Embodied voice responsive toy

• US 6,394,872 B1
• Filed: 06/29/2000
• Issued: 05/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Inter Robot Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Inter Robot Incorporated
• Inventors: Watanabe, Tomio, Ogawa, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrison, Jessica J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): RADA, ALEX P
• Application Number:
  US09/606,562
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: 446/175,297,298,299,300,301,302,303
• US Class Current: 446/175
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 2200/00 Computerized interactive toys, e.g. dolls
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/28 Arrangements of sound-producing means in dolls; Means in dolls for producing sounds

Abstract

There is provided a robot or a picture on display, which is an embodied voice responsive toy for facilitating empathy. The toy is constructed by a voice input-output portion, a voice responsive pseudo-person, and a pseudo-person control portion, the voice input-output portion serves to input voice from the outside or output voice to the outside, and the pseudo-person control portion determines an action of the voice responsive pseudo-person from the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and actuates the voice responsive pseudo-person.

Claims

1. An embodied voice responsive toy comprising:

a voice input-output portion;

a voice responsive pseudo-person; and

a pseudo-person control portion;

the voice input-output portion serves to input voice from the outside or output

the pseudo-person control portion determines actions of the voice responsive pseudo-person from the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and actuates the voice responsive pseudo-person; and

wherein

the action of the voice responsive pseudo-person as the listener is made of a selective combination of nodding of a head, blinking of eyes, and gesturing of a body, and

the nodding is executed at a nodding timing when a prediction value of nodding presumed from ON/OFF of the voice exceeds a nodding threshold.

2. An embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 1, wherein the voice responsive pseudo-person is a shared robot of a listener and a talker, the pseudo-person control portion is listener and talker control portions, the shared robot makes an action of nodding of a head, head motion, opening and closing of a mouth, blinking of an eye, or gesturing of a body in response to the voice, the listener control portion determines the action of the shared robot as a listener on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and activates the shared robot, and the talker control portion determines the action of the shared robot as a talker on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and activates the shared robot.

3. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 1, wherein said voice responsive pseudo-person is a listener display portion displaying a listener, said pseudo-person control portion is a listener control portion, the listener display portion displays a pseudo-listener, which makes head motion, opening and closing of a mouth, blinking of eyes, or gesturing of a body in response to the voice, on the listener display portion, and the listener control portion determines the action of the pseudo-listener on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and moves the pseudo-listener displayed on the listener display portion.

4. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 1, wherein said blinking is executed at a blinking timing which is exponentially distributed with the passage of time from the nodding timing as a starting point.

5. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 1, wherein said gesturing of the body is executed at a gesturing timing when a prediction value of nodding presumed from ON/OFF of the voice exceeds a gesturing threshold.

6. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 1, wherein said voice responsive pseudo-person is a listener robot, the pseudo-person control portion is a listener control portion, the listener robot makes actions of nodding of a head, opening and closing of a mouth, blinking of eyes, or gesturing of a body in response to the voice, and the listener control portion determines the action of the listener robot on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and activates the listener robot.

7. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 1, wherein said voice responsive pseudo-person is a shared display portion displaying a listener and a talker, said pseudo-person control portion is listener and talker control portions, the shared display portion displays a pseudo-talker and a pseudo-listener individually, which make actions of nodding of a head, head motion, opening and closing of a mouth, blinking of eyes, or gesturing of a body in response to a voice signal, in the same space, the listener control portion determines the action of the pseudo-listener on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and moves the pseudo-listener displayed on the shared display portion, and the talker control portion determines the action of the pseudo-talker on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and moves the pseudo-talker displayed on the shared display portion.

15. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 1 or 8, further comprising a voice recording or reproducing portion in addition to the voice input-output portion.

16. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claims 1 or 8, further comprising a data input-output portion and a data conversion portion in addition to the voice input-output portion, wherein the data input-output portion serves to input data other than the voice from the outside or output data other than the voice to the outside, and the data conversion portion performs mutual conversion of the data other than the voice and the voice to transfer the voice to the voice input-output portion.

17. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 16, further comprising a data recording or reproducing portion in addition to the data input-output portion.

8. An embodied voice responsive toy comprising:

a voice input-output portion;

a voice responsive pseudo-person; and

a pseudo-person control portion,

the voice input-output portion serves to input voice from the outside or output voice to the outside, and

the pseudo-person control portion determines actions of the voice responsive pseudo-person from the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and actuates the voice responsive pseudo-person; and

wherein

the action of the voice responsive pseudo-person as the talker is made of a selective combination of head motion, opening and closing of a mouth, blinking of eyes, or gesturing of a body, and

the gesturing of the body is executed at a gesturing timing when a prediction value of head motion or a prediction value of gesturing presumed from ON/OFF of the voice exceeds a gesturing threshold.

9. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 8, wherein a blinking is executed at a blinking timing when a prediction value of nodding presumed from ON/OFF of the voice exceeds a blinking threshold.

10. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 8, wherein a gesturing of the body is executed at a gesturing timing when a prediction value of nodding presumed from ON/OFF of the voice exceeds a gesturing threshold.

11. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 8, wherein said voice responsive pseudo-person is a talker robot, said pseudo-person control portion is a talker control portion, the talker robot makes head motion, opening and closing of a mouth, blinking of eyes, or gesturing of a body in response to the voice, and the talker control portion determines the action of the talker robot on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and activates the talker robot.

12. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 8, wherein said voice responsive pseudo-person is a shared robot of a listener and a talker, said pseudo-person control portion is listener and talker control portions, the shared robot makes actions of nodding of a head, head motion, opening and closing of a mouth, blinking of eyes, or gesturing of a body in response to the voice, the listener control portion determines the action of the shared robot as a listener on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and activates the shared robot, and the talker control portion determines the action of the shared robot as a talker on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and activates the shared robot.

13. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 8, wherein the voice responsive pseudo-person is a talker display portion displaying a talker, the pseudo-person control portion is a talker control portion, the talker display portion displays a pseudo-talker, which makes actions of nodding of a head, opening and closing of a mouth, blinking of eyes, or gesturing of a body in response to a voice signal, on the talker display portion, and the talker control portion determines the action of the pseudo-talker on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and moves the pseudo-talker displayed on the talker display portion.

14. The embodied voice responsive toy according to claim 8, wherein said voice responsive pseudo-person is a shared display portion displaying a listener and a talker, said pseudo-person control portion is listener and talker control portions, the shared display portion displays a pseudo-talker and a pseudo-listener individually, which make actions of nodding of a head, head motion, opening and closing of a mouth, blinking of eyes, or gesturing of a body in response to a voice signal, in the same space, the listener control portion determines the action of the pseudo-listener on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and moves the pseudo-listener displayed on the shared display portion, and the talker control portion determines the action of the pseudo-talker on the basis of the voice passing through the voice input-output portion and moves the pseudo-talker displayed on the shared display portion.