Meeting Support System

Abstract

To improve efficiency of a conference.SOLUTION: A conference support system for supporting a conference receives an input of utterance details being the details of utterance from participants in the conference, determines the type of corresponding utterance on the basis of the utterance details input to the input part, and outputs at least either one of the utterance details, evaluation on the conference, or evaluation on the participants on the basis of a result of determination performed by the determination part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention provides Meeting Support System Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a method has been known in which a conference support system manages the progress of a meeting by reducing the burden of cumbersome tasks such as time adjustment and allowing the chairperson to focus on the agenda and accurately proceed with the proceedings. In this method, the conference support system displays the progress of the meeting and controls this display according to the progress of the meeting. Specifically, the conference support system first sets the planned proceeding time required for each of multiple meeting agenda items in advance and creates a timetable for the entire meeting. Next, the conference support system constantly displays an indicator indicating the elapsed time for each meeting agenda item. Furthermore, the conference support system detects the end of a meeting agenda item and shifts the indicator to the next meeting agenda item. Then, when the meeting agenda item is completed, the conference support system reallocates the remaining planned proceeding time to each remaining meeting agenda item. In this way, the conference support system automatically adjusts the time so that the meeting ends within the planned proceeding time, thereby reducing the burden of time adjustment work. This allows the chairperson to focus on the agenda item and accurately manage the progress of the proceedings (e.g., Patent Document 1, etc.). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] However, while conventional methods only manage the time for each agenda item in a meeting, there has been a demand for visualization of the meeting content to enable more efficient meetings.

[0004] An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a conference support system that can make a conference more efficient. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In one embodiment, the conference support system is a system having one or more information processing devices, and Contains multiple speech types The system comprises an input unit for inputting the content of a statement, a judgment unit for judging whether the content of a statement input by the input unit is a candidate for an action item, and an output unit for displaying a screen including the content of a statement judged by the judgment unit to be a candidate for an action item, the screen enabling a person in charge of an action item to be set for the content of a statement. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] Meetings can be made more efficient. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a conference support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a conference support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for setting an agenda, a goal, and the like in the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example in which an alert and remaining time are displayed on a screen displayed by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for determining the type of statement content by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for switching between a summary and a full text in the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for switching between a summary and a full text performed by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen showing a summary displayed by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a conference support system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a summary screen displayed by the conference support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an evaluation screen displayed by the conference support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for inputting a subjective evaluation displayed by the conference support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for performing an evaluation based on the duration of a conference by the conference support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of natural language processing using machine learning by a conference support system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI displayed by a conference support system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display of a topic generated by the conference support system according to an embodiment of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of display of an extraction result by the conference support system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20]13 is a flowchart showing an example of topic generation by the conference support system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0009] (First embodiment) (Overall configuration example) 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a conference support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. For example, as shown in the figure, the conference support system 1 has a server 10, which is an example of a conference support device, and one or more terminals 11. The server 10 and each terminal 11 are connected via a network 12. The server 10 and the terminals 11 are information processing devices such as PCs (Personal Computers), and have, for example, the following hardware configuration:

[0010] (Example of hardware configuration) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the server 10 and the terminal 11 each have a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10H1, an I / F (interface) 10H2, and an output device 10H3. The server 10 and the terminal 11 each also have an input device 10H4, a HD (Hard Disk) 10H5, and a storage device 10H6. Furthermore, each piece of hardware is connected via a bus 10H7. The server 10 and the multiple terminals 11 may have the same hardware configuration or different hardware configurations. Below, an example in which the server 10 and the multiple terminals 11 have the same hardware configuration will be described, taking the server 10 as an example.

[0011] The CPU 10H1 is a computing device that performs calculations to realize various processes and various data processing, and a control device that controls each piece of hardware, etc. The server 10 may have a plurality of computing devices or control devices.

[0012] The I / F 10H2 is, for example, a connector and a processing IC (Integrated Circuit), etc. For example, the I / F 10H2 transmits and receives data to and from an external device via a network or the like.

[0013] The output device 10H3 is a display or the like that displays a display screen, a GUI (Graphical User Interface), and the like.

[0014] The input device 10H4 is a touch panel, keyboard, mouse, microphone, or a combination thereof for inputting user operations, etc. It is more preferable that the microphone is a so-called directional microphone that can determine the direction of a sound source.

[0015] The HD 10H5 is an example of an auxiliary storage device, and stores programs, files, various settings, and other data used in processing.

[0016] The storage device 10H6 is a so-called memory, etc. That is, programs or data stored in the HD 10H5 are read into the storage device 10H6.

[0017] (Example of functional configuration) 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. For example, the conference support system 1 includes an input unit 1F1, a control unit 1F2, a storage unit 1F3, and an output unit 1F4.

[0018] For example, in the conference support system 1, the input unit 1F1 and the output unit 1F4 are included in the terminal 11 (FIG. 1). The control unit 1F2 and the storage unit 1F3 are included in the server 10 (FIG. 1). Note that each unit shown in the figure may be included in either the terminal 11 or the server 10.

[0019] The input unit 1F1 inputs the content of statements made in a conference. For example, the input unit 1F1 is realized by the input device 10H4 (FIG. 2) or the like.

[0020] The control unit 1F2 performs control to realize each process. Specifically, the control unit 1F2 has a determination unit 1F21. As shown in the figure, the control unit 1F2 may also have a decoration unit 1F22, a time management unit 1F23, and a speaker determination unit 1F24. For example, the control unit 1F2 is realized by the CPU 10H1 (FIG. 2) or the like.

[0021] The storage unit 1F3 stores data that is input in advance. The storage unit 1F3 also realizes a database. The storage unit 1F3 also stores the content of comments. For example, the storage unit 1F3 is realized by the HD 10H5 (FIG. 2) and the storage device 10H6 (FIG. 2), etc.

[0022] The output unit 1F4 displays or prints the meeting contents, and outputs the meeting contents such as minutes, evaluation results, summaries, remarks, judgment results, or a combination thereof to the meeting participants, etc. in a preset format. For example, the output unit 1F4 is realized by the output device 10H3 (FIG. 2) or the like.

[0023] First, in the conference support system 1, the input unit 1F1 inputs the content of a statement made during a conference by the person who made the statement (hereinafter referred to as the "speaker"), the minutes keeper, or the like. Specifically, the content of a statement is input in text format, for example, using a keyboard or the like. Note that the content of a statement may be content that is spoken by a participant and then input using a keyboard or the like. In addition, in an online conference between remote locations using chat or the like, when participants input what they want to say using a keyboard, the content of a statement may be content input using chat or the like. In other words, the content of a statement is not limited to content spoken orally. In other words, the content of a statement may be content that is not spoken orally but is input using a keyboard or the like.

[0024] Alternatively, the utterance content may be input by voice using a microphone or the like. In other words, when the utterance content is input by voice, the conference support system 1 may perform voice recognition on the input voice to generate text data or the like. The utterance content may also be input by handwriting on an electronic whiteboard, a tablet terminal, or the like. In other words, when the utterance content is input by handwriting, the conference support system 1 may perform OCR recognition on the input handwritten characters to generate text data or the like.

[0025] When the speaker determination unit 1F24 identifies the speaker from among the participants, the speaker determination unit 1F24 may use a plurality of directional microphones or the like to associate the speaker with the direction from which the source of the sound is determined to be located, thereby identifying the speaker from among the participants. Alternatively, the speaker determination unit 1F24 may perform voice authentication on input voice data and identify the speaker based on the authentication result. Alternatively, the speaker determination unit 1F24 may identify the speaker by photographing the speaker with a camera or the like connected to the network 12 (FIG. 1) and performing face authentication using the captured image.

[0026] Furthermore, information that can identify who made the statement may be input by the input unit 1F1 or the like. Specifically, for example, speaker information is first assigned in advance to each of a plurality of function keys ("F1" to "F12") on the keyboard. Then, when the statement is input, when a function key is pressed, the conference support system 1 may assign the speaker information to the statement. In this way, the statement may be linked to the speaker.

[0027] Next, the conference support system 1 determines the type of the input utterance by the determination unit 1F21. Specifically, the types of utterances include, for example, "proposal," "question," "answer," "positive opinion," "negative opinion," "neutral opinion," "information," "request," "issue," "action item" (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "AI"), and "decision." Below, an example of classifying the content of a utterance into these types of utterances will be described.

[0028] First, in the conference support system 1, expressions defined in advance for each type of utterance are stored in the memory unit 1F3 in order to determine the type of utterance. Furthermore, expressions are phrases, words, or expressions, etc., and the memory unit 1F3 stores the types of utterances in association with expressions specific to those types of utterances. When the input unit 1F1 inputs the content of the utterance, the determination unit 1F21 determines whether the content of the utterance contains an expression stored in the memory unit 1F3. Next, when the content of the utterance contains an expression stored in the memory unit 1F3, the determination unit 1F21 identifies the corresponding type from among the types of utterances. In this way, the conference support system 1 can determine the type of utterances made in a conference.

[0029] The output unit 1F4 also outputs the conference contents. For example, the output unit 1F4 displays the speech contents in an embellished manner based on the type of speech determined by the determination unit 1F21.

[0030] (Input and output examples) In the conference support system, for example, each terminal displays a screen such as the one below and performs each process.

[0031] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. For example, the screen displayed on each screen of each terminal has a display and GUI as shown in the figure. The following description will be given using the screen shown in the figure as an example.

[0032] In this example, an output unit displays an agenda 301 and the purpose of the meeting, i.e., a goal 302, on the screen. When the agenda 301 and goal 302 are displayed during the meeting, it is possible to align the participants' awareness and the vector of the discussion. Therefore, the meeting support system can reduce derailment of the meeting. The agenda 301 and goal 302 are set in advance, for example, before the meeting begins or at the beginning of the meeting, as follows.

[0033] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for setting an agenda, goals, etc. in the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. For example, the setting screen shown in the figure is displayed by the conference support system at the beginning of a conference. After the following settings are made on the setting screen, pressing the start button 505 completes the settings. In other words, after pressing the start button 505, the screen shown in FIG. 4 and the like are displayed by the conference support system.

[0034] As shown in the figure, participants input agenda items into an agenda setting text box 501. Furthermore, participants set goals for each agenda item input into the agenda setting text box 501. The goals are input, for example, into a goal setting text box 502. In this way, the agenda items and goals input into the agenda setting text box 501 and goal setting text box 502 are displayed by the meeting support system as agenda items 301 and goals 302, as shown in FIG.

[0035] In addition, there are cases where a meeting notice or the like is created in advance before the meeting is held. In such cases, the agenda and goal described in the meeting notice may be displayed as agenda 301 and goal 302 by the meeting support system, as shown in FIG. 4. When meeting notices or the like are notified to meeting participants in advance in this way, participants can prepare in advance, thereby making the meeting more efficient. Furthermore, when meeting notices or the like are notified to meeting participants in advance, participants can determine whether or not they need to participate, thereby avoiding unnecessary participation in meetings.

[0036] Returning to FIG. 4, the current time 306, time allocation 307, progress status 308, etc. are displayed on the screen by the conference support system. The current time 306 is displayed based on a preset time or data indicating time acquired via a network, etc. Furthermore, the time allocation 307 is displayed based on the scheduled time for each agenda item that is set in advance. For example, the scheduled time for each agenda item is entered in the scheduled time setting text box 503 shown in FIG. 5. Furthermore, the progress status 308 is displayed as a so-called progress bar, which indicates the percentage of elapsed time, based on the time that has elapsed since the conference start time to the current time 306, as shown in the figure.

[0037] The time management unit 1F23 (FIG. 3) and the output unit 1F4 (FIG. 3) may also display the following. For example, when the scheduled end time of the entire meeting or each agenda item approaches, the meeting support system may display the remaining time or an alert prompting the meeting to wrap up. For example, in an example using the screen shown in FIG. 4, the meeting support system displays the following:

[0038] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an alert and remaining time displayed on a screen displayed by the conference support system according to an embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, remaining time 401, alert 402, and the like may be displayed by the conference support system. In the example shown in the figure, remaining time 401 is an example of a display indicating that the time from the current time to the scheduled end time of the entire conference is "less than 10 minutes." Furthermore, alert 402 is an example of a display notifying participants that the remaining time of the conference is running out and that they should conclude the conference, for example. Such a display makes it easier for participants to secure time to conclude the discussion. Therefore, the conference support system can reduce the possibility of participants becoming so engrossed in the discussion that time runs out, causing the conclusion or action items of the conference to become unclear.

[0039] The alert and remaining time are not limited to being output in the format shown in the drawing, and may be output, for example, by voice or the like.

[0040] Returning to FIG. 4, the comment content 303 is displayed on the screen. The comment content 303 is decorated based on the determination result by the determination unit 1F21 (FIG. 3). For example, as shown in the figure, each comment content is displayed with a symbol indicating the type of comment added to the beginning or end of the sentence, such as "Q:," "A:," "Proposal:," "Opinion (P):," "Opinion (N):," "Information:," "Agenda:," and "AI candidate:." The decoration may be any decoration that can distinguish the type of comment. For example, decoration may be color coding, character decoration such as italics and bold, a different font, adding characters to the beginning or end of a sentence, or a combination of these. The decoration method can be set in advance in the conference support system. Specifically, for example, a comment content determined to be a "positive opinion" is displayed in blue, and the symbol "Opinion (P)" is added to the beginning of the sentence. Additionally, comments that are judged to be "negative opinions" and "issues" are displayed in red, and the words "Opinion (N)" and "Issues" are added to the beginning of each sentence. In this way, when the type of comment is indicated by decoration, participants can intuitively grasp the important points in the meeting, the content of the discussion, the trend of the meeting, etc. The decoration may be processed by the server 10 (FIG. 1) or by a browser installed on the terminal 11 (FIG. 1).

[0041] Furthermore, when a speaker is identified, the speaker may be displayed by the conference support system as shown in the figure. In the example shown in the figure, the speaker's name is displayed in parentheses. Note that the speaker may also be displayed in a format other than that shown in the figure. Furthermore, a person who is a candidate for a speaker, i.e., a participant, is set in advance in the participant setting text box 504 on the setting screen shown in FIG. 5, for example. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the participant set in the participant setting text box 504 is displayed by the conference support system as in participant display 305.

[0042] Note that the illustrated example is an example in which a function key is set to be linked to each participant displayed in participant display 305. For example, in the illustrated example, when one of the participants, "Sato," makes a statement, if the function key "F2" is pressed when entering the content of the statement made by "Sato" into the statement content input text box 304, the entered content of the statement is linked to "Sato," which is the speaker information. That is, in the illustrated example, when the function key "F2" is pressed when entering the content of the statement into the statement content input text box 304, the conference support system displays the entered content of the statement with "(Sato)" added.

[0043] The type of comment is determined, for example, by the following process: In the following, an example will be described in which the types of comments are "question," "answer," "suggestion," "issue," and "opinion."

[0044] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for determining the type of statement content by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] In step S01, the conference support system initializes the question flag. Specifically, the conference support system sets the question flag to "FALSE." The question flag is an example of data indicating whether the type of the most recently input utterance is a "question." Hereinafter, if the question flag is "FALSE," it indicates that the type of the most recently input utterance is a type other than a "question." On the other hand, if the question flag is "TRUE," it indicates that the type of the most recently input utterance is a "question."

[0046] In step S02, the conference support system inputs the content of the statement. Specifically, the conference support system inputs the content of the statement using input unit 1F1 (FIG. 3). That is, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the content of the statement is input as text or the like into the content input text box 304.

[0047] In step S03, the conference support system determines whether the question flag is "TRUE." If the question flag is "TRUE" (YES in step S03), the conference support system proceeds to step S04. On the other hand, if the question flag is not "TRUE," that is, if it is "FALSE" (NO in step S03), the conference support system proceeds to step S05.

[0048] In step S04, the conference support system determines that the type of the utterance is an "answer." An "answer" is a response to a utterance that corresponds to the "question" utterance type. Therefore, a free expression is allowed for an "answer." In other words, there are cases where an expression that can be determined as an "answer" cannot be set in advance for an "answer." Therefore, as shown in step S03, the conference support system determines whether the immediately preceding utterance is a "question," i.e., whether the type of the utterance is an "answer," based on the question flag. In other words, if the immediately preceding utterance is a "question," the conference support system determines that the type of the next utterance is an "answer." On the other hand, if the immediately preceding utterance is not a "question," the conference support system determines that the type of the next utterance is other than an "answer." In this way, the conference support system classifies the utterance as an "answer." Also, in step S04, the conference support system sets the question flag to "FALSE."

[0049] In step S05, the conference support system determines whether the utterance content includes a "question" expression. For example, the conference support system determines the type of utterance content based on the auxiliary verb portion of the utterance content. Specifically, first, expressions such as "?", "Is it...?", or "Is it not...?" are stored in advance in storage unit 1F3 (FIG. 3). Next, using determination unit 1F21 (FIG. 3), the conference support system determines whether all or part of the utterance content input by input unit 1F1 (FIG. 3) matches the stored expression. In other words, the determination is realized by so-called pattern matching or the like.

[0050] Next, if it is determined in step S05 that the utterance content includes the expression "question" (YES in step S05), the conference support system proceeds to step S06. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S05 that the utterance content does not include the expression "question" (NO in step S05), the conference support system proceeds to step S08.

[0051] In step S06, the conference support system determines that the type of the statement is a "question."

[0052] In step S07, the conference support system sets the question flag to "TRUE."

[0053] In step S08, it is determined whether the utterance content includes the expression "suggestion." For example, the conference support system determines the type of utterance content based on the auxiliary verb portion of the utterance content, as with "question." Specifically, first, expressions such as "should" or "it would be better to do" are stored in advance in storage unit 1F3 (FIG. 3). Next, using determination unit 1F21 (FIG. 3), the conference support system determines whether all or part of the utterance content input by input unit 1F1 (FIG. 3) matches the stored expression.

[0054] Next, if it is determined in step S08 that the statement contains the expression "proposal" (YES in step S08), the conference support system proceeds to step S09. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S08 that the statement does not contain the expression "proposal" (NO in step S08), the conference support system proceeds to step S10.

[0055] In step S09, the conference support system determines that the type of the comment content is a "proposal."

[0056] In step S10, it is determined whether the utterance content includes the expression "issue." For example, the conference support system determines the type of utterance content based on the auxiliary verb portion of the utterance content, as with "question." Specifically, first, expressions such as "need to do" or "must do" are stored in advance in storage unit 1F3 (FIG. 3). Next, using determination unit 1F21 (FIG. 3), the conference support system determines whether all or part of the utterance content input by input unit 1F1 (FIG. 3) matches the stored expression.

[0057] Next, if it is determined in step S10 that the statement contains the expression "issue" (YES in step S10), the conference support system proceeds to step S11. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S10 that the statement does not contain the expression "issue" (NO in step S10), the conference support system proceeds to step S12.

[0058] In step S11, the conference support system determines that the type of the comment content is "topic."

[0059] In step S12, the conference support system determines that the type of the comment content is an "opinion."

[0060] As described above, steps S02 to S12 are repeatedly performed for each statement. By performing such processing, the conference support system can determine the type of statement in the statement.

[0061] The conference support system may also display a summary. For example, when the following operation is performed, the conference support system switches between the summary and the full text.

[0062] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for switching between a summary and the full text by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated screen is an example of a screen displayed during a conference. When the summary instruction button BN1, which is displayed as "Display extracted important sentences," is pressed, the conference support system switches the screen to display the summary.

[0063] 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for switching between a summary and a full text by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The conference support system performs the process shown in the figure to generate a summary. The types of comments are as follows: "suggestion," "question," "answer," "positive opinion," "negative opinion," "neutral opinion," "information," "request," "issue," "action item," "decision," etc.

[0064] In step S21, the conference support system initializes the summary flag. Specifically, the conference support system sets the summary flag to "FALSE." The summary flag is a flag that switches between extracting important parts of the input speech content and displaying a summary, or displaying the full text showing all speech content. Hereinafter, when the summary flag is "FALSE," the conference support system is set to display the full text. On the other hand, when the summary flag is "TRUE," the conference support system is set to display a summary.

[0065] In step S22, the conference support system accepts the pressing of the summary instruction button BN1 (FIG. 8). Each time the summary instruction button BN1 is pressed, the display switches between the full text and the summary.

[0066] In step S23, the conference support system determines whether the summary flag is "TRUE." If it is determined that the summary flag is "TRUE" (YES in step S23), the conference support system proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if it is determined that the summary flag is not "TRUE," that is, is "FALSE" (NO in step S23), the conference support system proceeds to step S26.

[0067] In step S24, the conference support system displays the entire text. Specifically, for example, the screen shown in Fig. 8 is displayed by the conference support system. That is, in the entire text, the conference support system displays all types of utterance content among the utterance content that is input.

[0068] In step S25, the conference support system sets the summary flag to "FALSE."

[0069] In step S26, the conference support system displays the summary. Specifically, for example, the conference support system displays a screen such as that shown below.

[0070] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen showing a summary displayed by the conference support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Compared to the screen shown in Fig. 8, the screen shown in Fig. 10 differs in that a summary display ABS is displayed.

[0071] A summary is the result of extracting important utterances from input utterances. Whether a utterance is important or not is determined based on whether it falls within a predetermined important utterance type. For example, a summary is the result of extracting utterances of utterance types determined as "proposals," "issues," and "action items" from all types of input utterances. That is, a summary is a meeting minutes generated by the conference support system extracting utterances of a predetermined utterance type from input utterances. Note that the illustrated example is an example in which the conference support system extracts utterances of utterance types determined as "issues" and "action items" from the full text shown in FIG. 8 and generates a summary. As illustrated, the conference support system displays utterances of the target utterance type and hides utterances of other utterance types. That is, when the summary shown in FIG. 10 is displayed, participants can easily create action items. In this way, displaying the summary allows participants to review the key points of the meeting. Therefore, the conference support system allows participants to organize issues, action items, decisions, etc. without missing anything. In this way, the conference support system can improve the efficiency of meetings.

[0072] Returning to FIG. 9, in step S27, the conference support system sets the summary flag to "TRUE."

[0073] As described above, steps S22 to S27 are repeatedly performed by the conference support system. By performing such processing, the conference support system can switch between displaying the full text and the summary.

[0074] (Second embodiment) The second embodiment is realized by, for example, the same overall configuration and hardware configuration as the first embodiment. Therefore, the explanation of the overall configuration and hardware configuration will be omitted, and the following explanation will focus on the differences. The second embodiment has a different functional configuration from the first embodiment.

[0075] Fig. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a conference support system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Compared with Fig. 3, the functional configuration shown in Fig. 11 differs in that the control unit 1F2 includes a cost calculation unit 1F31 and an evaluation unit 1F32.

[0076] As shown in the figure, the conference support system 1 preferably further includes a translation processing unit 1F5.

[0077] The cost calculation unit 1F31 calculates the cost incurred by holding the conference based on the personnel costs of the participants.

[0078] The evaluation unit 1F32 evaluates the conference based on the duration of the conference, the number of remarks, the types of remarks, and the proportion of the types of remarks.

[0079] The cost calculation by the cost calculation unit 1F31 and the evaluation by the evaluation unit 1F32 are performed, for example, when the summary button 309, which is a button for "Go to summary / save screen" shown in Fig. 4, is pressed or when an alert 402 is displayed as shown in Fig. 6. For example, the conference system displays a summary screen such as the one shown below.

[0080] 12 is a diagram showing an example of a summary screen displayed by the conference support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the example of the screen shown in the figure, an agenda display 801 displays an agenda set in the agenda setting text box 501 (FIG. 5) or the like in the opening notice or at the beginning of the conference, which is displayed by the conference support system. Furthermore, in the example of the screen shown in the figure, a goal display 802 displays a goal set in the goal setting text box 502 (FIG. 5) or the like in the opening notice or at the beginning of the conference, which is displayed by the conference support system.

[0081] Based on the content displayed in the agenda display 801 and the goal display 802, a conclusion to the discussion is entered in the conclusion input text box 803. Furthermore, based on the content displayed in the agenda display 801 and the goal display 802, an action item decided in the meeting is entered in the action item input text box 804. A date, i.e., a deadline, may be set for the action item. Additionally, a person in charge may be set for the action item. Furthermore, in the action item input text box 804, the meeting support system may display, as a candidate action item, a statement determined to be an "action item," or may display, as a candidate action item, a condensed sentence or a simplified sentence with the end of the sentence formatted, as described below, for the statement determined to be an "action item."

[0082] Furthermore, the conference support system displays the cost calculation by the cost calculation unit 1F31 (FIG. 11) and the evaluation by the evaluation unit 1F32 (FIG. 11) on an evaluation screen such as the one below.

[0083] 13 is a diagram showing an example of an evaluation screen displayed by the conference support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. For example, the conference support system displays the cost and evaluation results of the conference as points and amounts, etc., as shown in the figure.

[0084] The meeting score 901 is a comprehensive score obtained by adding up the scores of the achievement evaluation score 902 , the meeting time evaluation score 903 , the activity evaluation score 904 and the positive evaluation score 905 .

[0085] The achievement evaluation score 902 is an evaluation result of whether or not a conclusion has been entered for each of the previously set goals for each agenda item set in the agenda setting text box 501 (FIG. 5), etc. For example, if four agenda items are set in the agenda setting text box 501 (FIG. 5), etc., and two conclusions have been entered for the four agenda items, the meeting support system will set the achievement evaluation score 902 to half of the full score.

[0086] The meeting time evaluation score 903 is an evaluation result obtained by comparing the scheduled time set in the meeting notification or the scheduled time setting text box 503 (FIG. 5) with the time the meeting took place. For example, if the time the meeting took place is shorter than the scheduled time, the meeting time evaluation score 903 will be high. On the other hand, if the time the meeting took place is longer than the scheduled time, the meeting time evaluation score 903 will be low.

[0087] The activity evaluation score 904 is an evaluation result based on the number of comments or the number of comments per unit time. For example, if the number of comments or the number of comments per unit time is large, the activity evaluation score 904 will be high. On the other hand, if the number of comments or the number of comments per unit time is small, the activity evaluation score 904 will be low. Therefore, if the activity evaluation score 904 is low, it is possible that the meeting has become a place for unnecessary information sharing, or that so-called side work is being done because people unrelated to the agenda have been gathered. Therefore, the meeting support system can encourage improvements in the management of the meeting by providing feedback on these possibilities.

[0088] The positivity evaluation score 905 is an evaluation result based on the types of statements and the proportion of those types determined by the determination unit 1F21 (FIG. 11). For example, if the proportion of types of statements evaluated as "suggestions" is high, the positivity evaluation score 905 will be high. On the other hand, if the proportion of types of statements evaluated as "suggestions" is low, the positivity evaluation score 905 will be low. Therefore, if the positivity evaluation score 905 is low, there is a possibility that the meeting is full of criticism and comments, and is not approaching a conclusion. Therefore, the meeting support system can suggest this possibility and encourage participants to offer constructive opinions toward the goal.

[0089] The conference support system performs the above evaluation using the evaluation unit 1F32 (FIG. 11). Next, the conference support system outputs the evaluation results to a screen or the like using the output unit 1F4 (FIG. 11), thereby providing participants with objective feedback on the evaluation results of the conference. When feedback is provided in this way, the conference support system can suggest to participants which areas of the conference may be problematic, or make participants aware of the time the conference took place, etc. This allows the conference support system to encourage participants to reconsider the members to include in the conference or how the conference should proceed.

[0090] The conference support system may display each evaluation result, the number of comments, the type of comments, etc., during the conference. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the evaluation results, etc. may be displayed as in evaluation display 310. That is, the evaluation results, etc. may be displayed in real time during the conference. In this way, the conference support system can, for example, encourage people who speak little to speak more.

[0091] Furthermore, the conference support system may weight comments that are determined to be "issues," "suggestions," etc. in the evaluation. In this way, the conference support system can encourage participants to make more comments that fall into the category of "issues," "suggestions," etc. Therefore, the conference support system can encourage more useful discussions.

[0092] Additionally, the conference support system may display the cost calculation results on the evaluation screen. For example, the cost is calculated by the cost calculation unit 1F31 (FIG. 11) based on the conference time 906 and the personnel costs of each participant. The calculated cost is displayed, for example, as in cost display 907.

[0093] To calculate costs, the labor cost per unit time of each participant is first input into the conference support system. The labor cost may be a fixed rate for all participants, or may be set for each position. Alternatively, the labor cost may be set based on actual salaries, etc.

[0094] Next, the conference support system measures the time that has elapsed from the start time of the conference to the end time of the conference, and displays the measurement result in conference time 906. Then, the conference support system multiplies the labor cost per unit time of each participant by conference time 906 to calculate the cost of each participant. Next, the conference support system sums up the costs of each participant, and displays the calculation result in cost display 907.

[0095] Furthermore, the evaluation screen may be displayed by the conference support system with an evaluation result for each participant. For example, the evaluation result for each participant may be displayed as a contribution level display 908 or the like.

[0096] The contribution display 908 shows the evaluation result for each participant based on, for example, the type of comment and the number of comment contents determined by the determination unit 1F21 (FIG. 11). Note that the comment contents are linked to the participant who made each comment by the speaker determination unit 1F24 shown in FIG. 3, etc.

[0097] The contribution level display 908 is calculated by the conference support system, for example, as follows: First, participants assign weights to the types of comments that are considered important in accordance with the purpose of the conference, such as assigning "1 point" to a "neutral opinion" and "5 points" to "challenges" and "suggestions." It is desirable that the conference support system be set so that constructive opinions such as "challenges" and "suggestions" are given greater weight. With this setting, the conference support system can encourage useful discussions aimed at resolving problems.

[0098] Next, the conference support system evaluates each participant by multiplying the result of the judgment by the judgment unit 1F21 (FIG. 11) by the number of comments. The values ​​calculated by this evaluation are the "degree of contribution" and "earned points" shown in the contribution display 908. In this way, when the "degree of contribution" and the like are fed back to the participants by the conference support system, the participants can use the "degree of contribution" and the like to reconsider which members to include in the conference. Therefore, the conference support system can promote more useful discussions. Furthermore, by reducing the number of unnecessary members participating, the conference support system can reduce the costs associated with the conference.

[0099] The above-described screens may be shared in real time by the terminals 11 connected to the network 12 shown in Fig. 1. In this way, even if a conference is held in a location without a display, if participants bring their own terminals 11 such as laptop PCs, each participant can view the above-described screens and hold the conference.

[0100] Furthermore, the content of comments and the like may be edited collaboratively from each terminal 11. For example, the server 10 converts the content to be displayed on the screen and the like into an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) file and transmits it to each terminal 11. Next, when the content of comments and the like is input and data indicating the content of comments and the like is transmitted to the server 10, the server 10 transmits an HTML file reflecting the new content of comments and the like to each terminal 11.

[0101] Furthermore, for real-time sharing, a bidirectional communication protocol such as WebSocket is used. WebSocket is a protocol disclosed in "https: / / ja.wikipedia.org / wiki / WebSocket" and the like.

[0102] The words displayed on the screen may be subjected to a translation process. For example, when a statement or the like is input and data indicating the statement or the like is sent to the server 10, the server 10 translates the statement and generates an HTML file indicating the statement before translation and the statement after translation. The server 10 then transmits the HTML file indicating the statement before translation and the statement after translation to each terminal 11. In this way, the conference support system can reduce miscommunication even when participants speak different languages.

[0103] The translation processing is performed by a translation processing unit 1F5 (FIG. 11). The translation processing unit 1F5 has a functional configuration including, for example, a translation unit, a translation language setting unit, and a translation result storage processing unit, which are shown below. Specifically, the translation processing is performed by the method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-153408. The translation processing unit 1F5 is performed by, for example, a CPU 10H1 (FIG. 2).

[0104] First, the translation language setting unit sets the language in which participants will speak (hereinafter referred to as the "input language") and the language into which the input language is translated (hereinafter referred to as the "translation language") based on a user operation.

[0105] The translation unit then performs part-of-speech analysis and syntactic analysis on the utterance content input in the input language by referring to the language model and word dictionary. In this way, the translation unit translates the utterance content input in the input language into the target language.

[0106] Next, the translation result storage processor stores the characters, etc. in the translation language generated by the translation unit through translation in a text file, etc. The conference support system may then output the characters, etc. in the translation language stored by the translation result storage processor.

[0107] Furthermore, each terminal 11 may perform user authentication. For example, user authentication is performed by inputting a user name into a user name input text box displayed on the screen. Alternatively, user authentication may be performed using an IC card, RFID, or the like. In this way, similar to the function key assignment shown in FIG. 4, the speaker and the content of the speech may be linked based on the authentication result of the above user authentication and the terminal into which the content of the speech was input. Note that, similar to the first embodiment, information related to the speaker may be added by coloring, displaying the beginning or end of the sentence, or the like.

[0108] Furthermore, a subjective evaluation may be input for the content of the speech, and the conference support system may perform an evaluation based on the input subjective evaluation. For example, the subjective evaluation may be input as follows:

[0109] 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for inputting a subjective evaluation displayed by the conference support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Compared to FIG. 6, the example of the screen shown in the figure differs in that a subjective evaluation button 1001 is added for each of the displayed utterances.

[0110] As shown in the figure, a subjective evaluation button 1001 is displayed for each statement. If each participant determines that the statement is one that they support, they press the subjective evaluation button 1001 displayed for the statement that they support. The subjective evaluation button 1001 may be pressed by the participant in charge of inputting the evaluation, or each participant may press it based on their own judgment. The subjective evaluation button 1001 may also be a button to be pressed when a participant does not support a statement. In this way, when the subjective evaluation is input, the conference support system can evaluate whether each statement is good or not based on the subjective opinion of each participant. The conference support system then displays the evaluation results based on the subjective evaluation, and can encourage participants to make good comments that will help achieve the purpose of the conference.

[0111] Furthermore, the conference support system may display the content of a statement decorated based on an input using the subjective evaluation button 1001. For example, in the screen shown in the figure, the conference support system displays the content of a statement for which the subjective evaluation button 1001 was pressed as a large display 1002. As shown in the figure, the large display 1002 is an example of decoration in which the font size of the characters indicating the content of a statement is larger than that of other content of a statement. When the content of a statement is decorated and output in this way, participants can intuitively understand whether that content of a statement is supported among the other content of a statement. Furthermore, the conference support system may use user information to display the status of approval or disapproval of the content of a statement, such as who is in favor and who is against a particular opinion.

[0112] The decoration is realized by, for example, using support and non-support information and modifying the description of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) using a language such as Javascript (registered trademark).

[0113] Furthermore, when displaying summaries, the meeting support system may display the content of statements that are judged to be important based on the input subjective evaluation, in addition to displaying the summaries based on the type of statement. This allows participants to better understand the process of the discussion leading up to the conclusion. In other words, this allows the meeting support system to generate minutes that are effective for reviewing the meeting and sharing information.

[0114] Furthermore, the evaluation unit 1F32 (FIG. 11) may evaluate a conference based on the time the conference was held. For example, the evaluation unit 1F32 (FIG. 11) performs the evaluation as follows.

[0115] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of a process of performing an evaluation based on the duration of a conference by the conference support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0116] In step S31, the conference assistance system accepts pressing of an evaluation button. For example, when an evaluation button such as "Evaluate this conference" shown in FIG. 10 is pressed, the conference assistance system starts evaluation. The duration of the conference is assumed to be the time from the start of the conference to the end of the conference (hereinafter referred to as "elapsed time"). Furthermore, the scheduled duration of the conference (hereinafter simply referred to as "scheduled duration") is assumed to be input to the conference assistance system in advance, such as before the evaluation button is pressed.

[0117] In step S32, the conference support system determines whether the elapsed time exceeds the scheduled time by 10% or more. If the conference support system determines that the elapsed time exceeds the scheduled time by 10% or more (YES in step S32), the conference support system proceeds to step S33. On the other hand, if the conference support system determines that the elapsed time does not exceed the scheduled time by 10% or more (NO in step S32), the conference support system proceeds to step S34.

[0118] In step S33, the conference support system sets the evaluation score to "0" points.

[0119] In step S34, the conference support system determines whether the elapsed time exceeds the scheduled time by less than 10%. If the conference support system determines that the elapsed time exceeds the scheduled time by less than 10% (YES in step S34), the conference support system proceeds to step S35. On the other hand, if the conference support system determines that the elapsed time does not exceed the scheduled time by less than 10% (NO in step S34), the conference support system proceeds to step S36.

[0120] In step S35, the conference support system assigns an evaluation score of "5" points.

[0121] In step S36, the conference support system determines whether the elapsed time exceeds the scheduled time by less than 5%. If the conference support system determines that the elapsed time exceeds the scheduled time by less than 5% (YES in step S36), the conference support system proceeds to step S37. On the other hand, if the conference support system determines that the elapsed time does not exceed the scheduled time by less than 5% (NO in step S36), the conference support system proceeds to step S38.

[0122] In step S37, the conference support system assigns the evaluation score of "10" points.

[0123] In step S38, the conference support system determines whether the elapsed time is 10% or more shorter than the scheduled time. Next, if the conference support system determines that the elapsed time is 10% or more shorter than the scheduled time (YES in step S38), the conference support system proceeds to step S39. On the other hand, if the conference support system determines that the elapsed time is not 10% or more shorter than the scheduled time (NO in step S38), the conference support system proceeds to step S40.

[0124] In step S39, the conference support system assigns the evaluation score of "25" points.

[0125] In step S40, the conference support system determines whether the elapsed time is 5% or more shorter than the scheduled time. Next, if the conference support system determines that the elapsed time is 5% or more shorter than the scheduled time (YES in step S40), the conference support system proceeds to step S41. On the other hand, if the conference support system determines that the elapsed time is not 5% or more shorter than the scheduled time (NO in step S40), the conference support system proceeds to step S42.

[0126] In step S41, the conference support system assigns an evaluation score of "20" points.

[0127] In step S42, the conference support system assigns an evaluation score of "15" points.

[0128] For example, as shown in the figure, the conference support system evaluates the elapsed time so that it gives a higher evaluation score when it is shorter than the scheduled time. On the other hand, the conference support system evaluates the elapsed time so that it gives a lower evaluation score when it is longer than the scheduled time. Note that the numerical values ​​of the evaluation score and the criteria for judgment are not limited to the values ​​and judgments shown in the figure, and may be changeable by settings, etc. As shown in the figure, the evaluated evaluation score is displayed by the conference support system.

[0129] The conference support system may also display the evaluation results using stars or the like, as shown in FIG. 13. Furthermore, the conference support system may also display comments or the like encouraging behavioral change, as shown in FIG. 13. Furthermore, the conference support system may display the evaluation results related to time together with other evaluation results, as shown in FIG. 13. In this way, when the evaluation results evaluating the conference based on the time the conference took place are displayed, the conference support system can make participants aware of the time related to the conference and encourage them to achieve their goals within the time limit. In this way, the conference support system can make the conference more efficient.

[0130] (Third embodiment) The third embodiment is an embodiment realized by, for example, the same overall configuration, hardware configuration, and functional configuration as the first embodiment. The following mainly describes the differences. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the determination method used by the determination unit 1F21 (FIG. 3).

[0131] In the third embodiment, the conference support system uses a tagged corpus as so-called training data. The conference support system then performs so-called supervised learning, which is a machine learning method, to train a classifier that performs natural language processing. Below, an example will be described in which the tags, i.e., types of statements, are "suggestions," "questions," "answers," "positive opinions," "negative opinions," "neutral opinions," "information," "requests," "issues," "action items," and "decisions."

[0132] The machine learning method may be, for example, a support vector machine (SVM), a naive Bayes classifier, decision tree learning, or a conditional random field (CRF). Preferably, the machine learning method is a support vector machine. A support vector machine can make decisions sequentially, improving real-time performance.

[0133] The classifier determines the type of utterance based on the characteristics of the utterance content (hereinafter referred to as "features"). Specifically, features are adverbs, adjectives, nouns, or auxiliary verbs contained in the utterance content. For example, adjectives may indicate positive or negative expressions. Furthermore, nouns may be expressions indicating "action items" and "issues," such as "needs consideration" and "needs a response," in addition to positive or negative expressions. Furthermore, auxiliary verbs, etc., may be expressions indicating hope, obligation, necessity, request, proposal, assertion, conjecture, hearsay, evaluation, etc., at the end of a sentence, etc. Therefore, when the classifier determines the type of utterance based on features, the meeting support system can accurately determine the type of utterance.

[0134] Furthermore, the conference support system may allow the user to set the type of conference. For example, even if the content of a statement is the same, the characteristics may differ between a conference between on-site personnel and a review conference. Specifically, in a conference between on-site personnel, the characteristics of the content of the statement may be "request," whereas in a review conference, the characteristics of a statement made by a decision maker may be "action item" or "decision." Such labels are closely related to the type of conference. Therefore, by setting the type of conference, the conference support system can accurately determine the type of statement.

[0135] Furthermore, the meeting support system may infer the role of a speaker based on the content of their remarks and use this as a feature. For example, in a meeting such as a review meeting or a report session, a speaker who makes many "question" comments regarding the report content is inferred to be a decision maker. In addition, a speaker who makes many "challenge" comments is inferred to be an expert on the topic of the meeting.

[0136] If the results of such estimation are used as features for learning and judgment of the classifier, the conference support system can accurately determine the type of speech even if a decision maker or the like is not set in the conference support system.

[0137] The conference support system performs natural language processing using machine learning, for example, by the method described in "Fundamentals of Natural Language Processing," by Manabu Okumura, published by Corona Publishing.

[0138] FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of natural language processing using machine learning by a conference support system according to an embodiment of the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the conference support system trains a classifier CLF by supervised learning. First, data expressed as a set of feature-value pairs is input to the classifier CLF, and the classifier outputs a class to which the input test data TSD belongs. The class is indicated by a class label CLB. In other words, the class label CLB indicates the result of determining the type of utterance of the utterance content indicated by the test data TSD.

[0139] To train the classifier CLF using a machine learning algorithm, as shown in the figure, the conference support system inputs, as training data TRD, a set of pairs of data and the classes to which the data belongs. Next, when the training data TRD is input, the conference support system trains the classifier CLF using a machine learning algorithm. After training the classifier CLF in this way, when test data TSD is input, the conference support system can output the class to which the test data TSD belongs using the classifier CLF. In this configuration, when information about words surrounding a word in the speech content to be judged is input, the conference support system can train a classifier that can output the meaning of the word.

[0140] The method of determining the type of speech using the classifier CLF allows the meeting support system to determine the type of speech with greater accuracy than methods that use pattern matching, etc. Furthermore, the method of determining the type of speech using the classifier CLF requires less effort, such as updating data, than methods that use pattern matching, etc. In other words, when the method of determining the type of speech using the classifier CLF is used, so-called maintainability can be improved.

[0141] The system may also be configured so that participants can change the class label. In this way, if the class label CLB determined by the classifier CLF indicates a class different from the class intended by the participant, the participant can change the class. For example, even if the content of a utterance is determined to be an "opinion" by the conference support system, if the participant thinks it is a "question," the participant can change the class label from "opinion" to "question."

[0142] In this way, when changes are made and feedback is provided, the meeting support system can learn the classifier CLF, just as when training data TRD is input in machine learning. This means that the meeting support system can learn the classifier CLF with less effort, such as updating data. As a result, the meeting support system can accurately determine the type of speech.

[0143] Alternatively, the conference support system may determine the type of statement based on the person who made the statement. For example, suppose that in a conference, there is a person who always frequently speaks about "issues" and another person who always frequently speaks about "negative opinions." In such a case, the conference support system may identify the person who made the statement and determine the type of statement, such as "issues" or "negative opinions." Information about the person who made the identified statement may also be used as the background. In this way, the conference support system can determine the type of statement taking into account the tendencies of the person who made the statement. Therefore, the conference support system can accurately determine the type of statement.

[0144] Furthermore, the conference assistance system may determine the type of a statement based on the role of the person who made the statement in the conference. For example, in a conference such as a report session, if the person who made the statement is a "decision maker," the type of the statement may be determined based on the fact that the statement was made by a "decision maker." In this way, the conference assistance system can determine the type of statement taking into account the tendencies of the person who made the statement. Therefore, the conference assistance system can accurately determine the type of statement. In particular, the conference assistance system can accurately determine the type of statement, such as an "action item" and a "decision."

[0145] Furthermore, the accuracy often decreases as the number of types of utterances, i.e., labels, increases. Therefore, the meeting support system may classify the types of utterances into groups. For example, an example will be described in which the types of utterances are "suggestions," "questions," "answers," "positive opinions," "negative opinions," "neutral opinions," "information," "requests," "issues," "action items," and "decisions."

[0146] For example, the groups are referred to as "first group" and "second group" as shown below.

[0147] Group 1: "Suggestions," "Questions," "Answers," "Positive Opinions," "Negative Opinions," "Neutral Opinions," "Information," and "Requests" Group 2: "Action Items" and "Decisions" The conference support system then determines which of the "first group" utterance types the utterance content belongs to. Next, the conference support system determines which of the "second group" utterance types the utterance content belongs to. In the configuration shown in FIG. 16, a classifier CLF is prepared for each group.

[0148] For example, if someone says in a meeting, "I want something done between the multiple people in charge," the meeting support system will determine that this statement is a type of "answer" in the first group and also a type of "action item" in the second group.

[0149] For example, suppose that the content of statements of the "action items" and "decisions" types is important in a meeting. In such a case, if important statement types are selected and grouped, as in the second group, the meeting support system can accurately determine the content of important statement types. Furthermore, since the number of statement types in each group is smaller than when the statements are not grouped, the meeting support system can accurately determine the type of statement.

[0150] The conference support system may also display candidates for conclusions or decisions regarding the content of remarks. For example, the conference support system displays candidate remarks for conclusions or decisions as "conclusion," "decision," "issue," or the like in the action item input text box 804 shown in FIG. 12 .

[0151] Furthermore, the conference support system may display a trash can icon or the like next to the action item input text box 804. If the user determines that one of the candidates, such as "Conclusion," "Decision," or "Issues," displayed by the conference support system in the action item input text box 804 is inappropriate, the user uses the trash can icon to delete the inappropriate candidate. In this way, the conference support system may delete the displayed candidate based on the user's operation. When deleting candidates, the conference support system also corrects the labels of the training data. The conference support system can then retrain the classifier using the corrected data, i.e., the utterance content and labels, thereby enabling the classifier to learn better.

[0152] Furthermore, the user may perform an operation to add candidates such as "Conclusion," "Decision," or "Issues" to be displayed in the action item input text box 804. In other words, the user may be able to add candidates that the conference support system has not listed to the action item input text box 804. For example, the conference support system displays a pull-down menu. Then, the user performs an operation to select a label to add from the pull-down menu. The user may also perform an operation to modify the candidates displayed by the conference support system. Based on the results of these modifications, the labels of the training data are also modified. In this way, the conference support system may retrain the classifier.

[0153] To perform the above operations, for example, the following GUI is used.

[0154] 17 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI displayed by the conference support system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which the conference support system displays candidates as shown in the figure in the action item input text box 804.

[0155] In this example, the conference support system displays a trash can icon INTR next to each candidate, as shown in the figure. When the trash can icon INTR is clicked, the conference support system deletes the corresponding candidate.

[0156] In this example, the conference support system displays a pull-down menu PDMN as shown in the figure. When this pull-down menu PDMN is operated, the conference support system modifies or adds a label.

[0157] Using the GUI or the like described above, the conference support system modifies, adds, or deletes candidates.

[0158] (Fourth embodiment) The fourth embodiment is an embodiment realized by, for example, the same overall configuration, hardware configuration, and functional configuration as the first embodiment. The following mainly describes the differences. The fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the output by the output unit 1F4 (FIG. 3). A topic is a word that indicates the title, subject, or topic of a plurality of statements. For example, the conference support system displays topics generated as follows:

[0159] 18 is a diagram showing an example of display of topics generated by the conference support system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown, the conference support system generates topics 1101 and displays corresponding comment contents 1102 for each topic 1101.

[0160] In many cases, the content of a speech in a conference is made up of multiple topics 1101. Note that the content of a speech in a conference may be made up of multiple topics 1101 or may be the same as the topic 1101.

[0161] As shown in the figure, the comment contents 1102 are grouped by topic 1101. The comment contents 1102 grouped by topic are then decorated according to the type of each comment content 1102. In addition, the example shown in the figure is an example in which, of the comment contents 1102, the comment contents 1102 of "positive opinions" are arranged on the left side, while the comment contents 1102 of "negative opinions" and "issues" are arranged on the right side. By arranging the comment contents according to their type in this way, the conference support system can display the content of the discussion in a way that makes it easy for the user to intuitively grasp the content of the discussion.

[0162] Furthermore, if the utterance content 1102 is long, the conference support system may shorten the utterance content 1102. For example, the conference support system may perform so-called sentence compression, etc. In other words, the conference support system may convert the utterance content of each utterance into a simpler format by using sentence compression, etc.

[0163] Specifically, the conference support system first performs a syntactic analysis of the utterance content using a syntactic analysis tool or the like. The syntactic analysis then divides the utterance content into multiple elements. Next, the conference support system assigns an importance level to each element. Next, the conference support system deletes elements with low importance based on the importance level. In this way, the conference support system can reduce the number of elements in a sentence and shorten the utterance content without destroying the sentence structure.

[0164] The importance is determined, for example, as follows:

[0165] · Nouns, proper nouns, subjective or objective cases are of high importance.

[0166] Elements, adverbs, or attributive clauses that include "etc." or the particle "ya" are of low importance.

[0167] Therefore, the conference support system shortens the content of speech by compressing sentences by deleting attributive clauses, embedded sentences, subordinate clauses, etc. Sentence compression is performed using a method such as that disclosed in "Fundamentals of Natural Language Processing" by Manabu Okumura, published by Corona Publishing.

[0168] In this way, when the meeting support system displays the topics, the user can easily review the meeting. In other words, the meeting support system displays the "tasks," "action items," and "decisions" associated with each topic, allowing the user to efficiently summarize the meeting.

[0169] Furthermore, for example, a user may add candidates for "issues," "action items," and "decisions" using the GUI shown in FIG. 17. In such a case, the meeting support system may extract utterances related to the added candidates. For example, the extraction results may be displayed on a screen such as the one shown below.

[0170] 19 is a diagram showing an example of displaying extraction results by the conference support system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. For example, in the illustrated example, the conference support system displays results extracted from "action items" and "decisions" in text boxes such as INBX.

[0171] Furthermore, the text box INBX may display full sentences. The figure shows an example in which the text box INBX displays utterances, including utterances that are candidates for "action items," grouped according to boundaries estimated by a method for estimating topic boundaries, which will be described later. That is, the illustrated text box INBX displays a summary. On the other hand, the text box INBX may display the full text AL. That is, the text box INBX may be switched to display the full text AL. Furthermore, a summary is generated, for example, from the full text AL.

[0172] For example, extraction results are generated by a fourth estimation method described below and a similarity calculation. Specifically, the conference support system first represents, as a document vector, the content of comments and each candidate grouped according to the boundaries estimated by the topic boundary estimation method described below. Next, the conference support system calculates the compatibility based on cosine similarity or the like. The conference support system then extracts or links content of comments and candidates with high similarity. These methods are realized, for example, by the methods disclosed in "Fundamentals and Techniques of Natural Language Processing" by Akira Okuno et al., Shoeisha Publishing, and "http: / / www.cse.kyoto-su.ac.jp / ~g0846020 / keywords / cosinSimilarity.html."

[0173] As a result, as shown in the figure, the text box INBX displays a portion of the proceedings extracted from all the proceedings. The text box INBX also displays proceedings consisting of multiple statements divided by topic.

[0174] Specifically, when there is an item in a discussion about a certain topic that is judged to be an "issue," "decision," or "action item," a statement indicating the content is extracted into the text box INBX.

[0175] As shown in the figure, the text box INBX may also display comments indicating "issues," "decisions," or "action items" related to the comments indicating the contents of the extracted "action items."

[0176] The conferencing system is not limited to use at the end of a conference. For example, minutes of a conference may be entered and used after the conference has ended. Furthermore, it is desirable to generate the distances between topics so as to minimize omissions and overlaps, for example, using the methods disclosed in "http: / / ryotakatoh.hatenablog.com / entry / 2015 / 10 / 29 / 015502" and "http: / / tech-sketch.jp / 2015 / 09 / topic-model.html."

[0177] The topic 1101 is generated, for example, as follows.

[0178] 20 is a flowchart showing an example of topic generation by the conference support system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. For example, when the process shown in the figure is performed, the conference support system can display a screen such as that shown in FIG.

[0179] In step S31, the conference support system inputs the content of the remarks. For example, if a conference has already been held using the conference support system, the content of the remarks made in the conference has been input to the conference support system.

[0180] In step S32, the conference support system estimates topic boundaries. Specifically, because a topic is generated for each group of comment content, the conference support system first divides the comment content into groups. Therefore, the conference support system estimates topic boundaries that serve as delimiters for dividing the groups. For example, the conference support system estimates topic boundaries so that comment content with common content or comment content that can be estimated to be highly related to comment content are grouped together.

[0181] Topic boundaries are estimated, for example, by the following four methods.

[0182] The first estimation method is a method of estimating a topic boundary when a keyword indicating an explicit topic transition is detected. Keywords that can be estimated to indicate a topic transition include, for example, "By the way," "By the way," etc. Furthermore, such keywords are words that are set in advance in the meeting support system by a user, etc., before a meeting, etc.

[0183] The second inference method infers that a topic boundary has occurred when a word indicating a change in dialogue initiative is detected. Specifically, the second inference method infers that a topic boundary has occurred when a word such as "just now," "the other day," or "long ago" appears. Such words are, for example, words that are set in advance in the conference support system by a user before the conference.

[0184] The first and second estimation methods are, for example, the methods disclosed in "Detecting Topic Transitions in Information Search Chat," http: / / www.cl.cs.titech.ac.jp / _media / publication / 632.pdf.

[0185] Furthermore, the third estimation method is a method in which a topic boundary is estimated when a statement of the type "question" appears. In other words, when a statement that is determined to be a "question" appears, the meeting support system estimates it as a topic boundary.

[0186] Furthermore, the fourth estimation method is a method of inferring topic boundaries using "lexical cohesion." In this fourth estimation method, for example, "lexical cohesion" is calculated using a thesaurus or the like. Specifically, a chain consisting of a set of utterances that have a "lexical cohesion" relationship, known as a "lexical chain," is first detected. Then, in this fourth estimation method, "lexical cohesion" is considered to indicate a meaningful grouping of utterances, and the starting and ending points of the "lexical chain" are inferred to be topic boundaries. For example, the fourth estimation method is "Text segmentation based on lexical cohesion," "https: / / ipsj.ixsq.nii.ac.jp / ej / index.php?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=49265&item_no=1&attribute_id=1&file_no=1&page_id=13&block_id=8," and the method disclosed in "Fundamentals of Natural Language Processing," by Manabu Okumura, published by Corona Publishing.

[0187] In step S33, the conference support system generates topics. That is, in step S33, the conference support system generates a topic for each topic boundary estimated in step S32. Therefore, step S33 is repeated the number of times equal to the number of groups separated by the topic boundaries.

[0188] Topics are estimated, for example, by the following two methods.

[0189] The first generation method is a method of extracting proper nouns or speech content not registered in a dictionary, so-called unknown words, from speech content grouped by topic boundaries and setting them as topics.

[0190] In the second generation method, first, nouns, verbs, or adjectives are extracted from the utterances grouped by topic boundaries. Next, in the second generation method, the conjugation of the extracted utterances is restored to its original form. Then, the utterances that appear most frequently are set as topics. In this way, the conference support system can display topics, etc.

[0191] All or part of the processes according to the present invention may be realized by a program written in a programming language such as assembler, C, C++, C#, Java (registered trademark), Javascript, Python (registered trademark), Ruby, or PHP, or an object-oriented programming language, for causing a computer to execute each procedure related to the conference support method. In other words, the program is a computer program for causing a computer such as an information processing device or a conference support system having one or more information processing devices to execute each procedure.

[0192] The program can be distributed by storing it in a computer-readable recording medium such as a ROM or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The recording medium may also be an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), a flash memory, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, a DVD-RW, a Blu-ray Disc, an SD (registered trademark) card, or an MO. The program can also be distributed via telecommunications lines.

[0193] Furthermore, the conference support system may have two or more information processing devices interconnected by a network, etc. That is, the conference support system may perform all or part of various processes in a distributed manner, in parallel as in a duplex system, or in a redundant manner as in a dual system.

[0194] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0195] 1. Meeting support system 10 Servers 11 Terminals 1F1 Input section 1F2 Control Unit 1F21 Judgment section 1F22 Decoration Department 1F23 Time Management Department 1F24 Speaker Judgment Department 1F31 Cost Calculation Department 1F32 Evaluation Department 1F3 Storage section 1F4 Output section 1F5 Translation processing section CLF classifier [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0196] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-43493

Claims

1. A system having one or more information processing devices, an input unit for inputting the content of statements made in the conference, including the types of statements made; a determination unit that determines whether the comment content input by the input unit is a comment content that is a candidate for an action item; an output unit that displays a screen including the comment content that has been determined by the determination unit to be a candidate for an action item, the output unit displaying the screen allowing a person in charge of an action item to be set for the comment content; A conference support system comprising:

2. Inferring topic boundaries that separate groups of the statements; generating a topic for each of the groups separated by the topic boundaries; 2. The conference support system according to claim 1, wherein the output unit displays the generated topics and the content of the comments included in the groups corresponding to each topic.

3. 3. The conference support system according to claim 2, wherein the topic indicates any one of a title, a topic, a subject, or a condensed sentence of a plurality of statements belonging to the group.

4. The output unit The conference support system according to claim 1 , wherein a time limit for the speech content is displayed so as to be settable.

5. The output unit The conference support system according to claim 1 , further comprising a display indicating that the content of the statement is determined to be a candidate for the action item.

6. a speaker determination unit that identifies a person who made the statement from among the participants of the conference; The conference support system according to claim 1 , wherein the output unit displays the content of the statement in association with the person who made the statement.

7. The output unit The conference support system according to claim 1 , wherein only the inputted comment contents that are determined to be candidates for the action item are displayed.

8. The conference support system according to claim 1 , further comprising an evaluation unit that evaluates the conference based on the content of the comments made in the conference, and the output unit outputs a result of the evaluation by the evaluation unit.

9. The conference support system according to claim 8 , wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the conference based on the time when the conference was held and the scheduled duration of the conference.

10. The conference support system according to claim 1 , further comprising a cost calculation unit that calculates costs based on labor costs of participants in the conference, and wherein the output unit further outputs the costs.

11. the determination unit determines the type of the comment content, The conference support system of claim 1, wherein the output unit, when determining that the content of the statement is a candidate for an action item to be set among the types, displays the content of the statement in a manner that allows a person in charge to be set for the content of the statement.

12. A conference support system as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a translation unit that translates the inputted speech content, and the output unit displays the screen including the translated speech content.

13. The conference support system described in Claim 12, wherein the output unit displays the screen including the content of the statement before translation and the content of the statement after translation.

14. A conference support system as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the output unit displays the screen including a summary of the remarks.

15. A conference support system as described in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the input unit inputs the content of the remarks made in an online conference.

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