阅读说明：本技术 电子设备、控制装置、控制方法及记录介质 (Electronic device, control method, and recording medium ) 是由 栗本裕介 和田浩志 于 2020-02-10 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明是一种电子设备,其包括至少一个语音输出装置与至少一个控制装置,所述控制装置进行完成检测处理、完成通知处理、关联判定处理及语音输出处理,所述完成检测处理检测规定的动作是否已完成,所述完成通知处理向电子设备可执行的至少一个服务功能通知动作已完成,所述关联判定处理判定有无可提供与动作关联的服务的所述服务功能,所述语音输出处理在有可提供服务的服务功能的情况下,从语音输出装置输出与服务匹配的语音数据。(The present invention is an electronic device including at least one voice output device and at least one control device, wherein the control device performs completion detection processing for detecting whether or not a predetermined action has been completed, completion notification processing for notifying that the action has been completed to at least one service function executable by the electronic device, association determination processing for determining whether or not there is a service function that can provide a service associated with the action, and voice output processing for outputting voice data matching the service from the voice output device when there is a service function that can provide the service.)

1. An electronic device comprising at least one voice output means and at least one control means, said electronic device characterized in that:

the control device performs completion detection processing, completion notification processing, association determination processing, and voice output processing,

the completion detection process detects whether a prescribed action has been completed,

the completion notification processing notifies at least one service function executable by the electronic device that the action is completed,

the association determination process determines whether or not there is the service function that can provide the service associated with the action,

the voice output process outputs voice data matching the service from the voice output device in the case where the service function that can provide the service is available.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein:

the action and the service are provided by different service functions, respectively.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein:

the action and the service are both provided by the same service function.

4. A control apparatus for controlling an electronic device that includes at least one voice output apparatus and can perform at least one service function, the control apparatus comprising:

a completion detection unit that performs processing for detecting whether or not a predetermined operation has been completed;

a completion notifying unit configured to perform a process of notifying at least one of the service functions that the operation has been completed;

a correlation determination unit that performs a process of determining whether or not the service function that can provide the service related to the operation is available; and

and a voice output unit configured to perform processing for outputting voice data matching the service from the voice output device when the service function capable of providing the service is available.

5. A control method for controlling an electronic apparatus that includes at least one voice output device and can perform at least one service function, comprising:

a completion detection step of detecting whether or not a prescribed action has been completed;

a completion notifying step of notifying at least one of the service functions that the action has been completed;

an association determination step of determining whether or not there is the service function that can provide the service associated with the action; and

and a voice output step of outputting voice data matching the service from the voice output device when the service function capable of providing the service is available.

6. A computer-readable recording medium having a control program recorded thereon, characterized in that:

the control program is for causing a computer to execute the steps according to claim 5.

Technical Field

The invention relates to an electronic device, a control apparatus, a control method, and a recording medium.

Background

In recent years, a system capable of communicating with a user through a conversation by inputting and outputting voice has been used. In addition, a technique has been developed which can provide a service more convenient for a user by a robot including such a system and capable of performing an operation other than a conversation.

The timing of providing services to the user by such a robot is often started from the instruction of the user. Therefore, after the fixed conversation between the user and the robot is completed, it is difficult to continue the conversation further, and the chance of the robot providing further services is lost. This reduces the durability of the robot.

As a solution to this problem, for example, japanese patent laid-open No. 2006-263858 discloses a technique in which two robots are used, and one robot transmits execution timing of an own communication behavior to the other robot in accordance with the start or end of execution of the own communication behavior, thereby causing the two robots to execute the communication behavior in an interlocking manner.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

However, the related art as described above is communication between robots, and the communication scene is limited to a predetermined range. Therefore, the contents of the dialog are scarcely changed, and the joint operation between the applications, services, and the like built in the robots is not considered.

An aspect of the present invention aims to realize an electronic device such as a robot that can continuously provide a variety of services.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above-described problem, an electronic device according to an aspect of the present invention is an electronic device including at least one voice output device and at least one control device, wherein the control device performs completion detection processing for detecting whether or not a predetermined operation has been completed, completion notification processing for notifying at least one service function executable by the electronic device that the operation has been completed, association determination processing for determining whether or not there is the service function that can provide a service associated with the operation, and voice output processing for outputting voice data matching the service from the voice output device when there is the service function that can provide the service.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a control device according to an aspect of the present invention is a control device for controlling an electronic apparatus that includes at least one voice output device and is capable of executing at least one service function, the control device including: a completion detection unit that performs processing for detecting whether or not a predetermined operation has been completed; a completion notifying unit configured to perform a process of notifying at least one of the service functions that the operation has been completed; a correlation determination unit that performs a process of determining whether or not the service function that can provide the service related to the operation is available; and a voice output unit configured to perform processing for outputting voice data matching the service from the voice output device when the service function capable of providing the service is available.

In order to solve the above problem, a control method according to an aspect of the present invention is a control method for controlling an electronic device that includes at least one voice output apparatus and is capable of executing at least one service function, the control method including: a completion detection step of detecting whether or not a prescribed action has been completed; a completion notifying step of notifying at least one of the service functions that the action has been completed; an association determination step of determining whether or not there is the service function that can provide the service associated with the action; and outputting voice data matching the service from the voice output device when the service function capable of providing the service exists.

Effects of the invention

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize an electronic device such as a robot that can continuously provide a variety of services.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic device according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the control device of embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the control device of embodiment 1.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a session performed by the electronic device according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a session performed by the electronic device according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a session performed by the electronic device according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a session performed by the electronic device according to embodiment 2.

Detailed Description

[ embodiment 1]

(functional Structure of electronic device 1)

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 6. As shown in fig. 1, the electronic device 1 of the present embodiment includes a microphone 11, a speaker (voice output device) 12, a control device 20, and a storage device 30. The electronic device 1 is preferably a robot that can communicate with a user, but is not limited to this, and may be a smartphone or the like having a communication function.

The microphone 11 is a means for inputting a voice from a user. The microphone 11 may be a sound collecting device such as a conventional general microphone. The microphone 11 converts the input voice into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal to the control device 20. The control device 20 may perform voice recognition on the input voice to determine the content of the instruction from the user. Note that the voice recognition of the input voice may be performed not by the control device 20 but by a member dedicated to voice recognition included in the electronic apparatus 1. The speech recognition can be performed by a conventional general speech recognition technique.

In this way, according to the mode of inputting an instruction to the electronic apparatus 1 by the voice of the user, the user can easily give an instruction by merely speaking into the electronic apparatus 1. The input to the electronic apparatus 1 by the user is not limited to the voice input, and may be performed by a touch panel, a keyboard, or the like, or may be performed by recognition of the user's motion (gesture) by a camera or the like. With this configuration, even in a situation where it is inconvenient to make a sound, such as a silent public space, the user can give an instruction to the electronic apparatus 1.

The speaker 12 is a member that outputs voice from the electronic apparatus 1. The speaker 12 may be a conventional general voice output device. The electronic apparatus 1 recognizes the user's instruction from the user's voice or the like inputted through the microphone 11, and provides a service through the voice through the speaker 12, thereby realizing a dialogue function between the electronic apparatus 1 and the user.

(control device 20)

The control device 20 is, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) that collectively controls each part of the electronic apparatus 1. The control device 20 includes a completion detection unit 21, a completion notification unit 22, a correlation determination unit 23, and a voice output unit 24.

The completion detection unit 21 monitors the state of the service function currently being executed by the electronic device 1, and performs a process (completion detection process) of detecting whether or not the last operation (predetermined operation) of the service executed by the service function has been completed. The service function refers to a program, an application program, or the like that implements a service executable by the electronic device 1.

When the completion detection unit 21 detects that the last operation has been completed, the completion notification unit 22 performs a process (completion notification process) of notifying the completion of the last operation together with the contents of the service including the operation to at least one service function executable by the electronic device 1. In this case, the completion notifying unit 22 may notify all the service functions included in the electronic device 1, or may notify only a part of the service functions. The partial service functions may be, for example, service functions associated in advance with services including completed actions, or a predetermined number of service functions selected based on the current frequency of use.

The association determination unit 23 performs a process (association determination process) of determining whether or not there is a service function that can provide a service associated with the operation among the service functions that have received the notification from the completion notification unit 22. For example, if the service function that has received the notification can provide the service, the association determination unit 23 may be notified of the notification, and the association determination unit 23 may receive the notification and determine that the service function that can provide the service is available.

In addition, when there are a plurality of service functions that can provide services, the association determination unit 23 may select a service function that can provide a service having the highest association with a service including a completed operation from among the service functions. With this configuration, the electronic apparatus 1 can continuously provide a service with a high level of user interest.

In addition, when there are a plurality of service functions that can provide services, the association determination unit 23 may determine the priority order of the service functions in advance and perform a process of selecting the service functions based on the priority order. With this configuration, the electronic apparatus 1 can manage and control the service provided to the user.

When there is a service function that can provide the service determined to be associated by the association determination unit 23, the voice output unit 24 performs processing (voice output processing) for causing the speaker 12 to output voice data matching the service.

With the above configuration, the control device 20 can continue to provide the electronic device 1 with a highly-related service after one service of the electronic device 1 is completed. Therefore, the electronic apparatus 1 can continuously provide services that are considered to be of interest to the user. In addition, the electronic apparatus 1 can provide a user with a variety of services by selecting a service to be provided from a plurality of service functions.

Furthermore, the control device 20 may be disposed on the electronic device 1, or may be disposed on a cloud server. In this case, the communication device (not shown) included in the electronic device 1 may also transmit the user's voice to the control device 20 on the cloud server. In this case, the control device 20 on the cloud server may perform the above-described processes based on the voice, and transmit the voice data to be output by the voice output unit 24 to the electronic apparatus 1. With this configuration, the electronic apparatus 1 does not need to include the control device 20, and the electronic apparatus 1 can be manufactured at low cost. In addition, the control device 20 having higher performance than that provided in the electronic apparatus 1 can be provided on the cloud server.

(storage device 30)

The storage device 30 is a means for storing programs for executing various service functions mounted on the electronic apparatus 1, input information from a user, and the like. The storage device 30 is, for example, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), a Solid State Drive (SSD), or a Read Only Memory (ROM). In addition, the storage device 30 may further include a Random Access Memory (RAM) or the like that develops the program or the like.

(example of processing by the control device 20)

An example of processing (control method) performed by the control device 20 will be described below with reference to fig. 2 and 3. As shown in fig. 2, the completion detection unit 21 monitors the state of the service function currently being executed by the electronic device 1, and determines whether or not the last operation of the service executed by the service function is completed (whether or not the service is completed) (S1, completion detection step). The completion detection unit 21 continues monitoring (no at S1) until completion of the operation is detected.

When the completion detection unit 21 detects that the service has been completed (yes at S1), the completion notification unit 22 notifies the content of the completed service to one or more service functions included in the electronic device 1 (S2, completion notification step).

Next, as shown in fig. 3, the association determination unit 23 first determines whether or not there is a notification concerning the content of the completed service from the completion notification unit 22 (S11, association determination step). The association determination unit 23 continues the determination (no at S11) until the notification is given. When the notification is given from the completion notifying unit 22 (yes at S11), the association determining unit 23 determines whether or not there is a service function (whether or not the originating condition is satisfied) that can provide the service associated with the completed service content (S12).

If there is no service function that can provide the service related to the completed service content, the association determination unit 23 determines that there is no service to be provided continuously, and ends the process (no at S12). On the other hand, when there is a service function that can provide a service related to the completed service content, the association determination unit 23 determines that the speech condition of the electronic device 1 is satisfied (yes at S12).

Next, the voice output unit 24 sets voice data matching the associated service, and speaks the user using the voice data through the speaker 12 (S13, voice output step). Here, the voice output unit 24 may set the voice data matching the associated service by referring to a data table storing the voice data corresponding to each service content associated with the service function providing the service. The electronic device 1 may be equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) that generates appropriate voice data corresponding to a service to be provided, and the voice output unit 24 may set the generated voice data as voice data matching the associated service.

As described above, the series of processing of the control device 20 is completed, but the control device 20 may start the series of processing from step S1 again after the last operation of the service executed after step S13 is completed. Thereby, the electronic apparatus 1 can continuously provide services that are considered to be of interest to the user.

(example of service provided by electronic device 1)

An example of the service provided by the electronic device 1 will be described with reference to fig. 4 to 6. In the present embodiment, the service including the operation detected to be completed by the completion detection unit 21 and the service to be continuously executed after the completed operation are provided by different service functions.

For example, as shown in fig. 4, in a case where the user instructs the electronic apparatus 1 to dance, the electronic apparatus 1 performs a dance service function. The electronic apparatus 1 performs an action a of informing the user that dancing and dancing are to be completed by voice and performs a function of completing a dancing service. Here, the travel service function of the control device 20 determines that the service related to the dance service (action a) can be provided, and the travel advice service B that causes the electronic apparatus 1 to execute the travel service function. Thus, the user can get an opportunity to search for travel information associated with the hula dance.

As shown in fig. 5, when the eating service function is executed, the electronic device 1 performs an operation C of confirming whether the user has finished eating, and executes the eating service function after confirming that eating has been finished. Here, the health care service function of the control device 20 determines that the service related to the diet completion confirmation service (action C) can be provided, and causes the electronic apparatus 1 to execute the postprandial motion advice service D of the health care service function. This allows the user to get a chance to perform a moderate exercise after a meal.

As shown in fig. 6, when the weight management service function is executed, the electronic device 1 performs an action E of registering the weight of the user and executes the weight management service function. Here, the diet service function of the control device 20 determines that the service related to the weight registration service (action E) can be provided, and causes the electronic apparatus 1 to execute the diet menu registration service F. Thus, the user can get an opportunity to register the forgotten diet menu.

As described above, according to the electronic apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to continuously provide services in which the user is interested. This enables the user to obtain, for example, a chance to satisfy the potential interest, and to remind the forgotten task in a timely manner by the electronic device 1.

In addition, according to the configuration in which one service and a service that is continuously executed after completion of the service are provided by different service functions, the electronic apparatus 1 can provide a user with a variety of services. In addition, the electronic apparatus 1 can provide an opportunity for the user to effectively use a service function that the user does not know or is not well done.

[ embodiment 2]

Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

The electronic device 2 of the present embodiment is different from the electronic device 1 of embodiment 1 in that: the completion detection unit 21 detects the completed operation and provides the same service function as the service that is continuously executed after the completed operation.

When the completion detection unit 21 detects that the operation has been completed, the completion notification unit 22 performs a process (completion notification process) of notifying that the operation has been completed to at least one service function executable by the electronic device 2 together with the service content including the operation. In this case, the service function for receiving the notification may include a service function for providing a service including the completed operation.

The association determination unit 23 may determine whether or not the service function identical to the service function providing the service including the operation can continue to provide the service after the completion detection unit 21 detects that the operation has been completed. In addition, when there are a plurality of service functions that can provide services, the association determination unit 23 may select the same service function as the service function having the highest association with the completed operation from among the service functions.

With this configuration, the association determination unit 23 can select a service function that is most suitable for continuing the provision of the service, including a service function that provides a service including the completed operation. In addition, in the case where the service function that has provided the service completed once further provides the associated service, the two associated services can be seamlessly provided.

For example, as shown in fig. 7, when the food service function is executed, the electronic device 2 performs an action G1 of confirming whether the user has completed eating, and executes the food service function after confirming that eating has been completed. Here, the control device 20 determines that the service can be further provided by the diet service function, and causes the electronic device 2 to continue to execute the service G2 suggesting the next diet menu. Thus, the electronic device 2 can provide detailed services to the user from multiple angles by using the same service function.

[ software-based implementation example ]

The control block of the control device 20 (particularly, the completion detection unit 21, the completion notification unit 22, the association determination unit 23, and the voice output unit 24) may be implemented by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be implemented by software.

In the latter case, the control device 20 includes a computer that executes commands of a program, which is software for realizing the respective functions. The computer includes, for example, at least one processor (control device), and includes at least one computer-readable recording medium storing the program. Then, in the computer, the program is read from the recording medium and executed by the processor, thereby achieving the object of the present invention. The processor can use, for example, a CPU (Central processing Unit). The recording medium may be a non-transitory tangible medium such as a rom (read only memory), and may be a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a memory card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like. In addition, a ram (random Access memory) or the like for expanding the program may be included. The program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast, or the like) through which the program can be transmitted. Furthermore, an aspect of the present invention may be implemented by using a form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave implemented by electronic transmission.

[ conclusion ]

An electronic device according to mode 1 of the present invention is an electronic device including at least one voice output device, and at least one control device, wherein the control device performs completion detection processing for detecting whether or not a predetermined action has been completed, completion notification processing for notifying at least one service function executable by the electronic device that the action has been completed, association determination processing for determining whether or not there is the service function that can provide a service associated with the action, and voice output processing for outputting voice data matching the service from the voice output device when there is the service function that can provide the service.

According to the aspect 1, in the electronic device according to the aspect 2 of the present invention, the operation and the service may be provided by different service functions.

According to the aspect 1, in the electronic device according to the aspect 3 of the present invention, the operation and the service may be provided by the same service function.

A control device according to mode 4 of the present invention is a control device for controlling an electronic apparatus that includes at least one voice output device and is capable of executing at least one service function, the control device including: a completion detection unit that performs processing for detecting whether or not a predetermined operation has been completed; a completion notifying unit configured to perform a process of notifying at least one of the service functions that the operation has been completed; a correlation determination unit that performs a process of determining whether or not the service function that can provide the service related to the operation is available; and a voice output unit configured to perform processing for outputting voice data matching the service from the voice output device when the service function capable of providing the service is available.

A control method according to mode 5 of the present invention is a control method for controlling an electronic device that includes at least one voice output apparatus and can execute at least one service function, the control method including: a completion detection step of detecting whether or not a prescribed action has been completed; a completion notifying step of notifying at least one of the service functions that the action has been completed; an association determination step of determining whether or not there is the service function that can provide the service associated with the action; and outputting voice data matching the service from the voice output device when the service function capable of providing the service exists.

The control device according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer, and in this case, a control program for a control device in which the control device is realized by a computer by operating a computer as each unit (software element) included in the control device, and a computer-readable recording medium in which the control program is recorded also belong to the scope of the present invention.

[ notes of attachment ]

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Further, by combining the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments, new technical features can be formed.