IP Library Granted Patent US 11,151,997
Granted Patent B2
US 11,151,997 · App. 16/491,280 · Granted Oct 19, 2021

Dialog system, dialog method, dialog apparatus and program

Inventors: Hiroaki Sugiyama (Soraku-gun, JP); Hiromi Narimatsu (Soraku-gun, JP); Yuichiro Yoshikawa (Suita, JP); Takamasa Iio (Suita, JP); Tsunehiro Arimoto (Suita, JP); Hiroshi Ishiguro (Suita, JP)
Assignees: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION; OSAKA UNIVERSITY
G10L15/22G10L15/1815G10L15/30G10L2015/225G10L2015/227
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,151,997
App. No.
16/491,280
Granted
Oct 19, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dialog technique that can reduce a user's uncomfortable feeling. A dialog system 100 is a dialog system that conducts a dialog with the user, the dialog system including a presentation part 50 that presents an action to fill a gap between a user utterance and a response utterance of the dialog system, after it is estimated or determined that the user utterance has ended or after a predicted time at which the user utterance ends, and before the dialog system makes a response utterance to the user utterance.

Claims (20)

1. A dialog system that conducts a dialog with a user, the dialog system comprising:

a presentation part that presents an action to fill a gap between a user utterance and a response utterance of the dialog system after the user utterance is estimated or determined as having ended or after a predicted time at which the user utterance is predicted to end, and before the dialog system makes a response utterance to the user utterance,

wherein when an elapsed time after a voice of the user utterance disappears is longer than a first time threshold, the dialog system estimates an end of the user utterance and when the elapsed time after the voice of the user utterance disappears is longer than a second time threshold which is longer than the first time threshold, the dialog system determines an end of the user utterance.

2. A dialog system that conducts a dialog with a user, the dialog system comprising:

a presentation part that presents an action to fill a gap between a user utterance and a response utterance of the dialog system after the user utterance is estimated or determined as having ended or after a predicted time at which the user utterance is predicted to end, and before the dialog system makes a response utterance to the user utterance,

wherein the action to fill the gap includes an action to fill the gap performed by a first agent which is a certain agent and an action to fill the gap performed by a second agent which is different from the first agent.

3. A dialog method executed by a dialog system that conducts a dialog with a user, the method comprising:

a step in which a presentation part of the dialog system presents an action to fill a gap between a user utterance and a response utterance of the dialog system after the dialog system estimates or determines an end of the user utterance or after a predicted time at which the user utterance ends and before the dialog system performs a response utterance to the user utterance,

wherein when an elapsed time after a voice of the user utterance disappears is longer than a first time threshold, the dialog system estimates an end of the user utterance and when the elapsed time after the voice of the user utterance disappears is longer than a second time threshold which is longer than the first time threshold, the dialog method determines an end of the user utterance.

4. A dialog apparatus that decides an action to be presented by a dialog system comprising at least a presentation part that presents the action, the dialog apparatus comprising:

an action decision part that decides an action to fill a gap between a user utterance and a response utterance of the dialog system presented by the presentation part after the dialog system estimates or determines an end of the user utterance or after a predicted time at which the user utterance ends and before the dialog system performs a response utterance to the user utterance,

wherein when an elapsed time after a voice of the user utterance disappears is longer than a first time threshold, the dialog system estimates an end of the user utterance and when the elapsed time after the voice of the user utterance disappears is longer than a second time threshold which is longer than the first time threshold, the dialog apparatus determines an end of the user utterance.

5. A dialog method executed by a dialog system that conducts a dialog with a user, the method comprising:

a step in which a presentation part of the dialog system presents an action to fill a gap between a user utterance and a response utterance of the dialog system after the dialog system estimates or determines an end of the user utterance or after a predicted time at which the user utterance ends and before the dialog system performs a response utterance to the user utterance,

wherein the action to fill the gap includes an action to fill the gap performed by a first agent which is a certain agent and an action to fill the gap performed by a second agent which is different from the first agent.

6. A dialog apparatus that decides an action to be presented by a dialog system comprising at least a presentation part that presents the action, the dialog apparatus comprising:

an action decision part that decides an action to fill a gap between a user utterance and a response utterance of the dialog system presented by the presentation part after the dialog system estimates or determines an end of the user utterance or after a predicted time at which the user utterance ends and before the dialog system performs a response utterance to the user utterance,

wherein the action to fill the gap includes an action to fill the gap performed by a first agent which is a certain agent and an action to fill the gap performed by a second agent which is different from the first agent.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the dialog method according to claim 3 or 5 .

8. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing a computer to function as the dialog apparatus according to claim 4 or 6 .

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 5, 2019
From: SUGIYAMA, HIROAKI; NARIMATSU, HIROMI; YOSHIKAWA, YUICHIRO; IIO, TAKAMASA; ARIMOTO, TSUNEHIRO; ISHIGURO, HIROSHI
To: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION; OSAKA UNIVERSITY
Reel/Frame 050279/0592 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP JP2017-046362 · Mar 10, 2017 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20200027455A1 · Jan 23, 2020
Cited By (5)
US 12,327,573 US 12,347,448 US 12,417,766 US 12,688,845 US 12,696,045