Siri or a sister appears to be heading to OS X, as Apple has filed a 92-page patent for an "intelligent digital assistant in a desktop environment."
The exhaustive patent application details how an intelligent digital assistant can discern between direct commands and dictation, serve as a "third hand" for users, manage a stack of files and lie dormant with minimal impact on system resources until it's invoked by the user.
Siri's dictation element has already crossed over from iOS to OS X, so a good deal of the patent outlined how Apple intends to help the intelligent digital assistant disambiguate language that could be interpreted as a direct command or dictation. Apple has mused using "start dictation" and "stop dictation" commands to cut down on the confusion, and it has also considered implementing triggers to allow users move between command and dictation modes.
"In some embodiments, the device enters and remains in the dictation mode while the user presses and holds the dedicated virtual or hardware key," stated Apple in the patent. "In some embodiments, the device enters the dictation mode when the user presses the dedicated hardware key once to start the dictation mode, and returns to the command mode when the user presses the dedicated virtual or hardware key for a second time to exit the dictation mode."
Apple foresees it's desktop assistant as being instrumental in streamlining productivity. A third hand, as the assistant has been called, will help support users' primary goals by tackling secondary tasks, allowing a reduction in the volume of "context switching" users will have to perform when working through a complex project, according to Apple.
"Frequently, while the user is performing a primary task, he or she finds the need to perform one or more secondary tasks to support the continued performance and/or completion of the primary task," Apple noted in the patent. "In such scenarios, it is advantageous to use a digital assistant to perform the secondary task or operation that would assist the user's primary task or operation, while not significantly distracting the user's attention from with the user's primary task or operation."
In the patent, Apple revealed some of the many ideas it had been contemplating to ensure that its desktop assistant is simple to invoke and doesn't weigh down system resources when it's dormant.
Apple also suggests that users will be able to drag and drop a stack of work onto the desktop assistant and then give the software directives on how to proceed with the work it has been given.
With OS X nearing its fall 2014 release, it's likely Apple's desktop assistant will arrive a good deal later in the form of an update. Apple's patent for its intelligent desktop assistant was published by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office on Aug. 7.
