Interactive information providing apparatus, interactive information providing program, and storage medium having stored same

• US 20030217160A1
• Filed: 05/14/2003
• Published: 11/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Gayama, Shinichi, Kobayashi, Hajime, Shioda, Takehiko, Tabata, Toshio, Kawazoe, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,418,391 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

An interactive information providing apparatus is provided with: an output component that provides an information requesting output for requesting a user for information; an input component that receives from the user input information to the information requesting output; and an interaction controller component that controls the output component and the input component according to a scenario, to carry on a dialogue with the user. In the apparatus, the interaction controller component changes a level at which the output component requests a user for information, according to an importance parameter associated with the scenario.

Claims

1. An interactive information providing apparatus comprising:

an output component that provides an information requesting output for requesting a user for information;

an input component that receives from the user input information to the information requesting output; and

an interaction controller component that controls the output component and the input component according to a scenario, to carry on a dialogue with the user,

wherein the interaction controller component changes a level at which the output component requests a user for information, according to an importance parameter associated with the scenario.

2. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interaction controller component controls the output component such that the output component requests a user for more information when the importance parameter is above a predetermined threshold than when the importance parameter is below the threshold.

3. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interaction controller component controls the output component such that the output component provides the information requesting output more times when the importance parameter is above a predetermined threshold than when the importance parameter is below the threshold.

4. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input component comprises:

a recognition device which recognizes the input information and outputting a recognition result;

a decision device which determines whether or not the recognition result coincides with expected information prepared to correspond to the information requesting output; and

a repeating device which causes the output component to repeat the information requesting output when the recognition result does not coincide with the expected information,

wherein the interaction controller component increases a frequency at which the repeating means repeats the information requesting output, when the importance parameter is above a predetermined threshold.

5. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input component comprises:

a recognition device which recognizes the input information and outputting a recognition result; and

a decision device which determines whether or not the recognition result coincides with expected information prepared to correspond to the information requesting output,

wherein the interaction controller component carries on the dialogue when the importance parameter is below the threshold, despite the recognition result not coinciding with the expected information.

6. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interaction controller component carries on the dialogue when the importance parameter is below the threshold, despite the input component receiving no input information from the user.

7. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first storage component that stores, as user information, input information to the information requesting output, entered by the user in the past; and

a second storage component that stores device-specific information related to a condition of the information providing apparatus,

wherein the interaction controller carries on the dialogue based on the user information and/or the device-specific information.

8. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the interaction controller component changes a degree to which the dialogue is carried on based on the user information and/or the device-specific information, when the importance parameter is below the threshold.

9. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first storage component that stores, as user information, input information to the information requesting output, entered by the user in the past;

a second storage component that stores device-specific information related to a condition of the information providing apparatus; and

an adjustment device which adjusts a value of the importance parameter based on the user information and/or the device-specific information.

10. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the adjustment device adjusts the value of the importance parameter according to a frequency at which the dialogue has been carried on according to the scenario in the past.

11. The interactive information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a navigation unit,

wherein the user information comprises input information entered by the user to the navigation unit, and

the device-specific information comprises current time data, current position data, and travel history data.

12. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing a sequence of instructions that, when executed by a computer, the program causing the computer to function as:

an output component that provides an information requesting output for requesting a user for information;

an input component that receives from the user input information to the information requesting output; and

an interaction controller component that controls the output component and the input component according to a scenario, to carry on a dialogue with the user,

wherein the interaction controller component changes a level at which the output component requests a user for information, according to an importance parameter associated with the scenario.

13. A computer-readable storage medium having stored an interactive information providing program executable by a computer, the program causing the computer to function as:

an output component that provides an information requesting output for requesting a user for information;

an input component that receives from the user input information to the information requesting output; and

an interaction controller component that controls the output component and the input component according to a scenario, to carry on a dialogue with the user,

wherein the interaction controller component changes a level at which the output component requests a user for information, according to an importance parameter associated with the scenario.