US 11,531,736 B1Granted

User authentication as a service

AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.

InventorsAngela Sun, Vikram Kumar Gundeti, Max David Klein, John Charles Howard

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Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices for adaptably authenticating a user are disclosed. A device captures a user input, and sends data corresponding thereto to a system. The system determines natural language understanding (NLU) results representing the user input. A user authentication component of the system receives the NLU results and determines a skill configured to perform an action responsive to the user input. The user authentication component adaptably performs user authentication based on a user authentication condition associated with the skill. If the user can be authenticated to the satisfaction of the condition, the NLU results data are sent to the skill, along with an indicator representing the user was authenticated by the system.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A method, comprising:

receiving, from a first device, audio data corresponding to a spoken user input;
performing speech processing with respect to the audio data to generate natural language understanding (NLU) results data corresponding to a first NLU hypothesis of the spoken user input, wherein the NLU results data represent a request for content from a speech processing system;
processing the NLU results data to determine a first skill identifier corresponding to the NLU results data, the first skill identifier corresponding to a first skill different from a user authentication skill and the first skill configured to receive the NLU results data and process the request for content;
prior to invoking the first skill by sending the request for content to the first skill, determining, by the user authentication skill, a threshold user authentication value associated with the first skill identifier and sufficient for the first skill to perform the request for content, wherein the user authentication skill is configured to process the NLU results data and to perform user authentication processing;
determining, by the user authentication skill, a type of user authentication processing to be used to authenticate a user to satisfy the threshold user authentication value;
determining, by the user authentication skill, a first user authentication technique corresponding to the first skill identifier;
in response to the user authentication skill determining a first user authentication technique, sending, to the first device, a request for first data usable to perform the type of user authentication processing;
receiving, from the first device, the first data;
performing, by the user authentication skill, the type of user authentication processing on the first data using the first user authentication technique to determine a user authentication value;
determining, by the user authentication skill, that the user authentication value satisfies the threshold user authentication value;
after determining the user authentication value satisfies the threshold user authentication value, sending, to the first skill, an indicator representing the threshold user authentication value has been satisfied;
and
after determining the user authentication value satisfies the threshold user authentication value, sending, to the first skill, the NLU results data, the first skill configured to process the NLU results data to perform an action responsive to the spoken user input.

10 more elements

A system comprising:

at least one processor;
and
at least one memory including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:
receive first data corresponding to a user input;
generate, using natural language understanding (NLU) processing, NLU results data corresponding to a first NLU hypothesis of the user input, wherein the NLU results data represents a request for content from a speech processing system;
process the NLU results data to determine a first skill component configured to receive the NLU results data, process the request for content;
prior to invoking the first skill component by sending the request for content to the first skill component, determine, by a user authentication component, a user authentication condition sufficient for the first skill component to perform the request for content, wherein the user authentication component is configured to process the NLU results data and to perform user authentication processing;
determine, by the user authentication component, a first user authentication technique to perform to satisfy the user authentication condition sufficient for the first skill component to perform the request for content;
in response to determining the first user authentication technique by the user authentication component, perform, by the user authentication component, user authentication processing using the first user authentication technique to determine user authentication data;
determine, by the user authentication component, the user authentication data satisfies the user authentication condition;
and
after performing the user authentication processing by the user authentication component, send, to the first skill component, the NLU results data and first data indicating satisfaction of the user authentication condition.

9 more elements

A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving first data corresponding to a user input;
generating, using natural language understanding (NLU) processing, NLU results data corresponding to a first NLU hypothesis of the user input, wherein the NLU results data represents a request for content from a speech processing system;
processing the NLU results data to determine a first skill component configured to receive the NLU results data, process the request for content;
prior to invoking the first skill component by sending the request for content to the first skill component, determining, by a user authentication component, a user authentication condition sufficient for the first skill component to perform the request for content, wherein the user authentication component is configured to process the NLU results data and to perform user authentication processing;
determining, by the user authentication component, a first user authentication technique to perform to satisfy the user authentication condition sufficient for the first skill component to perform the request for content;
in response to determining the first user authentication technique by the user authentication component, performing, by the user authentication component, user authentication processing using the first user authentication technique to determine user authentication data;
determining, by the user authentication component, the user authentication data satisfies the user authentication condition;
and
after performing the user authentication processing by the user authentication component, sending, to the first skill component, the NLU results data and first data indicating satisfaction of the user authentication condition.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.