JP3885567B2 - Dialog support device and dialog support system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a system for supporting a dialogue.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional dialogue support apparatus, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-81184 is known. This dialogue support device supports dialogue between people using different languages. The recognition unit recognizes the other party's voice input from the microphone and searches the association dictionary for related words associated with the recognized words. Then, the recognized word and the related word are each displayed on the display unit with a translated word. Thereby, an understanding of the content of the other party's utterance and a response to the other party's utterance can be supported.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in this conventional dialogue apparatus, when the dialogue is interrupted or when the topic becomes obsolete and the dialogue is likely to be interrupted, it is not possible to present a topic that activates the dialogue and continues smoothly.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a dialog support apparatus and a dialog support system capable of presenting a topic that activates and smoothly continues a dialog. And
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a first invention of the present application is a dialogue support device for supporting a user who performs dialogue by voice, a profile acquisition unit for acquiring a profile of a partner, and the acquired partner's profile. A profile holding unit for holding a profile; a keyword dictionary for holding each item constituting the partner's profile as a keyword; and detecting an item held in the keyword dictionary by recognizing a dialogue voice between users; When the user interacts with the other party , the voice recognition unit for notifying the fact is acquired from the profile holding unit and displayed on the display unit, and the item notified by the voice recognition unit is displayed. and a control means for controlling so as to display to distinguish whether or other items to delete in profile partner to be displayed on the display unit
[0006]
According to the first invention of the present application, when the conversation is performed, the partner's profile is displayed. Therefore, when the conversation is interrupted or the topic is obsolete and the conversation is likely to be interrupted, the user can And continue to talk about new topics that the other person is interested in. That is, the first invention of the present application can present a topic that activates the conversation and allows it to continue smoothly.
[0007]
A second invention of the present application is a dialog support system including a plurality of the dialog support devices of the first invention of the present application. According to the second invention of the present application, there are the same effects as the first invention of the present application. In the second invention of the present application, it is preferable to provide a server that acquires and collectively holds the user's profile and provides the held profile in response to a request from the control means of the dialogue support apparatus. According to this, since the profiles of many users are collectively managed by the server, the management burden on each dialogue support device can be reduced.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a dialogue support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of this system will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, this system comprises a network server 63 and a plurality of information devices 1 and 61 that can communicate via a communication line 62 such as the Internet or a telephone line. Here, the communication line 62 may be wireless or wired, and may be a public line or a dedicated line. The information devices 1 and 61 incorporate a dialog support device in a dialog device such as a personal computer, a portable terminal, and an Internet TV. As the dialog support device, a self profile input unit such as a keyboard for inputting a user's own profile 4, a profile input unit 2 for inputting the profile of the other party, that is, a communication unit 2 for communicating a profile between users via the communication line 62, and a profile holding for holding the input partner profile When the user interacts with the partner through the communication line 62, the profile of the partner is acquired from the profile database 6 and displayed on the display unit 11 such as a liquid crystal display or a CRT. Control means 3 and 5 are provided.
[0009]
In this embodiment, the dialogue between the users is by voice, and the information devices 1 and 61 are the dialogue support device, and further, the keyword dictionary 13 that holds each item constituting the partner's profile as a keyword. And a voice recognition unit 12 for recognizing a dialogue voice between users and detecting an item held in the keyword dictionary 13 and notifying the control means 3 and 5 to that effect. The item notified from the voice recognition unit 12 is controlled to be deleted from the partner profile displayed on the display unit 11 or displayed separately from other items.
[0010]
Furthermore, the information devices 1 and 61 include a voice input unit 10 such as a microphone for inputting a user's voice, an image input unit 8 such as a CCD for photographing the user and inputting the image, A voice output unit 9 for outputting the other party's voice and an image / sound control unit 7 for controlling the image / sound handled by the display unit 11 and the voice recognition unit 12 are provided. The control means 3 and 5 include a profile management unit 5 and a control unit 3 that are directly connected to each other. The profile management unit 5 is directly connected to the profile database 6, the voice recognition unit 12, and the image / voice control unit 7. The control unit 3 is directly connected to the communication unit 2, the image / audio control unit 7, and the self profile input unit 4. The configuration of the information device 61 is not described in detail in FIG. 1, but is the same as the configuration of the information device 1.
[0011]
The server 63 included in the dialogue support system includes a communication unit 64 for communicating with each information device 1 and 61 via a communication line 62, and a profile database 66 for collectively storing a plurality of user profiles. And a profile control unit 65 that controls the acquisition and provision of the profile, acquires and holds the profile of the user via the communication line 62, and controls the control means 3 of each information device 1, 61. Providing a retained profile on request of 5.
[0012]
Next, the operation of this dialogue support system will be described. First, the user operates his / her own profile input unit 4 of his / her own information device 1, 61 to input his / her hobby, recent topics, etc. as his / her profile. An example of the input screen is shown in FIG. The input profile is sent to the partner information device 1, 61 via the communication unit 2 and the communication line 62 of FIG. That is, the communication unit 2 functions as a profile input unit for inputting the partner's profile to the information device 1 or 61 of the communication unit 2. The sent partner profile is processed by the profile management unit 5 and stored in the profile database 6 and simultaneously stored in the keyword dictionary 13 through the voice recognition unit 12. An example of the data structure of the profile database 6 is shown in FIG. 3, and an example of the data structure of the keyword dictionary 13 is shown in FIG.
[0013]
Next, the users interact with each other using the image input unit 8, the display unit 11, the voice input unit 10, and the voice output unit 9 shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the users are face-to-face or close to each other. At the time of dialogue, the profile management unit 5 displays the partner's profile on the display unit 11 through the image / sound control unit 7, so that when the dialogue is interrupted or the topic becomes obsolete and the dialogue is likely to be interrupted, the user Can look at their profile and continue to talk about new topics they are interested in. An example of the state of dialogue is shown in FIG. For example, if you talked about "travel" but the topic became obsolete and the conversation was about to break, look at the other person's profile and try out "tennis" from the new topics that the other person is interested in. You can select and continue to talk about it. It should be noted that the number of conversation partners is not limited to one. For example, if there are four people, the screen of the display unit 11 may be divided into four and each figure and profile may be displayed.
[0014]
On the other hand, when the voice recognition unit 12 of FIG. 1 recognizes the dialogue voice between users in real time and detects keywords (each item constituting the profile) related to the partner's profile stored in the keyword dictionary 13, The profile management unit 5 is notified, and the profile management unit 5 deletes the item from the partner profile displayed on the display unit 11. For example, in FIG. 5, when “travel” is detected in the dialogue voice between users, the item “travel” is deleted from the profile of the displayed partner. As a result, only items with fresh contents that always activate conversation and continue smoothly are displayed on the display unit 11. Instead of deleting the corresponding item, it may be displayed separately from other still fresh items by dimming the display or changing the color.
[0015]
Moreover, when the control means 3 and 5 (FIG. 1) display a partner's profile on the display part 11, it is preferable to control so that the related news homepage searched based on the profile may also be displayed. . According to this, for example, in FIG. 5, the only item that remains without being deleted is “tennis”, but even if there is no knowledge about recent tennis, the predetermined news is set with “tennis” as a keyword. Recent articles are automatically searched on the homepage and displayed in the profile, so users can continue to talk about the new topic “tennis” that they are interested in. it can.
[0016]
In the above description, the dialogue via the communication line 62 in FIG. 1 is described as being performed in real time by voice. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is performed by characters, for example, by repeatedly sending and receiving e-mails. Such things are also included. In this case, the information devices 1 and 61 may not include the voice input unit 10, the voice output unit 9, the image input unit 8, the voice recognition unit 12, the keyword dictionary 13, and the like. In this case, when talking with the other party, it means receiving a mail from the other party, creating a reply mail for the mail, and sending it. However, it controls to acquire the partner's profile from the profile database 6 and display it on the display unit 11. Therefore, also in this case, when the exchange of mail, that is, the conversation via the communication line 62 is interrupted, or when the conversation is likely to be interrupted due to the topic becoming obsolete, the user looks at the other party's profile and the other party is interested. You can continue to talk about new topics that you have.
[0017]
Here, when the control means 3 and 5 display the partner's profile on the display unit 11, the control means 3 and 5 controls to display the mail already sent to the partner, for example, the title and content of the recently sent mail. Is preferred. According to this, the user remembers what topic he was interacting with the other party and continues the conversation on that topic, or conversely, if the topic is obsolete, other fresh topics from the profile You can continue to interact more smoothly.
[0018]
Further, the dialogue support system described above acquires the profile of the user via the communication line 62 and holds it in a lump, and stores the profile held in response to a request from the control means 3 and 5 of the information equipment 1 and 61. Since the server 63 to be provided is provided and the profiles of a large number of users are collectively managed by the server 63, the management burden on the dialogue support device in each information device 1, 61 can be reduced.
[0019]
Next, a dialogue support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This system includes a plurality of dialogue support devices 21 including a headset 22 and a control terminal 23 as shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 7, the user wears the headset 22 and is in front of the eyes. While looking at the profile of the opponent displayed on the small display unit (display) 11, the user interacts with the opponent in a situation where he / she faces it.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 6, the dialogue support apparatus 21 does not include the image input unit 8 and the voice output unit 9 as compared with the dialogue support apparatus 1 (the information device 1 in FIG. 1) in the first embodiment. The communication of the profile and the dialogue between the users are not via the communication line (communication network) 62, the headset 22 having the display unit 11 and the voice input unit 10, and the control terminal 23 having other components. The data communication between the two is different in that short-distance communication (Bluetooth) is performed by the set communication unit 25 included in the headset 22 and the terminal communication unit 26 included in the control terminal 23, but the other configurations are the same. Therefore, explanation is omitted. In addition, it is well-known technology when focusing only on the headset 22, for example, there is VizWear developed at the AWI RWI Research Group Adaptive Vision Lab (Technical Research Association New Information Processing Development Organization (RWCP), “RWC2001”). Research Results Exhibition Manual ”, pp. 35).
[0021]
According to the dialogue support system of the second embodiment, when actually talking face-to-face, the profile of the other party is displayed, so when the dialogue is interrupted or the topic becomes obsolete and the dialogue is likely to be interrupted In addition, the user can see the partner's profile and continue the conversation on new topics that the partner is interested in. Here, the communication of the profile is performed directly between the user's control terminal 23 and the other party's control terminal (not shown), not via the communication line, and the dialogue between the users is also via the communication line. Rather, it is actually performed by voice toward the surface.
[0022]
In the dialogue support system of the second embodiment, Bluetooth short-range communication is used between the headset 22 and the control terminal 23. However, the communication method is not limited to this, for example, by wire Information may be sent and received. Furthermore, although the voice input unit 10 is attached to the headset 22, it may be removed. At this time, the user's voice may be collected using a highly directional microphone on the control terminal 23 side. In addition, a selection may be made with a switch that does not collect sound and does not use a function such as deleting a topical profile.
[0023]
In both the first and second embodiments, the profile input units (communication units) 2 and 24 can be configured as slots without using communication, such as an SD card that stores the other party's profile. The other party's profile may be entered by inserting the storage medium into the slot. Furthermore, in both the first and second embodiments, communicating the profile includes not only the case where the profiles are exchanged with each other but also the case where only one of the profiles is notified to the other. In other words, when the user interacts with the other party, the user does not use his / her profile, so the self profile input unit 4 is not essential.
As described above in detail, in the present embodiment, when the conversation is performed, the profile of the other party is displayed. Therefore, when the conversation is interrupted or the topic is obsolete and the conversation is likely to be interrupted, the user can You can continue to talk about new topics that your partner is interested in by looking at their profile.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As mentioned above, this invention can present the topic which activates a conversation and continues smoothly.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a dialogue support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a profile input screen in the system. FIG. 3 is an example of a data structure of a profile database 6 in the system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the keyword dictionary 13 in the system. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a state of dialogue by the system. FIG. 6 is a dialogue support according to the second embodiment of the invention. Schematic diagram showing the system [Fig. 7] Diagram showing an example of the state of dialogue by the system [Explanation of symbols]
1,61,21 Dialogue support device (information equipment)
2,24 Profile input part (communication part)
3,5 Control means (control unit and profile management unit)
6 Profile holding part (profile database)
11 Display unit 12 Speech recognition unit 13 Keyword dictionary 62 Communication line 63 Server

Claims (6)

A dialogue support device for supporting a user who performs dialogue by voice,
A profile acquisition unit for acquiring the partner's profile;
A profile holding unit for holding the acquired partner profile;
A keyword dictionary that holds each item constituting the partner's profile as a keyword;
A voice recognition unit that recognizes a dialogue voice between users, detects an item held in the keyword dictionary, and notifies the fact;
When the user interacts with the other party, the other party's profile is acquired from the profile holding unit and displayed on the display unit, and the item notified by the voice recognition unit is displayed on the display unit. A dialogue support device comprising control means for controlling to be deleted or displayed separately from other items in a profile . In claim 1,
A dialogue support apparatus in which the profile of the other party is acquired via a communication line . In claim 1,
Acquisition of the partner's profile is performed via a communication line ,
The dialogue between the users is via email ,
When the said control means displays the said other party's profile on a display part, the dialog assistance apparatus which controls to display the mail already transmitted to the other party . In any of claims 1 to 3,
When the said control means displays the said other party's profile on a display part, the dialog assistance apparatus which controls to display together the related information searched based on the profile . A dialogue support system comprising a plurality of dialogue support apparatuses according to claim 1 . In claim 5,
A dialogue support system comprising a server that obtains and collectively holds the user's profile and provides the held profile in response to a request of control means of the dialogue support apparatus .

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