EP-4571558-B1 - ACCESSORY DEVICE BASED AUTHENTICATION FOR DIGITAL ASSISTANT REQUESTS

EP4571558B1EP 4571558 B1EP4571558 B1EP 4571558B1EP-4571558-B1

Inventors

WEBBER, Ryan D.
TRAN, Trungtin
GHOTBI, NIKROUZ
CHINNATHAMBI KAILASAM, NARESH KUMAR
CHIAO, Sue Wen
LEPPEK, Tyler C.
NEWENDORP, BRANDON J.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20220517

Claims (15)

A method, comprising: at an electronic device with one or more processors and memory: while the electronic device is in a locked state and in communication with an external accessory device: receiving a request to unlock the electronic device; and in accordance with receiving the request to unlock the electronic device, determining whether one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy a set of authentication criteria; in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria, changing a state of the electronic device from the locked state to an unlocked state; after changing the state from the locked state to the unlocked state, changing the state from the unlocked state to a second locked state; while the electronic device is in the second locked state: receiving a natural language input corresponding to a secure task request; in accordance with receiving the natural language input, determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria; and in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria: initiating, by the electronic device, a secure task corresponding to the natural language input; and providing an output indicative of the initiated secure task.
The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the request to unlock the electronic device includes capturing, by the electronic device, biometric data.
The method of claim 2, further comprising: determining whether the captured biometric data satisfies a set of biometric authentication criteria, wherein determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria is performed in accordance with a determination that the captured biometric data does not satisfy the set of biometric authentication criteria.
The method of any of claims 1-3, further comprising: prior to receiving the request to unlock the electronic device and while the electronic device is in a third locked state: receiving a second user request to unlock the electronic device including, capturing, by the electronic device, second biometric data; in accordance with a determination that the second biometric data does not satisfy a second set of biometric authentication criteria, providing a second output indicating that the electronic device remains in the third locked state.
The method of claim 4, further comprising: prior to receiving the request to unlock the electronic device and while the electronic device is the third locked state: within a predetermined duration after providing the second output, receiving a third user request to unlock the electronic device; in accordance with a determination that the third user request satisfies an unlocking criterion, changing the state of the electronic device from the third locked state to a second unlocked state; and in accordance with changing the state of the electronic device from the third locked state to the second unlocked state, outputting a prompt to enable a setting of the electronic device, wherein the setting enables the external accessory device to authenticate the electronic device for performing secure tasks while the electronic device is in the locked state.
The method of any of claims 1-3, further comprising: prior to receiving the request to unlock the electronic device and while the electronic device is in a third locked state: receiving a second natural language input; and providing a third output indicating that the electronic device is unable to perform a task corresponding to the second natural language input while the electronic device is in the third locked state.
The method of any of claims 1-6, further comprising: while the electronic device is in the second locked state: determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request, wherein determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria is performed in accordance with a determination that the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request.
The method of any of claims 1-7, further comprising: in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device do not satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the second locked state: providing a fifth output indicating that the electronic device is unable to perform the secure t*ask while the electronic device is in the second locked state.
The method of any of claims 1-8, further comprising: in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the second locked state: causing the external accessory device to provide a sixth output indicating the initiation of the secure task.
The method of any of claims 1-9, further comprising: in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the second locked state: providing, by the electronic device, a seventh output indicating a use of the external accessory device to authenticate the electronic device for the secure task.
The method of any of claims 1-10, wherein the output indicative of the initiated secure task includes secure output.
The method of any of claims 1-11, further comprising: prior to receiving the natural language input, receiving, while the electronic device is in the second locked state, user input corresponding to a request to initiate a digital assistant; and in response to receiving the user input, initiating a digital assistant session, wherein the natural language input is received in accordance with initiating the digital assistant session.
The method of any of claims 1-12, wherein satisfying the set of authentication criteria requires the external accessory device to be physically associated with a user of the electronic device.
An electronic device, comprising: 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 performing the methods of any one of claims 1-13.
A computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the methods of any one of claims 1-13.

Description

FIELD This relates generally to intelligent automated assistants and, more specifically, to using an accessory device to authenticate a device to handle requests directed to an intelligent automated assistant operating on the device. BACKGROUND 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 and operationalize the user's intent into tasks. The tasks can then be performed by executing one or more services of the electronic device, and a relevant output responsive to the user request can be returned to the user. SUMMARY Example methods are disclosed herein. An example method includes, at an electronic device having one or more processors and memory: while the electronic device is in a locked state and in communication with an external accessory device: receiving a natural language input; determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request; in accordance with a determination that the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request: determining whether one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy a set of authentication criteria; and in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria: initiating, by the electronic device, a secure task corresponding to the natural language input; and providing an output indicative of the initiated secure task. Example non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed herein. 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: while the electronic device is in a locked state and in communication with an external accessory device: receive a natural language input; determine whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request; in accordance with a determination that the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request: determine whether one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy a set of authentication criteria; and in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria: initiate, by the electronic device, a secure task corresponding to the natural language input; and provide an output indicative of the initiated secure task. Example electronic devices are disclosed herein. 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: while the electronic device is in a locked state and in communication with an external accessory device: receiving a natural language input; determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request; in accordance with a determination that the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request: determining whether one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy a set of authentication criteria; and in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria: initiating, by the electronic device, a secure task corresponding to the natural language input; and providing an output indicative of the initiated secure task. An example electronic device comprises means for: while the electronic device is in a locked state and in communication with an external accessory device: receiving a natural language input; determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request; in accordance with a determination that the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request: determining whether one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy a set of authentication criteria; and in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria: initiating, by the electronic device, a secure task corresponding to the natural language input; and providing an output indicative of the initiated secure task. Initiating the secure task only when prescribed conditions are met (e.g., the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request and that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria) may provide