a first application;
provide a first response indicating whether the first task was
successfully performed; perform a second task of the set of tasks,
wherein the second task is associated with a second application
different than the first application; and after providing the first
response, provide a second response indicating whether the second
task was successfully performed.
[0038] Performing a set of tasks in response to user inputs
including shortcuts (e.g., voice shortcuts), as described herein,
provides an intuitive and efficient approach for sequentially
performing one or more tasks on the electronic device. By way of
example, one or more tasks may be performed in response to a single
user input without any additional input from the user. Accordingly,
performing tasks in response to natural-language speech inputs in
this manner decreases the number of inputs and amount of time
needed for the user to successfully operate the electronic device
(e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing
user mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,
additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of the
device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0039] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system and
environment for implementing a digital assistant, according to
various examples.
[0040] FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a portable
multifunction device implementing the client-side portion of a
digital assistant, according to various examples.
[0041] FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components
for event handling, according to various examples.
[0042] FIG. 3 illustrates a portable multifunction device
implementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant,
according to various examples.
[0043] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction
device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, according to
various examples.
[0044] FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu
of applications on a portable multifunction device, according to
various examples.
[0045] FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary user interface for a
multifunction device with a touch-sensitive surface that is
separate from the display, according to various examples.
[0046] FIG. 6A illustrates a personal electronic device, according
to various examples.
[0047] FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating a personal
electronic device, according to various examples.
[0048] FIGS. 6C-6D illustrate exemplary components of a personal
electronic device having a touch-sensitive display and intensity
sensors in accordance with some embodiments.
[0049] FIGS. 6E-6H illustrate exemplary components and user
interfaces of a personal electronic device in accordance with some
embodiments.
[0050] FIG. 7A is a block diagram illustrating a digital assistant
system or a server portion thereof, according to various
examples.
[0051] FIG. 7B illustrates the functions of the digital assistant
shown in FIG. 7A, according to various examples.
[0052] FIG. 7C illustrates a portion of an ontology, according to
various examples.
[0053] FIGS. 8A-8AF illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
providing suggestions, according to various examples.
[0054] FIGS. 9A-9B are a flow diagram illustrating a method of
providing suggestions, according to various examples.
[0055] FIGS. 10A-10AJ illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
providing voice shortcuts, according to various examples.
[0056] FIGS. 11A-11B are a flow diagram illustrating a method of
providing voice shortcuts, according to various examples.
[0057] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a task suggestion
system, according to various examples.
[0058] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
providing suggestions, according to various examples.
[0059] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary sequence of operations for
performing a task in a privacy preserving manner, according to
various examples.
[0060] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of
performing tasks, according to various examples.
[0061] FIGS. 16A-16S illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
performing a task using a digital assistant, according to various
examples.
[0062] FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of
performing a task using a digital assistant, according to various
examples.
[0063] FIGS. 18A-18D illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
providing media item suggestions, according to various
examples.
[0064] FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of providing
media item suggestions, according to various examples.
[0065] FIGS. 20A-20N illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
providing voice shortcuts, according to various examples.
[0066] FIGS. 21A-21F illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
performing a task using a digital assistant, according to various
examples.
[0067] FIGS. 22A-220 illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
performing a set of tasks using a digital assistant, according to
various examples.
[0068] FIG. 23 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
performing a set of tasks using a digital assistant, according to
various examples.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0069] In the following description of examples, reference is made
to the accompanying drawings in which are shown by way of
illustration specific examples that can be practiced. It is to be
understood that other examples can be used and structural changes
can be made without departing from the scope of the various
examples.
[0070] Although the following description uses terms "first,"
"second," etc. to describe various elements, these elements should
not be limited by the terms. These terms are only used to
distinguish one element from another. For example, a first input
could be termed a second input, and, similarly, a second input
could be termed a first input, without departing from the scope of
the various described examples. The first input and the second
input are both inputs and, in some cases, are separate and
different inputs.
[0071] The terminology used in the description of the various
described examples herein is for the purpose of describing
particular examples only and is not intended to be limiting. As
used in the description of the various described examples and the
appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are
intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the
term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all
possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed
items. It will be further understood that the terms "includes,"
"including," "comprises," and/or "comprising," when used in this
specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,
steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude
the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers,
steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
[0072] The term "if" may be construed to mean "when" or "upon" or
"in response to determining" or "in response to detecting,"
depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase "if it is
determined" or "if [a stated condition or event] is detected" may
be construed to mean "upon determining" or "in response to
determining" or "upon detecting [the stated condition or event]" or
"in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],"
depending on the context.
1. System and Environment
[0073] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of system 100 according
to various examples. In some examples, system 100 implements a
digital assistant. The terms "digital assistant," "virtual
assistant," "intelligent automated assistant," or "automatic
digital assistant" refer to any information processing system that
interprets natural language input in spoken and/or textual form to
infer user intent, and performs actions based on the inferred user
intent. For example, to act on an inferred user intent, the system
performs one or more of the following: identifying a task flow with
steps and parameters designed to accomplish the inferred user
intent, inputting specific requirements from the inferred user
intent into the task flow; executing the task flow by invoking
programs, methods, services, APIs, or the like; and generating
output responses to the user in an audible (e.g., speech) and/or
visual form.
[0074] Specifically, a digital assistant is capable of accepting a
user request at least partially in the form of a natural language
command, request, statement, narrative, and/or inquiry. Typically,
the user request seeks either an informational answer or
performance of a task by the digital assistant. A satisfactory
response to the user request includes a provision of the requested
informational answer, a performance of the requested task, or a
combination of the two. For example, a user asks the digital
assistant a question, such as "Where am I right now?" Based on the
user's current location, the digital assistant answers, "You are in
Central Park near the west gate." The user also requests the
performance of a task, for example, "Please invite my friends to my
girlfriend's birthday party next week." In response, the digital
assistant can acknowledge the request by saying "Yes, right away,"
and then send a suitable calendar invite on behalf of the user to
each of the user's friends listed in the user's electronic address
book. During performance of a requested task, the digital assistant
sometimes interacts with the user in a continuous dialogue
involving multiple exchanges of information over an extended period
of time. There are numerous other ways of interacting with a
digital assistant to request information or performance of various
tasks. In addition to providing verbal responses and taking
programmed actions, the digital assistant also provides responses
in other visual or audio forms, e.g., as text, alerts, music,
videos, animations, etc.
[0075] As shown in FIG. 1, in some examples, a digital assistant is
implemented according to a client-server model. The digital
assistant includes client-side portion 102 (hereafter "DA client
102") executed on user device 104 and server-side portion 106
(hereafter "DA server 106") executed on server system 108. DA
client 102 communicates with DA server 106 through one or more
networks 110. DA client 102 provides client-side functionalities
such as user-facing input and output processing and communication
with DA server 106. DA server 106 provides server-side
functionalities for any number of DA clients 102 each residing on a
respective user device 104.
[0076] In some examples, DA server 106 includes client-facing I/O
interface 112, one or more processing modules 114, data and models
116, and I/O interface to external services 118. The client-facing
I/O interface 112 facilitates the client-facing input and output
processing for DA server 106. One or more processing modules 114
utilize data and models 116 to process speech input and determine
the user's intent based on natural language input. Further, one or
more processing modules 114 perform task execution based on
inferred user intent. In some examples, DA server 106 communicates
with external services 120 through network(s) 110 for task
completion or information acquisition. I/O interface to external
services 118 facilitates such communications.
[0077] User device 104 can be any suitable electronic device. In
some examples, user device 104 is a portable multifunctional device
(e.g., device 200, described below with reference to FIG. 2A), a
multifunctional device (e.g., device 400, described below with
reference to FIG. 4), or a personal electronic device (e.g., device
600, described below with reference to FIG. 6A-B.) A portable
multifunctional device is, for example, a mobile telephone that
also contains other functions, such as PDA and/or music player
functions. Specific examples of portable multifunction devices
include the Apple Watch.RTM., iPhone.RTM., iPod Touch.RTM., and
iPad.RTM. devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other
examples of portable multifunction devices include, without
limitation, earphones/headphones, speakers, and laptop or tablet
computers. Further, in some examples, user device 104 is a
non-portable multifunctional device. In particular, user device 104
is a desktop computer, a game console, a speaker, a television, or
a television set-top box. In some examples, user device 104
includes a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen displays
and/or touchpads). Further, user device 104 optionally includes one
or more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physical
keyboard, a mouse, and/or a joystick. Various examples of
electronic devices, such as multifunctional devices, are described
below in greater detail.
[0078] Examples of communication network(s) 110 include local area
networks (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN), e.g., the Internet.
Communication network(s) 110 is implemented using any known network
protocol, including various wired or wireless protocols, such as,
for example, Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM
Environment (EDGE), code division multiple access (CDMA), time
division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, or any other suitable
communication protocol.
[0079] Server system 108 is implemented on one or more standalone
data processing apparatus or a distributed network of computers. In
some examples, server system 108 also employs various virtual
devices and/or services of third-party service providers (e.g.,
third-party cloud service providers) to provide the underlying
computing resources and/or infrastructure resources of server
system 108.
[0080] In some examples, user device 104 communicates with DA
server 106 via second user device 122. Second user device 122 is
similar or identical to user device 104. For example, second user
device 122 is similar to devices 200, 400, or 600 described below
with reference to FIGS. 2A, 4, and 6A-B. User device 104 is
configured to communicatively couple to second user device 122 via
a direct communication connection, such as Bluetooth, NFC, BTLE, or
the like, or via a wired or wireless network, such as a local Wi-Fi
network. In some examples, second user device 122 is configured to
act as a proxy between user device 104 and DA server 106. For
example, DA client 102 of user device 104 is configured to transmit
information (e.g., a user request received at user device 104) to
DA server 106 via second user device 122. DA server 106 processes
the information and returns relevant data (e.g., data content
responsive to the user request) to user device 104 via second user
device 122.
[0081] In some examples, user device 104 is configured to
communicate abbreviated requests for data to second user device 122
to reduce the amount of information transmitted from user device
104. Second user device 122 is configured to determine supplemental
information to add to the abbreviated request to generate a
complete request to transmit to DA server 106. This system
architecture can advantageously allow user device 104 having
limited communication capabilities and/or limited battery power
(e.g., a watch or a similar compact electronic device) to access
services provided by DA server 106 by using second user device 122,
having greater communication capabilities and/or battery power
(e.g., a mobile phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, or the
like), as a proxy to DA server 106. While only two user devices 104
and 122 are shown in FIG. 1, it should be appreciated that system
100, in some examples, includes any number and type of user devices
configured in this proxy configuration to communicate with DA
server system 106.
[0082] Although the digital assistant shown in FIG. 1 includes both
a client-side portion (e.g., DA client 102) and a server-side
portion (e.g., DA server 106), in some examples, the functions of a
digital assistant are implemented as a standalone application
installed on a user device. In addition, the divisions of
functionalities between the client and server portions of the
digital assistant can vary in different implementations. For
instance, in some examples, the DA client is a thin-client that
provides only user-facing input and output processing functions,
and delegates all other functionalities of the digital assistant to
a backend server.
2. Electronic Devices
[0083] Attention is now directed toward embodiments of electronic
devices for implementing the client-side portion of a digital
assistant. FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating portable
multifunction device 200 with touch-sensitive display system 212 in
accordance with some embodiments. Touch-sensitive display 212 is
sometimes called a "touch screen" for convenience and is sometimes
known as or called a "touch-sensitive display system." Device 200
includes memory 202 (which optionally includes one or more
computer-readable storage mediums), memory controller 222, one or
more processing units (CPUs) 220, peripherals interface 218, RF
circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, microphone 213,
input/output (I/O) subsystem 206, other input control devices 216,
and external port 224. Device 200 optionally includes one or more
optical sensors 264. Device 200 optionally includes one or more
contact intensity sensors 265 for detecting intensity of contacts
on device 200 (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface such as
touch-sensitive display system 212 of device 200). Device 200
optionally includes one or more tactile output generators 267 for
generating tactile outputs on device 200 (e.g., generating tactile
outputs on a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive
display system 212 of device 200 or touchpad 455 of device 400).
These components optionally communicate over one or more
communication buses or signal lines 203.
[0084] As used in the specification and claims, the term
"intensity" of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the
force or pressure (force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a
finger contact) on the touch-sensitive surface, or to a substitute
(proxy) for the force or pressure of a contact on the
touch-sensitive surface. The intensity of a contact has a range of
values that includes at least four distinct values and more
typically includes hundreds of distinct values (e.g., at least
256). Intensity of a contact is, optionally, determined (or
measured) using various approaches and various sensors or
combinations of sensors. For example, one or more force sensors
underneath or adjacent to the touch-sensitive surface are,
optionally, used to measure force at various points on the
touch-sensitive surface. In some implementations, force
measurements from multiple force sensors are combined (e.g., a
weighted average) to determine an estimated force of a contact.
Similarly, a pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is, optionally,
used to determine a pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitive
surface. Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on
the touch-sensitive surface and/or changes thereto, the capacitance
of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or
changes thereto, and/or the resistance of the touch-sensitive
surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto are,
optionally, used as a substitute for the force or pressure of the
contact on the touch-sensitive surface. In some implementations,
the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are used
directly to determine whether an intensity threshold has been
exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in units
corresponding to the substitute measurements). In some
implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force or
pressure are converted to an estimated force or pressure, and the
estimated force or pressure is used to determine whether an
intensity threshold has been exceeded (e.g., the intensity
threshold is a pressure threshold measured in units of pressure).
Using the intensity of a contact as an attribute of a user input
allows for user access to additional device functionality that may
otherwise not be accessible by the user on a reduced-size device
with limited real estate for displaying affordances (e.g., on a
touch-sensitive display) and/or receiving user input (e.g., via a
touch-sensitive display, a touch-sensitive surface, or a
physical/mechanical control such as a knob or a button).
[0085] As used in the specification and claims, the term "tactile
output" refers to physical displacement of a device relative to a
previous position of the device, physical displacement of a
component (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface) of a device relative to
another component (e.g., housing) of the device, or displacement of
the component relative to a center of mass of the device that will
be detected by a user with the user's sense of touch. For example,
in situations where the device or the component of the device is in
contact with a surface of a user that is sensitive to touch (e.g.,
a finger, palm, or other part of a user's hand), the tactile output
generated by the physical displacement will be interpreted by the
user as a tactile sensation corresponding to a perceived change in
physical characteristics of the device or the component of the
device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a
touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is, optionally, interpreted by
the user as a "down click" or "up click" of a physical actuator
button. In some cases, a user will feel a tactile sensation such as
an "down click" or "up click" even when there is no movement of a
physical actuator button associated with the touch-sensitive
surface that is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's
movements. As another example, movement of the touch-sensitive
surface is, optionally, interpreted or sensed by the user as
"roughness" of the touch-sensitive surface, even when there is no
change in smoothness of the touch-sensitive surface. While such
interpretations of touch by a user will be subject to the
individualized sensory perceptions of the user, there are many
sensory perceptions of touch that are common to a large majority of
users. Thus, when a tactile output is described as corresponding to
a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., an "up click," a
"down click," "roughness"), unless otherwise stated, the generated
tactile output corresponds to physical displacement of the device
or a component thereof that will generate the described sensory
perception for a typical (or average) user.
[0086] It should be appreciated that device 200 is only one example
of a portable multifunction device, and that device 200 optionally
has more or fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or
more components, or optionally has a different configuration or
arrangement of the components. The various components shown in FIG.
2A are implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both
hardware and software, including one or more signal processing
and/or application-specific integrated circuits.
[0087] Memory 202 includes one or more computer-readable storage
mediums. The computer-readable storage mediums are, for example,
tangible and non-transitory. Memory 202 includes high-speed random
access memory and also includes non-volatile memory, such as one or
more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other
non-volatile solid-state memory devices. Memory controller 222
controls access to memory 202 by other components of device
200.
[0088] In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage
medium of memory 202 is used to store instructions (e.g., for
performing aspects of processes described below) for use by or in
connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or
device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing
system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the
instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the
instructions. In other examples, the instructions (e.g., for
performing aspects of the processes described below) are stored on
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the server
system 108 or are divided between the non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium of memory 202 and the
non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of server system
108.
[0089] Peripherals interface 218 is used to couple input and output
peripherals of the device to CPU 220 and memory 202. The one or
more processors 220 run or execute various software programs and/or
sets of instructions stored in memory 202 to perform various
functions for device 200 and to process data. In some embodiments,
peripherals interface 218, CPU 220, and memory controller 222 are
implemented on a single chip, such as chip 204. In some other
embodiments, they are implemented on separate chips.
[0090] RF (radio frequency) circuitry 208 receives and sends RF
signals, also called electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 208
converts electrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and
communicates with communications networks and other communications
devices via the electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 208
optionally includes well-known circuitry for performing these
functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, an RF
transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more
oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, a
subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RF
circuitry 208 optionally communicates with networks, such as the
Internet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet
and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a
wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area
network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The RF
circuitry 208 optionally includes well-known circuitry for
detecting near field communication (NFC) fields, such as by a
short-range communication radio. The wireless communication
optionally uses any of a plurality of communications standards,
protocols, and technologies, including but not limited to Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM
Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA),
high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), Evolution, Data-Only
(EV-DO), HSPA, HSPA+, Dual-Cell HSPA (DC-HSPDA), long term
evolution (LTE), near field communication (NFC), wideband code
division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple access
(CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Bluetooth
Low Energy (BTLE), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a,
IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11 n, and/or IEEE 802.11ac),
voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for e mail
(e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP) and/or post office
protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensible messaging and
presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol for Instant
Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant
Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message
Service (SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol,
including communication protocols not yet developed as of the
filing date of this document.
[0091] Audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, and microphone 213 provide
an audio interface between a user and device 200. Audio circuitry
210 receives audio data from peripherals interface 218, converts
the audio data to an electrical signal, and transmits the
electrical signal to speaker 211. Speaker 211 converts the
electrical signal to human-audible sound waves. Audio circuitry 210
also receives electrical signals converted by microphone 213 from
sound waves. Audio circuitry 210 converts the electrical signal to
audio data and transmits the audio data to peripherals interface
218 for processing. Audio data are retrieved from and/or
transmitted to memory 202 and/or RF circuitry 208 by peripherals
interface 218. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 210 also
includes a headset jack (e.g., 312, FIG. 3). The headset jack
provides an interface between audio circuitry 210 and removable
audio input/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a
headset with both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears)
and input (e.g., a microphone).
[0092] I/O subsystem 206 couples input/output peripherals on device
200, such as touch screen 212 and other input control devices 216,
to peripherals interface 218. I/O subsystem 206 optionally includes
display controller 256, optical sensor controller 258, depth camera
controller 269, intensity sensor controller 259, haptic feedback
controller 261, and one or more input controllers 260 for other
input or control devices. The one or more input controllers 260
receive/send electrical signals from/to other input control devices
216. The other input control devices 216 optionally include
physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials,
slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some
alternate embodiments, input controller(s) 260 are, optionally,
coupled to any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, an infrared
port, a USB port, and a pointer device such as a mouse. The one or
more buttons (e.g., 308, FIG. 3) optionally include an up/down
button for volume control of speaker 211 and/or microphone 213. The
one or more buttons optionally include a push button (e.g., 306,
FIG. 3).
[0093] A quick press of the push button optionally disengages a
lock of touch screen 212 or optionally begins a process that uses
gestures on the touch screen to unlock the device, as described in
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/322,549, "Unlocking a Device by
Performing Gestures on an Unlock Image," filed Dec. 23, 2005, U.S.
Pat. No. 7,657,849, which is hereby incorporated by reference in
its entirety. A longer press of the push button (e.g., 306)
optionally turns power to device 200 on or off. The functionality
of one or more of the buttons is, optionally, user customizable.
Touch screen 212 is used to implement virtual or soft buttons and
one or more soft keyboards.
[0094] Touch-sensitive display 212 provides an input interface and
an output interface between the device and a user. Display
controller 256 receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to
touch screen 212. Touch screen 212 displays visual output to the
user. The visual output optionally includes graphics, text, icons,
video, and any combination thereof (collectively termed
"graphics"). In some embodiments, some or all of the visual output
optionally corresponds to user-interface objects.
[0095] Touch screen 212 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or
set of sensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic
and/or tactile contact. Touch screen 212 and display controller 256
(along with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in
memory 202) detect contact (and any movement or breaking of the
contact) on touch screen 212 and convert the detected contact into
interaction with user-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft
keys, icons, web pages, or images) that are displayed on touch
screen 212. In an exemplary embodiment, a point of contact between
touch screen 212 and the user corresponds to a finger of the
user.
[0096] Touch screen 212 optionally uses LCD (liquid crystal
display) technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display)
technology, or LED (light emitting diode) technology, although
other display technologies are used in other embodiments. Touch
screen 212 and display controller 256 optionally detect contact and
any movement or breaking thereof using any of a plurality of touch
sensing technologies now known or later developed, including but
not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface
acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor
arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of
contact with touch screen 212. In an exemplary embodiment,
projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as
that found in the iPhone.RTM. and iPod Touch.RTM. from Apple Inc.
of Cupertino, Calif.
[0097] A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch
screen 212 is, optionally, analogous to the multi-touch sensitive
touchpads described in the following U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846
(Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,557 (Westerman et al.),
and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932 (Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent
Publication 2002/0015024A1, each of which is hereby incorporated by
reference in its entirety. However, touch screen 212 displays
visual output from device 200, whereas touch-sensitive touchpads do
not provide visual output.
[0098] A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch
screen 212 is described in the following applications: (1) U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/381,313, "Multipoint Touch Surface
Controller," filed May 2, 2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 10/840,862, "Multipoint Touchscreen," filed May 6, 2004; (3)
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/903,964, "Gestures For Touch
Sensitive Input Devices," filed Jul. 30, 2004; (4) U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/048,264, "Gestures For Touch Sensitive
Input Devices," filed Jan. 31, 2005; (5) U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 11/038,590, "Mode-Based Graphical User Interfaces For
Touch Sensitive Input Devices," filed Jan. 18, 2005; (6) U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/228,758, "Virtual Input Device
Placement On A Touch Screen User Interface," filed Sep. 16, 2005;
(7) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,700, "Operation Of A
Computer With A Touch Screen Interface," filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8)
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,737, "Activating Virtual
Keys Of A Touch-Screen Virtual Keyboard," filed Sep. 16, 2005; and
(9) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/367,749, "Multi-Functional
Hand-Held Device," filed Mar. 3, 2006. All of these applications
are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
[0099] Touch screen 212 optionally has a video resolution in excess
of 100 dpi. In some embodiments, the touch screen has a video
resolution of approximately 160 dpi. The user optionally makes
contact with touch screen 212 using any suitable object or
appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, and so forth. In some
embodiments, the user interface is designed to work primarily with
finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be less precise than
stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of a finger on
the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translates the
rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position or
command for performing the actions desired by the user.
[0100] In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device
200 optionally includes a touchpad for activating or deactivating
particular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a
touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen,
does not display visual output. The touchpad is, optionally, a
touch-sensitive surface that is separate from touch screen 212 or
an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch
screen.
[0101] Device 200 also includes power system 262 for powering the
various components. Power system 262 optionally includes a power
management system, one or more power sources (e.g., battery,
alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power failure
detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status
indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED)) and any other
components associated with the generation, management and
distribution of power in portable devices.
[0102] Device 200 optionally also includes one or more optical
sensors 264. FIG. 2A shows an optical sensor coupled to optical
sensor controller 258 in I/O subsystem 206. Optical sensor 264
includes charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide
semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistors. Optical sensor 264
optionally receives light from the environment, projected through
one or more lenses, and converts the light to data representing an
image. In conjunction with imaging module 243 (also called a camera
module), optical sensor 264 captures still images or video. In some
embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the back of device
200, opposite touch screen display 212 on the front of the device
so that the touch screen display is enabled for use as a viewfinder
for still and/or video image acquisition. In some embodiments, an
optical sensor is located on the front of the device so that the
user's image is, optionally, obtained for video conferencing while
the user views the other video conference participants on the touch
screen display. In some embodiments, the position of optical sensor
264 can be changed by the user (e.g., by rotating the lens and the
sensor in the device housing) so that a single optical sensor 264
is used along with the touch screen display for both video
conferencing and still and/or video image acquisition.
[0103] Device 200 optionally also includes one or more depth camera
sensors 275. FIG. 2A shows a depth camera sensor coupled to depth
camera controller 269 in I/O subsystem 206. Depth camera sensor 275
receives data from the environment to create a three dimensional
model of an object (e.g., a face) within a scene from a viewpoint
(e.g., a depth camera sensor). In some embodiments, in conjunction
with imaging module 243 (also called a camera module), depth camera
sensor 275 is optionally used to determine a depth map of different
portions of an image captured by the imaging module 243. In some
embodiments, a depth camera sensor is located on the front of
device 200 so that the user's image with depth information is,
optionally, obtained for video conferencing while the user views
the other video conference participants on the touch screen display
and to capture selfies with depth map data. In some embodiments,
the depth camera sensor 275 is located on the back of device, or on
the back and the front of the device 200. In some embodiments, the
position of depth camera sensor 275 can be changed by the user
(e.g., by rotating the lens and the sensor in the device housing)
so that a depth camera sensor 275 is used along with the touch
screen display for both video conferencing and still and/or video
image acquisition.
[0104] In some embodiments, a depth map (e.g., depth map image)
contains information (e.g., values) that relates to the distance of
objects in a scene from a viewpoint (e.g., a camera, an optical
sensor, a depth camera sensor). In one embodiment of a depth map,
each depth pixel defines the position in the viewpoint's Z-axis
where its corresponding two-dimensional pixel is located. In some
embodiments, a depth map is composed of pixels wherein each pixel
is defined by a value (e.g., 0-255). For example, the "0" value
represents pixels that are located at the most distant place in a
"three dimensional" scene and the "255" value represents pixels
that are located closest to a viewpoint (e.g., a camera, an optical
sensor, a depth camera sensor) in the "three dimensional" scene. In
other embodiments, a depth map represents the distance between an
object in a scene and the plane of the viewpoint. In some
embodiments, the depth map includes information about the relative
depth of various features of an object of interest in view of the
depth camera (e.g., the relative depth of eyes, nose, mouth, ears
of a user's face). In some embodiments, the depth map includes
information that enables the device to determine contours of the
object of interest in a z direction.
[0105] Device 200 optionally also includes one or more contact
intensity sensors 265. FIG. 2A shows a contact intensity sensor
coupled to intensity sensor controller 259 in I/O subsystem 206.
Contact intensity sensor 265 optionally includes one or more
piezoresistive strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, electric
force sensors, piezoelectric force sensors, optical force sensors,
capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, or other intensity sensors
(e.g., sensors used to measure the force (or pressure) of a contact
on a touch-sensitive surface). Contact intensity sensor 265
receives contact intensity information (e.g., pressure information
or a proxy for pressure information) from the environment. In some
embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is collocated
with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,
touch-sensitive display system 212). In some embodiments, at least
one contact intensity sensor is located on the back of device 200,
opposite touch screen display 212, which is located on the front of
device 200.
[0106] Device 200 optionally also includes one or more proximity
sensors 266. FIG. 2A shows proximity sensor 266 coupled to
peripherals interface 218. Alternately, proximity sensor 266 is,
optionally, coupled to input controller 260 in I/O subsystem 206.
Proximity sensor 266 optionally performs as described in U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/241,839, "Proximity Detector In
Handheld Device"; Ser. No. 11/240,788, "Proximity Detector In
Handheld Device", Ser. No. 11/620,702, "Using Ambient Light Sensor
To Augment Proximity Sensor Output"; Ser. No. 11/586,862,
"Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable
Devices"; and Ser. No. 11/638,251, "Methods And Systems For
Automatic Configuration Of Peripherals," which are hereby
incorporated by reference in their entirety. In some embodiments,
the proximity sensor turns off and disables touch screen 212 when
the multifunction device is placed near the user's ear (e.g., when
the user is making a phone call).
[0107] Device 200 optionally also includes one or more tactile
output generators 267. FIG. 2A shows a tactile output generator
coupled to haptic feedback controller 261 in I/O subsystem 206.
Tactile output generator 267 optionally includes one or more
electroacoustic devices such as speakers or other audio components
and/or electromechanical devices that convert energy into linear
motion such as a motor, solenoid, electroactive polymer,
piezoelectric actuator, electrostatic actuator, or other tactile
output generating component (e.g., a component that converts
electrical signals into tactile outputs on the device). Contact
intensity sensor 265 receives tactile feedback generation
instructions from haptic feedback module 233 and generates tactile
outputs on device 200 that are capable of being sensed by a user of
device 200. In some embodiments, at least one tactile output
generator is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive
surface (e.g., touch-sensitive display system 212) and, optionally,
generates a tactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface
vertically (e.g., in/out of a surface of device 200) or laterally
(e.g., back and forth in the same plane as a surface of device
200). In some embodiments, at least one tactile output generator
sensor is located on the back of device 200, opposite touch screen
display 212, which is located on the front of device 200.
[0108] Device 200 optionally also includes one or more
accelerometers 268. FIG. 2A shows accelerometer 268 coupled to
peripherals interface 218. Alternately, accelerometer 268 is,
optionally, coupled to an input controller 260 in I/O subsystem
206. Accelerometer 268 optionally performs as described in U.S.
Patent Publication No. 20050190059, "Acceleration-based Theft
Detection System for Portable Electronic Devices," and U.S. Patent
Publication No. 20060017692, "Methods And Apparatuses For Operating
A Portable Device Based On An Accelerometer," both of which are
incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. In some
embodiments, information is displayed on the touch screen display
in a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of data
received from the one or more accelerometers. Device 200 optionally
includes, in addition to accelerometer(s) 268, a magnetometer and a
GPS (or GLONASS or other global navigation system) receiver for
obtaining information concerning the location and orientation
(e.g., portrait or landscape) of device 200.
[0109] In some embodiments, the software components stored in
memory 202 include operating system 226, communication module (or
set of instructions) 228, contact/motion module (or set of
instructions) 230, graphics module (or set of instructions) 232,
text input module (or set of instructions) 234, Global Positioning
System (GPS) module (or set of instructions) 235, Digital Assistant
Client Module 229, and applications (or sets of instructions) 236.
Further, memory 202 stores data and models, such as user data and
models 231. Furthermore, in some embodiments, memory 202 (FIG. 2A)
or 470 (FIG. 4) stores device/global internal state 257, as shown
in FIGS. 2A and 4. Device/global internal state 257 includes one or
more of: active application state, indicating which applications,
if any, are currently active; display state, indicating what
applications, views or other information occupy various regions of
touch screen display 212; sensor state, including information
obtained from the device's various sensors and input control
devices 216; and location information concerning the device's
location and/or attitude.
[0110] Operating system 226 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X,
iOS, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks)
includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling
and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage
device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates
communication between various hardware and software components.
[0111] Communication module 228 facilitates communication with
other devices over one or more external ports 224 and also includes
various software components for handling data received by RF
circuitry 208 and/or external port 224. External port 224 (e.g.,
Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling
directly to other devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the
Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). In some embodiments, the external
port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin) connector that is the same as,
or similar to and/or compatible with, the 30-pin connector used on
iPod.RTM. (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.
[0112] Contact/motion module 230 optionally detects contact with
touch screen 212 (in conjunction with display controller 256) and
other touch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click
wheel). Contact/motion module 230 includes various software
components for performing various operations related to detection
of contact, such as determining if contact has occurred (e.g.,
detecting a finger-down event), determining an intensity of the
contact (e.g., the force or pressure of the contact or a substitute
for the force or pressure of the contact), determining if there is
movement of the contact and tracking the movement across the
touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one or more
finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased
(e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact).
Contact/motion module 230 receives contact data from the
touch-sensitive surface. Determining movement of the point of
contact, which is represented by a series of contact data,
optionally includes determining speed (magnitude), velocity
(magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (a change in
magnitude and/or direction) of the point of contact. These
operations are, optionally, applied to single contacts (e.g., one
finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g.,
"multitouch"/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments,
contact/motion module 230 and display controller 256 detect contact
on a touchpad.
[0113] In some embodiments, contact/motion module 230 uses a set of
one or more intensity thresholds to determine whether an operation
has been performed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has
"clicked" on an icon). In some embodiments, at least a subset of
the intensity thresholds are determined in accordance with software
parameters (e.g., the intensity thresholds are not determined by
the activation thresholds of particular physical actuators and can
be adjusted without changing the physical hardware of device 200).
For example, a mouse "click" threshold of a trackpad or touch
screen display can be set to any of a large range of predefined
threshold values without changing the trackpad or touch screen
display hardware. Additionally, in some implementations, a user of
the device is provided with software settings for adjusting one or
more of the set of intensity thresholds (e.g., by adjusting
individual intensity thresholds and/or by adjusting a plurality of
intensity thresholds at once with a system-level click "intensity"
parameter).
[0114] Contact/motion module 230 optionally detects a gesture input
by a user. Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have
different contact patterns (e.g., different motions, timings,
and/or intensities of detected contacts). Thus, a gesture is,
optionally, detected by detecting a particular contact pattern. For
example, detecting a finger tap gesture includes detecting a
finger-down event followed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event
at the same position (or substantially the same position) as the
finger-down event (e.g., at the position of an icon). As another
example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on the touch-sensitive
surface includes detecting a finger-down event followed by
detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequently
followed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event.
[0115] Graphics module 232 includes various known software
components for rendering and displaying graphics on touch screen
212 or other display, including components for changing the visual
impact (e.g., brightness, transparency, saturation, contrast, or
other visual property) of graphics that are displayed. As used
herein, the term "graphics" includes any object that can be
displayed to a user, including, without limitation, text, web
pages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys),
digital images, videos, animations, and the like.
[0116] In some embodiments, graphics module 232 stores data
representing graphics to be used. Each graphic is, optionally,
assigned a corresponding code. Graphics module 232 receives, from
applications etc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be
displayed along with, if necessary, coordinate data and other
graphic property data, and then generates screen image data to
output to display controller 256.
[0117] Haptic feedback module 233 includes various software
components for generating instructions used by tactile output
generator(s) 267 to produce tactile outputs at one or more
locations on device 200 in response to user interactions with
device 200.
[0118] Text input module 234, which is optionally, a component of
graphics module 232, provides soft keyboards for entering text in
various applications (e.g., contacts 237, email 240, IM 241,
browser 247, and any other application that needs text input).
[0119] GPS module 235 determines the location of the device and
provides this information for use in various applications (e.g., to
telephone 238 for use in location-based dialing; to camera 243 as
picture/video metadata; and to applications that provide
location-based services such as weather widgets, local yellow page
widgets, and map/navigation widgets).
[0120] Digital assistant client module 229 includes various
client-side digital assistant instructions to provide the
client-side functionalities of the digital assistant. For example,
digital assistant client module 229 is capable of accepting voice
input (e.g., speech input), text input, touch input, and/or
gestural input through various user interfaces (e.g., microphone
213, accelerometer(s) 268, touch-sensitive display system 212,
optical sensor(s) 229, other input control devices 216, etc.) of
portable multifunction device 200. Digital assistant client module
229 is also capable of providing output in audio (e.g., speech
output), visual, and/or tactile forms through various output
interfaces (e.g., speaker 211, touch-sensitive display system 212,
tactile output generator(s) 267, etc.) of portable multifunction
device 200. For example, output is provided as voice, sound,
alerts, text messages, menus, graphics, videos, animations,
vibrations, and/or combinations of two or more of the above. During
operation, digital assistant client module 229 communicates with DA
server 106 using RF circuitry 208.
[0121] User data and models 231 include various data associated
with the user (e.g., user-specific vocabulary data, user preference
data, user-specified name pronunciations, data from the user's
electronic address book, to-do lists, shopping lists, etc.) to
provide the client-side functionalities of the digital assistant.
Further, user data and models 231 include various models (e.g.,
speech recognition models, statistical language models, natural
language processing models, ontology, task flow models, service
models, etc.) for processing user input and determining user
intent.
[0122] In some examples, digital assistant client module 229
utilizes the various sensors, subsystems, and peripheral devices of
portable multifunction device 200 to gather additional information
from the surrounding environment of the portable multifunction
device 200 to establish a context associated with a user, the
current user interaction, and/or the current user input. In some
examples, digital assistant client module 229 provides the
contextual information or a subset thereof with the user input to
DA server 106 to help infer the user's intent. In some examples,
the digital assistant also uses the contextual information to
determine how to prepare and deliver outputs to the user.
Contextual information is referred to as context data.
[0123] In some examples, the contextual information that
accompanies the user input includes sensor information, e.g.,
lighting, ambient noise, ambient temperature, images or videos of
the surrounding environment, etc. In some examples, the contextual
information can also include the physical state of the device,
e.g., device orientation, device location, device temperature,
power level, speed, acceleration, motion patterns, cellular signals
strength, etc. In some examples, information related to the
software state of DA server 106, e.g., running processes, installed
programs, past and present network activities, background services,
error logs, resources usage, etc., and of portable multifunction
device 200 is provided to DA server 106 as contextual information
associated with a user input.
[0124] In some examples, the digital assistant client module 229
selectively provides information (e.g., user data 231) stored on
the portable multifunction device 200 in response to requests from
DA server 106. In some examples, digital assistant client module
229 also elicits additional input from the user via a natural
language dialogue or other user interfaces upon request by DA
server 106. Digital assistant client module 229 passes the
additional input to DA server 106 to help DA server 106 in intent
deduction and/or fulfillment of the user's intent expressed in the
user request.
[0125] A more detailed description of a digital assistant is
described below with reference to FIGS. 7A-C. It should be
recognized that digital assistant client module 229 can include any
number of the sub-modules of digital assistant module 726 described
below.
[0126] Applications 236 optionally include the following modules
(or sets of instructions), or a subset or superset thereof: [0127]
Contacts module 237 (sometimes called an address book or contact
list); [0128] Telephone module 238; [0129] Video conference module
239; [0130] E-mail client module 240; [0131] Instant messaging (IM)
module 241; [0132] Workout support module 242; [0133] Camera module
243 for still and/or video images; [0134] Image management module
244; [0135] Video player module; [0136] Music player module; [0137]
Browser module 247; [0138] Calendar module 248; [0139] Widget
modules 249, which optionally include one or more of: weather
widget 249-1, stocks widget 249-2, calculator widget 249-3, alarm
clock widget 249-4, dictionary widget 249-5, and other widgets
obtained by the user, as well as user-created widgets 249-6; [0140]
Widget creator module 250 for making user-created widgets 249-6;
[0141] Search module 251; [0142] Video and music player module 252,
which merges video player module and music player module; [0143]
Notes module 253; [0144] Map module 254; and/or [0145] Online video
module 255.
[0146] Examples of other applications 236 that are, optionally,
stored in memory 202 include other word processing applications,
other image editing applications, drawing applications,
presentation applications, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption,
digital rights management, voice recognition, and voice
replication.
[0147] In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller
256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input
module 234, contacts module 237 are, optionally, used to manage an
address book or contact list (e.g., stored in application internal
state 292 of contacts module 237 in memory 202 or memory 470),
including: adding name(s) to the address book; deleting name(s)
from the address book; associating telephone number(s), e-mail
address(es), physical address(es) or other information with a name;
associating an image with a name; categorizing and sorting names;
providing telephone numbers or e-mail addresses to initiate and/or
facilitate communications by telephone 238, video conference module
239, e-mail 240, or IM 241; and so forth.
[0148] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210,
speaker 211, microphone 213, touch screen 212, display controller
256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input
module 234, telephone module 238 are, optionally, used to enter a
sequence of characters corresponding to a telephone number, access
one or more telephone numbers in contacts module 237, modify a
telephone number that has been entered, dial a respective telephone
number, conduct a conversation, and disconnect or hang up when the
conversation is completed. As noted above, the wireless
communication optionally uses any of a plurality of communications
standards, protocols, and technologies.
[0149] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210,
speaker 211, microphone 213, touch screen 212, display controller
256, optical sensor 264, optical sensor controller 258,
contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module
234, contacts module 237, and telephone module 238, video
conference module 239 includes executable instructions to initiate,
conduct, and terminate a video conference between a user and one or
more other participants in accordance with user instructions.
[0150] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212,
display controller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module
232, and text input module 234, e-mail client module 240 includes
executable instructions to create, send, receive, and manage e-mail
in response to user instructions. In conjunction with image
management module 244, e-mail client module 240 makes it very easy
to create and send e-mails with still or video images taken with
camera module 243.
[0151] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212,
display controller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module
232, and text input module 234, the instant messaging module 241
includes executable instructions to enter a sequence of characters
corresponding to an instant message, to modify previously entered
characters, to transmit a respective instant message (for example,
using a Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Message Service
(MMS) protocol for telephony-based instant messages or using XMPP,
SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-based instant messages), to receive
instant messages, and to view received instant messages. In some
embodiments, transmitted and/or received instant messages
optionally include graphics, photos, audio files, video files
and/or other attachments as are supported in an MMS and/or an
Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS). As used herein, "instant
messaging" refers to both telephony-based messages (e.g., messages
sent using SMS or MMS) and Internet-based messages (e.g., messages
sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS).
[0152] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212,
display controller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module
232, text input module 234, GPS module 235, map module 254, and
music player module, workout support module 242 includes executable
instructions to create workouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or
calorie burning goals); communicate with workout sensors (sports
devices); receive workout sensor data; calibrate sensors used to
monitor a workout; select and play music for a workout, and
display, store, and transmit workout data.
[0153] In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller
256, optical sensor(s) 264, optical sensor controller 258,
contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and image
management module 244, camera module 243 includes executable
instructions to capture still images or video (including a video
stream) and store them into memory 202, modify characteristics of a
still image or video, or delete a still image or video from memory
202.
[0154] In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller
256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input
module 234, and camera module 243, image management module 244
includes executable instructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit),
or otherwise manipulate, label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital
slide show or album), and store still and/or video images.
[0155] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212,
display controller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module
232, and text input module 234, browser module 247 includes
executable instructions to browse the Internet in accordance with
user instructions, including searching, linking to, receiving, and
displaying web pages or portions thereof, as well as attachments
and other files linked to web pages.
[0156] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212,
display controller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module
232, text input module 234, e-mail client module 240, and browser
module 247, calendar module 248 includes executable instructions to
create, display, modify, and store calendars and data associated
with calendars (e.g., calendar entries, to-do lists, etc.) in
accordance with user instructions.
[0157] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212,
display controller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module
232, text input module 234, and browser module 247, widget modules
249 are mini-applications that are, optionally, downloaded and used
by a user (e.g., weather widget 249-1, stocks widget 249-2,
calculator widget 249-3, alarm clock widget 249-4, and dictionary
widget 249-5) or created by the user (e.g., user-created widget
249-6). In some embodiments, a widget includes an HTML (Hypertext
Markup Language) file, a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) file, and a
JavaScript file. In some embodiments, a widget includes an XML
(Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file (e.g.,
Yahoo!Widgets).
[0158] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212,
display controller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module
232, text input module 234, and browser module 247, the widget
creator module 250 are, optionally, used by a user to create
widgets (e.g., turning a user-specified portion of a web page into
a widget).
[0159] In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller
256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input
module 234, search module 251 includes executable instructions to
search for text, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in
memory 202 that match one or more search criteria (e.g., one or
more user-specified search terms) in accordance with user
instructions.
[0160] In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller
256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio
circuitry 210, speaker 211, RF circuitry 208, and browser module
247, video and music player module 252 includes executable
instructions that allow the user to download and play back recorded
music and other sound files stored in one or more file formats,
such as MP3 or AAC files, and executable instructions to display,
present, or otherwise play back videos (e.g., on touch screen 212
or on an external, connected display via external port 224). In
some embodiments, device 200 optionally includes the functionality
of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.).
[0161] In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller
256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input
module 234, notes module 253 includes executable instructions to
create and manage notes, to-do lists, and the like in accordance
with user instructions.
[0162] In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212,
display controller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module
232, text input module 234, GPS module 235, and browser module 247,
map module 254 are, optionally, used to receive, display, modify,
and store maps and data associated with maps (e.g., driving
directions, data on stores and other points of interest at or near
a particular location, and other location-based data) in accordance
with user instructions.
[0163] In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller
256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio
circuitry 210, speaker 211, RF circuitry 208, text input module
234, e-mail client module 240, and browser module 247, online video
module 255 includes instructions that allow the user to access,
browse, receive (e.g., by streaming and/or download), play back
(e.g., on the touch screen or on an external, connected display via
external port 224), send an e-mail with a link to a particular
online video, and otherwise manage online videos in one or more
file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments, instant messaging
module 241, rather than e-mail client module 240, is used to send a
link to a particular online video. Additional description of the
online video application can be found in U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No. 60/936,562, "Portable Multifunction Device, Method,
and Graphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos," filed Jun.
20, 2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/968,067,
"Portable Multifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User
Interface for Playing Online Videos," filed Dec. 31, 2007, the
contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their
entirety.
[0164] Each of the above-identified modules and applications
corresponds to a set of executable instructions for performing one
or more functions described above and the methods described in this
application (e.g., the computer-implemented methods and other
information processing methods described herein). These modules
(e.g., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate
software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets
of these modules are, optionally, combined or otherwise rearranged
in various embodiments. For example, video player module is
optionally, combined with music player module into a single module
(e.g., video and music player module 252, FIG. 2A). In some
embodiments, memory 202 optionally stores a subset of the modules
and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 202
optionally stores additional modules and data structures not
described above.
[0165] In some embodiments, device 200 is a device where operation
of a predefined set of functions on the device is performed
exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a
touch screen and/or a touchpad as the primary input control device
for operation of device 200, the number of physical input control
devices (such as push buttons, dials, and the like) on device 200
is, optionally, reduced.
[0166] The predefined set of functions that are performed
exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad optionally
include navigation between user interfaces. In some embodiments,
the touchpad, when touched by the user, navigates device 200 to a
main, home, or root menu from any user interface that is displayed
on device 200. In such embodiments, a "menu button" is implemented
using a touchpad. In some other embodiments, the menu button is a
physical push button or other physical input control device instead
of a touchpad.
[0167] FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components
for event handling in accordance with some embodiments. In some
embodiments, memory 202 (FIG. 2A) or 470 (FIG. 4) includes event
sorter 270 (e.g., in operating system 226) and a respective
application 236-1 (e.g., any of the aforementioned applications
237-251, 255, 480-490).
[0168] Event sorter 270 receives event information and determines
the application 236-1 and application view 291 of application 236-1
to which to deliver the event information. Event sorter 270
includes event monitor 271 and event dispatcher module 274. In some
embodiments, application 236-1 includes application internal state
292, which indicates the current application view(s) displayed on
touch-sensitive display 212 when the application is active or
executing. In some embodiments, device/global internal state 257 is
used by event sorter 270 to determine which application(s) is (are)
currently active, and application internal state 292 is used by
event sorter 270 to determine application views 291 to which to
deliver event information.
[0169] In some embodiments, application internal state 292 includes
additional information, such as one or more of: resume information
to be used when application 236-1 resumes execution, user interface
state information that indicates information being displayed or
that is ready for display by application 236-1, a state queue for
enabling the user to go back to a prior state or view of
application 236-1, and a redo/undo queue of previous actions taken
by the user.
[0170] Event monitor 271 receives event information from
peripherals interface 218. Event information includes information
about a sub-event (e.g., a user touch on touch-sensitive display
212, as part of a multi-touch gesture). Peripherals interface 218
transmits information it receives from I/O subsystem 206 or a
sensor, such as proximity sensor 266, accelerometer(s) 268, and/or
microphone 213 (through audio circuitry 210). Information that
peripherals interface 218 receives from I/O subsystem 206 includes
information from touch-sensitive display 212 or a touch-sensitive
surface.
[0171] In some embodiments, event monitor 271 sends requests to the
peripherals interface 218 at predetermined intervals. In response,
peripherals interface 218 transmits event information. In other
embodiments, peripherals interface 218 transmits event information
only when there is a significant event (e.g., receiving an input
above a predetermined noise threshold and/or for more than a
predetermined duration).
[0172] In some embodiments, event sorter 270 also includes a hit
view determination module 272 and/or an active event recognizer
determination module 273.
[0173] Hit view determination module 272 provides software
procedures for determining where a sub-event has taken place within
one or more views when touch-sensitive display 212 displays more
than one view. Views are made up of controls and other elements
that a user can see on the display.
[0174] Another aspect of the user interface associated with an
application is a set of views, sometimes herein called application
views or user interface windows, in which information is displayed
and touch-based gestures occur. The application views (of a
respective application) in which a touch is detected optionally
correspond to programmatic levels within a programmatic or view
hierarchy of the application. For example, the lowest level view in
which a touch is detected is, optionally, called the hit view, and
the set of events that are recognized as proper inputs are,
optionally, determined based, at least in part, on the hit view of
the initial touch that begins a touch-based gesture.
[0175] Hit view determination module 272 receives information
related to sub events of a touch-based gesture. When an application
has multiple views organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination
module 272 identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the
hierarchy which should handle the sub-event. In most circumstances,
the hit view is the lowest level view in which an initiating
sub-event occurs (e.g., the first sub-event in the sequence of
sub-events that form an event or potential event). Once the hit
view is identified by the hit view determination module 272, the
hit view typically receives all sub-events related to the same
touch or input source for which it was identified as the hit
view.
[0176] Active event recognizer determination module 273 determines
which view or views within a view hierarchy should receive a
particular sequence of sub-events. In some embodiments, active
event recognizer determination module 273 determines that only the
hit view should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In
other embodiments, active event recognizer determination module 273
determines that all views that include the physical location of a
sub-event are actively involved views, and therefore determines
that all actively involved views should receive a particular
sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touch
sub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with one
particular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain
as actively involved views.
[0177] Event dispatcher module 274 dispatches the event information
to an event recognizer (e.g., event recognizer 280). In embodiments
including active event recognizer determination module 273, event
dispatcher module 274 delivers the event information to an event
recognizer determined by active event recognizer determination
module 273. In some embodiments, event dispatcher module 274 stores
in an event queue the event information, which is retrieved by a
respective event receiver 282.
[0178] In some embodiments, operating system 226 includes event
sorter 270. Alternatively, application 236-1 includes event sorter
270. In yet other embodiments, event sorter 270 is a stand-alone
module, or a part of another module stored in memory 202, such as
contact/motion module 230.
[0179] In some embodiments, application 236-1 includes a plurality
of event handlers 290 and one or more application views 291, each
of which includes instructions for handling touch events that occur
within a respective view of the application's user interface. Each
application view 291 of the application 236-1 includes one or more
event recognizers 280. Typically, a respective application view 291
includes a plurality of event recognizers 280. In other
embodiments, one or more of event recognizers 280 are part of a
separate module, such as a user interface kit or a higher level
object from which application 236-1 inherits methods and other
properties. In some embodiments, a respective event handler 290
includes one or more of: data updater 276, object updater 277, GUI
updater 278, and/or event data 279 received from event sorter 270.
Event handler 290 utilizes or calls data updater 276, object
updater 277, or GUI updater 278 to update the application internal
state 292. Alternatively, one or more of the application views 291
include one or more respective event handlers 290. Also, in some
embodiments, one or more of data updater 276, object updater 277,
and GUI updater 278 are included in a respective application view
291.
[0180] A respective event recognizer 280 receives event information
(e.g., event data 279) from event sorter 270 and identifies an
event from the event information. Event recognizer 280 includes
event receiver 282 and event comparator 284. In some embodiments,
event recognizer 280 also includes at least a subset of: metadata
283, and event delivery instructions 288 (which optionally include
sub-event delivery instructions).
[0181] Event receiver 282 receives event information from event
sorter 270. The event information includes information about a
sub-event, for example, a touch or a touch movement. Depending on
the sub-event, the event information also includes additional
information, such as location of the sub-event. When the sub-event
concerns motion of a touch, the event information optionally also
includes speed and direction of the sub-event. In some embodiments,
events include rotation of the device from one orientation to
another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a landscape
orientation, or vice versa), and the event information includes
corresponding information about the current orientation (also
called device attitude) of the device.
[0182] Event comparator 284 compares the event information to
predefined event or sub-event definitions and, based on the
comparison, determines an event or sub event, or determines or
updates the state of an event or sub-event. In some embodiments,
event comparator 284 includes event definitions 286. Event
definitions 286 contain definitions of events (e.g., predefined
sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1 (287-1), event 2
(287-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events in an event
(287) include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touch movement,
touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, the
definition for event 1 (287-1) is a double tap on a displayed
object. The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch
begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first
liftoff (touch end) for a predetermined phase, a second touch
(touch begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase,
and a second liftoff (touch end) for a predetermined phase. In
another example, the definition for event 2 (287-2) is a dragging
on a displayed object. The dragging, for example, comprises a touch
(or contact) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a
movement of the touch across touch-sensitive display 212, and
liftoff of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments, the event
also includes information for one or more associated event handlers
290.
[0183] In some embodiments, event definition 287 includes a
definition of an event for a respective user-interface object. In
some embodiments, event comparator 284 performs a hit test to
determine which user-interface object is associated with a
sub-event. For example, in an application view in which three
user-interface objects are displayed on touch-sensitive display
212, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitive display 212, event
comparator 284 performs a hit test to determine which of the three
user-interface objects is associated with the touch (sub-event). If
each displayed object is associated with a respective event handler
290, the event comparator uses the result of the hit test to
determine which event handler 290 should be activated. For example,
event comparator 284 selects an event handler associated with the
sub-event and the object triggering the hit test.
[0184] In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event
(287) also includes delayed actions that delay delivery of the
event information until after it has been determined whether the
sequence of sub-events does or does not correspond to the event
recognizer's event type.
[0185] When a respective event recognizer 280 determines that the
series of sub-events do not match any of the events in event
definitions 286, the respective event recognizer 280 enters an
event impossible, event failed, or event ended state, after which
it disregards subsequent sub-events of the touch-based gesture. In
this situation, other event recognizers, if any, that remain active
for the hit view continue to track and process sub-events of an
ongoing touch-based gesture.
[0186] In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 280
includes metadata 283 with configurable properties, flags, and/or
lists that indicate how the event delivery system should perform
sub-event delivery to actively involved event recognizers. In some
embodiments, metadata 283 includes configurable properties, flags,
and/or lists that indicate how event recognizers interact, or are
enabled to interact, with one another. In some embodiments,
metadata 283 includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists
that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to varying levels in
the view or programmatic hierarchy.
[0187] In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 280
activates event handler 290 associated with an event when one or
more particular sub-events of an event are recognized. In some
embodiments, a respective event recognizer 280 delivers event
information associated with the event to event handler 290.
Activating an event handler 290 is distinct from sending (and
deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view. In some
embodiments, event recognizer 280 throws a flag associated with the
recognized event, and event handler 290 associated with the flag
catches the flag and performs a predefined process.
[0188] In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 288 include
sub-event delivery instructions that deliver event information
about a sub-event without activating an event handler. Instead, the
sub-event delivery instructions deliver event information to event
handlers associated with the series of sub-events or to actively
involved views. Event handlers associated with the series of
sub-events or with actively involved views receive the event
information and perform a predetermined process.
[0189] In some embodiments, data updater 276 creates and updates
data used in application 236-1. For example, data updater 276
updates the telephone number used in contacts module 237, or stores
a video file used in video player module. In some embodiments,
object updater 277 creates and updates objects used in application
236-1. For example, object updater 277 creates a new user-interface
object or updates the position of a user-interface object. GUI
updater 278 updates the GUI. For example, GUI updater 278 prepares
display information and sends it to graphics module 232 for display
on a touch-sensitive display.
[0190] In some embodiments, event handler(s) 290 includes or has
access to data updater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater
278. In some embodiments, data updater 276, object updater 277, and
GUI updater 278 are included in a single module of a respective
application 236-1 or application view 291. In other embodiments,
they are included in two or more software modules.
[0191] It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion
regarding event handling of user touches on touch-sensitive
displays also applies to other forms of user inputs to operate
multifunction devices 200 with input devices, not all of which are
initiated on touch screens. For example, mouse movement and mouse
button presses, optionally coordinated with single or multiple
keyboard presses or holds; contact movements such as taps, drags,
scrolls, etc. on touchpads; pen stylus inputs; movement of the
device; oral instructions; detected eye movements; biometric
inputs; and/or any combination thereof are optionally utilized as
inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to be
recognized.
[0192] FIG. 3 illustrates a portable multifunction device 200
having a touch screen 212 in accordance with some embodiments. The
touch screen optionally displays one or more graphics within user
interface (UI) 300. In this embodiment, as well as others described
below, a user is enabled to select one or more of the graphics by
making a gesture on the graphics, for example, with one or more
fingers 302 (not drawn to scale in the figure) or one or more
styluses 303 (not drawn to scale in the figure). In some
embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurs when the user
breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In some embodiments,
the gesture optionally includes one or more taps, one or more
swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward),
and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right,
upward and/or downward) that has made contact with device 200. In
some implementations or circumstances, inadvertent contact with a
graphic does not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture
that sweeps over an application icon optionally does not select the
corresponding application when the gesture corresponding to
selection is a tap.
[0193] Device 200 optionally also includes one or more physical
buttons, such as "home" or menu button 304. As described
previously, menu button 304 is, optionally, used to navigate to any
application 236 in a set of applications that are, optionally,
executed on device 200. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the
menu button is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on
touch screen 212.
[0194] In some embodiments, device 200 includes touch screen 212,
menu button 304, push button 306 for powering the device on/off and
locking the device, volume adjustment button(s) 308, subscriber
identity module (SIM) card slot 310, headset jack 312, and
docking/charging external port 224. Push button 306 is, optionally,
used to turn the power on/off on the device by depressing the
button and holding the button in the depressed state for a
predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressing the
button and releasing the button before the predefined time interval
has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock
process. In an alternative embodiment, device 200 also accepts
verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions
through microphone 213. Device 200 also, optionally, includes one
or more contact intensity sensors 265 for detecting intensity of
contacts on touch screen 212 and/or one or more tactile output
generators 267 for generating tactile outputs for a user of device
200.
[0195] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction
device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance
with some embodiments. Device 400 need not be portable. In some
embodiments, device 400 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a
tablet computer, a multimedia player device, a navigation device,
an educational device (such as a child's learning toy), a gaming
system, or a control device (e.g., a home or industrial
controller). Device 400 typically includes one or more processing
units (CPUs) 410, one or more network or other communications
interfaces 460, memory 470, and one or more communication buses 420
for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 420
optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that
interconnects and controls communications between system
components. Device 400 includes input/output (I/O) interface 430
comprising display 440, which is typically a touch screen display.
I/O interface 430 also optionally includes a keyboard and/or mouse
(or other pointing device) 450 and touchpad 455, tactile output
generator 457 for generating tactile outputs on device 400 (e.g.,
similar to tactile output generator(s) 267 described above with
reference to FIG. 2A), sensors 459 (e.g., optical, acceleration,
proximity, touch-sensitive, and/or contact intensity sensors
similar to contact intensity sensor(s) 265 described above with
reference to FIG. 2A). Memory 470 includes high-speed random access
memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid
state memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory,
such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk
storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid
state storage devices. Memory 470 optionally includes one or more
storage devices remotely located from CPU(s) 410. In some
embodiments, memory 470 stores programs, modules, and data
structures analogous to the programs, modules, and data structures
stored in memory 202 of portable multifunction device 200 (FIG.
2A), or a subset thereof. Furthermore, memory 470 optionally stores
additional programs, modules, and data structures not present in
memory 202 of portable multifunction device 200. For example,
memory 470 of device 400 optionally stores drawing module 480,
presentation module 482, word processing module 484, website
creation module 486, disk authoring module 488, and/or spreadsheet
module 490, while memory 202 of portable multifunction device 200
(FIG. 2A) optionally does not store these modules.
[0196] Each of the above-identified elements in FIG. 4 is,
optionally, stored in one or more of the previously mentioned
memory devices. Each of the above-identified modules corresponds to
a set of instructions for performing a function described above.
The above-identified modules or programs (e.g., sets of
instructions) need not be implemented as separate software
programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these
modules are, optionally, combined or otherwise rearranged in
various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 470 optionally
stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified
above. Furthermore, memory 470 optionally stores additional modules
and data structures not described above.
[0197] Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user
interfaces that are, optionally, implemented on, for example,
portable multifunction device 200.
[0198] FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu
of applications on portable multifunction device 200 in accordance
with some embodiments. Similar user interfaces are, optionally,
implemented on device 400. In some embodiments, user interface 500
includes the following elements, or a subset or superset
thereof:
[0199] Signal strength indicator(s) 502 for wireless
communication(s), such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals; [0200] Time
504; [0201] Bluetooth indicator 505; [0202] Battery status
indicator 506; [0203] Tray 508 with icons for frequently used
applications, such as: [0204] Icon 516 for telephone module 238,
labeled "Phone," which optionally includes an indicator 514 of the
number of missed calls or voicemail messages; [0205] Icon 518 for
e-mail client module 240, labeled "Mail," which optionally includes
an indicator 510 of the number of unread e-mails; [0206] Icon 520
for browser module 247, labeled "Browser;" and [0207] Icon 522 for
video and music player module 252, also referred to as iPod
(trademark of Apple Inc.) module 252, labeled "iPod;" and [0208]
Icons for other applications, such as: [0209] Icon 524 for IM
module 241, labeled "Messages;" [0210] Icon 526 for calendar module
248, labeled "Calendar;" [0211] Icon 528 for image management
module 244, labeled "Photos;" [0212] Icon 530 for camera module
243, labeled "Camera;" [0213] Icon 532 for online video module 255,
labeled "Online Video;" [0214] Icon 534 for stocks widget 249-2,
labeled "Stocks;" [0215] Icon 536 for map module 254, labeled
"Maps;" [0216] Icon 538 for weather widget 249-1, labeled
"Weather;" [0217] Icon 540 for alarm clock widget 249-4, labeled
"Clock;" [0218] Icon 542 for workout support module 242, labeled
"Workout Support;" [0219] Icon 544 for notes module 253, labeled
"Notes;" and [0220] Icon 546 for a settings application or module,
labeled "Settings," which provides access to settings for device
200 and its various applications 236.
[0221] It should be noted that the icon labels illustrated in FIG.
5A are merely exemplary. For example, icon 522 for video and music
player module 252 is optionally labeled "Music" or "Music Player."
Other labels are, optionally, used for various application icons.
In some embodiments, a label for a respective application icon
includes a name of an application corresponding to the respective
application icon. In some embodiments, a label for a particular
application icon is distinct from a name of an application
corresponding to the particular application icon.
[0222] FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary user interface on a device
(e.g., device 400, FIG. 4) with a touch-sensitive surface 551
(e.g., a tablet or touchpad 455, FIG. 4) that is separate from the
display 550 (e.g., touch screen display 212). Device 400 also,
optionally, includes one or more contact intensity sensors (e.g.,
one or more of sensors 457) for detecting intensity of contacts on
touch-sensitive surface 551 and/or one or more tactile output
generators 459 for generating tactile outputs for a user of device
400.
[0223] Although some of the examples that follow will be given with
reference to inputs on touch screen display 212 (where the
touch-sensitive surface and the display are combined), in some
embodiments, the device detects inputs on a touch-sensitive surface
that is separate from the display, as shown in FIG. 5B. In some
embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., 551 in FIG. 5B) has
a primary axis (e.g., 552 in FIG. 5B) that corresponds to a primary
axis (e.g., 553 in FIG. 5B) on the display (e.g., 550). In
accordance with these embodiments, the device detects contacts
(e.g., 560 and 562 in FIG. 5B) with the touch-sensitive surface 551
at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display
(e.g., in FIG. 5B, 560 corresponds to 568 and 562 corresponds to
570). In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts 560 and 562, and
movements thereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive
surface (e.g., 551 in FIG. 5B) are used by the device to manipulate
the user interface on the display (e.g., 550 in FIG. 5B) of the
multifunction device when the touch-sensitive surface is separate
from the display. It should be understood that similar methods are,
optionally, used for other user interfaces described herein.
[0224] Additionally, while the following examples are given
primarily with reference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts,
finger tap gestures, finger swipe gestures), it should be
understood that, in some embodiments, one or more of the finger
inputs are replaced with input from another input device (e.g., a
mouse-based input or stylus input). For example, a swipe gesture
is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click (e.g., instead of a
contact) followed by movement of the cursor along the path of the
swipe (e.g., instead of movement of the contact). As another
example, a tap gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click
while the cursor is located over the location of the tap gesture
(e.g., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasing to
detect the contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs are
simultaneously detected, it should be understood that multiple
computer mice are, optionally, used simultaneously, or a mouse and
finger contacts are, optionally, used simultaneously.
[0225] FIG. 6A illustrates exemplary personal electronic device
600. Device 600 includes body 602. In some embodiments, device 600
can include some or all of the features described with respect to
devices 200 and 400 (e.g., FIGS. 2A-4). In some embodiments, device
600 has touch-sensitive display screen 604, hereafter touch screen
604. Alternatively, or in addition to touch screen 604, device 600
has a display and a touch-sensitive surface. As with devices 200
and 400, in some embodiments, touch screen 604 (or the
touch-sensitive surface) optionally includes one or more intensity
sensors for detecting intensity of contacts (e.g., touches) being
applied. The one or more intensity sensors of touch screen 604 (or
the touch-sensitive surface) can provide output data that
represents the intensity of touches. The user interface of device
600 responds to touches based on their intensity, meaning that
touches of different intensities can invoke different user
interface operations on device 600.
[0226] Exemplary techniques for detecting and processing touch
intensity are found, for example, in related applications:
International Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US2013/040061,
titled "Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Displaying
User Interface Objects Corresponding to an Application," filed May
8, 2013, published as WIPO Publication No. WO/2013/169849, and
International Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US2013/069483,
titled "Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for
Transitioning Between Touch Input to Display Output Relationships,"
filed Nov. 11, 2013, published as WIPO Publication No.
WO/2014/105276, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference
in their entirety.
[0227] In some embodiments, device 600 has one or more input
mechanisms 606 and 608. Input mechanisms 606 and 608, if included,
can be physical. Examples of physical input mechanisms include push
buttons and rotatable mechanisms. In some embodiments, device 600
has one or more attachment mechanisms. Such attachment mechanisms,
if included, can permit attachment of device 600 with, for example,
hats, eyewear, earrings, necklaces, shirts, jackets, bracelets,
watch straps, chains, trousers, belts, shoes, purses, backpacks,
and so forth. These attachment mechanisms permit device 600 to be
worn by a user.
[0228] FIG. 6B depicts exemplary personal electronic device 600. In
some embodiments, device 600 optionally includes some or all of the
components described with respect to FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 4. Device
600 has bus 612 that operatively couples I/O section 614 with one
or more computer processors 616 and memory 618. I/O section 614 is
optionally connected to display 604, which can have touch-sensitive
component 622 and, optionally, intensity sensor 624 (e.g., contact
intensity sensor). In addition, I/O section 614 is optionally
connected with communication unit 630 for receiving application and
operating system data, using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, near field
communication (NFC), cellular, and/or other wireless communication
techniques. Device 600 optionally includes input mechanisms 606
and/or 608. Input mechanism 606 is, optionally, a rotatable input
device or a depressible and rotatable input device, for example.
Input mechanism 608 is, optionally, a button, in some examples.
[0229] Input mechanism 608 is, optionally, a microphone, in some
examples. Personal electronic device 600 optionally includes
various sensors, such as GPS sensor 632, accelerometer 634,
directional sensor 640 (e.g., compass), gyroscope 636, motion
sensor 638, and/or a combination thereof, all of which are,
optionally, operatively connected to I/O section 614.
[0230] Memory 618 of personal electronic device 600 can include one
or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, for storing
computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or
more computer processors 616, for example, cause the computer
processors to perform the techniques and processes described below.
The computer-executable instructions, for example, are also stored
and/or transported within any non-transitory computer-readable
storage medium for use by or in connection with an instruction
execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based
system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch
the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus,
or device and execute the instructions. In some examples, the
storage medium is a non-transitory computer-readable storage
medium. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium any
type of storage including but not limited to, magnetic, optical,
and/or semiconductor storages. Examples of such storage include
magnetic disks, optical discs based on CD, DVD, or Blu-ray
technologies, as well as persistent solid-state memory such as
flash, solid-state drives, and the like. Personal electronic device
600 is not limited to the components and configuration of FIG. 6B,
but can include other or additional components in multiple
configurations.
[0231] As used here, the term "affordance" refers to a
user-interactive graphical user interface object that is,
optionally, displayed on the display screen of devices 200, 400,
600, 800, 1000, 1600 and/or 1800 (FIGS. 2A, 4, and 6A-B, FIGS.
8A-8AF, FIGS. 10A-10AJ, FIGS. 16A-16S, 18A-18D). For example, an
image (e.g., icon), a button, and text (e.g., hyperlink) each
optionally constitutes an affordance.
[0232] As used herein, the term "focus selector" refers to an input
element that indicates a current part of a user interface with
which a user is interacting. In some implementations that include a
cursor or other location marker, the cursor acts as a "focus
selector" so that when an input (e.g., a press input) is detected
on a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touchpad 455 in FIG. 4 or
touch-sensitive surface 551 in FIG. 5B) while the cursor is over a
particular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider
or other user interface element), the particular user interface
element is adjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some
implementations that include a touch screen display (e.g.,
touch-sensitive display system 212 in FIG. 2A or touch screen 212
in FIG. 5A) that enables direct interaction with user interface
elements on the touch screen display, a detected contact on the
touch screen acts as a "focus selector" so that when an input
(e.g., a press input by the contact) is detected on the touch
screen display at a location of a particular user interface element
(e.g., a button, window, slider, or other user interface element),
the particular user interface element is adjusted in accordance
with the detected input. In some implementations, focus is moved
from one region of a user interface to another region of the user
interface without corresponding movement of a cursor or movement of
a contact on a touch screen display (e.g., by using a tab key or
arrow keys to move focus from one button to another button); in
these implementations, the focus selector moves in accordance with
movement of focus between different regions of the user interface.
Without regard to the specific form taken by the focus selector,
the focus selector is generally the user interface element (or
contact on a touch screen display) that is controlled by the user
so as to communicate the user's intended interaction with the user
interface (e.g., by indicating, to the device, the element of the
user interface with which the user is intending to interact). For
example, the location of a focus selector (e.g., a cursor, a
contact, or a selection box) over a respective button while a press
input is detected on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad
or touch screen) will indicate that the user is intending to
activate the respective button (as opposed to other user interface
elements shown on a display of the device).
[0233] As used in the specification and claims, the term
"characteristic intensity" of a contact refers to a characteristic
of the contact based on one or more intensities of the contact. In
some embodiments, the characteristic intensity is based on multiple
intensity samples. The characteristic intensity is, optionally,
based on a predefined number of intensity samples, or a set of
intensity samples collected during a predetermined time period
(e.g., 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10 seconds) relative to a
predefined event (e.g., after detecting the contact, prior to
detecting liftoff of the contact, before or after detecting a start
of movement of the contact, prior to detecting an end of the
contact, before or after detecting an increase in intensity of the
contact, and/or before or after detecting a decrease in intensity
of the contact). A characteristic intensity of a contact is,
optionally based on one or more of: a maximum value of the
intensities of the contact, a mean value of the intensities of the
contact, an average value of the intensities of the contact, a top
10 percentile value of the intensities of the contact, a value at
the half maximum of the intensities of the contact, a value at the
90 percent maximum of the intensities of the contact, or the like.
In some embodiments, the duration of the contact is used in
determining the characteristic intensity (e.g., when the
characteristic intensity is an average of the intensity of the
contact over time). In some embodiments, the characteristic
intensity is compared to a set of one or more intensity thresholds
to determine whether an operation has been performed by a user. For
example, the set of one or more intensity thresholds optionally
includes a first intensity threshold and a second intensity
threshold. In this example, a contact with a characteristic
intensity that does not exceed the first threshold results in a
first operation, a contact with a characteristic intensity that
exceeds the first intensity threshold and does not exceed the
second intensity threshold results in a second operation, and a
contact with a characteristic intensity that exceeds the second
threshold results in a third operation. In some embodiments, a
comparison between the characteristic intensity and one or more
thresholds is used to determine whether or not to perform one or
more operations (e.g., whether to perform a respective operation or
forgo performing the respective operation) rather than being used
to determine whether to perform a first operation or a second
operation.
[0234] FIG. 6C illustrates detecting a plurality of contacts
652A-652E on touch-sensitive display screen 604 with a plurality of
intensity sensors 624A-624D. FIG. 6C additionally includes
intensity diagrams that show the current intensity measurements of
the intensity sensors 624A-624D relative to units of intensity. In
this example, the intensity measurements of intensity sensors 624A
and 624D are each 9 units of intensity, and the intensity
measurements of intensity sensors 624B and 624C are each 7 units of
intensity. In some implementations, an aggregate intensity is the
sum of the intensity measurements of the plurality of intensity
sensors 624A-624D, which in this example is 32 intensity units. In
some embodiments, each contact is assigned a respective intensity
that is a portion of the aggregate intensity. FIG. 6D illustrates
assigning the aggregate intensity to contacts 652A-652E based on
their distance from the center of force 654. In this example, each
of contacts 652A, 652B, and 652E are assigned an intensity of
contact of 8 intensity units of the aggregate intensity, and each
of contacts 652C and 652D are assigned an intensity of contact of 4
intensity units of the aggregate intensity. More generally, in some
implementations, each contact j is assigned a respective intensity
Ij that is a portion of the aggregate intensity, A, in accordance
with a predefined mathematical function, Ij=A(Dj/.SIGMA.Di), where
Dj is the distance of the respective contact j to the center of
force, and .SIGMA.Di is the sum of the distances of all the
respective contacts (e.g., i=1 to last) to the center of force. The
operations described with reference to FIGS. 6C-6D can be performed
using an electronic device similar or identical to device 104, 200,
400, or 600. In some embodiments, a characteristic intensity of a
contact is based on one or more intensities of the contact. In some
embodiments, the intensity sensors are used to determine a single
characteristic intensity (e.g., a single characteristic intensity
of a single contact). It should be noted that the intensity
diagrams are not part of a displayed user interface, but are
included in FIGS. 6C-6D to aid the reader.
[0235] In some embodiments, a portion of a gesture is identified
for purposes of determining a characteristic intensity. For
example, a touch-sensitive surface optionally receives a continuous
swipe contact transitioning from a start location and reaching an
end location, at which point the intensity of the contact
increases. In this example, the characteristic intensity of the
contact at the end location is, optionally, based on only a portion
of the continuous swipe contact, and not the entire swipe contact
(e.g., only the portion of the swipe contact at the end location).
In some embodiments, a smoothing algorithm is, optionally, applied
to the intensities of the swipe contact prior to determining the
characteristic intensity of the contact. For example, the smoothing
algorithm optionally includes one or more of: an unweighted
sliding-average smoothing algorithm, a triangular smoothing
algorithm, a median filter smoothing algorithm, and/or an
exponential smoothing algorithm. In some circumstances, these
smoothing algorithms eliminate narrow spikes or dips in the
intensities of the swipe contact for purposes of determining a
characteristic intensity.
[0236] The intensity of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface
is, optionally, characterized relative to one or more intensity
thresholds, such as a contact-detection intensity threshold, a
light press intensity threshold, a deep press intensity threshold,
and/or one or more other intensity thresholds. In some embodiments,
the light press intensity threshold corresponds to an intensity at
which the device will perform operations typically associated with
clicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad. In some
embodiments, the deep press intensity threshold corresponds to an
intensity at which the device will perform operations that are
different from operations typically associated with clicking a
button of a physical mouse or a trackpad. In some embodiments, when
a contact is detected with a characteristic intensity below the
light press intensity threshold (e.g., and above a nominal
contact-detection intensity threshold below which the contact is no
longer detected), the device will move a focus selector in
accordance with movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive
surface without performing an operation associated with the light
press intensity threshold or the deep press intensity threshold.
Generally, unless otherwise stated, these intensity thresholds are
consistent between different sets of user interface figures.
[0237] An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from
an intensity below the light press intensity threshold to an
intensity between the light press intensity threshold and the deep
press intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as a "light
press" input. An increase of characteristic intensity of the
contact from an intensity below the deep press intensity threshold
to an intensity above the deep press intensity threshold is
sometimes referred to as a "deep press" input. An increase of
characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the
contact-detection intensity threshold to an intensity between the
contact-detection intensity threshold and the light press intensity
threshold is sometimes referred to as detecting the contact on the
touch-surface. A decrease of characteristic intensity of the
contact from an intensity above the contact-detection intensity
threshold to an intensity below the contact-detection intensity
threshold is sometimes referred to as detecting liftoff of the
contact from the touch-surface. In some embodiments, the
contact-detection intensity threshold is zero. In some embodiments,
the contact-detection intensity threshold is greater than zero.
[0238] In some embodiments described herein, one or more operations
are performed in response to detecting a gesture that includes a
respective press input or in response to detecting the respective
press input performed with a respective contact (or a plurality of
contacts), where the respective press input is detected based at
least in part on detecting an increase in intensity of the contact
(or plurality of contacts) above a press-input intensity threshold.
In some embodiments, the respective operation is performed in
response to detecting the increase in intensity of the respective
contact above the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., a "down
stroke" of the respective press input). In some embodiments, the
press input includes an increase in intensity of the respective
contact above the press-input intensity threshold and a subsequent
decrease in intensity of the contact below the press-input
intensity threshold, and the respective operation is performed in
response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the
respective contact below the press-input threshold (e.g., an "up
stroke" of the respective press input).
[0239] FIGS. 6E-6H illustrate detection of a gesture that includes
a press input that corresponds to an increase in intensity of a
contact 662 from an intensity below a light press intensity
threshold (e.g., "IT.sub.L") in FIG. 6E, to an intensity above a
deep press intensity threshold (e.g., "IT.sub.D") in FIG. 6H. The
gesture performed with contact 662 is detected on touch-sensitive
surface 660 while cursor 676 is displayed over application icon
672B corresponding to App 2, on a displayed user interface 670 that
includes application icons 672A-672D displayed in predefined region
674. In some embodiments, the gesture is detected on
touch-sensitive display 604. The intensity sensors detect the
intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface 660. The device
determines that the intensity of contact 662 peaked above the deep
press intensity threshold (e.g., "IT.sub.D"). Contact 662 is
maintained on touch-sensitive surface 660. In response to the
detection of the gesture, and in accordance with contact 662 having
an intensity that goes above the deep press intensity threshold
(e.g., "IT.sub.D") during the gesture, reduced-scale
representations 678A-678C (e.g., thumbnails) of recently opened
documents for App 2 are displayed, as shown in FIGS. 6F-6H. In some
embodiments, the intensity, which is compared to the one or more
intensity thresholds, is the characteristic intensity of a contact.
It should be noted that the intensity diagram for contact 662 is
not part of a displayed user interface, but is included in FIGS.
6E-6H to aid the reader.
[0240] In some embodiments, the display of representations
678A-678C includes an animation. For example, representation 678A
is initially displayed in proximity of application icon 672B, as
shown in FIG. 6F. As the animation proceeds, representation 678A
moves upward and representation 678B is displayed in proximity of
application icon 672B, as shown in FIG. 6G. Then, representations
678A moves upward, 678B moves upward toward representation 678A,
and representation 678C is displayed in proximity of application
icon 672B, as shown in FIG. 6H. Representations 678A-678C form an
array above icon 672B. In some embodiments, the animation
progresses in accordance with an intensity of contact 662, as shown
in FIGS. 6F-6G, where the representations 678A-678C appear and move
upwards as the intensity of contact 662 increases toward the deep
press intensity threshold (e.g., "IT.sub.D"). In some embodiments,
the intensity, on which the progress of the animation is based, is
the characteristic intensity of the contact. The operations
described with reference to FIGS. 6E-6H can be performed using an
electronic device similar or identical to device 104, 200, 400, or
600.
[0241] In some embodiments, the device employs intensity hysteresis
to avoid accidental inputs sometimes termed "jitter," where the
device defines or selects a hysteresis intensity threshold with a
predefined relationship to the press-input intensity threshold
(e.g., the hysteresis intensity threshold is X intensity units
lower than the press-input intensity threshold or the hysteresis
intensity threshold is 75%, 90%, or some reasonable proportion of
the press-input intensity threshold). Thus, in some embodiments,
the press input includes an increase in intensity of the respective
contact above the press-input intensity threshold and a subsequent
decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresis intensity
threshold that corresponds to the press-input intensity threshold,
and the respective operation is performed in response to detecting
the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contact
below the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., an "up stroke" of
the respective press input). Similarly, in some embodiments, the
press input is detected only when the device detects an increase in
intensity of the contact from an intensity at or below the
hysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity at or above the
press-input intensity threshold and, optionally, a subsequent
decrease in intensity of the contact to an intensity at or below
the hysteresis intensity, and the respective operation is performed
in response to detecting the press input (e.g., the increase in
intensity of the contact or the decrease in intensity of the
contact, depending on the circumstances).
[0242] For ease of explanation, the descriptions of operations
performed in response to a press input associated with a
press-input intensity threshold or in response to a gesture
including the press input are, optionally, triggered in response to
detecting either: an increase in intensity of a contact above the
press-input intensity threshold, an increase in intensity of a
contact from an intensity below the hysteresis intensity threshold
to an intensity above the press-input intensity threshold, a
decrease in intensity of the contact below the press-input
intensity threshold, and/or a decrease in intensity of the contact
below the hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to the
press-input intensity threshold. Additionally, in examples where an
operation is described as being performed in response to detecting
a decrease in intensity of a contact below the press-input
intensity threshold, the operation is, optionally, performed in
response to detecting a decrease in intensity of the contact below
a hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to, and lower than,
the press-input intensity threshold.
[0243] As used herein, an "installed application" refers to a
software application that has been downloaded onto an electronic
device (e.g., devices 100, 200, 400, and/or 600) and is ready to be
launched (e.g., become opened) on the device. In some embodiments,
a downloaded application becomes an installed application by way of
an installation program that extracts program portions from a
downloaded package and integrates the extracted portions with the
operating system of the computer system.
[0244] As used herein, the terms "open application" or "executing
application" refer to a software application with retained state
information (e.g., as part of device/global internal state 157
and/or application internal state 192). An open or executing
application is, optionally, any one of the following types of
applications: [0245] an active application, which is currently
displayed on a display screen of the device that the application is
being used on; [0246] a background application (or background
processes), which is not currently displayed, but one or more
processes for the application are being processed by one or more
processors; and [0247] a suspended or hibernated application, which
is not running, but has state information that is stored in memory
(volatile and non-volatile, respectively) and that can be used to
resume execution of the application.
[0248] As used herein, the term "closed application" refers to
software applications without retained state information (e.g.,
state information for closed applications is not stored in a memory
of the device). Accordingly, closing an application includes
stopping and/or removing application processes for the application
and removing state information for the application from the memory
of the device. Generally, opening a second application while in a
first application does not close the first application. When the
second application is displayed and the first application ceases to
be displayed, the first application becomes a background
application.
3. Digital Assistant System
[0249] FIG. 7A illustrates a block diagram of digital assistant
system 700 in accordance with various examples. In some examples,
digital assistant system 700 is implemented on a standalone
computer system. In some examples, digital assistant system 700 is
distributed across multiple computers. In some examples, some of
the modules and functions of the digital assistant are divided into
a server portion and a client portion, where the client portion
resides on one or more user devices (e.g., devices 104, 122, 200,
400, 600, 800, 1000, 1404, 1600, 1800) and communicates with the
server portion (e.g., server system 108) through one or more
networks, e.g., as shown in FIG. 1. In some examples, digital
assistant system 700 is an implementation of server system 108
(and/or DA server 106) shown in FIG. 1. It should be noted that
digital assistant system 700 is only one example of a digital
assistant system, and that digital assistant system 700 can have
more or fewer components than shown, can combine two or more
components, or can have a different configuration or arrangement of
the components. The various components shown in FIG. 7A are
implemented in hardware, software instructions for execution by one
or more processors, firmware, including one or more signal
processing and/or application specific integrated circuits, or a
combination thereof.
[0250] Digital assistant system 700 includes memory 702, one or
more processors 704, input/output (I/O) interface 706, and network
communications interface 708. These components can communicate with
one another over one or more communication buses or signal lines
710.
[0251] In some examples, memory 702 includes a non-transitory
computer-readable medium, such as high-speed random access memory
and/or a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium (e.g., one
or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or
other non-volatile solid-state memory devices).
[0252] In some examples, I/O interface 706 couples input/output
devices 716 of digital assistant system 700, such as displays,
keyboards, touch screens, and microphones, to user interface module
722. I/O interface 706, in conjunction with user interface module
722, receives user inputs (e.g., voice input, keyboard inputs,
touch inputs, etc.) and processes them accordingly. In some
examples, e.g., when the digital assistant is implemented on a
standalone user device, digital assistant system 700 includes any
of the components and I/O communication interfaces described with
respect to devices 200, 400, 600, 1200, and 1404 in FIGS. 2A, 4,
6A-H, 12, and 14 respectively. In some examples, digital assistant
system 700 represents the server portion of a digital assistant
implementation, and can interact with the user through a
client-side portion residing on a user device (e.g., devices 104,
200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1404, 1600, 1800).
[0253] In some examples, the network communications interface 708
includes wired communication port(s) 712 and/or wireless
transmission and reception circuitry 714. The wired communication
port(s) receives and send communication signals via one or more
wired interfaces, e.g., Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB),
FIREWIRE, etc. The wireless circuitry 714 receives and sends RF
signals and/or optical signals from/to communications networks and
other communications devices. The wireless communications use any
of a plurality of communications standards, protocols, and
technologies, such as GSM, EDGE, CDMA, TDMA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,
VoIP, Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communication protocol. Network
communications interface 708 enables communication between digital
assistant system 700 with networks, such as the Internet, an
intranet, and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone
network, a wireless local area network (LAN), and/or a metropolitan
area network (MAN), and other devices.
[0254] In some examples, memory 702, or the computer-readable
storage media of memory 702, stores programs, modules,
instructions, and data structures including all or a subset of:
operating system 718, communications module 720, user interface
module 722, one or more applications 724, and digital assistant
module 726. In particular, memory 702, or the computer-readable
storage media of memory 702, stores instructions for performing the
processes described below. One or more processors 704 execute these
programs, modules, and instructions, and reads/writes from/to the
data structures.
[0255] Operating system 718 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, iOS,
OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks)
includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling
and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage
device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates
communications between various hardware, firmware, and software
components.
[0256] Communications module 720 facilitates communications between
digital assistant system 700 with other devices over network
communications interface 708. For example, communications module
720 communicates with RF circuitry 208 of electronic devices such
as devices 200, 400, and 600 shown in FIGS. 2A, 4, 6A-B,
respectively. Communications module 720 also includes various
components for handling data received by wireless circuitry 714
and/or wired communications port 712.
[0257] User interface module 722 receives commands and/or inputs
from a user via I/O interface 706 (e.g., from a keyboard, touch
screen, pointing device, controller, and/or microphone), and
generate user interface objects on a display. User interface module
722 also prepares and delivers outputs (e.g., speech, sound,
animation, text, icons, vibrations, haptic feedback, light, etc.)
to the user via the I/O interface 706 (e.g., through displays,
audio channels, speakers, touch-pads, etc.).
[0258] Applications 724 include programs and/or modules that are
configured to be executed by one or more processors 704. For
example, if the digital assistant system is implemented on a
standalone user device, applications 724 include user applications,
such as games, a calendar application, a navigation application, or
an email application. If digital assistant system 700 is
implemented on a server, applications 724 include resource
management applications, diagnostic applications, or scheduling
applications, for example.
[0259] Memory 702 also stores digital assistant module 726 (or the
server portion of a digital assistant). In some examples, digital
assistant module 726 includes the following sub-modules, or a
subset or superset thereof: input/output processing module 728,
speech-to-text (STT) processing module 730, natural language
processing module 732, dialogue flow processing module 734, task
flow processing module 736, service processing module 738, and
speech synthesis processing module 740. Each of these modules has
access to one or more of the following systems or data and models
of the digital assistant module 726, or a subset or superset
thereof: ontology 760, vocabulary index 744, user data 748, task
flow models 754, service models 756, and ASR systems 758.
[0260] In some examples, using the processing modules, data, and
models implemented in digital assistant module 726, the digital
assistant can perform at least some of the following: converting
speech input into text; identifying a user's intent expressed in a
natural language input received from the user; actively eliciting
and obtaining information needed to fully infer the user's intent
(e.g., by disambiguating words, games, intentions, etc.);
determining the task flow for fulfilling the inferred intent; and
executing the task flow to fulfill the inferred intent.
[0261] In some examples, as shown in FIG. 7B, I/O processing module
728 interacts with the user through I/O devices 716 in FIG. 7A or
with a user device (e.g., devices 104, 200, 400, or 600) through
network communications interface 708 in FIG. 7A to obtain user
input (e.g., a speech input) and to provide responses (e.g., as
speech outputs) to the user input. I/O processing module 728
optionally obtains contextual information associated with the user
input from the user device, along with or shortly after the receipt
of the user input. The contextual information includes
user-specific data, vocabulary, and/or preferences relevant to the
user input. In some examples, the contextual information also
includes software and hardware states of the user device at the
time the user request is received, and/or information related to
the surrounding environment of the user at the time that the user
request was received. In some examples, I/O processing module 728
also sends follow-up questions to, and receive answers from, the
user regarding the user request. When a user request is received by
I/O processing module 728 and the user request includes speech
input, I/O processing module 728 forwards the speech input to STT
processing module 730 (or speech recognizer) for speech-to-text
conversions.
[0262] STT processing module 730 includes one or more ASR systems
758. The one or more ASR systems 758 can process the speech input
that is received through I/O processing module 728 to produce a
recognition result. Each ASR system 758 includes a front-end speech
pre-processor. The front-end speech pre-processor extracts
representative features from the speech input. For example, the
front-end speech pre-processor performs a Fourier transform on the
speech input to extract spectral features that characterize the
speech input as a sequence of representative multi-dimensional
vectors. Further, each ASR system 758 includes one or more speech
recognition models (e.g., acoustic models and/or language models)
and implements one or more speech recognition engines. Examples of
speech recognition models include Hidden Markov Models,
Gaussian-Mixture Models, Deep Neural Network Models, n-gram
language models, and other statistical models. Examples of speech
recognition engines include the dynamic time warping based engines
and weighted finite-state transducers (WFST) based engines. The one
or more speech recognition models and the one or more speech
recognition engines are used to process the extracted
representative features of the front-end speech pre-processor to
produce intermediate recognitions results (e.g., phonemes, phonemic
strings, and sub-words), and ultimately, text recognition results
(e.g., words, word strings, or sequence of tokens). In some
examples, the speech input is processed at least partially by a
third-party service or on the user's device (e.g., device 104, 200,
400, or 600) to produce the recognition result. Once STT processing
module 730 produces recognition results containing a text string
(e.g., words, or sequence of words, or sequence of tokens), the
recognition result is passed to natural language processing module
732 for intent deduction. In some examples, STT processing module
730 produces multiple candidate text representations of the speech
input. Each candidate text representation is a sequence of words or
tokens corresponding to the speech input. In some examples, each
candidate text representation is associated with a speech
recognition confidence score. Based on the speech recognition
confidence scores, STT processing module 730 ranks the candidate
text representations and provides the n-best (e.g., n highest
ranked) candidate text representation(s) to natural language
processing module 732 for intent deduction, where n is a
predetermined integer greater than zero. For example, in one
example, only the highest ranked (n=1) candidate text
representation is passed to natural language processing module 732
for intent deduction. In another example, the five highest ranked
(n=5) candidate text representations are passed to natural language
processing module 732 for intent deduction.
[0263] More details on the speech-to-text processing are described
in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/236,942 for "Consolidating
Speech Recognition Results," filed on Sep. 20, 2011, the entire
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0264] In some examples, STT processing module 730 includes and/or
accesses a vocabulary of recognizable words via phonetic alphabet
conversion module 731. Each vocabulary word is associated with one
or more candidate pronunciations of the word represented in a
speech recognition phonetic alphabet. In particular, the vocabulary
of recognizable words includes a word that is associated with a
plurality of candidate pronunciations. For example, the vocabulary
includes the word "tomato" that is associated with the candidate
pronunciations of //and //. Further, vocabulary words are
associated with custom candidate pronunciations that are based on
previous speech inputs from the user. Such custom candidate
pronunciations are stored in STT processing module 730 and are
associated with a particular user via the user's profile on the
device. In some examples, the candidate pronunciations for words
are determined based on the spelling of the word and one or more
linguistic and/or phonetic rules. In some examples, the candidate
pronunciations are manually generated, e.g., based on known
canonical pronunciations.
[0265] In some examples, the candidate pronunciations are ranked
based on the commonness of the candidate pronunciation. For
example, the candidate pronunciation //is ranked higher than //,
because the former is a more commonly used pronunciation (e.g.,
among all users, for users in a particular geographical region, or
for any other appropriate subset of users). In some examples,
candidate pronunciations are ranked based on whether the candidate
pronunciation is a custom candidate pronunciation associated with
the user. For example, custom candidate pronunciations are ranked
higher than canonical candidate pronunciations. This can be useful
for recognizing proper nouns having a unique pronunciation that
deviates from canonical pronunciation. In some examples, candidate
pronunciations are associated with one or more speech
characteristics, such as geographic origin, nationality, or
ethnicity. For example, the candidate pronunciation //is associated
with the United States, whereas the candidate pronunciation // is
associated with Great Britain. Further, the rank of the candidate
pronunciation is based on one or more characteristics (e.g.,
geographic origin, nationality, ethnicity, etc.) of the user stored
in the user's profile on the device. For example, it can be
determined from the user's profile that the user is associated with
the United States. Based on the user being associated with the
United States, the candidate pronunciation //(associated with the
United States) is ranked higher than the candidate pronunciation /
/ (associated with Great Britain). In some examples, one of the
ranked candidate pronunciations is selected as a predicted
pronunciation (e.g., the most likely pronunciation).
[0266] When a speech input is received, STT processing module 730
is used to determine the phonemes corresponding to the speech input
(e.g., using an acoustic model), and then attempt to determine
words that match the phonemes (e.g., using a language model). For
example, if STT processing module 730 first identifies the sequence
of phonemes //corresponding to a portion of the speech input, it
can then determine, based on vocabulary index 744, that this
sequence corresponds to the word "tomato."
[0267] In some examples, STT processing module 730 uses approximate
matching techniques to determine words in an utterance. Thus, for
example, the STT processing module 730 determines that the sequence
of phonemes //corresponds to the word "tomato," even if that
particular sequence of phonemes is not one of the candidate
sequence of phonemes for that word.
[0268] Natural language processing module 732 ("natural language
processor") of the digital assistant takes the n-best candidate
text representation(s) ("word sequence(s)" or "token sequence(s)")
generated by STT processing module 730, and attempts to associate
each of the candidate text representations with one or more
"actionable intents" recognized by the digital assistant. An
"actionable intent" (or "user intent") represents a task that can
be performed by the digital assistant, and can have an associated
task flow implemented in task flow models 754. The associated task
flow is a series of programmed actions and steps that the digital
assistant takes in order to perform the task. The scope of a
digital assistant's capabilities is dependent on the number and
variety of task flows that have been implemented and stored in task
flow models 754, or in other words, on the number and variety of
"actionable intents" that the digital assistant recognizes. The
effectiveness of the digital assistant, however, also dependents on
the assistant's ability to infer the correct "actionable intent(s)"
from the user request expressed in natural language.
[0269] In some examples, in addition to the sequence of words or
tokens obtained from STT processing module 730, natural language
processing module 732 also receives contextual information
associated with the user request, e.g., from I/O processing module
728. The natural language processing module 732 optionally uses the
contextual information to clarify, supplement, and/or further
define the information contained in the candidate text
representations received from STT processing module 730. The
contextual information includes, for example, user preferences,
hardware, and/or software states of the user device, sensor
information collected before, during, or shortly after the user
request, prior interactions (e.g., dialogue) between the digital
assistant and the user, and the like. As described herein,
contextual information is, in some examples, dynamic, and changes
with time, location, content of the dialogue, and other
factors.
[0270] In some examples, the natural language processing is based
on, e.g., ontology 760. Ontology 760 is a hierarchical structure
containing many nodes, each node representing either an "actionable
intent" or a "property" relevant to one or more of the "actionable
intents" or other "properties." As noted above, an "actionable
intent" represents a task that the digital assistant is capable of
performing, i.e., it is "actionable" or can be acted on. A
"property" represents a parameter associated with an actionable
intent or a sub-aspect of another property. A linkage between an
actionable intent node and a property node in ontology 760 defines
how a parameter represented by the property node pertains to the
task represented by the actionable intent node.
[0271] In some examples, ontology 760 is made up of actionable
intent nodes and property nodes. Within ontology 760, each
actionable intent node is linked to one or more property nodes
either directly or through one or more intermediate property nodes.
Similarly, each property node is linked to one or more actionable
intent nodes either directly or through one or more intermediate
property nodes. For example, as shown in FIG. 7C, ontology 760
includes a "restaurant reservation" node (i.e., an actionable
intent node). Property nodes "restaurant," "date/time" (for the
reservation), and "party size" are each directly linked to the
actionable intent node (i.e., the "restaurant reservation"
node).
[0272] In addition, property nodes "cuisine," "price range," "phone
number," and "location" are sub-nodes of the property node
"restaurant," and are each linked to the "restaurant reservation"
node (i.e., the actionable intent node) through the intermediate
property node "restaurant." For another example, as shown in FIG.
7C, ontology 760 also includes a "set reminder" node (i.e., another
actionable intent node). Property nodes "date/time" (for setting
the reminder) and "subject" (for the reminder) are each linked to
the "set reminder" node. Since the property "date/time" is relevant
to both the task of making a restaurant reservation and the task of
setting a reminder, the property node "date/time" is linked to both
the "restaurant reservation" node and the "set reminder" node in
ontology 760.
[0273] An actionable intent node, along with its linked property
nodes, is described as a "domain." In the present discussion, each
domain is associated with a respective actionable intent, and
refers to the group of nodes (and the relationships there between)
associated with the particular actionable intent. For example,
ontology 760 shown in FIG. 7C includes an example of restaurant
reservation domain 762 and an example of reminder domain 764 within
ontology 760. The restaurant reservation domain includes the
actionable intent node "restaurant reservation," property nodes
"restaurant," "date/time," and "party size," and sub-property nodes
"cuisine," "price range," "phone number," and "location." Reminder
domain 764 includes the actionable intent node "set reminder," and
property nodes "subject" and "date/time." In some examples,
ontology 760 is made up of many domains. Each domain shares one or
more property nodes with one or more other domains. For example,
the "date/time" property node is associated with many different
domains (e.g., a scheduling domain, a travel reservation domain, a
movie ticket domain, etc.), in addition to restaurant reservation
domain 762 and reminder domain 764.
[0274] While FIG. 7C illustrates two example domains within
ontology 760, other domains include, for example, "find a movie,"
"initiate a phone call," "find directions," "schedule a meeting,"
"send a message," and "provide an answer to a question," "read a
list," "providing navigation instructions," "provide instructions
for a task" and so on. A "send a message" domain is associated with
a "send a message" actionable intent node, and further includes
property nodes such as "recipient(s)," "message type," and "message
body." The property node "recipient" is further defined, for
example, by the sub-property nodes such as "recipient name" and
"message address."
[0275] In some examples, ontology 760 includes all the domains (and
hence actionable intents) that the digital assistant is capable of
understanding and acting upon. In some examples, ontology 760 is
modified, such as by adding or removing entire domains or nodes, or
by modifying relationships between the nodes within the ontology
760.
[0276] In some examples, nodes associated with multiple related
actionable intents are clustered under a "super domain" in ontology
760. For example, a "travel" super-domain includes a cluster of
property nodes and actionable intent nodes related to travel. The
actionable intent nodes related to travel includes "airline
reservation," "hotel reservation," "car rental," "get directions,"
"find points of interest," and so on. The actionable intent nodes
under the same super domain (e.g., the "travel" super domain) have
many property nodes in common. For example, the actionable intent
nodes for "airline reservation," "hotel reservation," "car rental,"
"get directions," and "find points of interest" share one or more
of the property nodes "start location," "destination," "departure
date/time," "arrival date/time," and "party size."
[0277] In some examples, each node in ontology 760 is associated
with a set of words and/or phrases that are relevant to the
property or actionable intent represented by the node. The
respective set of words and/or phrases associated with each node
are the so-called "vocabulary" associated with the node. The
respective set of words and/or phrases associated with each node
are stored in vocabulary index 744 in association with the property
or actionable intent represented by the node. For example,
returning to FIG. 7B, the vocabulary associated with the node for
the property of "restaurant" includes words such as "food,"
"drinks," "cuisine," "hungry," "eat," "pizza," "fast food," "meal,"
and so on. For another example, the vocabulary associated with the
node for the actionable intent of "initiate a phone call" includes
words and phrases such as "call," "phone," "dial," "ring," "call
this number," "make a call to," and so on. The vocabulary index 744
optionally includes words and phrases in different languages.
[0278] Natural language processing module 732 receives the
candidate text representations (e.g., text string(s) or token
sequence(s)) from STT processing module 730, and for each candidate
representation, determines what nodes are implicated by the words
in the candidate text representation. In some examples, if a word
or phrase in the candidate text representation is found to be
associated with one or more nodes in ontology 760 (via vocabulary
index 744), the word or phrase "triggers" or "activates" those
nodes. Based on the quantity and/or relative importance of the
activated nodes, natural language processing module 732 selects one
of the actionable intents as the task that the user intended the
digital assistant to perform. In some examples, the domain that has
the most "triggered" nodes is selected. In some examples, the
domain having the highest confidence value (e.g., based on the
relative importance of its various triggered nodes) is selected. In
some examples, the domain is selected based on a combination of the
number and the importance of the triggered nodes. In some examples,
additional factors are considered in selecting the node as well,
such as whether the digital assistant has previously correctly
interpreted a similar request from a user.
[0279] User data 748 includes user-specific information, such as
user-specific vocabulary, user preferences, user address, user's
default and secondary languages, user's contact list, and other
short-term or long-term information for each user. In some
examples, natural language processing module 732 uses the
user-specific information to supplement the information contained
in the user input to further define the user intent. For example,
for a user request "invite my friends to my birthday party,"
natural language processing module 732 is able to access user data
748 to determine who the "friends" are and when and where the
"birthday party" would be held, rather than requiring the user to
provide such information explicitly in his/her request.
[0280] It should be recognized that in some examples, natural
language processing module 732 is implemented using one or more
machine learning mechanisms (e.g., neural networks). In particular,
the one or more machine learning mechanisms are configured to
receive a candidate text representation and contextual information
associated with the candidate text representation. Based on the
candidate text representation and the associated contextual
information, the one or more machine learning mechanisms are
configured to determine intent confidence scores over a set of
candidate actionable intents. Natural language processing module
732 can select one or more candidate actionable intents from the
set of candidate actionable intents based on the determined intent
confidence scores. In some examples, an ontology (e.g., ontology
760) is also used to select the one or more candidate actionable
intents from the set of candidate actionable intents.
[0281] Other details of searching an ontology based on a token
string are described in U.S. Utility application Ser. No.
12/341,743 for "Method and Apparatus for Searching Using An Active
Ontology," filed Dec. 22, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
[0282] In some examples, once natural language processing module
732 identifies an actionable intent (or domain) based on the user
request, natural language processing module 732 generates a
structured query to represent the identified actionable intent. In
some examples, the structured query includes parameters for one or
more nodes within the domain for the actionable intent, and at
least some of the parameters are populated with the specific
information and requirements specified in the user request. For
example, the user says "Make me a dinner reservation at a sushi
place at 7." In this case, natural language processing module 732
is able to correctly identify the actionable intent to be
"restaurant reservation" based on the user input. According to the
ontology, a structured query for a "restaurant reservation" domain
includes parameters such as {Cuisine}, {Time}, {Date}, {Party
Size}, and the like. In some examples, based on the speech input
and the text derived from the speech input using STT processing
module 730, natural language processing module 732 generates a
partial structured query for the restaurant reservation domain,
where the partial structured query includes the parameters
{Cuisine="Sushi"} and {Time="7 pm"}. However, in this example, the
user's utterance contains insufficient information to complete the
structured query associated with the domain. Therefore, other
necessary parameters such as {Party Size} and {Date} are not
specified in the structured query based on the information
currently available. In some examples, natural language processing
module 732 populates some parameters of the structured query with
received contextual information. For example, in some examples, if
the user requested a sushi restaurant "near me," natural language
processing module 732 populates a {location} parameter in the
structured query with GPS coordinates from the user device.
[0283] In some examples, natural language processing module 732
identifies multiple candidate actionable intents for each candidate
text representation received from STT processing module 730.
Further, in some examples, a respective structured query (partial
or complete) is generated for each identified candidate actionable
intent. Natural language processing module 732 determines an intent
confidence score for each candidate actionable intent and ranks the
candidate actionable intents based on the intent confidence scores.
In some examples, natural language processing module 732 passes the
generated structured query (or queries), including any completed
parameters, to task flow processing module 736 ("task flow
processor"). In some examples, the structured query (or queries)
for the m-best (e.g., m highest ranked) candidate actionable
intents are provided to task flow processing module 736, where m is
a predetermined integer greater than zero. In some examples, the
structured query (or queries) for the m-best candidate actionable
intents are provided to task flow processing module 736 with the
corresponding candidate text representation(s).
[0284] Other details of inferring a user intent based on multiple
candidate actionable intents determined from multiple candidate
text representations of a speech input are described in U.S.
Utility application Ser. No. 14/298,725 for "System and Method for
Inferring User Intent From Speech Inputs," filed Jun. 6, 2014, the
entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0285] Task flow processing module 736 is configured to receive the
structured query (or queries) from natural language processing
module 732, complete the structured query, if necessary, and
perform the actions required to "complete" the user's ultimate
request. In some examples, the various procedures necessary to
complete these tasks are provided in task flow models 754. In some
examples, task flow models 754 include procedures for obtaining
additional information from the user and task flows for performing
actions associated with the actionable intent.
[0286] As described above, in order to complete a structured query,
task flow processing module 736 needs to initiate additional
dialogue with the user in order to obtain additional information,
and/or disambiguate potentially ambiguous utterances. When such
interactions are necessary, task flow processing module 736 invokes
dialogue flow processing module 734 to engage in a dialogue with
the user. In some examples, dialogue flow processing module 734
determines how (and/or when) to ask the user for the additional
information and receives and processes the user responses. The
questions are provided to and answers are received from the users
through I/O processing module 728. In some examples, dialogue flow
processing module 734 presents dialogue output to the user via
audio and/or visual output, and receives input from the user via
spoken or physical (e.g., clicking) responses. Continuing with the
example above, when task flow processing module 736 invokes
dialogue flow processing module 734 to determine the "party size"
and "date" information for the structured query associated with the
domain "restaurant reservation," dialogue flow processing module
734 generates questions such as "For how many people?" and "On
which day?" to pass to the user. Once answers are received from the
user, dialogue flow processing module 734 then populates the
structured query with the missing information, or pass the
information to task flow processing module 736 to complete the
missing information from the structured query.
[0287] Once task flow processing module 736 has completed the
structured query for an actionable intent, task flow processing
module 736 proceeds to perform the ultimate task associated with
the actionable intent. Accordingly, task flow processing module 736
executes the steps and instructions in the task flow model
according to the specific parameters contained in the structured
query. For example, the task flow model for the actionable intent
of "restaurant reservation" includes steps and instructions for
contacting a restaurant and actually requesting a reservation for a
particular party size at a particular time. For example, using a
structured query such as: {restaurant reservation, restaurant=ABC
Cafe, date=3/12/2012, time=7 pm, party size=5}, task flow
processing module 736 performs the steps of: (1) logging onto a
server of the ABC Cafe or a restaurant reservation system such as
OPENTABLE.RTM., (2) entering the date, time, and party size
information in a form on the website, (3) submitting the form, and
(4) making a calendar entry for the reservation in the user's
calendar.
[0288] In some examples, task flow processing module 736 employs
the assistance of service processing module 738 ("service
processing module") to complete a task requested in the user input
or to provide an informational answer requested in the user input.
For example, service processing module 738 acts on behalf of task
flow processing module 736 to make a phone call, set a calendar
entry, invoke a map search, invoke or interact with other user
applications installed on the user device, and invoke or interact
with third-party services (e.g., a restaurant reservation portal, a
social networking website, a banking portal, etc.). In some
examples, the protocols and application programming interfaces
(API) required by each service are specified by a respective
service model among service models 756. Service processing module
738 accesses the appropriate service model for a service and
generates requests for the service in accordance with the protocols
and APIs required by the service according to the service
model.
[0289] For example, if a restaurant has enabled an online
reservation service, the restaurant submits a service model
specifying the necessary parameters for making a reservation and
the APIs for communicating the values of the necessary parameter to
the online reservation service. When requested by task flow
processing module 736, service processing module 738 establishes a
network connection with the online reservation service using the
web address stored in the service model, and sends the necessary
parameters of the reservation (e.g., time, date, party size) to the
online reservation interface in a format according to the API of
the online reservation service.
[0290] In some examples, natural language processing module 732,
dialogue flow processing module 734, and task flow processing
module 736 are used collectively and iteratively to infer and
define the user's intent, obtain information to further clarify and
refine the user intent, and finally generate a response (i.e., an
output to the user, or the completion of a task) to fulfill the
user's intent. The generated response is a dialogue response to the
speech input that at least partially fulfills the user's intent.
Further, in some examples, the generated response is output as a
speech output. In these examples, the generated response is sent to
speech synthesis processing module 740 (e.g., speech synthesizer)
where it can be processed to synthesize the dialogue response in
speech form. In yet other examples, the generated response is data
content relevant to satisfying a user request in the speech
input.
[0291] In examples where task flow processing module 736 receives
multiple structured queries from natural language processing module
732, task flow processing module 736 initially processes the first
structured query of the received structured queries to attempt to
complete the first structured query and/or execute one or more
tasks or actions represented by the first structured query. In some
examples, the first structured query corresponds to the highest
ranked actionable intent. In other examples, the first structured
query is selected from the received structured queries based on a
combination of the corresponding speech recognition confidence
scores and the corresponding intent confidence scores. In some
examples, if task flow processing module 736 encounters an error
during processing of the first structured query (e.g., due to an
inability to determine a necessary parameter), the task flow
processing module 736 can proceed to select and process a second
structured query of the received structured queries that
corresponds to a lower ranked actionable intent. The second
structured query is selected, for example, based on the speech
recognition confidence score of the corresponding candidate text
representation, the intent confidence score of the corresponding
candidate actionable intent, a missing necessary parameter in the
first structured query, or any combination thereof.
[0292] Speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured to
synthesize speech outputs for presentation to the user. Speech
synthesis processing module 740 synthesizes speech outputs based on
text provided by the digital assistant. For example, the generated
dialogue response is in the form of a text string. Speech synthesis
processing module 740 converts the text string to an audible speech
output. Speech synthesis processing module 740 uses any appropriate
speech synthesis technique in order to generate speech outputs from
text, including, but not limited, to concatenative synthesis, unit
selection synthesis, diphone synthesis, domain-specific synthesis,
formant synthesis, articulatory synthesis, hidden Markov model
(HMM) based synthesis, and sinewave synthesis. In some examples,
speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured to synthesize
individual words based on phonemic strings corresponding to the
words. For example, a phonemic string is associated with a word in
the generated dialogue response. The phonemic string is stored in
metadata associated with the word. Speech synthesis processing
module 740 is configured to directly process the phonemic string in
the metadata to synthesize the word in speech form.
[0293] In some examples, instead of (or in addition to) using
speech synthesis processing module 740, speech synthesis is
performed on a remote device (e.g., the server system 108), and the
synthesized speech is sent to the user device for output to the
user. For example, this can occur in some implementations where
outputs for a digital assistant are generated at a server system.
And because server systems generally have more processing power or
resources than a user device, it is possible to obtain higher
quality speech outputs than would be practical with client-side
synthesis.
[0294] Additional details on digital assistants can be found in the
U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/987,982, entitled "Intelligent
Automated Assistant," filed Jan. 10, 2011, and U.S. Utility
application Ser. No. 13/251,088, entitled "Generating and
Processing Task Items That Represent Tasks to Perform," filed Sep.
30, 2011, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
4. Accelerated Task Performance
[0295] FIGS. 8A-8AF exemplary user interfaces for providing
suggestions on an electronic device (e.g., device 104, device 122,
device 200, device 600, or device 700), in accordance with some
embodiments. The user interfaces in these figures are used to
illustrate the processes described below, including the processes
in FIGS. 9A-9B.
[0296] FIG. 8A illustrates an electronic device 800 (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the
non-limiting exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8A-8AF,
electronic device 800 is a smartphone. In other embodiments,
electronic device 800 can be a different type of electronic device,
such as a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch). In some examples,
electronic device 800 has a display 801, one or more input devices
(e.g., touchscreen of display 801, a button, a microphone), and a
wireless communication radio. In some examples, the electronic
device 800 includes a plurality of cameras. In some examples, the
electronic device includes only one camera. In some examples, the
electronic device includes one or more biometric sensors (e.g.,
biometric sensor 803) which, optionally, include a camera, such as
an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a combination
thereof.
[0297] In FIG. 8A, the electronic device 800 displays, on display
801, a lock screen interface, such as the lock screen interface
804, while the electronic device is in a locked state. The lock
screen interface 804 includes a suggestion affordance 806 and a
notification 808. As shown, the suggestion affordance 806 is
associated with an application named "Coffee" and the notification
808 is a message notification associated with a messaging
application indicating that the electronic device has received a
new message from a contact stored on the electronic device ("John
Appleseed"). In some examples, an application (e.g., third-party
application) may specify the manner in which a suggestion
affordance is displayed. An application may specify the color of a
suggestion affordance, for instance. In some examples, while in the
locked state, the electronic device 800 operates in a secured
manner. By way of example, while operating in the locked state, the
electronic device 800 does not display contents of a task
suggestion associated with the suggestion affordance 806 or a
message associated with the notification 808. In some embodiments,
the locked state further corresponds to restrictions on access to
other data (including other applications) and/or limitations on
permissible inputs.
[0298] In some examples, the suggestion affordance 806 is displayed
in a first manner and the notification 808 is displayed in a second
manner. As an example, suggestion affordance 806 is displayed using
a first color and notification 808 is displayed using a second
color different than the first color. As another example, the
suggestion affordance 806 may be displayed using a first shape and
the notification 808 may be displayed using a second shape
different than the first shape.
[0299] In some examples, while operating in the locked state, the
electronic device authenticates a user of the electronic device. A
user may be authenticated, for instance, biometrically using
biometric sensor 803 (e.g., facial recognition, fingerprint
recognition) or in response to entry of a valid passcode (e.g.,
password, numerical passcode). In some examples, in response to
authenticating the user, the electronic device 800 transitions to
an unlocked state and displays lock screen interface 810. In some
examples, while displaying the lock screen interface 810, the
electronic device 800 displays an animation indicating that the
electronic device 800 is transitioning from the locked state to the
unlocked state (e.g., lock indicator 805 transitions from locked to
unlocked state).
[0300] In some examples, while operating in the unlocked state, the
electronic device 800 the electronic device 800 operates in an
unsecured manner (e.g., secured data is accessible to the
authenticated user). By way of example, as illustrated in FIG. 8B,
the electronic device 800 displays contents of the task suggestion
associated with the suggestion affordance 806 and the message
associated with the notification 808. As illustrated, contents of
the task suggestion associated with suggestion affordance include
task indicator 812 indicating a task associated with the task
suggestion and one or more parameters associated with the task.
[0301] While displaying the lock screen interface 810, the
electronic device 800 detects selection (e.g., activation) of
suggestion affordance 806. For example, as shown in FIG. 8C, the
selection is a tap gesture 816 on the suggestion affordance 806. As
will be described in more detail below, in response to detecting
tap gesture 816, the electronic device 800 selectively performs the
task associated with the suggestion affordance 806. If the task is
a task of a first type (e.g., a background task), the electronic
device 800 performs the task without requiring further user input.
The electronic device 800 further may cease display of the
suggestion affordance 806, as illustrated in FIG. 8H.
[0302] With reference to FIG. 8D, if the task is a task of a second
type different than the first type, the electronic device 800
displays a confirmation interface, such as confirmation interface
820. Confirmation interface 820 includes task content 822,
confirmation affordance 824, and cancel affordance 826. In some
examples, task content 822 includes one or more of application
indicator 828, application icon 830, and task indicator 832. In
some examples, application indicator 828 indicates the application
associated with the task. Application indicator 828 includes a name
of the application (e.g., "Coffee") and/or an icon associated with
the application. Application icon 830 includes an icon (or other
image) associated with the task and/or the application associated
with the task. Task indicator 832 indicates the task corresponding
to the suggestion affordance ("Order") and/or one or more
parameters associated with the task (small, latte, Homestead Rd.
Cupertino Calif.).
[0303] In some examples, in response to selection of the cancel
affordance 826, the electronic device 800 ceases display of the
confirmation interface 820. In some examples, the application
indicator 828 is implemented as an application affordance, and in
response to selection of the application indicator 828, the
electronic device 800 opens the application associated with the
task (e.g., "Coffee"). In some examples, the application icon 830
is implemented as an application affordance, and in response to
selection of the application icon 830, the electronic device 800
opens the application associated with the task.
[0304] In some examples, opening an application includes preloading
the application with one or more parameters. For instance,
suggestion affordance 806 is associated with a task for placing an
order using a coffee application, and parameters associated with
the task include a size of the coffee (e.g., small), a type of the
coffee (e.g., latte), and a location for pickup of the order
(Homestead Rd. location in Cupertino, Calif.). Accordingly, in some
examples, opening the application in this manner includes inserting
one or more parameters of the task on behalf of the user. By way of
example, opening the application by way of selecting application
indicator 828 or application icon 830 may cause the electronic
device to open coffee application and present an interface (e.g.,
shopping cart interface) by which the user can confirm an order of
a small latte at the Homestead Rd. location. In some examples,
parameters are preloaded such that the electronic device performs
the task in response to an input confirming intent to perform the
task. In this manner, the number of inputs required for a user to
perform a particular task using an application may be reduced.
[0305] In some examples, an application (e.g., third-party
application) may specify the manner in which a confirmation
affordance is displayed. An application may specify the color of a
confirmation affordance, for instance. In some examples, while
displaying the confirmation interface 820, the electronic device
800 detects selection of the confirmation affordance 824. For
example, as shown in FIG. 8E, the selection is a tap gesture 836 on
the confirmation affordance 824. In response to detecting tap
gesture 836, the electronic device 800 performs the task. In some
examples, while performing the task, the electronic device 800,
optionally, displays a progress indicator 840, indicating that the
task is being performed. In some examples, display of the progress
indicator 840 replaces display of the confirmation affordance
824.
[0306] Once task has been performed, the electronic device 800
provides an output indicating whether the task was performed
successfully. In the example of FIG. 8G, the task is performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device 800 displays a
success indicator 842, indicating that the task was successfully
performed. In some examples, display of the success indicator 842
replaces display of the progress indicator 840. In some examples, a
predetermined amount of time after the task has been completed, the
electronic device replaces display of the confirmation interface
820 with lock screen interface 810. As illustrated, because the
task associated with suggestion affordance 806 was performed,
suggestion affordance 806 is not included in lock screen interface
810 in FIG. 8H.
[0307] In the example of FIG. 8I, the task was not performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device 800 displays a
failure interface 844. The failure interface 844 includes a retry
affordance 846, a cancel affordance 848, and application affordance
850. The failure interface further includes content 852. In some
examples, in response to selection of the retry affordance 846, the
electronic device 800 performs the task again. In some examples, in
response to selection of the cancel affordance, the electronic
device 800 ceases display of the failure interface 844. In some
examples, in response to selection of the application affordance
850, the electronic device 800 opens an application associated with
the task. Content 852 may include information directed to the task,
such as one or more parameters used to perform the task. In some
examples, content 852 further specifies whether the task was
performed successfully. Content 852 may, for example, indicate that
the electronic device failed to perform the task successfully
(e.g., "There was a problem. Please try again.").
[0308] In FIG. 8J, the selection of suggestion affordance 806 is a
swipe gesture 854 on the suggestion affordance 806. In response to
detecting the swipe gesture 854, the electronic device 800
displaces (e.g., slides) the suggestion affordance 806 in a
leftward direction to display (e.g., reveal) view affordance 856
and clear affordance 858 as shown in FIG. 8K. In some examples, in
response to selection of the view affordance 856, the electronic
device 800 displays a confirmation interface, such as the
confirmation interface 820 (FIG. 8D). In some examples, in response
to selection of the clear affordance 858, the electronic device 800
ceases to display the suggestion affordance 806.
[0309] In FIG. 8L, the selection of suggestion affordance 806 is a
swipe gesture 860 on the suggestion affordance 806. In response to
detecting the swipe gesture 860, the electronic device 800
displaces (e.g., slides) the suggestion affordance 806 in a
rightward direction to display (e.g., reveal) open affordance 862
as shown in FIG. 8M. In some examples, in response to selection of
open affordance 862, the electronic device opens an application
associated with the task of the suggestion affordance (e.g.,
"Coffee").
[0310] In FIG. 8N, the electronic device 800 displays, on display
801, a search screen interface, such as the search screen interface
866. The search screen interface 866 includes suggested
applications 868 and suggestion affordances 870, 872, 874. As
shown, the suggestion affordance 870 is associated with a messaging
application, suggestion affordance 872 is associated with a
telephone application, and suggestion affordance 874 is associated
with a media playback application.
[0311] In some examples, suggestion affordances optionally include
a glyph (e.g., glyph 876, 878, 880) indicating a category of a task
associated with the suggestion affordance. Categories specified in
this manner may include "monetary," "messages," "phone," "video,"
and "media" in some examples. Suggestion affordances (e.g.,
suggestion affordance 806 of FIG. 8A) may be displayed without a
glyph if, for instance, the task of the suggestion affordance does
not correspond to a task category. In the example shown in FIG. 8N,
suggestion affordance 870 is associated with a task for sending a
text message and accordingly includes a messaging glyph 876
indicating that the task is associated with text messaging. As
another example, suggestion affordance 872 is associated with a
task for initiating a phone call and accordingly includes a
telephone glyph 878 indicating that the task is associated with
telephone functionality. As yet another example, suggestion
affordance 874 is associated with a task for playback of a video
and accordingly includes a playback glyph 880 indicating that the
task is associated with media playback. It will be appreciated that
any number of types of glyphs may be used, corresponding to any
number of respective task categories.
[0312] FIGS. 8N-P illustrate various manners in which suggested
applications and suggestion affordances may be displayed in a
search screen interface, such as the search screen interface. As
illustrated in FIG. 8N, in at least one example, suggested
applications and suggestion affordances may be displayed in
respective portions of a search screen interface (e.g., portions
882, 884). As illustrated in FIG. 8O, in at least one example,
suggested applications and suggestion affordances may be displayed
in a same portion of a search screen interface (e.g., portion 886).
As illustrated in FIG. 8P, in at least one example, suggested
applications and each suggestion affordance may be displayed in a
respective portion of a search screen interface (e.g., portion 888,
890, 892, 894).
[0313] In some examples, while displaying the search screen
interface 866, the electronic device 800 detects selection of the
suggestion affordance, such as the suggestion affordance 870. In
some examples, because the task associated with suggestion
affordance 870 is a task of a predetermined type (e.g., background
task), the electronic device performs (e.g., automatically
performs) the task associated with the suggestion affordance 870 in
response to selection of the affordance 870 with an input of a
first type (e.g., tap gesture). Additionally or alternatively, in
response to selection of the affordance 870 with an input of a
second type different than the first type, the electronic device
800 displays a confirmation interface requesting confirmation of
the task from a user.
[0314] For example, as shown in FIG. 8Q, the selection is a touch
gesture 896 on the confirmation affordance 824. In some examples,
touch gesture 896 is a touch input satisfying a threshold intensity
and/or threshold duration such that the touch gesture 896 may be
differentiated from a tap gesture. As shown in FIG. 8R, in response
to detecting touch gesture 896, the electronic device 800 displays
confirmation interface 898. Confirmation interface 898 includes
confirmation affordance 802A, cancel affordance 804A, application
indicator 806A, and content 808A. In some examples, selection of
the cancel affordance 804A causes the electronic device 800 to
cease display of the confirmation interface 898 and/or forgo
performing the task associated with suggestion affordance 870. In
some examples, application indicator 806A indicates the application
associated with the task. Application indicator 806A may include a
name of the application (e.g., "Messages") and/or an icon
associated with the application. Content 808A may include
information directed to the task, such as one or more parameters
used to perform the task. For instance, content 808A may specify
that a recipient of a text message is a contact "Mom" and the text
of the text message is "Good Morning". In some examples, content
808A may be implemented as an affordance.
[0315] While displaying the confirmation interface 898, the
electronic device 800 detects selection of the confirmation
affordance 802A. For example, as shown in FIG. 8S, the selection is
a tap gesture 810A on the confirmation affordance 824. In response
to detecting the tap gesture 810A, the electronic device 800
performs a task associated with suggestion affordance 870. As shown
in FIG. 8T, in some examples, while performing the task, the
electronic device 800, optionally, displays a progress indicator
812A, indicating that the task is being performed. In some
examples, display of the progress indicator 812A replaces display
of the confirmation affordance 802A and cancel affordance 804A.
[0316] Once task has been performed, the electronic device 800
provides an output indicating whether the task was performed
successfully. In the example of FIG. 8U, the task is performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device 800 displays a
success indicator 814A, indicating that the task was successfully
performed (e.g., text message to "Mom" was successfully sent). In
some examples, display of the success indicator 814A replaces
display of the progress indicator 812A. In some examples, a
predetermined amount of time after the task has been completed, the
electronic device replaces display of the confirmation interface
898 with search screen interface 866. As illustrated in FIG. 8V,
because the task associated with suggestion affordance 870 was
performed, suggestion affordance 870 is not included in search
screen interface 866.
[0317] In some examples, while displaying the confirmation
interface 898, the electronic device 800 detects selection of
content 808A. For example, as shown in FIG. 8W, the selection is a
tap gesture 816A on the content 808A. In response to detecting the
tap gesture 816A, the electronic device 800 opens the application
associated with the suggestion affordance 870 as shown in FIG.
8X.
[0318] In some examples, opening an application in this manner
includes preloading the application with one or more parameters
associated with the task. In this manner, a user may perform a task
within an application using a reduced number of inputs. By way of
example, in response to selection of the content 808A associated
with the suggestion affordance 870, the electronic device 800 opens
a messaging application and preloads the messaging application with
parameters specified by the suggestion affordance 870. In
particular, the messaging application may be directed to a
messaging interface 817A for providing messages to the recipient
"Mom", and an input string "Good Morning" may be inserted into a
message composition field 818A of the messaging application.
[0319] While displaying the messaging interface 817A, the
electronic device 800 detects selection of a send affordance 820A.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8Y, the selection is a tap gesture
822A on the send affordance 820A. In FIG. 8Z, in response to
detecting the tap gesture 822A, the electronic device 800 sends the
preloaded message (e.g., "Good Morning") to the recipient "Mom". By
preloading parameters in this manner, a user may open an
application using a suggestion affordance and perform a task with
fewer inputs than would otherwise be possible. In the
aforementioned example, for instance, the user sent a text message
without having to select a recipient or input a message for the
recipient.
[0320] In some examples, an application may be opened without
preloaded parameters. In FIG. 8AA, the electronic device 800
displays, on display 801, a search screen interface, such as the
search screen interface 826A. The search screen interface 826A
includes suggested applications 282A and suggestion affordances
830A, 832A. As shown, the suggestion affordance 830A is associated
with a notes application and suggestion affordance 832A is
associated with a video telephony application. Further, suggestion
affordance 830A is associated with a task for opening the notes
application. In some examples, tasks corresponding to the notes
application may not correspond to a task category, and accordingly
the suggestion affordance 830A does not include a glyph. Suggestion
affordance 832A is associated with a task for initiating a video
call (e.g., Skype call) and accordingly includes a video glyph 836A
indicating that the task is associated with video call
functionality.
[0321] While displaying the search screen interface 826A, the
electronic device 800 detects selection of the suggestion
affordance 834A. For example, as shown in FIG. 8AA, the selection
is a tap gesture 834A on the suggestion affordance 834A. In FIG.
8AB, in response to detecting the tap gesture 834A, the electronic
device 800 opens the notes application associated with the
suggestion affordance 830A.
[0322] In some examples, the manner in which an electronic device
displays interfaces, as described herein, depends on a type of the
electronic device. In some examples, for instance, electronic
device 800 may be implemented as a device with a relatively small
display such that interfaces, such as lock screen interface 804 or
search screen interface 866, may not be practical for display.
Accordingly, in some examples, electronic device 800 may display
alternative interfaces to those previously described.
[0323] With reference to FIG. 8AC, for instance, the electronic
device 800 displays, on display 801, home screen interface 850A.
Home screen interface 850A includes a suggestion affordance 852A
and a notification 854A. As shown, the suggestion affordance 852A
is associated with an application named "Coffee" and the
notification 854A is a calendar notification associated with a
calendar application indicating that the user has an upcoming event
("Meeting").
[0324] It will be appreciated that while home screen interface 850A
is shown as including suggestion affordance 852A, in some examples,
home screen interface 850A includes multiple suggestion affordances
852A. For instance, in response to a user input, such as a swipe
gesture (e.g., upward swipe gesture, downward swipe gesture), the
electronic device can display (e.g., reveal) one or more additional
suggestion affordances.
[0325] While displaying home screen interface 850A, the electronic
device 800 detects selection of suggestion affordance 852A. For
example, as shown in FIG. 8AD, the selection is a tap gesture 858A
on the suggestion affordance 852A. As will be described in more
detail below, in response to detecting tap gesture 858A, the
electronic device 800 displays a confirmation interface, such as
confirmation interface 820. Confirmation interface 820 includes
application indicator 861A, task indicator 862A, confirmation
affordance 864A, and cancel affordance 866A. In some examples,
application indicator 861A indicates the application associated
with the task. Application indicator 861A may include a name of the
application (e.g., "Coffee") and/or an icon associated with the
application. Task indicator 862A indicates a task associated with
the application and one or more parameters associated with the task
(small, latte, oat milk).
[0326] In some examples, in response to selection of the cancel
affordance 866A, the electronic device 800 ceases display of the
confirmation interface 860A. In some examples, while displaying the
confirmation interface 860A, the electronic device 800 detects
selection of the confirmation affordance 864A. For example, as
shown in FIG. 8AE, the selection is a tap gesture 868A on the
confirmation affordance 864A. In response to detecting tap gesture
868A, the electronic device 800 selectively performs the task. If
the task is a task of a first type, the electronic device 800
performs the task without further user input, and optionally,
replaces display of the confirmation interface 860A with home
screen interface 850A as shown in FIG. 8AF. Because the task
associated with suggestion affordance 852A was performed,
suggestion interface 852A is not displayed in home screen interface
850A. If the task is a task of a second type, the electronic device
800 may request user confirmation of the task prior to performing
the task, as described.
[0327] FIGS. 9A-9B is a flow diagram illustrating method 900 for
providing suggestions in accordance with some embodiments. Method
900 is performed at a device (e.g., device 104, device 122, device
200, device 600, device 700, device 800) with a display, one or
more input devices (e.g., a touchscreen, a mic, a camera), and a
wireless communication radio (e.g., a Bluetooth connection, WiFi
connection, a mobile broadband connection such as a 4G LTE
connection). In some embodiments, the display is a touch-sensitive
display. In some embodiments, the display is not a touch sensitive
display. In some embodiments, the electronic device includes a
plurality of cameras. In some embodiments, the electronic device
includes only one camera. In some examples, the device includes one
or more biometric sensors which, optionally, include a camera, such
as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a combination
thereof. Some operations in method 900 are, optionally, combined,
the orders of some operations are, optionally, changed, and some
operations are, optionally, omitted.
[0328] As described below, displaying a user interface including a
suggestion affordance and selectively requiring confirmation to
perform a task in response to selection of the suggestion
affordance provides a user with an easily recognizable and
intuitive approach for performing tasks on the electronic device,
thereby reducing the number of user inputs otherwise needed to
perform such tasks. Thus, displaying user interfaces in this manner
enhances the operability of the device and makes the user-device
interface more efficient (e.g., by helping the user to provide
proper inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting
with the device), which, additionally, reduces power usage and
improves battery life of the device by enabling the user to use the
device more quickly and efficiently.
[0329] In some examples, the electronic device determines a first
set of candidate tasks (902) and identifies a task from the first
set of candidate tasks (904). In some examples, the task is
identified based on a determination that a context of the
electronic device satisfies task suggestion criteria.
[0330] In some examples, prior to displaying, on the display, a
user interface, the electronic device determines, based on a first
context of the electronic device (e.g., context data describing
previous use of the electronic device), whether context criteria
(e.g., task suggestion criteria) has been satisfied. In some
examples, the electronic device determines whether task suggestions
satisfy a confidence threshold for display of the suggestions. In
some examples, in accordance with a determination that the context
criteria have been satisfied (e.g., one or more task suggestions
meet the confidence threshold), the electronic device determines a
first set of candidate tasks. In some examples, the electronic
device determines, based on a second context of the electronic
device, whether heuristic criteria have been satisfied. In some
examples, the second context of the electronic device is indicative
of previous use of the device and/or context data associated with
the user (e.g., contacts, calendar, location). In some examples,
determining whether the heuristic criteria have been met includes
determining whether a set of conditions for a heuristic task
suggestion have been met such that the heuristic task suggestion is
provided in lieu of a suggested task. In some examples, the
electronic device determines whether the context criteria have been
satisfied and then determines whether the heuristic criteria have
been satisfied. In some examples, the electronic device determines
whether the heuristic criteria have been satisfied and then
determines whether the context criteria have been satisfied. In
some examples, the electronic device concurrently determines
whether the context criteria and the heuristic criteria have been
satisfied. In some examples, in accordance with a determination
that the heuristic criteria have been satisfied, the electronic
device determines a second set of candidate tasks different from
the first set of candidate tasks and identifies a task from the
second set of candidate tasks. In some examples, in accordance with
a determination that the heuristic criteria have not been satisfied
and the context criteria have been satisfied, the electronic device
identifies a task from the first set of candidate tasks. In some
examples, in accordance with a determination that the heuristic
criteria have not been satisfied and the context criteria have not
been satisfied, the electronic device forgoes determining the first
set of candidate tasks and forgoes determining the second set of
candidate tasks.
[0331] Providing heuristic task suggestions in this manner allows
the electronic device to provide task suggestions based on
user-specific context data in addition to context data of the
electronic device, for instance, according to respective sets of
conditions as set forth below. This allows the electronic device to
provide a user with an salient task suggestions for performing
tasks on the electronic device, thereby reducing the number of user
inputs otherwise needed to perform such tasks. Thus, providing
heuristic task suggestions in this manner enhances the operability
of the device and makes use of the electronic device more efficient
(e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing
user mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,
additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of the
device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly and
efficiently.
[0332] In some examples, the electronic device determines whether
the task is a task of a first type (906). In some examples,
determining whether the task is a task of a first type includes
determining whether the task is a background task (e.g., a task
that may be performed without user confirmation and/or additional
user input).
[0333] In some examples, determining whether the task is a task of
a first type includes determining whether one or more parameters
associated with the task are valid. In some examples, parameters of
a task are valid when each parameter required for a task is
assigned a value within an allowable range or set of values for the
parameter and, optionally, each optional parameter for a task has a
value within an allowable range or set for the parameter, or is not
assigned a value.
[0334] In some examples, the electronic device (104, 200, 600, 700,
800) displays, on a display of the electronic device, a user
interface (804, 810, 866, 826A, 850A) including a suggestion
affordance (806, 870, 872, 874, 834A, 854A) associated with a task
(908). In some examples, the user interface is a lock screen
interface (804, 810). In some examples, the user interface is a
search screen interface (866, 826A). In some examples, the user
interface is a digital assistant interface for dialog between a
user and a digital assistant. In some examples, the suggestion
affordance is an affordance that corresponds to a task suggestion
provided by the electronic device, and in some instances, a digital
assistant of the electronic device. In some examples, the
suggestion is task-specific and/or parameter-specific. In some
examples, task suggestions are provided based on context of the
electronic device (e.g., location, WiFi connectivity, WiFi network
identifier (e.g., SSID), usage history, time/day, headphones
connectivity, etc.). In some examples, task suggestions are
visually distinguishable from other notifications displayed by the
electronic device in the user interface.
[0335] Providing task suggestions based on context of the
electronic device allows the electronic device to provide salient
task suggestions according to a user's previous usage of the
electronic device and/or a current state of the electronic device.
As a result, the number of inputs and amount of time needed to
perform tasks on the electronic device are reduced, accelerating
user interaction with the electronic device. This in turn reduces
power usage and improves battery life of the device.
[0336] In some examples, displaying, on the display, a user
interface including a suggestion affordance associated with a task
includes: in accordance with the task being a task of the first
type, displaying the suggestion affordance with a glyph, and in
accordance with the task being a task of the second type,
displaying the suggestion affordance without a glyph. In some
examples, the glyph is indicative of a type of the task (e.g.,
background vs. non-background, whether task requires user
confirmation). In some examples, the glyph is an arrow indicating
the task is requiring user confirmation. In some examples, the
glyph is a dollar sign (or other currency symbol) indicating that
the task is a transaction. In some examples, the glyph is
circumscribed by a circle.
[0337] In some examples, displaying, on the display, a user
interface including a suggestion affordance associated with a task
includes, in accordance with a determination that the task
corresponds to a first set of tasks, displaying the suggestion
affordance with a glyph of a first type (910). In some examples,
the set of tasks is a category of tasks. Categories of tasks
include message tasks, telephony tasks, video telephony tasks, and
media tasks in some examples. In some examples, each set of tasks
corresponds to one or more respective first party applications. In
some examples, each set of tasks additionally includes tasks
corresponding to one or more third party applications. In some
examples, if the task is a task corresponding to a particular
category of tasks, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the
task includes a glyph identifying the category (876, 878, 880,
836A). In some examples, displaying, on the display, a user
interface including a suggestion affordance associated with a task
further includes, in accordance with a determination that the task
corresponds to a second set of tasks different than the first set
of tasks, displaying the suggestion affordance with a glyph of a
second type different than the first type (912). In some examples,
displaying, on the display, a user interface including a suggestion
affordance associated with a task further includes, in accordance a
determination that the task does not correspond to the first set of
tasks and does not correspond to the second set of tasks,
displaying the suggestion affordance (830A) without a glyph. In
some examples, if the task does not correspond to one or more
predetermined categories of tasks, the suggestion affordance
corresponding to the task is displayed without a glyph (914).
[0338] In some examples, the user interface (804, 810) includes a
notification (808). The notification may be a notification for an
event, such as receipt of a text message. In some examples, the
suggestion affordance (806) is displayed in a first manner and the
notification (808) is displayed in a second manner different than
the first manner. For instance, in some examples, the suggestion
affordance and notification correspond to different colors, color
schemes, and/or patterns. In some examples, the suggestion
affordance and notification have different shapes and/or sizes.
[0339] Displaying notifications and suggestion affordances in
different manners, as described herein, allows a user to easily
distinguish notifications and suggestion affordances on a display
of the electronic device, thereby reducing the amount of time
needed to perform tasks. Reducing time in this manner enhances the
operability of the device and makes the user-device interface more
efficient (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and
reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with the device),
which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life
of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly
and efficiently.
[0340] In some examples, displaying a user interface includes, in
accordance with a determination that the electronic device is in a
locked state, displaying the suggestion affordance in a first
visual state. In some examples, if the device is locked, the
electronic device displays a reduced amount of information
corresponding to the suggestion affordance. In some examples,
displaying a user interface further includes, in accordance with a
determination that the electronic device is not in a locked state,
displaying the suggestion affordance in a second visual state
different than the first visual state. In some examples, if the
device is unlocked, the electronic device displays content
corresponding to the suggestion affordance. Content displayed in
this manner includes but is not limited to a name and/or icon of an
application associated with the suggestion affordance, one or more
parameters associated with task of the suggestion affordance, and,
optionally a glyph indicating a category of the task of the
suggestion affordance.
[0341] In some examples, the electronic device detects, via one or
more input devices, a first user input (816, 834A, 858A)
corresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance (916). In
some examples, the suggestion affordance is selected using a touch
input, a gesture, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the
suggestion affordance is selected using a voice input. In some
examples, the touch input is an input of a first type, such as a
press of a relatively short duration or low intensity.
[0342] In some examples, in response to detecting the first user
input (918), the electronic device, in accordance with a
determination that the task is a task of a first type, performs the
task (920). In some examples, performing the task includes causing
the task to be performed by another electronic device. In some
examples, the electronic device is a device of a first type (e.g.,
smart watch) and causes the task to be performed on a device of a
second type (e.g., mobile phone).
[0343] In some examples, further in response to detecting the first
user input (918), the electronic device, in accordance with a
determination that the task is a task of a second type different
than the first type, displays a confirmation interface (820, 898,
860A) including a confirmation affordance (922). In some examples,
a task of the second type is a task that requires user confirmation
and/or additional information from the user prior to performance of
the task, such as a task corresponding to a transaction. In some
examples, a task of the second type is a task to be performed by a
device of a particular type, such as a smart watch. In some
examples, the confirmation interface is displayed concurrently with
the user interface. The confirmation interface may, for instance,
be overlaid on the user interface. In some examples, the
confirmation interface is displayed over a first portion of the
user interface and a second portion of the user interface is
visually obscured (e.g., darkened, blurred).
[0344] Selectively requiring confirmation to perform a task in
response to selection of a suggestion affordance allows the
electronic device to quickly perform tasks of a first type and
confirm user intent prior to performing tasks of a second type. As
a result, the user is provided with an intuitive and reliable
approach for quickly and reliably performing tasks on the
electronic device, thereby reducing the number of user inputs
otherwise needed to perform such tasks and accelerating task
performance. Such benefits in turn reduce the amount of time needed
to perform tasks and make the usage of the electronic device more
efficient, which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves
battery life of the device by enabling the user to use the device
more quickly and efficiently.
[0345] In some examples, while displaying the confirmation
interface (926), the electronic device detects a second user input
(836, 810A, 868A) corresponding to a selection of the confirmation
affordance (824, 802A, 864A) (928). In some examples, the
confirmation affordance is selected using a touch input, a gesture,
or a combination thereof. In some examples, the confirmation
affordance is selected using a voice input. In some examples, in
response to detecting the second user input, the electronic device
performs the task (930). In some examples, while performing the
task, the electronic device displays a first progress indicator
(840, 812A) to indicate that the electronic device is performing
the task. In some examples, if the electronic device successfully
performs the task, the electronic device displays a second progress
indicator (842, 814A) to indicate that the task was successfully
performed. In some examples, following performance of a task and/or
display of the second progress indicator, the electronic device
displays an interface including one or more visual objects
specified by the application (e.g., a message or image stating
"Thank you for your order"). In some examples, if the electronic
device does not successfully perform the task, the electronic
device provides a natural-language output to the user indicating
the task was not performed successfully (e.g., "There was a
problem. Try again," and, optionally, displays an affordance (846)
by which the user can initiate an additional attempt at performance
of the task.
[0346] In some examples, the confirmation interface includes an
application affordance (828, 850). In some examples, the
application affordance is an affordance that indicates (e.g.,
identifies) an application and/or task associated with the
suggestion affordance. In some examples, the application affordance
is any portion of the confirmation interface other than the
confirmation affordance and/or cancel affordance. In some examples,
the electronic device detects a third user input corresponding to a
selection of the application affordance (932). In some examples,
the application affordance is selected using a touch input, a
gesture, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the
application affordance is selected using a voice input. In some
examples, in response to detecting the third user input, the
electronic device executes (e.g., launches, initiates) an
application associated with the task (934). In some examples, the
user selects a displayed icon and/or name of an application to
launch the application corresponding to the task of the selection
affordance. In some examples, the application is, optionally,
preloaded with one or more parameters (e.g., subject and/or body of
an email).
[0347] In some examples, the suggestion affordance includes a
visual indication of a parameter affecting performance of the task.
In some examples, the suggestion affordance corresponds to a task
to be performed using one or more specified parameters (e.g., order
particular coffee size and type using a Starbucks app, send text
with a specific message). In some examples, executing the
application associated with the task includes preloading the
application with the parameter. In some examples, the application
is executed such that parameters of the task are entered on behalf
of the user (e.g., order already in cart and user need only
indicate intent to order, message inserted into message composition
field and user need only indicate intent to send).
[0348] In some examples, the confirmation interface includes a
cancel affordance. In some examples, the electronic device detects
a fourth user input corresponding to a selection of the cancel
affordance. In some examples, the cancel affordance is selected
using a touch input, a gesture, or a combination thereof. In some
examples, the cancel affordance is selected using a voice input. In
some examples, in response to detecting the fourth user input, the
electronic device forgoes performing the task. In some examples,
the electronic device further ceases to display the confirmation
interface in response to detecting the fourth user input.
[0349] In some examples, the first user input is an input of a
first type. In some examples, the electronic device, while
displaying the user interface, detects a user input of a second
type corresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance. In
some examples, the suggestion affordance is selected using a touch
input, a gesture, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the
suggestion affordance is selected using a voice input. In some
examples, the touch input is an input of a second type, such as a
press of a relatively long duration or high intensity. In some
examples, the input of the second type is different than the input
of the first type. In some examples, in response to detecting the
user input of the second type, the electronic device displays the
confirmation interface.
[0350] Note that details of the processes described above with
respect to method 900 (e.g., FIGS. 9A-9B) are also applicable in an
analogous manner to the methods described below. For example,
method 900 optionally includes one or more of the characteristics
of the various methods described with reference to methods 1100,
1300, 1500, 1700, and 1900.
[0351] The operations in the methods described above are,
optionally, implemented by running one or more functional modules
in an information processing apparatus such as general purpose
processors (e.g., as described with respect to FIGS. 2A, 4, and 6A)
or application specific chips. Further, the operations described
above with reference to FIGS. 8A-8AF are, optionally, implemented
by components depicted in FIGS. 2A-B. For example, displaying
operation 908, detecting operation 916, performing operation 920,
and displaying operation 922 are, optionally, implemented by event
sorter 270, event recognizer 280, and event handler 290. Event
monitor 271 in event sorter 270 detects a contact on
touch-sensitive surface 604 (FIG. 6A), and event dispatcher module
274 delivers the event information to application 236-1 (FIG. 2B).
A respective event recognizer 280 of application 236-1 compares the
event information to respective event definitions 286, and
determines whether a first contact at a first location on the
touch-sensitive surface corresponds to a predefined event or
sub-event, such as selection of an object on a user interface. When
a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected, event
recognizer 280 activates an event handler 290 associated with the
detection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 290 optionally
utilizes or calls data updater 276 or object updater 277 to update
the application internal state 292. In some embodiments, event
handler 290 accesses a respective GUI updater 278 to update what is
displayed by the application. Similarly, it would be clear to a
person having ordinary skill in the art how other processes can be
implemented based on the components depicted in FIGS. 2A-2B.
[0352] FIGS. 10A-10AJ illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
providing voice shortcuts on an electronic device (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700), in
accordance with some embodiments. The user interfaces in these
figures are used to illustrate the processes described below,
including the processes in FIGS. 11A-B.
[0353] Generally, user interfaces described with reference to FIGS.
10A-10AJ may be employed such that a user can associate tasks with
respective user-specific phrases. These phrases may in turn be used
to cause the electronic device to perform the associated tasks.
[0354] FIG. 10A illustrates an electronic device 1000 (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the
non-limiting exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 10A-10AJ,
electronic device 1000 is a smartphone. In other embodiments,
electronic device 1000 can be a different type of electronic
device, such as a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch). In some
examples, electronic device 1000 has a display 1001, one or more
input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display 1001, a button, a
microphone), and a wireless communication radio. In some examples,
the electronic device 1000 includes a plurality of cameras. In some
examples, the electronic device includes only one camera. In some
examples, the electronic device includes one or more biometric
sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 1003) which, optionally, include a
camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a
combination thereof.
[0355] In FIG. 10A, the electronic device 1000 displays, on display
1001, a settings interface 1004. The settings interface 1004
includes a candidate task portion 1006 and additional tasks
affordance 1014. The candidate task portion 1006 includes candidate
task affordances 1008, 1010, and 1012. In some examples, in
response to selection of the additional tasks affordance 1014, the
electronic device 1000 displays a global tasks interface, such as
the global task interface 1018A, as described with respect to FIG.
10S below.
[0356] In some examples, in response to selection of a candidate
task affordance, the electronic device 1000 displays a
task-specific interface. The task-specific interface is associated
with a task of the candidate task affordance in some examples. By
way of example, while displaying the settings interface 1004, the
electronic device 1000 detects selection of the candidate task
affordance 1008. In some examples, the selection is a tap gesture
1016 on the candidate task affordance 1008. As shown in FIG. 10B,
in response to detecting tap gesture 1016, the electronic device
1000 displays the task-specific interface 1018. The task-specific
interface 1018 may be associated with a task of the candidate task
affordance 1008 (e.g., View Side of House Camera). In some
examples, selecting a candidate task affordance initiates a voice
shortcut generation process for a task corresponding to the
candidate task affordance. Accordingly, selection of the candidate
task affordance 1008 may initiate a voice shortcut generation
process for a task of the candidate task affordance 1008.
[0357] Task-specific interface 1018 includes task icon 1020, task
indicator 1022, task descriptor 1024, application indicator 1026,
candidate phrase 1028, and record affordance 1030. In some
examples, task icon 1020 includes an icon or image corresponding to
the task. In some examples, task indicator 1022 indicates a name
and/or type of the task. In some examples, task descriptor 1024
includes a description of the task and/or indicates that a user may
record a command or phrase to be linked with the task. In some
examples, application indicator 1026 identifies an application
corresponding to the task. The application indicator 1026 may, for
instance, include a name of the application and/or an icon
associated with the application. Candidate phrase 1028 includes a
suggested phrase that the user may elect to associate with the
task.
[0358] While displaying the task-specific interface 1018, the
electronic device 1000 detects selection of the record affordance
1030. As shown in FIG. 10C, selection of the record affordance 1030
is a tap gesture 1032. In response to selection of the record
affordance 1030, the electronic device displays (e.g., replaces
display of the task-specific interface 1018 with), on the display
1001, a record interface 1034.
[0359] With reference to FIG. 10D, record interface 1034 includes
cancel affordance 1036, return affordance 1038, preview 1042, and
stop affordance 1044. In some examples, in response to selection of
the cancel affordance 1036, the electronic device ceases display of
the record interface 1034 and, optionally, terminates the voice
shortcut generation process. In some examples, in response to
selection of the return affordance, the electronic device displays
(e.g., replaces display of record interface 1038 with)
task-specific interface 1018.
[0360] In some examples, while displaying the record interface
1034, the electronic device 1000 receives, using an audio input
device (e.g., microphone) of the electronic device 1000, a
natural-language speech input from a user. In some examples, while
receiving the natural-language speech input, the electronic device
1000 provides a live preview of the natural-language speech input,
such as the live preview 1042. As shown in FIG. 10D, the live
preview 1042 is, in some examples, a visual waveform indicative of
one or more auditory characteristics of the natural-language speech
input.
[0361] With reference to FIG. 10E, if after initially displaying
the record interface 1034, the user does not provide a
natural-language speech input for a predetermined amount of time,
the electronic device 1000 can, optionally, display a prompt to the
user including a candidate phrase, such as the candidate phrase
1046 (e.g., "View Side of House Live Stream"). In some examples,
the candidate phrase 1046 is the same as the candidate phrase 1028
(FIG. 10D). In other examples, the candidate phrase 1046 is
different than the candidate phrase 1028.
[0362] In some examples, while receiving the natural-language
speech input, the electronic device 1000 performs speech-to-text
translation (e.g., natural-language speech processing) on the
natural-language speech input to provide a candidate phrase 1048.
As shown in FIGS. 10F-G, because the speech-to-text translation is
performed while the natural-language speech input is received, the
candidate phrase 1048 may be iteratively and/or continuously
updated while the natural-language speech input is received.
[0363] In some examples, the electronic device 1000 ensures that
the candidate phrase is different than one or more predetermined
phrases (e.g., "call 911"). By way of example, the electronic
device 1000 determines whether a similarity between the candidate
phrase and each of the one or more predetermined phrases exceeds a
similarity threshold. If the similarity threshold is not met, the
electronic device 1000 will notify the user that the provided
candidate phrase is not sufficient and/or not permitted. The
electronic device 1000 further may request that the user provide
another natural-language speech input.
[0364] While displaying the record interface 1034, the electronic
device 1000 detects selection of the stop affordance 1044. As shown
in FIG. 10G, selection of the stop affordance 1044 is a tap gesture
1050. In response to selection of the stop affordance 1044, the
electronic device 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display of the
record interface 1034 with), on the display 1001, a completion
interface 1052, as shown in FIG. 10H.
[0365] The completion interface 1052 includes a completion
affordance 1054, cancel affordance 1056, task icon 1058, task
indicator 1060, application indicator 1062, candidate phrase 1064,
and edit affordance 1066. In some examples, in response to
selection of the cancel affordance 1056, the electronic device 1000
ceases display of the completion interface 1052 and, optionally,
terminates the voice shortcut generation process. In some examples,
task icon 1058 includes an icon or image corresponding to the task.
In some examples, task indicator 1060 indicates a name and/or type
of the task. In some examples, application indicator 1062
identifies an application corresponding to the task. The
application indicator may, for instance, include a name of the
application and/or an icon associated with the application.
Candidate phrase 1028 is a suggested phrase that the user may elect
to associate with the task.
[0366] In some examples, while displaying the completion interface
1052, the electronic device 1000 detects selection of the edit
affordance 1066. As shown in FIG. 10I, selection of the edit
affordance 1066 is a tap gesture 1068. In response to selection of
the edit affordance 1068, the electronic device 1000 displays
(e.g., replaces display of the completion interface 1052 with), on
the display 1001, an edit interface 1070 as shown in FIG. 10J.
[0367] The edit interface 1070 includes completion affordance 1072,
cancel affordance 1074, task icon 1076, task indicator 1078,
candidate phrase ranking 1080 and re-record affordance 1088. In
some examples, in response to selection of the cancel affordance
1056, the electronic device 1000 ceases display of the edit
interface 1070 and, optionally, terminates the voice shortcut
generation process. In some examples, task icon 1076 includes an
icon or image corresponding to the task. In some examples, task
indicator 1078 indicates a name and/or type of the task.
[0368] As described, in some examples, the electronic device 1000
provides a candidate phrase (e.g., candidate phrase 1048) based on
a natural-language speech input provided by a user. In some
examples, providing the candidate phrase in this manner includes
generating a plurality of candidate phrases (e.g., candidate
phrases 1082, 1084, 1086) and selecting a candidate phrase
associated with a highest score (e.g., text representation
confidence score). In some examples, candidate phrase ranking 1080
includes a plurality of candidate phrases generated by the
electronic device 1000 prior to selecting the candidate phrase
associated with the highest score. In some examples, candidate
phrase ranking 1080 includes a set (e.g., 3) of top ranking
candidate phrases which are, optionally, listed according to the
respective score of each candidate phrase. As illustrated in FIG.
10J, for instance, candidate phrase ranking 1080 includes candidate
phrases 1082, 1084, and 1086. Candidate phrase 1082 may correspond
to candidate phrase 1064 in some examples.
[0369] In some examples, the user may select a new (or same)
candidate phrase from candidate phrases 1082, 1084, 1086 of the
candidate phrase ranking 1080. As illustrated in FIG. 10K, for
example, the electronic device 1000 detects selection of candidate
phrase 1080 while displaying the edit interface 1070. Selection of
the candidate phrase 1080 is a tap gesture 1090. In some examples,
in response to selection of the candidate phrase 1080, the
electronic device 1000 selects the candidate phrase 1080 as the new
(or same) candidate phrase. In some examples, the electronic device
selects the candidate phrase 1080 as the new (or same) candidate
phrase in response to selection of both the candidate phrase 1080
and completion affordance 1072.
[0370] In some examples, the candidate phrase ranking may not
include a phrase intended or preferred by a user. Accordingly, in
some examples, in response to selection of the re-record affordance
1088, the electronic device 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display
of the edit interface 1070 with) a record interface, such as the
record interface 1034, to allow a user can provide a new
natural-language speech input, as described.
[0371] In some examples, while displaying the completion interface
1052, the electronic device 1000 detects selection of the
completion affordance 1054. As shown in FIG. 10L, selection of the
completion affordance 1054 is a tap gesture 1092. In response to
selection of the completion affordance 1054, the electronic device
1000 associates the candidate phrase with the task of the candidate
task affordance 1008. By associating the candidate phrase with the
task in this manner, the user may provide (e.g., speak) the
candidate phrase to a digital assistant of the electronic device to
cause the device to perform the task associated with the candidate
phrase. Candidate phrases associated with respective tasks may be
referred to as voice shortcuts herein. In some examples, further in
response to selection of the completion affordance 1054, the
electronic device 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display of the
completion interface 1052 with), on the display 1001, the settings
interface 1004, as shown in FIG. 10M.
[0372] In some examples, because the task of the candidate task
affordance 1008 is assigned to a task, the candidate task
affordance 1008 is not included in the candidate task portion 1006.
In some examples, the candidate task portion 1006 instead includes
a candidate task suggestion 1094 such that the candidate task
portion 1006 includes at least a threshold number of candidate task
affordances.
[0373] In some examples, if one or more candidate task affordances
are associated with a respective task, settings interface 1004
includes a user shortcuts affordance 1096. In some examples, while
displaying the settings interface 1004, the electronic device 1000
detects selection of the user shortcuts affordance 1096. As shown
in FIG. 10N, the selection of the user shortcuts affordance 1096 is
a tap gesture 1098. In some examples, in response to selection of
the user shortcuts affordance 1096, the electronic device 1000
displays (e.g., replaces display of the settings interface 1004
with), on the display 1001, the user shortcuts interface 1002A, as
shown in FIG. 10O.
[0374] The user shortcuts interface 1002A includes edit affordance
1004A, return affordance 1006A, shortcut affordance 1008A, and
additional tasks affordance 1010A. In some examples, in response to
selection of the return affordance 1006A, the electronic device
1000 displays settings interface 1004 (FIG. 10N). In some examples,
in response to selection of edit affordance 1004A, the electronic
device 1000 displays an interface by which the voice shortcut
associated with shortcut affordance 1008A may be deleted. In some
examples, in response to selection of additional tasks affordance
1010A, the electronic device 1000 displays an interface including
one or more candidate task affordances, such as the global task
interface 1018A of FIG. 10S, described in further detail below.
[0375] In some examples, while displaying the user shortcuts
interface 1002A, the electronic device 1000 detects selection of
shortcut affordance 1008A. As shown in FIG. 10P, the selection of
the shortcut affordance 1008A is a tap gesture 1004A. In some
examples, in response to selection of the shortcut affordance
1008A, the electronic device 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display
of the user shortcuts interface 1002A with), on the display 1001,
the completion interface 1054 for the shortcut affordance 1008A, as
shown in FIG. 10Q. Completion interface 1054 may include a delete
affordance 1014A. In response to selection of the delete affordance
1014A, the electronic device 1000 deletes the voice shortcut
associated with the task. Deleting a shortcut in this manner may
include disassociating the voice shortcut from the task such that
providing the voice shortcut to a digital assistant of the
electronic device 1000 does not cause the electronic device 1000 to
perform the task.
[0376] In some examples, while displaying the settings interface
1004, the electronic device 1000 detects selection of the
additional tasks affordance 1014. As shown in FIG. 10R, the
selection of the additional tasks affordance 1014 is a tap gesture
1016A. In some examples, in response to selection of the shortcut
affordance 1014, the electronic device 1000 displays (e.g.,
replaces display of the settings interface 1004 with), on the
display 1001, global task interface 1018A, as shown in FIG.
10S.
[0377] Global task interface 1018A includes, for each of a
plurality of applications, a respective set of candidate task
affordances. By way of example, global task interface 1018A
includes a set of candidate task affordances 1020A associated with
an activity application, a set of candidate task affordances 1026A
associated with a calendar application, and a set of candidate task
affordances 1036A associated with a music application. The set of
candidate task affordances 1020A can, optionally, include a "Start
Workout" candidate task affordance 1022A and a "View Daily
Progress" candidate task affordance 1024A. The set of candidate
task affordances 1026A can, optionally, include a "Send Lunch
invitation" candidate task affordance 1028A, a "Schedule Meeting"
candidate task affordance 1030A, and a "Clear Events for a Day"
candidate task affordance 1032A. The set of candidate task
affordances 1036A can, optionally, include a "Play Workout
Playlist" candidate task affordance 1038A and a "Start R&B
Radio" candidate task affordance 1040A.
[0378] In some examples, candidate task affordances of the global
task interface 1018A are searchable. By way of example, while
displaying the global task interface 1018A, the electronic device
detects a swipe gesture on the display 1001, such as the swipe
gesture 1046A of FIG. 10T. In response to the swipe gesture 1046A,
the electronic device slides the global task interface 1018A in a
downward direction to display (e.g., reveal) a search field 1048A
that may be used to search candidate task affordances of the global
task interface 1018A, as shown in FIG. 10U.
[0379] In some examples, each set of candidate task affordances
displayed by the electronic device 1000 may be a subset of all
available candidate task affordances for a respective application.
Accordingly, the user may select an application task list
affordance, such as application-specific task list affordances
1034A, 1042A, to reveal one or more additional candidate task
affordances for an application corresponding to the application
task list affordance. For example, while displaying the global task
interface 1018A, the electronic device 1000 detects selection of
application task list affordance 1042A. As shown in FIG. 10V, the
selection of application task list affordance 1042A is a tap
gesture 1050A. In some examples, in response to selection of the
application task list affordance 1042A, the electronic device 1000
displays (e.g., replaces display of the global task interface 1018A
with), on the display 1001, application task interface 1052A, as
shown in FIG. 10W. As shown, application task interface 1052A
includes a return affordance, which when selected, causes the
electronic device 1000 to display the global task interface 1018A,
and candidate task affordances 1054A-1070A.
[0380] In some examples, while displaying the settings interface
1004, the electronic device 1000 detects a swipe gesture on the
display 1001, such as the swipe gesture 1074A of FIG. 10X. As shown
in FIG. 10Y, in response to the swipe gesture 1074A, the electronic
device 1000 slides the settings interface 1004 in an upward
direction to display (e.g., reveal) various settings. The settings,
when enabled, adjust the manner in which candidate task affordances
and suggestion affordances, such as those described with reference
to FIG. 8A-8AF, are displayed by the electronic device 1000. For
example, settings interface 1004 includes a shortcut enablement
setting 1076A, which, when enabled, allows the electronic device
1000 to display candidate task affordances, as described herein. As
another example, settings interface 1004 includes a search
suggestion enablement setting 1078A, which, when enabled, allows
the electronic device 1000 to display suggestion affordances on a
search screen interface. As another example, settings interface
1004 includes a lookup suggestion enablement setting 1080A, which,
when enabled, allows the electronic device 1000 to display
suggestion affordances on lookup result screen interface. As yet
another example, settings interface 1004 includes a lock screen
suggestion enablement setting 1082A, which, when enabled, allows
the electronic device 1000 to display suggestion affordances on a
lock screen interface.
[0381] Settings interface 1004 further includes application
affordances 1084A and 1086A, each of which is associated with a
respective application. In some examples, while displaying the
settings interface 1004, the electronic device 1000 detects
selection of the application affordance 1086A. As shown in FIG.
10Y, the selection of the application affordance 1086A is a tap
gesture 1088A. In some examples, in response to selection of the
application affordance 1086A, the electronic device 1000 displays
(e.g., replaces display of the settings interface 1004 with), on
the display 1001, application settings interface 1090A, as shown in
FIG. 10Z.
[0382] In some examples, application settings interface 1090A
includes application user shortcut affordance 1092A, which may
correspond to a voice shortcut previously generated by the user,
for instance, using a voice shortcut generation process described
herein. Application settings interface 1090A further may include
candidate task affordances 1094A-1098A, each of which may
correspond to a respective task associated with the application of
application settings interface 1090A. In some examples, application
settings interface 1090A further includes application task list
affordance 1002B. In some examples, in response to selection of
application task list affordance 1002B, the electronic device 1000
displays (e.g., replaces display of the application settings
interface 1090A with), on the display 1001, an application task
interface, such as the application task interface 1052A (FIG. 10W).
In some examples, application settings interface 1090A further
includes application suggestion enablement setting 1004B, which,
when enabled, allows the electronic device 1000 to display
suggestion affordances associated with the application on a search
screen interface, look up result screen interface and/or keyboard
interface. In some examples, application settings interface 1090A
further includes application suggestion enablement setting 1006B,
which, when enabled, allows the electronic device 1000 to display
suggestion affordances associated with the application on a lock
screen interface.
[0383] In some examples, application settings interface 1090A
further includes edit affordance 1010B. In some examples, while
application settings interface 1090A, the electronic device 1000
detects selection of the edit affordance 1010B. As shown in FIG.
10AA, the selection of the edit affordance 1010B is a tap gesture
1012B. In some examples, in response to selection of the edit
affordance 1010B, the electronic device 1000 displays (e.g.,
replaces display of the application settings interface 1090A with),
on the display 1001, application-specific edit interface 1014B, as
shown in FIG. 10AB. In some examples, the application-specific edit
interface 1014B is displayed over a first portion of the
application settings interface 1090A and a second portion of the
application settings interface 1090A is visually obscured (e.g.,
darkened, blurred).
[0384] In some examples, displaying the application settings
interface 1090A includes displaying a selection affordance (e.g.,
selection affordance 1020B) for each application user shortcut
affordance (e.g., application user shortcut affordance 1092A) of
the application settings interface 1090A. In an example operation,
the electronic device 1000 detects selection of the selection
affordance 1020B, indicating a selection of corresponding
application user shortcut affordance 1092A and an intent by the
user to delete application user shortcut affordance 1092A. In some
examples, a user may confirm deletion by selecting confirmation
affordance 1018B, or forgo deletion by selecting cancel affordance
1016B.
[0385] In FIG. 10AC, the electronic device 1000 displays an
application permissions interface 1022B for a particular
application. The application permissions interface 1022 includes a
suggestions permissions affordance 1026B. While displaying the
application permissions interface 1022, the electronic device 1000
detects selection of the suggestions permissions affordance 1026B.
As shown in FIG. 10AC, the selection of the suggestions permissions
affordance 1026B is a tap gesture 1032B. In some examples, in
response to selection of the suggestions permissions affordance
1026B, the electronic device 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display
of the application-specific permissions interface 1022B with), on
the display 1001, an application settings interface, such as the
application settings interface 1034B of FIG. 10AD.
[0386] In some examples, a voice shortcut generation process may be
initiated using an application-specific settings interface.
Accordingly, in some examples, application settings interface 1034B
may include a candidate task affordance 1038B. In some examples,
while displaying the application settings interface 1034B, the
electronic device 1000 detects selection of the candidate task
affordance 1038B. As shown in FIG. 10AE, selection of the candidate
task affordance 1038B is a tap gesture 1050B. In response to
selection of the candidate suggestion affordance 1038B, the
electronic device 1000 displays a task-specific interface 1054B
associated with a task of the candidate task affordance 1038B, as
illustrated in FIG. 10AF.
[0387] With reference to FIGS. AF-AH, a user may thereafter
generate a voice shortcut by providing a natural-language speech
input (e.g., "Coffee Me") to the electronic device, and in turn the
electronic device provides a candidate phrase for association with
the task (e.g., order large latte with oat milk from nearby coffee
shop) of the candidate task affordance 1038B, as described. Once a
voice shortcut for the task has been generated, the electronic
device 1000 displays application settings interface 1034B. As
illustrated in FIG. 10AI, application settings interface 1034B
includes an application user shortcut affordance 1036B. In some
examples, in response to selection of the application-specific user
shortcut affordance 1036B, the electronic device displays voice
shortcuts associated with tasks of the application.
[0388] In some examples, a voice shortcut generation process may be
initiated using an application interface, such as a third party
application interface. As illustrated in FIG. 10AJ, for instance, a
user may complete a task using an application (e.g., order coffee).
In response, the application may display a task completion
interface 1060B including candidate task suggestion affordance
1062B. In some examples, in response to selection of candidate task
suggestion affordance 1062B, the electronic device initiates a
voice shortcut generation process.
[0389] FIGS. 11A-11B is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
providing voice shortcuts in accordance with some embodiments.
Method 1100 is performed at a device (e.g., device 104, device 122,
device 200, device 600, device 700, device 1000) with a display,
one or more input devices (e.g., a touchscreen, a mic, a camera),
and a wireless communication radio (e.g., a Bluetooth connection,
WiFi connection, a mobile broadband connection such as a 4G LTE
connection). In some embodiments, the display is a touch-sensitive
display. In some embodiments, the display is not a touch sensitive
display. In some embodiments, the electronic device includes a
plurality of cameras. In some embodiments, the electronic device
includes only one camera. In some examples, the device includes one
or more biometric sensors which, optionally, include a camera, such
as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a combination
thereof. Some operations in method 1100 are, optionally, combined,
the orders of some operations are, optionally, changed, and some
operations are, optionally, omitted.
[0390] As described below, providing candidate phrases based on a
natural-language speech input and associating candidate phrases
with respective tasks allows a user to accurately and efficiently
generate user-specific voice shortcuts that can be used to perform
tasks on the electronic device. For example, allowing a user to
associate voice shortcuts with tasks in this manner allows a user
to visually confirm that a desired voice shortcut has been selected
and assigned to the correct task, thereby reducing the likelihood
of an incorrect or unwanted association. Thus, providing candidate
phrases in the manner described provides for more efficient use of
the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper
inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with
the device), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves
battery life of the device by enabling the user to use the device
more quickly and efficiently.
[0391] In some examples, the electronic device (104, 200, 600, 700,
1000) displays a plurality of candidate task affordances (1008,
1010, 1012, 1038B, 2006) including a candidate task affordance
(1008, 1038B, 2006) associated with a task (1102). In some
examples, the plurality of tasks are displayed in a settings
interface or an application interface. In some examples, each task
of the plurality of tasks is a task suggested, for instance, based
on context of the electronic device.
[0392] In some examples, the electronic device displays a plurality
of candidate task affordances including a candidate task affordance
associated with a task includes displaying an application interface
(1034B, 2060) including the plurality of candidate task
affordances. In some examples, the application interface is an
interface of a third party application (1062B) including one or
more affordances (corresponding to a respective one or more
candidate tasks) that the user can select to cause display of the
first user interface and thereby create a voice shortcut for the
selected task. In some examples, the first user interface (1018,
2066) is overlaid on the application interface. In some examples,
the first user interface is overlaid over a portion of the
application interface. In some examples, the first user interface
is overlaid over the entirety of the application interface. In some
examples, the one or more affordances correspond to one or more
respective tasks and are displayed in response to completion of the
one or more tasks.
[0393] In some examples, the electronic device detects a set of
inputs (1016, 1032) including a first user input (1016, 2064)
corresponding to a selection of the candidate task affordance
associated with the task (1104).
[0394] In some examples, the electronic device, in response to the
first user input, displays a fourth interface (1018, 2066)
associated with the task. In some examples, the fourth user
interface is an initial task-specific interface for generating a
voice shortcut. In some examples, the interface specifies the task
to associate with the voice shortcut (1022) and further includes an
indication of the relevant application (e.g., name of application)
(1026) and/or an icon associated with (e.g., donated by) the
application (1020, 1026). In some examples, the interface includes
a cancel affordance. In response to selection of the cancel
affordance, the electronic device returns to an immediately prior
interface. In some examples, the interface includes a record
affordance (1030, 2074). In response to selection of the record
affordance, the electronic device records a speech input while
displaying a voice record interface (1034, 2078). In some examples,
the fourth interface includes a first suggested voice shortcut
phrase (1028). In some examples, the electronic device displays a
suggested voice shortcut that a user may adopt as the voice
shortcut for the relevant task.
[0395] In some examples, in response to detecting the set of user
inputs, the electronic device displays a first interface (1034,
2072) for generating a voice shortcut associated with the task
(1106). In some examples, the first interface is a voice record
interface. In some examples, the voice record interface includes a
prompt (1046) for the user to record a phrase that will be used as
the voice shortcut for initiating a task. In some examples, the
voice record interface includes a live preview (1042, 2082) of a
natural-language speech input provided by the user. In some
examples, the live preview is an audio waveform.
[0396] In some examples, while displaying the first interface
(1108), the electronic device receives (e.g., samples, obtains,
captures), by the audio input device, a natural-language speech
input (1110). In some examples, the natural-language speech input
is a phrase spoken by a user of the device. In some examples, the
electronic device receives a speech input for a predetermined of
time and/or until a user selects a stop affordance (1044,
2084).
[0397] In some examples, while receiving the natural-language
speech input, the electronic device provides (e.g., displays) a
live (e.g., real-time) preview of the natural-language speech
input. In some examples, the live preview is a waveform of the
natural-language input and/or a real-time display of a
speech-to-text translation of the natural-language input. In some
examples, the live preview of the natural-language speech input is
a visual waveform of the natural-language speech input.
[0398] In some examples, in response to receiving the
natural-language speech input, the electronic device determines the
candidate phrase based on the natural-language speech input. In
some examples, determining the candidate phrase based on the
natural-language speech input includes determining the candidate
phrase using natural-language processing. In some examples, while
the user provides the natural-language speech input, the electronic
device uses natural-language processing to translate the
natural-language speech input to text.
[0399] In some examples, determining the candidate phrase based on
the natural-language speech input includes providing the
natural-language speech input to another electronic device and
receiving a representation of the candidate phrase (e.g., text
representation, vector representation) from the another electronic
device. In some examples, the electronic device provides the
natural-language speech input and/or a representation of the NL
speech input to a server and the server returns one or more
candidate phrases.
[0400] In some examples, determining the candidate phrase based on
the natural-language speech input includes determining whether the
natural-language speech input satisfies phrase similarity criteria.
In accordance with a determination that the natural-language speech
input satisfies the phrase similarity criteria, the electronic
device indicates (e.g., displays an indication) that the
natural-language speech input satisfies the similarity criteria. In
some examples, the electronic device ensures that the
natural-language speech input is different than one or more
predetermined phrases (e.g., "call 911"). In some examples, the
electronic device ensures that the natural-language speech input is
sufficiently different than the one or more predetermined phrases.
By way of example, the electronic device may ensure that a
similarity of a representation of the natural-language speech input
and each of the one or more predetermined phrases does not exceed a
similarity threshold. In some examples, if the natural-language
speech input does not satisfy the similarity criteria, the
electronic device will notify the user that the provided speech
input is not sufficient and/or not permitted. The electronic device
further may request that the user provide a new natural-language
speech input. In some examples, the electronic device further
compares the natural-language input to phrases associated with one
or more stored voice shortcuts. In some examples, the electronic
device instructs the user to provide a new natural-language speech
input and/or requests confirmation that the user intends for the
natural-language speech input to replace one or more other
similarly phrased voice shortcuts. In some examples, replaced voice
shortcuts are deleted.
[0401] In some examples, the electronic device, while displaying
the first interface (1034, ***), determines whether the
natural-language speech input has been received within a threshold
amount of time. In some examples, the electronic device, in
accordance with a determination that the natural-language speech
input has not been received within the threshold amount of time,
displays, on the first interface, a second suggested voice shortcut
phrase (1046) ("You could say something like `Show me side
camera`"). In some examples, the suggested voice shortcut provided
on the first interface (1034) is the same as the suggested voice
shortcut provided on the second interface (1028). In some examples,
the suggested voice shortcuts of the first and second interfaces
are different.
[0402] In some examples, further while displaying the first
interface, the electronic device displays, in the first interface
(1034), a candidate phrase (1046), wherein the candidate phrase is
based on the natural-language speech input (1120). In some
examples, the candidate phrase is a speech-to-text translation of
the natural-language speech input and is displayed while the
natural-language input is received by the electronic device. In
some examples, the electronic device displays the candidate phrase
in response to the natural-language input and/or translates the
natural-language speech input to text in real-time. Accordingly, in
some examples, the electronic device continuously updates display
of the candidate phrase while the natural-language is received by
the electronic device.
[0403] In some examples, after displaying the candidate phrase, the
electronic device detects, via the touch-sensitive surface, a
second user input (1092, 2004A) (1122). In some examples, the
second user input is a selection of a completion affordance (1072,
2092). In some examples, the second user input is selection of an
affordance, such as a confirmation affordance of a completion
interface (1054, ***).
[0404] In some examples, in response to detection of the second
user input, the electronic device associates the candidate phrase
with the task (1124). In some examples, the electronic device
generates a voice shortcut such that recitation of the candidate
phrase by the user to the digital assistant results in performance
of the task.
[0405] In some examples, associating the candidate phrase with the
task includes associating the candidate phrase with a first action
and associating the candidate phrase with a second action. In some
examples, a voice shortcut corresponds to a multiple tasks. In some
examples the combination of tasks is suggested by the digital
assistant and a user may assign a phrase to initiate performance of
the combination of tasks. By way of example, the voice shortcut
"secure house" may correspond to tasks for turning off lights and
locking doors.
[0406] In some examples, the electronic device receives, by the
audio input device, a user speech input (e.g., natural-language
speech input). In some examples, the electronic device determines
whether the user speech input includes the candidate phrase. In
some examples, the electronic device, in accordance with a
determination that the user speech input includes the candidate
phrase, performs the task. In some examples, the electronic device,
in accordance with a determination that the user speech input does
not include the candidate phrase, forgoes performing the task.
[0407] In some examples, the electronic device, after associating
the candidate phrase with the task, displays a second interface
including an edit affordance. In some examples, the electronic
device displays the second interface at the end of the voice
shortcut generation process. In some examples, the user may
navigate to the voice shortcut in an interface (1004A) listing one
or more stored voice shortcuts (1008A) and select the voice
shortcut to cause display of the second interface. In some
examples, the second user interface (1054, 2090) includes a textual
representation of the task (1060, 2098), an indication of the task
(1058), the candidate phrase (1064, 2002A), an edit affordance
(1066) which when selected causes display of candidate shortcuts, a
cancel affordance (1056, 2094) which when selected causes the
device to cancel the voice shortcut generation process, and a
completion affordance (1054, 2092 which when selected causes the
electronic device to associate the candidate phrase with the task
or maintain association of the candidate phrase with the task if
already associated.
[0408] In some examples, the electronic device detects a third user
input indicating a selection of the edit affordance (1068). In some
examples, the electronic device, in response to detecting the third
user input, displays a plurality of candidate phrase affordances
(1082, 1084, 1086) including a first candidate phrase affordance
corresponding to the candidate phrase and a second candidate phrase
affordance corresponding to another candidate phrase. In some
examples, the another candidate phrase is based on the
natural-language speech input. In some examples, the electronic
device, in response to selection of the edit affordance, displays
an edit interface (1070) including a plurality of candidate
phrases. In some examples, a user may select one of the candidate
phrases to associate with the task. In some examples, each of the
plurality of candidate phrases are speech-to-text candidates
generated, based on the natural-language speech input, using one or
more NLP methodologies. In some examples, the NL speech input is
provided to another device (e.g., back-end server), which returns
one or more of the candidate phrases to the electronic device. In
some examples, candidate phrases are generated on both the
electronic device and a backend server, and the electronic device
selects one or more of the "best" candidate phrases (e.g.,
candidate phrases associated with highest respective confidence
scores).
[0409] In some examples, the electronic device, detects another set
of inputs (1090, 1092) including a fourth user input indicating a
selection of the second candidate phrase affordance. In some
examples, the electronic device, in response to detecting the
another set of inputs, associates the another candidate phrase with
the task. In some examples, a user selects a new candidate phrase
to associate with the task such that providing the new candidate
phrase causes performance of the task. In some examples,
associating a new candidate task causes the electronic device to
disassociate the previously associated candidate phrase from the
task.
[0410] In some examples, the electronic device, after associating
the candidate phrase with the task, detects a fifth input (1092,
2004A). In some examples, the electronic device, in response to
detecting the fifth user input, displays another plurality of
candidate task affordances, wherein the another plurality of
candidate task affordances does not include the candidate task
affordance associated with the task. In some examples, after
creating a voice shortcut, the electronic device displays a
settings interface (1004) listing candidate tasks suggested by the
digital assistant and/or one or more applications. In some
examples, if a task was previously suggested and a user created a
shortcut for the task, the task is removed from the list of
suggested tasks.
[0411] In some examples, the electronic device provides the
candidate phrase to another electronic device. In some examples,
the generated voice shortcut is provided to a backend server for
subsequent speech input matching. In some examples, the generated
voice shortcut and the associated task are provided to the backend
server. In some examples, inputs are provided from the electronic
device to the backend server and the backend server determines
whether the input corresponds to a voice shortcut. If the backend
server determines the input corresponds to a voice shortcut, the
electronic device performs the task. In some examples, providing
each of the shortcut and the task to the server in this manner
further allows for subsequent performance of the task on other
electronic devices using the same shortcut.
[0412] Note that details of the processes described above with
respect to method 1100 (e.g., FIGS. 11A-11B) are also applicable in
an analogous manner to the methods described below. For example,
method 1100 optionally includes one or more of the characteristics
of the various methods described with reference to methods 900,
1300, 1500, 1700, and 1900. For example, providing voice shortcuts
as described in method 1200 can be applied to generate voice
shortcuts for use as described in method 1300. For brevity, these
details are not repeated below.
[0413] The operations in the methods described above are,
optionally, implemented by running one or more functional modules
in an information processing apparatus such as general purpose
processors (e.g., as described with respect to FIGS. 2A, 4, and 6A)
or application specific chips. Further, the operations described
above with reference to FIGS. 10A-10AJ are, optionally, implemented
by components depicted in FIGS. 2A-B. For example, displaying
operation 1102, detecting operation 1104, displaying operation
1106, receiving operation 1110, displaying operation 1120,
detecting operation 1122, and associating operation 1124 are,
optionally, implemented by event sorter 270, event recognizer 280,
and event handler 290. Event monitor 271 in event sorter 270
detects a contact on touch-sensitive surface 604 (FIG. 6A), and
event dispatcher module 274 delivers the event information to
application 236-1 (FIG. 2B). A respective event recognizer 280 of
application 236-1 compares the event information to respective
event definitions 286, and determines whether a first contact at a
first location on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to a
predefined event or sub-event, such as selection of an object on a
user interface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event is
detected, event recognizer 280 activates an event handler 290
associated with the detection of the event or sub-event. Event
handler 290 optionally utilizes or calls data updater 276 or object
updater 277 to update the application internal state 292. In some
embodiments, event handler 290 accesses a respective GUI updater
278 to update what is displayed by the application. Similarly, it
would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how
other processes can be implemented based on the components depicted
in FIGS. 2A-2B.
[0414] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a task suggestion
system 1200, according to various examples. FIG. 12 is also used to
illustrate one or more of the processes described below, including
the method 1300 of FIG. 13.
[0415] FIG. 12 illustrates a task suggestion system 1200 that may,
for instance, be implemented on an electronic device described
herein, including but not limited to devices 104, 200, 400, and 600
(FIGS. 1, 2A, 4, and 6A-B). It will be appreciated that while the
task suggestion system 1200 is described herein as being
implemented on a mobile device, the task suggestion system 1200 may
be implemented on a device of any type, such as a phone, laptop
computer, desktop computer, tablet, wearable device (e.g., smart
watch), set-top box, television, home automation device (e.g.,
thermostat), or any combination or subcombination thereof.
[0416] Generally, the task suggestion system 1200 provides task
suggestions based on context data of an electronic device. Task
suggestions provided by the task suggestion system 1200 may in turn
be used to provide suggestion affordances, such as those described
with respect to FIGS. 8A-8AF. In some examples, the task suggestion
system 1200 is implemented as a probability model. The model may
include one or more stages, including but not limited to the first
stage 1210, second stage 1220, and third stage 1230, each of which
is described in further detail below. In some examples, one or more
of first stage 1210, second stage 1220, and third stage 1230 may be
combined into a single stage and/or split into multiple stages. By
way of example, in an alternative implementation, the task
suggestion system 1200 may include a first stage and a second
stage, where the first stage implements the functionality of both
first stage 1210 and second stage 1220.
[0417] In some examples, context data of the electronic device is
indicative of a state or context of the electronic device. By way
of example, context data may indicate various characteristics of
the electronic device during a time at which a particular task was
performed. For instance, for each task performed by the electronic
device, context data may indicate a location of the electronic
device, whether the electronic device was connected to a network
(e.g., WiFi network), whether the electronic device was connected
to one or more other devices (e.g., headphones), and/or a time,
date, and/or weekday at which the task was performed. If the
electronic device was connected to a network or device during
performance of the task, the context data may further indicate a
name and/or type of the network or device, respectively. Context
data further may indicate whether a suggestion affordance
associated with a task was previously presented to a user and the
manner in which the user responded to the suggestion affordance.
For instance, the context data may indicate whether the user
ignored the task suggestion or used the task suggestion to perform
a corresponding task.
[0418] In some examples, the electronic device receives context
data from applications during operation of the electronic device.
In some examples, an application provides context data for a task
while performing a task or after performing a task. Context data
provided in this manner may be indicative of a task and,
optionally, one or more parameters associated with the task. In
some examples, context data provided by an application further
includes data indicative of the state of the electronic device
while the task was performed, described above (e.g., location of
the electronic device, whether the electronic device was connected
to a network, etc.). In other examples, context data provided by an
application does not include data indicative of the state of the
electronic device while the task was performed, and in response to
receipt of context data from an application, the electronic device
obtains data indicative of the state of the electronic device.
[0419] In some examples, context data is provided by applications
using any of a plurality of context data donation mechanisms. In at
least one example, context data is received from applications in
response to an API call which causes an application to return
information regarding execution of the application. By way of
example, a word processing application (e.g., Notes, Word) may
return an identifier (e.g., numerical ID, name) of a word
processing document accessed by a user. As another example, a media
playback application (e.g., Music, Spotify) may return an
identifier of a current media item (e.g., song), album, playlist,
collection, and one or more media items suggested by the media
playback application for the user.
[0420] In some examples, context data is received from applications
in response to an API call which causes an application to provide a
data structure indicating (e.g., identifying) a task performed by
an application. The data structure may, for instance, include
values for one or more parameters associated with the task. In some
examples, the data structure is implemented as an intent object
data structure. Additional exemplary description of operation with
intent object data structures can be found in U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 15/269,728, "APPLICATION INTEGRATION WITH A
DIGITAL ASSISTANT," filed Sep. 18, 2016, which is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety.
[0421] In some examples, context data is received from applications
in response to an API call which causes an application to provide
an application-specific (e.g., third-party application) data
structure indicating a task performed by an application. The
application-specific data structure may, for instance, include
values for one or more parameters associated with the task. The
application-specific data structure can, optionally, further
indicate which parameter values of the task may be specified when
providing task suggestions as well as which combinations of
parameter values. Thus, while a task having M parameters may have
as many as 2.sup.M-1 permitted combinations of parameters, an
application-specific data structure may explicitly reduce the
number of permitted combinations. In some examples, the
application-specific data structure indicates whether the task is a
background task or a task requiring confirmation, as previously
described with respect to FIGS. 8A-8AF.
[0422] In some examples, context data is provided by an application
each time a task is performed on the electronic device. Context
data may, for instance, be provided while the task is performed or
after the task is performed. For instance, in some examples, the
electronic device detects that an application has been closed, and
in response, employs one or more context data donation mechanisms
to request context data from the application.
[0423] In some examples, context data is selectively provided based
on types of tasks. By way of example, context data may be provided
in response to a user sending a text message or placing a call, but
not in response to a user navigating to a web page using a browser
or unlocking the electronic device. In some examples, context data
is selectively provided based on context of the electronic device.
For instance, context data may not be provided if a charge level of
a battery of the electronic device is below a threshold charge
level.
[0424] In some examples, each type of context data (e.g., location
of the electronic device, whether the electronic device is
connected to a network, etc.) is associated with a respective
context weight. The context weights may be used, for instance, to
influence the manner in which context data is used to determine
probabilities. As an example, types of context determined to be
stronger predictors of user behavior may be associated with
relatively large weights and/or types of context determined to be
weaker predictors of user behavior may be associated with
relatively small weights. By way of example, tasks performed by a
user when the electronic device is at a particular location may be
a better indicator of user behavior than tasks performed by a user
on a particular a weekday. Accordingly, location context data may
be associated with a relatively large weight and weekday context
data may be associated with a relatively small weight. As another
example, whether a user selected a suggestion affordance for a task
may be associated with a relatively large weight as such context
data may strongly indicate whether the user is likely to select
subsequent suggestion affordances for the task.
[0425] In some examples, context weights are determined by the
electronic device. In other examples, weights are determined by
another device using aggregated data. For instance, in some
examples, anonymized context data may be provided by the electronic
device and/or one or more other devices to a data aggregation
server. In turn, the data aggregation server may determine which
types of context data are more discriminative and/or stronger
predictors of user behavior. In some examples, the data aggregation
server employs one or more machine learning techniques to determine
which types of context data are relatively discriminative and/or
stronger predictors of user behavior. Based on the determination,
the data aggregation server may determine a weight for each type of
context data and provide the weights to the electronic device. In
some examples, a user may elect to forgo (e.g., opt out of)
providing anonymized data to another device for determining context
weights.
[0426] By ensuring that context data used by the data aggregation
server is anonymized, privacy of users of electronic devices may be
preserved. Anonymizing context data may include removing names of
users, specific locations recorded by the electronic device, names
of WiFi networks, and any other user-specific information.
Anonymized context data may, for instance, specify that a user
performed a certain task 20% of the time when at a same location,
but not specify which task or location.
[0427] In an example operation, the first stage 1210 performs
task-specific modeling based on context data of the electronic
device. In some examples, performing task-specific modeling
includes determining one or more probabilities (e.g., task
probabilities) for each of a plurality of tasks (e.g., one or more
tasks previously performed by the electronic device and/or one or
more tasks that may be performed by the electronic device). Each
task probability determined in this manner indicates a likelihood
that a user will perform a task given a context of the electronic
device.
[0428] In some examples, determining task probabilities in this
manner includes generating and/or updating one or more histograms
based on the context data. First stage 1210 may, for instance,
generate a respective set of histograms for each task indicating
probabilities that a user performs tasks given various contexts of
the electronic device. In some examples, each histogram associated
with a task corresponds to a single type of context. As an example,
a first histogram associated with a task for enabling a thermostat
may be a location context histogram. The location context histogram
may indicate, for each of a plurality of locations in which the
user has previously enabled a thermostat, a probability that a user
enables a thermostat when at the location. A second histogram
associated with the task for enabling a thermostat may be a WiFi
context histogram. The WiFi context histogram may indicate, for
each of a plurality of WiFi networks to which the electronic device
has previously been connected, a probability that a user enables a
thermostat when the electronic device is connected to the WiFi
network. It will be appreciated that context data of the electronic
device may include any number of types of context. Accordingly, a
task may be associated with any number of histograms.
[0429] In some examples, to determine a task probability for a task
given a particular context, first stage 1210 may determine a
respective probability for each context type given the context
(e.g., as indicated by each histogram associated with the task) and
determine the task probability based on the probabilities for the
context types.
[0430] In some examples, determining task probabilities further may
include adjusting context data using context weights. As described,
each context type may be associated with a weight. Accordingly,
prior to determining a task probability based on context
probabilities, each context probability may be adjusted (e.g.,
multiplied) by a corresponding context weight.
[0431] In some examples, task probabilities provided by first stage
1210 are parameter-independent. That is, task probabilities may be
determined (e.g., histograms generated) for each task without
consideration of specific parameter values used to perform the
task. As an example, the first stage 1210 can determine a
probability of a user sending a text message given a particular
context (e.g., at a particular time), but may forgo determining
probabilities directed to the recipient of the text message or the
contents (e.g., text, image) of the text message. As another
example, the first stage 1210 can determine a probability that a
user will enable a thermostat when arriving at home, but forgo
determining any probabilities directed to temperature thresholds of
the thermostat.
[0432] In some examples, first stage 1210 updates context data in
response to performance of a task. In some examples, updating
context data in this manner includes updating one or more
histograms for the task performed.
[0433] Generally, the second stage 1220 performs parameter-specific
modeling based on context data of the electronic device. In some
examples, performing parameter-specific modeling includes
determining probabilities (e.g., parameter probabilities) for a set
of parameters that indicate the likelihood a user selects a
particular value for each parameter of the set of parameters given
a task (e.g., tasks previously performed by the electronic device).
Parameter probabilities may indicate a likelihood that a user
selects a particular value for a single parameter (and no other
values) and/or may indicate a likelihood that a user selects
particular values for multiple (e.g., a combination) of
parameters.
[0434] For example, during operation, second stage 1220 provides a
set of tasks based on the context data. In some examples, to
provide the set of tasks, the second stage 1220 identifies a
plurality of tasks and ranks the tasks according to their
respective task probabilities. In some examples, the second stage
1220 identifies one or more tasks previously performed by the
electronic device. The second stage 1220 may omit types of tasks
that are determined to occur at a frequency exceeding a frequency
threshold in some examples.
[0435] Thereafter, the second stage 1220 determines which of the
identified tasks are associated with the N (e.g., N=10) highest
respective task probabilities (as determined by first stage 1210)
and provides the N tasks associated with the N highest ranking task
probabilities as the set of tasks. In some examples, determining
which of the identified tasks are associated with the N highest
task probabilities includes determining which tasks are associated
with the N highest task probabilities given any context of the
electronic device. In other examples, determining which of the
identified tasks are associated with the N highest task
probabilities includes determining which tasks are associated with
the N highest task probabilities for a current context of the
electronic device.
[0436] In some examples, once second stage 1220 has identified a
set of tasks, second stage 1220 determines parameter probabilities
for each task of the set of tasks based on the context data. In
some examples, second stage 1220 determines parameter probabilities
using a subset of the context data of the electronic device. As an
example, the second stage 1220 may determine parameter
probabilities using context data received within a threshold amount
of time (e.g., prior 30 days). As another example, second stage
1220 may determine parameter probabilities for a given task using
context data corresponding to the most recent N (e.g., N=100)
instances in which each task of the set of tasks was performed. For
instance, in an example in which second stage 1220 determines
parameter probabilities for a task directed to sending a text
message, the second stage 1220 determines parameter probabilities
for the task using context data corresponding to the last N
instances in which the electronic device sent a text message.
[0437] In some examples, determining parameter probabilities
includes generating and/or updating one or more histograms based on
the context, for instance, in real-time. Second stage 1220 may, for
instance, generate a respective set of histograms for each task
indicating probabilities that a user selects a particular parameter
value for a parameter given the task. In some examples, each
histogram associated with a task corresponds to a single parameter.
Thus, each histogram may represent a distribution of values for a
parameter used to perform a task over time.
[0438] In some examples, the second stage 1220 determines parameter
probabilities based on a current context of the electronic device.
This may, for instance, reduce computational complexity required to
provide parameter probabilities. By way of example, during
operation, the second stage 1220 may determine that the electronic
device is at a particular location. As a result, in determining
parameter probabilities, the second stage 1220 may determine
probabilities for parameter values that were previously used when
the device was at the determined location.
[0439] In an example operation, the second stage 1220 may
determine, based on context data, probabilities for one or more
parameter values that may be used to send a text message. The
second stage 1220 may, for instance, determine based on context
data (e.g., prior use of the electronic device) that there is a 20%
that the recipient of a text message is a first contact and a 30%
chance that the recipient of the text message is a second contact.
The second stage 1220 further may determine that there is a 40%
chance that the text message includes a first payload (e.g.,
string, image) and a 55% chance that the text message includes a
second payload. In some examples, the second stage 1220 may further
determine probabilities for one or more combinations of parameters
values. The second stage 1220 may determine that there is a 20%
chance that the recipient of the text message is the first contact
and that the text message includes the first payload. The second
stage 1220 may further determine that there is a 15% chance that
the recipient of the text message is the first contact and that the
text message includes the second payload. It will be appreciated
that this example is not intended to be limiting and second stage
1220 can determine probabilities for any number and/or combination
of parameter values.
[0440] In some examples, second stage 1220 determines parameter
probabilities periodically (e.g., every 7.5 minutes) and/or in
response to an event, such as a change in context of the electronic
device. By way of example, probabilities may be determined in
response to a change in location or environment of the electronic
device (e.g., the electronic device being moved from a house to a
car), a change in charge level of the battery of the electronic
device, a change in configuration of the electronic device (e.g.,
installation or deletion of an application), and/or a change in
connectivity of the electronic device (e.g., connecting or
disconnecting from a network).
[0441] In some examples, once task probabilities and parameter
probabilities have been determined by the first stage 1210 and
second stage 1220, respectively, third stage 1230, optionally,
adjusts one or more probabilities. In some examples, third stage
1230 adjusts task probabilities. Task probabilities may be
adjusted, for instance, based on a type of the task associated with
the task probability. Additionally or alternatively, in some
examples, third stage 1230 adjusts (e.g., increases, decreases)
parameter probabilities. As an example, parameter probabilities
associated with a relatively high number of parameters (e.g., 3 or
more) may be increased and/or parameter probabilities of tasks
having a relatively low number of parameters (e.g., 2 or less) may
be decreased. As another example, parameter probabilities for
parameters of a first type may be increased and/or parameter
probabilities for parameters of a second type not having the one or
more particular types of parameters specified may be decreased. In
particular, parameter probabilities for relatively discriminative
parameter types, such as strings, may be increased, and/or
parameter probabilities for relatively non-discriminative parameter
types, such as Booleans, may be decreased. As yet another example,
parameter probabilities for parameters having relatively high
entropy (e.g., variation of values) as indicated by context data
may be increased and/or parameter probabilities parameters having
relatively low entropy as indicated by context data may be
decreased.
[0442] Once probabilities have been adjusted, the third stage 1220
determines a task probability and parameter probability for each
task. In some examples, the third stage 1220 identifies a highest
parameter probability for each task. In other examples, the third
stage 1220 identifies several parameter probabilities for a task.
In some examples, for the purposes of providing task suggestions,
as set forth below, a task having multiple parameter probabilities
may be treated as a separate task for each parameter probability
(e.g., a task with a first set of parameter values is considered
distinct from the task with a second set of parameter values). As
described, each parameter probability may correspond to a single
parameter value and/or may correspond to multiple parameter
values.
[0443] In some examples, after probabilities have (optionally) been
adjusted, the third stage 1230 determines, for each task, whether
the task satisfies suggestion criteria based on a task probability
and a parameter probability associated with the task.
[0444] In some examples, determining whether a task satisfies
suggestion criteria includes providing a joint probability for a
task based on a task probability and a parameter probability for
the task and determining whether the joint probability exceeds a
probability threshold. In some examples, a joint probability is
provided by multiplying a task probability and a parameter
probability. In some examples, if third stage 1230 determines that
a joint probability exceeds the probability threshold, the third
stage 1230 determines that the task associated with the joint
probability satisfies suggestion criteria.
[0445] In some examples, once third stage 1230 has determined
(e.g., identified) tasks that satisfy suggestion criteria, third
stage 1230 provides the tasks (and corresponding parameter values)
associated with the tasks as task suggestions. In some examples,
third stage 1230 provides all tasks satisfying the suggestion
criteria as task suggestions. In other examples, third stage 1230
provides a subset of the tasks satisfying the suggestion criteria
as task suggestions. The third stage 1230 may, for instance,
provide the task associated with the respective highest joint
probability as a task suggestion.
[0446] In turn, the electronic device determines, for each of the
task suggestions, whether to display a suggestion affordance
corresponding to the task suggestion. In some examples, this
includes determining whether the task suggestion satisfies first
suggestion criteria and/or second suggestion criteria. In some
examples, determining whether a task suggestion satisfies first
suggestion criteria and/or second suggestion criteria includes
determining whether a joint probability associated with the task
suggestion satisfies first and second display thresholds,
respectively.
[0447] If, for instance, a joint probability for a task suggestion
satisfies the first display threshold, a suggestion affordance
corresponding to the task suggestion is displayed in a first user
interface (e.g., search screen interface 866 of FIG. 8N). If a
joint probability corresponding to a task suggestion satisfies a
second display threshold, a suggestion affordance corresponding to
the task suggestion is additionally or alternatively be displayed
in a second user interface (e.g., lock screen interface 810 of FIG.
8B). In some examples, the first display threshold is the same as
the probability threshold. In some examples, the second display
threshold is greater than the first display threshold.
[0448] If a user subsequently selects a suggestion affordance, the
electronic device selectively performs a task in response to
selection of the suggestion affordance, as described with reference
to FIGS. 8A-8AF. If the task is a background task (e.g., a task
that does not require user confirmation), the electronic device
performs the task, as described. If the task not a background task
(e.g., the task requires user confirmation and/or additional user
input prior to task performance), the electronic device displays an
interface requesting confirmation and/or additional input from the
user. In some examples, a user may confirm performance of a task by
selecting a confirmation affordance of the confirmation
interface.
[0449] In some examples, display of suggestion affordances may be
modified in response to a change in context of the electronic
device (e.g., change in location of electronic device, user
connects device to or disconnects device from headphones). By way
of example, in response to a change in context, the electronic
device may cease display of one or more displayed suggestion
affordances, display one or more new suggestion affordances, and/or
display suggestion affordances in a new order. Modifying display of
suggestion affordances in this manner may include determining a new
set of suggestions using the current context of the electronic
device (e.g., in response to detecting a change in the context of
the electronic device) and displaying one or more suggestion
affordances for those task suggestions satisfying suggestion
criteria and/or display criteria, as described (recall that in some
examples, only a top scoring task suggestion is used for display of
a suggestion affordance). Modifying display of suggestion
affordances may further include ceasing display of suggestion
affordances for task suggestions not satisfying the suggestion
criteria and/or the display criteria in accordance with the
context. In some examples, suggestion affordances are displayed in
an order corresponding to context of the electronic device, and/or
a ranking of respective joint probabilities associated with the
suggestion affordances. Accordingly, a change in context of the
electronic device may cause the electronic device to change an
order in which suggestion affordances are displayed.
[0450] In some examples, determining whether a task satisfies
suggestion criteria further includes determining whether heuristic
criteria have been met. For example, the third stage 1230 (or any
other stage of the task suggestion system 1200) may determine
whether one or more sets of predetermined conditions have been met.
If so, the third stage 1230 provides a task suggestion for a task
corresponding to each of the sets of predetermined conditions that
have been met (e.g., heuristic task suggestion). By way of example,
the electronic device may determine, based on a location of a user
and a calendar of a user, that the user is going to be late to a
meeting (e.g., the user will not be able to arrive on time).
Accordingly, the electronic device may provide a heuristic task
suggestion for the user to send a text message to the organizer of
the meeting that the user will be late. The electronic device may
in turn display a suggestion affordance corresponding to the
heuristic task suggestion.
[0451] In some examples, task suggestions provided in this manner
have a joint probability of 100%, such that the task suggestions
always satisfy thresholds for display. In some examples, task
suggestions provided in this manner may have a joint probability of
less than 100% if a user has failed to select a same type of task
suggestion previously displayed by the electronic device. Thus,
joint probabilities of task suggestions provided in this manner may
increase or decrease (e.g., decay) according to user behavior.
[0452] In some examples, suggestion affordances for heuristic task
suggestions are displayed in combination with suggestion
affordances for task suggestions. In other examples, suggestion
affordances for heuristic task suggestions are not displayed in
combination with suggestion affordances for task suggestions. For
instance, in some examples, display of a suggestion affordance for
a heuristic task suggestion overrides (e.g., precludes) display of
a suggestion affordance for a task suggestion.
[0453] In some examples, only a single set of predetermined
conditions may be met at a given time such that only a single
heuristic task suggestion is provided at any given time. Because,
in some examples, heuristic task suggestions are provided based on
a set of conditions (e.g., set of hard-coded rules) in addition to
context data, heuristic task suggestions may allow the electronic
device to provide task suggestions for tasks not previously
provided by the electronic device.
[0454] The following table sets forth various sets of exemplary
predetermined conditions that may be used to provide heuristic task
suggestions. It will be appreciated that the sets are not intended
to be limiting. Additionally, the table sets forth conditions that
cause the electronic device to cease display of a suggestion
affordance corresponding to a heuristic task suggestion. In some
examples, the electronic device ceases display of the suggestion
affordance in response to all of the conditions being met. In some
examples, the electronic device ceases display of the suggestion
affordance in response to any number of the conditions being
met.
TABLE-US-00001 Conditions for Suggestion Suggested Task
Condition(s) to Withdraw Movie ticket added to Enable a do not
disturb Do not disturb mode is digital wallet on device mode on the
electronic enabled; user does not and/or user is located at device
(the suggestion select the affordance within theater affordance may
be a predetermined amount of displayed a predetermined time; the
user has ignored amount of time before the same or similar
suggestions event) a threshold number of times User calendar
indicates that Initiate call or send User has contacted the user
appears to be at risk of predetermined message to relevant contact
(e.g., call, being late to an event relevant contact (e.g.,
message); user has ignored meeting organizer); a same or similar
suggestions message may optionally a threshold number of indicate
an estimated time times; the user is at the of arrival for the user
location of the event User misses call from a Call contact
corresponding User has contacted the contact of a particular type
to missed call. contact; user has ignored (e.g., contact frequently
same or similar suggestions called) a threshold number of times;
the user is at the location of the event User calendar indicates
that Reserve ride-booking for User is determined to be the user has
an upcoming user using the location of traveling to destination;
event at a particular the user as a pickup user has contacted ride-
address, and the user has location and specified booking service
(e.g., previously used a ride- address as the destination driver)
booking application (e.g., Lyft) Current day is the birthday
Initiate call or send User has contacted the of a user contact
predetermined message to contact; user has ignored relevant contact
same or similar suggestions a threshold number of times; window has
elapsed (e.g., date has changed) User calendar indicates that Open
Calendar application user has ignored same or the user has an
upcoming similar suggestions a event and the description threshold
number of times; of the event in the calendar window has elapsed
(e.g., includes at least a threshold date has changed) amount of
information (e.g., address, phone number, notes, etc.) User as an
upcoming flight Reserve ride-booking for User books ride; user
(e.g., as indicated by user using the location of contacts
ride-booking calendar application, the user as a pickup service;
user is determined traveling application, location and the relevant
to be traveling to airport electronic passport airport as the
destination application) URL is copied by user Open URL in browser
User accesses URL; user using copy function (e.g., pastes URL into
browser; onto device clipboard) user has copied other content User
calendar indicates Call telephone number in User initiates phone
call; user has an upcoming calendar entry event time has passed;
user meeting, the calendar entry has ignored same or similar
includes a telephone suggestions a threshold number for calling
into the number of times meeting, and/or the user is not located at
a specified location of the meeting User calendar indicates
Generate alarm a User sets alarm for earlier user has unusually
early predetermined amount of time than normal; user has meeting
(e.g., scheduled time prior to event. ignored same or similar time
is earlier than normal suggestions a threshold events for user)
number of times Potential event detected in Generate calendar entry
for Predetermined amount of messaging application detected event
time has elapsed after (e.g., using natural- event detected
language processing) User calendar indicates Enable a do not
disturb User calls contact user has an event and/or mode on the
electronic associated with event; user is located at a location
device (the suggestion event time has passed; user associated with
the event affordance may be has ignored same or similar displayed a
predetermined suggestions a threshold amount of time before the
number of times event) Event is determined to be Enable a do not
disturb Do not disturb mode is at an event of one or more mode on
the electronic enabled; user ignores predetermined types (e.g.,
device (the suggestion suggestion affordance for a movie, meal,
meeting) affordance may be predetermined amount of displayed a
predetermined time; user has ignored amount of time before the same
or similar suggestions event) a threshold number of times; event
time passes Predetermined (e.g., Enable a do not disturb Do not
disturb mode is favorite) contact of user is mode on the electronic
enabled; user ignores attending event of user device (the
suggestion suggestion affordance for a affordance may be
predetermined amount of displayed a predetermined time; user has
ignored amount of time before the same or similar suggestions
event) a threshold number of times; event time passes Telephone
number is Call phone number User called telephone copied by user
using copy number; use pasted function (e.g., onto device telephone
number into clipboard) phone application, user has copied other
content User is currently at a gym Start workout User has starts
other location and previously has workout; user has ignored been at
the gym location same or similar suggestions and started a workout
a a threshold number of threshold number of times times (may
represent after predetermined amount of time (e.g., 10 days)); A
user has been paired Call driver User is determined to be in with a
driver on a ride- car (e.g., traveling to booking application
destination) User calendar indicates the Download media (e.g., User
downloads media; user has an upcoming music, videos) to device user
has ignored same or flight for offline access similar suggestions a
threshold number of times User calendar indicates Open attachment
user has ignored same or entry for upcoming event similar
suggestions a includes an attachment threshold number of times User
is at a particular Present playlist for User does not have location
and previously has playback required subscription; played music at
the headphones not connected; location a threshold user plays
music; user has number of times; ignored same or similar optionally
headphones are suggestions a threshold connected to device number
of times (may represent after predetermined amount of time (e.g.,
10 days))
[0455] FIG. 13 illustrates method 1300 for providing suggestions,
according to various examples. Method 1300 is performed, for
example, using one or more electronic devices implementing a task
suggestion system, such as the task suggestion system 1200 of FIG.
12. In some examples, method 1300 is performed using a
client-server system (e.g., system 100), and the blocks of method
1300 are divided up in any manner between the server (e.g., DA
server 106) and a client device. In other examples, the blocks of
method 1300 are divided up between the server and multiple client
devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smart watch). Thus, while
portions of method 1300 are described herein as being performed by
particular devices of a client-server system, it will be
appreciated that method 1300 is not so limited. In other examples,
method 1300 is performed using only a client device (e.g., user
device 104) or only multiple client devices. In method 1300, some
blocks are, optionally, combined, the order of some blocks is,
optionally, changed, and some blocks are, optionally, omitted. In
some examples, additional steps may be performed in combination
with the method 1300.
[0456] As described below, selectively providing suggestion
affordances associated with tasks, as described herein, allows a
user to efficiently and conveniently perform tasks relevant to the
user on the electronic device. By way of example, suggestion
affordances displayed by the electronic device can correspond to
tasks identified based on context data of the electronic device,
such as context data indicative of prior use of the electronic
device by the user. Thus, selectively providing suggestions in this
manner decreases the number of inputs and amount of time needed for
the user to operate the electronic device (e.g., by helping the
user to provide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes when
operating/interacting with the device), which, additionally,
reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device.
[0457] In some examples, the electronic device includes one or more
of a keyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and touch-sensitive
surface. In some examples, the display is a touch-sensitive
display. In other examples, the display is not a touch-sensitive
display.
[0458] At block 1305, the electronic device (e.g., device 104, 200,
400, 600, or another device implementing the task suggestion system
1200) receives context data associated with the electronic device.
In some examples, receiving the context data includes determining a
context of the electronic device while performing the task (e.g.,
determine a location of the device, whether the device is connected
to WiFi network, etc.). In some examples, context data is
indicative of a state of the electronic device given one or more
conditions. In some examples, context data is indicative of various
contextual aspects of the electronic device when each of a
plurality of tasks was performed. In some examples, context data
indicates a location of context data indicates a location of the
electronic device, whether the device is connected to a network
(e.g., WiFi network), and if so, a name (e.g., SSID) of the
network, a time and/or day at which the task was performed, and
whether headphones were connected. In some examples, determining a
context of the electronic device includes determining a location of
the electronic device, determining whether the electronic device is
connected to a network, determining a time of day, or any
combination thereof. In some examples, if a task has been
previously presented to the user as a suggested task (e.g., using a
suggestion affordance), the context data indicates the manner in
which the user responded to the suggestion (e.g., whether the user
interacted with the suggestion, deleted the suggestion, ignored the
suggestion, etc.).
[0459] In some examples, each type of context data is assigned a
score according to a respective weight (e.g., using dot
multiplication). In some examples, the respective magnitudes of
weights utilized in this manner are determined by a server using
anonymized, aggregated data such that data is utilized in a privacy
preserving manner.
[0460] In some examples, context data is obtained from applications
during use of the electronic device, for instance, using a number
of data donation mechanisms. In some examples, context data is
obtained from applications using an API call which causes an
application to indicate what the user was doing at the time of the
API call (e.g., if user is in a "notes" app, call returns an ID of
the note and/or a name of the note). In some examples, receiving
context data includes receiving a data structure (e.g.,
standardized intent object, third-party application intent object)
corresponding to the task and one or more parameters associated
with the task. In some examples, context data is obtained from
applications using an API call which causes an application to
donate a standardized data structure indicating a task performed by
the application. In some examples, the data structure is an intent
object. In some examples, context data is obtained from
applications using an application-specific (e.g., third-party
application) data structure indicating a task performed by the
application. In some examples, the third-party data structure
further indicates which parameters of a task may be predicted
together and/or whether a task is a background task (e.g., a task
that does not require additional input prior to performance of the
task). In some examples, applications donate context data each time
a user performs a task. In some examples, applications selectively
donate context data, for instance, based on context of the
electronic device (e.g., an application may forgo providing context
data if a battery charge level of the device is below a
threshold).
[0461] At block 1310, the electronic device determines, based on
the context data, a task probability for a task. In some examples,
using context data, the electronic device employs a multi-stage
model to provide suggestions. In some examples, at the first stage
(1210) of the model, the electronic device determines a probability
for each of a plurality of tasks indicating the likelihood that the
user performs the task given particular context. In some examples,
determining a task probability for a task includes generating, for
each of a plurality of types of context, a histogram corresponding
to the task based on the context data. In some examples,
identifying task probabilities includes providing (e.g.,
generating) one or more histograms using the data provided by
applications during use of the electronic device. In some examples,
the histograms provided in this manner indicate patterns of user
behavior. By way of example, each of the histograms may indicate a
probability that a user takes a particular action given a
particular context (e.g., a user selects a particular music app at
an 80% rate when connecting to a particular WiFi network)). In some
examples, the task probability is parameter-independent. That is,
in some examples, the electronic device determines the task
probability using context data associated with tasks irrespective
of the parameters used to perform the tasks. In some examples, the
task probability determined in this manner are
parameter-specific.
[0462] At block 1315, the electronic device determines, based on
the context data, a parameter probability for a parameter, wherein
the parameter is associated with the task. In some examples, at the
second stage (1220) of the model, the electronic device determines
a probability (e.g., conditional probability) for each a plurality
of tasks indicating a likelihood that a user uses particular
parameters for each task. In some examples, determining, based on
the context data, a parameter probability for a parameter includes
determining a current context of the electronic device and
determining the parameter probability based on the current context
of the electronic device (e.g., determining context of the
electronic device and determining the parameter probability in
accordance with the context of the electronic device (e.g.,
determine a location of the electronic device and determine the
parameter probability with respect to the determined location)). In
some examples, the electronic device maintains a list of the most
recent N number (e.g., 100) of tasks for each task type. The
electronic device may, for instance, track which parameters were
previously used to perform each of the immediately previous N
tasks. In some examples, the electronic device tracks only
particular types of tasks (e.g., does not track easily accessible
functions so as to ensure that suggestions ultimately provided by
the electronic device are relatively highly discriminative and/or
accelerating). In some examples, the electronic device identifies a
subset of the plurality of tasks evaluated at the first stage
(1210), and determines probabilities only for tasks of the subset
of tasks. In some examples, the subset identified by the electronic
device includes tasks associated with the highest probabilities as
determined at the first stage. In some examples, the electronic
device computes conditional probabilities using only currently
relevant context data (i.e., for context signals currently
satisfied by context of the electronic device (e.g., current
location of the device and no other locations). In this manner, the
computational demands required to implement the second stage of the
model are reduced--only highly scoring tasks from the first stage
are considered, and only for contextual signals that currently
apply. Accordingly, usage of the device may be more efficient,
thereby reducing the amount of time and power required to provide
task suggestions. In some examples, the electronic device
determines probabilities in this manner periodically. In some
examples, the electronic device determines probabilities in this
manner in response to particular events (e.g., deletion of an
application on the electronic device).
[0463] Determining probabilities (e.g., task probabilities,
parameter probabilities) based on context of the electronic device
ensures that task suggestions provided by the electronic device, as
described herein, are provided based on previous usage of the
electronic device by a user. This in turn ensures that the user is
provided with salient task suggestions that correspond to typical
usage of the electronic device and, as a result, provided with
suggestions that have a relatively high likelihood of accelerating
user behavior. Thus, providing suggestions in this manner decreases
the number of inputs and amount of time needed for the user to
operate the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to provide
proper inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting
with the device), which, additionally, reduces power usage and
improves battery life of the device.
[0464] At block 1320, the electronic device determines, based on
the task probability and the parameter probability, whether the
task satisfies suggestion criteria. In some examples, at the third
stage (1230) of the model, the electronic device determines whether
any of the identified tasks, given the context data and current
context of the electronic device, satisfy a probabilistic threshold
such that the electronic device should provide one or more of the
tasks as a suggestion. In some examples, if more than one task
satisfies the threshold, the electronic device selects only the
highest scoring task. In some examples, tasks are scored using each
of the probabilities of the first and second stages. In some
examples, determining probabilities in this manner includes
multiplying the probabilities. By way of example, the electronic
device may multiply the probability for a task (i.e., as determined
using the first stage of the model) with each of the probabilities
for the task given respective parameters or combinations of
parameters (i.e., as determined using the second stage of the
model. In some examples, additional scoring adjustments are
implemented to adjust probabilities. Such adjustments are based on
a number of parameters (e.g., a higher number of parameters results
in a higher score), parameter types (e.g., more discriminative
parameters, such as a string, as opposed to a Boolean, result in a
higher score), and parameter entropy over the course of event
history as indicated by the context data (e.g., higher entropy
(i.e., higher variation) results in a higher score). In some
examples, different thresholds are used for display on different
interfaces of the electronic device. If a first threshold is
satisfied, the electronic device may display a suggestion on a
search user interface (866), and if a second threshold is
satisfied, the electronic device may additionally or alternatively
display the suggestion on a locked screen interface (810).
[0465] At block 1325, in accordance with a determination that the
task satisfies the suggestion criteria, the electronic device
displays, on a display of the electronic device, a suggestion
affordance corresponding to the task and the parameter. In some
examples, if the probabilistic threshold is satisfied, the
electronic device displays one or more suggestion affordances on
the display. In some examples, suggestion affordances can be
displayed in a number of interfaces--lock screen UI (810), search
screen UI (866), and/or digital assistant UI (1604). In some
examples, displaying the suggestion affordance corresponding to the
task and the parameter includes, in accordance with a determination
that the task satisfies a first set of suggestion criteria (e.g.,
first probabilistic threshold), displaying the suggestion
affordance on a first user interface ((810), and in accordance with
a determination that the task satisfies a second set of suggestion
criteria (e.g., second probabilistic threshold), displaying the
suggestion affordance on a second user interface different from the
first user interface (866, 1604).
[0466] At block 1330, in accordance with a determination that the
task does not satisfy the suggestion criteria, the electronic
device forgoes displaying the suggestion affordance.
[0467] In some examples, the task probability is a first task
probability, the task is a first task, the parameter probability is
a first parameter, and the parameter is a first parameter. In some
examples, the electronic device determines, based on the context
data, a second task probability for a second task, determines,
based on the context data, a parameter probability for a second
parameter, the second parameter associated with the second task,
and determines, based on the second task probability and the second
parameter probability, whether the second task satisfies the
suggestion criteria.
[0468] In some examples, the selection affordance is a first
selection affordance and determining whether the task satisfies
suggestion criteria includes determining whether heuristic criteria
have been satisfied. In some examples, in accordance with a
determination that the heuristic criteria has been satisfied, the
electronic device displays a second selection affordance
corresponding to another task. In some examples, suggestions may be
overridden according to one or more heuristics. In some examples,
each heuristic is a rule (e.g., scripted and/or hard-coded rule)
indicating a set of conditions that, when satisfied, cause the
electronic device to specifies a suggestion corresponding to the
conditions. In some examples, each heuristic suggestion is
considered to have a maximum probability (e.g., 100%) such that the
heuristic is automatically considered as the best result,
regardless of any other suggestions evaluated by the electronic
device. In some examples, probabilities of heuristics decay if a
user is presented with a suggestion for the heuristic and the user
declines to perform a task associated with the suggestion. In some
examples, heuristics are configured such that no two set of
conditions can be simultaneously satisfied. In some examples,
heuristics are suggestions of tasks that have not been performed by
the electronic device and/or rely on context of the electronic
device (e.g., text meeting organizer that user will be late based
on traffic conditions).
[0469] In some examples, after displaying the suggestion
affordance, the electronic device detects a first user input
corresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance, and in
response to detecting the first user input, selectively performs
the task. In some examples, the suggestion affordance (806) is
selected using a touch input (816), a gesture, or a combination
thereof. In some examples, the suggestion affordance is selected
using a voice input. In some examples, in response to selection of
the suggestion affordance, the electronic device automatically
performs the task, the electronic device launches an application
associated with the task, and/or a the electronic device displays
user interface by which the user can confirm performance of the
task. In some examples, selectively performing the task includes,
in accordance with a determination that the task is a task of a
first type, performing the task, and in accordance with a
determination that the task is a task of a second type, displaying
a confirmation interface (820) including a confirmation affordance
(824).
[0470] The operations described above with reference to FIG. 13 are
optionally implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B,
and 7A-C. For example, the operations of method 1900 may be
implemented by any device (or component thereof) described herein,
including but not limited to, devices 104, 200, 400, 600 and 1200.
It would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how
other processes are implemented based on the components depicted in
FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C.
[0471] FIG. 14 illustrates a sequence 1400 for performing a task,
according to various examples. FIG. 14 is also used to illustrate
one or more of the processes described below, including the method
1500 of FIG. 15. In some examples, one or more operations of the
sequence 1400 are, optionally, combined, the order of operations
is, optionally, changed, and/or some operations are, optionally,
omitted. In some examples, additional operations may be performed
in combination with the sequence 1400. Further, the use of
"sequence" is not intended to require a particular order of
interactions unless otherwise indicated.
[0472] As described herein, operations of the sequence 1400 can be
performed using electronic device 1404 and server 1406. The
electronic device 1404 may be any of devices 104, 200, 400, and 600
(FIGS. 1, 2A, 4, and 6A-B), and the server 1406 may be DA server
106 (FIG. 1). It will be appreciated that in some examples,
operations of the sequence 1400 may be performed using one or more
alternative or additional devices. By way of example, one or more
operations of the sequence 1400 described as being performed by the
electronic device 1404 may be performed using multiple electronic
devices.
[0473] Generally, operations of the process 1400 may be implemented
to perform a task, for instance, in response to a natural-language
speech input. As described in further detail below, a
natural-language speech input may be provided to an electronic
device, and in particular to a digital assistant of an electronic
device. In response, a determination is made as to whether the
natural-language speech input includes a predetermined phrase
(e.g., voice shortcut). The determination may be made by the
electronic device and/or another device. If the natural-language
speech input is determined to include a predetermined phrase, the
electronic device performs a task associated with the predetermined
phrase. If not, the natural-language speech input is processed
using natural-language processing to determine a task associated
with the natural-language speech input, and the electronic device
performs the task determined using natural-language processing.
[0474] At operation 1410, the electronic device 1404 receives
(e.g., via a microphone) a natural-language speech input. In some
examples, the electronic device 1404 receives a natural-language
speech input indicative of a request directed to the digital
assistant of the electronic device 1404. The natural-language
speech input may, for instance, include a voice trigger that may,
for instance, activate the digital assistant. In some examples, the
natural-language speech input can include any request that can be
directed to the digital assistant. By way of example, the
natural-language input "Get me directions to Starbucks," may
request that the digital assistant of the electronic device 1404
provide driving directions from a location of the electronic device
to a nearest Starbucks location.
[0475] In some examples, the natural-language speech input is
received from another device, such as a device communicatively
coupled to the electronic device (e.g., smart watch). In some
examples, the natural-language speech input is provided over an
ad-hoc connection between the electronic device and the other
device. In other examples, the natural-language speech input is
provided over a multi-hop network, such as the Internet.
[0476] In some examples, the natural-language speech input includes
a predetermined phrase (e.g., voice shortcut), such as those
described with reference to FIG. 10A-10AF. As described, a
predetermined phrase may be associated with one or more tasks that,
when provided to a digital assistant of the electronic device,
cause the electronic device to perform one or more tasks associated
with the phrase.
[0477] At operation 1415, the electronic device 1404 provides the
natural-language speech input to the server 1406. In some examples,
providing the natural-language speech input to the server 1406
includes providing a representation (e.g., text representation,
spatial representation, audio representation) of the
natural-language speech input to the server 1406. A text
representation, for instance, may be provided using a
speech-to-text processing module, such as the STT processing module
730 in some examples.
[0478] At operation 1420, the server 1406 receives the
natural-language speech input from the electronic device 1404 and
determines whether the natural-language speech input satisfies
voice shortcut criteria. In some examples, determining whether the
natural-language speech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria
includes determining whether the natural-language speech input, or
a text representation of the natural-language speech input, matches
any of one or more predetermined phrases (e.g., voice shortcuts)
associated with a user of the electronic device. In some examples,
determining whether the natural-language speech input matches
predetermined phrases includes determining whether the
natural-language speech input exactly matches one or more
predetermined phrases. In other examples, determining whether the
natural-language speech input matches predetermined phrases
includes determining whether a similarity between the
natural-language speech input and each predetermined phrase exceeds
a similarity threshold.
[0479] If the server 1406 determines that the natural-language
speech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria (e.g., the server
1406 determines the natural-language speech input matches a
predetermined phrase), the server 1406 identifies a task associated
with the matching predetermined phrase. In some examples,
identifying a task in this manner includes determining values for
one or more parameters of the task. By way of example, for a phrase
"Coffee Time" corresponding to a task for ordering a coffee, the
server 1406 may determine a size of the coffee, a type of the
coffee, and/or a manner of payment for the transaction. Parameter
values may be specified by the user (e.g., upon associating the
phrase with the task), determined based on context of the
electronic device (e.g., a location of the electronic device)
and/or assigned default parameter values.
[0480] If the server 1406 determines that the natural-language
speech input does not satisfy voice shortcut criteria, the server
1406, optionally, processes the natural-language speech input (or a
textual representation thereof) using a natural language processing
module, such as the natural language processing module 732. In some
examples, the electronic device 1404 provides an audio
representation of the natural-language speech input, and processing
the natural-language speech input using natural-language speech
processing to determine a task includes providing one or more
candidate text representations (e.g., text strings) of the
natural-language speech input, for instance, using the STT
processing module 730. Each of the candidate text representations
may be associated with a speech recognition confidence score, and
the candidate text representations may be ranked accordingly. In
other examples, the electronic device 1404 provides a text
representation of the natural-language speech input, and the text
representation is provided as a candidate text representation,
where n=1. Text representations provided as candidate text
representations in this manner may be assigned a maximum speech
recognition confidence score, or any other speech recognition
confidence score.
[0481] Determining the task may further includes providing one or
more candidate intents based on the n-best (e.g., highest ranked)
candidate text representations, for instance, using the natural
language processing module 732. Each of the candidate intents may
be associated with an intent confidence score, and the candidate
intents may be ranked accordingly. In some examples, multiple
candidate intents are identified for each candidate text
representation. Further, in some examples, a structured query
(partial or complete) is generated for each candidate intent.
Thereafter, candidate tasks are determined based on the m-best
(e.g., highest ranked) candidate intents, for instance, using the
task flow processing module 736. In some examples, the candidate
tasks are identified based on the structured query for each of the
m-best (e.g., highest ranked) candidate intents. By way of example,
as described, the structured queries may be implemented according
to one or more task flows, such as task flows 754, to determine
tasks associated with the candidate intents. A joint score may be
assigned to each candidate task, for instance, based on confidence
scores and/or context of the electronic device, and the task with
the highest score may be selected as the task.
[0482] At operation 1425, the electronic device 1404 receives a
task from the server 1406. As described, the task may have been a
task associated with one or more predetermined phrases of the user,
or may have been identified using natural-language processing. In
some examples, the electronic device further receives one or more
parameter values to be used in performing the received task.
[0483] At operation 1430, the electronic device performs the task,
and optionally, at operation 1435 provides an output (e.g.,
natural-language output) indicating whether the task was performed
successfully. The output may be provided by the digital assistant
of the electronic device in some examples.
[0484] In some examples, performing the task includes causing
another device to perform the task. The electronic device may, for
instance, determine that the task is better suited for performance
on another device and/or determine that the task must be performed
on another device (e.g., the electronic device does not have a
display and cannot perform a task requiring display of an
interface). Accordingly, the electronic device may provide the task
to another device and/or cause the other device to perform the
task.
[0485] In some examples, performing the task includes causing a
third-party application to perform a task. By way of example, the
voice shortcut "Close garage" may cause a third-party home
automation application to close a garage door. In some examples,
the third-party application provides a response indicating whether
performance of the task was successful.
[0486] In some examples, the output provided by the digital
assistant of the third-party device is based on a response provided
by an application. By way of example, a response provided by an
application may include a natural-language expression, such as "The
garage door was successfully closed." The electronic device, and in
particular the digital assistant of the electronic device, may
receive the response and provide a natural-language output based on
the natural-language expression of the response. The
natural-language output may be an audio output in some examples.
For instance, the electronic device may provide a natural-language
output reciting "Home Automation says `The garage door was
successfully closed.`" Responses provided by applications in this
manner may indicate whether tasks were successfully performed
and/or provide other information to a user (e.g., current bus times
in response to a request for a bus schedule).
[0487] In some examples, performing the task provided by the server
1406 includes performing multiple tasks. By way of example,
performing a task may include causing a first application to
perform a first task and causing a second application to perform a
second task different from the first task.
[0488] While description is made herein with respect to the
natural-language speech input being provided to the server 1406
(operation 1415), in some examples, the electronic device
determines whether the natural-language speech input satisfies
voice shortcut criteria in lieu of, or in parallel to, the server
1406.
[0489] FIG. 15 illustrates method 1500 for performing a task,
according to various examples. Method 1500 is performed, for
example, using one or more electronic devices implementing a
digital assistant. In some examples, method 1500 is performed using
a client-server system (e.g., system 100), and the blocks of method
1500 are divided up in any manner between the server (e.g., DA
server 106) and a client device. In other examples, the blocks of
method 1500 are divided up between the server and multiple client
devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smart watch). Thus, while
portions of method 1500 are described herein as being performed by
particular devices of a client-server system, it will be
appreciated that method 1500 is not so limited. In other examples,
method 1500 is performed using only a client device (e.g., user
device 104) or only multiple client devices. In method 1500, some
blocks are, optionally, combined, the order of some blocks is,
optionally, changed, and some blocks are, optionally, omitted. In
some examples, additional steps may be performed in combination
with the method 1500.
[0490] As described below, performing tasks in response to
natural-language speech inputs (e.g., voice shortcuts), as
described herein, provides an intuitive and efficient approach for
performing tasks on the electronic device. By way of example, one
or more tasks may be performed in response to a natural-language
speech input without any additional input from the user.
Accordingly, performing tasks in response to natural-language
speech inputs in this manner decreases the number of inputs and
amount of time needed for the user to operate the electronic device
(e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing
user mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,
additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of the
device.
[0491] In some examples, the electronic device includes one or more
of a keyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and touch-sensitive
surface. In some examples, the display is a touch-sensitive
display. In other examples, the display is not a touch-sensitive
display.
[0492] At block 1505, the electronic device receives a
natural-language speech input (e.g., spoken utterance, 1606)
(1410). In some examples, receiving a natural-language speech input
includes receiving a representation of the natural-language speech
input from a second electronic device (e.g., smart watch). In some
examples, receiving a representation of the natural-language speech
input from a second electronic device includes receiving the
representation of the natural-language speech input over a
multi-hop network. In some examples, the representation is received
from a remote device, for instance, over a WiFi connection and/or
the Internet. In some examples, the natural-language speech input
includes a voice trigger (e.g., "Hey Siri").
[0493] At block 1510, the electronic device determines whether the
natural-language speech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria. In
some examples, the electronic device determines whether the
natural-language speech input matches one or more voice shortcuts
associated with a user of the electronic device. In some examples,
determining whether a match exists in this manner includes
determining whether a match exists locally and/or remotely. For
example, in some instances the electronic device determines whether
a match exists. In another example, the electronic device provides
the natural-language speech input, or a representation thereof, to
a backend server (1406) (1415), and the backend server determines
if a match exists (1420). In some examples, determining whether the
natural-language speech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria
includes providing a representation (e.g., textual representation,
spatial representation, audio representation) of the
natural-language speech input to another electronic device (e.g.,
backend server, such as a backend natural-language processing
server) and receiving, from the another electronic device, at least
one of a voice shortcut or a task (1425). In some examples, both
the electronic device and the backend server determine if a match
exists and the electronic device evaluates both results to
determine if a match exists.
[0494] At block 1515, in accordance with a determination that the
natural-language speech input satisfies the voice shortcut criteria
(e.g., if the natural-language speech input matches a voice
shortcut), the electronic device identifies a task associated with
the voice shortcut and performs the task associated with the voice
shortcut (e.g., either the electronic device or another device
(e.g., backend server) determines a task associated with the voice
shortcut) (1430). In some examples, performing the task associated
with the voice shortcut includes causing a first application to
perform a first task and causing a second application to perform a
second task different than the first task. In some examples, if the
electronic device determines that a match exists between the
natural-language speech input and a voice shortcut, the electronic
device identifies a task associated with the voice shortcut and
performs the task. In some examples, a voice shortcut is associated
with a plurality of tasks (e.g., a sequence of tasks) and the
electronic device performs each of the plurality of tasks. In some
examples, performing the task associated with the voice shortcut
includes determining whether the task associated with the voice
shortcut is a task of a first type; in accordance with a
determination that the voice shortcut is a task of the first type,
performing the task using the electronic device; and in accordance
with a determination that the voice shortcut is a task of a second
type different than the first type, causing the task to be
performed using a third electronic device. In some examples, the
electronic device determines whether the task is a task of a first
type by determining whether the task may be performed by the
electronic device or another device.
[0495] At block 1520, in accordance with a determination that the
natural-language speech input does not satisfy the voice shortcut
criteria (e.g., if the natural-language speech input does not match
a voice shortcut), the electronic device identifies a task
associated with the natural-language speech input and performs the
task associated with the natural-language speech input (1430). In
some examples, the electronic device performs natural-language
processing to determine an intent and/or task. In some examples, a
backend server performs natural-language processing and provides
the task to the electronic device. In some examples, a task that is
not a task of the first type is a task that is "better suited" for
another device and/or cannot be performed by the electronic device.
By way of example, a user may provide the voice shortcut "Play Game
of Thrones" to the phone, and the phone, in turn, cause a TV to
perform the task for the voice shortcut.
[0496] Performing natural-language processing on a natural-language
speech input in the event that the speech input does not satisfy
voice shortcut criteria ensures that commands provided to the
electronic device by a user are handled even if the speech input
does not correspond to a voice shortcut. In this manner, the
electronic device may handle a broader range of commands and/or
intents specified by a user. Accordingly, performing tasks in this
manner decreases the number of inputs and amount of time needed for
the user to operate the electronic device (e.g., by helping the
user to provide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes when
operating/interacting with the device), which, additionally,
reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device.
[0497] In some examples, the electronic device provides a
natural-language output indicating whether the task was successful
(1435) (1616, 1630, 1662, 1676). In some examples, performing the
task includes causing a third-party application to perform the task
and providing the providing the natural-language output includes
receiving a response from a third-party application and generating
the natural-language output based on the response received from the
third-party. In some examples, when a task is performed using a
third-party application, the third-party application provides a
response indicating whether the task was successful. In some
examples, the response explicitly indicates that the task was
successfully performed or failed. In some examples, the response
includes requested information (e.g., the task was to retrieve a
bus schedule in response to a request for the same) (1688) and the
return of the requested information implicitly indicates that the
task was successful. In some examples, the natural-language output
is an audio speech output. In some examples, the electronic device,
and in particular, the digital assistant of the electronic device,
generates a natural-language input based on the response of the
application and provides the generated natural-language output to
the user.
[0498] The operations described above with reference to FIG. 15 are
optionally implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B,
and 7A-C. For example, the operations of method 1900 may be
implemented by any device (or component thereof) described herein,
including but not limited to, devices 104, 200, 400, 600 and 1400.
It would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how
other processes are implemented based on the components depicted in
FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C.
[0499] FIGS. 16A-16S illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
performing a task on an electronic device (e.g., device 104, device
122, device 200, device 600, or device 700), in accordance with
some embodiments. The user interfaces in these figures are used to
illustrate the processes described below, including the processes
in FIG. 17.
[0500] FIG. 16A illustrates an electronic device 1600 (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the
non-limiting exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 16A-16S,
electronic device 1600 is a smartphone. In other embodiments,
electronic device 1600 can be a different type of electronic
device, such as a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch). In some
examples, electronic device 1600 has a display 1601, one or more
input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display 1601, a button, a
microphone), and a wireless communication radio. In some examples,
the electronic device 1600 includes a plurality of cameras. In some
examples, the electronic device includes only one camera. In some
examples, the electronic device includes one or more biometric
sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 1603) which, optionally, include a
camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a
combination thereof.
[0501] In FIG. 16A, the electronic device 1600 displays, on display
1601, a digital assistant interface (e.g., conversational
interface), such as the digital assistant interface 1604. While
displaying the digital assistant interface 1604, the electronic
device 1600 receives (e.g., obtains, captures) a natural-language
input 1606 (e.g., "Hey Siri, order my groceries."). In some
examples, the natural-language input 1606 is a natural-language
speech input received, for instance, using an input device of the
electronic device (e.g., microphone). As shown in FIG. 16A, in some
examples in which the natural-language input 1606 is a
natural-language speech input, the digital assistant interface
optionally includes a preview 1608 (e.g., live preview) of the
natural-language input 1606.
[0502] In some examples, in response to the natural-language input,
the electronic device 1600 performs a task. By way of example, as
described with reference to FIG. 14, the electronic device 1600 may
determine whether the natural-language input matches a
predetermined phrase, and if so, perform a task corresponding to
the phrase. If the task does not corresponding to the phrase,
natural-language processing may be used to determine a task
associated with the natural-language input, and the electronic
device 1600 may perform the task.
[0503] In some examples, prior to performing the task, the
electronic device requests confirmation of the task from a user.
For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 16B, once the electronic
device 1600 identifies a task corresponding to the natural-language
input, the electronic device 1600 can display a confirmation
interface, such as the confirmation interface 1610. The
confirmation interface 1610 includes a confirmation affordance
1612, a cancel affordance 1614, and an application affordance 1616.
The confirmation interface further may include content 1618
associated with the task. In some examples, selection of the cancel
affordance 1614 causes the electronic device 1600 to cease display
of the confirmation interface 1610 and/or forgo performing the
identified task. In some examples, selection of the application
affordance 1616 causes the electronic device 1600 to open an
application associated with the task. As described, opening the
application in this manner may cause the application to be
preloaded with one or more parameters associated with the task.
Content 1618 may include information directed to the task, such as
one or more parameters to be used to perform the task. As
illustrated in FIG. 16B, for instance, content 1618 may specify
that the task is directed to ordering a set of grocery items
included in the group "My Grocery List", the number of items to be
ordered, a delivery address, and a time window in which the
delivery is to be made. Optionally, confirmation interface 1610
includes an icon (e.g., image, GIF) associated with the application
of the task to help a user more readily identify the application
performing the task.
[0504] In some examples, in response to selection of the
confirmation affordance 1612, for instance by user input 1620, the
electronic device 1600 performs the task. As illustrated in FIG.
16C, in some examples, while the electronic device is performing
the task, the electronic device 1600, optionally, displays a
progress indicator 1615, indicating that the task is being
performed. In some examples, display of the progress indicator 1615
replaces display of the confirmation affordance 1612 and the cancel
affordance 1614.
[0505] Once task has been performed, the electronic device 1600
provides an output indicating whether the task was performed
successfully. In the example of FIG. 16D, the task is performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device 1600 displays
a success indicator 1617, indicating that the task was successfully
performed. In some examples, display of the success indicator 1617
replaces display of the progress indicator 1615.
[0506] In the example of FIG. 16E, the task is not performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device displays
failure interface 1621. The failure interface 1621 includes a retry
affordance 1622, a cancel affordance 1624, and application
affordances 1626, 1628. The failure interface further includes
content 1630. In some examples, selection of the retry affordance
1622 causes the electronic device 1600 to perform the task again.
In some examples, selection of the cancel affordance causes the
electronic device 1600 to cease display of the failure interface
1620. In some examples, selection of either the application
affordance 1626 or application affordance 1628 causes the
electronic device 1600 to open an application associated with the
task. As described, opening the application in this manner may
cause the application to be preloaded with one or more parameters
associated with the task. Content 1630 may include information
directed to the task, such as one or more parameters used to
perform the task. In some examples, content 1630 is the same
content as content 1618. In some examples, content 1630 is
different than content 1618. Content 1630 may, for example,
indicate that the electronic device failed to perform the task
successfully (e.g., "There was a problem. Please try again.").
[0507] In some examples, performing a task may include causing an
application to perform the task, and optionally, receive a response
from the application indicating whether the task was performed
successfully. In some examples, as illustrated in FIGS. 16F-16L
below, the response provided by an application includes a
natural-language expression that may in turn be used by the
electronic device 1600 to indicate whether a task was successfully
performed and/or provide additional information, from the
application, to a user.
[0508] With reference to FIG. 16F, the electronic device 1600
displays, on display 1601, a digital assistant interface (e.g.,
conversational interface), such as the digital assistant interface
1654. While displaying the digital assistant interface 1654, the
electronic device 1600 receives (e.g., obtains, captures) a
natural-language input 1656 (e.g., "Hey Siri, coffee me."). In some
examples, the natural-language input is a natural-language speech
input received, for instance, using an input device of the
electronic device (e.g., microphone). As shown in FIG. 16F, in some
examples in which the natural-language input is a natural-language
speech input, the digital assistant interface optionally includes a
preview 1658 (e.g., live preview) of the natural-language
input.
[0509] In response to the natural-language input 1656, the
electronic device 1600 performs a task, as described (recall that
the electronic device may confirm performance of the task with a
user in some examples). For instance, if the natural-language input
corresponds to (e.g., includes) a predetermined phrase, the
electronic device 1600 can perform a task associated with the
phrase, or if the natural-language input does not correspond to a
predetermined phrase, the electronic device 1600 can perform a task
associated with the natural-language input as determined by
natural-language processing.
[0510] In some examples, once the task has been performed, the
electronic device 1600 receives a response from an application used
to perform the task and, based on the response, provides an output
indicating whether the task was performed successfully. In the
example of FIG. 16G, the task is performed successfully.
Accordingly, the electronic device 1600 displays success interface
1660. Success interface 1660 includes output 1662, which in turn
includes digital assistant response 1664 and application response
1666, and application affordance 1670. In some examples,
application response 1666 is at least a portion of a response
provided by the application following performance of the task. In
some examples, application response 1666 includes content and/or
one or more natural-language expressions. As illustrated in FIG.
16G, for instance, application response 1666 includes
natural-language expression 1668 (e.g., "Your latte will be ready
in 20 min.") indicating that the task was performed successfully
and/or providing information related to the task. Content of
application response, such as content 1670, may include any type of
content, such as images, videos, and/or interactive content (e.g.,
an interactive map). In this manner, an application may specify
additional information related to the task. In some examples,
digital assistant response 1664 indicates whether a task was
performed successfully (e.g., "OK ordered."). In some examples, the
digital assistant response 1664 may, for instance, be used to
clarify for a user that the application response 1666 includes
information provided by the application (e.g., "The Coffee App
says"). In some examples, selection of the content 1670 causes the
electronic device 1600 to open the application associated with the
task. As described, opening the application in this manner may
cause the application to be preloaded with one or more parameters
associated with the task.
[0511] In the example of FIG. 16H, the task is not performed
successfully (e.g., the electronic device 1600 failed to perform
the task). Accordingly, the electronic device displays failure
interface 1674. Failure interface 1674 includes output 1676, which
in turn includes digital assistant response 1678 and application
response 1680, and application affordance 1682. In some examples,
application response 1680 is at least a portion of a response
provided by the application following performance of the task. In
some examples, application response 1680 includes content and/or
one or more natural-language expressions. As illustrated in FIG.
16H, for instance, application response 1680 includes
natural-language expression 1682 (e.g., "Your card balance is
insufficient. Open the app to continue.") indicating that the task
was not performed successfully and/or further providing additional
information related to the task. In some examples, digital
assistant response 1664 indicates whether a task was performed
successfully (e.g., "Something went wrong."). In some examples, the
digital assistant response 1664 may, for instance, be used to
clarify for a user that the application response 1666 includes
information provided by the application (e.g., "The Coffee App
says"). In some examples, selection of application affordance 1682
causes the electronic device 1600 to open the application
associated with the task. As described, opening the application in
this manner may cause the application to be preloaded with one or
more parameters associated with the task.
[0512] In some examples, providing responses received from
applications in this manner allows a digital assistant to provide
communication between an application and a user without requiring
the user to open the application. For instance, in some examples, a
user may request information from an electronic device that the
user may otherwise have to open an application to retrieve.
[0513] With reference to FIG. 16I for example, a user may provide a
natural-language input to the electronic device 1600 requesting
information pertaining to a bus schedule. In turn, the electronic
device 1600 may cause an application corresponding to the task to
retrieve the information and return the information in a response,
as illustrated in FIG. 16J. As described, the output provided by
the electronic device 1600 (e.g., output 1688) may include a
digital assistant response and an application response, such as the
digital assistant response 1690 and application response 1692.
[0514] In some examples, a user may exit from a digital assistant
interface prior to a time at which the electronic device 1600
provides an output corresponding to a task. Accordingly, in some
examples, outputs provided by the electronic device 1600 may be
displayed on a lock screen interface. With reference to FIGS.
16K-L, the electronic device 1600 may display outputs corresponding
to tasks on a lock screen interface when the electronic device 1600
is either in a locked state (FIG. 16K) or an unlocked state (FIG.
16L), respectively. As described, the electronic device 1600 may
forgo displaying content when the electronic device 1600 is in the
locked state.
[0515] In some examples, the manner in which an electronic device
displays interfaces, as described herein, depends on a type of the
electronic device. In some examples, for instance, electronic
device 1600 may be implemented as a device with a relatively small
display such that interfaces, such as digital assistant interface
1604 or digital assistant interface 1654, may not be practical for
display. Accordingly, in some examples, electronic device 1600 may
display alternative interfaces to those previously described.
[0516] With reference to FIG. 16M, for instance, the electronic
device 1600 displays, on display 1601, a digital assistant
interface (e.g., conversational interface), such as the digital
assistant interface 1604A. While displaying the digital assistant
interface 1604A, the electronic device 1600 receives (e.g.,
obtains, captures) a natural-language input 1606A (e.g., "Hey Siri,
coffee me."). In some examples, the natural-language input 1606A is
a natural-language speech input received, for instance, using an
input device of the electronic device (e.g., microphone). As shown
in FIG. 16M, in some examples in which the natural-language input
1608A is a natural-language speech input, the digital assistant
interface optionally includes a preview 1608A (e.g., live preview)
of the natural-language input 1606A.
[0517] In FIG. 16N, in response to the natural-language input
1606A, the electronic device 1600 displays a confirmation interface
1610A requesting confirmation of a task associated with the
natural-language input 1606A. The confirmation interface 1610A
includes a confirmation affordance 1612A and a cancel affordance
1614A. The confirmation interface further may include content 1618A
associated with the task. In some examples, selection of the cancel
affordance 1614A causes the electronic device 1600 to cease display
of the confirmation interface 1610A and/or forgo performing the
identified task (recall that in some examples performing a task may
include causing another device to perform the task). Content 1618A
may include information directed to the task, such as one or more
parameters to be used to perform the task. As illustrated in FIG.
16B, for instance, content 1618A may specify that the task is
directed to ordering a large latte coffee from a place of business
located on Homestead Rd.
[0518] In some examples, in response to selection of the
confirmation affordance 1612A, for instance by user input 1620A,
the electronic device 1600 performs the task. As illustrated in
FIG. 16O, in some examples, while the electronic device 1600 is
performing the task, the electronic device 1600 displays a progress
indicator 1614A, indicating that the task is being performed. In
some examples, display of the progress indicator 1615A replaces
display of the confirmation affordance 1612A and the cancel
affordance 1614A.
[0519] Once task has been performed, the electronic device 1600
provides an output indicating whether the task was performed
successfully. In the example of FIG. 16P, the task is performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device 1600 displays
a success indicator 1616A, indicating that the task was
successfully performed. In some examples, display of the success
indicator 1616A replaces display of the progress indicator
1615A.
[0520] In the example of FIG. 16Q, the task is not performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device displays
failure interface 1620A. The failure interface 1620A includes a
retry affordance 1622 and a cancel affordance 1624A. The failure
interface further includes content 1630A. In some examples,
selection of the retry affordance 1622A causes the electronic
device 1600 to perform the task again. In some examples, selection
of the cancel affordance 1624A causes the electronic device 1600 to
cease display of the failure interface 1620A. Content 1630A may
include information directed to the task, such as one or more
parameters used to perform the task. In some examples, content
1630A is the same content as content 1618A. In some examples,
content 1630A is different than content 1618A. Content 1630A may,
for example, indicate that the electronic device failed to perform
the task successfully (e.g., "There was an error. Please try
again.").
[0521] In the example depicted in FIG. 16R, the electronic device
1600 receives a natural-language input (e.g., "Hey Siri, coffee
me."), successfully performs a task corresponding to the
natural-language input, and, in response, displays success
interface 1660A. Success interface 1660A includes output 1662A,
which in turn includes digital assistant response 1664A and
application response 1666A. In some examples, application response
1666A is at least a portion of a response provided by the
application following performance of the task. In some examples,
application response 1666A includes content and/or one or more
natural-language expressions. As illustrated in FIG. 16R, for
instance, application response 1666A includes natural-language
expression 1668A (e.g., "Large latte ready in 20 min.") indicating
that the task was performed successfully and/or providing
additional information related to the task. Content of the
application response, such as content 1670A, may include any type
of content, such as images, videos, and/or interactive content
(e.g., an interactive map). In this manner, an application may
further specify additional information related to a task. In some
examples, digital assistant response 1664A indicates whether a task
was performed successfully (e.g., "OK ordered."). In some examples,
the digital assistant response 1664A may, for instance, be used to
clarify for a user that the application response 1666A includes
information provided by the application (e.g., "The Coffee App
says").
[0522] In the example of FIG. 16S, a task is not performed
successfully (e.g., the electronic device 1600 failed to perform
the task). Accordingly, the electronic device displays failure
interface 1674A. Failure interface 1674A includes output 1676A,
which in turn includes digital assistant response 1678A and
application response 1680A. In some examples, application response
1680A is at least a portion of a response provided by the
application following performance of the task. In some examples,
application response 1680A includes content and/or one or more
natural-language expressions. As illustrated in FIG. 16S, for
instance, application response 1680A includes natural-language
expression 1682A (e.g., "Continue on your phone.") indicating that
the task was not performed successfully and/or further providing
additional information related to the task (e.g., that the current
device is not capable of opening the application that performed the
task). In some examples, digital assistant response 1664A indicates
whether a task was performed successfully (e.g., "Hmm, something
went wrong."). In some examples, the digital assistant response
1664A may, for instance, be used to clarify that the application
response 1666A includes information provided by the application
(e.g., "The Coffee App says").
[0523] FIG. 17 illustrates method 1700 for performing a task using
a digital assistant, according to various examples. Method 1700 is
performed, for example, using one or more electronic devices
implementing the digital assistant. In some examples, method 1700
is performed using a client-server system (e.g., system 100), and
the blocks of method 1700 are divided up in any manner between the
server (e.g., DA server 106) and a client device. In other
examples, the blocks of method 1700 are divided up between the
server and multiple client devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a
smart watch). Thus, while portions of method 1700 are described
herein as being performed by particular devices of a client-server
system, it will be appreciated that method 1700 is not so limited.
In other examples, method 1700 is performed using only a client
device (e.g., user device 104) or only multiple client devices. In
method 1700, some blocks are, optionally, combined, the order of
some blocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are,
optionally, omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be
performed in combination with the method 1700.
[0524] Performing tasks and providing responses from applications
as described herein, allows the digital assistant perform tasks and
provide task feedback to a user without a need for an application
to be opened. Accordingly, a user can interact with an application
without opening or otherwise directly accessing the application. As
a result, the number of inputs and amount of time needed for the
user to operate the electronic device are reduced (e.g., by helping
the user to provide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes when
operating/interacting with the device), which, additionally,
reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device.
[0525] In some examples, the electronic device includes one or more
of a keyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and touch-sensitive
surface. In some examples, the display is a touch-sensitive
display. In other examples, the display is not a touch-sensitive
display.
[0526] At block 1705, the electronic device receives, with a
digital assistant, a natural-language speech input (e.g., spoken
utterance) (1606).
[0527] At block 1710, the electronic device determines a voice
shortcut associated with the natural-language speech input.
[0528] At block 1715, the electronic device determines a task
corresponding to the voice shortcut. In some examples, the task is
a request for information from a third-party service. In some
examples, the electronic device determines that the
natural-language speech input is associated with a voice shortcut
and determines a task associated with the voice shortcut.
[0529] At block 1720, the electronic device causes an application
(e.g., first-party application, third-party application) to
initiate performance of the task. In some examples, causing an
application (e.g., first-party application, third-party
application) to initiate performance of the task includes
displaying a task performance animation. In some examples, the task
performance animation includes rotating a circle object (1615) to
indicate performance of the task is occurring. In some examples,
causing an application (e.g., first-party application, third-party
application) to initiate performance of the task includes prompting
the user to confirm performance of the task. In some examples, once
a task has been determined, the electronic device displays a
confirmation interface (1610, 1610A) requesting that the user
confirm performance of the task. In some examples, the confirmation
interface includes an affordance (1612, 1612A) by which the user
can confirm and, optionally, further includes a cancel affordance
(1614, 1614A) by which the user can cause the electronic device to
cease display of the confirmation interface and forgo performing
the task.
[0530] At block 1725, the electronic device receives a response
from the application, wherein the response is associated with the
task. In some examples, when a task is performed using an
application, such as a third-party application, the application
provides a response (1666, 1680, 1692) indicating whether the task
was successful. In some examples, the response explicitly indicates
that the task was successfully performed or failed. In some
examples, the response includes requested information (e.g., the
task was to retrieve a bus schedule in response to a request for
the same) and the return of the requested information implicitly
indicates that the task was successful.
[0531] In some examples, after receiving the response, the
electronic device displays an application user interface (1660)
associated with the application. In some examples, after causing an
application to perform a task, the electronic device displays
information associated with the application, and optionally, the
task. By way of example, for a task of retrieving directions to a
particular location, the electronic device displays a map that,
when selected, causes execution of the relevant map application. In
some examples, one or more aspects of the user interface is
specified by the application. In some examples, the user interface
is a string, graphic, animation, or a combination thereof. In some
examples, an application, such as a third-party application,
provides content for display in the application user interface
(e.g., a graphic reciting "Thank you" in response to a successful
transaction). In some examples, the application user interface
includes the output indicating whether the task was successfully
performed. In some examples, the application user interface is
displayed concurrently with the output.
[0532] At block 1730, the electronic device determines, based on
the response, whether the task was successfully performed.
[0533] At block 1735, the electronic device provides an output
indicating whether the task was successfully performed. In some
examples, providing an output indicating whether the task was
successfully performed includes, in accordance with a determination
that the task was performed successfully, displaying an indication
that the task was performed successfully and, in accordance with a
determination that the task was not performed successfully,
displaying an indication that the task was not performed
successfully. In some examples, the electronic device displays a
symbol (e.g., checkmark for success, "X" for failure) indicating
whether the task was successfully performed. In some examples, the
electronic device displays a checkmark (1616) to indicate that the
task was performed successfully. In some examples, the electronic
device displays an "X" indicating that the task failed. In some
examples, the electronic device displays a message indicating that
the task failed (e.g., "There was a problem. Please try again.").
In some examples, the electronic device generates a
natural-language output based on the response and provides (e.g.,
outputs, displays), with the digital assistant, the
natural-language output. In some examples, further in accordance
with a determination that the task was not performed successfully,
the electronic device displays a failure user interface (1620).
[0534] In some examples, providing an output includes generating a
natural-language output (1662, 1676) based on the response and
providing, with the digital assistant, the natural-language output.
In some examples, providing (e.g., outputting, displaying) the
natural-language output includes providing an audio speech output.
In some examples, providing the natural-language output includes
displaying the natural-language output. In some examples, the
natural-language output includes a reference to the application. In
some examples, the natural-language output includes a name or
nickname of an application. In some examples, the response includes
a natural-language expression and the natural-language output
includes the third-party natural language expression (e.g., 1666,
"Okay, ordered. Starbucks says `Your order will be ready in 5
minutes). In some examples, the response includes a
natural-language expression (1668, 1682) and the natural-language
output includes at least a portion of the natural-language
expression. In some examples, the natural-language output indicates
that the task was not performed successfully by the application
(e.g., "Something went wrong. Starbucks says `You have insufficient
funds.`"). In some examples, the natural-language output indicates
that the task was performed successfully by the application.
[0535] Providing outputs, as described herein, allows the digital
assistant to provide feedback and/or other information from an
application, for instance during the course of a dialog (e.g.,
conversational dialog) between a user and the digital assistant, in
an intuitive and flexible manner. By way of example, the digital
assistant may provide (e.g., relay) natural-language expressions
from an application to the user such that the user can interact
with the application without opening or otherwise directly
accessing the application. Accordingly, providing natural-language
outputs in this manner decreases the number of inputs and amount of
time needed for the user to operate the electronic device (e.g., by
helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing user
mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,
additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of the
device.
[0536] In some examples, the failure user interface includes a
retry affordance (1622). In some examples, the electronic device
detects a user input corresponding to a selection of the retry
affordance and, in response to detecting the user input
corresponding to a selection of the retry affordance, causes the
application to initiate performance of the task.
[0537] In some examples, the failure user interface includes a
cancel affordance (1624). In some examples, the electronic device
detects a user input corresponding to a selection of the cancel
affordance, and in response to the user input corresponding to a
selection of the cancel affordance, ceases to display of the
failure user interface.
[0538] In some examples, the failure user interface includes an
application launch affordance (1626, 1628). In some examples, the
electronic device detects a user input corresponding to a selection
of the application launch affordance and, in response to the user
input corresponding to a selection of the application launch
affordance, launches (e.g., executes, opens) the application. In
some examples, the user selects (1) the application launch
affordance or (2) an icon associated with the application to launch
the application.
[0539] In some examples, further in accordance with a determination
that the task was performed successfully, the electronic device
displays a task success animation. In some examples, the task
success animation includes a shape (e.g., square, circle) being
"checked off" (1616).
[0540] The operations described above with reference to FIG. 17 are
optionally implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B,
and 7A-C. For example, the operations of method 1900 may be
implemented by any device (or component thereof) described herein,
including but not limited to, devices 104, 200, 400, 600 and 1600.
It would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how
other processes are implemented based on the components depicted in
FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C.
[0541] As described with respect to FIG. 12, an electronic device
may provide suggestions based on context of the electronic device.
In some instances, however, it may be desirable to provide task
suggestions using other types of information as well (e.g.,
user-specific information). By way of example, information
indicating a user's progress in a queue (e.g., TV show episode
playlist) may be used in combination with context data to provide
task suggestions, as described in further detail below.
[0542] In an example operation, the electronic device may receive
information (e.g., user-specific information) from an application
(e.g., media streaming application), such as a set of media items
(e.g., content such as songs, videos, albums, playlists) identified
by the application for the user. The information may be received,
for instance, in response to an API call provided to the
application. In some examples, the application is a third-party
application (e.g., Netflix). In some examples, the application is a
remote application, such as a remote media prediction service
communicatively coupled to the electronic device over a network
such as the Internet. The information may be received at any time
prior to prediction of task suggestions.
[0543] In some examples, the set of media items includes media
items recommended for the user by the application. Items may be
recommended based on prior media items accessed by the user. As an
example, an application may recommend a current or next song in a
playlist accessed by a user. In another example, an application may
recommend items related to previously accessed media items, such as
media items sharing a same category as the previously accessed
media items. Categories may include, for instance, genre (e.g.,
hip-hop), decade (e.g., 90's), activity (e.g., study, workout),
mood (e.g., happy), holiday (e.g., Christmas).
[0544] In some examples, the set of media items is provided as a
list of media items. In some examples, the set of media items is
provided as a vector. In some examples, the set of media items is
provided in combination with playback data describing one or more
media items of the set of media items. The playback data can,
optionally, specify one or more aspects for playback of the media
items. As an example, the playback data can specify a particular
time in one or more of the media items (e.g., a time at which a
user ceased playback of a media item). As another example, the
playback data can specify a language for playback and/or whether
subtitles are to be displayed. As yet another example, the playback
data can indicate a resolution and/or bitrate for playback of the
media item.
[0545] While description is made herein with respect to the
electronic device receiving a set of media items from an
application, it will be appreciated that the electronic device can
receive any number of sets of media items from any number of
applications. Sets of media items received in the manner described
(e.g., in response to an API call) may be received periodically
and/or in response to an event. In some examples, the electronic
device requests one or more sets of media items prior to
selectively providing task suggestions.
[0546] In some examples, once the electronic device has received
the set of media items, the electronic device determines whether to
provide one or more task suggestions based the set of media items
and/or context data of the electronic device, as described with
reference to FIG. 12.
[0547] As an example, in addition to receiving the set of media
items, the electronic device receives context data associated with
the electronic device, and based on the set of media items and
context data, determines one or more tasks. At least one of the one
or more tasks may, for instance, correspond to playback of a media
item of the set of media items. In some examples, one or more
parameters of tasks corresponding to playback of a media item may
be based on the playback data. By way of example, the task may
correspond to playback of the media item at a particular time.
[0548] Thereafter, the electronic device determines whether any of
the one or more tasks satisfy suggestion criteria, as described.
For each of the one or more tasks satisfying the suggestion
criteria, the electronic device provides a task suggestion and
displays, on a display of the electronic device, a suggestion
affordance corresponding to the task suggestion, as described.
[0549] As another example, the electronic device determines a task
and selectively modifies the task using the one or more media
items. For instance, in addition to receiving the set of media
items, the electronic device receives context data and determines a
task based on the context data. If the task corresponds to playback
of a media item, the task may be modified to include a media item
of the set of media items and/or a parameter of a media item of the
plurality of media items. In some examples, the task is modified
before determining whether the task satisfies suggestion criteria.
In some examples, the task is modified after determining whether
the task satisfies suggestion criteria.
[0550] FIGS. 18A-18D illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
providing media item suggestion affordances on an electronic device
(e.g., device 104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device
700), in accordance with some embodiments. The user interfaces in
these figures are used to illustrate the processes described below,
including the processes in FIG. 19.
[0551] FIG. 18A illustrates an electronic device 1800 (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the
non-limiting exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 18A-18D,
electronic device 1800 is a smartphone. In other embodiments,
electronic device 1800 can be a different type of electronic
device, such as a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch). In some
examples, electronic device 1800 has a display 1801, one or more
input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display 1801, a button, a
microphone), and a wireless communication radio. In some examples,
the electronic device 1800 includes a plurality of cameras. In some
examples, the electronic device includes only one camera. In some
examples, the electronic device includes one or more biometric
sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 1803) which, optionally, include a
camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a
combination thereof.
[0552] In FIG. 18A, the electronic device 1800 displays, on display
1801, a locked screen interface, such as the locked screen
interface 1804, while the electronic device is in an unlocked
state. The locked screen interface 1804 includes a suggestion
affordance 1806 and a notification 1808. In some examples,
selection of the selection affordance 1806 causes the electronic
device 1800 to selectively perform a task associated with the
suggestion affordance, as described with respect to FIGS. 8A-8AF.
Suggestion affordance 1806 corresponds to a task for playback of a
media item (e.g., Episode 3 of Season 2 of Silicon Valley) in a
media playback application (e.g., TV app). In some examples,
selection of the notification 1808 causes the electronic device to
open an application associated with the notification.
[0553] In some examples, in response to selection of the suggestion
affordance 1806, for instance by user input 1814, the electronic
device 1800 performs the task. As illustrated in FIG. 16B, the
electronic device 1800 initiates playback of the media item
associated with suggestion affordance 1806 (e.g., Episode 3 of
Season 2 of Silicon Valley).
[0554] In some examples, suggestion affordances may be displayed on
a search screen and/or searchable using a searching function of the
electronic device. In FIG. 18C, for example, the electronic device
1800 displays a search interface 1820. While displaying the search
interface 1820, in response to entry of a search string (e.g.,
"S"), the electronic device 1800 returns search results, including
suggestion affordances 1822, 1828, 1832, contact results 1834, and
mail results 1836. In some examples, suggestion affordances are
presented above all other results. Accordingly, suggestion
affordances 1822, 1828, and 1832 are presented above contact
results 1834 and mail results 1836 in the search interface
1820.
[0555] In some examples, suggestion affordances corresponding to
tasks for playback of media items are displayed in a manner
different than other suggestion affordances. As illustrated in FIG.
18C, for instance, the suggestion affordance 1822 includes media
icon 1824 and playback glyph 1826. In some examples, icon 1824 may
be relatively large relative to icons of other suggestion
affordances (e.g., icon 1830 of suggestion affordance 1828, icon
1834 of suggestion affordance 1832). Icon 1824 further may include
an image associated with the media item, such as a video frame.
Playback glyph 1826 may indicate that suggestion affordance 1822
corresponds to task corresponding to a media task category.
[0556] In some examples, in response to selection of the suggestion
affordance 1822, for instance by user input 1836, the electronic
device 1800 displays an expanded interface 1850 associated with
suggestion affordance 1822. In some examples, user input 1836 is a
touch input of a predetermined type (e.g., touch input satisfying a
threshold intensity or duration). With reference to FIG. 18D, the
expanded interface 1850 includes suggestion affordance 1838, which
in some examples, corresponds to suggestion interface 1822. In some
examples, suggestion affordance 1838 includes an icon 1840 that
corresponds to icon 1824 and a playback glyph 1842 that corresponds
to icon 1826. In some examples, icon 1840 includes an image
associated with the media item, such as a video frame. In some
examples icons 1822 and 1840 include a same image. In some
examples, icon 1840 of suggestion affordance 1838 is larger than
icon 1824. In some examples, display of the expanded view interface
1850 causes one or more portions of the display of the electronic
device 1800 to be blurred, darkened, and/or otherwise obscured.
[0557] FIG. 19 illustrates method 1900 for providing media item
suggestions, according to various examples. Method 1900 is
performed, for example, using one or more electronic devices
implementing a digital assistant. In some examples, method 1900 is
performed using a client-server system (e.g., system 100), and the
blocks of method 1900 are divided up in any manner between the
server (e.g., DA server 106) and a client device. In other
examples, the blocks of method 1900 are divided up between the
server and multiple client devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a
smart watch). Thus, while portions of method 1900 are described
herein as being performed by particular devices of a client-server
system, it will be appreciated that method 1900 is not so limited.
In other examples, method 1900 is performed using only a client
device (e.g., user device 104) or only multiple client devices. In
method 1900, some blocks are, optionally, combined, the order of
some blocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are,
optionally, omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be
performed in combination with the method 1900.
[0558] As described below, selectively providing suggestion
affordances corresponding to tasks, as described herein, allows a
user to efficiently and conveniently perform tasks relevant to the
user on the electronic device. By way of example, suggestion
affordances displayed by the electronic device can correspond to
tasks identified based on media consumption and/or determined media
preferences of the user. Thus, selectively providing suggestions in
this manner decreases the number of inputs and amount of time
needed for the user to operate the electronic device (e.g., by
helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing user
mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,
additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of the
device.
[0559] In some examples, the electronic device includes one or more
of a keyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and touch-sensitive
surface. In some examples, the display is a touch-sensitive
display. In other examples, the display is not a touch-sensitive
display.
[0560] At block 1905, the electronic device receives a plurality of
media items from an application. In some examples, the electronic
device requests the plurality of media items from the application
(e.g., third-party application) using an API call. In some
examples, in response to the API call, the application returns a
list (e.g., vector) of upcoming media items recommended by the
application for the user. In some examples, media items received in
this manner can include albums, songs, TV shows, episodes (or
playlists of any combination thereof. In some examples, receiving a
plurality of media items from an application includes receiving a
vector including the plurality of media items from the application.
In some examples, each media item is a container that includes
information about a respective media item or set of media items. In
some examples, receiving a plurality of media items from an
application includes, while displaying another application
different from the application, receiving the plurality of media
items. In some examples, prior to receiving a plurality of media
items from an application, the electronic device requests the
plurality of media items from the application. In some examples,
media items are requested/received at the time suggestions are
predicted. In some examples, media items are requested/received
when application is opened and/or closed by user. In some examples,
the plurality of media items are received from a remote application
(e.g., remote media prediction service). In some examples, the
plurality of media items is received prior to an event causing the
electronic device to selectively provide a prediction.
[0561] At block 1910, the electronic device receives context data
associated with the electronic device. In some examples, the
electronic device receives context information of the electronic
device. Context information received in this manner can include
location of the electronic, time of day, day of week, etc.
[0562] At block 1915, the electronic device determines a task based
on the plurality of media items and the context data. In some
examples, the task is a task for playback of a media item of the
plurality of media items. In some examples, the task specifies a
particular playback time. In some examples, the task can specify
that playback of a media item is initiated at a particular point in
the media item (e.g., 1:02). In some examples, the electronic
device generates a plurality of suggestions, as described. If one
or more the suggested tasks correspond to a media item in the
requested list, one or more tasks for playback of the respective
media items are provided.
[0563] Determining tasks (e.g., task probabilities, parameter
probabilities) based on context of the electronic device and the
plurality of media items ensures that task suggestions provided by
the electronic device, as described herein, are provided based not
only on previous usage of the electronic device by a user, but also
intuitive and relevant predictions as to future behavior in the
media domain. This in turn ensures that the user is provided with
salient task suggestions that have a relatively high likelihood of
accelerating user behavior. Thus, providing suggestions in this
manner decreases the number of inputs and amount of time needed for
the user to operate the electronic device (e.g., by helping the
user to provide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes when
operating/interacting with the device), which, additionally,
reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device.
[0564] At block 1920, the electronic device determines whether the
task satisfies suggestion criteria. In some examples, the
electronic device determines whether any of the identified tasks,
given the context data and current context of the electronic
device, satisfy a probabilistic threshold such that the electronic
device should provide one or more of the tasks as a suggestion.
[0565] At block 1925, in accordance with a determination that the
task satisfies the suggestion criteria, the electronic device
displays, on a display of the electronic device, a suggestion
affordance (1806) corresponding to the task.
[0566] At block 1930, in accordance with a determination that the
task does not satisfy the suggestion criteria, the electronic
device forgoes displaying the suggestion affordance.
[0567] In some examples, the task is a first task and the
suggestion affordance is a first suggestion affordance. In some
examples, the electronic device determines a second task based on
the context data, determines whether the second task satisfies
suggestion criteria, in accordance with a determination that the
second task satisfies the suggestion criteria, displays, on the
display, a second suggestion affordance corresponding to the second
task, and in accordance with a determination that the second task
does not satisfy the suggestion criteria, forgoes displaying the
second suggestion affordance.
[0568] In some examples, the application is a first application and
the task is associated with the first application and the
suggestion affordance is associated with a second application
different than the first application. In some examples, when
generating a suggestion of a task for a media item, the electronic
device simulates a replica of the application for the suggestion
affordance. In this manner, the electronic device may display
playback controls and/or a playlist for the suggestion without
overwriting currently playing items and/or queues of the
application. In some examples, if the user selects the suggestion,
the electronic device will initiate playback of the application
using the suggested media item(s).
[0569] In some examples, a second electronic device determines,
with the application (e.g., a remote media prediction service), one
or more media items previously played on the electronic device, and
generates the plurality of media items based on the determined one
or more media items. In some examples, the electronic device
determines one or more media items played back on any number of
devices, for instance, associated with a same user. In this manner,
media used to make suggestions is consistent across all devices of
the user. In some examples, media items are received from a backend
server communicatively coupled to the electronic device. In some
examples, generating the plurality of media items includes
identifying a category of at least one of the one or more media
items previously played on the electronic device (e.g., genre,
decade, activity, mood, holiday) and identifying a media item
associated with the identified category.
[0570] The operations described above with reference to FIG. 19 are
optionally implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B,
and 7A-C. For example, the operations of method 1900 may be
implemented by any device (or component thereof) described herein,
including but not limited to, devices 104, 200, 400, 600 and 1800.
It would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how
other processes are implemented based on the components depicted in
FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C.
[0571] FIGS. 20A-20N illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
providing voice shortcuts on an electronic device (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700), in
accordance with some embodiments. The user interfaces in these
figures are used to illustrate the processes described below,
including the processes in FIGS. 11A-B.
[0572] Generally, user interfaces described with reference to FIGS.
20A-20N may be employed such that a user can associate tasks with
respective user-specific phrases. These phrases may in turn be used
to cause the electronic device to perform the associated tasks.
[0573] FIG. 20A illustrates an electronic device 2000 (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the
non-limiting exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 20A-20N,
electronic device 2000 is a smartphone. In other embodiments,
electronic device 2000 can be a different type of electronic
device, such as a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch). In some
examples, electronic device 2000 has a display 2001, one or more
input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display 2001, a button, a
microphone), and a wireless communication radio. In some examples,
the electronic device 2000 includes a plurality of cameras. In some
examples, the electronic device includes only one camera. In some
examples, the electronic device includes one or more biometric
sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 2003) which, optionally, include a
camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a
combination thereof.
[0574] In FIG. 20A, the electronic device 2000 displays, on display
2001, a settings interface 2004. The settings interface 2004
includes a candidate task portion 2006 and additional tasks
affordance 2014. The candidate task portion 2006 includes candidate
task affordances 2008, 2010, and 2012. In some examples, if one or
more candidate task affordances are associated with a respective
task, settings interface 2004 includes a user shortcuts affordance
2005.
[0575] In some examples, while displaying the settings interface
2004, the electronic device 2000 detects selection of the
additional tasks affordance 2014. As shown in FIG. 20A, the
selection of the additional tasks affordance 2014 is a tap gesture
2016A. In some examples, in response to selection of the shortcut
affordance 2014, the electronic device 2000 displays (e.g.,
replaces display of the settings interface 2004 with), on the
display 2001, global task interface 2018, as shown in FIG. 20B.
[0576] Global task interface 2018 includes, for each of a plurality
of applications, a respective set of candidate task affordances. By
way of example, global task interface 2018 includes a set of
candidate task affordances 2020 associated with an activity
application, a set of candidate task affordances 2026 associated
with a calendar application, and a set of candidate task
affordances 2036 associated with a music application. The set of
candidate task affordances 2020 can, optionally, include a "Start
Workout" candidate task affordance 2022 and a "View Daily Progress"
candidate task affordance 2024. The set of candidate task
affordances 2026 can, optionally, include a "Send Lunch invitation"
candidate task affordance 2028, a "Schedule Meeting" candidate task
affordance 2030, and a "Clear Events for a Day" candidate task
affordance 2032. The set of candidate task affordances 2036 can,
optionally, include a "Play Workout Playlist" candidate task
affordance 2038 and a "Start R&B Radio" candidate task
affordance 2040.
[0577] In some examples, each set of candidate task affordances
displayed by the electronic device 2000 may be a subset of all
available candidate task affordances for a respective application.
Accordingly, the user may select an application task list
affordance, such as application-specific task list affordances
2034, 2042, to reveal one or more additional candidate task
affordances for an application corresponding to the application
task list affordance. For example, while displaying the global task
interface 2018, the electronic device 2000 detects selection of
application task list affordance 2042. As shown in FIG. 20C, the
selection of application task list affordance 2042 is a tap gesture
2050.
[0578] In some examples, in response to selection of the
application task list affordance 2042, the electronic device 2000
displays (e.g., replaces display of the global task interface 2018
with), on the display 2001, application task interface 2052 (for a
respective application, e.g., music), as shown in FIG. 20D. As
shown, application task interface 2052 includes a return affordance
2072, which when selected, causes the electronic device 2000 to
display the global task interface 2018, a set of candidate task
affordances 2046 associated with the application of the global task
interface 2018, and a set of candidate task affordances 2048
associated with the application of the global task interface
2018.
[0579] In some examples, the set of candidate task affordances 2046
corresponds to candidate tasks suggested (e.g., generated), for
instance, based on context of the electronic device. For example,
the set of candidate task affordances 2046 can, optionally, include
a "Play Workout Playlist" candidate task affordance 2054, a "Start
R&B Radio" candidate task affordance 2056, and a "Play Road
Trip Playlist" candidate task affordance 2058, each of which is
suggested and/or ranked accordingly to context of the electronic
device 2000.
[0580] In some examples, the set of candidate task affordances 2048
corresponds to candidate tasks for recently performed using the
respective application. For example, the set of candidate task
affordances 2048 can, optionally, include a "Play Sleep Sounds"
candidate task affordance 2060, a "Start Jazz Radio" candidate task
affordance 2061, a "Play Dinner Playlist" candidate task affordance
2063, a "Start Pop Radio" candidate task affordance 2065, and a
"Play Dance Party Playlist" candidate task affordance 2067, each of
which is suggested and/or ranked accordingly to tasks recently
performed using the music application, and, optionally, one or more
other applications.
[0581] In some examples, a voice shortcut generation process may be
initiated using an application interface, such as a third party
application interface. As illustrated in FIG. 20E, for instance,
during use of an application, the application may display an
application interface 2060 including a candidate task suggestion
affordance 2062. In some examples, in response to selection of
candidate task suggestion affordance 2062, the electronic device
initiates a voice shortcut generation process, as shown below in
FIGS. 20F-20K.
[0582] For example, in response to selection of the candidate task
suggestion affordance 2062, the electronic device displays (e.g.,
replaces display of the application interface 2060 with), on the
display 2001, a task-specific interface. The task-specific
interface is associated with a task of the selected candidate task
affordance in some examples. The task may be a task available to
the user and/or recently performed by the user, for instance, using
the application. By way of example, while displaying the
application interface 2060, the electronic device 2000 detects
selection of the candidate task affordance 2062. In some examples,
the selection is a tap gesture 2064 on the candidate task
affordance 2062. As shown in FIG. 20F, in response to detecting tap
gesture 2064, the electronic device 2000 displays the task-specific
interface 2066. The task-specific interface 2066 may be associated
with a task of the candidate task affordance 2062 (e.g., Order
large latte).
[0583] Task-specific interface 2066 includes task indicator 2068,
application indicator 2070, candidate phrase 2072, and record
affordance 2074. In some examples, task indicator 2068 indicates a
name and/or type of the task. In some examples, task indicator 2068
includes a description of the task and/or indicates that a user may
record a command or phrase to be linked with the task. In some
examples, application indicator 2070 identifies an application
corresponding to the task. The application indicator 2070 may, for
instance, include a name of the application and/or an icon
associated with the application. Candidate phrase 2072 includes a
suggested phrase that the user may elect to associate with the
task.
[0584] While displaying the task-specific interface 2066, the
electronic device 2000 detects selection of the record affordance
2074. As shown in FIG. 20G, selection of the record affordance 2074
is a tap gesture 2076. In response to selection of the record
affordance 2074, the electronic device displays (e.g., replaces
display of the task-specific interface 2066 with), on the display
2001, a record interface 2078.
[0585] With reference to FIG. 20H, record interface 2078 includes
cancel affordance 2080, preview 2082, and stop affordance 2084. In
some examples, in response to selection of the cancel affordance
2080, the electronic device ceases display of the record interface
2078 and, optionally, terminates the voice shortcut generation
process, thereafter returning operation to (e.g., displaying) the
application.
[0586] In some examples, while displaying the record interface
2078, the electronic device 2000 receives, using an audio input
device (e.g., microphone) of the electronic device 2000, a
natural-language speech input from a user. In some examples, while
receiving the natural-language speech input, the electronic device
2000 provides a live preview of the natural-language speech input,
such as the live preview 2082. As shown in FIG. 20H, the live
preview 2082 is, in some examples, a visual waveform indicative of
one or more auditory characteristics of the natural-language speech
input.
[0587] In some examples, while receiving the natural-language
speech input, the electronic device 2000 performs speech-to-text
translation (e.g., natural-language speech processing) on the
natural-language speech input to provide a candidate phrase 2086.
Because the speech-to-text translation is performed while the
natural-language speech input is received, the candidate phrase
2086 may be iteratively and/or continuously updated while the
natural-language speech input is received.
[0588] In some examples, the electronic device 2000 ensures that
the candidate phrase is different than one or more predetermined
phrases (e.g., "call 911"). By way of example, the electronic
device 2000 determines whether a similarity between the candidate
phrase and each of the one or more predetermined phrases exceeds a
similarity threshold. If the similarity threshold is not met, the
electronic device 2000 will notify the user that the provided
candidate phrase is not sufficient and/or not permitted. The
electronic device 2000 further may request that the user provide
another natural-language speech input.
[0589] While displaying the record interface 2078, the electronic
device 2000 detects selection of the stop affordance 2084. As shown
in FIG. 20I, selection of the stop affordance 2084 is a tap gesture
2088. In response to selection of the stop affordance 2084, the
electronic device 2000 displays (e.g., replaces display of the
record interface 2078 with), on the display 2001, a completion
interface 2090, as shown in FIG. 20J.
[0590] The completion interface 2090 includes a completion
affordance 2092, cancel affordance 2094, task indicator 2096,
application indicator 2098, candidate phrase 2002A, and re-record
affordance 2004A. In some examples, in response to selection of the
cancel affordance 2094, the electronic device 2000 ceases display
of the completion interface 2090 and, optionally, terminates the
voice shortcut generation process. In some examples, task indicator
2096 indicates a name and/or type of the task. In some examples,
application indicator 2098 identifies the application corresponding
to the task. The application indicator may, for instance, include a
name of the application and/or an icon associated with the
application. Candidate phrase 2002A is a suggested phrase that the
user may elect to associate with the task.
[0591] In some examples, while displaying the completion interface
2090, the electronic device 2000 detects selection of the
completion affordance 2092. As shown in FIG. 20J, selection of the
completion affordance 2092 is a tap gesture 2004A. In response to
selection of the completion affordance 2092, the electronic device
2000 associates the candidate phrase with the task of the candidate
task affordance 2062. By associating the candidate phrase with the
task in this manner, the user may provide (e.g., speak) the
candidate phrase to a digital assistant of the electronic device to
cause the device to perform the task associated with the candidate
phrase. Candidate phrases associated with respective tasks may be
referred to as voice shortcuts herein. In some examples, further in
response to selection of the completion affordance 2092, the
electronic device 2000 displays (e.g., replaces display of the
completion interface 2090 with), on the display 2001, the
application interface 2060, as shown in FIG. 20K. Because the
candidate task affordance 2062 has been associated with a candidate
phrase, the candidate task affordance 2062 includes a phrase
indicator 2006A indicating the candidate phrase that has been
associated with the task for the candidate task affordance
2062.
[0592] In some examples, a user may provide natural-language inputs
using text inputs. The user may, for instance, enable one or more
accessibility features that enables text entry in addition to, or
in lieu of, speech inputs. In some examples, text inputs may be
used to associate tasks with a particular phrase and/or,
subsequently, to cause the electronic device to perform one or more
tasks associated with the phrase.
[0593] By way of example, as described with respect to FIG. 20E, in
response to selection of the candidate task suggestion affordance
2062, the electronic device displays (e.g., replaces display of the
application interface 2060 with), on the display 2001, a
task-specific interface. As shown in FIG. 20L, in response to
detecting a tap gesture (e.g., tap gesture 2064), the electronic
device 2000 displays the task-specific interface 2008A. The
task-specific interface 2008A may be associated with a task of the
candidate task affordance 2062 (e.g., Order large latte).
[0594] Task-specific interface 2008A includes task indicator 2010A,
application indicator 2012A, candidate phrase 2014A, and text entry
affordance 2016A. In some examples, task indicator 2010A indicates
a name and/or type of the task. In some examples, task indicator
2010A includes a description of the task and/or indicates that a
user may record a command or phrase to be linked with the task. In
some examples, application indicator 2012A identifies an
application corresponding to the task. The application indicator
2012A may, for instance, include a name of the application and/or
an icon associated with the application. Candidate phrase 2014A
includes a suggested phrase that the user may elect to associate
with the task.
[0595] While displaying the task-specific interface 2008A, the
electronic device 2000 detects selection of the text entry
affordance 2016A. As shown in FIG. 20L, selection of the text entry
affordance 2016A is a tap gesture 2018A. In contrast to selection
of the record affordance 2074 (FIG. 20F), the electronic device
2000, in response to selection of the record affordance 2074,
displays (e.g., replaces display of the task-specific interface
2008A with), on the display 2001, a text entry interface 2020A.
[0596] With reference to FIG. 20M, text entry interface 2020A
includes cancel affordance 2022A, preview 2024A, and completion
affordance 2026A. In some examples, in response to selection of the
cancel affordance 2022A, the electronic device 2000 ceases display
of the text entry interface 2020A and, optionally, terminates the
shortcut generation process, thereafter returning operation to
(e.g., displaying) the application.
[0597] In some examples, while displaying the text entry interface
2020A, the electronic device 2000 receives, using a text entry
device (e.g., keyboard, soft keyboard) of the electronic device
2000, a natural-language text input from a user. In some examples,
while receiving the natural-language text input, the electronic
device 2000 provides a preview of the natural-language text input,
such as the preview 2024A, displaying text the user has entered at
a given time.
[0598] In some examples, the electronic device 2000 ensures that
the candidate phrase is different than one or more predetermined
phrases (e.g., "call 911"). By way of example, the electronic
device 2000 determines whether a similarity between the phrase and
each of the one or more predetermined phrases exceeds a similarity
threshold. If the similarity threshold is not met, the electronic
device 2000 will notify the user that the provided candidate phrase
is not sufficient and/or not permitted. The electronic device 2000
further may request that the user provide another natural-language
text input.
[0599] While displaying the text entry interface 2020A, the
electronic device 2000 detects selection of the completion
affordance 2026A. As shown in FIG. 20M, selection of the completion
affordance 2026A is a tap gesture 2028A. In response to selection
of the completion affordance 2026A, the electronic device 2000
displays (e.g., replaces display of the text entry interface 2020A
with), on the display 2001, a completion interface 2028A, as shown
in FIG. 20N.
[0600] The completion interface 2028A includes a completion
affordance 2030A, cancel affordance 2032A, task indicator 2034A,
application indicator 2036A, phrase 2038A, and reentry affordance
2040A. In some examples, in response to selection of the cancel
affordance 2032A, the electronic device 2000 ceases display of the
completion interface 2030A and, optionally, terminates the shortcut
generation process. In some examples, task indicator 2034A
indicates a name and/or type of the task. In some examples,
application indicator 2036A identifies the application
corresponding to the task. The application indicator may, for
instance, include a name of the application and/or an icon
associated with the application. Phrase 2038A is the phrase entered
by the user during display of the text entry interface 2020A that
the user may elect to associate with the task.
[0601] In some examples, while displaying the completion interface
2028A, the electronic device 2000 detects selection of the
completion affordance 2030A. As shown in FIG. 20N, selection of the
completion affordance 2030A is a tap gesture 2042A. In response to
selection of the completion affordance 2030A, the electronic device
2000 associates the phrase 2038A with the task of the candidate
task affordance 2062. By associating the phrase 2038A with the task
in this manner, the user may provide (e.g., textually input) the
phrase to a digital assistant of the electronic device to cause the
device to perform the task associated with the phrase. In some
examples, further in response to selection of the completion
affordance 2030A, the electronic device 2000 displays (e.g.,
replaces display of the completion interface 2028A with), on the
display 2001, the application interface 2060, as shown in FIG. 20K.
Because the candidate task affordance 2062 has been associated with
a phrase, the candidate task affordance 2062 includes a phrase
indicator 2006A indicating the phrase that has been associated with
the task for the candidate task affordance 2062.
[0602] FIGS. 21A-21F illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
performing a task using a digital assistant, in accordance with
some embodiments. The user interfaces in these figures are used to
illustrate the processes described below, including the processes
in FIGS. 11A-B.
[0603] Generally, user interfaces described with reference to FIGS.
21A-21E may be employed such that a user can associate tasks with
respective user-specific phrases. These phrases may in turn be used
to cause the electronic device to perform the associated tasks.
[0604] FIG. 21A illustrates an electronic device 2100 (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the
non-limiting exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 21A-21E,
electronic device 2100 is a smartphone. In other embodiments,
electronic device 2100 can be a different type of electronic
device, such as a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch). In some
examples, electronic device 2100 has a display 2101, one or more
input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display 2101, a button, a
microphone), and a wireless communication radio. In some examples,
the electronic device 2100 includes a plurality of cameras. In some
examples, the electronic device includes only one camera. In some
examples, the electronic device includes one or more biometric
sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 2103) which, optionally, include a
camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a
combination thereof.
[0605] In FIG. 21A, the electronic device 2100 displays, on display
2101, a digital assistant interface (e.g., conversational
interface), such as the digital assistant interface 2104. While
displaying the digital assistant interface 2104, the electronic
device 2100 receives (e.g., obtains, captures) a natural-language
input 2106 (e.g., "Hey Siri, order my groceries."). In some
examples, the natural-language input 2106 is a natural-language
speech input received, for instance, using an input device of the
electronic device (e.g., microphone). As shown in FIG. 21A, in some
examples in which the natural-language input 2106 is a
natural-language speech input, the digital assistant interface
optionally includes a preview 2108 (e.g., live preview) of the
natural-language input 2106.
[0606] In other examples, the natural-language input 2106 is a text
input, such as the natural-language text input 2109 of FIG. 21B. In
some examples, a text field 2111 is displayed in response to
selection of a text entry affordance, and a user may enter the
natural-language text input 2109 in the text field 2111.
Thereafter, a user may confirm entry of the natural-language text
input 2109 for instance, by selecting a submit affordance 2142. A
user may select the submit affordance 2142 using a tap gesture 2144
in some examples.
[0607] In some examples, in response to the natural-language input,
the electronic device 2100 performs a task. By way of example, as
described with reference to FIG. 14, the electronic device 2100 may
determine whether the natural-language input matches a
predetermined phrase, and if so, perform a task corresponding to
the phrase. If the task does not corresponding to the phrase,
natural-language processing may be used to determine a task
associated with the natural-language input, and the electronic
device 2100 may perform the task.
[0608] In some examples, prior to performing the task, the
electronic device 2100 provides an output, such as the output 2132.
In some examples, the output 2132 is a natural-language output
(e.g., natural-language speech output, natural-language text
output) and includes information associated with the task. By way
of example, the output 2132 may indicate that the electronic device
is initiating performance of the task (e.g., "I'll handle that
now"), and/or that the task requires confirmation (e.g., "You'll
need to confirm."). In some examples, the output 2132 further may
request confirmation from the user (e.g., "Ready to order?"). The
user may confirm the task using any form of user input, including a
speech input or a touch input.
[0609] In some examples, performing a task may include causing an
application to perform the task. Accordingly, in some examples,
prior to performing the task, the electronic device 2100 identifies
an application to perform the task and confirms that the
application is capable of performing the task. Optionally, in
response to the confirmation, the electronic device receives, from
the application, a response indicating whether the application can
successfully perform the task. In some examples, the response
provided by an application includes a natural-language expression
that may in turn be included in an output. In this manner, the
application, by way of the digital assistant, may indicate whether
the application is capable of performing the task and/or provide
additional information about performance of the task to a user. In
the example illustrated in FIG. 21C, for instance, the electronic
device 2100 provides the output 2132 including a natural language
expression 2134 received from the Grocery Store application (e.g.,
"It will be $58.31").
[0610] In some examples, the electronic device 2100 can display a
confirmation interface, such as the confirmation interface 2110, to
request confirmation. The confirmation interface 2110 includes a
confirmation affordance 2112, a cancel affordance 2114, and an
application affordance 2116. The confirmation interface further may
include content 2118 associated with the task. In some examples,
selection of the cancel affordance 2114 causes the electronic
device 2100 to cease display of the confirmation interface 2110
and/or forgo performing the identified task. In some examples,
selection of the application affordance 2116 causes the electronic
device 2100 to open an application associated with the task. As
described, opening the application in this manner may cause the
application to be preloaded with one or more parameters associated
with the task. Content 2118 may include information directed to the
task, such as one or more parameters to be used to perform the
task. As illustrated in FIG. 21C, for instance, content 2118 may
specify that the task is directed to ordering a set of grocery
items included in the group "My Grocery List", the number of items
to be ordered, a delivery address, and a time window in which the
delivery is to be made. Optionally, confirmation interface 2110
includes an icon (e.g., image, GIF) associated with the application
of the task to help a user more readily identify the application
performing the task.
[0611] In some examples, in response to selection of the
confirmation affordance 2112, for instance by user input 2120, the
electronic device 2100 performs the task. As illustrated in FIG.
21D, in some examples, while the electronic device is performing
the task, the electronic device 2100 displays a progress indicator
2115 indicating that the task is being performed. In some examples,
display of the progress indicator 2115 replaces display of the
confirmation affordance 2112 and the cancel affordance 2114.
[0612] Once task has been performed, the electronic device 2100
provides an output indicating whether the task was performed
successfully. In the example of FIG. 21E, the task is performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device 2100 displays
a success indicator 2117, indicating that the task was successfully
performed. In some examples, display of the success indicator 2117
replaces display of the progress indicator 2115.
[0613] In the example of FIG. 21F, the task is not performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device displays
failure interface 2121. The failure interface 2121 includes a retry
affordance 2122, a cancel affordance 2124, and application
affordances 2126, 2128. The failure interface further includes
content 2130. In some examples, selection of the retry affordance
2122 causes the electronic device 2100 to perform the task again.
In some examples, selection of the cancel affordance causes the
electronic device 2100 to cease display of the failure interface
2120. In some examples, selection of either the application
affordance 2126 or application affordance 2128 causes the
electronic device 2100 to open an application associated with the
task. As described, opening the application in this manner may
cause the application to be preloaded with one or more parameters
associated with the task. Content 2130 may include information
directed to the task, such as one or more parameters used to
perform the task. In some examples, content 2130 is the same
content as content 2118. In some examples, content 2130 is
different than content 2118. Content 2130 may, for example,
indicate that the electronic device failed to perform the task
successfully (e.g., "There was a problem. Please try again.").
[0614] In some examples, after causing an application to perform a
task, the electronic device 2100 receives a response from the
application indicating whether the task was performed successfully.
In some examples, the response provided by an application
optionally includes a natural-language expression that may in turn
be used by the electronic device 2100 to indicate whether a task
was successfully performed and/or provide additional information,
from the application, to a user. In the example illustrated in FIG.
21F, the electronic device 2100 receives a response from the
Grocery Store application including the natural-language expression
2142 (e.g., "Open app to enter credit card information"), which is
in turn provided in the output 2140 (e.g., "The Grocery Store says
`Open app to enter credit card information`").
[0615] FIGS. 22A-220 illustrate exemplary user interfaces for
performing a set of tasks on an electronic device (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, device 700), in accordance
with some embodiments. The user interfaces in these figures are
used to illustrate the processes described below, including the
processes in FIG. 23.
[0616] FIG. 22A illustrates an electronic device 2200 (e.g., device
104, device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the
non-limiting exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 22A-220,
electronic device 2200 is a smartphone. In other embodiments,
electronic device 2200 can be a different type of electronic
device, such as a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch). In some
examples, electronic device 2200 has a display 2201, one or more
input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display 2201, a button, a
microphone), and a wireless communication radio. In some examples,
the electronic device 2200 includes a plurality of cameras. In some
examples, the electronic device includes only one camera. In some
examples, the electronic device includes one or more biometric
sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 2203) which, optionally, include a
camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a
combination thereof.
[0617] In FIG. 22A, the electronic device 2200 displays, on display
2201, an application interface 2204. The application interface 2204
may correspond to a task management application in some examples.
As shown, the application interface 2204 includes a plurality of
shortcut affordances, each of which may correspond to a respective
set of tasks. By way of example, the application interface 2204
includes a shortcut affordance "Find ATMs", "Create Note", "Email
me", "Text Mom", "Text Jane", "Cookie Timer", "Email John", "Home
ETA", and "Work ETA".
[0618] In some examples, while displaying the application interface
2204, the electronic device 2200 detects selection of a shortcut
affordance, such as shortcut affordance 2206 ("Home ETA"). As shown
in FIG. 22A, the selection of the shortcut affordance 2206 is a tap
gesture 2208. In some examples, in response to selection of the
shortcut affordance 2206, the electronic device 2200 displays
(e.g., replaces display of the application interface 2204 with), on
the display 2001, shortcut-specific interface 2210, as shown in
FIG. 22B.
[0619] Shortcut-specific interface 2210 includes shortcut indicator
2211, parameter 2212, tasks 2214-2218, search field 2222, and
execute affordance 2224. In some examples, shortcut indicator 2211
indicates a name of the shortcut. In some examples, tasks 2214-2218
are tasks associated with the shortcut of the shortcut-specific
interface 2210, and parameter 2212 is a parameter for a task, such
as the task 2216. In some examples, the order in which each of the
tasks are shown indicates the sequence in which the tasks are
performed when the shortcut is performed. In some examples, each of
the tasks includes a delete affordance 2219, which when selected,
causes the corresponding task to be removed (e.g., deleted) from
the shortcut.
[0620] In some examples, tasks may be added to a shortcut. By way
of example, a user may input text into the search field 2222 to
search for one or more tasks that may be associated with the
shortcut. The user may thereafter set and/or adjust one or more
parameter values for the task, as described below.
[0621] In some examples, a user may modify the sequence of tasks
associated with a shortcut. By way of example, while displaying the
shortcut-specific interface 2210, the electronic device detects a
selection of a task (e.g., with a touch gesture) and displacement
of the task on the display 2201 (e.g., using a swipe gesture on the
display 2201). Accordingly, a user may "drag and drop" tasks in the
shortcut-specific interface to reorder the set of tasks.
[0622] In some examples, while displaying the shortcut-specific
interface 2210, the electronic device 2200 detects a swipe gesture
on the display 2201, such as the swipe gesture 2226 of FIG. 22C. As
shown in FIG. 22D, in response to the swipe gesture 2226, the
electronic device 2200 slides the shortcut-specific interface 2210
in a direction corresponding to the swipe gesture 2226 (e.g.,
upward) to display (e.g., reveal) a portion of the
shortcut-specific interface 2210 including one or more additional
tasks (e.g., task 2220).
[0623] In some examples, tasks are performed according to one or
more parameters associated with the task, and in some examples,
parameter values may assigned using the shortcut-specific interface
2210. By way of example, for the task 2216 in which a travel time
is determined, the user may specify a street address value for the
parameter 2212 that is to be used as a destination address when
determining a travel time. In some examples, because a destination
address is required to determine a travel time, the electronic
device 2200 may automatically include parameter 2212 in the
shortcut-specific interface 2210 in response to addition of the
task 2216 to the shortcut-specific interface 2210. As another
example, a user may specify that a dynamic value (e.g., "current
location") as a source address when determining a travel time. As
yet another example, a user may specify one or more recipients for
a task to send a message, for instance, by selecting the recipient
affordance 2232.
[0624] In some examples, settings for a task may be configured
using the shortcut-specific interface 2210. For instance, when
performing particular tasks, the electronic device 220 displays an
interface (e.g., completion interface) associated with the task.
For some tasks, such as the task 2218, a user can elect to not have
the interface shown during and/or after performance of the task
(e.g., by toggling a "Show when run" setting, such as setting
2230). In some examples, the electronic device displays an
interface for a task only when the task fails. In this manner, the
electronic device 2200 indicates that the task failed and/or the
cause of the failure.
[0625] In some examples, a task may be performed only following
performance of another task. For instance, one or more values for
parameters of a task may be specified by another preceding task
(e.g., dynamic values). By way of example, a user may specify that
for a task to determine travel time, such as the task 2214, the
source address is the current location of the electronic device.
Because the source address (i.e., current location of the
electronic device) must be determined prior to determining the
travel time, the electronic device may require that a task to
determine a current location of the electronic device be determined
prior to determining the travel time. As another example, a task to
send a message, such as the task 2218, may include one or more
values that are determined based on the result of another tasks. As
illustrated in FIG. 22D, for instance, the message for the task
2218 includes dynamic values for "current location" and "time to
home", values determined by task 2214 ("get current location") and
task 2216 ("get travel time"), respectively. As a result of such
task dependencies, in some examples, the electronic device requires
certain couplings and/or sequences of tasks according to a
plurality of task sequence rules such that each task can be
successfully performed.
[0626] As described, in some examples, a set of (e.g., one or more)
tasks associated with a shortcut are performed by the electronic
device in response to a user providing an input specifying the
shortcut. As illustrated in FIG. 22E, the electronic device 2200
displays, on display 2201, a digital assistant interface (e.g.,
conversational interface), such as the digital assistant interface
2204. While displaying the digital assistant interface 2204, the
electronic device 2200 receives (e.g., obtains, captures) a
natural-language input 2206 (e.g., "Hey Siri, Home ETA."). In some
examples, the natural-language input 2206 is a natural-language
speech input received, for instance, using an input device of the
electronic device (e.g., microphone). As shown in FIG. 22E, in some
examples in which the natural-language input 2206 is a
natural-language speech input, the digital assistant interface
optionally includes a preview 2208 (e.g., live preview) of the
natural-language input 2206. In other examples, the
natural-language input is a natural-language text input.
[0627] In some examples, the natural-language input includes a
shortcut corresponding to a set of tasks, and in response the
electronic device 2200 performs (e.g., sequentially perform) each
task of the set of tasks. As an example, in response to the input
"Home ETA", the electronic device 2200 begins to perform tasks
associated with the "Home ETA" shortcut. As described, the "Home
ETA" shortcut is associated with tasks including but not limited to
"Get current location", "Get travel time", "Send Message", and
"Play Radio".
[0628] As illustrated in FIG. 22F, in response to the
natural-language input 2206, the electronic device 2200 provides
(e.g., displays) shortcut interface 2244, which in turn includes
output 2245, application identifier 2246, task identifier 2248, and
shortcut identifier 2250. In some examples, output 2245 indicates
that the electronic device has identified a shortcut based on the
natural-language input 2206 and is initiating performance of the
shortcut. Application identifier 2246 indicates which application
is performing the shortcut. If, for instance, tasks associated with
the shortcut correspond to multiple applications, tasks of the
shortcut are performed (e.g., caused to be performed) by a task
management application. In some examples, the task management
application causes one or more other applications to perform tasks
corresponding to applications associated with the respective tasks.
If a shortcut is associated with only a single task, or, more
generally, if all tasks associated with the shortcut correspond to
a single application, the application corresponding to the task(s)
performs the shortcut. Task identifier 2248 includes an icon
corresponding to the shortcut and/or one or more specific tasks of
the shortcut. In some examples, the shortcut identifier 2250
indicates which shortcut is being initiated.
[0629] Thereafter, as illustrated in FIGS. 22G-I, the electronic
device performs each task of the set of tasks associated with the
"Home ETA" shortcut (e.g., "Get current location", "Get travel
time", "Send Message", and "Play Radio"), for instance, in a
sequence corresponding to the sequence set forth in the
shortcut-specific interface 2210. For example, the electronic
device 2200 first performs tasks 2214 and 2216 to determine a
current location of the electronic device and a travel time to a
destination address, respectively.
[0630] In some examples, one or more tasks, such as the task 2218,
require confirmation prior to performing the task. Accordingly, for
tasks requiring confirmation, the electronic device 2200 can
display a confirmation interface, such as the confirmation
interface 2254. The confirmation interface 2254 includes a
confirmation affordance 2260, a cancel affordance 2258, and an
application affordance 2266. The confirmation interface 2254
further may include content 2256 associated with the task. In some
examples, selection of the cancel affordance 2258 causes the
electronic device 2200 to cease display of the confirmation
interface 2254 and/or forgo performing the task 2218 (e.g., the
electronic device moves on to the next task in the set of tasks).
In some examples, selection of the application affordance 2266
causes the electronic device 2200 to open an application associated
with the task. As described, opening the application in this manner
may cause the application to be preloaded with one or more
parameters associated with the task. Content 2256 includes
information associated with the task, such as one or more
parameters to be used to perform the task. As illustrated in FIG.
22G, for instance, content 2256 specifies a recipient of the
message and text of the message to be delivered. In particular, the
text includes a location and a travel time, as determined by
previous tasks 2214 and 2216, respectively.
[0631] In some examples, in response to selection of the
confirmation affordance 2260, for instance by user input 2262, the
electronic device 2200 performs task 2218. Once task 2218 has been
performed, the electronic device 200 provides a response indicating
whether the task was performed successfully. In the example of FIG.
22H, the task is performed successfully, and as a result, the
electronic device 200 displays a response 2264, indicating that the
task was successfully performed. As described, in some examples,
performing a task includes causing an application to perform the
task, and optionally, receiving a response from the application
indicating whether the task was performed successfully. In some
examples, responses provided by an application includes a
natural-language expression (e.g., "message sent") that may in turn
be included in responses provided by the electronic device 2200
(e.g., "Shortcuts says: message sent").
[0632] After performing task 2218, the electronic device performs a
next task in the set of tasks associated with the shortcut "Home
ETA", task 2220, directed to initiating radio playback. In response
to performing the task 2200, the electronic device displays
completion interface 2270. Completion interface 2270 includes
output 2272, application identifier 2274, and content 2276. In some
examples, output 2272 indicates that the electronic device has
initiated performance of task 2220. Application identifier 2274
indicates which application is associated with the task. Content
2276 includes information associated with the task, such as one or
more parameters to be used to perform the task (e.g., playback is
for radio channel "News & Sports").
[0633] After performing all tasks of the set of tasks for a
shortcut, the electronic device provides a completion indicator,
such as the completion indicator 2280 (e.g., "That's done.")
signaling that all tasks of the set of tasks have been performed.
In some examples, the electronic device 2200 indicates whether all
tasks have been performed successfully, or whether one or more
tasks were not performed successfully.
[0634] In some examples, if a task is not performed successfully,
the electronic device 2200 indicates the failure to a user. As
illustrated in FIG. 22J, for example, task 2214 is not performed
successfully, and as a result, the electronic device displays
failure interface 2290. The failure interface 2290 includes failure
indicator 2292, application indicator 2294, content 2296, and
application affordance 2298. In some examples, failure indicator
2292 indicates an error occurred when performing a task ("Hmm.
Something went wrong"). The failure indicator may specify a cause
of the error in some examples. In some examples, selection of the
application affordance 2298 causes the electronic device 1600 to
open an application specified by the application indicator 2294.
Content 2296 may include information directed to the task, such as
one or more parameters used to perform the task and/or an
indication as to the cause of the task failure. Content 2296 may,
for example, indicate that the electronic device failed to perform
the task successfully (e.g., "Unable to determine current
location.").
[0635] In some examples, performing a task may include causing an
application to perform the task, and optionally, receive a response
from the application indicating whether the task was performed
successfully. In some examples, as illustrated in FIGS. 16F-16L
below, the response provided by an application includes a
natural-language expression that may in turn be used by the
electronic device 1600 to indicate whether a task was successfully
performed and/or provide additional information, from the
application, to a user.
[0636] As shown in FIGS. 22F-J, for each task performed by the
electronic device 2200, a new interface is displayed in the digital
assistant interface 2204 (e.g., conversational interface) while
maintaining display of one or more previously displayed interfaces
(e.g., display of confirmation interface 2254 is maintained during
display of response interface 2270). As additional interfaces are
displayed, previously displayed interfaces may be scrolled in an
upward directed such that the previously displayed interfaces are
no longer displayed, but may be redisplayed in response to a scroll
(e.g., swipe) gesture.
[0637] As illustrated in FIGS. 22K-O, in some examples, each time a
new interface is displayed, the electronic device 2200 ceases
display of previous interfaces. By way of example, in response to
display of completion interface 2270 the electronic device 2200
ceases display of confirmation interface 2254. In some examples,
previously displayed interfaces may be redisplayed in response to a
scroll gesture.
[0638] FIG. 23 illustrates method 2300 for performing a set of
tasks using a digital assistant, according to various examples.
Method 2300 is performed, for example, using one or more electronic
devices implementing the digital assistant. In some examples,
method 2300 is performed using a client-server system (e.g., system
100), and the blocks of method 2300 are divided up in any manner
between the server (e.g., DA server 106) and a client device. In
other examples, the blocks of method 2300 are divided up between
the server and multiple client devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a
smart watch). Thus, while portions of method 2300 are described
herein as being performed by particular devices of a client-server
system, it will be appreciated that method 2300 is not so limited.
In other examples, method 2300 is performed using only a client
device (e.g., user device 104) or only multiple client devices. In
method 2300, some blocks are, optionally, combined, the order of
some blocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are,
optionally, omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be
performed in combination with the method 2300.
[0639] Performing a set of tasks in response to user inputs
including shortcuts (e.g., voice shortcuts, text shortcuts), as
described herein, provides an intuitive and efficient approach for
sequentially performing one or more tasks on the electronic device.
By way of example, one or more tasks may be performed in response
to a single user input without any additional input from the user.
Accordingly, performing tasks in response to natural-language
speech inputs in this manner decreases the number of inputs and
amount of time needed for the user to successfully operate the
electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper
inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with
the device), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves
battery life of the device.
[0640] In some examples, the electronic device (e.g., includes one
or more of a keyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and
touch-sensitive surface. In some examples, the display is a
touch-sensitive display. In other examples, the display is not a
touch-sensitive display.
[0641] At block 2305, the electronic device (e.g., device 104,
device 122, device 200, device 600, device 700, device 2200)
receives, using a digital assistant, a user input (e.g.,
natural-language input, speech input, text input) (e.g., 2240)
including a shortcut (e.g., voice shortcut) (e.g., "Home ETA"). In
some examples, receiving the user input includes receiving a voice
input (2240) and generating a textual representation of the voice
input. In some examples, generating a textual representation of the
voice input includes performing a speech to text process on the
voice input. In some examples, the textual representation is
displayed in an interface, such as an interface associated with a
digital assistant (e.g., conversational interface). In some
examples, receiving the user input further includes receiving a
request to modify the textual representation to provide a modified
textual representation. As an example, a user may select an edit
affordance and edit the speech to text version of the voice input.
In some examples, receiving the user input further includes
selecting the modified textual representation as the user
input.
[0642] At block 2310, in response to receiving the user input
including the shortcut, the electronic device determines a set of
tasks (e.g., 2214, 2216, 2218, 2220) associated with the shortcut.
In some examples, the electronic device determines whether the
natural-language speech input matches one or more shortcuts (e.g.,
voice shortcut, text shortcut) associated with a user of the
electronic device. In some examples, determining whether a match
exists in this manner includes determining whether a match exists
locally and/or remotely. For example, in some instances the
electronic device determines whether a match exists. In another
example, the electronic device provides user input, or a
representation thereof, to a backend server, and the backend server
determines if a match exists. In some examples, both the electronic
device and the backend server determine if a match exists and the
electronic device evaluates both results to determine if a match
exists.
[0643] In some examples, the electronic device identifies a set
(e.g., plurality) of tasks associated with the shortcut. In some
examples, the set of tasks is an ordered set of tasks having a
predefined sequence. In some examples, the sequence is user-defined
and/or determined by the electronic device according to one or more
sequencing rules. In some examples, each of the tasks is associated
with a respective application. Accordingly, the set of tasks may be
associated with any number of first-party and third-party
applications. In some examples, a set of tasks is generated using a
task management application configured to automate performance of a
plurality of tasks. In some examples, one or more parameters of
each task may be configured, for instance, using the task
management application. By way of example, recipients and/or text
of a text message may be configured. As another example, a user may
toggle whether a response indicating whether a task was
successfully performed is displayed. In some examples, tasks of a
first type require confirmation prior to being performed (e.g.,
2218) and tasks of a second type do not require confirmation prior
to being performed (e.g., 2220). In some examples, only responses
associated with tasks of the second type may be selectively
displayed.
[0644] At block 2315, further in response to receiving the user
input including the shortcut, the electronic device performs a
first task of the set of tasks. The task is associated with a first
application in some examples. In some examples, performing the
first task includes determining whether the first task is a task of
a first type (e.g., a task requiring confirmation, such as a
messaging task or a payment task); in accordance with a
determination that the first task is a task of the first type:
requesting confirmation to perform the task, receiving a user input
indicating confirmation to perform the task (e.g., touch input,
speech input), and in response to receiving the user input
indicating confirmation to perform the task (in some examples, the
user indicates confirmation by selecting a confirmation affordance
and/or providing a speech input indicating confirmation),
performing the task; and in accordance with a determination that
the first task is not a task of the first type (e.g., a task not
requiring confirmation, background task), performing the first
task.
[0645] In some examples, performing the first task includes
causing, using the digital assistant, the first task to be
performed by a third-party application. In some examples, the
digital assistant of the electronic device causes a third-party
application to perform a task. In some examples, causing an
application to perform a task in this manner includes providing an
intent object to the application, which optionally includes one or
more parameters (e.g., 2212) and/or parameter values. By way of
example, the digital assistant may initiate music playback by
instructing a third-party music streaming application to stream
music.
[0646] At block 2320, further in response to receiving the user
input including the shortcut, the electronic device provides a
first response (e.g., 2264, 2270) indicating whether the first task
was successfully performed. In some examples, the electronic device
provides a response indicating whether a performed task was
performed successfully. In some examples, the response is visual
(e.g., displayed), and/or auditory. In some examples, the response
is a natural-language output (e.g., 2264) and/or a visual platter
(e.g., 2270). In some examples, after performing a task, an
application provides an application response (1) indicating whether
the task was successfully performed by the application and/or (2)
provides information regarding performance of the task (e.g., an
answer to a query provided by a user), and the response includes
the application response (e.g., 2264). In some examples, the
application response is a natural-language expression (e.g., "Your
ETA is 32 minutes") and is included in the response (e.g., "Commute
says `Your ETA is 32 minutes`"). In some examples providing the
first response includes providing an indication that the first task
was performed successfully. In some examples, providing the first
response includes receiving a natural-language expression from the
first application; and providing an output including the
natural-language expression (e.g., "Commute says: `Your current ETA
is 32 minutes`"). In some examples, providing the first response
includes displaying the first response.
[0647] At block 2325, further in response to receiving the user
input including the shortcut, the electronic device performs a
second task of the set of tasks, The second task is associated with
a second application different than the first application in some
examples. In some examples, the electronic device performs the
second task after providing the first response.
[0648] At block 2330, further in response to receiving the user
input including the shortcut, after providing the first response,
the electronic device provides a second response indicating whether
the second task was successfully performed (e.g., 2264, 2270). In
some examples, providing the first response includes displaying the
first response in an interface (e.g., conversational interface)
associated with the digital assistant (e.g., 2264); and providing
the second response includes displaying the second response in the
interface associated with the digital assistant (e.g., 2270).
[0649] In some examples, providing the second response includes
ceasing display of the first response. In some examples, each time
a new response is to be displayed, one or more previously displayed
responses are no longer displayed. In some examples, the previously
displayed responses are discarded (e.g., deleted from the
conversational interface). In some examples, the previously
displayed responses are scrolled off of the display but may be
redisplayed in response to a scrolling input. In some examples,
providing the second response further includes displaying the
second response.
[0650] In some examples, providing the second response includes
displaying the second response while maintaining display of at
least a portion of the first response. In some examples, as each
response is displayed by the electronic device, previously
displayed responses are scrolled, for instance in an upward
direction to allow for subsequent responses to be displayed.
[0651] In some examples, the electronic device provides an output
(e.g., visual output, auditory output) indicating each task of the
set of tasks has been performed (e.g., 2280). In some examples, the
electronic device indicates when all tasks associated with a
shortcut have been performed (e.g., "That's done.").
[0652] In some examples, the electronic device performs a third
task of the set of tasks. The third task is associated with a third
application in some examples. In some examples, after providing the
second response, the electronic device selectively provides a third
response indicating whether the third task was successfully
performed (e.g., 2214). In some examples, the electronic device may
omit providing a response for a task. In some examples, responses
are omitted for tasks of a predetermined type (e.g., determination
of location) (e.g., 2214). In some examples, a user may indicate a
response is not to be provided for a particular task, for instance,
by toggling a display setting for the task (e.g., 2230).
[0653] In some examples, after providing the second response, the
electronic device performs a fourth task of the set of tasks,
wherein performing the fourth task includes launching an
application (e.g., launching a maps application to perform a task
for getting directions). In some examples, performing a task
includes launching an application (e.g., maps application). In some
examples, launching an application in this manner includes causing
an interface of the application to be displayed.
[0654] In accordance with some implementations, a computer-readable
storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage
medium) is provided, the computer-readable storage medium storing
one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of an
electronic device, the one or more programs including instructions
for performing any of the methods or processes described
herein.
[0655] In accordance with some implementations, an electronic
device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided that
comprises means for performing any of the methods or processes
described herein.
[0656] In accordance with some implementations, an electronic
device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided that
comprises a processing unit configured to perform any of the
methods or processes described herein.
[0657] In accordance with some implementations, an electronic
device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided that
comprises one or more processors and memory storing one or more
programs for execution by the one or more processors, the one or
more programs including instructions for performing any of the
methods or processes described herein.
[0658] The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has
been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the
illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or
to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many
modifications and variations are possible in view of the above
teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to
best explain the principles of the techniques and their practical
applications. Others skilled in the art are thereby enabled to best
utilize the techniques and various embodiments with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
[0659] Although the disclosure and examples have been fully
described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be
noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent
to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to
be understood as being included within the scope of the disclosure
and examples as defined by the claims.
[0660] As described above, one aspect of the present technology is
the gathering and use of data available from various sources to
accelerate user behavior using task suggestions. The present
disclosure contemplates that in some instances, this gathered data
may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or
can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal
information data can include demographic data, location-based data,
telephone numbers, email addresses, twitter IDs, home addresses,
data or records relating to a user's health or level of fitness
(e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information, exercise
information), date of birth, or any other identifying or personal
information.
[0661] The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such
personal information data, in the present technology, can be used
to the benefit of users. For example, the personal information data
can be used to deliver task suggestions that are of greater
interest to the user. Accordingly, use of such personal information
data allows for accelerated and more efficient use of an electronic
device by a user. Further, other uses for personal information data
that benefit the user are also contemplated by the present
disclosure. For instance, health and fitness data may be used to
provide insights into a user's general wellness, or may be used as
positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue
wellness goals.
[0662] The present disclosure contemplates that the entities
responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer,
storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply
with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In
particular, such entities should implement and consistently use
privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as
meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for
maintaining personal information data private and secure. Such
policies should be easily accessible by users, and should be
updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personal
information from users should be collected for legitimate and
reasonable uses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of
those legitimate uses. Further, such collection/sharing should
occur after receiving the informed consent of the users.
Additionally, such entities should consider taking any needed steps
for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information
data and ensuring that others with access to the personal
information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures.
Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by
third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy
policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should
be adapted for the particular types of personal information data
being collected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and
standards, including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For
instance, in the US, collection of or access to certain health data
may be governed by federal and/or state laws, such as the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); whereas
health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations
and policies and should be handled accordingly. Hence different
privacy practices should be maintained for different personal data
types in each country.
[0663] Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also
contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use
of, or access to, personal information data. That is, the present
disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can
be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information
data. For example, in the case of context data received by the
electronic device (such as context data described with reference to
FIG. 12), the present technology can be configured to allow users
to select to "opt in" or "opt out" of participation in the
collection of personal information data during registration for
services or anytime thereafter. In addition to providing "opt in"
and "opt out" options, the present disclosure contemplates
providing notifications relating to the access or use of personal
information. For instance, a user may be notified upon downloading
an application that their personal information data will be
accessed and then reminded again just before personal information
data is accessed by the application.
[0664] Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that
personal information data should be managed and handled in a way to
minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk
can be minimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting
data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable,
including in certain health related applications, data
de-identification can be used to protect a user's privacy.
De-identification may be facilitated, when appropriate, by removing
specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the
amount or specificity of data stored (e.g., collecting location
data at a city level rather than at an address level), controlling
how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and/or
other methods.
[0665] Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers
use of personal information data to implement one or more various
disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates
that the various embodiments can also be implemented without the
need for accessing such personal information data. That is, the
various embodiments of the present technology are not rendered
inoperable due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal
information data. For example, task suggestions can be provided to
a user by inferring likely previous usage of an electronic device
based on non-personal information data or a bare minimum amount of
personal information, such as the content being requested by the
device associated with a user, other non-personal information
available to the electronic device, or publicly available
information.
* * * * *