JP2016066983A - Interpretation service system and interpretation service method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide efficient interpretation services corresponding to the situations of users.SOLUTION: A mobile terminal 10 accepts an interpretation request and establishes telephone communication with a server device 20, and transmits voice data from a security guard S and a foreigner F to the server device 20. The server device 20 determines the degree of urgency and a language type from the voice data, selects an interpreter T1 familiar with various languages if the degree of urgency is high, makes a machine translation server 60 perform machine translation if the degree of urgency is low, otherwise selects an interpreter corresponding to the degree of urgency and the language type, establishes a telephone line between an interpreter terminal 50 of the selected interpreter and the mobile terminal 10, and has the interpreter interpret the voice data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an interpreter service system and an interpreter service method having a server device that selects any one of a plurality of interpreter terminals in response to an interpreter request from an interpreter requester terminal.

  Traditionally, people who can speak only in one official language (eg, Spanish) will interfere with daily life and work when visiting countries that use other official languages (eg, Japanese). Therefore, communication has been attempted through an interpreter who interprets one official language into another official language.

  However, if such a visitor always accompanies an interpreter, the visitor must replace the interpreter because the visitor must pay a high cost to the interpreter in order to receive the interpreter's service. In many cases, a translation application installed in a travel dictionary or mobile terminal is used.

  Now, even if you use the above travel dictionary and translation app, it is difficult for visitors to speak with other official languages quickly and smoothly. There is a known technique for interpreting remotely. For example, in Patent Document 1, when an interpreter requests an interpreter to the interpreter center, the interpreter selects an interpreter who is familiar with both the interpreter requester and the language used by the partner, and the selected interpreter A technique for interpreting remotely from an interpretation center is disclosed.

JP 2002-73783 A

  However, the conventional technique represented by the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 can provide a real-time service when a sufficient number of interpreters can be kept at the interpreting center. When such a large-scale event is held and there are many users who require interpretation, there is a problem that a sufficient interpretation service cannot be provided in real time.

  For example, in the situation where there are 10 interpreters at the interpreting center and there are more than 1000 users who need interpretation, even if each interpreter is fully operational, The waiting time becomes longer. In particular, there are very few interpreters who can handle all major official languages, and many interpreters can only interpret certain official languages, so the waiting time for such users is increasing. Become.

  As a result, interpreters at the Interpretation Center, even in emergency situations where a security guard who can only speak one official language (eg Japanese) must communicate with someone who can speak only another official language (eg French) Cannot be used in real time, which may hinder security. In addition, when a key person visits a certain guard area, the guards located in the guard area cannot communicate with the key person in real time, and there is a possibility that some trouble will occur.

  Therefore, when a large-scale event is held, it is an important issue how to realize an interpreting service system that can efficiently provide an interpreting service according to the situation of the user who needs interpreting. It has become.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and when a large-scale event is held, an interpreting service according to the situation of a user who requires interpretation is efficiently provided. It is an object to provide an interpreting service system and an interpreting service method that can be performed.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention described in claim 1 corresponds to an interpreter requester terminal possessed by an interpreter requesting an interpreter and a plurality of interpreters located in an interpreter center. A plurality of interpreter terminals provided between the interpreter requester terminal and the plurality of interpreter terminals, and in response to an interpreter request from the interpreter requester terminal. An interpreter service system including a server device that selects any one of the interpreter terminal group, the interpreter terminal group including a plurality of interpreter terminals, or priority information that associates a priority with an interpreter terminal. A priority information storage unit, an interpreter request accepting unit that accepts an interpreter request from the interpreter requester terminal, and an interpreter request accepting unit that determines the urgency level of the interpreter request when the interpreter request accepting unit accepts the interpreter request. And an interpreter terminal group or interpreter that processes the interpret request based on the urgency of the interpret request determined by the urgency determiner and the priority information stored in the priority information storage unit. A call that connects the interpreter terminal selected by the selecting means, the interpreter terminal selected by the selecting means, or the interpreter terminal selected by the selecting means and the interpreter requester terminal. And connecting means.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the language type according to the invention according to claim 1, wherein the server device determines a language type of the interpret request when the interpret request is received by the interpret request receiving means. The selection means further includes an urgency level of the interpretation request determined by the urgency level determination means, a language type of the interpretation request determined by the language type determination means, and a priority information storage unit. Based on the stored priority information, an interpreter terminal group or an interpreter terminal that processes the interpretation request is selected.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the interpreter requester terminal accepts a predetermined interpreter request operation, the call connection is made to the server device as the interpreter request. A call connection request means for requesting an interpretation request, wherein the interpreter request accepting means performs a call connection related to the interpreter request terminal in response to a call connection request from the interpreter requester terminal, and The degree determination means analyzes the speech of a predetermined period uttered on the interpreter requester terminal, determines the urgency of the interpretation request based on the keyword included in the analyzed character data, and the call connection means A call between the temporarily suspended interpreter requester terminal and one interpreter terminal belonging to the interpreter terminal group selected by the selecting means or the interpreter terminal selected by the selecting means Call Connected, characterized in that a call connection between the interpreter requester terminal and the interpreter terminal.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the third aspect, the interpreter requester terminal further includes a video data transmitting unit that transmits video data, and the urgency determining unit is configured to transmit the interpretation request. When interpreting request data is received by the accepting means, the urgency level of the interpreting request is determined based on a keyword in character data included in the interpreting request data and video data received from the interpreting requester terminal. And

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the interpreter requester terminal includes character data obtained by analyzing a predetermined period of time after a predetermined interpreter request operation is performed. Interpretation requesting means for transmitting interpretation request data to the server device to make an interpretation request is provided, the interpreting request receiving means receives interpretation request data from the interpreter requester terminal, and the urgency determining means includes the interpreter The urgency level of the interpretation request is determined based on a keyword in the character data included in the request data, and the call connection means is one interpreter terminal belonging to the interpreter terminal group selected by the selection means or the selection The interpreter terminal selected by the means is instructed to make a call connection to the interpreter requester terminal.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the selection means has a low urgency level of the interpretation request determined by the urgency level determination means. And an interpreter terminal for machine translation is selected.

  The invention as set forth in claim 7 includes an interpreter requester terminal possessed by an interpreter requesting an interpreter, and a plurality of interpreter terminals respectively provided corresponding to a plurality of interpreters located in an interpreter center. A server device that is interposed between the interpreter requester terminal and the plurality of interpreter terminals and that selects any of the plurality of interpreter terminals in response to an interpreter request from the interpreter requester terminal. An interpreting service method in an interpreting service system, wherein the server device receives an interpreting request from the interpreting requester terminal, and when the interpreting request is received by the interpreting request receiving step, An urgency level determining step for determining an urgent level, an urgency level of the interpretation request determined by the urgency level determining step, and an interpreter terminal group or an interpreter terminal composed of a plurality of interpreter terminals And a selection step of selecting an interpreter terminal group or an interpreter terminal that processes the interpretation request based on priority information that associates the priority with the priority information, and one interpreter terminal group selected by the selection step A call connection step of connecting the interpreter terminal or the interpreter terminal selected in the selection step and the interpreter requester terminal by call.

  According to the present invention, when an interpreter request is received from an interpreter requester terminal, the urgency level of the interpreter request is determined, and an interpreter terminal group or an interpreter terminal that processes the interpreter request is selected according to the urgency level Since the interpreter terminal and the interpreter request terminal are connected by telephone, the interpreter request with high urgency can be processed with priority, and an efficient interpretation service according to the user's situation can be provided. It becomes possible to provide.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the outline of the interpretation service system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the interpretation service system. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the server apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication management data and interpretation management data stored in the storage unit of the server apparatus illustrated in FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the sequence from the interpretation request to the interpreter correspondence according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the outline of the interpretation service system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the server apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a sequence from the interpretation request to the interpreter correspondence according to the second embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of an interpreting service system and an interpreting service method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiment, a security guard can only speak Japanese and a person who cannot speak Japanese will be referred to as a “foreigner” for convenience. However, if the security guard can only speak in English, those who cannot speak in English are “foreigners”. In Example 1 shown below, the case where the urgency level is determined from the voice information of the foreigner and remote interpretation is explained, and in Example 2, the urgency level is determined from the voice information and video information of the foreigner. The case of interpreting remotely will be described.

  First, an outline of the interpretation service system according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the outline of the interpretation service system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, this interpreting service system includes interpreters provided for a mobile terminal 10 possessed by a security guard S who is an interpreter requesting an interpreter and interpreters T1 to T3 located in an interpreter center. The terminal 50 is interposed between the portable terminal 10 and each interpreter terminal 50, and in response to an interpretation request from the portable terminal 10, one of the plurality of interpreter terminals 50 is selected to establish a call connection. And a server device 20.

  Here, if a sufficient number of interpreters are waiting in the interpretation center, even if an emergency occurs, the security guard S can communicate smoothly with the foreigner F and the interpreter in real time. However, if all interpreters who can handle the language of foreigner F are engaged in other interpreting tasks, the guard S will be assigned to the appropriate interpreter even in an emergency situation. You will have to wait until you complete other interpreting tasks, which may be an impediment to urgent security.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, paying attention to the fact that there is a limit on the number of interpreters located in the interpretation center, when an interpreting request is made, the urgency level is automatically determined based on the voice data, and is about normal. Urgency level (urgency level B), interpreter T2 or T3 in the language corresponding to the interpreter request interprets, and when the urgency level is low (urgent level C), it corresponds by machine translation, and the urgency level is high In this case (urgent level A), the interpreter T1 is a highly skilled interpreter who is familiar with various languages. In addition, when the interpreter T1 corresponding to the urgency A increases frequently when interpretive requests with high urgency are frequently generated, the urgency A is determined in detail (for example, urgency A1 to A3). The interpreter T1 interprets only the interpreter request determined to have the highest urgency A1, and interprets the urgency B2 and C interpreters with automatic translation. You can also make changes depending on the situation.

  For this reason, according to the first embodiment, a high-skilled interpreter T1 who is familiar with various languages can be secured. Therefore, when a large-scale event is held and foreigners of various languages visit. Even if it exists, it becomes possible to perform an appropriate interpretation with respect to the guard S who needs an emergency.

  Specifically, in the first embodiment, when an interpretation request is generated, a call line is established between the mobile terminal 10 and the server device 20, and voice data uttered by the security guard S using the mobile terminal 10 is obtained. The degree of urgency is determined based on how much a predetermined keyword (for example, “VIP” or the like) is included in the analyzed character data after being analyzed on the server device 20.

  Here, the portable terminal 10 is provided with an interpreter processing unit 15a, which will be described later. When a predetermined operation relating to an interpreter request is performed by the security guard S, the telephone number assigned to the server device 20 is automatically set. When a call connection request is made and the server device 20 goes off-hook, a communication line is established between the mobile terminal 10 and the server device 20. The interpreting processing unit 15a is mounted on the control unit 15 by installing the interpreting application 14a stored in the storage unit 14 of the mobile terminal 10 in advance.

  In addition, when a telephone line is established between the mobile terminal 10 and the server apparatus 20, the server apparatus 20 transmits a voice guidance registered in advance (for example, “please notify the situation in 30 seconds”) to the mobile terminal. 10 and urge the security guard S to speak for a predetermined time. If the security guard S utters “contents indicating the degree of urgency”, “contents indicating the language type”, etc. within the predetermined time ((1) in FIG. 1), the spoken voice information is analyzed and character data is analyzed. It is verified whether or not a keyword registered in advance is included in this character data. Based on the collation result, the urgency level and language type of the translation are determined ((2) and (3) in FIG. 1), and the interpreter terminal 50 determines the urgency level and language type of the translation. Either one or the machine translation server 60 is selected ((4) in FIG. 1). Note that various conventional techniques can be used when character data is generated by analyzing spoken voice data.

  Here, if it is determined that the urgency level is the highest (urgency level A), the interpreter T1 of the interpretation center is selected at that time. For example, if security guard S is in a situation of urgency with foreigner F, or if foreigner F is a key person such as a government official, interpreter without waiting for the judgment of language type. The person T1 is selected.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the urgency level is low (urgent level C), the machine type server 60 of the interpretation center is selected after the language type is determined. This is because, even in the case of machine translation by the machine translation server 60, the guard S can help to achieve minimum communication with the foreigner F.

  If it is determined that the urgency level is medium (urgency level B), one of the interpreters T2 to T3 of the interpretation center is selected after the language type is determined. As such interpreters T2 to T3, it is not necessary to arrange a person having high interpreting skills corresponding to each language, and it is sufficient to arrange a plurality of human resources capable of interpreting between a specific language and Japanese.

  Thus, if the interpreter group according to the urgency level and the language type is selected, after temporarily holding the call line with the mobile terminal 10, the server device 20 may correspond to the corresponding interpreters T1 to T3. A call connection request is made to one of the interpreter terminals 50 corresponding to the above or the machine translation server 60. Then, if a call line between the server device 20 and the interpreter terminal 50 or the machine translation server 60 is established, the call line between the temporarily held mobile terminal 10 and the interpreter terminal 50 Either or a telephone line between the machine translation server 60 and the telephone line between the portable terminal 10 and the interpreter terminal 50 or a telephone line between the portable terminal 10 and the machine translation server 60 is exchanged. Will be established. By doing so, it is possible to provide an environment as if the interpreter is present at the site where the security guard S and the foreigner F are present except for the urgency level C.

  As described above, in the interpretation service system according to the first embodiment, the server device 20 determines the urgency level and the language type based on the voice data of the foreigner F. Then, based on both the urgency level or the urgency level and the language type, the server device 20 selects one of the interpreter terminals 50 or the machine translation server 60 and makes a call connection with the mobile terminal 10 of the security guard S. For this reason, since an appropriate interpreter can be assigned according to the situation of the guard S who needs an interpreter, a mismatch that assigns an interpreter having a high skill to the guard S with a low degree of urgency is prevented. Effective use of human resources and efficient interpretation services.

  For convenience of explanation, only one interpreter T1 for urgency A, English interpreter T2 for urgency B, and French interpreter T3 for urgency B are shown. Will correspond to multiple interpreters who can speak in many languages.

  Next, the system configuration of the service system according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of the interpretation service system according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the interpretation service system according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of portable terminals 10 and a server device 20.

  The mobile terminal 10 is a communication terminal device such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, or a tablet carried by the security guard S. Specifically, when the interpreter application 14a is installed in the mobile terminal 10 in advance and the guard S performs a predetermined operation related to the interpretation request (for example, an interpreter displayed on the display operation unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10). The mobile terminal 10 makes a call connection request to the server device 20 via the radio base station 40 and the public communication network.

  The server device 20 analyzes voice data uttered by the security guard S on the mobile terminal 10 to extract character data, and compares the character data with a keyword registered in advance to determine an urgency level and a language type. The interpreter terminal 50 or the machine translation server 60 is selected according to the determination result, and the selected interpreter terminal 50 or the machine translation server 60 and the portable terminal 10 are exchanged and connected. The switched connection referred to here is not limited to the switched connection based on the so-called line connection method, but may be switched connection based on the so-called packet switched connection method.

  The interpreter terminal 50 is connected to an exchange device 51 arranged in the interpreter center. When the exchange device 51 receives a call connection request from the server device 20, a call signal is sent to each subordinate interpreter terminal 50. Sending out and causing each interpreter terminal 50 to ring. If a certain interpreter terminal 50 is hooked off first, a telephone line is established between the interpreter terminal 50 and the server device 20.

  The machine translation server 60 installed in the interpretation center temporarily stores voice information (speech data to be uttered) received from the portable terminal 10 after the communication line with the portable terminal 10 is established. The voice information is analyzed and converted into character data, and the character data translated is output to the portable terminal 10 as voice. The machine translation server 60 may use a known technique.

  Next, the internal configuration of the mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the mobile terminal 10 includes a wireless communication unit 11, a display operation unit 12, a voice input / output unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15.

  The wireless communication unit 11 is a communication unit for performing wireless communication via the wireless base station 40. With this wireless communication unit 11, the mobile terminal 10 establishes a communication line with the server device 20, the interpreter terminal 50, or the machine translation server 60.

  The display operation unit 12 is composed of a touch-type liquid crystal panel or the like, receives a predetermined operation related to an interpreter request from the guard S, and performs a display according to the operation. The voice input / output unit 13 inputs voice information that is the utterance content of the security guard S or the foreigner F who is a speaker, A / D converts this, and outputs it to the control unit 15. Also, the voice input / output unit 13 performs D / A conversion on voice information transmitted from the server device 20 and the interpreters T1 to T3 and outputs the voice information.

  The storage unit 14 is a storage device including a hard disk device, a nonvolatile memory, and the like, and stores the interpreter application 14a. By installing the interpretation application 14a stored in the storage unit 14 in the mobile terminal 10, an interpretation processing unit 15a described later is generated. When the predetermined operation related to the interpretation request described above is performed, the interpretation processing unit 15a performs processing related to the interpretation request.

  The control unit 15 is a control unit that performs overall control of the mobile terminal 10, and includes an interpretation processing unit 15a, a voice processing unit 15b, and a communication processing unit 15c.

  The interpretation processing unit 15a is a processing unit that instructs the communication processing unit 15c to make a call connection with the server device 20 when a predetermined operation related to the interpretation request is received. In addition, when the server device 20 establishes a call connection between the mobile terminal 10 and the interpreter terminal 50, the interpreter 15a notifies the operator that communication with the interpreter is possible. You can also

  The voice processing unit 15b is a processing unit that outputs various voice messages on the call line. Specifically, the call line is temporarily held in the connection processing including the urgent level determination and the language determination and the server device 20. In the meantime, a sound is output to the security guard S that the connection process is being performed.

  The communication processing unit 15 c is a processing unit that performs a call connection process with the server device 20. Specifically, when the communication processing unit 15c receives a call connection instruction from the interpretation processing unit 15a, the communication processing unit 15c makes a call connection request to the server device 20 to establish a call line with the server device 20. Establish.

  Next, the internal configuration of the server device 20 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the server device 20 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the server device 20 is connected to the operation unit 23a and the display unit 23b. The operation unit 23a is used when various setting operations of the server device 20 are performed, and the display unit 23b displays a display in response to the operation of the operation unit 23a and the operation status of the server device 20.

  The server device 20 includes a communication unit 21, an audio output unit 22, a storage unit 24, and a control unit 25. The communication unit 21 is an interface unit for performing a call connection with the mobile terminal 10 via the public communication network and the wireless base station 40. The voice output unit 22 is a processing unit that outputs voice data for guidance stored in advance.

  The storage unit 24 is a storage device composed of a hard disk device, a nonvolatile memory, or the like, and stores communication management data 24a, interpretation management data 24b, urgency determination keywords 24c, and language type determination keywords 24d.

  When the server device 20 receives a call connection request, the communication management data 24a includes the interpreter terminal 50 selected according to the urgency level or the interpreter terminal 50 selected according to the urgency level and the language type. This is setting data for communicating with the machine translation server 60. The communication management data 24a includes the telephone number of the interpreter terminal 50 corresponding to the urgency level and the language type.

  The interpreter management data 24b is data for managing the status of interpreters located in the interpreter center. By referring to the interpreter management data 24b, whether there is an interpreter capable of interpreting corresponding to each urgency level. It turns out. If the number of lines that can be connected simultaneously between the switching device 30 and each switching device 51 is less than the number of interpreter terminals 50 connected to the switching device 51, the situation of the interpreter alone is not sufficient. It is desirable to manage the usage status of the line.

  The urgency level determination keyword 24c is a keyword registered in advance for each of the urgency levels A to C, and is used when determining the urgency level. The language type determination keyword 24d is a keyword registered in advance for each language type.

  The control unit 25 is a control unit that totally controls the server device 20, and includes a voice analysis processing unit 25g, an urgency level determination processing unit 25a, a language type determination processing unit 25b, an interpreter group selection processing unit 25c, and a call control processing unit 25d. And an audio processing unit 25e.

  The voice analysis processing unit 25g is a processing unit that analyzes voice data uttered on the mobile terminal 10 and converts it into character data. Any conventional technique can be used for this processing.

  The urgency level determination processing unit 25a is a processing unit that determines the urgency level of the interpretation request from the voice uttered by the security guard S. Specifically, the storage unit 24 is included in the character data output from the voice analysis processing unit 25g. The urgency level is determined based on whether or not the urgency level determination keyword 24c stored in advance is included. If it is determined that the urgency level is A, the determination result is notified to the interpreter group selection processing unit 25c, and connection with the interpreter group “urgent level A” is performed.

  Specifically, Japanese such as “emergency” and “first priority” and English such as “emergency”, “urgent”, “hurry”, “hospital”, “injury”, “wound” correspond to the urgency A If these keywords are included in the character data output from the speech analysis processing unit 25g and registered in the urgency determination keyword 24c, the urgency of the interpretation request is set as the urgency A. judge. Similarly, a keyword such as “normal” is associated with the urgency level B, a keyword such as “machine translation” is associated with the urgency level C, and these keywords are included in the character data output from the speech analysis processing unit 25g. The urgency B or C is determined depending on whether or not When no keyword is included, the urgency level C is determined. However, the keyword needs to be learned and updated each time so as to eliminate the keyword omission.

  Note that the analysis result of the waveform of the voice data can also be used when determining the degree of urgency. Specifically, the amplitude and frequency of the voice are analyzed, and it is determined whether or not there is a feature that appears in an emergency such as “the voice becomes louder” or “the tone becomes faster”. When these features exist, the urgency level determination processing unit 25a determines that the urgency level is high (urgency level A). In addition to this, it is also possible to use voice features that suggest an emergency situation, such as a breathing sound when physical condition is poor.

  The language type determination processing unit 25b is a processing unit that determines the language type of the interpretation request from the voice uttered by the security guard S or the foreigner F, and specifically, in the character data output from the voice analysis processing unit 25g. The degree of urgency is determined based on whether or not the language type determination keyword 24d stored in advance in the storage unit 24 is included.

  That is, if a keyword such as “English” or “French” is registered for each language type in the language type determination keyword 24d and the security guard S speaks “English” or “French”, the corresponding language Specify the type. However, if the security guard S cannot understand the language type of the foreigner F at all, it is necessary to specify the language type by letting the foreigner F speak. For this reason, it is necessary to register keywords (for example, “I” and “what” in the case of English) that are frequently used in the language type in the language type determination keyword 24d for each language type.

  The language type determination processing unit 25b can also determine the language type using a phoneme system / pronunciation difference, a phoneme arrangement structure difference, a word / grammar difference, and the like depending on the language type. In the first embodiment, when the urgency level is “Urgent level A”, since the call connection is made to the interpreter group having the urgency level A without waiting for the determination of the language type, the urgency level of the interpretation request The language type is determined when is not the urgency level A, but the language type can be determined for all interpretation requests regardless of the urgency level.

  The interpreter group selection processing unit 25c is a processing unit that selects an interpreter group according to the urgency level and the language type. The interpreter group selection processing unit 25c receives notification of the determination result of the urgent level and the language type from the urgency level determination processing unit 25a and the language type determination processing unit 25b, selects an interpreter group, and notifies the call control processing unit 25d To do.

  Further, when the interpreter group selection processing unit 25c receives a notification of the result determined as urgency level A from the urgency level determination processing unit 25a, the interpreter group “ “Emergency A” is selected and notified to the call control processing unit 25d. However, even in the case of “urgent level A” having the highest level of urgency, it is possible to select the interpreter group of the interpretation center based on the determination result of the language type. This is because the interpreter group “urgency A” may be divided into a plurality of subgroups according to the language type.

  On the other hand, the interpreter group selection processing unit 25c receives the determination result of the language type of the language type determination processing unit 25b when the urgency level determination processing unit 25a determines that the urgency level is not “A”. The interpreter group or the machine translation server 60 corresponding to the language type is selected and notified to the call control processing unit 25d.

  The call control processing unit 25d is a processing unit that performs communication connection processing between the portable terminal 10 and the interpreter terminal 50 of each interpreter group. The call control processing unit 25d causes the exchange apparatus 30 to establish a communication line between the interpreter group 50 and the portable terminal 10 of the interpreter group selected by the interpreter group selection processing unit 25c. In this case, since a telephone line is established between the server device 20 and the portable terminal 10 in advance, the telephone line is temporarily put on hold. Alternatively, the exchange device 30 may temporarily hold it. At this time, the mobile terminal 10 can be notified of this by voice or text information.

  Further, the call control processing unit 25d switches the call line between the server device 20 and the interpreter terminal 50 to the switching device 30 when the call line between the server device 20 and the interpreter terminal 50 is established. The call connection between the portable terminal 10 and the interpreter terminal 50 is established by instructing the switching apparatus 30 to perform the exchange connection of the call line between the interpreter terminal 50 and the portable terminal 10. Let it be done.

  The voice processing unit 25e is a processing unit that processes voice information in order to determine an urgency level and a language type. The voice processing unit 25e transmits a voice message that prompts the foreigner F to make a call to the mobile terminal 10, a voice message that requests interpretation to the interpreter terminal 50, and the like.

  In addition, when the speech processing unit 25e determines the urgency level and the language type using the waveform of the speech data, frequency analysis using phoneme analysis, fast Fourier transform, or the like as preprocessing, speech information or analysis results Is stored in the storage unit 24. Specifically, the audio processing unit 25 e temporarily stores audio data for a predetermined time from the mobile terminal 10 in the storage unit 24. Thereafter, the voice data is read out, phoneme analysis and frequency analysis are performed, and stored in the storage unit 24. The urgency level determination processing unit 25a reads the analysis result by the voice processing unit 25e and uses it for the determination of the urgency level, and the language type determination processing unit 25b reads the analysis result by the voice processing unit 25e and uses it for the determination of the language type. Will do.

  Next, the communication management data 24a and the interpretation management data 24b stored in the storage unit 24 of the server device 20 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the communication management data 24 a and the interpretation management data 24 b stored in the storage unit 24 of the server device 20.

  The communication management data 24a shown in FIG. 5A indicates that the language of the interpreter group “Urgent level A” is “all languages” and the telephone number is “03-xxxx-xxxv”. Yes. Here, all-language support means that all major international official languages can be supported.

  In addition, the communication management data 24a indicates that the language of the interpreter group “Urgent Level B (English)” is “English” and the telephone number is “03-xxxx-xxxw”. The user group “Urgent level B (French support)” corresponds to “French”, and the telephone number is “03-xxx-xxx”. The communication management data 24a indicates that the language that can be supported by the machine translation server 60 is “all languages” and the telephone number is “03-xxxx-xxx”.

  Interpretation management data 24b shown in FIG. 5 (b) is data including the number of interpreters for each interpreter group, the number of interpreters, and the number of people on standby. Here, interpreter group “urgency A” The number of interpreters of “24” is “16”, the number of interpreters is “16”, and the number of waiting is “8”. In addition, the interpreter group “Emergency B (English)” has 30 interpreters, “18” interpreters, and “12” waiting. The number of interpreters in the interpreter group “Urgent Level B (French)” is “12”, the number of interpreters is “8”, and the number of waiting is “4”. ing. The interpreter group “urgent level C (machine translation server)” is not interpreted by the interpreter, but the number of processes that can be processed simultaneously is regarded as the number of interpreters. For interpreters who are interpreting, it is also possible to include the scheduled interpreter end time calculated from past results.

  Next, a sequence from the interpretation request to the interpreter correspondence according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the sequence from the interpretation request to the interpreter correspondence according to the first embodiment.

  When the portable terminal 10 receives a predetermined operation related to the interpretation request from the security guard S (step S1), the portable terminal 10 makes a call connection request to the server device 20 to establish a telephone line with the server device 20. . When the server device 20 receives an interpretation request in response to the call connection request (step S21), the server device 20 performs voice guidance, prompts a call for a predetermined time (eg, “30 seconds”), and requests voice data. This voice guidance may be used to output a voice message such as “Please speak for 30 seconds” in the default language (for example, Japanese) on the telephone line for some voice messages. You may output the voice of the same meaning on a telephone line, circulating a language.

  The mobile terminal 10 is notified of the utterance contents (voice data) of the speakers including the security guard S and the foreigner F to the server device 20 via the telephone line (step S2). The server device 20 analyzes the voice data and converts it into character data (step S22), and determines the urgency level based on whether or not a keyword registered in advance as the urgency level determination keyword 24c exists in the character data. (Step S23). As a result, when it is determined that the emergency level is A (step S24; Yes), the interpreter group corresponding to the emergency level A is immediately selected without determining the language type (step S29). That is, the interpreter group “emergency A” is selected, and the process proceeds to step S27.

  On the other hand, when it is not determined that the degree of urgency is A (step S24; No), depending on whether or not a keyword registered in advance as the language type determination keyword 24d exists in the character data obtained by analyzing the voice data. The language type is determined (step S25). As a result, if the language type is determined, the server device 20 selects an optimal interpreter group according to the degree of urgency and the language type (step S26), and the interpreter terminal 50 of the selected interpreter group is selected. A call is made (step S27). Upon receiving a response from the interpreter terminal 50 (step S31), the server device 20 establishes a communication line between the interpreter terminal 50 and the portable terminal 10 (step S28). From this state, the conversation between the foreigner F or the security guard S and the interpreter is started by telephone in the same manner as a normal telephone.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, first, the urgency level is determined from the voice data emitted by the security guard S. If it is determined that the urgency level is A, the interpreter group “urgency level” regardless of the language type. A ”is selected, and a call connection is established between the portable terminal 10 and the interpreter terminal 50. Interpreter group “Urgent level A” is a group with interpreters with language skills that can handle various language types, and interpreting requests with low level of urgency do not correspond to interpreters with urgent level A. Therefore, the responsiveness of the guard S can be enhanced in any language type.

  In the case of urgency level B, the language type is determined from the voice data emitted by the security guard S or the foreigner F, and a connection is made with an interpreter group corresponding to the language type. For this reason, it becomes possible to assign the interpreter according to the language which the foreigner F uses efficiently.

  In this way, since an appropriate interpreter can be assigned according to the situation of the guard S who needs an interpreter, a mismatch that assigns a highly skilled interpreter to the guard S with a low degree of urgency is prevented. , Human resources can be used effectively, and interpretation services can be performed efficiently.

  Although the structure which determines the emergency degree from the audio | voice data which the guard S emits was shown in the said Example 1, what can be utilized for determination of an emergency degree is not limited to the audio data which the guard S emits. For example, if the urgency level is further determined by using video data obtained by imaging the foreigner F, a more reliable urgency level determination can be performed. Thus, in the second embodiment, a case will be described in which the security guard S wears a camera and the video data of the foreigner F is transmitted to the server device 20 to determine the urgency level from the audio data and the video data.

  First, an outline of the interpretation service in the case of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the outline of the interpretation service system according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, this interpreting service system includes a mobile terminal 10 possessed by a security guard S who is an interpreter requesting interpretation, and a camera 16 attached to the security guard S and connected to the mobile terminal 10. The interpreter terminal 50 provided for each interpreter T1 to T3 located in the interpreter center is interposed between the mobile terminal 10 and each interpreter terminal 50, and responds to an interpreter request from the mobile terminal 10. And a server device 20 for selecting and connecting one of the plurality of interpreter terminals 50.

  In the second embodiment, when an interpretation request is made, the urgency level is automatically determined based on audio data and video data. Then, as in the first embodiment, the interpreters T1 to T3 or the machine translation server 60 are selected according to the determined urgency levels A to C.

  Specifically, in the second embodiment, when an interpretation request is generated, a telephone line is established between the mobile terminal 10 and the server device 20 and imaging of the foreigner F by the camera 16 is started. Then, the voice data of the security guard S is transmitted to the server device 20 via the telephone line ((1) in FIG. 7), and the video data obtained by imaging the foreigner F is stored inside the portable terminal 10.

  After transmitting the voice data of the security guard S to the server device 20 via the telephone line, the mobile terminal 10 once terminates the call and transmits the video data stored in the mobile terminal 10 to the server device 20 (FIG. 7 (2)).

  The server device 20 associates audio data and video data acquired from the same portable terminal 10 and analyzes these data to determine the urgency level and the language type ((3) and (4) in FIG. 7). . Thereafter, either one of the interpreter terminals 50 or the machine translation server 60 is selected according to the determined urgency level and language type ((5) in FIG. 7), and the call connection is made as in the first embodiment. It is.

  In the analysis of the urgency level based on the video data, the image of the foreigner F is detected from the video data, the operation is identified, and the urgency level corresponding to the identified movement is determined. Various conventional techniques can be used to detect a human image from video data and identify an action. As for the correspondence relationship between a person's motion and the urgency level, data for associating the motion pattern with the urgency level may be prepared in advance, and the magnitude and speed of the motion of the identified motion are used for determining the urgency level. May be.

  Note that the video data recording time may be shorter than the audio data. For example, even if it is video data with a recording time of about 5 seconds, an action such as gesture gesture can be identified, and can be used for determination of urgency.

  As described above, in the interpretation service system according to the second embodiment, the server device 20 further determines the urgency level by using the video data of the foreigner F. Thereby, since the urgency level can be determined with high accuracy, the situation of the guard S who needs interpretation can be more accurately determined, and the interpretation service can be performed efficiently.

  Next, the internal configuration of the mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. 7 will be described. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the portable terminal 10 according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the camera 16 is connected and the operation of the communication processing unit 115 c of the control unit 15. The control unit 15 further includes a video processing unit 115d, and the storage unit 14 further stores video data 114b. Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. 3, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The camera 16 is attached to the head of the guard S, for example, and can image the same direction as the face of the guard S. When the interpretation processing unit 15a receives a predetermined operation related to the interpretation request, the video processing unit 115d starts imaging of the camera 16, and stores the video captured by the camera 16 in the storage unit 14 as video data 114b.

  When the communication processing unit 115c receives a call connection instruction from the interpreting processing unit 15a, the communication processing unit 115c makes a call connection request to the server device 20 to establish a communication line with the server device 20. Further, after the end of the call, the communication processing unit 115 c reads the video data 114 b from the storage unit 14 and transmits it to the server device 20.

  Next, the internal configuration of the server device 20 shown in FIG. 7 will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the server device 20 shown in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the server device 20 according to the second embodiment further includes a video analysis processing unit 125 b in the control unit 25, and the operation of the emergency level determination processing unit 125 a is different from that of the first embodiment. Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. 3, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The video analysis processing unit 125b is a processing unit that analyzes video data captured by the camera 16 and identifies a person's action. Specifically, the video analysis processing unit 125b detects an image of the foreigner F included in the video data. If the camera 16 is mounted so that the imaging range of the camera 16 overlaps the view of the security guard S as much as possible, it is possible to estimate that a large image located in the center of the human image included in the video data is the foreigner F. is there. Then, by tracking the image of the person in time series, the operation can be identified.

  The urgency level determination processing unit 125a is a processing unit that determines the urgency level of the interpretation request from the voice uttered by the security guard S and the operation of the foreigner F. In the determination of the urgency level from the voice uttered by the security guard S, the urgency level determination keyword 24c stored in advance in the storage unit 24 in the character data output from the voice analysis processing unit 25g is the same as in the first embodiment. The degree of urgency is determined by whether or not it is included. In the determination of the urgency level from the motion of the foreigner F, the determination is performed by collating with data in which the motion pattern and the urgency level are associated with each other, or by analyzing the magnitude and speed of the motion of the identified motion.

  In addition, when the judgment result from the voice and the judgment result from the operation are different, “determine which judgment result is prioritized”, “use the result of the one judged to be high in urgency”, “urgency level” The degree of urgency may be determined comprehensively by an arbitrary method such as “use the result of the one determined to be low”.

  Next, a sequence from the interpretation request to the interpreter correspondence according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a sequence from the interpretation request to the interpreter correspondence according to the second embodiment.

  When the portable terminal 10 receives a predetermined operation related to the interpretation request from the security guard S (step S1), the portable terminal 10 makes a call connection request to the server device 20 to establish a telephone line with the server device 20. . When the server device 20 receives an interpretation request in response to the call connection request (step S21), the server device 20 performs voice guidance, prompts a call for a predetermined time (eg, “30 seconds”), and requests voice data. This voice guidance may be used to output a voice message such as “Please speak for 30 seconds” in the default language (for example, Japanese) on the telephone line for some voice messages. You may output the voice of the same meaning on a telephone line, circulating a language.

  The portable terminal 10 transmits the utterance content (voice data) of the speaker including the security guard S and the foreigner F to the server device 20 via the telephone line (step S2). Thereafter, the mobile terminal 10 transmits the video data captured by the camera 16 to the server device 20 (step S3).

  The server device 20 analyzes the voice data and converts it into character data, and analyzes the video data to identify the operation of the foreigner F (step S22a). Then, the urgency level is determined based on whether or not a keyword registered in advance as the urgency level determination keyword 24c exists in the character data, and whether the operation of the foreigner F indicates urgency (step S23). As a result, when it is determined that the emergency level is A (step S24; Yes), the interpreter group corresponding to the emergency level A is immediately selected without determining the language type (step S29). That is, the interpreter group “emergency A” is selected, and the process proceeds to step S27.

  On the other hand, when it is not determined that the degree of urgency is A (step S24; No), depending on whether or not a keyword registered in advance as the language type determination keyword 24d exists in the character data obtained by analyzing the voice data. The language type is determined (step S25). As a result, if the language type is determined, the server device 20 selects an optimal interpreter group according to the degree of urgency and the language type (step S26), and the interpreter terminal 50 of the selected interpreter group is selected. A call is made (step S27). Upon receiving a response from the interpreter terminal 50 (step S31), the server device 20 establishes a communication line between the interpreter terminal 50 and the portable terminal 10 (step S28). From this state, the conversation between the foreigner F or the security guard S and the interpreter is started by telephone in the same manner as a normal telephone.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the urgency level of the foreigner F to whom the security guard S responds is determined using the audio data and the video data of the foreigner F, so that a highly accurate determination result is obtained. It is done. For this reason, the interpretation service can be performed more efficiently.

  Also, in this second embodiment, when a foreigner who knows that his / her language is not understood tries to make a gesture through his / her intention, video data is transmitted before audio data, and the degree of urgency is determined. You may make it do.

  Further, in the second embodiment, security guards in important areas and the like can acquire video data. Therefore, the video data is transmitted to a predetermined control center, and an instruction from the control center is sent to the site where the security guard interprets. You may decide to ask.

  In the second embodiment, the audio data and the video data can be transmitted to the interpreter, and the interpreter can perform the interpretation according to the site. In particular, when it is known that a foreign dignitary visits, if the security guard can confirm a person who seems to be a foreign dignitary, the video data is transmitted to the server device 20 first, and the server device 20 Alternatively, communication with the interpreter terminal 50 or the like may be established to prepare for interpretation.

  By the way, in the said Example 1 and 2, although the telephone call connection was performed between the portable terminal 10 and the server apparatus 20, the case where the voice data uttered using the portable terminal 10 was analyzed on the server apparatus 20 was shown. The present invention is not limited to this. Interpretation request data (not voice data) is transmitted from the mobile terminal 10 to the server device 20, and the server device 20 uses the interpretation request data to determine the degree of urgency and The present invention can also be applied to the case where the language type is determined, the corresponding interpreter is selected, and the mobile terminal 10 is called from the interpreter terminal 50 of the selected interpreter.

  Specifically, the mobile terminal 10 analyzes voice data for a predetermined period after a predetermined operation related to the interpretation request is performed inside the apparatus to convert it into character data, and interprets including the character data and the telephone number of the mobile terminal 10. The request data is transmitted to the server device 20, and an interpretation request is made. On the other hand, when the server device 20 receives the interpretation request data transmitted from the mobile terminal 10, the interpretation is performed based on the character data included in the interpretation request data and the keyword registered in the urgency determination keyword 24c. The urgency level of the request is determined, and the language type of the interpretation request is determined based on the character data included in the interpretation request data and the keyword registered in the language type determination keyword 24d. Then, the interpreter terminal 50 is selected based on the degree of urgency and the language type, and the selected interpreter terminal 50 is instructed to make a call to the mobile terminal 10. The instruction includes the telephone number of the mobile terminal 10.

  In the first and second embodiments, the native language spoken by the security guard S is described as Japanese. However, the native language of the security guard S is not limited to Japanese. Any language type can be the native language of the guard S.

  In the first and second embodiments, the degree of urgency has been described in three stages of A, B, and C. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Depending on the interpreter and the situation of interpretation, the number of levels may be two, or four or five.

  In the first and second embodiments, the change of the urgency level is not mentioned. However, when the urgency level needs to be changed, the interpreter group may be changed. For example, when the emergency level A is changed to the emergency level B, the communication with the portable terminal 10 is switched from the interpreter group “Urgent level A” to the interpreter group “Emergency level B (English)”. .

  Each configuration illustrated in the first and second embodiments is functionally schematic and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. That is, the form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in an arbitrary unit according to various loads or usage conditions. Can be configured.

  As described above, the interpreting service system and the interpreting service method according to the present invention, when a large-scale event or the like is held, when it is desired to efficiently perform the interpreting service according to the situation of the user who needs interpreting. Suitable for

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mobile terminal 11 Wireless communication part 12 Display operation part 13 Voice input / output part 14, 24 Storage part 14a Interpretation application 15, 25 Control part 15a Interpretation processing part 15b, 25e Voice processing part 15c, 115c Communication processing part 16 Camera 20 Server apparatus 21 Communication Unit 22 Audio Output Unit 23a Operation Unit 23b Display Unit 24a Communication Management Data 24b Interpretation Management Data 24c Urgency Level Determination Keyword 24d Language Type Determination Keyword 25a, 125a Urgency Level Determination Processing Unit 25b Language Type Determination Processing Unit 25c Interpreter Group selection processing unit 25d Call control processing unit 25g Voice analysis processing unit 30, 51 Switching device 40 Wireless base station 50 Terminal for interpreter 60 Machine translation server 114b Video data 115d Video processing unit 125b Video analysis processing unit F Foreigner S Security guard T1, T2, T3 Translator

Claims (7)

Interpreter requester terminal possessed by an interpreter requesting an interpreter, a plurality of interpreter terminals provided corresponding to a plurality of interpreters located in an interpreter center, the interpreter requester terminal, and the plurality of interpreters An interpreter service system comprising a server device that is interposed between the interpreter terminal and selects one of the plurality of interpreter terminals in response to an interpreter request from the interpreter requester terminal,
The server device
A priority information storage unit for storing priority information in which priority is associated with an interpreter terminal group or interpreter terminal group including a plurality of interpreter terminals;
Interpretation request accepting means for accepting an interpretation request from the interpreter requester terminal;
An urgency level determination unit that determines an urgency level of the interpretation request when the interpretation request is received by the interpretation request reception unit;
Based on the urgency level of the interpretation request determined by the urgency level determination means and the priority information stored in the priority information storage unit, the interpreter terminal group or interpreter terminal that processes the interpretation request is selected. A selection means;
One interpreter terminal belonging to the interpreter terminal group selected by the selection means, or a call connection means for connecting the interpreter terminal selected by the selection means and the interpreter requester terminal by telephone connection. Interpreting service system. The server device
A language type determination unit that determines a language type of the interpretation request when the interpretation request reception unit receives the interpretation request;
The selection means includes
Based on the urgency level of the interpretation request determined by the urgency level determination unit, the language type of the interpretation request determined by the language type determination unit, and the priority information stored in the priority information storage unit, The interpreter service system according to claim 1, wherein an interpreter terminal group or an interpreter terminal that processes an interpreter request is selected. The interpreter requester terminal
A call connection requesting means for requesting a call connection as the interpretation request to the server device when a predetermined interpretation request operation is received;
The interpreting request receiving means
In response to a call connection request from the interpreter requester terminal, perform a call connection regarding the interpreter request with the interpreter requester terminal,
The urgency determination means includes
Analyzing the speech for a predetermined period uttered on the interpreter requester terminal, determining the urgency of the interpreter request based on the keyword included in the analyzed character data,
The call connection means includes:
A call between the temporarily suspended interpreter requester terminal and one interpreter terminal belonging to the interpreter terminal group selected by the selecting means or the interpreter terminal selected by the selecting means The interpreter service system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the interpreter terminal and the interpreter requester terminal are connected by telephone connection. The interpreter requester terminal
A video data transmission means for transmitting the video data;
The urgency determination means includes
When interpreting request data is received by the interpreting request receiving means, the urgency level of the interpreting request is determined based on the keyword in the character data included in the interpreting request data and the video data received from the interpreter requester terminal. The interpreting service system according to claim 3. The interpreter requester terminal
Interpretation request means for transmitting an interpretation request data including character data obtained by analyzing a predetermined period of time after a predetermined interpretation request operation is performed to the server device, and requesting an interpretation.
The interpreting request receiving means
Interpretation request data is received from the interpreter requester terminal,
The urgency determination means includes
Determining the urgency level of the interpretation request based on a keyword in the character data included in the interpretation request data;
The call connection means includes:
2. An instruction to make a call connection to the interpreter requester terminal from one interpreter terminal belonging to the interpreter terminal group selected by the selecting means or the interpreter terminal selected by the selecting means is provided. Or the interpreting service system of 2. The selection means includes
The interpreter service according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an interpreter terminal that performs machine translation is selected when the urgency level of the interpretation request determined by the urgency level determination unit is low. system. Interpreter requester terminal possessed by an interpreter requesting an interpreter, a plurality of interpreter terminals provided corresponding to a plurality of interpreters located in an interpreter center, the interpreter requester terminal, and the plurality of interpreters An interpreter service method in an interpreter service system having a server device that interposes between the interpreter request terminal and selects one of the plurality of interpreter terminals in response to an interpreter request from the interpreter requester terminal,
An interpreter request accepting step in which the server device accepts an interpreter request from the interpreter requester terminal;
An urgency level determination step of determining an urgency level of the interpretation request when an interpretation request is received by the interpretation request reception step;
The interpreting request is processed based on the urgency level of the interpreting request determined in the urgent level determining step and the priority information in which the interpreter terminal group consisting of a plurality of interpreter terminals or the interpreter terminal is associated with the priority. A selection step of selecting an interpreter terminal group or an interpreter terminal to be performed;
A call connection step of making a call connection between one interpreter terminal belonging to the interpreter terminal group selected by the selection step or the interpreter terminal selected by the selection step and the interpreter requester terminal. Interpretation service method.

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