Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Ran Mokady

Christo Frank Devaraj

Brian Alexander Oliver

Tony Roy Hardie

Gregory Michael Hart

Sumedha Arvind Kshirsagar

Sandra Lemon

Nick Ciubotariu

Manish Kumar Dalmia

Samuel Scott Gigliotti

Nawdesh Uppal

Mario Chenier

Scott Southwood

Roman Yusufov

Hale Sostock

Brandon V Taylor

Nancy Yi Liang

Blair Harold Beebe

Venkata Krishnan Ramamoorthy

Chris G Parker

Systems, methods, and devices for outputting indications regarding voice-based interactions are described. A first speech-controlled device detects spoken audio corresponding to recipient information. The first device captures the audio and sends audio data corresponding to the captured audio to a server. The server determines a second speech-controlled device of the recipient and sends a signal to the recipient's second speech-controlled device representing a message is forthcoming. The recipient's second speech-controlled device outputs and indication representing a message is forthcoming.

Indicator for voice-based communications

Methods and systems for facilitating communications between shared electronic devices are described herein. In some embodiments, a group account may be assigned to a shared electronic device. The group account may include one or more user accounts, where individuals associated with those user accounts may interact with the shared electronic device, and also may form a part of the group account. When a message is sent from one shared electronic device to another personal device or shared electronic device, the message may be indicated as being sent from the group account, as if the shared electronic device corresponds to its own separate account. In some embodiments, speaker identification processing may be employed to determine a speaker of the message and, if the speaker is able to be identified, the message may be sent from the corresponding speaker's user account instead of the shared electronic device's corresponding group account.

Messaging from a shared device

Methods and devices for causing a communications session between a first device and a second device to end based on lack of speech activity are described herein. In some embodiments, a communications between a first device and a second device may be initiated by the first device, where a first user account associated with the first device is authorized to initiate communications session with the second device by a second user account. After the communications session is started, audio data is received by a speech activity detection system, which determines whether the audio data represents speech or non-speech. If, after the communications session begins, non-speech is detected by the first device for more than a predefined amount of time, then the communications session is caused to end so that the first device is not capable of receiving video and/or audio associated with the second device.

Recipient device presence activity monitoring for a communications session

Methods and systems for providing message playback using a shared electronic device is described herein. In response to receiving a request to output messages, a speech-processing system may determine a group account associated with a requesting device, and may determine messages stored by a message data store for the group account. Speaker identification processing may also be performed to determine a speaker of the request. A user account associated with the speaker, and messages stored for the user account, may be determined. A summary response indicating the user account's messages and the group account's message may then be generated such that the user account messages are identified prior to the group account's messages. The messages may then be analyzed to determine an appropriate voice user interface for the requester such that the playback of the messages using a shared electronic device is more natural and conversational.

Message playback using a shared device

Systems and methods to prevent or diminish message thread explosion are disclosed. Message data sent between members of a communal profile and/or between members of multiple communal profiles may be consolidated into a single message thread, which may be displayed on devices associated with the members associated with of the communal profile(s). Consolidation of the message data into a communal message thread may allow users to more intuitively view conversations between members of their communal profile and/or between members of their communal profile and other communal profiles without viewing individual message threads between members of the communal profile(s).

Message management for communal account

Techniques for enabling a system to verify operations or transactions as being associated with a user account are described. A system receives message data associated with an unverified operation or an unverified transaction. The system generates first audio data that includes a representation of a first digital signature based on at least a first verification code. The system sends a message including second message data with an ability to output the first audio data responsive to first device playing the first audio data within earshot of the second device. The system receives, from a second device, second audio data that represents the first audio data. The system determines that the second audio data includes an audio representation of a second digital signature based on at least the first verification code. The system verifies the unverified operation and associates the operation with the user account to indicate that the operation is a verified operation.

Audio verification

Methods and devices for causing a communications session between a first device and a second device to end based on lack of speech activity are described herein. In some embodiments, non-speech may be detected for both the first device and the second device. If the non-speech associated with the first device is determined to occur at a substantially same time as the non-speech associated with the second device, then this may indicate that no individuals are talking within earshot of their respective devices. Furthermore, the non-speech detected by the first device and the non-speech detected by the second device may both be of an amount of time that is greater than a predefined temporal threshold. If so, then the communications session may be caused to end because speech activity has not been detected by either device for more than the predefined temporal threshold.

Ending communications session based on presence data

Techniques for enabling a system to verify that contact data are to be added to a user account are described. A system receives message data. The system generates first audio data that includes a representation of a verification code. The system sends a message comprising the audio data to a first device. The system receives, from a second device, second audio data that represents the first audio data. The system confirms that the second audio data included a representation of the verification code, and then verifies that the contact data is to be added to the user account.

Systems, methods, and devices for outputting visual indications regarding voice-based interactions are described. A first speech-controlled device detects spoken audio corresponding to a voice message to a second speech-controlled device. The first device captures the audio and sends audio data corresponding to the captured audio to a server. The server performs speech processing on the audio data to determine a recipient and message content. The server then determines a second speech-controlled device associated with the recipient and sends the message content to the recipient's second speech-controlled device. Thereafter, the server receives an indication from the recipient's speech-controlled device that the second device is detecting speech, presumably in response to the original message. The server then causes a visual indication to be output by the first speech-controlled device, with the visual indication representing the recipient-speech controlled device is detecting speech.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Ran Mokady