Communication support method and program

Abstract

To allow for appropriate communication in online communication.SOLUTION: A communication support method executed by a communication support apparatus includes: a speech analysis step of analyzing the contents of speeches of a plurality of speakers; a vague term detection step of detecting a first phrase including a vague word, from a result analyzed by the speech analysis step; a clear term detection step of detecting a second phrase that clarifies the first phrase, from the result analyzed by the speech analysis step; a determination step of determining, based on the detected result of second phrase, whether the first phrase requires clarifying information for a conversation partner other than the speaker who spoke the first phrase; and a notification control step of providing a notification for the phrase determined in the determination step to require clarifying information for the conversation partner.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication support method and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Various online communications such as web conferences are conducted, and communication using images such as shared documents is also common. In online communication, the conversation may end or may be considered to have been agreed upon while the contents to be conveyed to the other party are unclear. A technology has been disclosed that estimates unclear words from an utterance and outputs the correct answer word by analogy (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-145842 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, in business negotiations, meetings, and other communications, there is information about deadlines, quantities, judgments, and other information for which the correct answer cannot be inferred, and information that fluctuates during the communication. There is room for improvement in ensuring appropriate communication in online communications.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a communication support method and program that enables appropriate communication in online communication. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the communication support method of the present disclosure includes a speech analysis step of analyzing the content of each utterance by a plurality of speakers, an ambiguous word detection step of detecting a first term including an ambiguous word from the analysis result of the speech analysis step, a clear word detection step of detecting a second term that clarifies the first term from the analysis result of the speech analysis step, a judgment step of judging, based on the detection result of the second term, whether the first term is a term that requires clarification of information to a speaking partner other than the speaker of the first term, and a notification control step of notifying the speaking partner of the term that is judged in the judgment step to be a term that requires clarification of information to the speaking partner, which are executed by a communication support device.

[0007] The program of the present disclosure is executed by a computer, and includes a speech analysis step of analyzing the content of each utterance by a plurality of speakers; an ambiguous word detection step of detecting a first term including an ambiguous word from the analysis results of the speech analysis step; a clear word detection step of detecting a second term that clarifies the first term from the analysis results of the speech analysis step; a judgment step of determining, based on the detection result of the second term, whether the first term is a term that requires clarification of information to a speaking partner other than the speaker of the first term; and a notification control step of notifying a speaking partner of a term that is determined in the judgment step to be a term that requires clarification of information to the speaking partner. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, appropriate communication can be carried out in online communication. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an information terminal according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a server device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of the configuration of a communication support device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the communication support method according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a communication support method according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a communication support method and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0011] [First embodiment] (Information Processing System) An example of the configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment.

[0012] The information processing system 1 includes a plurality of information terminal devices 10 and a server device 30. The information processing system 1 is used in communication such as online business talks, negotiations, and meetings in which a plurality of participants participate.

[0013] (Information terminal) An example of the configuration of an information terminal according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information terminal according to the first embodiment. Each information terminal device 10 performs speech communication with another information terminal device 10 via a server device 30 by starting an application for online communication that realizes a web conference or voice call. The information terminal device 10 is, for example, an information terminal such as a desktop or notebook personal computer, a smartphone, or a tablet device used for online communication.

[0014] The information terminal device 10 includes a camera 11 , a microphone 12 , an operation unit 13 , a communication unit 18 , a display unit 19 , and a terminal control device 20 .

[0015] The camera 11 photographs the participants facing the information terminal device 10. The camera 11 photographs the participants using the information terminal device 10. The camera 11 is, for example, an in-camera provided on the display unit 19 side. The camera 11 may be an external camera connected to the information terminal device 10. The camera 11 outputs the photographed image to the photographing control unit 21 of the terminal control device 20.

[0016] The microphone 12 picks up the voice spoken by the participant using the information terminal device 10. The microphone 12 is, for example, a built-in microphone arranged in the information terminal device 10. The microphone 12 may be an external microphone connected to the information terminal device 10. The microphone 12 outputs audio information related to the picked-up voice to the voice acquisition unit 23 of the terminal control device 20.

[0017] The operation unit 13 is an input device capable of inputting various operations to the information terminal device 10. The operation unit 13 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the received input operation to the terminal control device 20. The operation unit 13 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel arranged over the display unit 19, buttons, switches, etc. The operation unit 13 can accept, for example, a key input operation, a click operation, or a touch operation.

[0018] The communication unit 18 is a communication unit for performing wired communication or wireless communication. The communication unit 18 performs communication by a communication method using, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or a mobile phone line, and is connected to an intranet or the Internet. The communication of the communication unit 18 is controlled by the communication control unit 22 of the terminal control device 20. The communication unit 18 performs communication with the server device 30. More specifically, the communication unit 18 transmits the voice of the participant picked up by the microphone 12, and the video and audio of the participant captured by the camera 11 to the server device 30. The communication unit 18 receives the video of the shared screen material and the video and audio of the other participants from the server device 30.

[0019] The display unit 19 displays various types of video including characters and images. The display unit 19 is, for example, a display including a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence), etc. The display unit 19 displays the video of the participant and other participants, and shared materials on the screen.

[0020] (Terminal Control Device) The terminal control device 20 controls each part of the information terminal device 10. The terminal control device 20 has, for example, a communication support device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and a storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory). The terminal control device 20 executes a program that controls the operation of the information terminal device 10 according to the present disclosure. The terminal control device 20 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The terminal control device 20 loads a stored program into a memory and executes instructions included in the program. The terminal control device 20 includes an internal memory such as the above-mentioned RAM, and the internal memory is used for temporary storage of data in the terminal control device 20. The terminal control device 20 may be realized by a combination of hardware and software.

[0021] The terminal control device 20 has functional blocks realized by hardware or an executed program, including a shooting control unit 21, a communication control unit 22, an audio acquisition unit 23, a display control unit 24, an operation control unit 25, an application control unit 26, and a memory unit 29.

[0022] The photographing control unit 21 controls the camera 11 to shoot an image. The photographing control unit 21 acquires image data of the image shot by the camera 11. Specifically, the photographing control unit 21 acquires image data of the participants using the information terminal device 10, which is shot by the camera 11. The image data acquired by shooting with the camera 11 is video data of a moving image.

[0023] The communication control unit 22 controls the communication unit 18 to execute communication between the information terminal device 10 and an external device. Specifically, the communication control unit 22 controls, for example, the communication unit 18 to control communication between the information terminal device 10 and the server device 30. The communication control unit 22 controls, for example, the communication unit 18 to transmit and receive information related to communication with other information terminal devices 10 to and from the server device 30. More specifically, the communication control unit 22 controls the communication unit 18 to transmit to the server device 30 the voice of the participant picked up by the microphone 12 and the video and audio of the participant captured by the camera 11. The communication control unit 22 controls the communication unit 18 to receive from the server device 30 the video of the shared screen material and the video and audio of the other participants.

[0024] The voice acquiring unit 23 acquires voice information related to the voice detected by the microphone 12. The voice acquiring unit 23 acquires voice information related to the speech of the participant using the information terminal device 10.

[0025] The display control unit 24 controls the display of video on the display unit 19. For example, the display control unit 24 controls the display unit 19 to display information resulting from the execution of a communication application (hereinafter, a communication screen). The communication screen may be generated by the display control unit 24 and displayed on the display unit 19 by the display control unit 24. The communication screen may be received as video data from the server device 30 and displayed on the display unit 19 by the display control unit 24.

[0026] The operation control unit 25 acquires an operation signal corresponding to an operation on the operation unit 13 from the operation unit 13. The operation control unit 25 outputs a control signal corresponding to the acquired operation signal to each unit.

[0027] The application control unit 26 controls the operation of various applications that run on the information terminal device 10. The application control unit 28 controls the operation of applications used for online communication, for example. The application control unit 28 may operate the applications used for online communication in the server device 30 by an application control unit 42, which will be described later. The application control unit 28 may operate the applications used for online communication in a distributed manner by making the information terminal device 10 and the server device 30 cooperate with each other. In other words, the application control unit 28 may be a functional block realized only in the information terminal device 10, a functional block realized only in the server device 30, or a functional block realized by the cooperation of the information terminal device 10 and the server device 30.

[0028] The storage unit 29 stores information such as the contents of calculations and programs of the terminal control device 20. The storage unit 29 is composed of, for example, a RAM, a main storage device such as a ROM, and a storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0029] (Server device) A configuration example of the server device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the server device according to the first embodiment. The server device 30 is, for example, a server of a company that provides an application used for online communication. The server device 30 includes a communication unit 31 and a server control device 40.

[0030] The communication unit 31 is a communication unit for performing wired communication or wireless communication. The communication unit 31 performs communication by a communication method using, for example, Wi-Fi or a mobile phone line, and is connected to an intranet or the Internet. The communication of the communication unit 31 is controlled by a communication control unit 41 of the server control device 40. The communication unit 31 performs communication with the information terminal device 10. More specifically, the communication unit 31 receives the voice of the participant from the information terminal device 10, and the video and audio of the participant captured by the camera 11. The communication unit 18 transmits the video of the shared screen material, and the video and audio of the other participants to the information terminal device 10.

[0031] (Server control device) The server control device 40 controls each part of the server device 30. The server control device 40 has, for example, a communication support device such as a CPU or an MPU, and a storage device such as a RAM or a ROM. The server control device 40 may be realized by, for example, an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. The server control device 40 may be realized by a combination of hardware and software. The server control device 40 executes a program that controls the operation of the server device 30 according to the present disclosure.

[0032] The server control device 40 includes a communication control unit 41, an application control unit 42, and a storage unit 49 as functional blocks realized by circuits or programs to be executed.

[0033] The communication control unit 41 controls the communication unit 31 to execute communication between the server device 30 and the information terminal device 10. Specifically, the communication control unit 41 controls, for example, the communication unit 31 to control communication between the server device 30 and the information terminal device 10. The communication control unit 41 controls, for example, the communication unit 31 to receive the voice of the participants from the information terminal device 10, and the video and audio of the participants captured by the camera 11. The communication control unit 41 controls, for example, the communication unit 31 to transmit the video of the shared screen material and the video and audio of the participants to the information terminal device 10.

[0034] The application control unit 42 controls the operation of various applications that run on the server device 30. The application control unit 42 controls the operation of applications used for online communication, for example.

[0035] The storage unit 49 stores information such as the contents of calculations of the application control unit 42 and the communication control unit 41, and programs. The storage unit 49 is composed of, for example, a RAM, a main storage device such as a ROM, and a storage device such as an SSD or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

[0036] (Communication support device) An example of the configuration of the communication support device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a block diagram conceptually showing an example of the configuration of the communication support device according to the first embodiment.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 4, the communication support device 80 includes an utterance analysis unit 81, an ambiguous word detection unit 82, a clear word detection unit 83, a judgment unit 84, and a notification control unit 85. The communication support device 80 is a conceptual device that is realized by the cooperation of one or both of the terminal control devices 20 in a plurality of information terminal devices 10 connected to the server control device 40 and the server device 30 and used for online communication. Therefore, either the information terminal device 10 or the server device 30 may be referred to as the communication support device 80, and the information processing system 1 consisting of the information terminal device 10 and the server device 30 may be referred to as the communication support device 80. Each unit of the communication support device 80 is realized by one or both of the terminal control devices 20 and the server control device 40.

[0038] The speech analysis unit 81 analyzes the content of each of the utterances by multiple speakers. The speech analysis unit 81 performs context analysis using NLP (Natural Language Processing). The speech analysis method by the speech analysis unit 81 can be a known method and is not limited. The analysis result by the speech analysis unit 81 is stored in a storage unit (not shown) until the online communication is terminated.

[0039] The ambiguous word detection unit 82 detects a first term including an ambiguous word from the analysis result by the speech analysis unit 81. The ambiguous word detection unit 82 detects, for example, a sentence including an ambiguous word as the first term. The ambiguous word and the first term detected by the ambiguous word detection unit 82 are stored in a storage unit (not shown) until the online communication is terminated.

[0040] Ambiguous words are words whose meaning is unclear to the speaker or words that have multiple meanings. Ambiguous words are words whose understanding cannot be shared between the speaker and the speaker. Ambiguous words are, for example, words whose correct answer cannot be inferred regarding time such as a deadline, quantity, judgment, etc., words whose meaning is unclear due to omissions, words whose subject is unclear due to abstract expressions, or words whose meaning fluctuates during communication.

[0041] Examples of vague words are: much, very, a lot, very, very, more, considerably, extremely, much, very much, immediately, sometimes, occasionally, by chance, so-so, so-so, expensive, cheap, fast, slow, long, short, wide, narrow, etc.

[0042] Vague words are demonstrative words that are similar to the verb. Examples of vague words are this, that, that, which, this, that, which, etc.

[0043] In the following examples, the words in quotation marks are ambiguous words. For example, ambiguous words with ambiguous time are "I will respond 'early,'" "Around Thursday," and "Around one week." For example, ambiguous words with ambiguous quantity are "Please give me 'a little' or 'a little more.'" For example, words whose meaning is unclear due to omission are abbreviations of names that are not understood by anyone other than the speaker. For example, words whose object is unclear due to abstract expression are "I will purchase 'that.'" For example, words whose object is unclear due to abstract expression are "Please make it a 'gentle' color." For example, ambiguous words whose judgment is ambiguous are "It's fine," which is unclear whether it is positive or negative. An ambiguous word that changes during communication is when something that was originally "Wednesday" in a conversation changes to "Thursday" midway through the conversation.

[0044] The above-mentioned ambiguous words are stored as ambiguous word dictionary data in an ambiguous word dictionary (not shown).

[0045] The ambiguous word detection unit 82 detects, from the analysis result by the utterance analysis unit 81, a first phrase including an ambiguous word included in the ambiguous word dictionary data.

[0046] The content (type) of an ambiguous word can be specified by a specific word detected within several words before and after the ambiguous word. Examples of specific words include "deadline," "deadline," "delivery date," "date," "schedule," "answer," "submission," "send," and "purchase." Such specific words are stored as specific word dictionary data in a specific word dictionary (not shown).

[0047] When the ambiguous word is detected, the specific word is also detected and stored in the memory unit together with the ambiguous word and the first term.

[0048] For example, when the ambiguous word detection unit 82 detects specific words such as "deadline," "deadline," "delivery date," "date," "schedule," "answer," "submission," or "send" within a few words before or after the ambiguous word "early," it determines that the content of the ambiguous word indicates time.

[0049] The disambiguating word detection unit 83 detects a second word that clarifies the first word from the analysis result of the speech analysis unit 81. The disambiguating word detection unit 83 detects a second word that includes an expression that clarifies the first word, for example, from the content of the speech up until the first word is extracted, based on the analysis result of the speech analysis unit 81. The second word detected by the disambiguating word detection unit 83 is stored in a storage unit (not shown) in association with the first word until the online communication is terminated.

[0050] A description will be given of an example of a method for detecting a definite word by the definite word detection unit 83. When no ambiguous word is detected within several words before or after a word that is the same as or similar to a specific word included in a first phrase, and an expression that clarifies the first phrase is detected, the definite word detection unit 83 detects it as the second phrase.

[0051] For example, let us consider a case where the first phrase is "around Thursday" and the specific word is "deadline." If an utterance "The deadline is XX month XX day" is detected, no ambiguous word similar to "deadline" is detected within a few words before or after the word "deadline," and a date and time that clarifies the first phrase is detected, so "XX month XX day" is detected as the second phrase that clarifies the first phrase.

[0052] For example, if the first phrase is "We will respond 'as soon as possible'" and the specific word is "response," if an utterance "We will respond by a certain date," which clarifies the deadline, is detected, "a certain date" is detected as the second phrase that clarifies the first phrase.

[0053] For example, if the first phrase is "one week before or after" and the specific word is "submit," if an utterance "I will submit it in one week" is detected, clarifying the deadline, "one week later" is detected as the second phrase that clarifies the first phrase.

[0054] For example, if the first phrase is "Please give me a little or a lot," and the specific word is "purchase," if an utterance "I would like to purchase xx units," which clarifies the quantity, is detected, "xx units" is detected as the second phrase that clarifies the first phrase.

[0055] For example, if the first phrase is "I will purchase 'that'" and the specific word is "purchase," if an utterance "I will purchase the first product" that clarifies the object is detected, "the first product" is detected as the second phrase that clarifies the first phrase.

[0056] For example, if the first phrase is "Please make it a 'gentle' color," and the specific word is "color," if an utterance "Please make it x color," which clarifies the color, is detected, "x color" is detected as the second phrase that clarifies the first phrase.

[0057] Another example of a method for detecting a definite word by the definite word detection unit 83 will be described. When the first phrase is a response to a question, if no ambiguous word is detected within several words before and after a question that is the same as or similar to the question related to the first phrase and an expression that clarifies the first phrase is detected, the definite word detection unit 83 detects it as the second phrase.

[0058] For example, if the first phrase is "That's fine," and the question "What do you think about the first product?" is detected immediately before the first phrase, a response that clarifies whether it is an affirmative or negative answer, such as "That's fine" or "No thanks," is detected as the second phrase that clarifies the first phrase.

[0059] The determination unit 84 determines whether the first phrase is a phrase that requires clarification of information to a speaking partner other than the speaker of the first phrase, based on the detection result of the second phrase by the clear word detection unit 83. In this embodiment, when the second phrase is not detected during speech, the determination unit 84 determines that the first phrase is a phrase that requires clarification of information to a speaking partner. When the second phrase is detected during speech, the determination unit 84 does not determine that the first phrase is a phrase that requires clarification of information to a speaking partner.

[0060] The notification control unit 85 notifies the other party of a word that is determined by the determination unit 84 as a word that requires clarification of information. The notification control unit 85 notifies the other party of a word that is determined as a word that requires clarification of information, encouraging the other party to rephrase it in clearer words.

[0061] In this embodiment, the notification control unit 85 performs notification by displaying at least the ambiguous word on a display device used by the speaker who uttered the ambiguous word. The notification control unit 85 displays the notification on the display unit 19 of the information terminal device 10 used by the speaker who uttered the ambiguous word. The notification control unit 85 does not need to display the notification on the display unit 19 of the information terminal device 10 used by a person other than the speaker who uttered the ambiguous word.

[0062] For example, if the first phrase is "We will respond 'as soon as possible'" and the judgment unit 84 determines that this phrase requires clarification of information to the person being spoken to, the notification control unit 85 notifies the person by displaying a message such as "When exactly will that be?" to clarify the deadline.

[0063] For example, if the first phrase is "Around Thursday," and the judgment unit 84 determines that this phrase requires clarification of the information to the person being spoken to, the notification control unit 85 notifies the person by displaying a message such as "It's Thursday," to clarify the deadline.

[0064] For example, if the first phrase is "'Around' one week," and the judgment unit 84 determines that this is a phrase that requires clarification of the information to the person being spoken to, the notification control unit 85 notifies the person by displaying a message such as "Is it one week?" to clarify the deadline.

[0065] For example, if the first phrase is "A little bit or a lot, please," and the judgment unit 84 determines that this phrase requires clarification of the information to the person being spoken to, the notification control unit 85 will notify the person to clarify the quantity, such as "How much more do you want?"

[0066] For example, if the first phrase is "Please make it a 'gentle' color," and the judgment unit 84 determines that this is a phrase that requires clarification of the information to the person being spoken to, the notification control unit 85 notifies the person by displaying a message such as "What color is it?" to clarify the color.

[0067] For example, if the first phrase is "That's fine," and the judgment unit 84 determines that this is a phrase that requires clarification of the information to the person being spoken to, the notification control unit 85 notifies the person by displaying a message such as "Are you sure?" to clarify whether the first phrase is positive or negative.

[0068] (Communication support methods) The communication support method according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the communication support method according to the first embodiment. The process shown in Fig. 5 is started when online communication is started. When online communication is started, the communication support device 80 starts displaying an online communication screen on each information terminal device 10 by the display control unit 82.

[0069] The communication support device 80 starts speech analysis (step S101). More specifically, the communication support device 80 performs context analysis on the speech of each speaker using, for example, NLP by the speech analysis unit 81. The communication support device 80 proceeds to step S102.

[0070] The communication support device 80 determines whether or not the first term has been detected (step S102). More specifically, the communication support device 80 determines whether or not the ambiguous word detection unit 82 has detected a first term including an ambiguous word from the analysis result by the utterance analysis unit 81. If the communication support device 80 determines that the first term has been detected (Yes in step S102), it proceeds to step S103. If the communication support device 80 does not determine that the first term has been detected (No in step S102), it proceeds to step S105.

[0071] When it is determined that the first term has been detected (Yes in step S102), the communication support device 80 detects whether or not the second term being spoken has been detected (step S103). More specifically, the communication support device 80 detects, by the clear word detection unit 83, a second term including an expression that clarifies the first term, for example, from the contents of the utterance until the first term is extracted, based on the analysis result of the utterance analysis unit 81. When the communication support device 80 determines that the second term being spoken has been detected by the judgment unit 84 (Yes in step S103), the communication support device 80 proceeds to step S105. When the communication support device 80 does not determine that the second term being spoken has been detected by the judgment unit 84 (No in step S103), the communication support device 80 proceeds to step S104.

[0072] When it is not determined that the second word being spoken has been detected (No in step S103), the communication support device 80 issues a notification (step S104). More specifically, the communication support device 80 issues a notification by causing the notification control unit 85 to display at least the ambiguous word on a display device used by the speaker who spoke the ambiguous word. The communication support device 80 proceeds to step S105.

[0073] The communication support device 80 determines whether or not to end this process (step S105). More specifically, the communication support device 80 determines to end this process when, for example, online communication has ended. If it is determined to end (Yes in step S105), the communication support device 80 ends the process of this flowchart. If it is not determined to end (No in step S105), the communication support device 80 executes the process of step S102 again.

[0074] In this way, if a second phrase that clarifies the first phrase containing an ambiguous word is not detected, a notification is displayed to the speaker of the first phrase, urging them to rephrase it with a clearer phrase. Based on the notification content, the speaker of the first phrase can realize that it is necessary to rephrase the ambiguous word with a clearer expression to the speaking partner. Specifically, if the first phrase is "I will reply 'as soon as possible'", a message such as "When exactly?" is displayed on the display unit 19 of the information terminal device 10 used by the speaker of the first phrase to notify the speaker of the deadline so as to clarify the time. The speaker of the first phrase can rephrase it to clarify the time, such as "I will reply by XX month XX day".

[0075] (effect) As described above, in this embodiment, for a first phrase including an ambiguous word, a notification is given for a phrase that is determined to be a phrase that requires clarification of information to the speaking partner based on the detection result of a second phrase that clarifies the first phrase. In this way, this embodiment can provide the speaker of the first phrase with an opportunity to rephrase it in a clearer expression. According to this embodiment, for example, in communication such as business talks, negotiations, and meetings, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of differences in understanding between participants due to ambiguous words. According to this embodiment, it is possible to allow appropriate communication to be carried out.

[0076] In this embodiment, when a second phrase is not detected during speech for a first phrase, it is determined that the phrase is one that requires clarification of information for the speaking partner. In this embodiment, it is possible to provide an opportunity for a speaker of a first phrase whose meaning is unclear in a conversation to rephrase it in a clearer expression.

[0077] In this embodiment, the notification is given by displaying the ambiguous word on a display device used by the speaker who uttered the first phrase. In this embodiment, the notification can be given appropriately to the speaker who uttered the first phrase.

[0078] [Second embodiment] A communication support method according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the communication support method according to the second embodiment. In the following description, components similar to those in the information processing system 1 are given the same or corresponding reference symbols, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The configuration of the information processing system 1 according to the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in the processing of the determination unit 84.

[0079] When the second term is detected for the first term within a predetermined period from the time the first term was detected, the determination unit 84 determines that the first term is a term that requires clarification of information to the speaking partner. In this case, the time interval between the detection of the first term and the second term is long, making it unclear that the first term and the second term are related. When the second term is detected for the first term within a predetermined period from the time the first term was detected, the determination unit 84 does not determine that the first term is a term that requires clarification of information to the speaking partner. In this case, the time interval between the detection of the first term and the second term is short, making it clear that the first term and the second term are related.

[0080] The predetermined period is, for example, about 5 to 10 minutes.

[0081] The question reception process will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The processes in steps S111 to S113, S115, and S116 in the flowchart shown in Fig. 6 are similar to those in steps S101 to S103, S104, and S105 in the flowchart shown in Fig. 5.

[0082] When it is determined that the second word being spoken has been detected (Yes in step S113), the communication support device 80 detects whether or not the detection of the second word occurred a predetermined period of time ago (step S114). When the communication support device 80 determines by the judgment unit 84 that the detection of the second word occurred a predetermined period of time ago (Yes in step S114), the communication support device 80 proceeds to step S115. When the communication support device 80 does not determine by the judgment unit 84 that the detection of the second word occurred a predetermined period of time ago (No in step S114), the communication support device 80 proceeds to step S116.

[0083] For example, if the determination unit 84 detects the first phrase "I will purchase 'that'" and detects no utterance of the word indicated by "that" in the conversation up to 10 minutes prior, but detects an utterance indicating that a "first product" and a "second product" are to be purchased in a conversation more than 10 minutes prior, the determination unit 84 determines that the phrase is one that requires clarification of the information to the person speaking. In this case, the notification control unit 85 notifies the person by displaying a message such as "Does 'that' mean the "first product" or the "second product"?" to clarify the purchase item.

[0084] For example, if an utterance indicating that a "first product" and a "second product" are to be purchased has been detected in a conversation up to 10 minutes prior to the detection of the first phrase "I will purchase 'that'", the judgment unit 84 will not determine that the phrase requires clarification of the information to the person being spoken to.

[0085] (effect) As described above, in this embodiment, when the second phrase is detected for a first phrase before a predetermined period from the time when the first phrase is detected, the first phrase is determined to be a phrase that requires clarification of information to the speaking partner. According to this embodiment, when it is unclear that the first phrase and the second phrase are related to each other, it is possible to provide the speaker of the first phrase with an opportunity to rephrase the first phrase in a clearer expression.

[0086] The above-described embodiment can also be implemented as a communication support device as described below.

[0087] (Additional Note) A speech analysis unit that analyzes the contents of each of the speeches by a plurality of speakers; an ambiguous word detection unit that detects a first phrase including an ambiguous word from an analysis result by the speech analysis unit; a clarifying word detection unit that detects a second word that clarifies the first word from an analysis result by the speech analysis unit; a determination unit that determines whether the first phrase is a phrase that requires clarification of information to a speaking partner based on a detection result of the second phrase; a notification control unit that notifies a conversation partner of a phrase that the determination unit determines to be a phrase that requires clarification of information; A communication support device comprising:

[0088] Each component of the illustrated information processing system is a functional concept, and does not necessarily have to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or part of the device may be functionally or physically distributed or integrated in any unit depending on the processing load and usage status of each device.

[0089] The configuration of each device in the information processing system is realized, for example, as software, by a program loaded into a memory. In the above embodiment, these functional blocks are described as being realized by the cooperation of these hardware and software. In other words, these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by only hardware, only software, or a combination of both.

[0090] The components described above include those that a person skilled in the art can easily imagine and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the configurations described above can be appropriately combined. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the configurations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 1. Information Processing Systems 10 Information terminal equipment 11 Camera 12 Microphones 13 Control section 18 Communications Department 19 Display section 20 Terminal control device 21 Shooting control section 22 Communication control section 23 Voice Acquisition Unit 24 Display control section 25 Operation control section 26 Application control section 29 Memory section 30 Server device 31 Communications Department 40 Server control device 41 Communication control section 42 Application control section 49 Memory section 80 Communication support devices 81 Speech Analysis Department 82 Ambiguous Word Detection Unit 83 Distinct Word Detection Unit 84 Judgment Department 85 Notification control section

Claims

1. A speech analysis step of analyzing the contents of each of the speeches by a plurality of speakers; an ambiguous word detection step of detecting a first phrase including an ambiguous word from an analysis result of the speech analysis step; a clarifying word detection step of detecting a second word that clarifies the first word from an analysis result of the speech analysis step; a determination step of determining whether the first phrase is a phrase that requires clarification of information to a speaking party other than the speaker of the first phrase, based on a detection result of the second phrase; a notification control step of notifying a speech partner of a sentence that is determined in the determination step to be a sentence requiring clarification of information; The communication support method is executed by a communication support device.

2. In the determination step, when the second phrase is not detected during speech, the first phrase is determined to be a phrase that requires clarification of information to a speaking partner. The communication support method according to claim 1 .

3. In the determination step, when the second wording is detected before a predetermined period from the time point when the first wording is detected, the first wording is determined to be a word that requires clarification of information to a speaking partner. The communication support method according to claim 1 .

4. In the notification control step, the ambiguous word is displayed on a display device used by a speaker who has spoken the ambiguous word, thereby performing notification. The communication support method according to claim 1 .

5. A speech analysis step of analyzing the contents of each of the speeches by a plurality of speakers; an ambiguous word detection step of detecting a first phrase including an ambiguous word from an analysis result of the speech analysis step; a clarifying word detection step of detecting a second word that clarifies the first word from an analysis result of the speech analysis step; a determination step of determining whether the first phrase is a phrase that requires clarification of information to a speaking party other than the speaker of the first phrase, based on a detection result of the second phrase; a notification control step of notifying a speech partner of a sentence that is determined in the determination step to be a sentence requiring clarification of information; A program executed by a computer.

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