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CN-114093348-B - Intelligent automatic assistant for television user interaction

CN114093348BCN 114093348 BCN114093348 BCN 114093348BCN-114093348-B

Abstract

A system and method for controlling television user interaction using a virtual assistant is disclosed. The virtual assistant may interact with the television set-top box to control content displayed on the television. A voice input for a virtual assistant may be received from a device having a microphone. The user intent may be determined from the voice input, and the virtual assistant may perform tasks according to the user intent, including causing playback of media on the television. The virtual assistant interactions may be displayed on a television in an interface that expands or contracts to occupy a minimum amount of space while conveying desired information. The user intent may be determined from the voice input using a plurality of devices associated with a plurality of displays and information communicated to the user. In some examples, virtual assistant query suggestions may be provided to a user based on media content displayed on a display.

Inventors

  • M. Van Aus
  • H.J. Sadler
  • L.T. Napolitano
  • J H Russell
  • PETER M.LISTER
  • R. Dassari

Assignees

  • 苹果公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20150327
Priority Date
20140926

Claims (20)

  1. 1.A method for suggesting virtual assistant interactions for controlling media content, the method comprising: At an electronic device: displaying media content on a display, wherein the media content comprises video associated with metadata; receiving input from a user: Determining one or more virtual assistant query suggestions based on the media content, one or more of the viewing history of the media content and the metadata, and the content of the second electronic device, and Displaying, on the display, the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions overlaid on the media content, wherein the one or more query suggestions include source information corresponding to the second electronic device.
  2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the input is received from the user on a remote control.
  3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the input is received from the user on a mobile phone.
  4. 4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions are overlaid on a moving image.
  5. 5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the input comprises a double click of a button.
  6. 6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the media content comprises a movie.
  7. 7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the media content comprises a television program.
  8. 8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the media content comprises a sporting event.
  9. 9. The method of any of claims 1-8, wherein the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions include query suggestions about people present in the media content.
  10. 10. The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions include query suggestions regarding roles that appear in the media content.
  11. 11. The method of any of claims 1-10, wherein the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions include query suggestions for media content associated with people appearing in the media content.
  12. 12. The method of any of claims 1-11, wherein the media content or the viewing history of media content comprises an episode of a television program and the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions comprise query suggestions for another episode of the television program.
  13. 13. The method of any of claims 1-12, wherein the media content or the viewing history of media content comprises episodes of a television program and the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions comprise a request to set reminders to view or record subsequent episodes of the media content.
  14. 14. The method of any of claims 1-13, wherein the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions include query suggestions of descriptive details of the media content.
  15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the descriptive details comprise one or more of a program title, a character list, an actor list, an episode description, a team list, a team rating, or a program summary.
  16. 16. The method of any one of claims 1-15, further comprising: Receiving a selection of one of the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions, and Displaying results of the selected one of the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions.
  17. 17. The method of any of claims 1-16, wherein determining the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions comprises determining the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions based on one or more of a query suggestion history, user preferences, or query suggestion popularity.
  18. 18. The method of any of claims 1-17, wherein determining the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions comprises determining the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions based on media content available to the user for viewing.
  19. 19. The method of any of claims 1-18, wherein determining the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions comprises determining the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions based on the received notification.
  20. 20. The method of any of claims 1-19, wherein determining the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions comprises determining the one or more virtual assistant query suggestions based on an active application.

Description

Intelligent automatic assistant for television user interaction The application is a divisional application of patent application with international application date of 2015, 03 month and 27 days, international application number of PCT/US2015/023089, national application number of 201580029053.9 and the name of intelligent automatic assistant for television user interaction. Cross Reference to Related Applications The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No.62/019,312, filed on 6 months and 30 days of 2014, entitled "INTELLIGENT AUTOMATED ASSISTANT FOR TV USER INTERACTIONS" (intelligent automated assistant for television user interaction), and U.S. non-provisional application No.14/498,503, filed on 9 months and 26 days of 2014, entitled "INTELLIGENT AUTOMATED ASSISTANT FOR TV USER INTERACTIONS" (intelligent automated assistant for television user interaction), which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes. The present application is also related to co-pending provisional application U.S. patent application Ser. No.62/019,292 (attorney docket No. 106843097900P22498USP1), entitled "REAL-TIME DIGITAL ASSISTANT KNOWLEDGE UPDATES" (REAL-time digital assistant knowledge update), filed on even date 6/30 of 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field The present invention relates generally to controlling interactions of television users and, more particularly, to processing speech for a virtual assistant to control interactions of television users. Background The intelligent automated assistant (or virtual assistant) provides an intuitive interface between the user and the electronic device. These assistants can allow users to interact with devices or systems using natural language in spoken and/or textual form. For example, a user can access a service of an electronic device by providing spoken user input in natural language to a virtual assistant associated with the electronic device. The virtual assistant can perform natural language processing on spoken user input to infer user intent and to manipulate the user intent into tasks. Tasks may then be performed by performing one or more functions of the electronic device, and in some examples, relevant output may be returned to the user in the form of natural language. While mobile phones (e.g., smartphones), tablet computers, etc. have benefited from virtual assistant control, many other user devices lack such convenient control mechanisms. For example, user interaction with media control devices (e.g., televisions, television set-top boxes, cable boxes, gaming devices, streaming media devices, digital video recorders, etc.) can be complex and difficult to learn. Furthermore, with the increasing number of media sources available through such devices (e.g., over-the-air televisions, subscription television services, streaming video services, on-demand cable video services, web-based video services, etc.), some users may be cumbersome or even impossible to find the desired media content for consumption. As a result, many media control devices may provide a poor user experience, which can frustrate many users. Disclosure of Invention The invention discloses a system and a process for controlling television interactions using a virtual assistant. In one embodiment, voice input may be received from a user. The media content may be determined based on the voice input. A first user interface may be displayed having a first size, which may include a selectable link to media content. A selection of one of the selectable links may be received. In response to the selection, a second user interface having a second size that is larger than the first size may be displayed, the second user interface may include media content associated with the selection. In another embodiment, a voice input may be received from a user at a first device having a first display. The user intent of the voice input may be determined based on content displayed on the first display. The media content may be determined based on the user intent. The media content may be played on a second device associated with a second display. In another embodiment, a voice input may be received from a user, which may include a query associated with content displayed on a television display. The user intent of the query may be determined based on viewing history of content and/or media content displayed on the television display. The query results may be displayed based on the determined user intent. In another embodiment, the media content may be displayed on a display. Input may be received from a user. The virtual assistant query may be determined based on the media content and/or a viewing history of the media content. The virtual assistant query may be displayed on a display. Drawings FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system for controlling television user interaction using a virtual assistant. Fig. 2 illustrat