Crisis monitoring system

• US 20050264425A1
• Filed: 01/27/2005
• Published: 12/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sato, Nobuo, Obuchi, Yasunari
• Granted Patent: US 7,298,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/573.100
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1672 using sonic detecting means, e.g. a microphone operating in the audio frequency range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 31/00 Predictive alarm systems characterised by extrapolation or other computation using updated historic data

Abstract

Provided is a crisis monitoring system that detects a crisis by identifying a person'"'"'s emotion from his/her utterance includes an input unit to which an audio signal is inputted, a recording unit which records information necessary to judge a crisis situation, and a control unit which controls the input unit and the recording unit. The recording unit records emotion attribute information, which includes a feature of a specific emotion in an audio signal, and the control unit determines a person'"'"'s emotion by comparing an audio signal inputted to the input unit with the emotion attribute information, and executes a predetermined emergency processing when it is judged that the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.

Claims

1. A crisis monitoring apparatus to judge whether a person is in a crisis situation, comprising an input unit, a recording unit, and a control unit to judge whether a person is in a crisis situation, wherein

the input unit receives an audio signal,

the recording unit records emotion attribute information, which includes a feature of a specific emotion in an audio signal, as information necessary to judge a crisis situation, and

the control unit controls the input unit and the recording unit, determines a person'"'"'s emotion by comparing an audio signal inputted to the input unit with the emotion attribute information, and executes a predetermined emergency processing when the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.

2. The crisis monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit which communicates with an external device, wherein

the control unit starts crisis monitoring when the communication unit receives a monitoring starting instruction.

3. The crisis monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a locating unit which determines a location of the crisis monitoring apparatus, wherein

the control unit starts crisis monitoring when the locating unit detects that the crisis monitoring apparatus locates at a predetermined point.

4. The crisis monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit which sends notification that the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.

5. The crisis monitoring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the communication unit communicates via a mobile communications network.

6. The crisis monitoring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the recording unit records an audio signal inputted to the input unit, and

wherein the control unit:

deletes the audio signal recorded in the recording unit after a predetermined time elapses, when the determined emotion does not indicate a crisis situation; and

keeps to record the audio signal recorded in the recording unit after the predetermined time elapses, when the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.

7. A crisis monitoring system to judge whether a person is in a crisis situation, comprising a crisis monitoring apparatus and a crisis monitoring terminal, wherein

a crisis monitoring apparatus comprises an input unit, a recording unit and a control unit,

the input unit receives an audio signal,

the recording unit records emotion attribute information, which is information about a feature of a specific emotion in an audio signal, as information necessary to judge a crisis situation, and

the control unit controls the input unit and the recording unit, determines a person'"'"'s emotion by comparing an audio signal inputted to the input unit with the emotion attribute information, and executes a predetermined emergency processing when the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation,.

8. The crisis monitoring system according to claim 7, wherein

the crisis monitoring apparatus further comprises a communication unit which communicates with the crisis monitoring terminal, and

the control unit starts crisis monitoring when the communication unit receives a monitoring starting instruction from the crisis monitoring terminal.

9. The crisis monitoring system according to claim 7, further comprising a management apparatus which collects information from the crisis monitoring apparatus, wherein

the control unit controls to send, to the management apparatus, a message reporting that a crisis has happened, when the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation, and

the management apparatus executes a predetermined emergency processing, when the management apparatus detects a crisis situation from the information sent by the crisis monitoring apparatus,.

10. The crisis monitoring system according to claim 7, further comprising a locating unit which locates the crisis monitoring apparatus, wherein

the control unit starts crisis monitoring when the locating unit detects that the crisis monitoring apparatus locates at a predetermined point.

11. The crisis monitoring system according to claim 7, further comprising an output unit which sends notification that the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.

12. The crisis monitoring system according to claim 7,

wherein the recording unit records an audio signal inputted to the input unit, and

wherein the control unit:

deletes the audio signal recorded in the recording unit after a predetermined time elapses, when the determined emotion does not indicate a crisis situation; and

keeps to record the audio signal recorded in the recording unit after the predetermined time elapses, when the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.

13. A method of monitoring a crisis for a crisis monitoring system which comprises a crisis monitoring apparatus comprising an input unit to input an audio signal, a recording unit to record emotion attribute information, which include a feature of a specific emotion in an audio signal, and a control unit to control the input unit and the recording unit, the method comprising:

determining a person'"'"'s emotion by comparing an audio signal inputted to the input unit with the emotion attribute information,

judging whether the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation, and

executing an emergency processing following a predetermined method when it is judged that the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.

14. The method according to claim 13,

wherein the crisis monitoring system further comprises a crisis monitoring terminal hold by a user who desires crisis monitoring, and

wherein the method further comprises starting crisis monitoring when a monitoring starting instruction is received from the crisis monitoring terminal.

15. The method according to claim 13,

wherein the crisis monitoring system further comprises a management apparatus which collects information from the crisis monitoring apparatus, and

wherein the method further comprises:

sending, to the management apparatus, a message reporting that a crisis has happened, when the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation; and

executing a predetermined emergency processing, when the management apparatus detects a crisis situation from the information sent by the crisis monitoring apparatus.

16. The method according to claim 13,

wherein the crisis monitoring system further comprises a management apparatus which collects information from the crisis monitoring apparatus,

wherein the method further comprises:

sending, to the management apparatus, information of the audio signal inputted to the input unit;

determining a person'"'"'s emotion by comparing the audio information sent from the crisis monitoring apparatus with a feature of a specific emotion in an audio signal; and

executing a predetermined emergency processing when it is judged that the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.

17. The method according to claim 13,

wherein the crisis monitoring system further comprises a locating unit which determines a location of the crisis monitoring apparatus, and

wherein the method further comprises starting crisis monitoring when the locating unit detects a predetermined point.

18. The method according to claim 13,

wherein the crisis monitoring system further comprises an output unit

wherein the method further comprises sending notification that the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.

19. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

deleting the audio signal recorded in the recording unit after a predetermined time elapses, when the determined emotion does not indicate a crisis situation; and

keeping to record the audio signal recorded in the recording unit after the predetermined time elapses, when the determined emotion indicates a crisis situation.