AUTOMATED ASSISTANT THAT DETECTS AND SUPPLEMENTS VARIOUS VEHICLE COMPUTING DEVICE CAPABILITIES

Abstract

Implementations set forth herein relate to interactions, between vehicle computing devices (218) and mobile computing devices (142, 216), that reduce duplicative processes from occurring at either device. Reduction of such processes can be performed, in some instances, via communications between a vehicle computing device (218) and a mobile computing device (142, 216) in order to determine, for example, how to uniquely render content at an interface of each respective computing device while the user (102, 202) is driving the vehicle (108, 208). These communications can occur before a user (102, 202) has entered a vehicle (108, 208), while the user (102, 202) is in the vehicle (108, 208), and/or after a user (102, 202) has left the vehicle (108, 208). For instance, just before a user (102, 202) enters a vehicle (108, 208), a vehicle computing device (218) can be primed for certain automated assistant interactions between the user (102, 202) and their mobile computing device (142, 216). Alternatively, or additionally, the user (102, 202) can authorize the vehicle computing device (218) to perform certain processes immediately after leaving the vehicle (108, 208). FIG. 4 is the representative figure

Specification

EXTRACTED FROM WIPO

Automated Assistant that Detects and Supplements

Various Vehicle Computing Device Capabilities

Background

[0001] Humans may engage in human-to-computer dialogs with interactive software applications referred to herein as "automated assistants" (also referred to as "digital agents," "chatbots," "interactive personal assistants," "intelligent personal assistants," "assistant applications," "conversational agents," etc.). For example, humans (which when they interact with automated assistants may be referred to as "users") may provide commands and/or requests to an automated assistant using spoken natural language input (i.e., utterances), which may in some cases be converted into text and then processed, and/or by providing textual ( e.g ., typed) natural language input.

[0002] Automated assistants can be installed at a variety of different devices such as, for example, mobile phones and personal computers. A user can cause a particular application at a mobile phone or a personal computer to perform a particular action by interacting with a respective automated assistant. However, in circumstances when a user is located in a vehicle, the user may attempt to invoke an automated assistant via their mobile phone, which may not be placed in a location suitable for detecting spoken utterances. For example, a user that places their mobile phone in a cup-holder upon entering their vehicle may limit the capabilities of any audio interfaces (e.g., speakers, microphones, etc.) of the mobile phone. As a result, the user may have difficulties invoking the automated assistant via their mobile phone, and therefore may not be able to benefit from automotive-related features.

[0003] In some instances, a vehicle may have a dedicated computing device that can connect with a mobile phone of a user via Bluetooth or other wireless communications protocol. In this way, the vehicle computing device can establish communications channels with portable computing devices that a user brings into the vehicle. However, efficiency can vary with respect to vehicle computing devices communicating with a particular mobile device and/or a mobile device application. For example, although a vehicle computing device may provide access to secured applications, executing an authentication process at the vehicle computing device may be duplicative when a user is already verified with a mobile device present in the vehicle. In some instances, a vehicle computing device may include a dedicated display interface for rendering an application interface of any particular application installed at the vehicle computing device. However, the vehicle computing device may impetuously waste computational resources displaying application content that is currently being, or may have already been, rendered at a display interface of a mobile computing device within the vehicle. Alternatively, or additionally, some mobile device applications may not be compatible with certain vehicle computing devices, and in such instances, a user may be limited to a device application interface that is unsafe to view in a vehicle.

Summary

[0004] Implementations set forth herein relate to interactions between a vehicle, and/or vehicle computing device, and an automated assistant that is accessible via an ecosystem of client devices ( e.g ., mobile device, standalone speaker device, standalone display device, etc.). For instance, some implementations herein relate to assistant interactions that occur before a user has entered their vehicle, while the user is in their vehicle, and/or after a user has exited their vehicle. In some implementations, according to a type of vehicle that a user employs, the user can interact with their automated assistant to achieve technical benefits from certain vehicle-related features of the automated assistant. In this way, the automated assistant can adapt to a variety of different vehicle types that may have varying types of vehicle computing devices and/or interfaces. The adaptability of the automated assistant, according to some implementations herein, can achieve increased safety for passengers of a vehicle.

[0005] For example, a user that carries their mobile computing device into their vehicle can provide a spoken utterance (e.g., "Navigate to the nearest basketball court.") to an automated assistant to receive navigation instructions. However, depending on the type of vehicle, the vehicle may already include a dedicated vehicle computing device that provides access to an instance of the automated assistant or a different automated assistant. When the vehicle is a first type of vehicle that includes a vehicle computing device that provides access to a vehicle automated assistant, the mobile computing device, and/or the client automated assistant of the mobile computing device, can detect a response from the vehicle automated assistant. Based on the response from the vehicle automated assistant (e.g, "Ok, navigating to the nearest basketball court."), the client automated assistant of the mobile computing device can provide a different response than the response from the vehicle automated assistant. For example, the mobile

computing device can, in response to the spoken utterance, render content that supplements the content being rendered by the vehicle automated assistant. In some instances, the client automated assistant can initialize a separate application that can provide, with prior permission from the user, content associated with the navigation instructions requested by the user ( e.g ., operating hours of the basketball court, social media posts related to the basketball court, calendar data associated with the basketball court, messages that identify the basketball court, etc.).

[0006] Alternatively, or additionally, a user that enters a second type of vehicle that does not provide access to the vehicle automated assistant, or an instance of the client automated assistant, may receive a different response when providing an assistant input while riding in the vehicle. For example, when a user provides a spoken utterance such as, "Navigate to the nearest basketball court," while in a vehicle that has no vehicle automated assistant, the client automated assistant can detect a lack of response from any other automated assistant. Alternatively, or additionally, the mobile client device can detect a type of vehicle that the user is currently located in and determine that the vehicle does not have a dedicated vehicle automated assistant. Therefore, in response to the spoken utterance from the user, the client automated assistant can provide an output that is at least partially based on the lack of an additional automated assistant and/or interactive vehicle computing device being present. In some instances, the client automated assistant can provide content that satisfies the request embodied in the spoken utterance (e.g., "Ok, in 100 meters, take a left on Bardstown Road."). In this way, the client automated assistant can adapt to capabilities and functionality of various vehicles in which the user may ride.

[0007] In some implementations, a mobile computing device and a vehicle computing device can cooperate to perform certain operations that can allow each respective device to supplement features of the other device. For example, a particular type of vehicle can include a vehicle computing device with a display panel that includes a touch interface. Furthermore, a mobile computing device can include a fingerprint sensor and/or forward-facing camera. When a user provides an assistant input to the vehicle automated assistant for initializing a secured operation, the user can be provided with a request to authenticate with an instance of the automated assistant. For example, and according to a preference of the user, the client automated assistant can solicit the user to perform fingerprint authentication via the fingerprint sensor of the mobile computing device. Therefore, although the vehicle automated assistant received the spoken utterance, the client automated assistant can be invoked in order to assist with authentication of the user.

[0008] In some instances, the user may initially have their mobile computing device in a low cup holder of the vehicle, which can hinder detection of certain inputs from the user to the mobile computing device. When the client automated assistant solicits the user to participate in, for example, facial recognition process using the mobile computing device, the user may move the mobile computing device from out of the low cup holder to a higher area on the dashboard. As a result, the client automated assistant can perform facial recognition via a front-facing camera of the mobile computing device, and also more readily detect subsequent inputs without being hindered by the cup holder. In this way, an ability of a vehicle device to leverage operating features of another device in the vehicle can encourage a user to arrange each respective device within their vehicle in a way that improves the functionality of all devices.

[0009] In some implementations, the user may prefer facial authentication for initializing certain secured operations over fingerprint authentication. As a result, the vehicle automated assistant can invoke the client automated assistant in order to encourage the user to relocate their mobile computing device to a location that allows the forward-facing camera of the mobile computing device to detect a face of the user. In vehicles that do not include an interior facing camera, or an interior camera that can be reoriented toward a face of the user, the vehicle computing device can be assisted by the available features of the mobile computing device. In some implementations, vehicle-related transactions can be authenticated before the user enters the vehicle, while the user is in the vehicle, and/or after the user has left the vehicle. For example, a vehicle that is shared by multiple persons can include a vehicle computing device that can request to synchronize certain data prior to a particular user entering the vehicle. In order to authenticate the particular user prior to entering the vehicle, the vehicle computing device and/or vehicle automated assistant can invoke a client automated assistant that is accessible via a mobile computing device of that particular user.

[0010] As an example, a vehicle can be shared among multiple persons of a household that include a primary user that owns the vehicle and a guest user that borrows the vehicle on weekends. When a vehicle computing device of the vehicle predicts that the guest user may be driving the vehicle during an upcoming time period, the vehicle computing device can

communicate with a mobile computing device of the guest user. The communication between the vehicle computing device and the mobile computing device can cause a client automated assistant to solicit the guest user for authorization to synchronize certain features of the mobile computing device with the vehicle computing device. For example, the vehicle computing device can provide access to a podcast application that is also accessible via the mobile computing device. Therefore, the vehicle computing device can solicit the user to approve a synchronization operation associated with each instance of the podcast application and also authenticate themselves in order to ensure that the operation is a secured operation. For instance, the vehicle computing device can cause first content, such as a selectable suggestion ( e.g ., "Sync podcasts with vehicle?") to appear at an interface of the mobile computing device. The guest user can select to confirm the suggestion and, in response, the mobile computing device can solicit the user to perform a biometric authorization (e.g., facial recognition and/or fingerprint scan). In this way, the vehicle computing device can allow for secured operations to be authorized using a biometric interface that may not be available at the vehicle computing device.

[0011] Synchronization operations can allow the vehicle to access, with prior permission from a user, destinations and/or locations that one or more computing devices associated with the user have been to. Alternatively, or additionally, synchronization operations can allow a client computing device, with prior permission from the user, to identify other destinations and/or other locations that the vehicle has been to. In some instances, a user can provide authorization, via their mobile computing device, for the vehicle to grant certain permissions to another user or another device. For example, a user that leaves their vehicle at a service shop may eventually need to provide permission for the service shop to access certain features of their vehicle and/or certain data about their vehicle. When the service shop attempts to access a corresponding feature and/or data, a vehicle automated assistant can invoke the client automated assistant at the mobile computing device in order to solicit the user for authorization. In some implementations, the user can authorize the service shop to access certain vehicle features and/or vehicle data by performing a biometric authorization at their client computing device. In some implementations, such authorization operations can be performed before a user has entered their vehicle, while a user is in their vehicle, and/or after a user has left their vehicle.

[0012] In some implementations, a client automated assistant and/or other application of a client computing device can detect a type of vehicle that is associated with a particular user. For example, a user that brings their mobile computing device into their vehicle can cause the mobile computing device to detect certain features of the vehicle. By identifying those features, the client automated assistant can determine the type of vehicle that the mobile computing device has been relocated into and retrieve data about the vehicle via one or more sources ( e.g ., the internet). The client automated assistant can then use this data to answer questions that the user may have about the vehicle. For example, when the user is wanting to determine a type of oil to buy at the store, the user can ask their client automated assistant and, based on the data retrieved by the mobile computing device, the client automated assistant can render an output responsive to the query from the user (e.g., "Your vehicle uses 10W-30 oil."). In some implementations, the client automated assistant can learn features of the vehicle over time, with prior permission from the user, as the user interacts with the vehicle and/or any vehicle-related applications. For example, an embedding can be generated based on various sources of data (e.g, a car insurance application, images of a vehicle, maintenance indicators, etc.), and the embedding can be mapped to a latent space. The client automated assistant can then identify a shortest embedding distance between the embedding and another embedding corresponding to a particular vehicle. This particular vehicle can then be identified as the vehicle in which the user has placed their mobile computing device.

[0013] Alternatively, or additionally, the mobile computing device can adapt to certain vehicle and/or driving circumstances in order to promote safety of the user and/or operational efficiency. For example, when the automated assistant determines that the user is riding in a vehicle, the automated assistant can suppress certain notifications considered to be less urgent and/or less important than other notifications that may be available to the user. Alternatively, or additionally, the automated assistant, while a user is riding in a vehicle, can detect keyboard usage at the mobile computing device and, with prior permission from the user, initialize dictation over the keyboard in order to encourage voice dictation of text instead of keyboard usage. Alternatively, or additionally, the automated assistant can initialize a driving-optimized user interface at the mobile computing device, a selectable dictation icon, a selectable settings icon for modifying driving settings (e.g., enabling larger text, screen dictation, etc.).

[0014] In some implementations, the client automated assistant can put the user on notice of certain information about their vehicle, even when the vehicle does not have a dedicated vehicle automated assistant and/or a vehicle computing device that the client automated assistant can communicate with. For example, the client automated assistant can employ one or more trained machine learning models and/or one or more heuristic processes to provide vehicle information to a user before a user is in a vehicle, while a user is in a vehicle, and after a user has left their vehicle. In some instances, when a user mounts their mobile computing device in their vehicle, a rear-facing camera of the mobile computing device can, with prior permission from the user, capture one or more images of a dashboard display of the vehicle. The dashboard can display a variety of different maintenance indicator lights that can put the user on notice of certain issues with the vehicle. In some implementations, an image of the dashboard display and/or other vehicle data can be processed using one or more trained machine learning models in order to generate notifications for the user about their vehicle. For example, the dashboard display can include an illuminated icon that represents a "low coolant" state of the vehicle. An image that captures this illuminated icon can be processed in order for the client automated assistant to generate a vehicle notification for the user in certain contexts ( e.g ., before the user is expected to enter the vehicle, the client automated assistant can render an audible output such as, "I noticed that the coolant in your 1972 Bronko is low."). In some implementations, other data detected via one or more interfaces of the mobile computing device can also be used to generate vehicle-related notifications for the user before a drive, during a drive, and/or after a drive.

[0015] For example, the vehicle may intentionally or unintentionally provide certain audible or inaudible (e.g., over 20,000 Hz) sounds that can be detected by the client automated assistant. Audio data capturing these sounds (e.g, a "low fuel" chime, a squeaky break pad, etc.) can be processed using one or more trained machine learning models and/or one or more heuristic processes in order to generate vehicle-related notifications. For example, a brake with a depleted pad may output audio above an audible frequency that can be detected by a human. However, the client automated assistant can process this sound using a trained machine learning model that has been trained to categorize certain vehicle sounds. As a result, the client automated assistant can provide an output based on the processing in order to generate a notification (e.g, "I noticed you need to replace your brake pads."), even though the vehicle does not have a dedicated vehicle automated assistant that is able to do so. Alternatively, or

additionally, the client automated assistant can communicate vehicle-related data to other applications ( e.g ., a shopping application) in order to reduce a number of manual steps (e.g. , ordering replacement brake pads) the user may need to take in order to complete certain maintenance tasks for their vehicle.

[0016] The above description is provided as an overview of some implementations of the present disclosure. Further description of those implementations, and other implementations, are described in more detail below.

[0017] Other implementations may include a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit(s) (CPU(s)), graphics processing unit(s) (GPU(s)), and/or tensor processing unit(s) (TPU(s)) to perform a method such as one or more of the methods described above and/or elsewhere herein. Yet other implementations may include a system of one or more computers that include one or more processors operable to execute stored instructions to perform a method such as one or more of the methods described above and/or elsewhere herein.

[0018] It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts described in greater detail herein are contemplated as being part of the subject matter disclosed herein. For example, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the subject matter disclosed herein.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] FIG. 1 A, FIG. IB, FIG. 1C, and FIG. ID illustrate views of a user interacting with a client automated assistant that can adapt to various types of vehicles and/or vehicle capabilities.

[0020] FIG. 2 illustrates a view of a user invoking, while in a vehicle, an automated assistant that adapts to various different vehicle types that can include various computing device capabilities.

[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates a system that provides access to an automated assistant that can adapt to various types of vehicles and/or vehicle capabilities.

[0022] FIG. 4 illustrates a method for detecting a type of vehicle into which a mobile computing device has been placed, and rendering content for a user based on the type of vehicle.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example computer system.

Detailed Description

[0024] FIG. 1A, FIG. IB, FIG. 1C, and FIG. ID illustrates a view 100, a view 120, a view 140, a view 160, and a view 180 of a user 102 interacting with a client automated assistant that can adapt to various types of vehicles and/or vehicle capabilities. For example, in some implementations a user 102 can employ an ecosystem of assistant-enabled devices, such as a standalone speaker device 104, a cellular phone, and/or any other device that can provide access to an automated assistant. Although the user 102 can also have a vehicle 108, the vehicle 108 may not have a dedicated vehicle computing device that the user 102 can interact with in order to access an automated assistant and/or one or more other applications. Regardless, one or more devices in the ecosystem of assistant-enabled devices can detect a type of vehicle corresponding to the vehicle 108 of the user 102 in order to provide vehicle related assistant features.

[0025] For example, the standalone speaker device 104 can process, with prior permission from the user 102, data that indicates a work routine of the user 102. Alternatively, or additionally, the standalone speaker device 104 can process, with prior permission from the user 102, data that characterizes a type of vehicle that the user 102 employs to get to their job. Based on this data processing, the automated assistant can determine that the type of vehicle 108 corresponds to a vehicle that does not include an interactive computing device that provides access to an automated assistant and/or multiple different applications. The automated assistant can then use this information to suggest that the user 102 utilizes vehicle-related features of the automated assistant.

[0026] For example, the automated assistant can perform an operation 110 of detecting a vehicle type of the vehicle 108 and determining whether the user 102 is going on an upcoming trip. Based on the automated assistant detecting that the vehicle 108 has limited functionality, the automated assistant can render an output 112 for the user 102 such as, "Would you like to download your audiobook to your cellphone for your trip?" In response, the user 102 can provide a spoken utterance 116 to the standalone speaker device 104 such as, "Yes, please." Based on this spoken utterance 116 from the user 102, the automated assistant can perform an operation 114 of downloading the audiobook data. This operation 114 can be performed while the user 102 is in their home 106 and prior to the user 102 entering their vehicle 108 to begin their trip to work.

[0027] In some implementations, when the user 102 brings a mobile computing device into the vehicle 108 during a trip, the automated assistant can perform certain operations in order to enable vehicle-related features for the user 102. For example, and as provided in view 120 of FIG. IB, the automated assistant can perform an operation of detecting a type of vehicle that the user 102 has brought their mobile computing device into. When the automated assistant determines that the vehicle 108 is a type of vehicle that does not include an integrated and interactive computing device, the automated assistant can process other data to provide vehicle-related features for the user 102. For example, the automated assistant can perform an operation 132 of identifying, using a camera of the mobile computing device, a vehicle engine light that is illuminated at a dashboard of the vehicle 108. Using this information, the automated assistant can process data that is related to the vehicle engine light in order to provide additional information that can assist the user 102 with resolving an issue corresponding to the vehicle engine light.

[0028] In some implementations, the automated assistant can, with prior permission from the user, have access to application data that the user 102 has accessed, in order to provide information that can supplement any indications from the vehicle 108. For example, the user 102 may have previously accessed an application associated with a maintenance shop that the user previously contracted to perform an oil change on their vehicle 108. In some instances, the application data can indicate a mileage of the vehicle 108 when the last oil change was performed. Using this information, and an image of the dashboard with the engine light ( e.g ., an oil change light) illuminated, the automated assistant can render an output 130 such as, "You have driven 4,300 miles since your last oil change."

[0029] Alternatively, or additionally, the mobile computing device can detect one or more types of sounds 128 being intentionally or unintentionally generated by one or more operations of the vehicle 108. For example, and as indicated in view 120 of FIG. IB, the automated assistant can detect the sound 128 via one or more interfaces of the mobile computing device. The automated assistant can determine, using one or more heuristic processes and/or trained machine learning models, that the sound 128 corresponds to the sound of acceleration. Based on this determination, and one or more images captured of a street 126 and/or other vehicle 124 in front of the vehicle 108, the automated assistant can render a warning output 134 (e.g., "Warning! Please slow down."). In this way, even though the vehicle 108 does not include a dedicated

vehicle automated assistant, the user 102 can still benefit from supplemental information generated by the client automated assistant.

[0030] In some instances, the user 102 can be operating the vehicle 108 with their mobile computing device 142 residing at a location within the vehicle 108 that is not optimized for detecting inputs from the user 102 and/or features of the vehicle 108. In order to encourage the user 102 to set the mobile computing device 142 in a more suitable location for operating each respective interface of the mobile computing device 142, the automated assistant can provide certain output. For example, the user 102 can provide a spoken utterance 144 such as, "What's on my calendar?" In response to the spoken utterance, the automated assistant can provide an output that is responsive to the spoken utterance and encourages the user 102 to relocate their device to a more suitable location ( e.g ., a device holder 148). The output 146 from the automated assistant can be, for example, "For this operation, please mount this device and authenticate using face recognition." In this way, the output 146 generated by the automated assistant can be based on the spoken utterance, the location of the mobile computing device 142 within the vehicle 108, and a type of vehicle as determined by the automated assistant associated with the mobile computing device 142.

[0031] In response to the output 146, the user 102 can maneuver their mobile computing device 142 to the device holder 148, as indicated in operation 162 of FIG. ID. When the mobile computing device 142 is mounted in the device holder 148, the automated assistant can, with prior permission from the user 102, access graphical data generated by a forward-facing camera of the mobile computing device 142. Based on this graphical data, the automated assistant can determine that the mobile computing device 142 is mounted in a more suitable location for receiving inputs from the user 102 and/or detecting features of the vehicle 108. Alternatively, or additionally, the automated assistant can perform face recognition, as indicated in operation 164. When the face recognition is completed successfully in the vehicle 108, the automated assistant can initialize performance of one or more operations requested by the user 102. For example, in response to the spoken utterance 144, the automated assistant can authenticate the user 102 and then provide an output 166 such as, "You have a meeting with Shaimaa at 2:00PM EST."

[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates a view 200 of a user 202 invoking, while in a vehicle 208, an automated assistant that adapts to various different vehicle types, and each vehicle type can include a degree of computing device capabilities. For example, the user 202 can enter a vehicle 208 with their mobile computing device 216, and mount the mobile computing device 216 on a device holder 214. When the mobile computing device 216 is positioned on the device holder 214, the mobile computing device 216 can identify one or more features of the vehicle 208 in order to determine a type of vehicle that corresponds to the vehicle 208. For example, the user 202 can provide a spoken utterance 204 to a vehicle automated assistant, which can provide an output that can be detected by the mobile computing device 216. The spoken utterance 204 can be, for example, "What's on my calendar today?", which can cause a vehicle computing device 218 of the vehicle 208 to provide a responsive output 206 such as, "You have a meeting with Shaimaa at 2:00PM EST."

[0033] The mobile computing device 216 can perform an operation 210 of detecting this audible output via an audio interface of the mobile computing device 216. Based on detecting the responsive output 206, a client automated assistant that is accessible via the mobile computing device 216 can determine a type of vehicle corresponding to the vehicle 208. For example, the type of vehicle can be one that includes a vehicle computing device 218 that provides access to one or more different applications and/or a vehicle automated assistant. Based on this determination, the automated assistant can generate content that supplements the output from the vehicle automated assistant. For example, the client automated assistant can perform an operation 212 of rendering meeting related content, based on the natural language content ( e.g ., "meeting with Shaimaa at 2:00PM EST") embodied in the responsive output 206 from the vehicle automated assistant. The related content can be generated based on a comparison between the natural language content embodied in the responsive output 206 and application data that is accessible to the automated assistant. For example, the client automated assistant can render a map of a location for the meeting using location data retrieved by the client automated assistant from a calendar application associated with the user 202.

[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates a system 300 that provides access to an automated assistant that can adapt to various types of vehicles and/or vehicle capabilities. The automated assistant 304 can operate as part of an assistant application that is provided at one or more computing devices, such as a computing device 302 and/or a server device. A user can interact with the automated assistant 304 via assistant interface(s) 320, which can be a microphone, a camera, a touch screen display, a user interface, vehicle, and/or any other apparatus capable of providing an interface between a user and an application. For instance, a user can initialize the automated assistant 304 by providing a verbal, textual, and/or a graphical input to an assistant interface 320 to cause the automated assistant 304 to initialize one or more actions ( e.g ., provide data, control a peripheral device, access an agent, interact with a vehicle, generate an input and/or an output, etc.).

Alternatively, the automated assistant 304 can be initialized based on processing of contextual data 336 using one or more trained machine learning models. The contextual data 336 can characterize one or more features of an environment in which the automated assistant 304 is accessible, and/or one or more features of a user that is predicted to be intending to interact with the automated assistant 304. The computing device 302 can include a display device, which can be a display panel that includes a touch interface for receiving touch inputs and/or gestures for allowing a user to control applications 334 of the computing device 302 via the touch interface. In some implementations, the computing device 302 can lack a display device, thereby providing an audible user interface output, without providing a graphical user interface output. Furthermore, the computing device 302 can provide a user interface, such as a microphone, for receiving spoken natural language inputs from a user. In some implementations, the computing device 302 can include a touch interface and can be void of a camera, but can optionally include one or more other sensors.

[0035] The computing device 302 and/or other third party client devices can be in communication with a server device over a network, such as the internet. Additionally, the computing device 302 and any other computing devices can be in communication with each other over a local area network (LAN), such as a Wi-Fi network. The computing device 302 can offload computational tasks to the server device in order to conserve computational resources at the computing device 302. For instance, the server device can host the automated assistant 304, and/or computing device 302 can transmit inputs received at one or more assistant interfaces 320 to the server device. However, in some implementations, the automated assistant 304 can be hosted at the computing device 302, and various processes that can be associated with automated assistant operations can be performed at the computing device 302.

[0036] In various implementations, all or less than all aspects of the automated assistant 304 can be implemented on the computing device 302. In some of those implementations, aspects of the automated assistant 304 are implemented via the computing device 302 and can interface with a server device, which can implement other aspects of the automated assistant 304. The server device can optionally serve a plurality of users and their associated assistant applications via multiple threads. In implementations where all or less than all aspects of the automated assistant 304 are implemented via computing device 302, the automated assistant 304 can be an application that is separate from an operating system of the computing device 302 ( e.g ., installed "on top" of the operating system) - or can alternatively be implemented directly by the operating system of the computing device 302 (e.g., considered an application of, but integral with, the operating system).

[0037] In some implementations, the automated assistant 304 can include an input processing engine 306, which can employ multiple different modules for processing inputs and/or outputs for the computing device 302 and/or a server device. For instance, the input processing engine 306 can include a speech processing engine 308, which can process audio data received at an assistant interface 320 to identify the text embodied in the audio data. The audio data can be transmitted from, for example, the computing device 302 to the server device in order to preserve computational resources at the computing device 302. Additionally, or alternatively, the audio data can be exclusively processed at the computing device 302.

[0038] The process for converting the audio data to text can include a speech recognition algorithm, which can employ neural networks, and/or statistical models for identifying groups of audio data corresponding to words or phrases. The text converted from the audio data can be parsed by a data parsing engine 310 and made available to the automated assistant 304 as textual data that can be used to generate and/or identify command phrase(s), intent(s), action(s), slot value(s), and/or any other content specified by the user. In some implementations, output data provided by the data parsing engine 310 can be provided to a parameter engine 312 to determine whether the user provided an input that corresponds to a particular intent, action, and/or routine capable of being performed by the automated assistant 304 and/or an application or agent that is capable of being accessed via the automated assistant 304. For example, assistant data 338 can be stored at the server device and/or the computing device 302, and can include data that defines one or more actions capable of being performed by the automated assistant 304, as well as parameters necessary to perform the actions. The parameter engine 312 can generate one or more parameters for an intent, action, and/or slot value, and provide the one or more parameters to an output generating engine 314. The output generating engine 314 can use the one or more parameters to communicate with an assistant interface 320 for providing an output to a user,

and/or communicate with one or more applications 334 for providing an output to one or more applications 334.

[0039] In some implementations, the automated assistant 304 can be an application that can be installed "on-top of' an operating system of the computing device 302 and/or can itself form part of (or the entirety of) the operating system of the computing device 302. The automated assistant application includes, and/or has access to, on-device speech recognition, on-device natural language understanding, and on-device fulfillment. For example, on-device speech recognition can be performed using an on-device speech recognition module that processes audio data (detected by the microphone(s)) using an end-to-end speech recognition machine learning model stored locally at the computing device 302. The on-device speech recognition generates recognized text for a spoken utterance (if any) present in the audio data. Also, for example, on-device natural language understanding (NLU) can be performed using an on-device NLU module that processes recognized text, generated using the on-device speech recognition, and optionally contextual data, to generate NLU data.

[0040] NLU data can include intent(s) that correspond to the spoken utterance and optionally parameter(s) ( e.g ., slot values) for the intent(s). On-device fulfillment can be performed using an on-device fulfillment module that utilizes the NLU data (from the on-device NLU), and optionally other local data, to determine action(s) to take to resolve the intent(s) of the spoken utterance (and optionally the parameter(s) for the intent). This can include determining local and/or remote responses (e.g., answers) to the spoken utterance, interaction(s) with locally installed application(s) to perform based on the spoken utterance, command(s) to transmit to internet-of-things (IoT) device(s) (directly or via corresponding remote system(s)) based on the spoken utterance, and/or other resolution action(s) to perform based on the spoken utterance.

The on-device fulfillment can then initiate local and/or remote performance/execution of the determined action(s) to resolve the spoken utterance.

[0041] In various implementations, remote speech processing, remote NLU, and/or remote fulfillment can at least selectively be utilized. For example, recognized text can at least selectively be transmitted to remote automated assistant component(s) for remote NLU and/or remote fulfillment. For instance, the recognized text can optionally be transmitted for remote performance in parallel with on-device performance, or responsive to failure of on-device NLU and/or on-device fulfillment. However, on-device speech processing, on-device NLU, on-

device fulfillment, and/or on-device execution can be prioritized at least due to the latency reductions they provide when resolving a spoken utterance (due to no client-server roundtrip(s) being needed to resolve the spoken utterance). Further, on-device functionality can be the only functionality that is available in situations with no or limited network connectivity.

[0042] In some implementations, the computing device 302 can include one or more applications 334 which can be provided by a third-party entity that is different from an entity that provided the computing device 302 and/or the automated assistant 304. An application state engine of the automated assistant 304 and/or the computing device 302 can access application data 330 to determine one or more actions capable of being performed by one or more applications 334, as well as a state of each application of the one or more applications 334 and/or a state of a respective device that is associated with the computing device 302. A device state engine of the automated assistant 304 and/or the computing device 302 can access device data 332 to determine one or more actions capable of being performed by the computing device 302 and/or one or more devices that are associated with the computing device 302.

Furthermore, the application data 330 and/or any other data ( e.g ., device data 332) can be accessed by the automated assistant 304 to generate contextual data 336, which can characterize a context in which a particular application 334 and/or device is executing, and/or a context in which a particular user is accessing the computing device 302, accessing an application 334, and/or any other device or module.

[0043] While one or more applications 334 are executing at the computing device 302, the device data 332 can characterize a current operating state of each application 334 executing at the computing device 302. Furthermore, the application data 330 can characterize one or more features of an executing application 334, such as content of one or more graphical user interfaces being rendered at the direction of one or more applications 334. Alternatively, or additionally, the application data 330 can characterize an action schema, which can be updated by a respective application and/or by the automated assistant 304, based on a current operating status of the respective application. Alternatively, or additionally, one or more action schemas for one or more applications 334 can remain static, but can be accessed by the application state engine in order to determine a suitable action to initialize via the automated assistant 304.

[0044] The computing device 302 can further include an assistant invocation engine 322 that can use one or more trained machine learning models to process application data 330, device data 332, contextual data 336, and/or any other data that is accessible to the computing device 302. The assistant invocation engine 322 can process this data in order to determine whether or not to wait for a user to explicitly speak an invocation phrase to invoke the automated assistant 304, or consider the data to be indicative of an intent by the user to invoke the automated assistant - in lieu of requiring the user to explicitly speak the invocation phrase. For example, the one or more trained machine learning models can be trained using instances of training data that are based on scenarios in which the user is in an environment where multiple devices and/or applications are exhibiting various operating states. The instances of training data can be generated in order to capture training data that characterizes contexts in which the user invokes the automated assistant and other contexts in which the user does not invoke the automated assistant. When the one or more trained machine learning models are trained according to these instances of training data, the assistant invocation engine 322 can cause the automated assistant 304 to detect, or limit detecting, spoken invocation phrases from a user based on features of a context and/or an environment. Additionally, or alternatively, the assistant invocation engine 322 can cause the automated assistant 304 to detect, or limit detecting for one or more assistant commands from a user based on features of a context and/or an environment. In some implementations, the assistant invocation engine 322 can be disabled or limited based on the computing device 302 detecting an assistant suppressing output from another computing device. In this way, when the computing device 302 is detecting an assistant suppressing output, the automated assistant 304 will not be invoked based on contextual data 336 - which would otherwise cause the automated assistant 304 to be invoked if the assistant suppressing output was not being detected.

[0045] In some implementations, the automated assistant 304 can optionally include a device detecting engine 316 that can be used to process application data 330, device data 332, and/or contextual data 336 in order to determine whether another device is present in an environment. For example, the device data 332 and/or contextual data 336 can include data captured using one or more sensors of the computing device 302. This data can characterize one or more connections between the computing device 302 and one or more devices, and/or one or more networks. Based on this data, the computing device 302 can determine that another assistant-enabled device, or non-assistant-enabled device, is present in an environment with the computing device 302. Additionally, or alternatively, contextual data 336 can be processed by the device detecting engine 316 to determine, with prior permission from a user, whether another device is present in the environment based on any output from another device. For example, the contextual data 336 can include data that is captured using one or more sensors of the computing device 302. The sensors can be used to detect audio ( e.g ., vehicle maintenance chime), graphical, wireless, and/or haptic output (e.g., a vehicle engine) from another device.

The device detecting engine 316 can use this determination regarding the presence of another device to cause the computing device 302 to enable features that can supplement and/or enhance features of the other device.

[0046] In some implementations, the device detecting engine 316 can process data that includes images, audio data, wireless data, and/or any other data in order to identify a type of vehicle that a user may access. For example, and with prior permission from a user, the automated assistant 304 can access data that characterizes interior features of a vehicle such as, but not limited to, maintenance indicators, lights, motor sounds, brake sounds, interior layout, in-dash display, and/or any other features of a vehicle. The data can be processed using one or more trained machine learning models and/or one or more heuristic processes in order to identify a vehicle make and model corresponding to the features characterized by the data. When the vehicle make and model has been identified, the automated assistant 304 can access one or more sources of vehicle data over a network (e.g, the internet) in order to identify technical data about capabilities of the vehicle. Based on this technical data, the automated assistant can determine whether the vehicle provides access to certain features such as, but not limited to, a vehicle automated assistant, an interactive computing device that provides access to one or more different applications, one or more different types of applications, computer interfaces, and/or any other features that can be relevant to an automated assistant.

[0047] In some implementations, vehicle features identified by the device detecting engine 316 can be communicated to a supplemented content engine 318. The supplemental content engine 318 can generate content for a user based on vehicle features that have been detected and/or any other data detected at one or more assistant interfaces 320. For example, the supplemental content engine 318 can determine that a vehicle includes an interactive computing device and a vehicle automated assistant. Alternatively, or additionally, the supplemental content engine 318 can determine that the user is receiving navigation instructions from the vehicle automated assistant. Based on this determination and the navigation instructions, the supplemental content engine 318 can generate content using one or more sources of data ( e.g ., application data 330, internet source(s)) in order to generate content that is different from the navigation instructions. For example, the supplemental content engine 318 can generate content regarding calendar events that may be occurring when a user arrives at their destination. Alternatively, or additionally, when the supplemental content engine 318 determines that the vehicle does not have a vehicle automated assistant, the supplemental content engine 318 can generate content that includes suggestions for where to navigate and/or suggestions for vehicle maintenance.

[0048] In some implementations, the system 300 can include a vehicle authentication engine 320, which can communicate with an available vehicle computing device, and/or an entity associated with a vehicle, in order to authenticate the user for certain secured operations. For example, the vehicle can include one or more applications that have access to data (e.g., insurance data) that may be important for a service provider (e.g, an auto mechanic). When the service provider attempts to access the data, a vehicle application can provide a communication to the vehicle authentication engine 320, which can process the communication. The communication can include a request for the user to authenticate with the computing device 302 in order to grant the service provider access to certain vehicle application data. When the user elects to authenticate in response to the communication, the computing device 302 can communicate with the vehicle, which can then grant access to the service provider based on the user authentication.

[0049] In some implementations, the automated assistant 304 can optionally include a training data engine 324 for generating training data, with prior permission from the user, based on interactions between the automated assistant 304, a user, and/or a vehicle. In some implementations, the training data engine 324 can generate training data in furtherance of enhancing a model that can be used to identify a vehicle and/or features of a vehicle. For example, the training data engine 324 can generate training data that provides a correlation between certain interior features of a vehicle (with prior permission from a vehicle owner) and certain computer-related features of the vehicle. In this way, one or more trained machine learning models can be further trained in order that each instance of the automated assistant 304 can employ a trained machine learning model to better assist the user when they are riding in various types of vehicles.



31
WE CALIM:
1. A method implemented by one or more processors (514), the method comprising:
determining, by a vehicle computing device (218), that a mobile computing device
(142, 216) is located in a vehicle,
wherein each of the mobile computing device (142, 216) and the vehicle computing
device (218) separately provide access to a respective instance of an automated assistant
(304);
receiving, at the vehicle computing device (218), a spoken utterance (144) that is
directed to one or more instances of the automated assistant (304),
wherein the spoken utterance (144) solicits the automated assistant (304) to
initialize an operation that is secured via user authentication;
causing, based on the spoken utterance (144), the mobile computing device (142,
216) to render a request for the user (102, 202) to participate in a user authentication
process,
wherein the mobile computing device (142, 216) includes one or more interfaces
for receiving one or more biometric inputs during the user authentication process;
causing, based on the spoken utterance (144), the mobile computing device (142,
216) to process a biometric input received at the one or more interfaces of the mobile
computing device (142, 216) while the mobile computing device (142, 216) is located in
the vehicle,
wherein the biometric input characterizes one or more biometric features of
the user (102, 202);
determining, based on the user (102, 202) providing the biometric input, that the
mobile computing device (142, 216), or the automated assistant (304), authenticated the
user (102, 202) based on the one or more biometric features of the user (102, 202); and
causing, based on the spoken utterance (144) from the user (102, 202), the
automated assistant (304) to initialize performance of the operation at the vehicle
computing device (218).
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein causing the mobile computing device (142,
216) to render the request for the user (102, 202) to participate in the user authentication process
includes:
32
causing the mobile computing device (142, 216) to provide another request for the user
(102, 202) to reposition the mobile computing device (142, 216) inside the vehicle (108, 208) in
furtherance of completing the authentication process.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein causing the mobile computing device
(142, 216) to process the biometric input includes:
causing the mobile computing device (142, 216) to process one or more images captured
by a camera of the mobile computing device (142, 216),
wherein the authentication process is a face recognition process.
4. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein causing the automated assistant
(304) to initialize performance of the operation at the vehicle computing device (218) includes:
causing first content to be rendered at a display interface of the mobile computing device
(142, 216), and
causing second content, that is different than the first content, to be simultaneously
rendered at a separate display interface of the vehicle computing device (218).
5. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein causing the automated assistant
(304) to initialize performance of the operation at the vehicle computing device (218) includes:
causing, based on the user (102,202) providing the biometric input, the vehicle computing
device (218) to communicate data generated at the vehicle computing device (218) to a separate
computing device that is different from the mobile computing device (142, 216) and the vehicle
computing device (218).
6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the data is based on one or more operations
performed by the vehicle (108, 208) over a duration of time, and the separate computing device is
in communication with multiple different vehicle computing devices that include the vehicle
computing device (218).
Dated this 06th day of November, 20

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