CONTROL APPARATUS, AGENT APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20200133630A1
• Filed: 10/20/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2018
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: KURAMOCHI, Toshikatsu, SEKIGUCHI, Atsushi
• Application Number:
  US16/658,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20200133630A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/006 based on simulated virtual individual or collective life forms, e.g. social simulations or particle swarm optimisation [PSO]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/40 of characters, e.g. humans, animals or virtual beings
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/033 Voice editing, e.g. manipulating the voice of the synthesiser
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

It is difficult to realize smooth communication between a user and an agent due to the communication environment of the user. Provided is a control apparatus that controls an agent apparatus functioning as a user interface of a first request processing apparatus that acquires a request indicated by at least one of a voice and a gesture of a user, via a communication network, and performs a process corresponding to the request, the control apparatus including a communication information acquiring section that acquires communication information indicating a communication state between the first request processing apparatus and the agent apparatus, and a mode determining section that determines a mode of an agent used to provide information by the agent apparatus, based on the communication state indicated by the communication information acquired by the communication information acquiring section.

Claims

1. A control apparatus that controls an agent apparatus functioning as a user interface of a first request processing apparatus that acquires a request indicated by at least one of a voice and a gesture of a user, via a communication network, and performs a process corresponding to the request, the control apparatus comprising:

a communication information acquiring section that acquires communication information indicating a communication state between the first request processing apparatus and the agent apparatus; and

a mode determining section that determines a mode of an agent used to provide information by the agent apparatus, based on the communication state indicated by the communication information acquired by the communication information acquiring section.

2. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the mode of the agent is at least one of (i) a type of character used as the agent, (ii) an appearance of the character, (iii) a voice of the character, and (iv) a mode of an interaction of the character.

3. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the agent apparatus further functions as a user interface of a second request processing apparatus that is different from the first request processing apparatus,

the second request processing apparatus acquires a request indicated by a voice or a gesture of the user from the agent apparatus, via wired communication or short range wireless communication, and performs a process corresponding to the request, and

the control apparatus further comprises a processing apparatus determining section that determines whether the agent apparatus is to function as the user interface of the first request processing apparatus or the second request processing apparatus, based on the communication state indicated by the communication information acquired by the communication information acquiring section.

4. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the mode determining section determines the mode of the agent such that the mode of the agent differs between (i) a case in which the agent apparatus is determined to function as the user interface of the first request processing apparatus and (ii) a case in which the agent apparatus is determined to function as the user interface of the second request processing apparatus.

5. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the mode determining section determines in advance (i) the mode of the agent in a case where the agent apparatus is to function as the user interface of the first request processing apparatus and (ii) the mode of the agent in a case where the agent apparatus is to function as the user interface of the second request processing apparatus, and

the mode determining section switches the mode of the agent based on a determination result of the processing apparatus determining section.

6. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the mode determining section determines that the same type of character is to be used in (i) a case where the agent apparatus is to function as the user interface of the first request processing apparatus and (ii) a case where the agent apparatus is to function as the user interface of the second request processing apparatus, and

the mode determining section determines that (i) a set age of the character used in a case where the agent apparatus is to function as the user interface of the first request processing apparatus is higher than (ii) a set age of the character used in a case where the agent apparatus is to function as the user interface of the second request processing apparatus.

7. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the mode determining section determines that an adult character is to be used as the character of the agent in (i) a case where the agent apparatus functions as a user interface of the first request processing apparatus, and

the mode determining section determines that a child character, a character that is a young version of the adult character, or a character obtained by deforming the appearance of the adult character is to be used as the character of the agent in (ii) a case where the agent apparatus functions as a user interface of the second request processing apparatus.

8. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the mode determining section determines that a voice of an adult or a voice of an adult character is to be used as the voice of the agent in (i) a case where the agent apparatus functions as a user interface of the first request processing apparatus, and

the mode determining section determines that a voice of a child or a voice of a child character is to be used as the voice of the agent in (ii) a case where the agent apparatus functions as a user interface of the second request processing apparatus.

9. The control apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

a voice message generating section that generates a voice message responding to the request of the user, wherein

the voice message generating section generates the voice message using a fixed phrase that is determined based on a type of the request, in a case where the agent apparatus functions as the user interface of the second request processing apparatus.

10. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the number of types of requests that can be recognized by the second request processing apparatus is less than the number of types of requests that can be recognized by the first request processing apparatus.

11. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the number of types of requests that can be processed by the second request processing apparatus is less than the number of types of requests that can be processed by the first request processing apparatus.

12. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the agent apparatus is an interactive vehicle driving support apparatus.

13. An agent apparatus functioning as a user interface of a request processing apparatus that acquires a request indicated by at least one of a voice and a gesture of a user and performs a process corresponding to the request, the agent apparatus comprising:

the control apparatus according to claim 1, and

an agent output section that displays or projects an image of the agent, according to the mode determined by the mode determining section of the control apparatus.

14. The agent apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

an input section that inputs information indicating at least one of a voice and a gesture of the user; and

a voice message output section that outputs a voice message to the user.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing thereon a program that causes a computer to function as a control apparatus that controls an agent apparatus functioning as a user interface of a first request processing apparatus that acquires a request indicated by at least one of a voice and a gesture of a user, via a communication network, and performs a process corresponding to the request, the control apparatus comprising:

a communication information acquiring section that acquires communication information indicating a communication state between the first request processing apparatus and the agent apparatus; and

a mode determining section that determines a mode of an agent used to provide information by the agent apparatus, based on the communication state indicated by the communication information acquired by the communication information acquiring section.