IP Library Granted Patent US 9,928,840
Granted Patent B2
US 9,928,840 · App. 15/176,830 · Granted Mar 27, 2018

Hotword recognition

Inventors: Matthew Sharifi (Kilchberg, CH); Jakob Nicolaus Foerster (Oxford, GB)
Assignee: Google LLC
G10L17/02G10L15/1815G10L15/285G10L25/51G10L2015/088
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,928,840
App. No.
15/176,830
Filed
Jun 8, 2016
Granted
Mar 27, 2018
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2659
USPC
704/231
Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for receiving audio data corresponding to an utterance, determining that the audio data corresponds to a hotword, generating a hotword audio fingerprint of the audio data that is determined to correspond to the hotword, comparing the hotword audio fingerprint to one or more stored audio fingerprints of audio data that was previously determined to correspond to the hotword, detecting whether the hotword audio fingerprint matches a stored audio fingerprint of audio data that was previously determined to correspond to the hotword based on whether the comparison indicates a similarity between the hotword audio fingerprint and one of the one or more stored audio fingerprints that satisfies a predetermined threshold, and in response to detecting that the hotword audio fingerprint matches a stored audio fingerprint, disabling access to a computing device into which the utterance was spoken.

Claims (47)

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a hotword detector of a mobile computing device that includes (a) the hotword detector, (b) an ultrasonic audio subsystem, and (c) a replay attack engine and that is (i) operating in a mode in which access to one or more resources is disabled, and (ii) configured to exit the mode in which access to the one or more resources is disabled upon detecting an utterance of a hotword, an initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword;

while a remaining portion of the hotword is being uttered and before the hotword is fully uttered, providing, by the ultrasonic audio subsystem of the mobile computing device, verification audio for output through a speaker of the mobile computing device; and

selectively exiting, by the replay attack engine of the mobile computing device, the mode in which access to the one or more resources is disabled after the hotword is fully uttered.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the verification audio comprises one of a plurality of unique ultrasonic audio samples.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the hotword is a particular term that triggers semantic interpretation of an additional term of one or more terms that follow the particular term.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the mobile computing device, an additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword;

determining that one of either the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword or the additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword comprises audio data corresponding to verification audio different than the verification audio provided for output through the speaker of the mobile computing device; and

disabling access to one or more resources of the mobile computing device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein disabling access to one or more resources of the mobile computing device comprises one or more of: preventing the mobile computing device from being unlocked, locking the mobile computing device, initiating an authentication process, and preventing the mobile computing device from waking.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the mobile computing device, an additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword;

determining that the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword and the additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword, collectively, correspond to the entire hotword,

wherein selectively exiting the mode is based at least in part on determining that the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword and the additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword, collectively, correspond to the entire hotword.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the verification audio is stored in a database in association with the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword.

8. A system comprising one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a hotword detector of a mobile computing device that includes (a) the hotword detector, (b) an ultrasonic audio subsystem, and (c) a replay attack engine and that is (i) operating in a mode in which access to one or more resources is disabled, and (ii) configured to exit the mode in which access to the one or more resources is disabled upon detecting an utterance of a hotword, an initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword;

while a remaining portion of the hotword is being uttered and before the hotword is fully uttered, providing, by the ultrasonic audio subsystem of the mobile computing device, verification audio for output through a speaker of the mobile computing device; and

selectively exiting, by the replay attack engine of the mobile computing device, the mode in which access to the one or more resources is disabled after the hotword is fully uttered.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the verification audio comprises one of a plurality of unique ultrasonic audio samples.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the hotword is a particular term that triggers semantic interpretation of an additional term of one or more terms that follow the particular term.

11. The system of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the mobile computing device, an additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword;

determining that one of either the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword or the additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword comprises audio data corresponding to verification audio different than the verification audio provided for output through the speaker of the mobile computing device; and

disabling access to one or more resources of the mobile computing device.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein disabling access to one or more resources of the mobile computing device comprises one or more of: preventing the mobile computing device from being unlocked, locking the mobile computing device, initiating an authentication process, and preventing the mobile computing device from waking.

13. The system of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the mobile computing device, an additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword;

determining that the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword and the additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword, collectively, correspond to the entire hotword,

wherein selectively exiting the mode is based at least in part on determining that the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword and the additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword, collectively, correspond to the entire hotword.

14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the verification audio is stored in a database in association with the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword.

15. A computer-readable storage device storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a hotword detector of a mobile computing device that includes (a) the hotword detector, (b) an ultrasonic audio subsystem, and (c) a replay attack engine and that is (i) operating in a mode in which access to one or more resources is disabled, and (ii) configured to exit the mode in which access to the one or more resources is disabled upon detecting an utterance of a hotword, an initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword;

while a remaining portion of the hotword is being uttered and before the hotword is fully uttered, providing, by the ultrasonic audio subsystem of the mobile computing device, verification audio for output through a speaker of the mobile computing device; and

selectively exiting, by the replay attack engine of the mobile computing device, the mode in which access to the one or more resources is disabled after the hotword is fully uttered.

16. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15 , wherein the verification audio comprises one of a plurality of unique ultrasonic audio samples.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15 , wherein the hotword is a particular term that triggers semantic interpretation of an additional term of one or more terms that follow the particular term.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the mobile computing device, an additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword;

determining that one of either the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword or the additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword comprises audio data corresponding to verification audio different than the verification audio provided for output through the speaker of the mobile computing device; and

disabling access to one or more resources of the mobile computing device.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18 , wherein disabling access to one or more resources of the mobile computing device comprises one or more of: preventing the mobile computing device from being unlocked, locking the mobile computing device, initiating an authentication process, and preventing the mobile computing device from waking.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the mobile computing device, an additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword;

determining that the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword and the additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword, collectively, correspond to the entire hotword,

wherein selectively exiting the mode is based at least in part on determining that the initial audio input corresponding to an utterance of an initial portion of a hotword and the additional audio input corresponding to an utterance of the remaining portion of a hotword, collectively, correspond to the entire hotword.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Oct 5, 2017
From: GOOGLE INC.
To: GOOGLE LLC
Reel/Frame 044129/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 8, 2016
From: SHARIFI, MATTHEW; FOERSTER, JAKOB NICOLAUS
To: GOOGLE INC.
Reel/Frame 038846/0433 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation 15176482 · Jun 8, 2016
Continuation 14943287 · Nov 17, 2015
Provisional Application 62242650 · Oct 16, 2015
Related Publication 20170110130A1 · Apr 20, 2017