Patent Publication Number: US-11031011-B2

Title: Electronic device and method for determining electronic device to perform speech recognition

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of a Korean patent application number 10-2018-0090882, filed on Aug. 3, 2018, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The disclosure relates to electronic devices and methods for determining an electronic device to perform speech recognition. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Various kinds of electronic devices have been introduced, and they include a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a laptop PC. 
     Many kinds of electronic devices are designed to provide a speech-based intelligent assistance service that allows a user to execute various functions of the electronic devices using voice commands. 
     Meanwhile, commercialization of the Internet-of-things (IoT), which interconnects devices distributed in a user&#39;s living environment for sharing information, is creating a positive environment for making it possible to transfer an execution command to a remote electronic device connected to a network by means of a speech recognition-enabled electronic appliance such as a television and a refrigerator. 
     Typically, a speech recognition-enabled electronic device is provided with a microphone for receiving a speech signal and a speaker for outputting a speech recognition result. 
     The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure. 
     SUMMARY 
     Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide electronic devices for recognizing a user&#39;s speech. If a user&#39;s speech is recognized, the electronic devices may transmit corresponding voice information to an external server of a speech-based intelligent assistance service provider to process the speech recognition. 
     The external server may process the speech information transmitted by the electronic devices that have recognized the user&#39;s speech. However, redundant processing of the user&#39;s speech information may increase a speech recognition processing load of the external server. 
     A speech recognition processing overload of the external server may decrease a speech recognition processing speed, which may cause the user to transmit/receive redundant data unnecessarily. 
     Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments. 
     In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a user interface, at least one communication circuit configured to connect to a cellular network and a Wi-Fi network, a microphone, at least one speaker, at least one processor operationally connected to the user interface, the at least one communication circuit, the microphone, and the at least one speaker, and a memory operationally connected to the processor and configured to store instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to transmit a first audio sound including first information associated with a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligence service through the speaker upon receipt of the wakeup utterance through the microphone, receive a second audio sound including second information through the microphone, and determine whether to control the electronic device to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to an external server based on at least part of a comparison between the first information and the second information. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, an operational method of an electronic device is provided. The method includes receiving a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligent assistance service through a microphone of the electronic device, broadcasting, through a speaker of the electronic device, a first audio sound including first information associated with the wakeup utterance, receiving, through the microphone, a second audio sound including second information transmitted by an external electronic device, and determining whether to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to an external server based on at least part of a comparison between the first information and the second information. 
     Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating programs according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an integrated intelligence system according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating screen displays for explaining execution of a speech-based intelligent assistance service of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a first electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  is a signal flow diagram illustrating signal flows between a first electronic device and a second electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating an operation for determining an electronic device responsible for transmitting speech information following a wakeup utterance to an external electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating a user terminal according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a signal flow diagram illustrating signal flows among a user terminal, a first electronic device, a second electronic device, and an external server according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating an operation for determining an electronic device responsible for transmitting speech information following a wakeup utterance to an external server according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 11  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an intelligent server according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 12  is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 13  is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and 
         FIG. 14  is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness. 
     The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
     It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device in a network environment according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an electronic device  101  in a network environment  100  may communicate with an external electronic device  102  via a first network  198  (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or an external electronic device  104  or a server  108  via a second network  199  (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment, the electronic device  101  may communicate with the external electronic device  104  via the server  108 . According to an embodiment, the electronic device  101  may include a processor  120 , a memory  130 , an input device  150 , a sound output device  155 , a display device  160 , an audio module  170 , a sensor module  176 , an interface  177 , a haptic module  179 , a camera module  180 , a power management module  188 , a battery  189 , a communication module  190 , a subscriber identification module (SIM)  196 , or an antenna module  197 . In some embodiments, at least one (e.g., the display device  160  or the camera module  180 ) of the components may be omitted from the electronic device  101 , or one or more other components may be added in the electronic device  101 . In some embodiments, some of the components may be implemented as single integrated circuitry. For example, the sensor module  176  (e.g., a fingerprint sensor, an iris sensor, or an illuminance sensor) may be implemented as embedded in the display device  160  (e.g., a display). 
     The processor  120  may execute, for example, software (e.g., a program  140 ) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware or software component) of the electronic device  101  coupled with the processor  120 , and may perform various data processing or computation. According to one embodiment, as at least part of the data processing or computation, the processor  120  may load a command or data received from another component (e.g., the sensor module  176  or the communication module  190 ) in a volatile memory  132 , process the command or the data stored in the volatile memory  132 , and store resulting data in a non-volatile memory  134 . According to an embodiment, the processor  120  may include a main processor  121  (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP)), and an auxiliary processor  123  (e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor (CP)) that is operable independently from, or in conjunction with, the main processor  121 . Additionally or alternatively, the auxiliary processor  123  may be adapted to consume less power than the main processor  121 , or to be specific to a specified function. The auxiliary processor  123  may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the main processor  121 . 
     The auxiliary processor  123  may control at least some of functions or states related to at least one component (e.g., the display device  160 , the sensor module  176 , or the communication module  190 ) among the components of the electronic device  101 , instead of the main processor  121  while the main processor  121  is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main processor  121  while the main processor  121  is in an active state (e.g., executing an application). According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor  123  (e.g., an ISP or a communication processor) may be implemented as part of another component (e.g., the camera module  180  or the communication module  190 ) functionally related to the auxiliary processor  123 . 
     The memory  130  may store various data used by at least one component (e.g., the processor  120  or the sensor module  176 ) of the electronic device  101 . The various data may include, for example, software (e.g., the program  140 ) and input data or output data for a command related thereto. The memory  130  may include the volatile memory  132  or the non-volatile memory  134 . 
     The program  140  may be stored in the memory  130  as software, and may include, for example, an operating system (OS)  142 , middleware  144 , or an application  146 . 
     The input device  150  may receive a command or data to be used by other component (e.g., the processor  120 ) of the electronic device  101 , from the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device  101 . The input device  150  may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, or a keyboard. 
     The sound output device  155  may output sound signals to the outside of the electronic device  101 . The sound output device  155  may include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for general purposes, such as playing multimedia or playing record, and the receiver may be used for an incoming call. According to an embodiment, the receiver may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the speaker. 
     The display device  160  may visually provide information to the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device  101 . The display device  160  may include, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector and control circuitry to control a corresponding one of the display, hologram device, and projector. According to an embodiment, the display device  160  may include touch circuitry adapted to detect a touch, or sensor circuitry (e.g., a pressure sensor) adapted to measure the intensity of force incurred by the touch. 
     The audio module  170  may convert a sound into an electrical signal and vice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio module  170  may obtain the sound via the input device  150 , or output the sound via the sound output device  155  or a headphone of an external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device  102 ) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly coupled with the electronic device  101 . 
     The sensor module  176  may detect an operational state (e.g., power or temperature) of the electronic device  101  or an environmental state (e.g., a state of a user) external to the electronic device  101 , and then generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor module  176  may include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor. 
     The interface  177  may support one or more specified protocols to be used for the electronic device  101  to be coupled with the external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device  102 ) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly. According to an embodiment, the interface  177  may include, for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or an audio interface. 
     A connection terminal  178  may include a connector via which the electronic device  101  may be physically connected with the external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device  102 ). According to an embodiment, the connection terminal  178  may include, for example, a HDMI connector, a USB connector, a SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector). 
     The haptic module  179  may convert an electrical signal into a mechanical stimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or electrical stimulus which may be recognized by a user via his tactile sensation or kinesthetic sensation. According to an embodiment, the haptic module  179  may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electric stimulator. 
     The camera module  180  may capture a still image or moving images. According to an embodiment, the camera module  180  may include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes. 
     The power management module  188  may manage power supplied to the electronic device  101 . According to one embodiment, the power management module  188  may be implemented as at least part of, for example, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC). 
     The battery  189  may supply power to at least one component of the electronic device  101 . According to an embodiment, the battery  189  may include, for example, a primary cell which is not rechargeable, a secondary cell which is rechargeable, or a fuel cell. 
     The communication module  190  may support establishing a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic device  101  and the external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device  102 , the external electronic device  104 , or the server  108 ) and performing communication via the established communication channel. The communication module  190  may include one or more communication processors that are operable independently from the processor  120  (e.g., the AP) and supports a direct (e.g., wired) communication or a wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the communication module  190  may include a wireless communication module  192  (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module  194  (e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module or a power line communication (PLC) module). A corresponding one of these communication modules may communicate with the external electronic device via the first network  198  (e.g., a short-range communication network, such as Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or the second network  199  (e.g., a long-range communication network, such as a cellular network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., LAN or wide area network (WAN)). These various types of communication modules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip), or may be implemented as multi components (e.g., multi chips) separate from each other. The wireless communication module  192  may identify and authenticate the electronic device  101  in a communication network, such as the first network  198  or the second network  199 , using subscriber information (e.g., international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the SIM  196 . 
     The antenna module  197  may transmit or receive a signal or power to or from the outside (e.g., the external electronic device) of the electronic device  101 . According to an embodiment, the antenna module  197  may include one or more antennas, and, therefrom, at least one antenna appropriate for a communication scheme used in the communication network, such as the first network  198  or the second network  199 , may be selected, for example, by the communication module  190  (e.g., the wireless communication module  192 ). The signal or the power may then be transmitted or received between the communication module  190  and the external electronic device via the selected at least one antenna. 
     At least some of the above-described components may be coupled mutually and communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) therebetween via an inter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general purpose input and output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobile industry processor interface (MIPI)). 
     According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic device  101  and the external electronic device  104  via the server  108  coupled with the second network  199 . Each of the external electronic devices  102  and  104  may be a device of a same type as, or a different type, from the electronic device  101 . According to an embodiment, all or some of operations to be executed at the electronic device  101  may be executed at one or more of the external electronic devices  102  and  104  or the server  108 . For example, if the electronic device  101  should perform a function or a service automatically, or in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device  101 , instead of, or in addition to, executing the function or the service, may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform at least part of the function or the service. The one or more external electronic devices receiving the request may perform the at least part of the function or the service requested, or an additional function or an additional service related to the request, and transfer an outcome of the performing to the electronic device  101 . The electronic device  101  may provide the outcome, with or without further processing of the outcome, as at least part of a reply to the request. To that end, a cloud computing, distributed computing, or client-server computing technology may be used, for example. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a program according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , block diagram  200  illustrates that the program  140  may include the OS  142  to control one or more resources of the electronic device  101 , middleware  144 , or the application  146  executable in the OS  142 . The OS  142  may include, for example, Android™, iOS™, Windows™, Symbian™, Tizen™, or Bada™. At least part of the program  140 , for example, may be pre-loaded on the electronic device  101  during manufacture, or may be downloaded from or updated by an external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device  102  or  104 , or the server  108 ) during use by a user. 
     The OS  142  may control management (e.g., allocating or deallocation) of one or more system resources (e.g., process, memory, or power source) of the electronic device  101 . The OS  142 , additionally or alternatively, may include one or more driver programs to drive other hardware devices of the electronic device  101 , for example, the input device  150 , the sound output device  155 , the display device  160 , the audio module  170 , the sensor module  176 , the interface  177 , the haptic module  179 , the camera module  180 , the power management module  188 , the battery  189 , the communication module  190 , the SIM  196 , or the antenna module  197 . 
     The middleware  144  may provide various functions to the application  146  such that a function or information provided from one or more resources of the electronic device  101  may be used by the application  146 . The middleware  144  may include, for example, an application manager  201 , a window manager  203 , a multimedia manager  205 , a resource manager  207 , a power manager  209 , a database manager  211 , a package manager  213 , a connection manager  215 , a notification manager  217 , a location manager  219 , a graphic manager  221 , a security manager  223 , a call manager  225 , or a voice recognition manager  227 . 
     The application manager  201 , for example, may manage the life cycle of the application  146 . The window manager  203 , for example, may manage one or more graphical user interface (GUI) resources that are used on a screen. The multimedia manager  205 , for example, may identify one or more formats to be used to play media files, and may encode or decode a corresponding one of the media files using a codec appropriate for a corresponding format selected from the one or more formats. The resource manager  207 , for example, may manage the source code of the application  146  or a memory space of the memory  130 . The power manager  209 , for example, may manage the capacity, temperature, or power of the battery  189 , and determine or provide related information to be used for the operation of the electronic device  101  based at least in part on corresponding information of the capacity, temperature, or power of the battery  189 . According to an embodiment, the power manager  209  may interwork with a basic input/output system (BIOS) (not shown) of the electronic device  101 . 
     The database manager  211 , for example, may generate, search, or change a database to be used by the application  146 . The package manager  213 , for example, may manage installation or update of an application that is distributed in the form of a package file. The connection manager  215 , for example, may manage a wireless connection or a direct connection between the electronic device  101  and the external electronic device. The notification manager  217 , for example, may provide a function to notify a user of an occurrence of a specified event (e.g., an incoming call, message, or alert). The location manager  219 , for example, may manage locational information on the electronic device  101 . The graphic manager  221 , for example, may manage one or more graphic effects to be offered to a user or a user interface (UI) related to the one or more graphic effects. 
     The security manager  223 , for example, may provide system security or user authentication. The call manager  225 , for example, may manage a voice call function or a video call function provided by the electronic device  101 . The voice recognition manager  227 , for example, may transmit a user&#39;s voice data to the server  108 , and receive, from the server  108 , a command corresponding to a function to be executed on the electronic device  101  based at least in part on the voice data, or text data converted based at least in part on the voice data. According to an embodiment, the middleware  244  may dynamically delete some existing components or add new components. According to an embodiment, at least part of the middleware  144  may be included as part of the OS  142  or may be implemented as another software separate from the OS  142 . 
     The application  146  may include, for example, a home  251 , dialer  253 , short message service (SMS)/multimedia messaging service (MMS)  255 , instant message (IM)  257 , browser  259 , camera  261 , alarm  263 , contact  265 , voice dial  267 , email  269 , calendar  271 , media player  273 , album  275 , watch  277 , health  279  (e.g., for measuring the degree of workout or biometric information, such as blood sugar), or environment information  281  (e.g., for measuring air pressure, humidity, or temperature information) application. According to an embodiment, the application  146  may further include an information exchanging application (not shown) that is capable of supporting information exchange between the electronic device  101  and the external electronic device. The information exchange application, for example, may include a notification relay application adapted to transfer designated information (e.g., a call, message, or alert) to the external electronic device or a device management application adapted to manage the external electronic device. The notification relay application may transfer notification information corresponding to an occurrence of a specified event (e.g., receipt of an email) at another application (e.g., the email application  269 ) of the electronic device  101  to the external electronic device. Additionally or alternatively, the notification relay application may receive notification information from the external electronic device and provide the notification information to a user of the electronic device  101 . 
     The device management application may control the power (e.g., turn-on or turn-off) or the function (e.g., adjustment of brightness, resolution, or focus) of the external electronic device or some component thereof (e.g., a display device or a camera module of the external electronic device). The device management application, additionally or alternatively, may support installation, delete, or update of an application running on the external electronic device. 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an integrated intelligence system including speech recognition-enabled electronic devices and a server according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , an integrated intelligence system  10  may include a user terminal  300  (e.g., the electronic device  101  in  FIG. 1 ), an intelligent server  400  (e.g., the server  108  in  FIG. 1 ), a first electronic device  500 , a second electronic device  600 , and a third electronic device  700 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  have apps (or application programs) (e.g., an alarm app, a messaging app, a photo (gallery) app) stored therein for providing a user with required services. For example, the user terminal  300  may execute and run an app via a speech-based intelligent assistance service (or speech recognition app) stored therein. The user terminal  300  may receiver a user input for executing another application to perform an operation via the speech-based intelligent assistance service. The user input may be made by means of a physical button or a touchpad or may be a speech input or a remote input by way of example. According to an embodiment, the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic derive  600 , and the third electronic device  700  are each a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop personal computer (PC), or an Internet-of-things (IoT) technology-enabled electronic device (e.g., smart television (TV), smart refrigerator, and a smart air purifier) that is able to connect to the Internet. 
     According to various embodiments, the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  may receive a user&#39;s utterance as a user input. The user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  may receive the user&#39;s utterance and generate a command for executing an app based on the user&#39;s utterance. As a consequence, the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  may execute the app according to the command. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  may receive a user&#39;s utterance and generate speech data corresponding to the user&#39;s utterance. The generated speech data may be transmitted to the intelligent server  400 . The user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  may transmit the generated speech data to the intelligent server  400  via a cellular network or a short range communication network (e.g., Wi-Fi and LAN). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may transmit/receive data to/from the intelligent server  400  via a first network. The first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  may transmit/receive data to/from the intelligent server  400  via a second network that differs in communication mode from the first network. The first network may include a cellular network (e.g., 3rd generation (3G) network, long-term evolution (LTE) network, and 5th generation (5G) network). The second network may include a short range communication network (e.g., Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and LAN). The first network may also include a short range communication network, and the second network may also include a cellular network. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  may pre-process the speech data before the speech data is transmitted to the intelligent server  400 . For example, the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  may pre-process the speech data in various manners such as removing an echo from the speech data, removing a background noise from the speech data, and adjusting a size of the speech contained in the speech data and transmit the pre-processed speech data to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may receive the speech data corresponding to the user&#39;s utterance from an external device (e.g., the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second device  600 , and the third electronic device  700 ) via a communication network and convert the speech data to text data. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may transmit the text data to the user terminal  300 . The user terminal  300  may output the received text data using a display or a speaker. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may convert the speech data to the text data using an acoustic model and a language module stored in a memory of the intelligent server  400 . The acoustic module may be a database mapping and storing feature vectors acquired by processing the speech data and groups of candidate phonemes corresponding to the feature vectors. The language module may be a database storing information being used for modeling a linguistic ordering relationship such as words and syllables using the phonemes corresponding to the extracted speech data. In the language model, the speech data and words including the phonemes belonging to the groups of the candidate phonemes may be mapped and stored. In the language model, matching probabilities between the words including the phonemes belonging to the groups of the candidate phonemes and the speech data may be stored along with respective mappings. The intelligence server  400  may select a word corresponding to the speech data based on the matching probabilities between the words including the phonemes belonging to the groups of the candidate phonemes and the speech data. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may perform a natural language understanding (NLU) process using the text data generated by converting the speech data. The NLU process may mean an operation of determining an utterance intent of user&#39;s speech based on the converted text data. The intelligent server  400  may determine the user&#39;s intent through a syntactic analysis or a semantic analysis. The syntactic analysis may be performed in such a way of segmenting a user input into syntactic units (e.g., words, phrases, and morphemes) and grasping which syntactic elements are included in the segmented syntactic units. The semantic analysis may be performed using a semantic matching, a rule matching, or a formula matching. A cloud server  330  may determine the user&#39;s intent and parameters using a domain for identifying a service matching an intent corresponding to a user input and a matching rule consisting of intents and parameters (or slots) necessary for checking for the intents. For example, a domain (e.g., alarm) may include a plurality of intents (e.g., alarm setting and alarm release), and an intent may include a plurality of parameters (e.g., time, number of repetitions, and alarm sound). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may check for the meaning of a word extracted from the user input based on linguistic features (e.g., grammatical elements) such as morphemes and phrases and match the meaning of the extracted word with a domain and an intent to determine the user&#39;s intent. For example, the intelligent server  400  may determine the user&#39;s intent by reckoning how many words extracted from the user input are included in each of the domain and the intent. According to an embodiment, the intelligent server  400  may determine parameters of the user input using the words as the basis of identifying the intent. According to an embodiment, the intelligent server  400  may determine the user&#39;s intent based on a natural language recognition database (not shown) storing linguistic features for use in measuring the intent of the user input. According to an alternative embodiment, the intelligent server  400  may determine a user&#39;s intent using a personalized language module (PLM). For example, the intelligent server  400  may determine a user&#39;s intent using personalized information (e.g., contact list and music playlist). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may verify the user&#39;s intent determined through the NLU process and an operation appropriate for the user&#39;s intent and ascertain information on the parameters required for executing the operation corresponding to the user&#39;s intent. If parameters necessary for executing the operation corresponding to the user&#39;s intent are insufficient, the intelligent server  400  may request for parameters to the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700 . If parameters necessary for executing the operation corresponding to the user&#39;s intent are sufficient, the intelligent server  400  may execute the operation corresponding to the user&#39;s intent and transmit an execution result to the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700 . 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating screen displays for explaining execution of a speech-based intelligent assistance service of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG. 4  depicts the user terminal  300  executing the speech-based intelligent assistance service in response to a user input. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , according to various embodiments of the disclosure, the speech-based intelligence service may mean a service for enabling various services based on an input (e.g., speech input on a microphone and touch or gesture input on a display  320  of the user terminal) made by a user of the user terminal  300 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may execute the speech-based intelligent assistance service for speech recognition in response to an input made by means of a hardware key  312 . For example, upon receipt of a user input made by means of the hardware key  312 , the user terminal  300  may display a UI on the display  320  for the speech-based intelligent assistance service. By way of example, the user may touch a speech recognition button  321   a  appearing in a UI  321  of the speech-based intelligent assistance service in order to make a user input in the state where the UI  321  of the speech-based intelligent assistance service is displayed on the display  320 . By way of another example, the user may also keep pressing the hardware key  312  to make a speech input as denoted by reference number  331   b.    
     According to various embodiments, the user terminal  300  may receive a wakeup utterance for executing the speech-based intelligent assistance service that is made through a microphone (e.g., the input device  150  in  FIG. 1 ). For example, if a predetermined speech (e.g., “Hey Galaxy!”, “Bixby!”, “Hi, Bixby!”, and “Wake up!”) is input through the microphone as denoted by reference number  331   a , the user terminal  300  may display the UI  321  of the speech-based intelligent assistance service on the display  320 . 
     According to various embodiments, various electronic devices may receive a wakeup utterance made by the user. For example, at least one of the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , and the third electronic device  700  may receive the wakeup utterance made by the user. The at least one device that has received the wakeup utterance of the user may execute an operation for activating the speech-based intelligent assistance service. The at least one device that has received the wakeup utterance of the user may receive a user input associated with the speech-based intelligent assistance service (e.g., user input for executing a specific application or user input for controlling a registered electronic device) and transmit speech information obtained by converting the user input to a text to the intelligent server  400 . The intelligent server  400  may determine an intent of the user or an operation corresponding to the user&#39;s intent based on the speech information transmitted by the at least one electronic device that had received the wakeup utterance. The intelligent server  400  may transmit a control signal for executing an operation corresponding to the user&#39;s intent to the at least one electronic device. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, if more than one electronic device has received the wakeup utterance, it may be necessary for the intelligent server  400  to process the speech information transmitted by multiple electronic devices. If the intelligent server  400  processes all the speech information transmitted by the multiple electronic devices, it may increase the load on the intelligent server  400  and the time for processing the speech information. In order to reduce the load on the intelligent server, it may be necessary to determine an electronic device responsible for transmitting speech information to the intelligent server among the electronic devices that received the wakeup utterance such that the determined electronic device transmits the speech information to the intelligent server  400  while other electronic devices do not transmit the speech information. Hereinafter, a description is made of the method for determining an electronic device responsible for transmitting the speech information being received after a wakeup utterance. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a first electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the first electronic device  500  (e.g., the electronic device  101  in  FIG. 1 ) may include a user interface (UI)  510  (e.g., the interface  177  in  FIG. 1 ), a speaker  520  (e.g., the sound output device  155  in  FIG. 1 ), a microphone  530  (e.g., the input device  150  in  FIG. 1 ), a processor  540  (e.g., the processor  120  in  FIG. 1 ), a memory  550  (e.g., the memory  130  in  FIG. 1 ), and a communication circuit  560  (e.g., the communication module  190  in  FIG. 1 ). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the UI  510  may mean a medium for the first electronic device  500  to receive an input made by a user or output information to the user. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the speaker  520  may output various audio sounds under the control of the processor  540 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the microphone  530  may pick up audio sounds around the first electronic device  500 . The microphone  530  may receive a speech input of the user. For example, the microphone  530  may receive a wakeup utterance of the user for calling the speech-based intelligent assistance service and send speech information corresponding to the wakeup utterance to the processor  540 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communication circuit  560  may be configured to connect to a cellular network (e.g., 3G network, LTE network, 5G network, WiBro network, and WiMax network) or a short range wireline/wireless communication network (e.g., Wi-Fi network, Zigbee network, and LAN). According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communication circuit  560  may transmit/receive various data to/from the intelligent server (e.g., the intelligent server  400  in  FIG. 3 ) under the control of the processor  540 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may receive a wakeup utterance for calling the speech-based intelligent assistance service through the microphone  530 . Upon receipt of the wakeup utterance, the processor  540  may control the communication circuit  560  to broadcast first information associated with the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the first electronic device  500 , a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a priority of the first electronic device  500 , and information on the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the quality of the wakeup utterance may mean a clarity degree of the wakeup utterance. The quality of the wakeup utterance may include the SNR of the wakeup utterance. The SNR of the wakeup utterance may mean a ratio of a size of the noise to a size of the wakeup utterance. The priority of the first electronic device  500  may mean a priority of the electronic device for processing a user input following the wakeup utterance among the electronic devices received the wakeup utterance. The information on the first electronic device  500  may be various kinds of information such as identity information (e.g., international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) and medium access control (MAC) address), a kind of the first electronic device (e.g., refrigerator and speaker), and information indicating whether the first electronic device  500  includes a specific component (e.g., display) capable of outputting data. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may generate the first information associated with the wakeup utterance received through the microphone  530 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may broadcast the first information in various manners. The processor  540  may broadcast the first information for other electronic devices connected to a network (e.g., Wi-Fi network) to which the first electronic device  500  is connected by means of the communication circuit  560 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, at least one electronic device (e.g., the second electronic device  600 ) located around the first electronic device  500  may receive the first information broadcast by the first electronic device  500 . The second electronic device  600  may also receive the wakeup utterance of the user. The second electronic device  600  may broadcast second information associated with the wakeup utterance upon receipt of the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the second information may include a wakeup utterance reception time at the second electronic device  600 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the second electronic device  600 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the second electronic device  600 , a priority of the second electronic device  600 , and information on the second electronic device  600 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the SNR of the wakeup utterance may mean a ratio of a size of the noise to a size of the wakeup utterance. The quality of the wakeup utterance may mean a clarity degree of the wakeup utterance. The priority of the second electronic device  600  may mean a priority of the electronic device for processing a user input following the wakeup utterance among the electronic devices received the wakeup utterance. The information on the second electronic device  600  may be various kinds of information such as identity information (e.g., IMEI and MAC address) of the second electronic device  600 , a kind of the second electronic device  600  (e.g., refrigerator and speaker), and information indicating whether the second electronic device  600  includes a specific component (e.g., display) capable of outputting data. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may receive the second information transmitted by the second electronic device  600 . The processor  540  may receive the second information in various manners. For example, the processor  540  may receive the second information by means of the communication circuit  560 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information and the second information may be broadcast in the same communication mode. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may compare the first information and the second information to determine whether to transmit the speech information being received after the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on at least part of a comparison result. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may compare the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the first electronic device  500  and the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. If the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the first electronic device  500  is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information, this may indicate that the first electronic device  500  has an environment superior to that of the second electronic device  600  for receiving a user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The processor  540  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the first electronic device  500  is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. The processor  540  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is less than the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may compare the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information and the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. If the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information, this may indicate that the first electronic device  500  has an environment superior to that of the second electronic device  600  for receiving the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The processor  540  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. The processor  540  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is worse than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may compare the priority of the first electronic device  500  that is included in the first information and the priority of the second electronic device  600  that is included in the second information. The priority may mean a priority for determining the electronic device to process the user&#39;s speech preferentially. The processor  540  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the priority of the first electronic device  500  is higher than that of the second electronic device  600 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may check the SNR included in the second information received from the second electronic device  600  and compare the SNR included in the second information with the SNR measured at the first electronic device  500 . The processor  540  may determine whether to broadcast the first information based on a result of the comparison between the SNR measured at the first electronic device  500  and the SNR included in the second information. The processor  540  may determine to broadcast the first information based on a determination that the SNR measured at the first electronic device  500  is greater than the SNR included in the second information. The processor  540  may determine not to broadcast the first information based on a determination that the SNR measured at the first electronic device  500  is less than the SNR included in the second information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  540  may determine to transmit the speech information being received after the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that no second information is received in a predetermined time after broadcasting the first information related to a wakeup. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the second electronic device (e.g., the second electronic device  600  in  FIG. 3 ) and the third electronic device (e.g., the third electronic device  700  in  FIG. 3 ) may each include components identical in functionality with the components (e.g., the UI  510 , the speaker  520 , the microphone  530 , the processor  540 , the memory  550 , and the communication circuit  560 ) of the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the memory  550  may store instructions associated with the above-described operations of the processor  540 . 
       FIG. 6  is a signal flow diagram illustrating signal flows between a first electronic device and a second electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , according to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500  in  FIG. 3 ) and the second electronic device (e.g., the second device  600  in  FIG. 3 ) may receive a wakeup utterance of a user at operation  610 . If the first and second electronic devices  500  and  600  are located close to each other, both the first and second electronic devices  500  and  600  may receive the wakeup utterance of the user. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may broadcast, at operation  620 , a first information associated with the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the first electronic device  500 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a priority of the first electronic device  500 , and information on the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the second electronic device  600  may broadcast, at operation  630 , second information associated with the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the second information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the second electronic device  600 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the second electronic device  600 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the second electronic device  600 , a priority of the second electronic device  600 , and information on the second electronic device  600 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the SNR of the wakeup utterance may mean a ratio of a size of the noise to a size of the wakeup utterance. The quality of the wakeup utterance may mean a clarity degree of the wakeup utterance. The priority of the second electronic device  600  may mean a priority of the electronic device for processing a user input following the wakeup utterance among the electronic devices received the wakeup utterance. The information on the first electronic device  500  or the second electronic device  600  may be various kinds of information such as identity information (e.g., IMEI and MAC address) of the first electronic device  500  or the second electronic device  600 , a kind of the first electronic device  500  or the second electronic device  600  (e.g., refrigerator and speaker), and information indicating whether the first electronic device  500  or the second electronic device  600  includes a specific component (e.g., a display) capable of outputting data. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information broadcast at operation  620  and the second information broadcast at operation  630  may be transmitted in the same communication scheme. For example, the first and second information may be broadcast in a short range communication mode (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth™, and Zigbee). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may compare the first information and the received second information at operation  640 . At operation  650 , the second electronic device may compare the received first information and the second information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first and second electronic devices  500  and  600  may determine at respective at operations  660  and  670  whether to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server based on the comparison results. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may compare the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information and the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. If the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information, this may indicate that the first electronic device  500  has an environment superior to that of the second electronic device  600  for receiving the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The first electronic device  500  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on determining that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the first electronic device  500  is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. The first electronic device  500  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on determining that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is less than the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first and second electronic devices  500  and  600  may each compare the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information and the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. If the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information, this may indicate that the first electronic device  500  has an environment superior to that of the second electronic device  600  for receiving the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The first electronic device  500  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is worse than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may compare the priority of the first electronic device  500  that is included in the first information and the priority of the second electronic device  600  that is included in the second information. The priority may mean a priority for determining the electronic device to process the user&#39;s speech preferentially. The first electronic device  500  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the priority of the first electronic device  500  is higher than that of the second electronic device  600 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, after making the decision to transmit speech information, the electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500 ) may transmit, at operation  680 , the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     Although  FIG. 6  depicts that the first electronic device transmits speech information to the intelligent server  400 , it may be possible for the second electronic device  600  to transmit the speech information to the intelligent server  400  depending on the comparison result. 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating an operation for determining an electronic device responsible for transmitting speech information to an external electronic device following a wakeup utterance according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , a first electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500  in  FIG. 3 ), a second electronic device (e.g., the second electronic device  600  in  FIG. 3 ), a third electronic device (e.g., the third electronic device  700 ), and a fourth electronic device  720  may connect to an access point (AP)  710  of a short range communication network (e.g., Wi-Fi network). The electronic devices may access an intelligent server (e.g., the intelligent server  400  in  FIG. 3 ) via the AP  710  and a communication network  740 . The communication network may be a network implemented with various communication means (e.g., cellular network) that is capable of transmitting/receiving data to/from the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may each include components identical in functionality with the components (e.g., the UI  510 , the speaker  520 , the microphone  530 , the processor  540 , the memory  550 , and the communication circuit  560 ) of the first electronic device  500 . At least one of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  may transmit a user&#39;s speech information via a short range communication network established by the AP  710 . The intelligent server  400  may receive the user&#39;s speech information and execute an operation associated with a speech-based intelligent assistance service based on the speech information. The first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may be located within an area  719  where they can receive a wakeup utterance of a user. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  may receive the wakeup utterance made by the user with a microphone (e.g., the microphone  530  in  FIG. 5 ). The first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may generate first information including an SNR  711 , an SNR  713 , an SNR  715 , and an SNR  717 , respectively on the wakeup utterance received through the microphone  530 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include an SNR of the wakeup utterance received at each electronic device. In reference to  FIG. 7 , the SNR  711  of a wakeup utterance  730  received at the first electronic device  500  may be 60 dB, the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received at the second electronic device  600  may be 80 dB, the SNR  715  of the wakeup utterance  730  received at the third electronic device  700  may be 45 dB, and the SNR  717  of the wakeup utterance  730  received at the fourth electronic device  720  may be 30 dB. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  may broadcast the first information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may each output an audio sound including the first information by means of a speaker (e.g., the speaker  520  in  FIG. 5 ). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may broadcast the first information using the network established by the AP  710 . The first information may be broadcast by the respective electronic devices with no intervention of the AP  710 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may receive second information associated with the wakeup utterance  730 . The second information may include the SNR of the wakeup utterance  730  received at another electronic device (e.g., the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720 ) rather than the electronic device itself (e.g., the first electronic device  500 ). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may each compare the first information and the second information to determine whether to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server based on a result of the comparison. 
     For example, the first electronic device  500  may verify that the SNR  711  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the first electronic device  500  (i.e., 63 dB) is less than the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the second electronic device  600  (i.e., 80 dB). In this case, the first electronic device  500  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server  400 . 
     For example, the second electronic device  600  may verify that the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the second electronic device  600  (i.e., 80 dB) is greater than the SNR of the wakeup utterance  730  received by any of the other electronic devices. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server  400 . For example, if no second information is received from the other electronic devices in a predetermined time, the second electronic device  600  may transmit the received user&#39;s speech information to the intelligent server  400  via the AP  710 . 
     For example, the third electronic device  700  may verify that the SNR  715  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the third electronic device  700  (i.e., 45 dB) is less than the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the second electronic device  600  (i.e., 80 dB). In this case, the third electronic device  700  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server  400 . 
     For example, the fourth electronic device  720  may verify that the SNR  717  of the wakeup utterance received by the fourth electronic device  720  is less than the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the second electronic device  600  (i.e., 80 dB). In this case, the fourth electronic device  720  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server  400 . 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating a user terminal according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the user terminal (e.g., the user terminal  300  in  FIG. 3 ) may include a user interface (UI)  810 , a speaker  820 , a microphone  830 , a processor  840 , a memory  850 , and a communication circuit  860 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the UI  810  may mean a medium for the user terminal  300  to receive an input made by a user or output information to the user. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the speaker  820  may output various audio sounds under the control of the processor  840 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the audio sounds may be signals being transmitted in a frequency band difficult to be heard by a user and transmitted by means of the speaker  820 . For example, the audio sounds may be signals being transmitted in a frequency range from 17 KHz to 25 KHz. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the microphone  830  may pick up audio sounds around the user terminal  300 . The microphone  830  may receive a speech input of the user. For example, the microphone  830  may receive a wakeup utterance of the user for calling the speech-based intelligent assistance service and send speech information corresponding to the wakeup utterance to the processor  840 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communication circuit  860  may be configured to connect to a cellular network (e.g., 3G network, LTE network, 5G network, WiBro network, and WiMax network) or a short range wireline/wireless communication network (e.g., Wi-Fi network, Zigbee network, and LAN). According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communication circuit  860  may transmit/receive various pieces of data to/from the intelligent server (e.g., the intelligent server  400  in  FIG. 3 ) under the control of the processor  840 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  840  may receive a wakeup utterance for calling the speech-based intelligent assistance service through the microphone  830 . Upon receipt of the wakeup utterance, the processor  840  may generate first information associated with the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the user terminal  300 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a priority of the user terminal  300 , and information on the user terminal  300 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the quality of the wakeup utterance may mean a clarity degree of the wakeup utterance. The quality of the wakeup utterance may include the SNR of the wakeup utterance. The SNR of the wakeup utterance may mean a ratio of a size of the noise to a size of the wakeup utterance. The priority of the user terminal  300  may mean a priority of the electronic device for processing a user input following the wakeup utterance among the electronic devices received the wakeup utterance. The information on the user terminal  300  may be various kinds of information such as identity information (e.g., IMEI and MAC address), a kind of the first electronic device (e.g., refrigerator, speaker, and mobile device), and information indicating whether the user terminal  300  includes a specific component (e.g., a display) capable of outputting data. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, one or more other electronic devices (e.g., the first electronic device  500  and the second electronic device  600  in  FIG. 3 ) may also receive the wakeup utterance of the user. The first and second electronic devices  500  and  600  may each determine whether to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance based on a result of a wakeup utterance-associated information (e.g., SNR of wakeup utterance) comparison. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the first electronic device  500  is determined as an electronic device responsible for transmitting a user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance for convenience of explanation. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500  may use different networks. The user terminal  300  may transmit/receive data to/from the intelligent server  400  via a first network (e.g., cellular network). The first electronic device  500  may transmit/receive data to/from the intelligent server  400  via a second network (e.g., short range communication network). The first electronic device  500  may transmit information on the wakeup utterance in a communication mode provided by the second network and, in this case, the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500  may not directly communicate data with each other. According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  and the second electronic device  600  may directly communicate data using audio sounds. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor may control the speaker  820  to broadcast an audio sound including the first information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may output an audio sound including second information indicative of transmitting a user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance. The processor  840  may receive the audio sound including the second information by means of the microphone  830 . According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  840  may compare the first information and the second information to determine whether to transmit the speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a comparison result. 
     For example, the processor  840  may compare the SNR measured by the user terminal  300  and the SNR included in the second information. If the SNR measured by the user terminal  300  is greater than the SNR included in the second information, this may indicate that the user terminal  300  has an environment superior to that of the first electronic device  500  for receiving a user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The processor  840  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the user terminal  300  is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. The processor  840  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is measured by the user terminal  300  is less than the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. In this case, the first electronic device  500  may transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     For example, the processor  840  may compare the quality of the wakeup utterance that is measured by the user terminal  300  and the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. If the quality of the wakeup utterance that is measured by the user terminal  300  is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information, this may indicate that the user terminal has an environment superior to that of the first electronic device  500  for receiving the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  840  may compare the priority of the user terminal  300  and the priority of the first electronic device  500  that is included in the second information. The priority may mean a priority for determining the electronic device to process the user&#39;s speech preferentially. The processor  840  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the priority of the user terminal  300  is high. 
     The above embodiment may obviate the need for the intelligent server  400  to select an electronic device to which a speech information processing result is transmitted, resulting in further reduction of load on the intelligent server. 
     According to an alternative embodiment of the disclosure, the processor  840  may transmit the user&#39;s speech information received after the wakeup utterance and at least part of the second information (e.g., information indicative of receipt of the second information and SNR information included in the second information) to the intelligent server  400 . The intelligent server  400  may determine whether the data transmitted by the user terminal  300  includes the second information. The intelligent server  400  may wait until the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance that is transmitted by the first electronic device is received, based on a determination that the data transmitted by the user terminal  300  includes the second information. The intelligent server  400  may select one of the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500  as a target device to which a speech information processing result is to be transmitted. The intelligent server  400  is described later in detail with reference to  FIG. 11 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, if it is determined for the user terminal  300  to transmit data to the intelligent server via the cellular network, the user terminal  300  may be able to transmit data faster than the first electronic device  500  that transmits data to the intelligent server via the short range communication network. The user terminal  300  may transmit information indicating whether the first electronic device  500  transmits speech information to the intelligent server  400 , thereby protecting against redundant speech information processing of the intelligent server  400  and reducing load on the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the memory  850  may store instructions executable by the processor  840  to accomplish the above described operations. 
       FIG. 9  is a signal flow diagram illustrating signal flows among a user terminal, a first electronic device, a second electronic device, and an external server according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , according to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal (e.g., the user terminal  300  in  FIG. 3 ), the first electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500  in  FIG. 3 ), and the second electronic device (e.g., the second electronic device  600  in  FIG. 3 ) may receive, at operation  905 , a wakeup utterance made by a user. For example, the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , and the second electronic device  600  may be located close to one another to receive the wakeup utterance made by the user. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first and second electronic devices  500  and  600  may be connected to the same network (e.g., short range communication network), and the user terminal  300  may be connected to another network (e.g., cellular network) that is different from the network to which the first and second electronic devices  500  and  600  are connected. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may broadcast, at operation  910 , first information associated with the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include a wakeup utterance reception time at the first electronic device  500 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a priority of the first electronic device  500 , and information on the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the quality of the wakeup utterance may mean a clarity degree of the wakeup utterance. The quality of the wakeup utterance may include the SNR of the wakeup utterance. The SNR of the wakeup utterance may mean a ratio of a size of the noise to a size of the wakeup utterance. 
     The priority of the first electronic device  500  may mean a priority of the electronic device for processing a user input following the wakeup utterance among the electronic devices received the wakeup utterance. The information on the first electronic device  500  may be various kinds of information such as identity information (e.g., IMEI and MAC address), a kind of the first electronic device (e.g., refrigerator and speaker), and information indicating whether the first electronic device  500  includes a specific component (e.g., display) capable of outputting data. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the second electronic device  600  may broadcast, at operation  915 , second information associated with the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the second information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the second electronic device  600 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the second electronic device  600 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the second electronic device  600 , a priority of the second electronic device  600 , and information on the second electronic device  600 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first and second information may be broadcast using a short range communication network (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth™, and Zigbee network). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may compare the first information and the received second information at operation  920 . The second electronic device  600  may compare the received first information and the received second information at operation  925 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first and second electronic devices  500  and  600  may determine at respective operations  930  and  935  whether to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on the comparison results. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may compare the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information and the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. If the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information, this may indicate that the first electronic device  500  has an environment superior to that of the second electronic device  600  for receiving the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The first electronic device  500  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on determining that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the first electronic device  500  is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. The first electronic device  500  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on determining that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is less than the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first and second electronic devices  500  and  600  may each compare the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information and the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. If the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information, this may indicate that the first electronic device  500  has an environment superior to that of the second electronic device  600  for receiving the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The first electronic device  500  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is worse than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may compare the priority of the first electronic device  500  that is included in the first information and the priority of the second electronic device  600  that is included in the second information. The priority may mean a priority for determining the electronic device to process the user&#39;s speech preferentially. The first electronic device  500  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the priority of the first electronic device  500  is higher than that of the second electronic device  600 . 
     Hereinafter, it is assumed that the first electronic device  500  determines to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  for convenience of explanation. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may broadcast an audio sound including third information indicative of transmission of speech information to the intelligent server  400  by means of a speaker (e.g., the speaker  520  in  FIG. 5 ). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may receive, at operation  940 , the third information broadcast by the first electronic device  500  and transmit, at operation  945 , the speech information received after the wakeup utterance and the third information to the intelligent server  400 . According to an embodiment, the second electronic device  600  may receive the third information broadcast by the first electronic device  500 ; in this case, the corresponding information may be ignored. According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may determine whether the data transmitted by the user terminal  300  includes the third information. The user terminal  300  may wait for receiving the third information during a predetermined time period after the receipt of the wakeup utterance. If the third information is received in a predetermined time, the user terminal may transmit at least part of the received third information to the intelligent server  400 . The intelligent server  400  may wait until the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance is received from the first electronic device  500  based on a determination that the data transmitted by the user terminal  330  includes the third information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may transmit, at operation  950 , the speech information received after the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may process the speech-based intelligence assistance service based on the speech information and determine, at operation  955 , an electronic device to which a processing result is to be transmitted. How to determine the electronic device to which the processing result is to be transmitted is described later in detail with reference to  FIG. 11 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may transmit the service processing result to the determined electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300 ) at operation  960 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may predetermine whether there is any electronic device to receive the wakeup utterance around the user terminal  300 . The user terminal  300  may broadcast a signal for discovering a presence of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  using an audio sound. The first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  may transmit a response signal to the user terminal in reply to the signal for discovering the presence of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720 . The user terminal  300  may identify the presence of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  based on the receipt of the response signal. The user terminal  300  may transmit to the intelligent server  400  a signal indicating the presence of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720 . The user terminal  300  may transmit to the intelligent server  400  the signal indicating the presence of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  regardless of operations  910 ,  915 ,  920 ,  925 ,  930 ,  935 ,  940 ,  945 , and  950 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may receive a wakeup utterance of the user again after operation  960 . In this case, the user terminal  300  discovers the presence of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  and transmits to the intelligent server  400  the signal indicating the presence of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, if the intelligent server  400  receives the signal indicating the presence of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720 , it may suspend processing the speech information transmitted by the user terminal  300  until the speech information is received from the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to an embodiment, the user terminal  300  may predetermine whether there is any electronic device capable of receiving the wakeup utterance around the user terminal  300  based on a signal received from an external electronic device. For example, the user terminal  300  may receive an audio sound from the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  and transmit a signal indicating the presence of external electronic devices around the user terminal to the intelligent server  400 . The user terminal  300  may transmit the signal indicating the presence of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720  to the intelligent server  400  regardless of operations  910 ,  915 ,  920 ,  925 ,  930 ,  935 ,  940 ,  945 , and  950 . 
       FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating an operation for determining an electronic device responsible for transmitting speech information following a wakeup utterance to an external server according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , a first electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500  in  FIG. 3 ), a second electronic device (e.g., the second electronic device  600  in  FIG. 3 ), a third electronic device (e.g., the third electronic device  700  in  FIG. 3 ), the fourth electronic device  720 , and a fifth electronic device  1020  may connect to an AP (e.g., the AP  710  in  FIG. 7 ) via a short range communication network (e.g., Wi-Fi network). The AP  710  and the user terminal  300  may connect to the intelligent server  400  via the communication network  740 . The communication network  740  may be a network implemented with various communication means (e.g., cellular network) that is capable of transmitting/receiving data to/from the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may be located within the area  719  where they can receive a wakeup utterance of a user. The fifth electronic device  1020  may be located out of the area where the wakeup utterance of the user can be received. For example, the user is in a specific space (e.g., a room) and the user&#39;s utterance may be heard only within the room in a case where the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  are located inside the room while the fifth electronic device  1020  is located outside the room. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server (e.g., the intelligent server  400  in  FIG. 3 ) may receive the user&#39;s speech information transmitted by one of the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device (e.g., the fourth electronic device  720  in  FIG. 7 ) via a short range communication network established by the AP  710  and execute an operation related to a speech-based intelligence assistance service based on the speech information. The user terminal (e.g., the user terminal  300  in  FIG. 3 ) may be connected to a cellular network rather than the short range communication network established by the AP  710 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may receive the wakeup utterance  730  made by the user by means of a microphone (e.g., the microphone  530  in  FIG. 5 ). The first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may each generate first information on the wakeup utterance received through the microphone  530  as denoted by the SNR  711 , the SNR  713 , the SNR  715 , and the SNR  717 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include an SNR of the wakeup utterance received at each electronic device. In reference to  FIG. 10 , the SNR  711  of the wakeup utterance  730  received at the first electronic device  500  may be 60 dB, the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received at the second electronic device  600  may be 80 dB, the SNR  715  of the wakeup utterance  730  received at the third electronic device  700  may be 45 dB, and the SNR  717  of the wakeup utterance  730  received at the fourth electronic device  720  may be 30 dB. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may broadcast the first information. The fifth electronic device  1020  may neither receive the user&#39;s wakeup utterance nor broadcast the first information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may be broadcast via a short range communication network to which the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  are connected. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may broadcast the first information using a network established by the AP  710 . The first information may be broadcast by the respective electronic devices with no intervention of the AP  710 . For example, the first information may be broadcast via a short range communication network to which the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may broadcast the first information in a Wi-Fi Direct communication mode which obviates the need of an intervention of the AP  710 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may receive second information associated with the wakeup utterance  730 . The second information may include the SNR of the wakeup utterance  730  received at another electronic device (e.g., the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720 ) rather than the electronic device itself (e.g., the first electronic device  500 ). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720  may each compare the first information and the second information to determine whether to transmit user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server based on a result of the comparison. 
     For example, the first electronic device  500  may verify that the SNR  711  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the first electronic device  500  (i.e., 63 dB) is less than the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the second electronic device  600  (i.e., 80 dB). In this case, the first electronic device  500  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server  400 . 
     For example, the second electronic device  600  may verify that the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the second electronic device  600  (i.e., 80 dB) is greater than the SNR of the wakeup utterance  730  received by any of the other electronic devices. In this case, the second electronic device  600  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server  400 . 
     For example, the third electronic device  700  may verify that the SNR  715  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the third electronic device  700  (i.e., 45 dB) is less than the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the second electronic device  600  (i.e., 80 dB). In this case, the third electronic device  700  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server  400 . 
     For example, the fourth electronic device  720  may verify that the SNR  717  of the wakeup utterance received by the fourth electronic device  720  is less than the SNR  713  of the wakeup utterance  730  received by the second electronic device  600  (i.e., 80 dB). In this case, the fourth electronic device  720  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may output an audio sound  1010  including third information indicative of transmission of the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance  730  to the intelligent server  400 . The third information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the first electronic device  500 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a priority of the first electronic device  500 , and device information of the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may receive the wakeup utterance made by the user. The user terminal  300  may wait for receiving the third information during a predetermined time period after the receipt of the wakeup utterance. If the user terminal  300  fails to receive the third information during the predetermined time period, it may transmit speech information received after the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may receive the third information transmitted by the first electronic device  500  during the predetermined time period. The user terminal  300  may transmit a user&#39;s speech information received after the wakeup utterance and the third information to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal may broadcast an audio sound including fourth information. The fourth information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the user terminal  300 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a priority of the user terminal  300 , and information on the user terminal. Upon receipt of the audio sound including the third information, the user terminal  300  may broadcast the audio sound including the fourth information by means of a speaker (e.g., the speaker  820  in  FIG. 8 ). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may compare the SNR included in the third information and the SNR measured by the user terminal  300  (which may be included in the fourth information). The first electronic device  500  may compare the SNR included in the fourth information and the SNR measured by the first electronic device (which may be included in the third information). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500  may each determine whether to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on at least part of an SNR comparison result. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, if the SNR measured by the user terminal  300  is greater than the SNR included in the third information, this may indicate that the user terminal  300  has an environment superior to that of the first electronic device  500  for receiving a user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The user terminal  300  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the user terminal  300  is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the third information. The first electronic device  500  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the fourth information is less than the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, if the quality of the wakeup utterance that is measured by the user terminal  300  is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the first electronic device  500 , this may indicate that the user terminal has an environment superior to that of the first electronic device  500  for receiving the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The user terminal  300  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the user terminal  300  is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the third information. In this case, the first electronic device  500  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may determine not to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is measured at the user terminal  300  is worse than the quality of the wakeup utterance included in the third information. In this case, the first electronic device  500  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may compare a priority of the user terminal  300  and a priority of the first electronic device  500  that is included in the third information. The priority may mean a priority for determining the electronic device to process the user&#39;s speech preferentially. The user terminal  300  may determine to transmit the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the priority of the first electronic device  500  is high. 
     An audio sound is characterized by a short propagation distance and poor straightness in comparison with a signal of other communication means (e.g., short range communication network). Because of these characteristics, the electronic devices (e.g., the user terminal  300 , the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720 ) located close to the user who makes the wakeup utterance can receive the corresponding audio sound while the electronic devices (e.g., fifth electronic device  1050 ) located far from the user who makes the wakeup utterance may not receive the corresponding audio sound. The method for transmitting the first information using an audio sound is capable of preventing the electronic devices (e.g., the fifth electronic device  1020 ) far from the user who makes a wakeup utterance from receiving the third information and the fourth information so as to reduce unnecessary load on the electronic devices (e.g., the fifth electronic device  1020 ) located far from the user. 
       FIG. 11  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an intelligent server according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , the intelligent server (e.g., the intelligent server  400  in  FIG. 3 ) may include a communication circuit  1110 , a processor  1120 , and a memory  1130 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communication circuit  1110  may be configured to establish a connection to a cellular network (e.g., 3G, network, LTE network, 5G network, WiBro network, and Wimax network). According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communication circuit  1110  may transmit/receive various kinds of data related to a speech-based intelligent assistance server with an external electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300  in  FIG. 3 , the first electronic device  500  in  FIG. 3 , the second electronic device  600  in  FIG. 3 , and the third electronic device  700  in  FIG. 3 ) under the control of the processor  1120 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  1120  may receive first information related to a user&#39;s speech information following a wakeup utterance for calling for the speech-based intelligent assistance service from the user terminal  300  by means of the communication circuit  1110 . The processor  1120  may receive second information related to the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance from the first electronic device  500  by means of the communication circuit  1110 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may receive a signal indicative of transmission of the user&#39;s speech information received after the wakeup utterance from the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, in the case where the user terminal  300  transmits data to the intelligent server  400  via a cellular network, a data rate of the cellular network may typically be greater than that of a short range communication network, and the user terminal  300  may transmit data to the intelligent server  400  faster than the first electronic device  500  that transmits the data to the intelligent server  400  via the short range communication network because of the time necessary for the first electronic device  500  to select an electronic device responsible for transmitting speech information to the intelligent server  400  among the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may wait for a predetermined time period before processing the first information based on a determination that the first information transmitted by the user terminal  300  includes a signal indicating that the first electronic device  500  is responsible for transmitting a user&#39;s speech information. The intelligent server  400  may receive second information transmitted by the first electronic device  500  in a predetermined time period. The intelligent server  400  may process one of the first information and the second information and transmit a processing result to the electronic device that has transmitted the corresponding information. If the user terminal  300  transmits to the intelligent server  400  information indicating whether the first electronic device  500  is responsible for transmitting speech information, this may lead to obviation of redundant speech information processing of the intelligent server  400  and reduction of load on the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may receive a signal indicative of transmission of user&#39;s speech information following the wake up utterance from the first electronic device  500  and transmit to the intelligent server  400  the first information including a signal indicating that the first electronic device  500  is responsible for transmitting the user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  1120  may suspend speech information processing until user&#39;s speech information that follows the wakeup utterance is received from the first electronic device  500  based on a determination that the first information includes the signal indicating that the first electronic device  500  is responsible for transmitting the user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  1120  may perform speech information processing upon receipt of the speech information transmitted by the first electronic device. The received speech information may be processed to execute the speech-based intelligent assistance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  1120  may determine an electronic device to which a speech information processing result is to be transmitted. The processor  1120  may select one of the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500  and transmit the speech information processing result to the selected electronic device. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  1120  may compare the first information transmitted by the user terminal  300  and the second information transmitted by the first electronic device and select one of the two as the electronic device to which a comparison result is to be transmitted. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include a wakeup utterance reception time at the user terminal  300 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a priority of the user terminal  300 , and information on the user terminal  300 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the second information may include a wakeup utterance reception time at the first electronic device  500 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a priority of the first electronic device  500 , and information on the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the SNR of the wakeup utterance may mean a ratio of a size of the noise to a size of the wakeup utterance. The quality of the wakeup utterance may mean a clarity degree of the wakeup utterance. The priority of the electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500 ) may mean a priority of the electronic device for processing a user input following the wakeup utterance among the electronic devices that received the wakeup utterance. The information on the electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500 ) may be various kinds of information such as identity information (e.g., IMEI and MAC address) of the electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500 ), a kind of the electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500 ) (e.g., a refrigerator and a speaker), and information indicating whether the electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500 ) includes a specific component (e.g., a display) capable of outputting data. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  1120  may compare the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information and the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. If the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information, this may indicate that the user terminal  300  has an environment superior to that of the first electronic device  500  for receiving a user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The processor  1120  may determine to transmit the processing result to the user terminal  300  based on a determination that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is greater than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. The processor  1120  may determine to transmit the processing result to the first electronic device  500  based on a determination that the SNR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is less than the SINR of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  1120  may compare the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information and the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. If the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information, this may indicate that the user terminal  300  has an environment superior to that of the first electronic device for receiving a user&#39;s speech following the wakeup utterance. The processor  1120  may determine to transmit the processing result to the user terminal  300  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is better than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  1120  may determine to transmit the processing result to the first electronic device  500  based on a determination that the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the first information is worse than the quality of the wakeup utterance that is included in the second information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor  1120  may compare the priority of the user terminal  300  and the priority of the first electronic device. The priority may mean a priority for determining the electronic device to process a user&#39;s speech preferentially. The processor  1120  may determine to transmit the processing result to the user terminal  300  based on a determination that the priority of the user terminal  300  is higher than that of the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may include the UI  810 , at least one communication circuit (e.g., the communication circuit  860 ) configured to connect to a cellular network and/or a Wi-Fi network, the microphone  830 , at least one speaker (e.g., the speaker  820 ), at least one processor (e.g., the processor  840 ) operationally connected to the UI  810 , the communication circuit  860 , the microphone  830 , and the speaker  820 , and the memory  850  operationally connected to the processor  840 . The memory  850  may store instructions executable by the processor  840  for receiving a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligent assistance service through the microphone  830 , transmitting an audio sound including first information associated with the wakeup utterance through the speaker  820 , receiving an audio sound including second information through the microphone  830 , and determining whether to control the user terminal  300  to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to an external server (e.g., the intelligent server  400 ) based on at least part of a comparison between the first information and the second information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the instructions may include an instruction executable by the processor  840  for transmitting, at the user terminal  300 , speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on the second information being not received in a predetermined period after transmitting the first information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the instructions may include instructions executable by the processor  840  for broadcasting, at the user terminal  300 , third information associated with the wakeup utterance on the Wi-Fi network by means of the communication circuit  860 , receiving fourth information broadcast by at least one external electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , or the fourth electronic device  720 ) on the Wi-Fi network by means of the communication circuit  860 , and determining whether to transmit, at the user terminal  300 , speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on at least part of a comparison between the third information and the fourth information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first to fourth information may include at least one of an SNR, wakeup utterance reception time information, priority information, and/or category information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the instructions may include an instruction executable by the processor  840  for broadcasting, at the user terminal  300 , the third information before transmitting the first information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the instructions may include an instruction executable by the processor  840  for transmitting, at the user terminal  300 , speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on the fourth information not being received during a predetermined period after broadcasting the third information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the audio sound is transmitted in a frequency range from 17 KHz to 25 KHz. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may include at least one communication circuit (e.g., the communication circuit  560 ) configured to connect to a first network, the microphone  530 , at least one speaker (e.g. the speaker  520 ), at least one processor (e.g., the processor  540 ) operationally connected to the communication circuit  560 , the microphone  530 , and the speaker  520 , and the memory  550  operationally connected to the processor  540 . The memory  550  may store instructions executable by the processor  540  for broadcasting first information associated with a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligent assistance service, the wakeup utterance being received through the microphone  530 , receiving second information associated with the wakeup utterance broadcast by external electronic devices (e.g., the second electronic device  600 , the third electronic device  700 , and the fourth electronic device  720 ) connected to the first network, and determining whether to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to an external server (e.g., intelligent server  400 ) based on at least part of a comparison between the first information and the second information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the instructions may include instructions executable by the processor  540  for broadcasting, at the first electronic device  500 , an audio sound including the first information by using the speaker  520  and receiving an audio sound including the second information by using the microphone  530 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the instructions may include instructions executable by the processor  540  for broadcasting, at the first electronic device  500 , the first information by using the communication circuit  560  and receiving the second information by using the communication circuit  560 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the instructions may include an instruction executable by the processor  540  for broadcasting, at the first electronic device  500 , an audio sound including third information indicative of transmission of speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  by using the speaker  520 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the instructions may include instructions executable by the processor  540  for receiving, at the first electronic device  500 , an audio sound including fourth information associated with the wakeup utterance that is transmitted by an external electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300 ) connected to a second network rather than the first network upon receipt of the third information and determining whether to transmit, at the first electronic device  500 , speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on at least part of a comparison between the first information and the fourth information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first to fourth information may include at least one of an SNR, wakeup utterance reception time information, priority information, and/or category information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may include at least one communication circuit (e.g., the communication circuit  860 ) configured to connect to a first network, the microphone  830 , at least one speaker (e.g., the speaker  820 ), at least one processor operationally connected to the communication circuit  860 , the microphone  830 , and the speaker  820 , and a memory operationally connected to the processor  840 . The memory  850  may store instructions executable by the processor  840  for generating first information associated with a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligent assistance service, the wakeup utterance being received through the microphone  830 , receiving an audio sound including second information indicating that an external electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500 , the second electronic device  600 , or the third electronic device  700 ) connected to a second network rather than the first network is responsible for transmitting speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 , the audio sound being received by using the speaker, and transmitting the first information and the second information to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the instructions may include an instruction executable by the processor  840  for determining, at the user terminal  300 , whether to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on at least part of a comparison between the first information and the second information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may include the communication circuit  1110  for receiving first information associated with a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligent assistance service, the first information being transmitted by a first external electronic device connected to a first network, and second information associated with the wakeup utterance, the second information being transmitted by a second external electronic device connected to a second network, at least one processor (e.g., the processor  1120 ), and the memory  1130  operationally connected to the processor. The memory  1130  may store instructions executable by the processor  1120  for detecting receipt of the first information, determining whether the first information include information indicating whether the second information is to be transmitted, determining whether other information is received in a predetermined period after receipt of the information, selecting an external electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300  or the first electronic device  500 ) to which a processing result of the speech-based intelligent assistance service is to be transmitted based on at least part of a comparison between the first information and the second information, and transmitting the processing result to the selected external electronic device. 
       FIG. 12  is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , a first electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500  in  FIG. 3 ) may receive, at operation  1210 , a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligent assistance service. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may broadcast, at operation  1220 , first information associated with the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the first electronic device  500 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a priority of the first electronic device  500 , and information on the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may broadcast the first information in various manners. For example, the first electronic device  500  may broadcast the first information in such a way of outputting an audio sound including the first information by using the speaker  520 . By way of another example, the first electronic device  500  may broadcast the first information for other electronic devices connected to a network (e.g., Wi-Fi network) to which the first electronic device is connected by using the communication circuit  560 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the audio sound may be a signal being transmitted in a frequency band difficult to be heard by a user and transmitted by means of the speaker  520 . For example, the audio sound may be a signal being transmitted in a frequency range from 17 KHz to 25 KHz. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may receive, at operation  1230 , second information transmitted by an external electronic device (e.g., the second electronic device  600  in  FIG. 3 ). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may receive the first information broadcast by at least one electronic device (e.g., the second electronic device  600 ) close to the first electronic device  500 . The second electronic device  600  may receive the wakeup utterance made by a user. The second electronic device  600  may broadcast the second information associated with the wakeup utterance upon receipt of the wakeup utterance. The first electronic device  500  may receive the second information broadcast by the second electronic device  600 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, at operations  1220  and  1230  may be performed in reverse order or at the same time. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may determine at operation  1240  whether to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to an intelligent server (e.g. the intelligent server  400  in  FIG. 3 ) based on at least part of a comparison between the first information and the second information. 
       FIG. 13  is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 13 , a user terminal (e.g., the user terminal  300  in  FIG. 3 ) may receive, at operation  1310 , a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligent assistance service. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may generate, at operation  1320 , first information associated with the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the user terminal  300 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a priority of the user terminal  300 , and information on the user terminal  300 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may determine, at operation  1330 , whether second information associated with the wakeup utterance is received from an external electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500  in  FIG. 3 ). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may output an audio sound including second information indicative of transmission of user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance. The user terminal  300  may receive the audio sound including the second information by using the microphone  830 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may transmit, at operation  1340 , speech information and the second information to the intelligent server (e.g., the intelligent server  400  in  FIG. 3 ) upon receipt of the second information associated with the wakeup utterance from the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may determine whether data transmitted by the user terminal  300  includes the second information. The intelligent server  400  may wait for receiving user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance from the first electronic device  500  based on a determination that the data includes the second information. The intelligent server  400  may select one of the user terminal  300  and the first electronic device  500  for transmitting a speech information processing result to the selected electronic device and transmit the speech information processing result to the selected electronic device. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may transmit, at operation  1350 , the speech information to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the second information associated with the wakeup utterance is not received from the first electronic device. For example, if the second information associated with the wakeup utterance is not received from the first electronic device  500  during a predetermined time period, the user terminal  300  may transmit speech information to the intelligent server  400 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the intelligent server  400  may determine that the second information is not received, process the speech information, and transmit information produced as a processing result to the user terminal  300 . 
       FIG. 14  is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 14 , a user terminal (e.g., the user terminal  300  in  FIG. 3 ) may receive, at operation  1410 , a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligent assistance service. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may generate, at operation  1420 , first information associated with the wakeup utterance. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first information may include at least part of a wakeup utterance reception time at the user terminal  300 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a quality of the wakeup utterance at the user terminal  300 , a priority of the user terminal  300 , and information on the user terminal  300 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may broadcast an audio sound including the first information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may determine, at operation  1430 , whether second information associated with the wakeup utterance is received from an external electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device  500  in  FIG. 3 ). 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may output an audio sound including second information. The second information may include at least part of information indicative of transmission of user&#39;s speech information following the wakeup utterance, a wakeup utterance reception time at the first electronic device  500 , an SNR of the wakeup utterance at the first electronic device  500 , a priority of the first electronic device  500 , and device information of the first electronic device  500 . 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may transmit, at operation  1460 , speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination that the second information is not received. According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may compare, at operation  1440 , the first information and the second information based on a determination that the second information is received. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may determine, at operation  1450 , whether to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a result of the comparison. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first electronic device  500  may also compare the first information transmitted by the user terminal  300  and the second information to determine whether to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a result of the comparison. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the user terminal  300  may transmit, at operation  1460 , speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination made at operation  1450  to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . According to an alternative embodiment, the user terminal  300  may not transmit speech information to the intelligent server  400  based on a determination made at operation  1450  not to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400 . 
     The above operation may obviate the need for the intelligent server  400  to select an electronic device to which a speech information processing result is transmitted, resulting in further reduction of load on the intelligent server. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, an operation method of an electronic device may including receiving a wakeup utterance for calling a speech-based intelligent assistance service through the microphone  830  of the user terminal  300 , broadcasting an audio sound including first information associated with the wakeup utterance through the speaker  820  of the user terminal  300 , receiving an audio sound including second information transmitted by an external electronic device through the microphone  830 , and determining whether to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to an external server (e.g., the intelligent server  400 ) based on at least part of a comparison between the first information and the second information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the operation method of the electronic device may further include broadcasting third information associated with the wakeup utterance on a Wi-Fi network, receiving fourth information broadcast by at least one external electronic device (e.g., the user terminal  300 ) on the Wi-Fi network, and determining whether to transmit speech information following the wakeup utterance to the intelligent server  400  based on at least part of a comparison between the third information and the fourth information. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, broadcasting the third information may be performed before the first information is broadcast. 
     According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first to fourth information may include at least one of an SNR, wakeup utterance reception time information, priority information, and/or category information, and the audio sound is transmitted in a frequency range from 17 KHz to 25 KHz. 
     As described above, the electronic devices for determining a speech recognition execution device and operation method thereof according to various embodiments of the disclosure are advantageous in terms of reducing speech recognition load of an external server by exploiting one of electronic devices that recognize a user&#39;s speech as a speech recognition device. 
     The electronic devices for determining a speech recognition execution device and operation method thereof according to various embodiments of the disclosure are advantageous in terms of transmitting/receiving data to be used for selecting a speech recognition-enabled electronic device in the form of an audio sound. This makes it possible to transmit/receive data by means of a speaker and a microphone even in the case where the speech recognition-enabled electronic devices are connected to different networks in a certain space. 
     The electronic devices for determining a speech recognition execution device and operation method thereof according to various embodiments of the disclosure are advantageous in terms of improving speech recognition speed by reducing a speech recognition load of an external server. 
     The electronic device according to various embodiments may be one of various types of electronic devices. The electronic devices may include, for example, a portable communication device (e.g., a smart phone), a computer device, a portable multimedia device, a portable medical device, a camera, a wearable device, or a home appliance. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic devices are not limited to those described above. 
     It should be appreciated that various embodiments of the disclosure and the terms used therein are not intended to limit the technological features set forth herein to particular embodiments and include various changes, equivalents, or replacements for a corresponding embodiment. With regard to the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used to refer to similar or related elements. It is to be understood that a singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the things, unless the relevant context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, each of such phrases as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B,” “A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “at least one of A, B, or C,” may include all possible combinations of the items enumerated together in a corresponding one of the phrases. As used herein, such terms as “1 st ” and “2nd,” or “first” and “second” may be used to simply distinguish a corresponding component from another, and does not limit the components in other aspect (e.g., importance or order). It is to be understood that if an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to, with or without the term “operatively” or “communicatively,” as “coupled with,” “coupled to,” “connected with,” or “connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it means that the element may be coupled with the other element directly (e.g., wiredly), wirelessly, or via a third element. 
     As used herein, the term “module” may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may interchangeably be used with other terms, for example, “logic,” “logic block,” “part,” or “circuitry.” A module may be a single integral component, or a minimum unit or part thereof, adapted to perform one or more functions. For example, according to an embodiment, the module may be implemented in a form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). 
     Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software (e.g., the program  140 ) including one or more instructions that are stored in a storage medium (e.g., an internal memory  136  or an external memory  138 ) that is readable by a machine (e.g., the electronic device  101 ). For example, a processor (e.g., the processor  120 ) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device  101 ) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it, with or without using one or more other components under the control of the processor. This allows the machine to be operated to perform at least one function according to the at least one instruction invoked. The one or more instructions may include a code generated by a complier or a code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Wherein, the term “non-transitory” simply means that the storage medium is a tangible device, and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave), but this term does not differentiate between where data is semi-permanently stored in the storage medium and where the data is temporarily stored in the storage medium. 
     According to an embodiment, a method according to various embodiments of the disclosure may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) online via an application store (e.g., Play Store™, or between two user devices (e.g., smart phones) directly. If distributed online, at least part of the computer program product may be temporarily generated or at least temporarily stored in the machine-readable storage medium, such as memory of the manufacturer&#39;s server, a server of the application store, or a relay server. 
     According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-described components may include a single entity or multiple entities. According to various embodiments, one or more of the above-described components may be omitted, or one or more other components may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, according to various embodiments, the integrated component may still perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components in the same or similar manner as they are performed by a corresponding one of the plurality of components before the integration. According to various embodiments, operations performed by the module, the program, or another component may be carried out sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed in a different order or omitted, or one or more other operations may be added. 
     While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.