VOICE INTERACTION DEVICE, VOICE INTERACTION METHOD, AND VOICE INTERACTION PROGRAM

• US 20080235017A1
• Filed: 03/24/2008
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: SATOMURA, Masashi
• Application Number:
  US12/053,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20080235017A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/246
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/227 of the speaker; Human-factor methodology

Abstract

The present invention provides a voice interaction device capable of performing an interaction meeting any demand from a user at proper time in flexible response to a circumferential condition of the user, a voice interaction method and a voice interaction program thereof. The voice interaction device controls the interaction with the user in response to an input voice from the user, including an available time calculation unit (32) which calculates an available period of time for interaction with the user based on the circumferential condition of the user, and an interaction control unit (31) which controls the interaction based on at least the available period of time for interaction calculated by the available time calculation unit (32).

Claims

1. A voice interaction device which controls an interaction in response to a voice input from a user, comprising:

an available time calculation unit which calculates an available period of time for interaction with the user based on a circumferential condition of the user, and

an interaction control unit which controls interaction based on at least the available period of time for interaction calculated by the available time calculation unit.

2. The voice interaction device as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the user is an occupant of a vehicle;

the voice interaction device is mounted to the vehicle and further includes a driving condition detection unit which detects a driving condition of the vehicle; and

the available time calculation unit employs the driving condition detected by the driving condition detection unit as the circumferential condition of the user to calculate the available period of time for interaction with the user.

3. The voice interaction device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the driving condition includes at least one of information concerning running road of the vehicle, information concerning a running condition of the vehicle, and information concerning an operation condition of an apparatus mounted to the vehicle.

4. The voice interaction device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the voice interaction device further includes a user feature detection unit which detects a feature of the user interacting with the voice interaction device, and the interaction control unit controls interaction based on the feature of the user detected by the user feature detection unit.

5. The voice interaction device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the user feature detection unit detects the feature of the user based on an interaction history of the voice interaction by the user.

6. The voice interaction device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the user feature detection unit detects a level of proficiency in the interaction between the voice interaction device and the user as the feature of the user.

7. The voice interaction device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the voice interaction device further includes an importance judging unit which judges importance of information output to the user under interaction control by the interaction control unit, and the interaction control unit controls interaction based on a judging result from the importance judging unit.

8. A voice interaction method which controls an interaction in response to a voice input from a user, comprising:

an available time calculation step of calculating an available period of time for interaction with the user based on a circumferential condition of the user, and

an interaction control step of controlling interaction based on at least the available period of time for interaction calculated in the available time calculation step.

9. A voice interaction program causing a computer to execute a process of controlling an interaction in response to a voice input from a user, having function to cause the computer to execute:

an available time calculation process of calculating an available period of time for interaction with the user based on a circumferential condition of the user, and

an interaction control process of controlling interaction based on at least the available period of time for interaction calculated in the available time calculation process.