Estimation device, estimation method, and program

Abstract

This estimation device (100) comprises: an instruction unit (10) for instructing a speaker to repeatedly utter two syllables comprising a sound containing a velar plosive in the consonant or a sound containing an alveolar fricative in the consonant, and a sound that contains an alveolar plosive in the consonant; a speech acquisition unit (20) for acquiring speech of the speaker; an estimation unit (30) for analyzing the speech feature amount of the acquired speech and estimating the oral function of the speaker on the basis of the analyzed speech feature mount; and a presentation unit (40) for presenting the estimated state of the oral function of the speaker.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an estimation device, an estimation method, and a program for estimating a speaker's oral cavity function. [Background technology]

[0002] It is known that speech disorders occur due to a decline in oral functions such as sensation in the oral cavity, chewing, swallowing, and saliva secretion. Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose techniques for estimating oral function using speech features obtained from speech data. This makes it possible to estimate oral function. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6268628 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6312014 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 6337362 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, estimation processing is performed based on a specific language (e.g., Japanese). For example, when estimating the oral function of a person who speaks a language different from the specific language, the person is asked to speak a sentence with a pronunciation similar to that of the specific language. However, even if the pronunciation is similar, differences in speech features appear due to differences in language, and there is a risk of reducing the accuracy of estimating the oral function.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an oral cavity function estimation device that is compatible with multiple languages. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An estimation device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an instruction unit that instructs a speaker to repeatedly speak two syllables consisting of a sound including a velar stop consonant or a sound including an alveolar fricative consonant and a sound including an alveolar stop consonant; a speech acquisition unit that acquires the speaker's speech; an estimation unit that analyzes speech features of the acquired speech and estimates the speaker's oral function based on the analyzed speech features; and a presentation unit that presents the estimated state of the speaker's oral function.

[0007] Furthermore, an estimation method according to one aspect of the present invention is an estimation method executed by an estimation device, and includes an instruction step in which an instruction unit included in the estimation device instructs a speaker to repeatedly speak two syllables consisting of a sound including a velar stop consonant or a sound including an alveolar fricative consonant and a sound including an alveolar stop consonant; a voice acquisition step in which a voice acquisition unit included in the estimation device acquires the speaker's voice; an estimation step in which the estimation unit included in the estimation device analyzes voice features of the acquired voice and estimates the speaker's oral function based on the analyzed voice features; and a presentation step in which a presentation unit included in the estimation device presents the state of the speaker's oral function.

[0008] Moreover, a program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the above estimation method. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an oral cavity function estimation device that is compatible with multiple languages. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of use of an estimation device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the estimation device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the estimation device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the International Phonetic Alphabet of consonants. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the International Phonetic Alphabet for vowels. [Figure 6A] FIG. 6A is a diagram showing an example of a speech instruction method. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of a speech instruction method. [Figure 6C] FIG. 6C is a diagram showing an example of a speech instruction method. [Figure 6D] FIG. 6D is a diagram showing an example of a speech instruction method. [Figure 6E] FIG. 6E is a diagram showing an example of a speech instruction method. [Figure 6F] FIG. 6F is a diagram showing an example of a speech instruction method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component arrangement and connection forms, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in an independent claim showing a top concept will be described as optional components.

[0012] Note that each drawing is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily a precise illustration. In addition, in each drawing, the same reference numerals are used for substantially the same configurations, and duplicated explanations may be omitted or simplified.

[0013] (Embodiment) A usage example of the estimation device 100 according to the embodiment will be described.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of use of an estimation device 100 according to an embodiment.

[0015] The estimation device 100 is a device that estimates the oral cavity function of a speaker U by analyzing the speech of the speaker U.

[0016] The estimation device 100 is a device that prompts speaker U to speak specific syllables or standard phrases, thereby causing the speaker U to speak specific syllables or standard phrases, acquires the voice uttered by speaker U, and estimates the oral function of speaker U from the acquired voice (voice data).

[0017] The estimation device 100 is, for example, a smartphone or tablet having a microphone as shown in FIG. 1. The estimation device 100 is not limited to a smartphone or tablet, and may be a PC (personal computer) or a notebook PC. For example, the estimation device 100 may not have a microphone, and may acquire the voice of the speaker U via a sound collection device provided separately from the estimation device 100. The estimation device 100 may also include an input interface for acquiring personal information of the speaker U. The input interface is not particularly limited as long as it has an input function such as a keyboard or a touch panel. The microphone volume may be set in the estimation device 100.

[0018] The estimation device 100 may have a display and may display an image or the like. Note that the estimation device 100 does not need to have a display, and may display an image on a display device provided separately from the estimation device 100. Note that the estimation device 100 may have a speaker and may output sound. Note that the estimation device 100 does not need to have a speaker, and may output sound to a speaker provided separately from the estimation device 100.

[0019] In this embodiment, the estimation device 100 is a mobile terminal having a microphone, a display, a speaker, and an input interface, but as described above, the estimation device 100 may be provided separately from the sound collection device, the display device, the speaker, and the input interface. For example, the estimation device 100 may be a server device, and may be connected to the sound collection device, the display device, the speaker, and the like by wireless or the like.

[0020] The estimation device 100 acquires the voice of the speaker U, analyzes the acquired voice, estimates the oral function of the speaker U from the analysis result, and presents the state of the oral function of the speaker U. The estimation device 100 may also make suggestions regarding the oral function of the speaker U. For example, the estimation device 100 has image data for displaying an image showing the state of the oral function of the speaker U, or data for making suggestions regarding the oral function of the speaker U. In this way, the estimation device 100 can notify the speaker U or a person related to the speaker U (such as a family member) of the state of the oral function of the speaker U and suggestions for preventing the deterioration of the oral function, and can prevent or improve the deterioration of the oral function of the speaker U.

[0021] The estimation device 100 is expected to be used in various countries and is capable of supporting multiple languages. The following describes the details of the estimation device 100 that is capable of supporting multiple languages.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the estimation device 100 according to the embodiment.

[0023] The estimation device 100 includes an instruction unit 10, a voice acquisition unit 20, an estimation unit 30, and a presentation unit 40. The estimation device 100 is a computer including a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and the like. The memory is a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a semiconductor memory, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like, and can store a program executed by the processor. The instruction unit 10, the voice acquisition unit 20, the estimation unit 30, and the presentation unit 40 are realized by a processor that executes a program stored in the memory, a communication interface, and the like.

[0024] The instruction unit 10 instructs the speaker U to repeatedly utter two syllables consisting of a sound including a velar plosive as a consonant or a sound including an alveolar fricative as a consonant and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant. Specific examples of the two syllables will be described later. For example, the instruction unit 10 may display an image or video on a display or the like instructing the speaker U to repeatedly utter the two syllables, or may output a sound from a speaker or the like instructing the speaker U to repeatedly utter the two syllables. Specific examples of utterance instructions by the instruction unit 10 will be described later.

[0025] The speech acquisition unit 20 acquires the speech of a speaker U. The speech is speech in which two syllables are repeatedly uttered, each of which is a sound including a velar plosive as a consonant or a sound including an alveolar fricative as a consonant and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant.

[0026] Although not shown, the estimation device 100 may acquire personal information of the speaker U. For example, the personal information is information input to the estimation device 100 via an input interface or the like, and includes age, weight, height, sex, BMI (Body Mass Index), dental information (e.g., number of teeth, presence or absence of dentures, location of occlusal support, number of functional teeth, number of remaining teeth, etc.), serum albumin value, or eating rate. The personal information may be acquired by a swallowing screening tool called EAT-10, the Seirei-style swallowing questionnaire, a medical interview, the Barthel Index, or a basic checklist, etc.

[0027] The estimation unit 30 analyzes the speech feature amount of the acquired speech, and estimates the oral cavity function of the speaker U based on the analyzed speech feature amount. A specific example of the process of estimating the oral cavity function will be described later.

[0028] The presentation unit 40 presents the estimated state of the oral function of the speaker U. For example, the presentation unit 40 may display the oral function of the speaker U on a display or the like, or may output the oral function to the speaker U's mobile terminal or PC or the like via wired or wireless communication. The presentation unit 40 may make suggestions regarding the oral function of the speaker U by comparing the estimation result of the oral function of the speaker U with predetermined data. The predetermined data is data indicating the relationship between the estimation result of the oral function and the contents of the proposal, and the presentation unit 40 can make suggestions according to the estimation result of the oral function. The presentation unit 40 may also compare the acquired personal information with the predetermined data to make suggestions according to the individual. The presentation unit 40 may also display these proposals on a display or the like, or may output them to the speaker U's mobile terminal or PC or the like via wired or wireless communication.

[0029] Next, the operation of the estimation device 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0030] First, the instruction unit 10 instructs the speaker U to repeatedly speak two syllables consisting of a sound including a velar plosive as a consonant or a sound including an alveolar fricative as a consonant, and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant (step S11).

[0031] The two syllables above are composed of a sound with a palatal plosive as a consonant and a sound with an alveolar plosive as a consonant. Specifically, the two syllables above are composed of a sound with a palatal plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, and a sound with a dental plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel.

[0032] Alternatively, the two syllables are composed of a sound with an alveolar fricative as a consonant and a sound with an alveolar plosive as a consonant. Specifically, the two syllables are composed of a sound with an alveolar fricative as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, and a sound with an alveolar plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel.

[0033] Here, the velar plosive, alveolar plosive, and alveolar fricative will be explained using FIG. 4, and the open vowel will be explained using FIG.

[0034] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the International Phonetic Alphabet of consonants.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the International Phonetic Alphabet for vowels.

[0036] As shown in Figure 4, a velar stop is a consonant that is both a velar and a stop, specifically "k" or "g," a dental stop is a consonant that is both an alveolar and a stop, specifically "t" or "d," and a dental fricative is a consonant that is both an alveolar and a fricative, specifically "s" or "z."

[0037] 5, the open vowel is a front vowel (unrounded front open vowel or rounded front open vowel), a mid vowel (unrounded mid open vowel) or a back vowel (unrounded back open vowel or rounded back open vowel), such as "a." The open vowel may be a narrow open vowel, specifically, a non-rounded front narrow open vowel or a mid narrow open vowel.

[0038] An example of two syllables consisting of a velar consonant with an open vowel and a dental consonant with an open vowel is "kata / ." An example of two syllables consisting of a dental consonant with an open vowel and a dental consonant with an open vowel is "sata / ."

[0039] Velar stops, alveolar stops, and alveolar fricatives are consonants present in many languages ​​of the world. Open vowels are vowels present in many languages ​​of the world. The estimation device 100 has a function of instructing the speaker U to utter two syllables including such consonants and vowels, and is therefore capable of handling multiple languages.

[0040] Since the back of the tongue is used when a velar plosive is spoken and the tip of the tongue is used when a dental plosive is spoken, the instruction unit 10 can repeatedly cause the speaker U to speak two syllables, one consisting of a sound including a velar plosive as a consonant and another consisting of a sound including a dental plosive as a consonant, thereby causing the speaker U to repeatedly move the part of the tongue used by the speaker U from the back of the tongue to the tip of the tongue. Furthermore, since both ends of the tongue are used when a dental fricative is spoken and the center of the tongue is used when a dental plosive is spoken, the instruction unit 10 can repeatedly cause the speaker U to repeatedly speak two syllables, one consisting of a sound including a dental fricative as a consonant and another consisting of a sound including a dental plosive as a consonant, thereby causing the speaker U to repeatedly move the part of the tongue used by the speaker U from both ends of the tongue to the center of the tongue.

[0041] The two syllables consisting of a sound with a palatal plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, and a sound with a dental plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, are not limited to "kata / ", but may be "gata / ", "kada / ", or "gada / ". Also, the two syllables consisting of a sound with an alveolar fricative as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, and a sound with a dental plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, are not limited to "sata / ", but may be "zata / ", "sada / ", or "zada / ".

[0042] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 3, the speech acquisition unit 20 acquires the speech of the speaker U who repeatedly speaks the above two syllables (step S12).

[0043] Next, the estimation unit 30 analyzes the speech feature of the acquired speech of the speaker U, and estimates the oral cavity function of the speaker U based on the analyzed speech feature (step S13). The types of speech feature to be analyzed are various, such as sound pressure difference, time change of sound pressure difference, speech rate, first formant frequency, second formant frequency, change amount of first formant frequency, change amount of second formant frequency, time change of first formant frequency, time change of second formant frequency, etc., depending on the speech uttered. For example, the speech feature of the speech of the speaker U who uttered the above two syllables is a sound pressure difference caused by the movement of the part of the tongue of the speaker U from the back of the tongue to the tip of the tongue, or the movement of the part of the tongue of the speaker U from both ends of the tongue to the center of the tongue. By repeatedly uttering the above two syllables, it becomes easier to analyze such speech feature.

[0044] For example, the estimation process of the oral function based on the speech features can be performed as follows. For example, speech features of a plurality of people who repeatedly utter the above two syllables are collected, and the oral functions of the plurality of people are actually diagnosed, and the oral function of speaker U who repeatedly utters the above two syllables can be estimated from the speech features of speaker U who repeatedly utters the above two syllables by using the correlation between the speech features of the plurality of people and the actual diagnosis result. For example, machine learning may be used to express the correlation between the speech features and the diagnosis result. Examples of machine learning methods include logistic regression, SVM (Support Vector Machine), and random forest.

[0045] Since the speech speed differs from person to person, if the speed at which the two syllables are repeatedly spoken is not specified, the speech feature value may be affected by the speech speed, and the speech feature value may not be analyzed accurately. Therefore, in step S11, the instruction unit 10 may instruct the speaker U to repeatedly speak the two syllables at a constant speed. For example, the instruction unit 10 may instruct the speaker U to repeatedly speak the two syllables at a speed of twice per second. Here, an example of a method of speech instruction will be described with reference to Figs. 6A to 6F.

[0046] 6A to 6F are diagrams showing examples of speech instruction methods.

[0047] For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, a speech instruction may be displayed on a display or the like of the estimation device 100. Here, an example of a speech instruction displayed is shown, "Please repeat 'kata' at a pace of twice per second." This allows the speaker U to speak two syllables such as "kata / kata / " twice per second. Note that such an instruction may be output from a speaker or the like of the estimation device 100.

[0048] For example, as shown in Fig. 6B, "kataka takata..." may be displayed on the display of the estimation device 100, and the color of the characters may change over time. For example, by changing the color of the characters corresponding to two syllables such as "kata / kata / " every 0.5 seconds, the speaker U can be made to speak two syllables such as "kata / kata / " twice every second. In addition to this, a display or voice instruction to speak as shown in Fig. 6A (for example, an instruction such as "Please say 'kata' for 5 seconds in time with the subtitles") may be given.

[0049] For example, as shown in Fig. 6C, a progress bar may be displayed on the display of the estimation device 100, and the bar may be filled over time. In addition, a display or voice instruction (e.g., an instruction such as "Please say 'kata' for 5 seconds in accordance with the movement of the bar") as shown in Fig. 6A may be given.

[0050] For example, as shown in Fig. 6D, multiple lines may be drawn on the progress bar, and the interval between the multiple lines may be, for example, the distance that the bar moves in 0.5 seconds. This allows the speaker U to say two syllables such as "kata / kata / " twice every second. In addition to this, a display or audio speaking instruction as shown in Fig. 6A (for example, an instruction such as "Please say 'kata' for 5 seconds in line with the lines") may be given.

[0051] For example, as shown in Fig. 6E, a progress bar and an image with "kata" written on it may be displayed on the display of the estimation device 100, and the image may flash every 0.5 seconds. This allows the speaker U to utter two syllables such as "kata / kata / " twice every second. In addition to this, a display or voice instruction to speak as shown in Fig. 6A (for example, an instruction such as "Please say "kata" for 5 seconds in time with the flashing") may be given.

[0052] For example, as shown in FIG. 6F, animations such as a progress bar and a metronome may be displayed on the display of the estimation device 100, and a sound may be output every 0.5 seconds in time with the movement of the metronome. This allows the speaker U to utter two syllables such as "kata / kata / " twice every second. In conjunction with this, a display or voice instruction as shown in FIG. 6A (for example, an instruction such as "Please say 'kata' for 5 seconds in time with the metronome") may be given.

[0053] In this way, by having the speaker U repeatedly utter two syllables at a constant speed, it becomes easier to analyze the speech features accurately. In particular, the speed of twice per second is a speed that is easy for speaker U to speak, so it becomes easier to analyze the speech features accurately.

[0054] In this example, the time for repeatedly uttering two syllables such as "kata" is 5 seconds, but the utterance time is not limited to 5 seconds. Depending on the content of the utterance, the utterance time may be longer (for example, 10 seconds). Also, taking into consideration the physical strength of the speaker U, the utterance time may be shortened.

[0055] Returning to the explanation in Fig. 3, the presentation unit 40 presents the estimated state of the oral function of the speaker U (step S14). For example, the state of the oral function of the speaker U is displayed on a display or the like of the estimation device 100. The state of the oral function of the speaker U may be output as sound from a speaker or the like of the estimation device 100.

[0056] As described above, the estimation device 100 according to the present embodiment includes an instruction unit 10 that instructs the speaker U to repeatedly utter two syllables, each of which is a sound including a velar plosive as a consonant or a sound including an alveolar fricative as a consonant and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant, a speech acquisition unit 20 that acquires the speech of the speaker U, an estimation unit 30 that analyzes speech features of the acquired speech and estimates the oral function of the speaker U based on the analyzed speech features, and a presentation unit 40 that presents the estimated state of the oral function of the speaker U. For example, the two syllables are a sound including a velar plosive as a consonant and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant. Alternatively, the two syllables are a sound including a alveolar fricative as a consonant and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant.

[0057] Velar stops, alveolar fricatives, and alveolar stops are consonants present in many languages ​​of the world, and the estimation device 100 has a function of instructing the speaker U to utter two syllables including such consonants, and therefore it is possible to provide an oral function estimation device 100 that can handle multiple languages. In addition, since the back of the tongue is used when uttering a velar stop and the tip of the tongue is used when uttering a dental stop, by repeatedly uttering two syllables consisting of a sound including a velar stop as a consonant and a sound including a dental stop as a consonant to the speaker U, it is possible to repeatedly move the part of the tongue used by the speaker U from the back of the tongue to the tip of the tongue. In addition, because both ends of the tongue are used when uttering an alveolar fricative and the center of the tongue is used when uttering an alveolar plosive, by having speaker U repeatedly utter two syllables consisting of a sound that includes an alveolar fricative as a consonant and a sound that includes an alveolar plosive as a consonant, speaker U can repeatedly move the parts of his / her tongue from both ends of the tongue toward the center of the tongue. This makes it easier to analyze speech features (such as sound pressure difference) related to these tongue movements, and can improve the accuracy of estimating oral function.

[0058] For example, the two syllables may be a sound with a velar consonant and an open vowel, and a sound with an alveolar consonant and an open vowel, or a sound with an alveolar fricative consonant and an open vowel, and a sound with an alveolar consonant and an open vowel.

[0059] A wide vowel is a vowel that exists in many languages ​​of the world, and the estimation device 100 has a function of instructing the speaker U to speak two syllables containing such a vowel, thereby providing an oral function estimation device 100 that can support multiple languages.

[0060] For example, the instruction unit 10 may instruct the speaker U to repeatedly utter the above two syllables at a constant speed. For example, the instruction unit 10 may instruct the speaker U to repeatedly utter the above two syllables at a speed of twice per second.

[0061] Since the speaking speed differs from person to person, if the speed at which the two syllables are repeated is not specified, the speech features may be affected by the speaking speed, and the speech features may not be analyzed accurately. Therefore, by repeating the two syllables at a constant speed, the speech features can be more easily analyzed. In particular, the speed of twice per second is a speed at which speaker U can easily speak, and therefore the speech features can be more easily analyzed accurately.

[0062] For example, the presenting unit 40 may further make a suggestion regarding the oral function of the speaker U by comparing the estimation result of the oral function of the speaker U with predetermined data.

[0063] This allows speakers such as U to receive suggestions on what measures to take when oral function declines.

[0064] (Other embodiments) Although the estimation device 100 according to the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

[0065] For example, in the above embodiment, the speaker U is instructed to repeatedly utter two syllables, which are a sound including a velar plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, a sound including an alveolar fricative as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, are described as examples, but are not limited to these. For example, the two syllables may be sounds including vowels other than open vowels.

[0066] For example, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the speaker U is instructed to repeatedly speak the above two syllables at a constant speed, but the instruction regarding a constant speed does not have to be given.

[0067] The estimation result of the oral function may be accumulated as big data together with the personal information and used for machine learning. Also, the proposal content regarding the oral function may be accumulated as big data together with the personal information and used for machine learning.

[0068] For example, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which a suggestion regarding the oral cavity function of the speaker U is made, but such a suggestion does not necessarily have to be made.

[0069] It should be noted that the present invention can be realized not only as the estimation device 100 but also as an estimation method including steps (processing) performed by each of the components constituting the estimation device 100.

[0070] Specifically, the estimation method is an estimation method executed by an estimation device, and as shown in FIG. 3, includes an instruction step (step S11) in which an instruction unit included in the estimation device instructs a speaker to repeatedly speak two syllables consisting of a sound including a velar plosive as a consonant or a sound including an alveolar fricative as a consonant and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant, a voice acquisition step (step S12) in which a voice acquisition unit included in the estimation device acquires the speaker's voice, an estimation step (step S13) in which the estimation unit included in the estimation device analyzes voice features of the acquired voice and estimates the speaker's oral function based on the analyzed voice features, and a presentation step (step S14) in which a presentation unit included in the estimation device presents the state of the speaker's oral function.

[0071] Also, for example, the steps in the estimation method may be executed by a computer (computer system).The present invention can be realized as a program for causing a computer to execute the steps included in the method.Furthermore, the present invention can be realized as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, such as a CD-ROM, on which the program is recorded.

[0072] For example, when the present invention is realized by a program (software), each step is executed by executing the program using hardware resources such as a computer's CPU, memory, input / output circuits, etc. In other words, each step is executed by the CPU acquiring data from memory or input / output circuits, etc., performing calculations, and outputting the results of the calculations to memory or input / output circuits, etc.

[0073] Furthermore, each of the components included in the estimation device 100 according to the above embodiment may be realized as a dedicated or general-purpose circuit.

[0074] Furthermore, each of the components included in the estimation device 100 according to the above embodiment may be realized as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) which is an integrated circuit (IC).

[0075] Furthermore, the integrated circuit is not limited to an LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. A programmable FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or a reconfigurable processor in which the connections and settings of circuit cells within an LSI can be reconfigured may also be used.

[0076] Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI emerges due to advances in semiconductor technology or a different derivative technology, the components included in the estimating device 100 may naturally be integrated into integrated circuits using that technology.

[0077] In addition, the present invention also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to the embodiments that a person skilled in the art may conceive, and forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of each embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0078] (Additional Note) The above description of the embodiments discloses the following techniques.

[0079] (Technology 1) An estimation device comprising: an instruction unit that instructs a speaker to repeatedly speak two syllables consisting of a sound including a velar plosive in the consonant or a sound including an alveolar fricative in the consonant and a sound including an alveolar plosive in the consonant; a voice acquisition unit that acquires the voice of the speaker; an estimation unit that analyzes voice features of the acquired voice and estimates the oral function of the speaker based on the analyzed voice features; and a presentation unit that presents the estimated state of the oral function of the speaker.

[0080] (Technology 2) The estimation device according to Technology 1, wherein the two syllables consist of a sound including a palatal consonant and a sound including an alveolar consonant.

[0081] (Technology 3) The estimation device according to Technology 2, wherein the two syllables consist of a sound including a palatal plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel.

[0082] (Technology 4) The estimation device according to Technology 1, wherein the two syllables consist of a sound including an alveolar fricative consonant and a sound including an alveolar plosive consonant.

[0083] (Technology 5) The estimation device according to Technology 4, wherein the two syllables consist of a sound including an alveolar fricative as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel.

[0084] (Technology 6) The estimation device according to any one of Techniques 1 to 5, wherein the instructing unit instructs the speaker to repeatedly speak the two syllables at a constant speed.

[0085] (Technology 7) The estimation device according to Technology 6, wherein the instruction unit instructs the speaker to repeatedly speak the two syllables at a rate of twice per second.

[0086] (Technology 8) The estimation device according to any one of Technologies 1 to 7, further comprising: the presentation unit making a suggestion regarding the speaker's oral function by comparing the estimation result of the speaker's oral function with predetermined data.

[0087] (Technology 9) An estimation method executed by an estimation device, the estimation method including: an instruction step instructing a speaker to repeatedly speak two syllables consisting of a sound including a velar plosive as a consonant or a sound including an alveolar fricative as a consonant and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant by an instruction unit included in the estimation device; a voice acquisition step in which a voice acquisition unit included in the estimation device acquires the voice of the speaker; an estimation step in which the estimation unit included in the estimation device analyzes voice features of the acquired voice and estimates the oral function of the speaker based on the analyzed voice features; and a presentation step in which a presentation unit included in the estimation device presents a state of the oral function of the speaker.

[0088] (Technology 10) A program for causing a computer to execute the estimation method described in Technology 9. [Explanation of symbols]

[0089] 10 Instruction section 20 Voice Acquisition Unit 30 Estimation part 40 Presentation section 100 Estimator U Speaker

Claims

1. an instruction unit that instructs a speaker to repeatedly utter two syllables each including one syllable having a velar plosive as a consonant or one syllable having an alveolar fricative as a consonant and one syllable having an alveolar plosive as a consonant; A voice acquisition unit for acquiring the voice of the speaker; an estimation unit that analyzes a speech feature of the acquired speech and estimates an oral function of the speaker based on the analyzed speech feature; A presentation unit that presents the estimated state of the oral cavity function of the speaker, The instruction unit instructs the speaker to repeatedly utter the two syllables at a rate of twice per second. Estimation device.

2. The two syllables are composed of a consonant containing a velar plosive and a consonant containing an alveolar plosive. The estimation device according to claim 1 .

3. The two syllables are composed of a sound including a palatal plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel. The estimation device according to claim 2 .

4. The two syllables are composed of a consonant containing a dental fricative and a consonant containing a dental plosive. The estimation device according to claim 1 .

5. The two syllables are composed of a sound including an alveolar fricative as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel, and a sound including an alveolar plosive as a consonant and an open vowel as a vowel. The estimation device according to claim 4.

6. Furthermore, the presenting unit compares the estimation result of the oral function of the speaker with predetermined data to make a suggestion regarding the oral function of the speaker. The estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. An estimation method performed by an estimation device, comprising: an instruction step of an instruction unit of the estimation device instructing a speaker to repeatedly utter two syllables each including one sound including a velar stop consonant or one sound including an alveolar fricative consonant, and one sound including an alveolar stop consonant; a speech acquisition step in which a speech acquisition unit included in the estimation device acquires a speech of the speaker; an estimation step of estimating an oral function of the speaker by an estimation unit included in the estimation device, the estimation unit analyzing a speech feature of the acquired speech and estimating an oral function of the speaker based on the analyzed speech feature; A presentation step in which a presentation unit included in the estimation device presents a state of the oral function of the speaker, In the instructing step, the speaker is instructed to repeatedly utter the two syllables at a rate of two per second. Estimation method.

8. A program for causing a computer to execute the estimation method according to claim 7.

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