Richard: Voice-First Mobile Interaction for Persistent Tasks

Abstract

Mobile terminals need to provide application and network services while supporting users' control over their attention. We explore voice-first interaction organized around requests and delegated tasks, allowing users to leave a conversation and later inspect, revise, and retrieve the work. We present Richard, a system prototype that manages voice sessions, task execution, and result delivery separately, linking them through persistent request records. Conversation and task views provide visual feedback, while the backend coordinates immediate responses, dedicated service operations, and agent tasks. Request revisions, execution states, and notifications remain associated with the relevant task. We examine this design through Android functional records, controlled lifecycle verification, and execution records of a real programming request. Controlled verification reproduces revision, execution after confirmation, and result retention; deployed-service records show backend progress and failure feedback after client disconnection. These observations inform the design of task continuity, user control, and service integration in mobile voice interaction, providing an implementation basis for personal computing devices that accommodate intermittent user participation.