# US 11,444,940 B2 · User authentication of smart speaker system

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- Number: US 11,444,940 B2
- Document ID: US11444940B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/283,782
- Filed: 2019-02-24
- Published: 2020-02-20
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2018-02-24
- Assignees: Certus Technology Systems, Inc.
- Applicants: Certus Technology Systems, Inc.
- Inventors: Jack Wolosewicz
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11444940B2

## CPC

- H04L 63/0861: {using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231)}
- G06F 21/42: using separate channels for security data
- G10L 15/22: Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
- H04L 63/0838: {using one-time-passwords}
- H04L 63/0892: {by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols}
- H04W 12/068: {using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications}
- G10L 2015/223: {Execution procedure of a spoken command}
- H04L 63/062: {for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819)}
- H04L 63/067: {using one-time keys (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for generation of one-time passwords H04L9/0863)}
- H04L 63/107: {wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals}
- H04W 12/63: Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

Methods for authenticating a user utilizing a smart speaker system are presented, the methods including: requesting a user authentication by issuing a voice command to a smart speaker; playing a sonic one-time password (OTP) on the smart speaker received from an authentication server in response to the requesting a user authentication; receiving the sonic OTP by a mobile device of the user; transmitting an OTP decoded from the sonic OTP to the authentication server; and authorizing the user by the authentication server to execute a secure transaction using the smart speaker system.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for authenticating a user utilizing a smart speaker system, the method comprising:
requesting a user authentication session by issuing a voice command to a smart speaker by the user;
playing a sonic one-time password (OTP) on the smart speaker received from an authentication server in response to the requesting the user authentication session;
receiving the sonic OTP by a mobile device of the user;
transmitting a decoded OTP decoded from the sonic OTP to the authentication server by the mobile device;
authorizing the user by the authentication server to execute a secure transaction using the smart speaker system; and
registering a guest on the smart speaker, wherein the registering comprises:
opening a user authentication server interface by the user;
setting a plurality of guest conditions for the guest; and
closing the user authentication server interface.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
in response to the requesting the user authentication session,
generating an OTP by the authentication server;
encoding the OTP into a sonic OTP by the authentication server; and
sending the sonic OTP to the smart speaker system.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the sonic OTP encoding requires that each OTP bit is coded in a narrow band spread spectrum audio signal centered at a far end of a decodable audio spectrum.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein each OTP bit is represented by a 63-chip Pseudo Noise (PN) sequence symbol that is correlated to securely store a PN pattern in a DSP codec algorithm.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the sonic OTP is an MP3 file.

### Claim 6 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the sending is accomplished over an SSL channel established by a mutual authentication of a plurality of SSL certificates.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
in response to receiving the sonic OTP by the mobile device of the user, decoding the sonic OTP by a mobile application on the mobile device.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the authorizing the user by the authentication server comprises:
determining whether a timeout is required; and
if the timeout is required, terminating the user authentication session.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the timeout comprises a process window of less than approximately 0.5 seconds.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the authorizing the user by the authentication server further comprises:
determining whether the decoded OTP matches the OTP encoded by the authentication server; and
if the decoded OTP and the OTP do not match, terminating the user authentication session.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device and the smart speaker are required to be located within close proximity.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein close proximity is determined by comparing a GPS based location of the mobile device and an IP geo-location of the smart speaker.

### Claim 13

A system for authenticating a user comprising:
an authentication server configured to manage a user authentication session;
a smart speaker system in electronic communication with the authentication server, the smart speaker system configured to manage user data corresponding with the user authentication session; and
a mobile device in wireless communication with the authentication server and the smart speaker system, the mobile device configured to manage passwords corresponding with the user authentication session, wherein the mobile device comprises a user authentication server interface for registering a guest on the smart speaker system, wherein the user authentication server interface is configured to set a plurality of guest conditions for the guest by the user.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The system of claim 13, wherein the authentication server comprises:
a one-time-password (OTP) generator for generating an OTP; and
an OTP encoder for generating a sonic OTP from the OTP.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The system of claim 14, wherein the smart speaker system comprises:
a smart speaker for receiving vocal commands from a user and for playing the sonic OTP; and
a smart speaker server for handling electronic communication between the smart speaker and the authorization server.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The system of claim 14, wherein the mobile device comprises:
a mobile application for decoding the sonic OPT to a decoded OTP.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein the authentication server further comprises:
a password comparator for comparing the OTP with the decoded OTP.

### Claim 18

A method for authenticating a user utilizing a smart speaker system, the method comprising:
requesting a user authentication session by issuing a voice command to a smart speaker by the user;
in response to the requesting the user authentication session, generating an OTP by the authentication server;
encoding the OTP into a sonic OTP by the authentication server wherein the sonic OTP encoding requires that each OTP bit is coded in a narrow band spread spectrum audio signal centered at a far end of a decodable audio spectrum;
sending the sonic OTP to the smart speaker system;
playing a sonic one-time password (OTP) on the smart speaker received from an authentication server in response to the requesting the user authentication session;
receiving the sonic OTP by a mobile device of the user;
transmitting a decoded OTP decoded from the sonic OTP to the authentication server by the mobile device; and
authorizing the user by the authentication server to execute a secure transaction using the smart speaker system.