REDUCING DRIVER DISTRACTION IN SPOKEN DIALOGUE

• US 20160171888A1
• Filed: 01/25/2016
• Published: 06/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Tzirkel-Hancock, Eli, Tsimhoni, Omer
• Application Number:
  US15/005,483
• Publication Number:
  US 20160171888A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/22 Psychological state; Stress level or workload
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2302/09 Reducing the workload of driver
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0967 Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

Methods and systems for reducing driver distraction and situation non-awareness related to a dialogue of an automated dialogue system in a vehicle. For a dialogue policy learning session, driver distraction is introduced as an input into a penalty assigner that assesses dialogue quality, and dialogue acts are extended to include dialogues and dialogue act presentation styles which reduce driver workload related to dialogues. The automated dialogue system policy is developed during the learning process by optimizing the penalties, an that automated dialogue workload is reduced in response to increased workload or anticipated workload on the driver. Methods and systems are presented for responding to both actual workload in regular vehicles as well as anticipated workload in autonomous vehicles.

Claims

1. A method for reducing user distraction associated with interaction with an automated dialogue system, the method comprising:

receiving, by a processor, a user workload parameter;

responsively to the user workload parameter, controlling the automated dialogue system to perform a system dialogue turn that reduces the user workload associated with interacting with the automated dialogue system, wherein the system dialogue turn includes a dialogue act selected from a group consisting of;

a workload-reducing dialogue act; and

a regular dialogue act modified by a workload-reducing dialogue modification.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the workload-reducing dialogue act comprises an act selected from a group consisting of:

a dialogue pause;

a suggestion of a dialogue pause;

a dialogue termination;

a suggestion of a dialogue termination.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising a spectrum of pause-handling and termination handling choices ranging by degree of user involvement.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the workload-reducing dialogue modification comprises a dialogue modification selected from a group consisting of:

a switch to voice modality;

breaking up compound prompts into items;

a change to a yes/no prompt; and

speeding up of a dialogue.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the speeding up of a dialogue act is in response to a predicted workload increase.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user workload parameter includes a hazard warning of a hazard ahead of the vehicle, and wherein at least one of the workload reducing act or the workload reducing dialogue modification includes an immediate suspension of the dialogue.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the hazard warning includes a warning of a braking condition of another vehicle ahead of the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the workload-reducing dialogue modification comprises a dialogue modification selected from a group consisting of:

a switch to voice modality;

breaking up compound prompts into items;

a change to a yes/no prompt; and

speeding up of a dialogue.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the speeding up of a dialogue act is in response to a predicted anticipated workload increase.

8. A method for reducing user situation non-awareness associated with an automated dialogue system, the method comprising:

receiving, by a processor, a user anticipated workload parameter;

responsively to the user anticipated workload parameter, controlling the automated dialogue system to perform a system dialogue turn that reduces the user workload associated with interacting with the automated dialogue system, wherein the system dialogue turn includes a dialogue act selected from a group consisting of;

a workload-reducing dialogue act; and

a regular dialogue act modified by a workload-reducing modification.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the workload-reducing dialogue act comprises an act selected from a group consisting of:

a dialogue pause;

a suggestion of a dialogue pause;

a dialogue termination;

a suggestion of a dialogue termination.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising a spectrum of pause-handling and termination handling choices ranging by degree of user involvement.

13. A dialogue system for reducing user distraction associated with interaction with automated dialogue, the system comprising:

a dialogue control unit;

a storage device containing a dialogue policy;

a workload estimation unit operative to;

receive a workload parameter indicative of a user workload; and

compute a workload estimate; and

input the workload estimate into the dialogue control unit.

14. The dialogue system of claim 13, wherein the workload parameter includes a hazard warning of a hazard ahead of the vehicle, and wherein the workload estimate includes the hazard warning.

15. The dialogue system of claim 14, wherein the hazard warning includes a warning of a braking condition of another vehicle ahead of the vehicle.

16. A dialogue system for reducing user situation non-awareness associated with interaction with automated dialogue, the system comprising:

a dialogue control unit;

a storage device containing a dialogue policy;

an anticipated workload estimation unit operative to;

receive an anticipated workload parameter indicative of an anticipated user workload; and

compute an anticipated workload estimate; and

input the anticipated workload estimate into the dialogue control unit.

17. The dialogue system of claim 16, wherein the anticipated workload parameter includes a hazard warning of a hazard ahead of the vehicle, and wherein the anticipated workload estimate includes the hazard warning.

18. The dialogue system of claim 17, wherein the hazard warning includes a warning of a braking condition of another vehicle ahead of the vehicle.