METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING TASKS ON A SMART
DEVICE

A) TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention generally relates to smart devices and, in particular, an application, here onwards termed as virtual assistant, for auto managing various routine tasks on a smart device.

B) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A mobile device is an electronic device used for a duplex two-way communication over a cellular network of base stations known as cell sites.

[0003] Generally, the mobile phone device comprises of various applications such as personal reminders, organizers and applications relating to alert services such as alarms.
In order to make a note regarding a meeting in the organizer, the user needs to manually open the organizer application and create a reminder in the organizer. This process of creating reminders is at time tedious and time consuming. Management of calls, schedules and reminders becomes quite tedious at times.

[0004] Hence there is a need for a system and method which acts as a virtual smart device assistant, for managing various tasks for a smart phone user. There also exists a need to provide a system and method that customizes the tasks according to the user preferences.

[0005] The above mentioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed herein and which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.

C) OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The primary object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for providing a virtual assistance on a smart device for managing secretarial-like tasks for the user.

[0007] The various embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system for managing tasks on a smart device.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for notification of selected data and events in a user-defined smart device.

[0009] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

D) SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The various embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system for managing tasks on a smart device. The method for managing tasks comprising steps of downloading a virtual assistant from a server to the smart device, configuring the virtual assistant on the smart device, activating the virtual assistant on the smart device, instructing the virtual assistant on the smart device and executing the instructions provided by a user and further accessing one or more applications.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present invention, activating the virtual assistant is customized according to the user preferences.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the virtual assistant can be activated at anytime either during a call or when user is not on a call.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, configuring the virtual assistant on the smart device comprises steps of configuring voice and speech of the virtual assistant, configuring graphical interface of the virtual assistant, configuring activation mechanism of the virtual assistant, configuring services of the virtual assistant, configuring alert interface of the virtual assistant and tagging external applications to the virtual assistant.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, instructions configured by the user comprises of creating alerts, creating reminders, creating schedules for a user, attending incoming calls in case the user is busy and further reminding the user regarding a scheduled meeting. The virtual assistant can also alert user regarding the battery status of the device and memory status of the device.

[0015] Embodiments herein further disclose a system for managing tasks on a smart device comprising of an application repository server, a communication network, and a user device. The user device herein is a smart device such a smart phone, PDA, iPad and the like. The user device comprises a virtual assistant, a database, a processor unit coupled to the database operative to download a virtual assistant from a server to the smart device, configure the virtual assistant on the smart device, and activate the virtual assistant on the smart device and a user interface for interaction with the virtual assistant.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the user interface for providing instruction includes at least one of an accelerometer, a touchpad, a keypad and a microphone on the smart device.

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the user interface for providing instruction includes one or more microphones inbuilt in the smart device. The one or more microphones are programmed to extract keywords from instructions for accessing one or more services of the virtual assistant.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the output unit includes at least one of a speaker and a display screen.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an activation module of the virtual assistant accesses the accelerometer through a motion recognition module on the smart device. The activation module of the virtual assistant accesses the microphone through a voice recognition module on the smart device, touchpad through a touch recognition module and keypad through a keystroke recognition module on the smart device.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the notification module of the virtual assistant accesses the display screen through a display module on the smart device.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the notification module of the virtual assistant accesses the speakers through an answer generation module on the smart device.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the virtual assistant accesses instructions provided by the user through an information module on the smart device.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the virtual assistant updates the instructions through a learning module on the smart device.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the virtual assistant accesses the smart device information through a device information module on the smart device.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a deactivation module of the virtual assistant deactivates the virtual assistant services on receiving a deactivation instruction from the user.

E) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which:

[0027] FIG.l is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing tasks in a smart device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] FIG.2 illustrates a virtual assistant based system showing the various components for managing tasks on a smart device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG.3 is a flowchart illustrating the method of activating the virtual assistant during a phone call according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] FIG.4 is a flowchart illustrating the method of accessing the services of the virtual assistant on a smart device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Although specific features of the present invention are shown in some drawings and not in others. This is done for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the present invention.

F) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which the specific embodiments that may be practiced is shown by way of illustration. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and it is to be understood that the logical, mechanical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense.

[0033] The various embodiments of the present invention provide a application; here onwards termed as virtual assistant, for managing various tasks for the user using a smart device such as mobile phone, iPad or PDA . The tasks include, but are not limited to creating notes and reminders during a call, alerting the smart device users for meetings and other schedules, attending incoming calls in case the smart device user is busy and creating records of the same.

[0034] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the virtual assistant is downloaded and installed on the smart device through a communication network.

[0035] According to another embodiment of the invention the virtual assistant application can be preloaded on the smart device.

[0036] Once installed on the smart device, the virtual assistant is activated by various activation methods such as pressing a specific key on the keypad or the touch pad, a voice command or by shaking the mobile device which has a built-in accelerometer.
[0037] The user activates the virtual assistant to execute a task such as scheduling a meeting, recording a call etc. The user can also command the virtual assistant to take notes, create alerts, create reminders etc during the call and the virtual assistant sends alerts to the user regarding the scheduled meeting or an appointment at a prescribed time. The user can further interact with the virtual assistant to find the pending appointments and schedules for a specific day and time.

[0038] In another embodiment of the invention, the virtual assistant alerts the user regarding any information with respect to the smart device such as battery status, memory status, SIM card status etc. The user also gets alerts for the subscribed services such as weather, traffic, location information, stock information and the like.

[0039] FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method of managing various tasks on a smart device according to an embodiment of the present invention. With respect to FIG.l, the user downloads the virtual assistant from an application repository server and installs the virtual assistant on the smart device (101). After the installation of the virtual assistant on the smart device, the user configures the installed virtual assistant (102). The configuring of the virtual assistant involves configuring various service applications such as office suite applications, services subscriptions such as weather, stock market, news, checking, reading and drafting email messages etc with the virtual assistant. After configuring the virtual assistant with the service applications on the smart device, the user activates the virtual assistant on the smart device (103). The activation of the virtual assistant by the user can be customized by configuring the activation parameters according to the user preferences. The virtual assistant activation is generally done by providing an activation instruction through a key touch on a key pad or a touch pad, a voice command through a microphone or by shaking the phone which has an inbuilt accelerometer to recognize the shake.

[0040] According to an embodiment herein, the smart device includes one or more microphones for providing an activation instruction to activate the virtual assistant installed on the smart device. The one or more microphones is programmatically configured to identify keywords in the activation instruction to activate the virtual assistant. The user activates the virtual assistant to execute a task such as scheduling a meeting, recording a call etc. The user can also command the virtual assistant to take notes, create alerts, create reminders etc during the call and the virtual assistant sends alerts to the user regarding the scheduled meeting or an appointment at a prescribed time through at least one microphone in the smart device. In some embodiments herein the plurality of microphones multiplexes the input to activate the virtual assistant.

[0041] FIG.2 illustrates a virtual assistant based system showing the various components for managing tasks on a smart device according to an embodiment of the present invention. With respect to FIG. 2, the virtual assistant based system comprises a user device herein termed as a smart device 203, an application repository server 201 and a virtual assistant 204 provided in the smart device 203. The virtual assistant 204 is downloaded on to the smart device 203 from the application repository server 201 via a communication network 202. In one embodiment of the present invention, the virtual assistant 204 is inbuilt on the smart device 203.

[0042] The virtual assistant 204 comprises of an activation and deactivation module 205, a notification module 206, a display module 207, a motion recognition module 208, a voice recognition module 209, an answer generation module 210, an assistant instruction module 211, an assistant learning module 212, a device information module 213, a service module 214, a touch recognition module 215, a keystroke recognition module 216 and a database 217.

[0043] After the installation and configuration of the virtual assistant 204 on the smart device 203, the virtual assistant 204 is activated to provide assistance in managing tasks on the smart device 203. The activation and deactivation module 205 is connected to the motion recognition module 208 which uses accelerometer 219 to detect the activation command. Similarly, the voice recognition module 209 uses microphone 220, the touch recognition module 215 uses touch pad 222, and the keystroke recognition module 216 uses key pad 223 to detect the activation command and alert the activation and deactivation module 205 that the virtual assistant 204 need to be activated.

[0044] After activating the virtual assistant 204, the user provides instructions to perform relevant action on the smart device 203. The instructions are provided to the virtual assistant 204 on the smart device 203 by the accelerometer 219 through the motion recognition module 208, the microphone 220 through the voice recognition module 209, the touch pad 222 through the touch recognition module 215 and the key pad 223 through the keystroke recognition module 216.

[0045] For processing the information, the virtual assistant 204 accesses the assistant instruction information through the information module 211. The information module 211 comprises predefined instructions and data on how the assistant tasks can be performed on the smart device 203. Any new information can be added to the virtual assistant 204 through the learning module 212. The learning module 212 comprises of a learning algorithm which can be configured by the user to perform a new action. The new action and the command relating to the new action are mapped and the mapping is stored in the database 217.

[0046] The virtual assistant 204 uses the device information module 213 to obtain information about the smart device 203. The device information module 213 comprises the data, instruction and the command relating to the smart device 203. The services module 214 comprises of the available services that can be provided to the user of the smart device 203 through virtual assistant 204. The services such as weather alert, geographical location, stock market alerts, news and the like can be subscribed through the services module 214 enabling the smart device 203 user to subscribe and access the services.

[0047] The virtual assistant 204 provides alerts, schedules meeting and sends reminders through the notification module 206. The notification module 206 comprises of an internal notification algorithm which synchronize with the smart device 203 calendar and reminder services. When instructed to the virtual assistant 204 through the available input sources, the virtual assistant 204 accesses the notification services through the notification module 206. These notification services are stored on the database 217 which can be accessed by the user through the smart device with built in virtual assistant 204.

[0048] The virtual assistant 204 provides the output results on the display screen 218, through the display module 207. The virtual assistant 204 also provides the output as an audible sound through speakers 221. The audible sound to the speaker 221 is further generated by the answer generation module 210 which obtains the instruction from the virtual assistant 204 and converts the instructions to an audible sound.

[0049] FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart for activating and deactivating the virtual assistant during a voice call according to an embodiment of the present invention. With respect to FIG. 3, the user receives a call to the smart device (301). If the user does not accept the call (302), the virtual assistant will reply to the call and creates a reminder for the user to call back (303). When the user receives the call (302), the user can activate the virtual assistant through the activation parameters pre-defined by the user to manage the tasks parallel to the call (304). The activation can be done through a touch pad, a key pad, a voice command or by shaking the smart device. The user then commands the virtual assistant through various available inputs on the smart device (305). Further the user access the services of the virtual assistant on the smart device (306) and after accessing the services the user can deactivate the virtual assistant on the smart device through the available deactivation means (307) such as a touchpad, a keypad, a voice command and shaking the smart device for providing instructions. The user further ends the call (308) wherein the user if required can access the service of the virtual assistant to review the call details or any other service with respect to the call.

[0050] FIG.4 illustrates a flowchart for accessing the virtual assistant on the smart device according to an embodiment of the present invention. With respect to FIG.4, the user activates the virtual assistant through predefined activation means (401). The predefined activation means includes the microphone, the touchpad, the keypad and shaking the smart phone wherein the accelerometer in the smart device signals the virtual assistant for activation. Once activated, the user instructs the virtual assistant through various available input means (402). The input means for instructing the virtual assistant is the microphone, the touchpad, the keypad and shaking the smart phone wherein the accelerometer in the smart phone signals the virtual assistant for activation. The user accesses the services of the virtual assistant through the services modules (403). The user can also accesses the notification services through the notification modules in the virtual assistant (404). The user accesses the services such as taking notes, office suite applications, reading out emails through the virtual assistant services. The alerts, notifications, meeting schedules and reminders are provided to the user through the notification services of the virtual assistant. The user further deactivates the virtual assistant on completion of the defined tasks (405). The user deactivates the virtual assistant by providing an instruction through a means such as the microphone, the touchpad, the keypad or shaking the smart phone wherein the accelerometer in the smart device signals to the virtual assistant for de-activation.

[0051] Although the invention is described with various specific embodiments, it will be obvious for a person skilled in the art to practice the invention with modifications. However, all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the claims.

[0052] It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the present invention described herein and all the statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall there between.

G) ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

[0053] The various embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method of providing a virtual assistant for managing various tasks on a smart device.

[0054] The present invention provides for integrating the secretarial-like features in the user device. The user can activate the virtual assistant during the phone call with other user and instruct secretarial like features such as meeting schedule to the secretary application during the call. The user can also command the virtual assistant to take notes, create alerts, create reminders etc during the call and the virtual assistant sends alerts to the user regarding the scheduled meeting or an appointment. The user can further interact with the virtual assistant to find the pending appointments and schedules for specific day and time.

[0055] Although the invention is described with various specific embodiments, it will be obvious for a person skilled in the art to practice the invention with modifications. However, all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the claims.

[0056] It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the present invention described herein and all the statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall there between.

CLAIMS

What is claimed is:

1. A method for managing tasks on a smart device, the method comprising the
steps of:

downloading a virtual assistant from a server to the smart device; configuring the virtual assistant on the smart device; activating the virtual assistant on the smart device; instructing the virtual assistant on the smart device; and executing the instructions provided by a user.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein activating the virtual assistant is customized according to the user preferences.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual assistant is activated during a call.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual assistant is activated when user is not on a call.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein configuring the virtual assistant
comprising steps of:

configuring voice and speech of the virtual assistant; configuring graphical interface of the virtual assistant; configuring activation mechanism of the virtual assistant; configuring services of the virtual assistant; configuring alerts interface of the virtual assistant; and tagging external applications to the virtual assistant.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the instructions configured by the
user comprising of:

creating alerts;

creating reminders;
creating schedules for a user;

attending incoming calls in case the user is busy;

reminding the user regarding a scheduled meeting;

providing battery status of the device; and

providing memory status of the device.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising of accessing one or more
services of the virtual assistant.

8. A system for managing tasks on a smart device, the system comprising:

an application repository server;

a communication network;

an user device, wherein the user device comprising of a:

a virtual assitant;

a database;

a processor unit coupled to the database operative to:

download a virtual assistant from a server to the smart device;

configure the virtual assistant on the smart device;

activate the virtual assistant on the smart device; and an user interface for interaction with the virtual assistant;

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the user interface for providing instruction includes at least one of an accelerometer, a touchpad, a keypad and a microphone on the smart device.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the user interface for providing instruction includes one or more microphones inbuilt in the smart device.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more microphones is programmed to extract keywords from instructions for accessing one or more services of the virtual assistant.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the output unit includes at least one of a speaker and a display screen.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein an activation module of the virtual assistant accesses the accelerometer through a motion recognition module on the smart device.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the activation module of the virtual assistant accesses the microphone through a voice recognition module on the smart device.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the activation module of the virtual assistant accesses the touchpad through a touch recognition module on the smart device.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the activation module of the virtual assistant accesses the keypad through a keystroke recognition module on the smart device.

17. The system of claim 8, wherein a notification module of the virtual assistant accesses the display screen on the smart device.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the notification module of the virtual assistant accesses the speakers through an answer generation module on the smart device.

19. The system of claim 8, wherein the virtual assistant accesses instructions provided by the user through an information module on the smart device.

20. The system of claim 8, wherein the virtual assistant updates the instructions through a learning module on the smart device.

21. The system of claim 8, wherein the virtual assistant accesses the smart device information through a device information module on the smart device.

22. The system of claim 8, wherein a deactivation module of the virtual assistant deactivates the virtual assistant services on receiving a deactivation instruction from the user.