Voice output method, voice output device, and program

Abstract

To appropriately output notification information using voice when multiple users are present in a target space.SOLUTION: A control unit 107 of a voice output device 100 includes, as a functional configuration, a situation determination unit 1071, an output propriety determination unit 1072, and a notification information output unit 1073. In a case where multiple occupants are present in a vehicle when outputting notification information is output using voice from a speaker 104, the situation determination unit 1071 determines a situation inside the vehicle. The output propriety determination unit 1072 determines propriety of voice output of the notification information on the basis of the situation in the vehicle determined by the situation determination unit 1071. When the output propriety determination unit 1072 determines that output is possible, the notification information output unit 1073 outputs the notification information using voice from the speaker 104.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an audio output method, an audio output device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a service that notifies passengers in a vehicle of information (notification information) such as e-mails and news by voice. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an information providing device that determines an item of information to be provided with priority based on passenger orientation information and reference information, and outputs the determined item of information by voice. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-096717 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In some cases, multiple occupants may be in a relatively small space such as the inside of a vehicle. In such cases, if the above-mentioned service is used, there is a risk that notification information with content that is inappropriate for some occupants may be output as audio so that all occupants can hear it.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and aims to provide an audio output method, an audio output device, and a program that can appropriately output notification information by audio when there are multiple users in the target space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the audio output method according to the present invention determines the situation in a target space when multiple users are present in the target space when audio outputting notification information to notify users. Then, based on the determined situation, determines whether audio output of the notification information is possible. Then, if it is determined that audio output is possible, the notification information is output by audio. On the other hand, if it is determined that audio output is impossible, the notification information is not output by audio. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, whether or not to output notification information by voice is determined based on the situation within the target space, so that when there are multiple users within the target space, it is possible to appropriately output notification information by voice. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a system including an audio output device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an audio output device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a user DB according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an attribute association table according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an exception situation table according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart of a sound output process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart of an output determination process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user DB according to Modification 1. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart of an output determination process according to Modification 1. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an audio output device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the positions of microphones and speakers in a vehicle. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart of an audio output process according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart of an output determination process according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0010] (Embodiment 1) An audio output device 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the audio output device 100 is mounted on a vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is, for example, a connected car, and has a function of wirelessly connecting to a network 2. The network 2 includes, for example, some or all of the Internet, a Wi-Fi network, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a public line, a telephone line, etc.

[0011] The audio output device 100 communicates with a mail server 3, a news distribution server 4, and the like via a network 2. This allows the audio output device 100 to receive emails from the mail server 3 and news distributed from the news distribution server 4. In this embodiment, the audio output device 100 receives emails addressed to an account set at the start of the audio output process described below. The audio output device 100 is a device that outputs received information, such as emails and news, by audio into the vehicle to notify the information to the passengers who are the users. In the following description, the information that the audio output device 100 outputs by audio will also be referred to as notification information.

[0012] Next, a hardware configuration of the audio output device 100 will be described. The audio output device is, for example, a communication terminal on which an operating system (OS) similar to that of a smartphone is installed. As shown in FIG. 2, the audio output device 100 includes a communication device 101, a camera 102, a microphone 103, a speaker 104, a touch panel 105, a storage unit 106, and a control unit 107. These units are connected to each other via an internal bus 108.

[0013] The communication device 101 is a device such as a router for connecting the audio output device 100 to the network 2. For example, the communication unit receives emails sent from the mail server 3 and news distributed from the news distribution server 4 via the network 2.

[0014] The camera 102 captures an image covering the entire interior of the vehicle 1. The audio output device 100 may include a plurality of cameras 102.

[0015] The microphone 103 acquires sounds inside the vehicle 1 and outputs the sound data to the control unit 107. For example, the microphone 103 acquires various voice instructions to the audio output device 100 from the occupant.

[0016] The speaker 104 outputs various sounds to the interior of the vehicle based on instructions from the control unit 107. For example, the speaker 104 outputs notification information such as the most recently received email or news to the occupants of the vehicle 1 by voice.

[0017] The touch panel 105 has a display screen, and displays various information on the display screen in accordance with the control of the control unit 107. The touch panel 105 also receives various operations from the occupant, and supplies the received operation information to the control unit 107.

[0018] The storage unit 106 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 106 stores various information and the operation program of the audio output device 100. For example, the storage unit 106 stores, as various information, a user DB (database) 1061, an attribute association table 1062, and an exception situation table 1063.

[0019] The user DB 1061 is a database in which information about users who are expected to frequently ride in the vehicle 1 is pre-registered. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 , the user DB 1061 stores, for each user, a user ID, a registered name, personal identification data, an email address, and attributes. The user ID is identification information for uniquely identifying a user. For example, a unique number is automatically set for the user ID when the user is registered in the user DB 1061. The registered name is the user's name, abbreviation, or the like. Note that the registered name does not have to be set. The personal identification data is data for identifying who the user is. Specifically, in this embodiment, the personal identification data is the user's facial image data. Note that the personal identification data may also be account data of a smartphone owned by the user or biometric data such as the user's fingerprint or iris. The attributes indicate the characteristics of the user. The attributes can be freely set by the user when registering in the user DB 1061. A user can operate a smartphone or the like connected to the touch panel 105 or the audio output device 100 to launch an application for registering information in the user DB 1061, and register information about themselves in the user DB 1061 through the application.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4 , the attribute association table 1062 is a table in which pairs of common attributes, which are attributes common to all occupants (users) of the vehicle 1, and attributes of notification information related to the common attributes are registered. The attributes of the notification information indicate the nature and characteristics of the notification information. For example, if the notification information is email, the attribute is the sender of the email, etc. For example, if the notification information is news, the attribute is the news category, etc. The common attribute and the attribute of the notification information suitable for notifying all occupants who have the common attribute are registered in advance in the attribute association table 1062 as a pair of related attributes. The user can operate their smartphone connected to the touch panel 105 or the audio output device 100 to start an app for registration in the attribute association table 1062, and register the pair of attributes that they want to associate in the attribute association table 1062 through the app.

[0021] Exceptional situations (exceptional situations) in which notification information is not output as audio are defined in the exception situation table 1063. An example of the exception situation table 1063 is shown in Fig. 5. In this exception situation table 1063, the exception situation is defined in association with the type of notification information that is not output as audio under the exceptional situation.

[0022] For example, the exceptional situation table 1063 specifies that, under exceptional circumstances, emails from family members are not to be output audibly when a passenger with the attribute "family" is in the car between December 1st and December 24th, the period leading up to Christmas. For example, the exceptional situation table 1063 specifies that, under exceptional circumstances, emails from colleagues are not to be output audibly when a passenger with the attribute "company" is in the car between March 1st and March 31st, when topics such as promotion and retirement are likely to arise. For example, the exceptional situation table 1063 specifies that, under exceptional circumstances, emails from colleagues in accounting are not to be output audibly when a passenger with the attribute "company" is in the car between March 1st and March 31st, the period leading up to the company's fiscal year-end, or between September 1st and September 30th, the period leading up to the interim financial year-end, in order to avoid suspicion of insider trading. For example, the exceptional situation table 1063 specifies that, under exceptional circumstances, all notification information is not to be output audibly when a passenger with the attribute "elementary school student" or "junior high school student" is in the car between 10:00 PM and midnight. For example, in order to avoid frequent voice output, the exceptional situation table 1063 specifies that no voice output of any notification information will be performed under exceptional circumstances within five minutes of the last voice output of notification information. The user can operate the touch panel 105 or their own smartphone connected to the voice output device 100 to start an application for registering the exceptional situation table 1063, and register the exceptional situation through the application.

[0023] Returning to FIG. 2, the control unit 107 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (none of which are shown). The CPU uses the RAM as a work memory and appropriately executes the operation program stored in the storage unit 106. In this way, the control unit 107 controls the entire audio output device 100. Furthermore, by executing the operation program, the control unit 107 realizes the functions of a situation determination unit 1071, an output permission determination unit 1072, and a notification information output unit 1073.

[0024] If there are multiple occupants in the vehicle 1 when notification information is output as audio from the speaker 104, the situation determination unit 1071 determines the situation inside the vehicle 1. For example, the situation determination unit 1071 determines common attributes that are attributes common to all of the multiple occupants as the situation inside the vehicle 1. For example, the situation determination unit 1071 determines whether the current situation inside the vehicle 1 corresponds to an exceptional situation defined in the exceptional situation table 1063.

[0025] The output possibility determination unit 1072 determines whether or not to output the notification information by voice, based on the situation inside the vehicle 1 determined by the situation determination unit 1071. Specifically, the output possibility determination unit 1072 determines that the notification information can be output by voice if the common attribute is related to the attribute of the notification information and the current situation inside the vehicle 1 does not correspond to an exceptional situation. In other cases, the output possibility determination unit 1072 determines that the notification information cannot be output by voice.

[0026] If the output permission determining unit 1072 determines that the notification information can be output, the notification information output unit 1073 causes the speaker 104 to output the notification information as sound.

[0027] Next, the operation of the audio output device 100 will be described. It is assumed that the information shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 is registered in advance in the user DB 1061, the attribute association table 1062, and the exception situation table 1063, respectively. The driver of the vehicle 1 inserts the intelligent key into a predetermined position in the vehicle 1 to activate the engine's main switch. In conjunction with this, power is supplied from the battery of the vehicle 1, and the audio output device 100 is activated. While activated, the audio output device 100 executes the audio output process shown in FIG. 6.

[0028] When the audio output process starts, first, the control unit 107 of the audio output device 100 sets an email address of an email to be output as audio as notification information (step S5). Specifically, the driver performs a predetermined operation on the touch panel 105 or his / her smartphone connected to the audio output device 100 to specify an email address of an email to be output as audio from among the user's email addresses registered in the user DB 1061. The control unit then sets the specified email address as the email address of the email to be output as audio. Alternatively, the identification information of the user's smartphone and the email address may be associated and stored in advance, and the control unit 107 may automatically register the email address when the user's smartphone connects to the audio output device 100. Note that, typically, in step S5, the email address of the occupant who is the user currently in the vehicle is registered.

[0029] Next, the control unit 107 of the audio output device 100 determines whether it is time to output notification information to the occupants of the vehicle 1 by audio, based on the audio output conditions set in advance (step S10).

[0030] For example, if an unread email has arrived within the last hour to the user's email address set in step S5, the control unit 107 determines that it is time to audibly output the contents of this email as notification information. For example, if unread news has been delivered within the last hour, the control unit 107 determines that it is time to audibly output the contents of this news as notification information. Alternatively, if the occupant gives a voice command through the microphone 103 to have news or email read aloud and the control unit 107 recognizes the command using a voice recognition function, the control unit 107 determines that it is time to audibly output the contents of the email or news as notification information.

[0031] If it is not the timing to output the notification information by voice (step S10; No), the control unit 107 waits until that timing arrives. On the other hand, if it is the timing to output the notification information by voice (step S10; Yes), the control unit 107 determines whether there are multiple occupants in the vehicle 1 (step S20). Specifically, the control unit 107 can determine whether there are multiple occupants by analyzing images of the interior of the vehicle 1 captured by the camera 102 or by communicating with smartphones, smartwatches, or the like carried by the occupants.

[0032] If there are multiple occupants in the vehicle 1 (step S20; Yes), the control unit 107 determines the situation inside the vehicle 1 and executes an output determination process to determine whether or not to output audio notification information based on the determined situation (step S30). The output determination process will be described in detail later.

[0033] If it is determined in the output determination process that audio output is not possible (step S40; output not possible), the control unit 107 does not output the notification information as audio, but only notifies the user that there is notification information (step S50). For example, the control unit 107 may output audio such as "You have received an email" or "There is the latest news" from the speaker 104, or may display a message, icon, or the like notifying the user that there is notification information on the touch panel 105. Then, the process returns to step S10. Note that the process of step S50 may be omitted.

[0034] On the other hand, if it is determined in the output determination process that audio output is possible (step S40; output possible), or if there are not multiple occupants (step S20; No), the control unit 107 causes the notification information to be output as audio from the speaker 104 (step S60). Then, the process returns to step S10.

[0035] Next, details of the output determination process executed in step S30 of the above-mentioned audio output process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0036] When the output determination process starts, first, the control unit 107 identifies, for each of the multiple occupants, which of the users registered in the user DB 1061 the occupant is (step S301). Specifically, the control unit 107 detects a facial image of each of the multiple occupants from the latest image of the interior of the vehicle 1 captured by the camera 102. Then, the control unit 107 may identify the occupant by comparing the detected facial image with facial images of users registered in the user DB 1061 as person determination data using a known pattern matching method or the like. Note that, for an occupant who does not match any of the users registered in the user DB 1061, the control unit 107 may identify the occupant as a guest.

[0037] Next, the control unit 107 refers to the attributes of each user registered in the user DB 1061 and determines whether there is an attribute (common attribute) common to all the occupants identified in step S301 (step S302).

[0038] If there is a common attribute (step S302; Yes), the control unit 107 determines the attribute of the notification information (step S303). For example, if the notification information is an email, the control unit 107 determines the sender of the email and the category of the email as the attributes of the notification information. The sender of the email can be determined by searching an address book using the email address of the email sender. The category of the email can be determined, for example, by analyzing the content of the email using artificial intelligence, or by referring to the tag information if tag information is attached to the email. For example, if the notification information is news, the control unit 107 determines the category of the news as the attribute of the notification information. The category of the news can be determined, for example, by analyzing the content of the news using artificial intelligence, or by referring to the tag information if tag information is attached to the news.

[0039] Next, the control unit 107 refers to the attribute association table 1062 to determine whether or not the common attribute and the attribute of the notification information are associated with each other (step S304).

[0040] If the common attribute and the attribute of the notification information are related to each other (step S304; Yes), the control unit 107 refers to the exceptional situation table 1063 and determines whether the current situation inside the vehicle corresponds to an exceptional situation (step S305).

[0041] If the current situation inside the vehicle does not correspond to an exceptional situation (step S305; No), the control unit 107 determines that the notification information can be output as voice (step S306), and the output determination process ends.

[0042] On the other hand, if there is no attribute (common attribute) common to all of the multiple occupants (step S302; No), or if there is a common attribute but the common attribute is not related to the attribute of the notification information (step S304; No), or if the current situation inside the vehicle corresponds to an exceptional situation (step S305; Yes), the control unit 107 determines that the notification information cannot be output as voice (step S307), and the output determination process ends.

[0043] In this way, when outputting notification information by voice, if there are multiple occupants in the vehicle, which is the target space, the voice output device 100 according to this embodiment determines the situation inside the vehicle and determines whether to output the notification information by voice based on the determined situation. This prevents a situation in which notification information is output by voice to multiple occupants in the vehicle under inappropriate circumstances, and makes it possible to output notification information by voice appropriately when there are multiple users.

[0044] Furthermore, the audio output device 100 according to the present embodiment determines common attributes of multiple occupants as the in-vehicle situation, and determines that audio output is not possible if the common attributes are not associated with the attributes of the notification information. This makes it possible to output audio only the notification information relevant to all occupants, and to appropriately output audio information.

[0045] Furthermore, the audio output device 100 according to this embodiment determines whether the situation inside the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined exceptional situation, and if it is an exceptional situation, determines that audio output is not possible. By appropriately setting the exceptional situation, it becomes possible to more finely set whether or not to output audio when there are multiple users.

[0046] (Variation 1) The above-described first embodiment can be modified in various ways. Modification 1 is characterized in that in the output determination process, the prohibited field of the occupant is determined as the state inside the vehicle, and whether or not to output the notification information by voice is determined based on the determined prohibited field. FIG. 8 shows an example of the configuration of a user DB 1061 according to modification 1. Unlike the first embodiment, the user DB 1061 stores information indicating prohibited fields instead of user attributes. The prohibited fields indicate fields of notification information that are prohibited from being notified to that user. The prohibited fields can be freely set by the user.

[0047] The output determination process according to the first modification will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 9. Note that steps that are substantially the same as those in the output determination process of the first embodiment (see Fig. 7) are given the same step numbers, and the description will be simplified or omitted as appropriate.

[0048] When the output determination process is started, the control unit 107 identifies, for each of a plurality of occupants, which of the users registered in the user DB 1061 the occupant is (step S301). Then, the control unit 107 refers to the user DB 1061 and extracts the prohibited fields for each of the occupants identified in step S301 (step S311).

[0049] Next, the control unit 107 determines the field of the notification information (step S312). For example, the control unit 107 may determine the field of the notification information by analyzing the content of the notification information using artificial intelligence, or by referring to tag information if tag information is attached to the notification information.

[0050] Next, the control unit 107 determines whether or not the field of the notification information determined in step S312 corresponds to at least one of the prohibited fields for the occupant (step S313).

[0051] If the field of the notification information does not correspond to any of the prohibited fields for the occupant (step S313; No), the control unit 107 determines that the notification information can be output as voice (step S308), and the output determination process ends.

[0052] On the other hand, if the field of the notification information corresponds to at least one of the prohibited fields for the occupant (step S313; Yes), the control unit 107 determines that the notification information cannot be output as voice (step S309), and the output determination process ends.

[0053] In this way, the audio output device 100 according to the first modification determines the prohibited field for each occupant as the situation inside the vehicle, and determines that audio output is not possible if the field of the notification information corresponds to the prohibited field. This makes it possible to prevent audio output of notification information whose content even one of the occupants does not want to hear.

[0054] In the above-described first modification, if the attribute of the notification information corresponds to a prohibited field for any of the occupants, it is determined that the notification information cannot be output audibly. However, if the notification information is made up of multiple news items, it may be determined that only news items that do not correspond to the prohibited fields are to be output audibly. Furthermore, the user DB 1061 may further store fields of interest for each user, and when outputting news audibly, news items that correspond to the fields of interest of the occupants may be output audibly first, so that the news items are output audibly on a priority basis.

[0055] Furthermore, an output determination process may be executed that combines the first embodiment and the first modification. For example, in the output determination process of the first modification shown in Fig. 9, if the field of the notification information does not correspond to the prohibited fields for the occupant (step S313; No), the control unit 107 may not immediately determine that audio output is possible, but may execute steps S302 to S307 of the output determination process of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 7 to determine whether audio output is possible. By doing so, although the output determination process takes time, it is possible to more accurately determine whether audio output is possible.

[0056] (Embodiment 2) An audio output device 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 10 shows the hardware configuration of the audio output device 200 according to this embodiment. Compared to the audio output device 100 according to the first embodiment, the audio output device 200 includes four microphones 109A, 109B, 109C, and 109D and four speakers 110A, 110B, 110C, and 110D. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the four microphones 109A, 109B, 109C, and 109D, they will also be referred to as microphones 109. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the four speakers 110A, 110B, 110C, and 110D, they will also be referred to as speakers 110. The microphones 109 and the speakers 110 each have strong directionality.

[0057] FIG. 11 schematically shows the positions of microphone 109 and speaker 110 inside vehicle 1. Speaker 110A is installed in a position where it can output sound to the driver's seat and its surrounding area (driver's seat area). Speaker 110B is installed in a position where it can output sound to the passenger seat and its surrounding area (passenger seat area). Speaker 110C is installed in a position where it can output sound to the right rear seat and its surrounding area (right rear seat area). Speaker 110D is installed in a position where it can output sound to the left rear seat and its surrounding area (left rear seat area). This allows audio output device 100 to output notification information by voice so that it can be easily heard only by a specific passenger sitting in one of the seats inside the vehicle.

[0058] Microphone 109A is installed in a position where it can acquire voice from the driver's seat area. Microphone 109B is installed in a position where it can acquire voice from the passenger seat area. Microphone 109C is installed in a position where it can acquire voice from the right rear seat area. Microphone 109D is installed in a position where it can acquire voice from the left rear seat area. This allows audio output device 100 to easily acquire voice emitted from a specific passenger sitting in one of the seats in the vehicle.

[0059] 10, except for the microphone 109 and the speaker 110, the audio output device 100 is similar to the first embodiment in that it includes a communication device 101, a camera 102, a touch panel 105, a storage unit 106, and a control unit 107. However, the control unit 107 further includes an output area determination unit 1074 as a functional configuration.

[0060] The output area determination unit 1074 determines an area to output the audio output when the output possibility determination unit 1072 determines that audio output of notification information is possible, based on the situation inside the vehicle determined by the situation determination unit 1071. For example, if the notification information is an email addressed to a passenger, the output area determination unit 1074 determines the area to output the notification information (email) to be the area of ​​the seat where the passenger is sitting.

[0061] Next, the operation of the audio output process executed by the audio output device 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 12. Note that steps that are substantially the same as those in the audio output process of the first embodiment (see Fig. 6) are given the same step numbers, and the description will be appropriately simplified or omitted.

[0062] When the audio output process starts, first, the control unit 107 of the audio output device 100 sets an email address for the email to be output as audio (step S5). Then, the control unit 107 determines whether it is time to output notification information such as email or news as audio (step S10). If it is time to output audio (step S10: Yes), the control unit 107 determines whether there are multiple occupants in the vehicle (step S20).

[0063] If there are multiple occupants (step S20; Yes), the control unit 107 determines the situation inside the vehicle 1, determines whether or not to output the notification information by voice based on the determined situation, and if voice output is possible, executes an output determination process to determine an area inside the vehicle to output the notification information (step S31). The output determination process will be described in detail later.

[0064] If it is determined in the output determination process that audio output is not possible (step S40; output not possible), the control unit 107 notifies the user of this (step S50), and the process returns to step S10.

[0065] On the other hand, if it is determined in the output determination process that audio output is possible (step S40; output possible), the control unit 107 causes the notification information to be output as audio from the speaker 110 in the determined area (step S61).

[0066] Next, the control unit 107 turns on only the microphone 109 in the area where the notification information is output by voice for a predetermined time, such as one minute, and turns off the other microphones 109 (step S70). This makes it easier for the voice output device 100 to receive a voice reply from an occupant in the area where the notification information is output by voice. Then, when a reply from an occupant is received from the turned-on microphone 109 within the predetermined time (step S80; Yes), the control unit 107 recognizes the reply using its voice recognition function and executes processing according to the returned instruction (for example, processing to send a voice mail or text mail based on the instructed voice to the sender of the notification information (mail)) (step S81).

[0067] If there is no reply from the occupant from the turned-on microphone 109 within a predetermined time (step S80; No), or after step S81, the control unit 107 returns the microphone 109 set in step S70 to the state before the setting (step S82). Then, the process returns to step S10.

[0068] Next, details of the output determination process executed in step S31 of the above-mentioned audio output process will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 13. Note that steps that are substantially the same as those in the output determination process of embodiment 1 (see Fig. 7) are given the same step numbers, and descriptions thereof will be simplified or omitted as appropriate.

[0069] When the output determination process is started, first, the control unit 107 identifies, for each of a plurality of occupants, which of the users registered in the user DB 1061 the occupant is (step S301).

[0070] Next, the control unit 107 analyzes the image of the interior of the vehicle 1 captured by the camera 102, and identifies the area within the vehicle 1 of the occupant identified in step S301 (step S321). The storage unit 106 has stored therein position information indicating the position (coordinates) of each area within the vehicle interior in the image. The control unit 107 can identify the area by comparing this position information with the image. Specifically, the control unit 107 identifies whether the occupant's area is the driver's area, passenger seat area, right rear seat area, or left rear seat area shown in FIG. 11. Note that step S321 may be executed simultaneously with step S301.

[0071] Next, the control unit 107 determines whether the notification destination of the notification information is the occupant identified in step S301 (step S322). For example, if the notification information is an email and the email address of the recipient of the email matches the email address of the occupant identified in step S301 stored in the user DB 1061, the notification destination of the notification information is that occupant. Therefore, step S322 determines Yes. On the other hand, if the notification information is news or the like without specifying a notification destination, step S322 determines No.

[0072] If the notification destination of the notification information is the specified occupant (step S322; Yes), the control unit 107 determines that the notification information should be output as audio to the area where the occupant is located (step S323), and then the output determination process ends.

[0073] On the other hand, if the notification destination of the notification information is not any of the specified occupants (step S322; No), the control unit 107 executes steps S302 to S305 and S307 as in embodiment 1. Then, if the current situation does not correspond to an exceptional situation (step S305; No), the control unit 107 determines that audio output is possible to all areas in the vehicle (step S324). Then, the output determination process ends.

[0074] In this way, according to this embodiment, not only is it determined whether or not to output the notification information by voice, but also the area to output the notification information by voice is determined, which makes it possible to process the notification information by voice to be output to the recipient of the email, and more appropriately output the notification information by voice when there are multiple occupants.

[0075] In addition, when music is being output from some of the speakers 110, or when the power of some of the speakers 110 is set to off by the occupant's operation, the control unit 107 may immediately determine in the output determination process that sound output is not possible.

[0076] In the above description, the vehicle interior is divided into four areas: the driver's area, the passenger seat area, the right rear seat area, and the left rear seat area. However, the areas can be set in any manner. For example, in a vehicle with three rows of seats, more areas can be set according to the number of seats, and the output determination process described above can be performed. Note that an appropriate number of microphones 109 and speakers 110 must be installed in appropriate positions in the vehicle according to the set areas.

[0077] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, modifications and applications in various forms are possible. It is up to the discretion of the individual to decide which of the configurations, functions, and operations described in the above embodiments to adopt. Furthermore, in addition to the configurations, functions, and operations described above, additional configurations, functions, and operations may be adopted. Furthermore, the configurations, functions, and operations described in the above embodiments can be freely combined. Furthermore, the flowcharts described as the operations of the audio output devices 100 and 200 in the above embodiments are merely examples, and the processing may be changed as appropriate as long as the same functions can be realized.

[0078] In the above-described first and second embodiments and the first modification, email and news are given as examples of notification information, but the notification information is not limited to these. For example, notification information may be an SMS (short message) sent to a family member, a post by the user on an SNS, a voice assistant for the user, guidance information for shops near the vehicle 1, etc.

[0079] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the audio output device 100 determines the common attributes of the occupants as the in-vehicle situation. Furthermore, the audio output device 100 determines whether the in-vehicle situation corresponds to an exceptional situation. Furthermore, in the first modification, the audio output device 100 determines the prohibited fields of each occupant as the in-vehicle situation. However, the in-vehicle situations determined by the audio output device 100 are not limited to these. For example, the audio output device 100 may determine the gender, age, etc. of multiple occupants as the in-vehicle situation from images captured by the camera 102, and determine whether to output notification information as audio based on the determination result.

[0080] In the above-described first and second embodiments and the first modification, when notification information such as a weather forecast that can be notified regardless of the attributes of the occupants is to be output as voice, the output determination process may immediately determine that voice output is possible. In this way, the load on the output determination process can be reduced. Similarly, the output determination process may immediately determine that voice output is possible for information with high urgency such as disaster information and earthquake early warnings.

[0081] The present invention is not limited to audio output of notification information in a vehicle, but can also be applied to audio output of notification information to multiple users in a target space such as a room or booth.

[0082] Furthermore, the audio output devices 100 and 200 do not have to be mounted on the vehicle 1. For example, a terminal such as a smartphone may be connected to the vehicle 1 by wire or wirelessly and function as the audio output devices 100 and 200.

[0083] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiments 1 and 2 and variant 1, examples have been described in which the control unit 107 of the audio output device 100, 200 executes an operating program to realize each function, but the control unit 107 may also be configured using dedicated hardware that realizes each function.

[0084] Furthermore, an operating program for executing the operations of the above-described first and second embodiments and modification 1 may be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an MO (Magneto Optical Disc), or a memory card, and the program may be installed on a computer to configure control unit 107 that can realize each function. When each function is realized by sharing the work between an OS (Operating System) and an application, or by cooperation between the OS and an application, only the parts other than the OS may be stored on the recording medium.

[0085] The present invention allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to explain the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention. In other words, the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the meaning of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1 vehicle, 2 network, 3 mail server, 4 news distribution server, 100, 200 audio output device, 101 communication device, 102 camera, 103, 109, 109A, 109B, 109C, 109D microphone, 104, 110, 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D speaker, 105 touch panel, 106 memory unit, 1061 user DB, 1062 attribute association table, 1063 exception situation table, 107 control unit, 1071 situation determination unit, 1072 output possibility determination unit, 1073 notification information output unit, 1074 output area determination unit

Claims

1. When outputting notification information to be notified to a user by voice, if there are multiple users in the target space, determine the situation in the target space; determining whether or not to output the notification information as a voice based on the determined situation; When it is determined that audio output is possible, the notification information is output as audio; When it is determined that audio output is not possible, the notification information is not output as audio. Audio output method.

2. determining a common attribute that is an attribute common to all of the plurality of users as a situation in the target space; If the attribute of the notification information and the common attribute are not associated with each other, it is determined that audio output of the notification information is not possible. The audio output method according to claim 1 .

3. As a situation in the target space, a prohibited field in which notification is prohibited for each of the plurality of users is determined; If the field of the notification information corresponds to the prohibited field, it is determined that the audio output of the notification information is not possible. The audio output method according to claim 1 .

4. If the determined situation corresponds to a predetermined exceptional situation, it is determined that audio output of the notification information is not possible. The audio output method according to claim 1 .

5. determining an area in the target space in which the notification information is to be output as audio based on the determined situation; When it is determined that audio output is possible, the notification information is output as audio to the determined area. The audio output method according to claim 1 .

6. receiving a voice response from a user in the area where the notification information is output by voice; The audio output method according to claim 5 .

7. The target space is the interior of a vehicle. The audio output method according to claim 1 .

8. A speaker and a control unit including: a situation determination unit that determines a situation in a target space when there are multiple users in the target space when notification information to be notified to a user is outputted by voice; an output possibility determination unit that determines whether or not the notification information can be outputted by voice based on the situation determined by the situation determination unit; and a notification information output unit that outputs the notification information from the speaker when the output possibility determination unit determines that the notification information can be outputted by voice; An audio output device comprising:

9. On the computer, When outputting notification information to be notified to a user by voice, if there are multiple users in the target space, determine the situation in the target space; determining whether or not to output the notification information as a voice based on the determined situation; When it is determined that the notification information can be output as a voice, the notification information is output as a voice. A program that executes a process.

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