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SamsungGranted patentAI & softwareInterest 6/10

Samsung patents voice assistant that stays awake for follow-up questions

Samsung describes a system where a voice assistant remains active after answering a question if the next spoken request is closely related to the first one. It uses semantic similarity to decide whether to keep listening or return to standby mode, reducing the need to repeat wake-up words.

Why it mattersThis could make voice interactions feel more natural by allowing users to ask related questions in a row without re-activating the device each time.

In the filing’s own words

An electronic apparatus includes a microphone; a speaker; a memory storing at least one instruction; and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory and the speaker, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the at least one instruction to: based on identifying that a first voice sensed through the microphone corresponds to a wake-up voice, convert a state of the electronic apparatus from a standby state to a wake-up state, based on a second voice being sensed while the state of the electronic apparatus is the wake-up state, identify a first user query included in first voice data obtained based on the second voice, perform a first operation corresponding to the first user query, identify a predetermined query corresponding to the first user query, obtain a query list including at least one query based on the predetermined query and user context information, identify a second user query included in second voice data obtained based on a third voice sensed through the microphone, and based on a first semantic similarity between the second user query and the at least one query of the query list being greater than or equal to a predetermined value, perform a second operation corresponding to the second user query and maintain the state of the electronic apparatus as the wake-up state.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic apparatus comprising: a microphone; a speaker; a memory storing at least one instruction; and one or more processors; wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the at least one instruction to: based on identifying that a first voice sensed through the microphone corresponds to a wake-up voice, convert a state of the electronic apparatus from a standby state to a wake-up state, based on a second voice being sensed while the state of the electronic apparatus is the wake-up state, identify a first user query included in first voice data obtained based on the second voice, perform a first operation corresponding to the first user query, identify a predetermined query corresponding to the first user query, obtain a query list comprising at least one query based on the predetermined query and user context information, identify a relevance to the first user query for each of the at least one query of the query list based on the predetermined query and the user context information, identify, from among the query list, a corresponding query having a maximum relevance to the first user query, identify a second user query included in second voice data obtained based on a third voice sensed through the microphone, identify a first semantic similarity between the second user query and the corresponding query having the maximum relevance, based on the first semantic similarity being greater than or equal to a predetermined value, perform a second operation corresponding to the second user query and maintain the state of the electronic apparatus as the wake-up state, identify a second semantic similarity between the second user query and the corresponding query, based on the second semantic similarity being greater than or equal to the predetermined value, perform the second operation corresponding to the second user query and maintain the state of the electronic apparatus as the wake-up state, and based on the second semantic similarity being less than the predetermined value, convert the state of the electronic apparatus from the wake-up state to the standby state and prevent performing the second operation corresponding to the second user query.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
Electronic apparatus and controlling method thereof
Patent number
US12763069B2
Application number
18518138
Filed
Nov 22, 2023
Granted
Oct 13, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
18

Classified under

G10L 15/1815 Physics & computingG06F 16/632 Physics & computingG06F 40/30 Physics & computingG10L 15/08 Physics & computingG10L 15/1822 Physics & computingG10L 15/183 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.