assistance system of a vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to an assistance system (1) of a vehicle, comprising a voice dialogue unit (4) and a display unit (3), in which a voice input (5) of a vehicle user (2) is output by the voice dialogue unit (4). According to the invention, the display unit (3) displays the voice input (7) of the vehicle user (2) evaluated by the voice dialogue unit (4) for a specific display duration (Δt1). During the display duration (Δt1) of the evaluated voice input (7) of the vehicle user (2) on the display unit (3), the voice dialogue unit (4) outputs a voice output (6) in response to the voice input (5) of the vehicle user (2), the duration (Δt3) of which voice output can be predetermined as a function of the duration (Δt2) of the voice input (5) of the vehicle user (2).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an assistance system of a vehicle according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

[0002] Assistance systems are increasingly being used in vehicles to support or relieve the driver in certain driving situations or when performing certain vehicle functions. These assistance systems are often linked to a voice dialogue unit that can use voice input from a vehicle user to control the assistance systems.

[0003] In connection with such a vehicle assistance system with a voice dialogue unit, US 2020 / 0 286 479 A1 discloses a device in which several functional units, each with speech recognition, process a voice input made by a vehicle occupant in the form of a command. Furthermore, a selection unit is provided that selects one of the functional units to output a response to the voice input of the vehicle occupant.

[0004] From CN 1 11 108 550 A it is known to adapt the length of a speech output depending on the length of a speech input.

[0005] The invention is based on the object of specifying a generic assistance system for a vehicle in which a voice input from a vehicle user is processed in a simple manner with advantageous properties.

[0006] This object is achieved according to the invention by an assistance system of a vehicle having the features recited in patent claim 1.

[0007] Advantageous further developments of the assistance system of a vehicle according to the invention are part of the further patent claims.

[0008] In the inventive assistance system of a vehicle with a speech dialogue unit having a speech recognition unit, which in particular evaluates and / or outputs a voice input from a vehicle user (via speech recognition), a voice output is carried out by the speech dialogue unit during or after a voice input from a vehicle user with a specific temporal request length, with a dynamic adjustment of the temporal response length of the voice output. In particular, the temporal response length of the voice output is selected by the speech dialogue unit such that the voice input of the vehicle user displayed on a display unit of the assistance system and evaluated by the speech dialogue unit can be displayed for or during a specific display duration without the voice output ending beforehand.This allows, in particular, the text of the evaluated voice input of the vehicle user displayed on the display unit to be easily read by the vehicle user during the voice output by the voice dialogue unit and thus during the response time by the voice dialogue unit. The processes described here are to be understood in particular as meaning that the assistance system is configured to perform the corresponding steps, for example, through corresponding stored program instructions that, when executed by a processor circuit of the assistance system, cause the assistance system to perform the steps.

[0009] In a further development of the invention, the length of the speech output by the speech dialogue unit is specified as a function of the length of the speech input of the vehicle user.

[0010] Preferably, the length of the speech output by the speech dialogue unit is specified proportionally to the length of the speech input by the vehicle user. This means that the longer the speech input of the vehicle user is, and thus the more words the speech input of the vehicle user contains, the longer the speech output by the speech dialogue unit is, and the more words the speech output by the speech dialogue unit contains. This means that the longer the vehicle user's speech input, the longer the evaluated speech input of the vehicle user displayed on the display unit is displayed. The response length can therefore be set as a function of the duration of the speech input and / or as a function of the number of words in the text of the evaluated speech input.

[0011] In an advantageous development of the invention, the vehicle user's voice input evaluated by the voice dialogue unit is displayed on the display unit for a specific minimum display duration. This can be achieved by ensuring that the voice output by the voice dialogue unit, during which, in particular, the evaluated voice input of the vehicle user is also displayed on the display unit, has a number of output spoken words proportional to the number of input and thus spoken words. This means that the minimum display duration of the evaluated voice input of the vehicle user on the display unit can be ensured by the voice output by the voice dialogue unit being selected in a suitable ratio to the vehicle user's voice input.

[0012] Preferably, the response length of the speech output by the speech dialogue unit, and thus the response time, is adapted to the length of the vehicle user's speech input using a specific selection of configurable textual or linguistic additions. This means that the number of spoken words output by the speech dialogue unit can be adjusted, particularly by inserting phrases, fragments, jokes, and verbal mannerisms, and thus the length of the speech output by the speech dialogue unit can also be appropriately scaled.

[0013] As the evaluated voice input of the vehicle user, a first evaluated voice input of the vehicle user is generated virtually "live" or simultaneously by the voice dialogue unit as a preliminary evaluated voice input of the vehicle user and displayed on the vehicle's display unit. If necessary, a second evaluated voice input of the vehicle user is then generated after the vehicle user's voice input using a correction or improvement mechanism and displayed on the vehicle's display unit.

[0014] Preferably, before the evaluated speech input of the vehicle user is output, the speech dialogue unit performs speech recognition and speech interpretation of the speech input of the vehicle user.

[0015] The assistance system according to the invention is used in particular for controlling driving operations of the vehicle by a vehicle user and / or for controlling operating operations of the vehicle by a vehicle user.

[0016] Furthermore, a vehicle having at least one such assistance system is also claimed. This vehicle can be designed as a motor vehicle or motor vehicle, in particular as a passenger car, or as a truck or passenger bus.

[0017] In the presented assistance system, when a vehicle user makes a voice input, the acoustic and visual feedback to the vehicle user during an adjustable response time to the vehicle user's voice input allows the vehicle user to advantageously follow this feedback without restriction on the display device. Short voice inputs from the vehicle user are answered with short voice outputs; for long voice inputs from the vehicle user, a minimum display duration is ensured by selecting a correspondingly longer voice output. Since the voice output does not make multiple references to a voice input from the vehicle user and thus does not create a "parrot function," the performance of the assistance system as perceived by a vehicle user as a user of the assistance system is very high.In addition, the user behavior of a vehicle user as a user of the assistance system is also improved, since a vehicle user as a user learns when operating the assistance system that a short speech input with a limited number of words also results in a short speech output with a limited number of words and that the evaluated speech input shown on the display unit can be read without any problem.

[0018] The invention also encompasses combinations of the features of the described embodiments. The invention therefore also encompasses implementations that each have a combination of the features of several of the described embodiments, unless the embodiments are described as mutually exclusive.

[0019] An embodiment of the invention is described below. It shows: Fig. 1 shows, in a first exemplary embodiment, the temporal sequence of the interaction of the system components of the assistance system according to the invention. Fig. 2 shows, in a second exemplary embodiment, the temporal sequence of the interaction of the system components of the assistance system according to the invention.

[0020] The two exemplary embodiments explained below are preferred embodiments of the invention. In these two exemplary embodiments, the described components each represent individual features of the invention that can be considered independently of one another, each of which also develops the invention independently of one another. Therefore, the disclosure is intended to encompass combinations of the features of the embodiments other than those shown. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by further features of the invention already described.

[0021] In an assistance system 1 of a vehicle, the Fig. 1 shows an example of the time sequence for a relatively short voice input 5 of a vehicle user 2 and in the Fig. 2 shows an example of the time sequence for a somewhat longer voice input 5 of a vehicle user 2.

[0022] According to the Fig. 1 and the Fig. 2, the sequence of a voice-based operating process provided by the assistance system 1, for example, to control an entertainment function of the vehicle, is as follows: First, at time t1, vehicle user 2 issues a short voice command 10 to wake up assistance system 1 and put it into standby. For example, the voice utterance "Hello ID" can be used as command 10 of vehicle user 2 at time t1.

[0023] As a result, at time t2, the display unit 3 and in particular also the voice dialogue unit 4 of the assistance system 1 are also initialized, whereby this initialization 11 of the voice dialogue unit 4 of the assistance system 1 means that the voice dialogue unit 4 is ready to receive a voice utterance from the vehicle user 2.

[0024] This speech utterance of the vehicle user 2 then takes place at time t3 with a speech input 5 of the vehicle user 2 concerning the entertainment system of the vehicle. According to the Fig. 1, a relatively short voice input 5 is made by the vehicle user 2 during the time interval Δt2, for example by the six-word voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 “I would like the music to be louder”.

[0025] According to the Fig. 2, in this context, however, a relatively long speech input 5 is made by the vehicle user 2 during the time interval Δt2, for example by the speech input 5 consisting of nine words “make the fantastic music a little louder”.

[0026] At time t4, the speech dialogue unit 4 begins with the speech recognition 12 of the speech input 5 of the vehicle user 2. For this purpose, in particular a speech recognition unit of the speech dialogue unit 4 is used.

[0027] At time t5, a first evaluated voice input 8 is then output as a preliminary recognized voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 on the display unit 3 as evaluated voice input 7 while the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 is still being input and is thereby visually displayed to the vehicle user 2 on the display unit 3.

[0028] After completion of the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2, the voice dialogue unit 4 starts the voice interpretation 13 of the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 at time t6 and at the same time a second evaluated voice input 9 is output as the evaluated voice input 7 as a corrected or revised voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 on the display unit 3 and is thereby visually displayed to the vehicle user 2 on the display unit 3.

[0029] At time t7, a voice output 6 is then emitted by the voice dialogue unit 4 in response to the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 during the time interval Δt3. The length of the voice output 6 by the voice dialogue unit 4 and in particular the number of words in the voice output 6 by the voice dialogue unit 4 and thus also the length of the time interval Δt3 are predetermined proportionally to the length of the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 and in particular to the number of words in the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 and thus also to the length of the time interval Δt2. For example, the voice dialogue unit 4 acoustically outputs the four-word response "I turned it up" in response to the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2.During the speech output 6 by the speech dialogue unit 4, the second evaluated speech input 9 remains on the display unit 3 as the corrected or revised speech input 5 of the vehicle user 2 and is thereby visually displayed to the vehicle user 2 on the display unit 3 until the end of the speech output 6 by the speech dialogue unit 4.

[0030] Overall, the evaluated voice input 7 is thus optically output on the display unit 3 in the time interval Δt1 between time t5 and time t8 and is thereby also visually displayed to the vehicle user 2. By dynamically adjusting the response length of the voice output 6 by the voice dialogue unit 4 during the time interval Δt3 in response to the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 and thus also by dynamically adjusting the response time of the voice dialogue unit 4 during the time interval Δt3, a certain minimum display duration of the evaluated voice input 7 on the display unit 3 is also guaranteed. As a result, the vehicle user 2 can easily read or follow the evaluated voice input 7 displayed in full on the display unit 3 during the time interval Δt1.

[0031] For the Fig.1, this will be explained using a numerical example: The evaluated voice input 7 optically output on the display unit 3 in the time interval Δt1 between time t5 and time t8 is thus displayed on the display unit 3 during the duration of the first evaluated voice input 8 and the duration of the voice interpretation 13 of the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 and the duration of the voice output 6 by the voice dialogue unit 4. In this case, the duration of the first evaluated voice input 8 between times t5 and t6 is, for example, approximately 3 s, the duration of the voice interpretation 13 of the voice input 5 of the vehicle user 2 between times t6 and t7 is, for example, approximately 1.5 s, and the duration Δt3 of the voice output 6 by the voice dialogue unit 4 between times t7 and t8 is approximately 2.5 s.Overall, the sum of the three aforementioned time periods results in a total time of approximately 7 s for the evaluated voice input 7 visually output on the display unit 3 in the time interval Δt1 between time t5 and time t8. For the reading of words by a vehicle user 2 while checking the road, an average value of approximately 0.8 s per word to be read is usually estimated. Thus, the total reading time for the evaluated voice input 7 visually output on the display unit 3 by a vehicle user 2 while checking the road is approximately 4.8 s for the six displayed words.Since the evaluated voice input 7 displayed in full on the display unit 3 is displayed for 7 s in the time interval Δt1, but the vehicle user 2 can grasp this displayed evaluated voice input 7 in less than 5 s, it is ensured that the vehicle user 2 can also easily read the evaluated voice input 7 displayed in full on the display unit 3.

[0032] Overall, the two exemplary embodiments cited illustrate how a vehicle assistance system 1 can be provided and applied to operating and / or control processes occurring in the vehicle. Of course, other configurations for bidirectional communication between the vehicle user and the vehicle assistance system 1 can also be used. List of reference symbols 1 assistance system 2 vehicle users 3 Display unit 4 Speech dialogue unit 5 Voice input 6 Voice output 7 evaluated speech input 8 first evaluated speech input 9 second evaluated voice input 10 Command 11 Initialization 12 Speech recognition 13 Language interpretation Δt1 Display duration of the evaluated speech input Δt2 temporal length of the speech input Δt3 temporal length of the speech output

Claims

[1] Assistance system (1) for a vehicle, comprising a voice dialogue unit (4) and a display unit (3), characterized by , that the display unit (3) displays a voice input (7) of a vehicle user (2) evaluated by the voice dialogue unit (4) during a specific display period (Δt1), and during the display duration (Δt1) of the evaluated voice input (7) of the vehicle user (2) on the display unit (3), the voice dialogue unit (4) outputs a voice output (6) in response to the voice input (5) of the vehicle user (2), the length (Δt3) of which can be predetermined as a function of the length (Δt2) of the voice input (5) of the vehicle user (2) and / or a number of words recognized in the evaluated voice input (7). [2] Assistance system (1) according to claim 1, characterized bythat during the display duration (Δt1) of the evaluated voice input (7) of the vehicle user (2) on the display unit (3), the voice dialogue unit (4) outputs a voice output (6) in response to the voice input (5) of the vehicle user (2), the temporal length (Δt3) of which can be predetermined in proportion to the temporal length (Δt2) of the voice input (5) of the vehicle user (2). [3] Assistance system (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the speech dialogue unit (4) outputs a speech output (6) in response to the speech input (5) of the vehicle user (2) with a number of output words proportional to the number of words entered in the speech input (5) of the vehicle user (2) such that the display unit (3) of the vehicle displays the speech input (7) of the vehicle user (2) evaluated by the speech dialogue unit (4) for a certain minimum display duration. [4] Assistance system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that the speech dialogue unit (4) outputs an acoustic speech output (6) in response to the speech input (5) of the vehicle user (2) with a time length (Δt3) that can be adjusted by parameterizable additions to the spoken words output. [5] Assistance system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that the display unit (3) of the vehicle displays a first evaluated voice input (8) of the vehicle user (2) generated by the voice dialogue unit (4) during the voice input (5) of the vehicle user (2). [6] Assistance system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by that the display unit (3) of the vehicle, after the first evaluated voice input (8) of the vehicle user (2), then displays a second evaluated voice input (9) of the vehicle user (2) generated after the voice input (5) of the vehicle user (2). [7] Assistance system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by that the speech dialogue unit (4) carries out a speech recognition (12) and a speech interpretation (13) of the speech input (5) of the vehicle user (2) before the speech output (6) of the evaluated speech input (7) of the vehicle user (2). [8] Assistance system (1) of a vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 7 for controlling driving operations of the vehicle and / or for controlling operating operations of the vehicle. [9] Vehicle with an assistance system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8.

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