U.S. patent application number 17/578997 was filed with the patent office on 2022-05-05 for bot proxy for group communication service.
The applicant listed for this patent is Orion Labs. Invention is credited to Greg Albrecht, Jesse Robbins.
Application Number | 20220141161 17/578997 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-05-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220141161 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Albrecht; Greg ; et
al. |
May 5, 2022 |
BOT PROXY FOR GROUP COMMUNICATION SERVICE
Abstract
Methods, systems, and software are disclosed herein for secured
system access by means of a bot proxy for a bot within a group
communication service. In an example embodiment, a bot within a
selected group of a group communication service may receive a
message from a user of the selected group. The bot may transmit, to
a bot proxy node within a secured local network, information
related to the message that is relevant to executing a selected
command. The bot proxy node, in turn, may transmit an application
programming interface (API) instruction to perform the selected
command to a target server within the secured local network. The
bot may send a response message, via the group communication
service, to at least one user from the selected group based on a
result of the selected command.
Inventors: |
Albrecht; Greg; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Robbins; Jesse; (San Francisco,
CA) |
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Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Orion Labs |
San Francisco |
CA |
US |
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|
Appl. No.: |
17/578997 |
Filed: |
January 19, 2022 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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17000161 |
Aug 21, 2020 |
11258731 |
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17578997 |
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62890241 |
Aug 22, 2019 |
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International
Class: |
H04L 51/02 20060101
H04L051/02; H04L 67/56 20060101 H04L067/56; H04L 51/10 20060101
H04L051/10 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: receiving, at a box proxy node within a
secured local network, command transmissions from multiple
instances of a bot external to the secured local network, each
instance of the bot being active in a different group of users of a
group communication service, the command transmissions from the
multiple instances including an identifier for a respective bot
instance to which to transmit a response; transmitting, from the
bot proxy node to a target server within the secured local network,
an application programming interface (API) instruction to perform a
selected command from the command transmissions; receiving, at the
box proxy node from the target server, a response to the selected
command; and transmitting the response from the box proxy node to a
selected instance of the bot based on the identifier associated
with the selected command.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein: the bot proxy node is a computing
device connected to the secured local network and located behind a
firewall of the secured local network; the bot proxy node
communicates with the multiple instances of the bot via the
internet; and the bot proxy node is configured to shield the target
server from direct internet access.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising: the bot proxy node is
connected to a plurality of servers within the secured local
network; and the method further comprises determining, at the bot
proxy node, the target server from the plurality of servers based
on the selected command.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein: different servers from the
plurality of servers are configured to execute different types of
commands from the bot; and the bot proxy node determines the target
server by matching the selected command with a command processing
functionality of the target server.
5. The method of claim 3 further comprising: determining the target
server from the plurality of servers based on a processing load at
the plurality of servers, to perform load balancing.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating, at the bot
proxy node, the API instruction based on information received in
the selected command.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising: performing decryption
on the command transmissions at the bot proxy node; and
transmitting the API instruction from the bot proxy node to the
target server only for command transmissions that were successfully
decrypted.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising: caching a copy of the
response at the bot proxy node; and transmitting the copy of the
response from the bot proxy node in reply to a subsequent command
transmission without sending the API instruction to the target
server.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving, at the
selected instance of the bot active in a selected group of users of
the group communication service, a message from a user in the
selected group, the selected instance of the bot comprising a
software application configured to execute commands in response to
messages from users of the selected group; transmitting a command
transmission from the selected instance of the bot to the bot proxy
node; receiving the response at the selected instance of the bot
from the bot proxy node; and sending, from the selected instance of
the bot via the group communication service, a response message to
at least one user of the selected group based on the response.
10. A communication system comprising: a first computing device
within a secured local network configured to execute a bot proxy
node to: exchange communications via the internet between the
secured local network and a bot executed at a second computing
device external to the secured local network, wherein the bot is
active in a selected group of users in a group communication
service; wherein the first computing device is located behind a
firewall of the secured local network and configured to shield a
target server in the secured local network; receive a command
transmission from the bot; transmit an application programming
interface (API) instruction to the target server to perform a
selected command based on the command transmission; and transmit a
response from the target server to the bot responsive to the
command transmission.
11. The communication system of claim 10 comprising the bot proxy
node further configured to: receive command transmissions from
multiple instances of the bot, each instance of the bot being
active in a different group of users of the group communication
service; and command transmissions from the multiple instances
include an identifier for a respective bot instance to which to
transmit the response.
12. The communication system of claim 10 further comprising: the
bot proxy node is connected to a plurality of servers within the
secured local network; and the bot proxy node further configured to
determine the target server from the plurality of servers based on
the command transmission.
13. The communication system of claim 12 wherein: different servers
from the plurality of servers are configured to execute different
types of commands from the bot; and the bot proxy node is further
configured to determine the target server by matching the selected
command with a command processing functionality of the target
server.
14. The communication system of claim 12 comprising the bot proxy
node further configured to determine the target server from the
plurality of servers based on a processing load at the plurality of
servers, to perform load balancing.
15. The communication system of claim 10 comprising the bot proxy
node further configured to: perform decryption on the command
transmission; and transmit the API instruction to the target server
only when the command transmission is successfully decrypted.
16. The communication system of claim 10 comprising the bot proxy
node further configured to: cache a copy of the response at the bot
proxy node; and transmit the copy of the response in reply to a
subsequent command transmission without sending the API instruction
to the target server.
17. The communication system of claim 10 further comprising: the
second computing device executing the bot, the bot comprising a
software application configured to execute commands in response to
messages from the users of the selected group, the bot configured
to: receive a message from a user in the selected group; transmit
information related to the message that is relevant to execute the
selected command as the command transmission; and sending, from the
bot via the group communication service, a response message to at
least one user of the selected group based on the response to the
selected command from the bot proxy node.
18. A method comprising: receiving, at a bot proxy node within a
secured local network, a command transmission from a bot external
to the secured local network, wherein the bot proxy node is
connected to a plurality of servers within the secured local
network configured to execute different types of commands, and
wherein the bot is active in a selected group of users in a group
communication service; determining, at the bot proxy node, a target
server from the plurality of servers based by matching a selected
command associated with the command transmission to a command
processing functionality of the target server; transmitting, from
the bot proxy node to the target server, an instruction to perform
the selected command; and transmitting, via the bot proxy node, a
response to the selected command from the target server to the
bot.
19. The method of claim 18 further comprising: the bot proxy node
is a computing device connected to the secured local network and
located behind a firewall of the secured local network; the bot
proxy node communicates with the bot via the internet; and the bot
proxy node is configured to shield the target server from direct
internet access.
20. The method of claim 18 further comprising: receiving, at the
bot, a message from a user in the selected group of users, the bot
comprising a software application configured to execute commands in
response to messages from users of the selected group; transmitting
the command transmission from the bot to the bot proxy node based
on the message from the user; receiving the response at the bot
from the bot proxy node; and sending from the bot via the group
communication service, a response message to at least one user of
the selected group based on the response.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application is a continuation of and claims
priority to pending U.S. patent application, application Ser. No.
17/000,161, filed Aug. 21, 2020, entitled "BOT PROXY FOR GROUP
COMMUNICATION SERVICE"; and to U.S. provisional patent applications
Ser. No. 62/890,241, filed Aug. 22, 2019, entitled "BOT PROXY FOR
GROUP COMMUNICATION SERVICE," the contents of which are hereby
incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Group communication services can facilitate secure
communications between multiple user nodes in a distributed
communication environment. Members of a communication group can
send messages that are broadcast to multiple other members of the
group through personal communication devices in approximately
real-time, over communication networks such as the internet. These
communication groups allow teams or friends to stay connected even
when far apart and on the move.
[0003] As individuals grow accustomed to easy and quick access to
information, a way to integrate data access capabilities into a
communication group would improve the robustness and appeal of
group communication services. Further, allowing employees of a
company to access the data and software of the company while the
employees are on the move, by way of a group communication service,
could improve work efficiency. However, the data and the computer
systems on which the data and software are stored are valuable
assets, and these assets must be protected from unauthorized access
and tampering through the internet. Therefore data and computer
systems may be located within a secured local network, behind
protective systems such as firewalls that may interfere with access
to these assets by users through a group communication service.
OVERVIEW
[0004] Technology is disclosed herein for integration of a bot
application into a group communication service, which bot can
access a protected network through a bot proxy interface node in
response to messages from users of the group communication service.
In an example embodiment, a bot within a selected group of a group
communication service may receive a message from a user of the
selected group. The bot may transmit, to a bot proxy node within a
secured local network, information related to the message that is
relevant to executing a selected command. The bot proxy node, in
turn, may transmit an application programming interface (API)
instruction to perform the selected command to a target server
within the secured local network. The bot may send a response
message, via the group communication service, to at least one user
from the selected group based on a result of the selected
command.
[0005] This Overview is provided to introduce a selection of
concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in
the Detailed Description. It may be understood that this Overview
is not intended to identify key features or essential features of
the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit
the scope of the claimed subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Many aspects of the disclosure may be better understood with
reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings
are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon
clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure.
Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate
corresponding parts throughout the several views. While several
embodiments are described in connection with these drawings, the
disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein. On
the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives,
modifications, and equivalents.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system including a bot proxy for a
group communication service, in accordance with certain embodiments
of the present disclosure;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system including a bot proxy for a
group communication service, in accordance with certain embodiments
of the present disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a method flow diagram of a system including a bot
proxy for a group communication service, in accordance with certain
embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram for a method of using a bot proxy
for a group communication service, in accordance with certain
embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for a method of using a bot proxy
for a group communication service, in accordance with certain
embodiments of the present disclosure; and
[0012] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a system including a bot proxy for a
group communication service in accordance with certain embodiments
of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] In the following detailed description of certain
embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which
form a part hereof, and which are shown by way of illustration of
example embodiments. It is also to be understood that features of
the embodiments and examples herein can be combined, exchanged, or
removed, other embodiments may be utilized or created, and
structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of
the present disclosure.
[0014] In accordance with various embodiments, the methods and
functions described herein may be implemented as one or more
software programs running on one or more computer processors or
controllers. Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not
limited to, application specific integrated circuits, programmable
logic arrays, and other hardware devices can likewise be
constructed to implement the methods and functions described
herein. Methods and functions may be performed by modules, which
may include one or more physical components of a computing device
(e.g., logic, circuits, processors, etc.) configured to perform a
particular task or job, or may include instructions that, when
executed, can cause a processor to perform a particular task or
job, or any combination thereof. Further, the methods described
herein may be implemented as a computer readable storage medium or
memory device including instructions that, when executed, cause a
processor to perform the methods.
[0015] FIG. 1 depicts a diagram of a system 100 including a bot
proxy for a group communication service, in accordance with certain
embodiments of the present disclosure. The system 100 may include a
group communications service (GCS) 102 (which may also be referred
to as a group messaging service), a network 104, a bot service
local area network (LAN) 106, and a plurality of user nodes
108A-108E. The network 104 may be a wide area network (WAN), such
as the internet, connecting computing devices over a large
geographical area.
[0016] The GCS 102 may include one or more computers, servers, or
other systems to facilitate communication between user nodes
108A-108E. The GCS 102 may permit communications between user nodes
108 in the form of audio messages transmitted via an over-the-top
(OTT) communication service, which may use one or more networks
104, such as the internet, thereby bypassing telecommunications
platforms.
[0017] The GCS 102 may allow user nodes 108A-108E to join or be
added to one or more communication groups, such as group 1 110 and
group 2 112. Communication groups may include selected groupings of
a subset of users less than all users of the GCS 102. User nodes
within a group may be able to communicate with other user nodes
within the same group, via network 104 and GCS 102. Access to a
group may be restricted based on receiving an invitation from a
creator or an administrator for the group, based on entering a
secure password for a group, or other access-restriction methods.
In an example, group 1 110 may include only employees of a
particular company, allowing teams of employees to stay in
communication with each other while working. In another example, a
group may be established for fans of a particular television series
so that the fans can discuss the series as a group.
[0018] In some examples, the GCS 102 may transmit communications
from a user node 108 within a group to all other user nodes 108
within the same group, in a general broadcast. The GCS 102 may also
permit a user node 108 to transmit a private message to a selected
one or more users of a group to which the transmitting user node
108 is a member. User communications may be in the form of audio
messages, which may be transmitted from the user node 108 over the
network 104 to the GCS 102, and then broadcast from the GCS 102,
over the network 104, to all other user nodes 108 in the same group
as the broadcasting user node. For example, a user of user node A
108A may speak a message, which may be captured and transmitted as
an audio transmission over network 104 to GCS 102, which may in
turn broadcast the message to user node B 108B and user node C 108C
in approximately real-time.
[0019] The GCS 102 may maintain a user group database 114. The user
group database 114 may store information regarding all established
user groups, and may include identifying information for which user
nodes 108 are included in each group. For example, the user group
database 114 may include a listing for group 1 110 that includes
user or device identifiers for user node A 108A, user node B 108B,
and user node C 108C, and a listing for group 2 112 that includes
identifiers for user node C 108C, user node D 108D, and user node E
108E. As shown, a user node may be a member of multiple groups, as
with user node C 108C being a member of both group 1 110 and group
2 112. When a user node is a member of multiple groups, messages
from that user node may be broadcast to only users of a selected
group identified by the transmitting user node 108C (e.g. only
broadcast to Group 1 110), or the message may be broadcast to all
groups to which the user node is a member.
[0020] Each user node 108 may include a transmission device 112
capable of connecting to the network 104, such as a mobile phone,
computer, smart watch, or similar device. A user node 108 may also
include one or more personal devices 116 that can link to the
transmission device 112, such as via wired or wireless connections,
including Wi-Fi Bluetooth.RTM., and Bluetooth low energy (BLE). The
personal device 116 may be configured to receive and send messages
to and from the user of the user node 108 by way of the
transmission device 112. In an example embodiment, the personal
device 116 may include a wearable speaker and microphone, such as a
wearable pendant or headset, which can receive messages from a user
(e.g. recording audio messages to transmit when a `transmit` button
on the personal device 116 is held down) and broadcast messages
received from other users of a participant group.
[0021] The GCS 102 may also allow for one or more bots 118 to be
added to a communication group. A bot 118 may be a software
application configured to execute commands in response to messages
from users of a group to which the bot has been added. For example,
a bot 118 may be added to group 1 110, being included in the group
database 114 as either a user or special bot participant of group 1
110. A user node 108 within a group to which a bot 118 has been
added may transmit a message including a trigger phrase that
activates functionality of the bot 118. For example, user node A
108A may send a message, "Weatherbot, what is the forecast for
Tuesday?". A participant bot 118 within group 1 110 may respond to
the trigger phrase "Weatherbot" and may identify a request within
the message to retrieve a weather forecast for Tuesday. In
response, the bot 118 may send Tuesday's forecast to members of
group 1 110.
[0022] Bots 118 may be in the form of computer executable code
stored to a memory and which, when executed, causes one or more
computer processors to perform the bot's operations. Bots 118 may
be stored and executed externally to the GCS 102, for example being
run at a bot service LAN 106 or another computer such as a
transmission device 112. Externally hosted bots 118 may be added to
group(s) through the user group database 114 as a normal user node,
with group messages sent to and received from the computer running
the bot 118 via the network 104.
[0023] In another example, bots 118 may be stored to and executed
by a computer system of the GCS 102. For example, the GCS 102 may
maintain a bot library 116 of bots hosted or executed by the GCS
102, such as bots A, B, and C 118. An administrator for a group or
the GCS 102 may add a bot as a participant of a group through the
user group database 114. When a message is received at the GCS 102
from a user node 108 of, e.g. group 1 110, the GCS may look up the
group 1 participants in the database 114 and determine whether a
bot 118 is a member of group 1 110. If so, the GCS 102 may perform
operations on the message according to the program code for the
participant bot(s) 118.
[0024] In another example, a program may be stored at and executed
by the GCS 102 that scans user messages for trigger phrases for a
bot 118. If a trigger phrase is detected, the GCS 102 may send the
message to a computing device external to the GCS 102 that executes
the code for the respective bot 118. Other embodiments are also
possible for managing bot integration into a group through the GCS
102.
[0025] Functionality or information for a bot 118 may be provided
by a service external to the GCS 102, such as at bot service LAN
106. For example, the bot service LAN 106 may include one or more
computers or servers 120, which can store information that can be
accessed by a bot 118, or which can perform calculations or
operations on behalf of a bot 118. For example, the bot service LAN
106 may include a weather service, with a server 120 storing
weather information for various geographical regions. In another
example, the bot service LAN 106 may include a hotel, with a server
120 having software and data of a work flow system for the hotel
staff, including rooms to be cleaned or items to be delivered to
hotel patrons. An administrator for the hotel bot service LAN 106
may request that a hotel workflow bot 118 be added to the bot
library 116, so that the hotel workflow bot 118 can be added to a
communication group limited to staff for the hotel. Hotel staff may
send communications through the GCS 102 to the hotel workflow bot
118 to access or update data at the hotel server 120 to determine
jobs to be performed or to report when a task has been
completed.
[0026] Computers 120 located within a bot service LAN 106 may
include sensitive information that should be protected from
unauthorized accesses over the network 104. To this end, the bot
service LAN 106 may include a firewall 108 to protect computers 120
within the bot service LAN 106. The firewall 108 may be a network
security system in the form of computers or software that filters
traffic to or from bot service LAN 106 over the network 104.
[0027] In order to facilitate communication and data access to
computers 120 of the bot service LAN by an associated bot 118, the
bot service LAN 106 may include a bot proxy interface (I/F) node
122. The bot proxy I/F node 122 (sometimes referred to herein as
simply a bot proxy or bot proxy node) may include software running
on a computer or server 120 of the bot service LAN 106, or may
include a dedicated computing device configured to perform the
operations of the bot proxy described herein.
[0028] The bot proxy 122 may be configured to receive all access
requests or commands from a bot 118 to the bot service LAN 106,
process the requests, and transmit messages from the bot service
LAN 106 to the bot 118. Messages to and from the bot proxy 122 may
pass through the firewall 108, or may optionally bypass (124) the
firewall 108. The bot proxy node may be configured to shield
computers 120 of the bot service LAN 106 from direct internet
access, and may prevent unauthorized communications (e.g.
communications not received from an authorized bot 118) from
reaching secured servers 120 within the bot service LAN 106. For
example, the bot 118 associated with the bot proxy 122 may be
configured to encrypt or digitally sign messages to the bot proxy
122 with a private key or another encryption method, so that only
messages using the appropriate encryption can be decoded by the bot
proxy 122 and allowed access to other computers 120 within the bot
service LAN 106.
[0029] The bot proxy 122 may be configured to format requests or
commands from the bot 118 into a particular format, such as by
generating an application program interface (API) instruction
recognized or accepted by a target server 120 in order to instruct
the server 120 to execute the command. The bot proxy 122 may
perform other operations on messages received from the bot 118,
such as load balancing (e.g. distributing requests among multiple
servers 120 to prevent overloading or delays at any particular
server), routing commands to a target server 120 from multiple
servers based on which bot-requested operations each server is
configured to execute, compressing or decompressing data messages,
caching recently or frequently accessed data from the servers 120,
or performing other processing operations. An example
implementation of the system 100 is discussed in greater detail in
regards to FIG. 2.
[0030] FIG. 2 depicts a diagram of a system 200 including a bot
proxy for a group communication service, in accordance with certain
embodiments of the present disclosure. System 200 may correspond to
system 100 of FIG. 1, and reference may be made to elements from
system 100 via corresponding identifier numbers. The system 200 may
include a group 202 of at least one user nodes, a group
communication service (GCS) 102 executing a bot C 218, and a bot
service LAN 106 including a bot proxy I/F node 122. FIG. 2 depicts
an example implementation by which bot functionality may be invoked
via the group communication server 102 and used to access the bot
service LAN 106 via the bot proxy 122.
[0031] A user message 204 may be sent (e.g. over network 104) from
a user node of group 202 to the GCS 102. The user message 204 may
be generated by a user device (e.g. transmission device 112 or
personal device 116) of a user node 108. For example, a personal
device 116 may capture audio data from a spoken message from a
user. The audio data may be encoded, compressed, or otherwise
processed at a device of the user node 108, and may be included
with other identifying information in the user message 204 to
transmit to the GCS 102. Identifying information that may be
included with the user message 204 may include a group identifier
(ID) for the group to which the message is being transmitted, a
user ID associated with the user node sending the message, a
message ID for the user message 204, other identifying information,
or any combination thereof. The user message 204 may be split into
one or more data packets sent over the network 104 to the GCS
102.
[0032] The user message 204 may be received at the GCS 102 and
undergo message processing, for example at message processing
module 206. Message processing 206 may include extracting
information from user message 204, such as identifying information
and audio data. Message processing 206 may also include performing
data compression or decompression, error correction for corrupted
data packets or other problems, audio data adjustments to balance
sound levels or message clarity, speech-to-text conversion, other
processing operations, or any combination thereof.
[0033] During message processing 206, the GCS 102 may extract the
group ID from the user message 204, and access the communication
groups database 114 to determine other user nodes within the group
202 to which to send the user message 204. In the depicted example
embodiment, the groups database 114 includes a first listing 212A
of member user nodes and bots of group 1, and a second listing 212B
for member user nodes and bots of a group 2, as well as listings
for other communication groups. Each listing 212 may include
identifying information for users and bots within the group. For
example, each user node or bot may have a unique identifier, an
internet protocol (IP) address to which messages should be sent, or
other identifying information. The listing 212 may also identify
whether a member bot is hosted at and should be processed by the
GCS 102, or that the bot is hosted externally to the GCS 102.
Particular users or bots may be included in multiple groups. For
example, user C and bot C may be included in the listings for group
1 212A and group 2 212B. If a bot is included in more than one
group, such as bot C 218, a different unique instance of the bot C
218 may be included in each group, or a single bot instance may
handle messages from all groups to which the bot C 218 is a member.
A bot instance may be a distinct processing thread that operates
independently of other processing threads for the same bot. In an
example, bot C 218 may include a first instance 208A for processing
messages from group 1, and a second instance 208B for processing
messages from group 2.
[0034] The GCS 102 may forward or transmit the user message 204 to
other user nodes 108 within the group 202, such as to all member
user nodes of the group 202 or to specific target user nodes
identified in the user message 204. If the GCS 102 determines that
the group 202 includes one or more bots hosted by the GCS 102, the
GCS 102 may invoke the bot(s) based on receiving the user message
204. For example, group 202 may include bot C 218, and so the GCS
102 may send user message 204 to bot C 218. In some embodiments,
all user messages from a group in which bot C 218 is a member will
be sent to bot C 218, while in other embodiments only messages that
invoke the functionality of bot C 218 may be sent to bot C 218. To
identify whether the user message 204 invokes bot C 218, the audio
data may be scanned by the message processing node 206 or the bot C
218 software for one or more trigger phrases. Trigger phrases may
include a name for bot C 218, or a specific command that bot C 218
recognizes (e.g. "what is the weather?"). The audio data may be
scanned for a trigger phrase directly (e.g. by searching the audio
data for a recognized audial data sequence), or by first converting
the audio data to another format. For example, the audio data may
undergo speech-to-text conversion during message processing 206 or
by the bot C 218 to generate a text version of the audio data, and
then the text may be scanned for a trigger phrase.
[0035] As explained above, the processor or computer executing bot
C 218 may run or maintain multiple instances of bot C 218 for
handling messages from different groups, such as instance 1 208A
and instance 2 208B. A user message 204 may be provided to the
instance corresponding to the group from which the user message 204
was received.
[0036] Bot C 218 may execute program code or method 500A based on
receiving a message, where 500A may correspond to the method flow
diagram 500A of FIG. 5. Bot C 218 may process the user message 204,
which may include converting the audio data into a text message or
other parsable format, and then scanning the audio or text data to
determine a particular function or command for bot C 218 to
execute. If bot C 218 determines that the message does not invoke
functionality of bot C 218, or includes a command that bot C 218
does not recognize, it may disregard the message or sent a response
message 210 that indicates that no command was recognized.
[0037] A response message 210 may be generated by bot C 218 with
result information for a user command in audio format, or in a text
format that may be converted to an audio format by message
processing node 206 of the GCS 102. The response message 210 may
also include information or metadata identifying a target group or
user node to which the message should be sent via the GCS 102.
[0038] If bot C 218 does recognize a command in the user message
204, bot C 218 may generate a bot message 214 to send to the bot
proxy node 122. Bot message 214 may include various identifying
information or metadata, such as a bot ID for bot C 218 (which may
include a unique identifier for a particular bot instance 208), a
message ID for the bot message 214, a type of command to be
executed at the bot service LAN 106, and one or more variables to
define the parameters of the command type. For example, for a hotel
management bot C 218, a command type may include a request to send
items to a particular room, where the variables may include one or
more items to deliver, the room number, and a priority level. The
type of command and relevant variables may be extracted by bot C
218 from the audio data of the user message 204. In some
embodiments, bot C 218 may format the command type and variables
into an API format that can be processed by a target server of the
bot service LAN 106. Bot C 218 may maintain addressing information,
encryption information, or other information that can be used to
generate the bot message 214 and send it across network 104, so
that it will be received and accepted at the bot proxy node
122.
[0039] Bot proxy node 122 may receive the bot message 214 and
perform command processing instructions 220, which may include
executing program code or method 500B, where 500B may correspond to
the method flow diagram 500B of FIG. 5. The bot proxy 122 may
verify the source or authenticity of the bot message 214, including
performing decryption or digital signature verification. The bot
proxy 122 may also determine a target server from a plurality of
servers of the bot service LAN 106 based on the command or other
metadata included in the bot message 214. For example, bot service
LAN 106 may include a bot service server 1 216A, bot service server
2 216B, and bot service server 3 216C. Each bot service server may
be configured to service or perform different types of commands,
may be configured to distribute a processing load of incoming
commands, or otherwise may be configured to work together or
independently to service incoming commands from one or more bots.
For example, bot service server 1 216A may handle reservation
requests for a hotel, bot service server 2 216B may handle
maintenance and cleaning requests from hotel staff, and bot service
server 3 216C may handle service requests from hotel patrons. In
some embodiments, the different command types may originate from
different bots, different instances of a same bot in different
origin groups, or all from a single bot in a single group. The bot
proxy 122 may identify a target server 216 based on a command type,
bot ID, server load distribution, other factors, or any combination
thereof. The bot proxy 122 may store or access LAN addressing
information 222 to determine where to send each message to reach
the determined target server 216.
[0040] Command processing instructions 220 may also direct the bot
proxy 122 to generate an API instruction or command based on the
received bot message 214 and the target server 216. For example,
different servers 216 may accept commands in different API formats,
and the bot proxy 122 includes instructions 220 on which API format
to use based on the target server. Alternately, the bot message 214
may include a pre-formatted API instruction for the bot proxy to
forward to the target server 216.
[0041] After sending a command to a target server 216, the bot
proxy 122 may wait to receive a response from the target server
216, including a result or acknowledgement for the command. The bot
proxy 122 may generate a response message 224, which may include a
target bot ID, message ID, and a response data payload indicating
the results from the target server 216. The bot C 218 may receive
the response 224, and may generate a response message 210 to send
to one or more user nodes 108 of group 202 in response to the user
message 204. The result information in the response message 210 may
be converted from a text format to an audio format by bot C 218, by
message processing node 206, or may be sent to group 202 in a text
format. Response message 210 may be encoded for transmission by
message procession module 206 of GCS 102. The response message 210
may be received at transmission devices 112 of user nodes 108 in
group 202, and may be presented as an audio or text message at
transmission device 112 or personal device 116. An example method
flow diagram for system 200 is discussed in regard to FIG. 3.
[0042] FIG. 3 is a method flow diagram of a system including a bot
proxy for a group communication service, in accordance with certain
embodiments of the present disclosure. The method flow diagram
illustrates information sent between and operations performed at
elements of system 200, such as group 202, GCS 102, bot 218, bot
interface proxy 122, and bot service server(s) 216. The method flow
may proceed from the top to the bottom of FIG. 3, although some
elements may be performed in a different order from that depicted,
omitted, or additional elements may be performed that are not
illustrated.
[0043] A user node included in group 202 may send a message to GCS
102. GCS 102 may process the message, such as performing
decryption, error correction, decompression, data extraction,
speech-to-text conversion, trigger phrase searches, other
operations, or any combination thereof. Based on information
extracted from the user message, the GCS 102 may identify members
of group 202, including bot 218, for example by accessing a user
groups database. The GCS 102 may then transmit the user message, or
data from the user message, to bot 218. The message may be
transmitted over a network if bot 218 is not hosted or executed at
the GCS 102, or the message may be passed to an instance of the bot
executing on a GCS 102 server, computer, or processor. In some
embodiments, the GCS 102 may determine whether the user message
includes a trigger phrase that invokes bot 218 before sending the
message to the bot 218.
[0044] The bot 218 may receive and perform processing on the
message. Processing may include converting the message from speech
to text format, or parsing the message to determine whether the
message includes one or more trigger phrases to invoke an operation
of the bot 218. If the message does invoke functionality of the bot
218, the bot 218 may extract information relevant to the bot
operation from the message, such as a command type and variable
information that may be used to execute the bot functionality.
Processing the message may also include generating and sending a
message to the bot proxy 122, which message may include a command
type, variables, a target server, an API instruction or command,
other information, or any combination thereof. The bot 218 may
encrypt or digitally sign the message to authenticate the message
to the bot proxy 122.
[0045] The bot proxy 122 may receive the message from bot 218, and
may perform processing on the message, such as decrypting the
message, extracting a command type and variables data from the
message, determining a target bot service server 216 for the
command, generating an API command for execution at the sever 216,
performing other processing, or any combination thereof. The bot
proxy 122 may determine an address of the target server within the
secured LAN that includes the bot proxy 122 and bot servers 216,
and transmit an API command to the target protected server 216. The
bot service server 216 may execute the command and return a result
to the bot proxy 122. The bot proxy 122 may generate a message to
return the result to the bot 218, encrypt or otherwise encode the
message, and transmit the message to the bot 218 (e.g. based on
addressing or bot ID information included in the message received
from the bot 218).
[0046] Bot 218 may receive the result from the bot proxy 122, and
process the result. Processing may include extracting result
information, generating a result message to send to one or more
users of group 202, performing text-to-speech conversion, other
processing, or any combination thereof. The bot 218 may send the
result message to the GCS 102 for broadcasting to one or more
member user nodes of group 202.
[0047] The GCS 102 may process the result message, such as by
converting a text result message to an audio format using a
text-to-speech converting service or system, and putting the result
message in a format suitable for transmission over the network 104.
The GCS 102 may identify one or more target members of group 202,
for example by looking up addresses of user nodes in group 202
based on a group ID included with the result message from the bot
218. In some embodiments, the result message may be transmitted to
only a subset of members of group 202, which may be based on user
node identifiers included with the original user message or the
result message from the bot 218. For example, the result message
may only be sent to the user node that transmitted the message
including the bot trigger phrase. The GCS 102 may transmit the
result message to the identified recipient(s) from group 202. FIG.
4 illustrates a flowchart for another method of using a bot proxy
for group communication services as described herein.
[0048] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram for a method 400 of using a bot
proxy for a group communication service, in accordance with certain
embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be
performed by components of a group messaging architecture, such as
group communication service 102, bot C 218, and bot proxy I/F node
122 of system 200.
[0049] The method 400 may include adding a bot as a member of a
communication group, at 402. For example, an administrator for a
communication group, or of the GCS, can use an interface portal
(such as a website or mobile app) to add a bot as a member of the
communication group. An administrator may select the bot to add
from a library of pre-existing bots stored at and executed by the
GCS. A new bot may be uploaded to the library of bots for hosting
at the GCS. Alternately, an IP address or other addressing
information may be provided for a bot hosted remotely from the
GCS.
[0050] At 404, a message may be received from a communication group
in which the bot is a participant. The message may be processed
into a parsable format, at 406, such as by converting audio speech
data into a text format. The parsable data may be analyzed to
determine whether the message invokes a function of the bot, at
408. For example, the message data may be searched for one or more
trigger phrases or keywords to invoke a bot response. If the
message does not invoke bot functionality, the method 400 may
include disregarding the message, at 410.
[0051] If the message does invoke bot functionality, the method 400
may include transmitting a bot request, including data relevant to
the invoked bot function, from a bot to a bot proxy node, at 412.
For example, a command type, one or more command variables, a bot
ID, group ID, user node ID, message ID, or other information may be
sent to the bot proxy. At 414, the method 400 may include
determining a target protected server of a bot service LAN to
service the bot request. The target protected server may be
selected based on a command type, a group ID, a bot ID, server
processing loads, other information, or a combination thereof.
Method 400 may include generating an API command based on the
relevant data from the bot request and the target server, at 416,
and transmitting the API command to the target server, at 418.
[0052] At 420, a response may be received from the target server,
and the response may be transmitted to the bot. The response may
then be formatted into a communication message for submission to
one or more user nodes of the group that sent the message invoking
the bot functionality, at 422. For example, a result from the
target server may be incorporated into a natural-language message,
and a spoken audio form of the result message may be generated for
transmission to user nodes. At 424, the method 400 may include
transmitting the communication message to the communication group
in which the bot is a participant member.
[0053] In some embodiments, various steps of the methods disclosed
herein may be omitted. For example, some bot operations may not
result in a response message being sent to the group. In an
exemplary embodiment, a user command to have the bot update a
database may be performed by the bot silently, without the need to
relay a response from a bot service server to members of the group.
In such an embodiment, steps 420 through 424 may be omitted.
[0054] FIG. 5 depicts another a flow diagram for a method of using
a bot proxy for a group communication service, in accordance with
certain embodiments of the present disclosure. The method of FIG. 5
may be conceptually divided into method steps 500A, which may be
performed by a bot, and method steps 500B, which may be performed
by a bot proxy I/F node. The method of FIG. 5 may be performed by
components of a group messaging architecture, such as bot C 218 and
bot proxy I/F node 122 of system 200.
[0055] Beginning at 502 of method 500A, a bot may receive a message
from a user in a group in which the bot is a member or participant.
At 504, the bot may convert the message from an audio data format
to a text format, for example using a speech-to-text converter. The
bot may process the message to detect a trigger phrase, at 506. For
example, the bot may search the user message for one or more
keywords that triggers a response from the bot. Trigger phrases may
include a "name" for the bot, or a command phrasing that the bot is
configured to recognize. The bot may identify a selected command
based on the trigger phrase, or based on employing language parsing
algorithms after a trigger phrase is detected, at 508. The bot may
transmit information relevant to the selected command to a bot
proxy node associated with the bot, at 510.
[0056] In method 500B, the bot proxy node may receive the
transmission from the bot, and may determine a target server from a
plurality of servers within a secured LAN based on the selected
command, at 512. The bot proxy may generate an API instruction
based on the information from the bot, the target server, other
factors, a combination thereof, at 514. At 516, the bot proxy may
transmit the API instruction to the target server, and may receive
a response from the target server at 518. The bot proxy may
transmit result information to the bot based on the response, at
520.
[0057] Resuming in method 500A, the bot may receive the result
information from the bot proxy, and generate a response message
based on the result information, at 522. The bot may format the
response message into a natural language sentence or phrase
configured to communicate the results of the selected command to a
human recipient. At 524, the bot may send the response message to
the participant group, or to a subset of the user nodes of the
recipient group, via a GCS. An example computing system configured
to perform the methods and operations described herein is discussed
in regard to FIG. 6.
[0058] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a system 600 including a bot proxy
for a group communication service in accordance with certain
embodiments of the present disclosure. The computing system 600 may
be one or more devices configured to perform the operations for a
group communication service and bot proxy, including operations of
the method flow diagram of FIG. 3, the method of FIG. 4, and the
method of FIG. 5. In some examples, the computing system 600 may
include or be an example of one or more user devices 112 or 116,
one or more computers operating at the group communication service
(GCS) 102, one or more computers running a bot instance, one or
more computers of a bot proxy I/F node 122, one or more servers 216
of a bot service LAN 106, or other computing devices of a group
communication system architecture.
[0059] The computing system 600 may include a processing system
602, a storage system 604, a communication interface (I/F) system
606, and a user I/F system 608. The one or more of the components
of the computing system 600 may be included on a single integrated
circuit (e.g. a system on a chip, SoC), may be distributed among
several circuits or hardware components, may be implemented as
firmware or software modules executed by microprocessors, or in
other configurations.
[0060] The processing system 602 may include one or more
microprocessors or integrated circuits, such as
application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field
programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other processor designs. The
processing system 602 may include associated memory such as random
access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), or
other volatile or nonvolatile memory. The processing system 602 may
load instructions, executable code, or pending commands to the
memory during operation.
[0061] The storage system 604 may include one or more nonvolatile
data storage devices, such as hard disk drives, NAND Flash memory
drives, read only memory (ROM), or other memory devices. The
storage system 605 may store computer-readable instructions in the
form of software or firmware code, which can be loaded into a
memory of the processing system 602 and executed to cause a
processor to perform a method according to the instructions. For
example, the storage system 604 may store instructions for a bot
proxy process 400, which may correspond to one or more steps of the
method 400 of FIG. 4. The storage system may also store other
information, such as communication group databases, bot-accessible
databases or software systems, or other information or software
instructions.
[0062] Communication I/F system 606 may include one or more wired
or wireless communication I/F circuits allowing the computing
system 600 to communicate with other devices over a network or
other remote connection. For example, communication I/F system 600
may include an Ethernet port, a Wi-Fi transceiver, a Bluetooth
transceiver, or other interface protocol elements.
[0063] User I/F system 608 may include one or more systems with
which a user can interact, or which allow user interface devices to
be connected to computing system 600. For example, user I/F system
608 may include a display screen or monitor, a touch screen
interface, a pointer device such as a mouse or trackpad, a
keyboard, a speaker, a microphone, other devices, or a port that
allows such devices to connect to the computing system 600, such as
a universal serial bus (USB) port.
[0064] The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are
intended to provide a general understanding of the structure of the
various embodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as
a complete description of all of the elements and features of
apparatuses and systems that utilize the structures or methods
described herein. Many other embodiments may be apparent to those
of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure. Other
embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, such
that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made
without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Moreover,
although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described
herein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangement
designed to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted
for the specific embodiments shown.
[0065] This disclosure is intended to cover any and all subsequent
adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of
the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically
described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art
upon reviewing the description. Additionally, the illustrations are
merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certain
proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, while
other proportions may be reduced. Accordingly, the disclosure and
the figures are to be regarded as illustrative and not
restrictive.
* * * * *