JP7429193B2 - Dialogue device and dialogue program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dialogue device and a dialogue program.

2. Description of the Related Art Techniques are known for operating and controlling devices such as so-called IoT (Internet of Things) devices including home appliances through speech. In such technology, the content of the instruction is determined by voice recognition and morphological analysis of the user's utterance, and control information is output. Patent Document 1 describes a technique in which a server that manages home appliances provides a terminal device with an operation screen corresponding to each home appliance.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-186057

In a system in which a device is controlled by a user's utterance, it is difficult for the user to recognize what kind of utterance the user should make in a situation where information regarding the device to be controlled and options regarding the content of the utterance are not presented. There is a technology that guides the user to the content of the utterance based on a scenario that is pre-stored as the utterance content for controlling the device, but even with such technology, the guidance is based on the pre-stored scenario. Therefore, it is not possible to flexibly and dynamically present the utterance content in response to changes in the device to be controlled, changes in the user's situation, and the like.

The technique described in Patent Document 1 only displays an operation screen for operating home appliances, and does not support the user's speech. Further, since this operation screen is stored in advance, the display contents cannot be dynamically changed depending on the situation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a technology for controlling a device by user's utterances, which provides guidance on suitable utterance content depending on the type of device to be controlled and the user's situation. The aim is to improve convenience by doing so.

In order to solve the above problems, an interaction device according to one embodiment of the present invention is an interaction device that receives user utterances consisting of voice or text to generate control information for controlling a device, and includes a user's location. a device extraction unit that extracts a device associated with the location information acquired by the location acquisition unit by referring to setting information that associates each device with a location; , one or more devices associated with the device extracted by the device extraction unit with reference to vocabulary information that associates each device with an instruction phrase representing control instructions for the device and including at least one word or sentence. a phrase extraction unit that extracts an instruction phrase, a generation unit that generates an utterance to control the device based on the instruction phrase extracted by the phrase extraction unit, and a generation unit that sends the utterance generated by the generation unit to the user. and a presentation unit that presents the information to the user.

In order to solve the above problems, an interaction program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to function as an interaction device that receives user utterances consisting of voice or text to generate control information for controlling a device. The interactive program includes a location acquisition function that acquires location information indicating the user's location on the computer, and a location acquired by the location acquisition function by referring to setting information that associates each device with the location. Device extraction is performed by referring to a device extraction function that extracts devices associated with information and vocabulary information that associates each device with an instruction phrase that represents control instructions for the device and includes at least one or more words or sentences. A phrase extraction function that extracts one or more instruction phrases associated with the device extracted by the function, and a generation function that generates an utterance for controlling the device based on the instruction phrases extracted by the phrase extraction function. and a presentation function that presents the utterance generated by the generation function to the user.

According to the above configuration, a device associated with location information indicating the user's location is extracted, and an utterance is generated based on an instruction phrase representing a control instruction for the extracted device, so that the user can It is possible to present the user with an utterance that allows the user to appropriately control a device that is likely to be performing a control operation at the current location. The user is highly likely to be able to control the desired device by speaking the presented utterance, thereby improving convenience.

In a technology for controlling a device through user utterances, it is possible to improve convenience by guiding suitable utterance content according to the type of device to be controlled and the user's situation.

1 is a diagram showing a device configuration of a dialogue system including a dialogue device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the dialogue device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram of the dialogue device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a setting information storage unit and stored data. FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing examples of usage logs for each device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vocabulary information storage unit and stored data. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen of a user's terminal on which an uttered sentence is displayed. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of the interaction method of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of the interaction method of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an interaction program.

Embodiments of a dialogue device and a dialogue program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, if possible, the same parts are given the same reference numerals and redundant explanations will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the device configuration of a dialogue system according to this embodiment. The dialogue system 1 includes a dialogue device 10, an external system 30, and a terminal 50. The dialogue device 10 and the terminal 50 can communicate with each other. Further, the dialogue device 10 and the external system can communicate with each other.

The dialogue device 10 is a device that receives user utterances consisting of voice or text to generate control information for controlling a device. Furthermore, the interaction device 10 may transmit control information to the external system 30 in order to operate a device managed by the external system 30. The dialogue device 10 is configured by, for example, a computer such as a server, but the devices that make up the dialogue device 10 are not limited.

The external system 30 constitutes a device management system that manages devices such as so-called IoT (Internet of Things) devices including home appliances and the like. The external system 30 is capable of communicating with multiple devices according to their respective communication standards.

The external system 30 has setting information for each device that can configure an interface for controlling each device, and by using and referring to the setting information, the external system 30 can control the device under management based on the control information received from the interaction device 10. You can control any of the devices in the .

The setting information storage unit 31 is a storage means that stores setting information of a device to be controlled. Setting information is information used and referenced for controlling a device. Details of the setting information will be described later. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the setting information storage unit 31 is configured within the external system 30, but the configuration is not limited to this, and as long as it is accessible from the external system 30, the configuration information storage unit 31 is configured within the external system 30. It may also be configured outside.

The terminal 50 is a device that constitutes an interface with the user in controlling the device by speech, and is composed of, for example, a stationary or portable personal computer, a high-performance mobile phone (smartphone), etc. The device constituting the device is not limited, and may be, for example, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA).

The terminal 50 can transmit data of the voice uttered by the user to the dialogue device as user utterance. Further, the terminal 50 may transmit data obtained by converting the user's voice into text through voice recognition processing to the dialogue device 10 as the user's utterance.

Further, the terminal 50 can present the utterance transmitted from the dialogue device 10 to the user, as will be described later. Specifically, the terminal 50 presents the utterance to the user by displaying text indicating the utterance on the display. Further, the terminal 50 may display, on the display, an operation object that is associated with text indicating the uttered sentence and that can be instructed. The operation object may be displayed in the form of a button that can be operated by the user. When an operation for the displayed operation object is accepted, the terminal 50 transmits information indicating that the operation object has been operated, text data or audio data of the utterance associated with the operation object to the dialog device as user utterances. It may be sent to 10.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the dialogue device 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the dialogue device 10 includes a position acquisition section 11, a time acquisition section 12, a setting information acquisition section 13, a device extraction section 14, a phrase extraction section 15, a generation section 16, a presentation section 17, and an utterance reception section 18. and a control instruction transmitter 19. The dialogue device 10 also includes a vocabulary information storage section 20. Each functional unit included in the dialog device 10 may be configured to be distributed among multiple devices, or, for example, some of the functional units may be configured in the terminal 50.

Note that the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 shows blocks in functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of hardware and/or software. Further, the means for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by one physically and/or logically coupled device, or may be realized by directly and/or indirectly two or more physically and/or logically separated devices. It may also be realized by a plurality of these devices connected to each other (for example, by wire and/or wirelessly).

Functions include judgment, decision, judgment, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, exploration, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, These include, but are not limited to, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assigning. I can't. For example, a functional block (configuration unit) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or a transmitter. In either case, as described above, the implementation method is not particularly limited.

For example, the interaction device 10 in one embodiment of the present invention may function as a computer. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the dialog device 10 according to the present embodiment. The interaction device 10 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, and the like.

In addition, in the following description, the word "apparatus" can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the dialog device 10 may be configured to include one or more of each device shown in FIG. 3, or may be configured not to include some of the devices.

Each function in the dialogue device 10 is performed by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as a processor 1001 and a memory 1002, so that the processor 1001 performs calculations, performs communication by the communication device 1004, and performs communication using the memory 1002 and storage 1003. This is realized by controlling reading and/or writing of data in.

The processor 1001, for example, operates an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured with a central processing unit (CPU) that includes interfaces with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic device, registers, and the like. Further, the processor 1001 may include a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). For example, each of the functional units 11 to 19 shown in FIG. 2 may be implemented by the processor 1001.

Further, the processor 1001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, and data from the storage 1003 and/or the communication device 1004 to the memory 1002, and executes various processes in accordance with these. As the program, a program that causes a computer to execute at least part of the operations described in the above embodiments is used. For example, each of the functional units 11 to 19 of the dialog device 10 may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Although the various processes described above have been described as being executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed by two or more processors 1001 simultaneously or sequentially. Processor 1001 may be implemented with one or more chips. Note that the program may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and includes at least one of ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. may be done. Memory 1002 may be called a register, cache, main memory, or the like. The memory 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing the interaction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, such as an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (such as a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, or a Blu-ray disk). (registered trademark) disk), smart card, flash memory (eg, card, stick, key drive), floppy disk, magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. The storage medium mentioned above may be, for example, a database including memory 1002 and/or storage 1003, a server, or other suitable medium.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission/reception device) for communicating between computers via a wired and/or wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, network controller, network card, communication module, or the like.

The input device 1005 is an input device (eg, keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may have an integrated configuration (for example, a touch panel).

Further, each device such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured as a single bus or may be configured as different buses between devices.

The dialogue device 10 also includes hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA). A part or all of each functional block may be realized by the hardware. For example, processor 1001 may be implemented with at least one of these hardware.

Referring again to FIG. 2, each functional section of the dialog device 10 will be explained. The location acquisition unit 11 acquires location information indicating the user's location. Specifically, the position acquisition unit 11 acquires position information acquired by, for example, a GPS device (not shown) included in the user's terminal 50. The position acquisition unit 11 may acquire position information based on detection information detected by a human sensor (not shown) provided in a space where the dialogue system 1 of this embodiment is applied. Further, when the terminal 50 is a mobile radio communication terminal, the position acquisition unit 11 may acquire the location information of the terminal 50 as the position information. The position acquisition unit 11 may acquire the user's position information using other known methods.

The time acquisition unit 12 acquires information indicating the current time.

The setting information acquisition unit 13 acquires setting information. Specifically, the configuration information acquisition unit 13 acquires configuration information from the configuration information storage unit 31 of the external system 30. The setting information includes attributes of each device and is referenced for controlling the devices.

FIG. 4 shows information showing an example of the configuration of the setting information storage section 31 and stored data. As shown in FIG. 4, the setting information storage unit 31 stores various attributes as setting information in association with a device ID that identifies a device. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the setting information storage unit 31 stores setting information such as a device indicating a category of the device, a nickname, a group, a device status, and a usage log for each device ID. For example, the setting information storage unit 31 stores setting information such as the device "TV", the nickname "Dad's TV", the group "Living", the device status "OFF", and the usage log "L1" in association with the device ID "1". I remember.

The setting information includes at least "group" information. The "group" may be information indicating the location where the device is installed. Furthermore, the "group" may be other information for grouping multiple devices.

Further, the setting information may include a usage log (history information) that is information regarding the control history of the device for each time period or time. That is, the setting information acquisition section 13 can constitute a history information acquisition section that acquires usage logs as history information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a usage log. FIG. 5(a) is a diagram schematically showing the usage log L1 of device ID "1". FIG. 5(b) is a diagram schematically showing the usage log L2 of device ID "2". As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the usage log includes the time when the control was performed, the user who performed the control of the device, and the details of the control, as the device control history.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the device "television" with the device ID "1" is controlled by the user "father" indicated by the user ID "U1" at time "t1" with the control content "ON". has been implemented. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the device "Light" with the device ID "2" is controlled by the user "Mother" indicated by the user ID "U2" at time "t12" with the control content " OFF” has been implemented.

Referring to FIG. 4 again, the setting information may further include a nickname and device information. The nickname is a name used to indicate the device in the utterance. Multiple users can set nicknames for one device. When setting a nickname, it is sufficient that each device is uniquely identified from the user's perspective. The device status is information indicating the operating status of the device, and is information that is updated in real time.

The setting information acquisition unit 13 may acquire a predetermined amount of setting information all at once at a predetermined timing in a standby state for accepting user utterances. Further, the setting information acquisition unit 13 may acquire necessary setting information each time the setting information is referenced in the device extraction unit 14, phrase extraction unit 15, etc., which will be described in detail later.

The device extraction unit 14 refers to the setting information and extracts a device associated with the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 11. As described above, since the setting information includes an association between a device and a group indicating the location of the device, the device extraction unit 14 can extract the device located at the user's location by referring to the setting information. .

For example, when the location information acquired by the location acquisition unit 11 indicates that the user's location is in the living room, the device extraction unit 14 refers to the setting information shown in FIG. Extract "TV" with device ID "1", "light" with device ID "2", "light" with device ID "3", and "air conditioner" with device ID "5", which are associated with ". .

The phrase extractor 15 refers to the vocabulary information and extracts one or more instruction phrases associated with the device extracted by the device extractor 14. Vocabulary information is information that associates each device with an instruction phrase that represents a control instruction for the device and includes at least one or more words or sentences. The phrase extraction unit 15 refers to the vocabulary information stored in the vocabulary information storage unit 20 and extracts the instruction phrase.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vocabulary information storage section 20 and stored data. As shown in FIG. 6, the vocabulary information storage unit 20 stores vocabulary information in which at least an instruction phrase is associated with a device category indicating the type of device. The vocabulary information storage unit 20 may further include control details, setting items, and fluctuation absorption phrases in association with the device category.

The control content is the purpose to be achieved by uttering the associated instruction phrase, and indicates the content of the control performed on the device. The setting item is a phrase related to the parameter change range, etc., which is added as an option to the instruction phrase, for example, when the control content is related to changing the parameter of the device. The fluctuation-absorbing phrase is a dictionary for absorbing fluctuations in words and phrases uttered by the user in response to presentation of an uttered sentence including an instruction phrase.

For example, when the device extracted by the device extraction unit is "TV", the phrase extraction unit 15 extracts instruction phrases such as "turn on", "turn off", and "volume" associated with the device category "TV". "Turn up the volume," "Turn the volume down," and "Change the channel" are extracted from the vocabulary information.

Furthermore, the phrase extraction unit 15 may extract the instruction phrase based on the control history of the device corresponding to the current time. Specifically, the phrase extraction unit 15 refers to the usage log of the setting information (see FIG. 4) and acquires the control history of the device in the time zone or time corresponding to the current time from the usage log (see FIG. 5). do.

For example, when time "t3" corresponds to the current time, the phrase extraction unit 15 acquires the control history (time "t3", user "U1", control content "ON"). Then, the phrase extraction unit 15 extracts the instruction phrase "turn on" corresponding to the control content "ON" from among the instruction phrases associated with the device "TV" corresponding to the extracted control history.

In addition, when extracting the control history corresponding to the current time, the phrase extraction unit 15 may narrow down the usage logs to be referred to to the usage log of the device extracted by the device extraction unit 14 and extract the control history. good. Further, the phrase extraction unit 15 may narrow down the control history included in the usage log to the control history of the user of the terminal 50, and then extract the control history corresponding to the current time. Information regarding the user of the terminal 50 can be obtained, for example, by a method based on account information or the like, or by other well-known methods.

The generation unit 16 generates an utterance for controlling the device based on the instruction phrase extracted by the phrase extraction unit 15. Specifically, the generation unit 16 may generate the instruction phrase extracted by the phrase extraction unit 15 as an utterance.

Further, the generation unit 16 may generate the utterance by adding the device category associated with the instruction phrase extracted by the phrase extraction unit 15 to the instruction phrase as a phrase indicating the control target. For example, when the phrase extraction unit 15 extracts the instruction phrase “turn on” that corresponds to the control content “ON” of the device “TV”, the generation unit 16 extracts “TV” and the particle indicating the control target. The utterance sentence "Turn on the TV" may be generated by adding it to the instruction phrase "Turn on".

Furthermore, when the instruction phrase extracted by the phrase extraction section 15 is for the purpose of changing the parameters of the device, the generation section 16 adds a phrase indicating the range of change to the instruction phrase and generates the utterance. may be generated. For example, when the phrase extracting unit 15 extracts the instruction phrase “increase the temperature” corresponding to the control content “increase the set temperature” of the device “air conditioner”, the generating unit 16 extracts the instruction phrase “increase the temperature” that corresponds to the control content “increase the set temperature” of the device “air conditioner”. By adding the phrases "a little" and "2 degrees", which are stored in the setting items as words indicating the range of change in temperature, to the instruction phrase, the utterances "Raise the temperature a little" and "Raise the temperature 2 degrees" can be created. ” may be generated.

The presentation unit 17 presents the utterance generated by the generation unit 16 to the user. Specifically, the presentation unit 17 transmits text information indicating the utterance to the user's terminal 50, and displays the text indicating the utterance on the display of the terminal 50.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the user's terminal 50 on which an utterance is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7, screen D of the terminal 50 includes texts b1 and b2 indicating utterances. In this way, by presenting the text indicating the generated utterance on the user's terminal 50, the user can utter the utterance.

Further, the presentation unit 17 may display, on the user's terminal 50, an operation object that is associated with text indicating the uttered sentence and that can be instructed and operated. In this case, the presentation unit 17 configures each of the text b1 and the text b2 as an operation object such as a button that can be operated by the user in the screen example of FIG. 7, and causes the display D to display the text b1 and the text b2. When the presentation unit 17 displays such an operation object on the terminal 50, the dialogue device 10 accepts user utterances consisting of audio of text content when the operation object is operated on the user's terminal 50. Generates the same device control information as when

The utterance reception unit 18 receives a user's utterance as a user utterance. Specifically, the utterance reception unit 18 receives, via the terminal 50, audio or text representing an utterance uttered to the terminal 50 by a user who is presented with the utterance as a user utterance.

Further, when an operation object such as a button with which an utterance is associated is presented on the terminal 50 and an instruction operation for the operation object is accepted at the terminal 50, the utterance reception unit 18 sends a message indicating that the operation object has been operated. Receive information as user utterances.

The control instruction transmitter 19 transmits control information for controlling a device managed by the external system 30 based on user utterances. Specifically, when the user utterance consisting of voice data is accepted by the utterance receiving unit 18, the control instruction transmitting unit 19 performs voice recognition processing, morphological analysis, and predetermined analysis processing on the user utterance. By doing so, control information for controlling the device is generated, and the generated control information is transmitted to the external system 30. Note that if the user's utterance is accepted as text data, voice recognition processing is not necessary.

When information indicating that the operation object has been operated is received as a user utterance, the control instruction transmitter 19 assumes that the text data of the utterance associated with the operation object has been accepted as a user utterance. , generates control information for controlling the device by performing morphological analysis and predetermined analysis processing on the text data.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, processing contents in the dialog device 10 will be explained. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the interaction method of this embodiment.

In step S1, the dialog device 10 is controlled to be in a standby state for accepting user utterances. Specifically, the utterance reception unit 18 is controlled to be in a state of waiting for reception of user utterances.

In step S2, the configuration information acquisition unit 13 acquires configuration information from the configuration information storage unit 31 of the external system 30.

In step S3, the location acquisition unit 11 acquires location information indicating the user's location. Specifically, the position acquisition unit 11 uses, for example, a GPS device (not shown) included in the user's terminal 50, and a human sensor installed in the space where the dialogue system 1 of the present embodiment is applied. The user's location information is acquired based on the detected detection information.

In step S4, the location acquisition unit 11 determines whether the acquisition of the user's location information in step S3 was successful. If it is determined that the location information has been successfully acquired, the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if it is not determined that the location information has been successfully acquired, the process proceeds to step S8.

In step S5, the device extraction unit 14 refers to the setting information and extracts the device associated with the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 11 in step S3. As described above, since the setting information includes an association between a device and a group indicating the location of the device, the device extracting unit 14 refers to the group information of the setting information to determine whether the device is located at the user's location. Devices can be extracted.

In step S6, the phrase extraction unit 15 refers to the vocabulary information and extracts one or more instruction phrases associated with the device extracted by the device extraction unit 14 in step S5.

In step S7, the generation unit 16 generates an utterance for controlling the device based on the device extracted by the device extraction unit 14 in step S5 and the instruction phrase extracted by the phrase extraction unit 15 in step S6. .

On the other hand, in step S8, the generation unit 16 generates an utterance that does not depend on the type of device. Specifically, for example, the generation unit 16 may generate an utterance based on instruction frames randomly extracted from vocabulary information. Furthermore, the generating unit 16 may refer to the history of user utterances accepted by the utterance accepting unit 18 and may use the most recently accepted user utterance as the utterance.

In step S9, the presentation unit 17 presents the utterance generated by the generation unit 16 to the user. Specifically, the presentation unit 17 transmits text information indicating the utterance to the user's terminal 50, and displays the text indicating the utterance on the display of the terminal 50.

Next, with reference to FIG. 9, another example of processing contents in the dialog device 10 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the interaction method of this embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 8 uses the user's location information, whereas the process shown in FIG. 9 uses current time information in addition to the user's location information.

The processing in steps S11 to S15 is similar to the processing in steps S1 to S5 shown in FIG. Note that if it is not determined in step S14 that the location information has been successfully acquired, the process proceeds to step S21.

In step S16, the time acquisition unit 12 acquires information indicating the current time. In step S17, the time acquisition unit 12 determines whether or not the information indicating the current time has been successfully acquired. If it is determined that the current time has been successfully acquired, the process proceeds to step S18. On the other hand, if it is not determined that the current time has been successfully acquired, the process proceeds to step S21.

In step S18, the setting information acquisition unit 13 acquires the control history of the device acquired in step S15 in the time zone or time corresponding to the current time acquired in step S16. The time zone corresponding to the current time is, for example, a time zone of a predetermined width that includes the current time.

In step S19, the phrase extraction unit 15 extracts an instruction phrase associated with the control content shown in the control history acquired in step S18 regarding the device acquired in step S15, with reference to vocabulary information.

In step S20, the generation unit 16 generates an utterance for controlling the device based on the device extracted by the device extraction unit 14 in step S15 and the instruction phrase extracted by the phrase extraction unit 15 in step S19. .

On the other hand, in step S21, the generation unit 16 generates an utterance that does not depend on the type of device and the current time. Specifically, for example, the generation unit 16 may generate an utterance based on instruction frames randomly extracted from vocabulary information. Furthermore, the generating unit 16 may refer to the history of user utterances accepted by the utterance accepting unit 18 and may use the most recently accepted user utterance as the utterance.

In step S22, the presentation unit 17 presents the utterance generated by the generation unit 16 to the user. Specifically, the presentation unit 17 transmits text information indicating the utterance to the user's terminal 50, and displays the text indicating the utterance on the display of the terminal 50.

Next, a dialogue program for causing a computer to function as the dialogue apparatus 10 of this embodiment will be explained. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the dialog program P1.

The dialogue program P1 includes a main module m10 that comprehensively controls dialogue processing in the dialogue device 10, a position acquisition module m11, a time acquisition module m12, a setting information acquisition module m13, a device extraction module m14, a phrase extraction module m15, and a generation module m16. , a presentation module m17, a speech reception module m18, and a control instruction transmission module m19. Then, each module m11 to m19 controls the position acquisition unit 11, time acquisition unit 12, setting information acquisition unit 13, device extraction unit 14, phrase extraction unit 15, generation unit 16, presentation unit 17, and utterance reception unit in the dialog device 10. 18 and the control instruction transmitter 19 are realized. Note that the dialogue program P1 may be transmitted via a transmission medium such as a communication line, or may be stored in a recording medium M1 as shown in FIG.

In the dialog device 10 of the present embodiment described above, a device associated with location information indicating the user's location is extracted, and an utterance is generated based on an instruction phrase representing a control instruction for the extracted device. Therefore, it is possible to present the user with an utterance that allows the user to appropriately control a device that the user is likely to perform a control operation on at the current location. The user is highly likely to be able to control the desired device by speaking the presented utterance, thereby improving convenience.

In addition, an interaction device according to another form includes a time acquisition unit that acquires the current time, and a time acquisition unit that refers to history information regarding the control history of the device for each time zone or time, and responds to the current time acquired by the time acquisition unit. The device further includes a history acquisition unit that acquires the control history of the device in a time period or time, the vocabulary information associates the control content with the instruction phrase for each device, and the phrase extraction unit The instruction phrase may be extracted based on the extracted device and the control content shown in the control history acquired by the history acquisition unit.

According to the above embodiment, the control history of the device at the time or time period corresponding to the current time is extracted, and the utterance is generated based on the instruction phrase corresponding to the control content shown in the extracted control history. Thereby, it is possible to present the user with an utterance that allows him to perform a control operation that is likely to be desired by the user at the current time.

Moreover, in the dialog device according to another embodiment, the history information may include a control history for each user, and the phrase extraction unit may extract the instruction phrase based on the user's control history.

According to the above embodiment, the utterance is generated based on the instruction phrase corresponding to the control history of the user to whom the utterance is presented. Therefore, a suitable utterance can be presented to the user.

Further, in another type of dialogue device, the presentation unit may display text indicating the utterance on the user's terminal.

According to the above embodiment, the text indicating the generated utterance is presented on the user's terminal, so the user can utter the utterance.

Further, in another aspect of the dialog device, the presentation unit displays on the user's terminal an operation object that is associated with text indicating an uttered sentence and can be operated as an instruction; In this case, the same device control information as in the case where a user's utterance consisting of audio of text content is received may be generated.

According to the above embodiment, an operation object to which text indicating a generated utterance is associated is displayed on the user terminal, and when the operation object is operated, the content of the utterance is uttered by voice. Since similar control information is generated, the user can easily carry out desired control instructions.

Further, an interactive device according to another embodiment further includes a setting information acquisition unit that acquires setting information from a system that manages the setting information, and the device extraction unit receives the setting information acquired by the setting information acquisition unit. It may also be referred to.

According to the above embodiment, since the uttered sentence is generated based on the setting information acquired in advance, the communication and processing load for referring to the setting information each time the uttered sentence is generated is reduced.

Although this embodiment has been described in detail above, it is clear for those skilled in the art that this embodiment is not limited to the embodiment described in this specification. This embodiment can be implemented as modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description in this specification is for the purpose of illustrative explanation and does not have any restrictive meaning with respect to this embodiment.

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure is applicable to LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G, 5G, FRA (Future Radio Access), W-CDMA ( (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), other suitable systems, and/or next-generation systems expanded based on these.

The order of the processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the methods described herein present elements of the various steps in an exemplary order and are not limited to the particular order presented.

Information etc. can be output from an upper layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or upper layer). It may be input/output via multiple network nodes.

The input/output information may be stored in a specific location (eg, memory) or may be managed in a management table. Information etc. to be input/output may be overwritten, updated, or additionally written. The output information etc. may be deleted. The input information etc. may be transmitted to other devices.

Judgment may be made by a value expressed by 1 bit (0 or 1), by a truth value (Boolean: true or false), or by comparing numerical values (for example, by using a predetermined value). (comparison with a value).

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or may be switched and used in accordance with execution. In addition, notification of prescribed information (for example, notification of "X") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may also be done implicitly (for example, not notifying the prescribed information). Good too.

Software includes instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or by any other name. , should be broadly construed to mean an application, software application, software package, routine, subroutine, object, executable, thread of execution, procedure, function, etc.

Additionally, software, instructions, etc. may be sent and received via a transmission medium. For example, if the software uses wired technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair and digital subscriber line (DSL) and/or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave to When transmitted from a remote source, these wired and/or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission medium.

The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc., which may be referred to throughout the above description, may refer to voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or photons, or any of these. It may also be represented by a combination of

Note that terms explained in this disclosure and/or terms necessary for understanding this specification may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

Further, the information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be expressed as absolute values, relative values from a predetermined value, or other corresponding information.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of operations. "Judgment" and "decision" include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, and inquiry. (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), and regarding an ascertaining as a "judgment" or "decision." In addition, "judgment" and "decision" refer to receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, and access. (accessing) (e.g., accessing data in memory) may include considering something as a "judgment" or "decision." In addition, "judgment" and "decision" refer to resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as "judgment" and "decision". may be included. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" may include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "determined." Further, "judgment (decision)" may be read as "assuming", "expecting", "considering", etc.

As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based solely on" unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

Where this disclosure uses the terms "first," "second," etc., any reference to the elements does not generally limit the amount or order of those elements. These designations may be used herein as a convenient way of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, reference to a first and second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed therein or that the first element must precede the second element in any way.

To the extent that the words "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this specification or in the claims, these terms are synonymous with the term "comprising." is intended to be comprehensive. Furthermore, the term "or" as used in this specification or in the claims is not intended to be exclusive or.

In this disclosure, a plurality of devices is also included unless it is clear from the context or technology that only one device exists.

Throughout this disclosure, the plural is intended to be included unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Dialogue device, 11... Position acquisition part, 12... Time acquisition part, 13... Setting information acquisition part, 14... Device extraction part, 15... Phrase extraction part, 16... Generation part, 17... Presentation part, 18... Utterance reception Part, 19... Control instruction transmitting unit, 20... Vocabulary information storage unit, 30... External system, 31... Setting information storage unit, 50... Terminal, M1... Recording medium, m10... Main module, m11... Position acquisition module, m12... Time acquisition module, m13...setting information acquisition module, m14...device extraction module, m15...phrase extraction module, m16...generation module, m17...presentation module, m18...utterance reception module, m19...control instruction transmission module, P1...dialogue program .

Claims (7)

An interaction device that receives user utterances consisting of voice or text for generating control information for controlling a device,
a location acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating the user's location;
a device extraction unit that refers to setting information that associates each device with a location and extracts a device associated with the location information acquired by the location acquisition unit;
One or more devices associated with the device extracted by the device extraction unit with reference to vocabulary information that associates each device with an instruction phrase that represents a control instruction for the device and includes at least one word or sentence. a phrase extraction unit that extracts an instruction phrase;
a generation unit that generates an utterance for controlling the device based on the instruction phrase extracted by the phrase extraction unit , and generates the utterance that includes a phrase indicating a change range of a parameter of the device ;
a presentation unit that presents the utterance generated by the generation unit to the user;
An interaction device comprising: a time acquisition unit that acquires the current time;
a history acquisition unit that refers to history information regarding the control history of the device for each time zone or time and acquires the control history of the device in the time zone or time corresponding to the current time acquired by the time acquisition unit; , further comprising;
The vocabulary information associates the control content with the instruction phrase for each device,
The phrase extracting unit extracts the instruction phrase based on the control content shown in the device extracted by the device extracting unit and the control history acquired by the history acquiring unit.
The dialogue device according to claim 1. The history information includes control history for each user,
The phrase extraction unit extracts the instruction phrase based on the user's control history.
The dialogue device according to claim 2. the presentation unit displays text indicating the utterance on the user's terminal;
The dialogue device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The presentation unit displays, on the user's terminal, an operation object that is associated with text indicating the uttered sentence and that can be operated as an instruction;
When the operation object is operated on the user's terminal, the interaction device generates device control information similar to that when receiving user utterances consisting of audio of the text content.
The dialogue device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. further comprising a configuration information acquisition unit that acquires the configuration information from a system that manages the configuration information,
The device extraction section refers to the setting information acquired by the setting information acquisition section.
The dialogue device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An interaction program for causing a computer to function as an interaction device that receives user utterances consisting of voice or text for generating control information for controlling a device, the program comprising:
to the computer;
a location acquisition function that acquires location information indicating the user's location;
a device extraction function that refers to setting information that associates each device with a location and extracts a device associated with the location information acquired by the location acquisition function;
One or more devices associated with the device extracted by the device extraction function with reference to vocabulary information associating each device with an instruction phrase that represents control instructions for the device and includes at least one or more words or sentences. A phrase extraction function that extracts instruction phrases,
a generation function that generates an utterance for controlling the device based on the instruction phrase extracted by the phrase extraction function , and generates the utterance that includes a phrase indicating a change range of a parameter of the device ;
a presentation function that presents the utterance generated by the generation function to the user;
A dialogue program that makes this possible.

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