IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,403,924
Granted Patent B2
US 12,403,924 · App. 17/390,778 · Granted Sep 2, 2025

Systems and methods for responding to audible commands and/or adjusting vehicle components based thereon

Inventors: Nikhil Gowda (San Francisco, CA); Stefan Witwicki (San Carlos, CA)
Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
B60W50/10B60R16/0373B60W50/085G10L15/22B60W2540/21G10L2015/223
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,403,924
App. No.
17/390,778
Granted
Sep 2, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for adjusting vehicle components based on audible commands are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the system includes a plurality of adjustable vehicle components, an audio device, and a controller. The audio device is configured to receive an audible command and generate corresponding command data. The controller is programmed to generate at least one confidence score based on the command data and (i) cause a first response to be output from the audio device after determining that the at least one confidence score does not meet a first threshold, (ii) cause a second response to be output from the audio device after determining that the at least one confidence score does not meet a second threshold, and (iii) cause an adjustment of at least one adjustable vehicle component after determining that the at least one confidence score meets the second threshold.

Claims (57)

1. A system for adjusting vehicle components based on audible commands received within a vehicle, the system comprising:

a plurality of adjustable vehicle components;

an audio device configured to receive an audible command from an occupant within the vehicle and generate corresponding command data; and

a controller programmed to generate a first confidence score and a second confidence score based on the command data and determine whether the second confidence score meets a second threshold after determining whether the first confidence score meets a first threshold,

the controller further programmed to (i) cause a first response to be output from the audio device after determining that the first confidence score does not meet the first threshold, (ii) cause a second response to be output from the audio device after determining that the second confidence score does not meet the second threshold, the second response different from the first response, and (iii) cause an adjustment of at least one adjustable vehicle component of the plurality of adjustable vehicle components after considering the first threshold and then the second threshold and determining that the first confidence score does not meet the first threshold but the second confidence score meets the second threshold and one or more word matching a function from a narrowed list of functions corresponds to current context data from one or more vehicle sensor related to the function.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein

the first response requests that the audible command be repeated, and

the second response requests that the audible command be rephrased.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein

the at least one adjustable vehicle component includes at least one of a seat, a window, a windshield wiper system, a volume control device, a drive system, a lock, a temperature control system, or a navigation system.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein

the adjustment of the at least one adjustable vehicle component includes at least one of a mechanical adjustment, a volume level adjustment, a temperature adjustment, or a route adjustment.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein

the current context data includes at least one of (i) vehicle component data relating to a current state of at least one adjustable vehicle component of the plurality of adjustable vehicle components, (ii) occupant data relating to a current state of one or more occupant of the vehicle, (iii) weather data relating to a current state of weather, (iv) traffic data relating to a current state of traffic, or (v) road data relating to a current state of one or more road.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein

the controller is configured to generate the second confidence score when the context data corresponds to at least a portion of the command data.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein

the current context data includes first context data from the one or more vehicle sensor relating to a current state of the at least one adjustable vehicle component and second context data from a remote location relating to a current state of weather, traffic or one or more road, and

the controller is programmed to cause the adjustment of the at least one adjustable vehicle component of the plurality of adjustable vehicle components after determining that the function from the narrowed list of functions corresponds to the first context data and the second context data.

8. A system for adjusting vehicle components based on audible commands received within a vehicle, the system comprising:

a plurality of adjustable vehicle components;

an audio device configured to receive an audible command from an occupant within the vehicle and generate corresponding command data; and

a controller programmed to generate a first confidence score and a second confidence score from the audible command and determine whether the second confidence score meets a second threshold after determining whether the first confidence score meets a first threshold,

the controller further programmed to (i) narrow a list of functions based on one or more word from the audible command after determining that the first confidence score does not meet the first threshold, (ii) access current context data from one or more vehicle sensor relating to a current state of the vehicle based on the narrowed list of functions, (iii) determine correspondence between the audible command and at least one adjustable vehicle component of the plurality of adjustable vehicle components based on the current state of the vehicle, and (iv) cause an adjustment of the at least one adjustable vehicle component after determining the correspondence and that the second confidence score meets the second threshold.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein

the current context data includes at least one of (i) vehicle component data relating to a current state of at least one adjustable vehicle component of the plurality of adjustable vehicle components, (ii) occupant data relating to a current state of one or more occupant of the vehicle, (iii) weather data relating to a current state of weather, (iv) traffic data relating to a current state of traffic, or (v) road data relating to a current state of one or more road.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein

the at least one vehicle sensor includes at least one camera directed toward an occupant of the vehicle, the at least one camera configured to generate the current context data.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein

the current context data includes first context data from the one or more vehicle sensor relating to the current state of the vehicle and second context data from a remote location relating to a current state of weather, traffic or one or more road, and

the controller is programmed to determine the correspondence between the audible command and the at least one adjustable vehicle component of the plurality of adjustable vehicle components based on the current state of the vehicle using the first context data from the one or more vehicle sensor and the second context data from the remote location.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein

the first confidence score is generated using the command data and not the current context data,

the second confidence score is generated using the command data and the current context data.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein

the controller is programmed to cause a first response to be output from the audio device after determining that the first confidence score does not meet the first threshold,

the controller is programmed to cause a second response to be output from the audio device after determining that the second confidence score does not meet the second threshold.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein

the first response requests that the audible command be repeated, and

the second response requests that the audible command be rephrased.

15. The system of claim 8 , wherein

the controller is configured to generate the second confidence score when the context data corresponds to at least a portion of the command data.

16. A system for adjusting vehicle components based on audible commands received within a vehicle, the system comprising:

a plurality of adjustable vehicle components;

an audio device configured to receive an audible command from an occupant within the vehicle and generate corresponding command data; and

a controller programmed to generate a first confidence score and a second confidence score from the audible command, to determine whether the second confidence score meets a second threshold after determining whether the first confidence score meets a first threshold, to receive current context data from one or more vehicle sensor relating to a current state of the vehicle, and to determine correspondence between the current context data and at least a portion of the command data,

the controller further programmed to (i) cause a first response to be output from the audio device after determining that the first confidence score does not meet the first threshold and the current context data does not correspond to at least a portion of the command data, (ii) cause a second response to be output from the audio device after determining that the current context data corresponds to at least a portion of the command data but the second confidence score does not meet the second threshold, and (iii) cause an adjustment of at least one adjustable vehicle component of the plurality of adjustable vehicle components after considering the first threshold and then the second threshold and determining that the first confidence score does not meet the first threshold but the second confidence score meets the second threshold and a function from a narrowed list of functions corresponding to particular current context data from the one or more vehicle sensor corresponds to at least a portion of the command data.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein

the first response requests that the audible command be repeated, and

the second response requests that the audible command be rephrased.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein

the current context data includes at least one of (i) vehicle component data relating to a current state of at least one adjustable vehicle component of the plurality of adjustable vehicle components, (ii) occupant data relating to a current state of one or more occupant of the vehicle, (iii) weather data relating to a current state of weather, (iv) traffic data relating to a current state of traffic, or (v) road data relating to a current state of one or more road.

19. The system of claim 16 , wherein

the current context data includes first context data from the one or more vehicle sensor relating to the current state of the at least one adjustable vehicle component and second context data from a remote location relating to a current state of weather, traffic or one or more road, and

the controller is programmed to cause the adjustment of the at least one adjustable vehicle component of the plurality of adjustable vehicle components after determining that the function from the narrowed list of functions corresponds to the first context data and the second context data.

20. The system of claim 16 , wherein

the controller is configured to generate the second confidence score when the context data corresponds to at least a portion of the command data.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 7, 2025
From: GOWDA, NIKHIL; WITWICKI, STEFAN
To: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Reel/Frame 071956/0546 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230035752A1 · Feb 2, 2023
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