Conversation control system, conversation control method, and computer program

Abstract

This conversation control system includes a control unit that generates an image showing an input character string, and that generates display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in a conversation.

Description

Conversation control system, conversation control method, and computer program

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for conducting conversations by displaying information. This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-137228, filed on August 25, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Conventionally, there are conversations that are conducted by outputting information aloud and conversations that are conducted by displaying information. A conversation control system has been proposed for realizing these conversations using a terminal device. In conversations that are conducted by displaying information, character strings or images that indicate the content of utterances made by participants in the conversation are displayed. For example, the technology disclosed in Patent Literature 1 makes it possible to use images called stamps, and by displaying stamps instead of character strings, speakers can make more diverse utterances.

[0003] Thus, until now, services that allow conversations by displaying information have been limited to displaying text information indicating the content of a comment or images (stamps) selected in response to the content of a comment. In recent years, services that display images that indicate reactions to the content of a comment (hereinafter referred to as "reaction images") have also been proposed. Such reaction images are selected by the user from a plurality of reaction images (icons) prepared in advance in response to a specific comment (which may include stamps), and are displayed in association with the specific comment.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-068063

[0005] Previously, reaction images available were limited to those pre-prepared by chat services. As a result, the ways in which reactions could be expressed using reaction images were limited, and some users were unable to express the reactions they truly wanted to express.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a technique that enables the presentation of reaction images with a higher degree of freedom.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a conversation control system that includes a control unit that generates an image showing an input string of characters and generates display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in a conversation.

[0008] In one aspect of the present invention, in the conversation control system described above, the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a color of the reaction image from a plurality of options based on a predetermined criterion.

[0009] In one aspect of the present invention, in the conversation control system described above, the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a font to be used in the reaction image from a plurality of options based on a predetermined criterion.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned conversation control system, wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a position of a line break in the character string shown in the reaction image based on the input character string.

[0011] One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned conversation control system, wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting the size of the character string shown in the reaction image based on the input character string.

[0012] One aspect of the present invention is a conversation control method having a step of generating an image showing an input string of characters, and a step of generating display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in a conversation.

[0013] One aspect of the present invention is a computer program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device having a control unit that generates an image showing an input string of characters and generates display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in a conversation.

[0014] The present invention makes it possible to present reaction images with greater freedom.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the system configuration of a conversation control system 100 of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of a terminal device 10. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of a conversation control device 20. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of a utterance history information table. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of a reaction history information table. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of an individual reaction history information table. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 10. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 10. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 10. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a specific example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 10. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a specific example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 10. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a specific example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 10. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an outline of an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device 80 applied to this embodiment.

[0016] A specific configuration example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the system configuration of a conversation control system 100 of the present invention. The conversation control system 100 is a system in which users operating terminal devices 10 can converse with each other via a display over a network 70. In a display-based conversation, multiple users can converse by displaying text and images. The conversation control system 100 includes multiple terminal devices 10 and a conversation control device 20. The terminal device 10 displays text and images representing statements made in a conversation. For example, the text and images representing each statement may be displayed in chronological order according to the timing of the statement. Such a conversation control system 100 may be realized as a so-called chat system, for example. The multiple terminal devices 10 and the conversation control device 20 are communicatively connected via a network 70. The network 70 may be a network using wireless communication or a network using wired communication. The network 70 may be configured by combining multiple networks.

[0017] 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 is configured using information devices such as a smartphone, tablet, personal computer, portable game console, stationary game console, dedicated device, etc. The terminal device 10 includes a communication unit 11, an operation unit 12, a display unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15.

[0018] The communication unit 11 is a communication device. The communication unit 11 may be configured as, for example, a network interface. The communication unit 11 communicates data with other devices via the network 70 in accordance with the control of the control unit 15. The communication unit 11 may be a device that performs wireless communication or a device that performs wired communication.

[0019] The operation unit 12 is configured using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), buttons, a touch panel, etc. The operation unit 12 is operated by a user when inputting character strings indicating the user's instructions or statements into the terminal device 10. The operation unit 12 may be an interface for connecting the input device to the terminal device 10. In this case, the operation unit 12 inputs an input signal generated in the input device in response to the user's input into the terminal device 10. The operation unit 12 may be configured using a microphone and a voice recognition device. In this case, the operation unit 12 voice-recognizes words spoken by the user and inputs character string information of the recognition result into the terminal device 10. In this case, the voice recognition process may be performed by the control unit 15. The operation unit 12 may be configured in any way as long as it is capable of inputting user instructions into the terminal device 10.

[0020] The display unit 13 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The display unit 13 displays image data used in the conversation control system 100. The displayed image data includes character strings, images, etc. The display unit 13 may be an interface for connecting an image display device to the terminal device 10. In this case, the display unit 13 generates a video signal for displaying the image data and outputs the video signal to the image display device connected to the display unit 13.

[0021] The storage unit 14 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk drive or a semiconductor storage device. The storage unit 14 stores data used by the control unit 15. The storage unit 14 may function as, for example, a user information storage unit 141. The user information storage unit 141 stores information about the user operating the terminal device 10 (hereinafter referred to as "user information"). The user information may include, for example, user identification information, the user's handle name, user icon data, and user attribute information. The user identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying the user in the conversation service provided by the conversation control system 100. The handle name is the name (nickname or real name) used by the user when having a conversation in the conversation control system 100. The icon data is image data used by the user when having a conversation in the conversation control system 100. The attribute information may include, for example, information about the user's age, gender, and affiliation.

[0022] The control unit 15 is configured using a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memory. The control unit 15 functions as a conversation control unit 151 when the processor executes a program. Note that all or part of the functions of the control unit 15 may be implemented using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Examples of computer-readable recording media include portable media such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), and a semiconductor storage device (e.g., an SSD: Solid State Drive), as well as storage devices such as a hard disk or semiconductor storage device built into a computer system. The program may be transmitted via a telecommunications line.

[0023] The conversation control unit 151 receives display information indicating the content of the conversation from the conversation control device 20 via the communication unit 11. The conversation control unit 151 generates an image signal based on the acquired display information and displays it on the display unit 13. The conversation control unit 151 transmits information input by the user by operating the operation unit 12 to the conversation control device 20. The information input by the user includes, for example, information indicating the content of the user's utterance. The content of the user's utterance may be, for example, a character string input by the user, an image selected by the user, or information indicating the user's operation.

[0024] The conversation control unit 151 performs display control within the display area of ​​the application in which the application of the conversation control system 100 is running. For example, if the application of the conversation control system 100 is a web browser, display control is performed within the web browser window. If the web browser is displayed full screen, display control is performed on the entire display screen of the display unit 13.

[0025] The display information includes text and images indicating the content of statements made by each user in a conversation in which the user of the user's own device is participating. The display information may be, for example, image data indicating the image itself to be displayed. In this case, the entity that generates the image data (image data generation unit) is the conversation control unit 231 of the conversation control device 20. The display information may be, for example, data indicating information needed to generate the image to be displayed (e.g., information indicating text and images indicating the content of statements made in the conversation) or information indicating icon images of each user). In this case, the conversation control unit 151 generates image data to be displayed on the display unit 13 based on the display information. In this case, the entity that generates the image data (image data generation unit) is the conversation control unit 151. In this case, information indicating text and images indicating the content of statements made by each user may be received directly from another terminal device 10 without going through the conversation control device 20.

[0026] 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of the conversation control device 20. The conversation control device 20 is configured using an information processing device such as a personal computer or a server device. The conversation control device 20 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23.

[0027] The communication unit 21 is a communication device. The communication unit 21 may be configured as, for example, a network interface. The communication unit 21 communicates data with other devices via the network 70 in accordance with the control of the control unit 23. The communication unit 21 may be a device that performs wireless communication or a device that performs wired communication.

[0028] The storage unit 22 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk drive or a semiconductor storage device. The storage unit 22 stores data used by the control unit 23. The storage unit 22 may function as, for example, a utterance history information storage unit 221, a reaction history information storage unit 222, and an individual reaction history information storage unit 223.

[0029] The speech history information storage unit 221 stores a speech history information table. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of a speech history information table. A speech history information table may be provided for each conversation group. That is, a speech history information table may be provided for each conversation group, containing information about speeches made in the past in the conversations of that group. The speech history information table has multiple speech history records. The speech history record contains information about speeches made in the past. The speech history record contains, for example, speech identification information, speaker identification information, speech content, and speech date and time. The speech identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying a speech. The speaker identification information is information for identifying the user who made the speech (for example, user identification information). The speech content is the content of the speech. For example, if the speech is made as a string of characters, the speech content indicates the string of characters, and if the speech is made as an image such as a stamp, it indicates the image. The speech date and time indicates the date and time when the speech was made.

[0030] The reaction history information storage unit 222 stores a reaction history information table. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of a reaction history information table. The reaction history information table has multiple reaction history records. The reaction history record has information about reaction actions performed in the past. The reaction history record has, for example, statement identification information, reaction identification information, reaction content, attribute information, responder identification information, reaction date and time, consenter identification information, and the number of consenters. The statement identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying the statement to which the reaction in the reaction history record was made. The reaction identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying the reaction in the reaction history record. The reaction content indicates the content of the reaction. The reaction content may, for example, indicate the character string used in the reaction action, or the image (stamp) used in the reaction action. The attribute information indicates the attribute information of the image displayed in the reaction action when a reaction action using a character string is performed. The attribute information may, for example, indicate the color of the image or the font used in the image. The attribute information may also include other information. For example, the attribute information may indicate the font size. The responder identification information is information (e.g., user identification information) for identifying the user who performed the reaction action. The reaction date and time indicates the date and time when the reaction action was performed. The consenter identification information is information (e.g., user identification information) for identifying the user (consenter) who performed an agreement action in response to the reaction action. The number of consenters indicates the number of users (consenters) who performed an agreement action in response to the reaction action.

[0031] The individual reaction history information storage unit 223 stores an individual reaction history information table. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of an individual reaction history information table. The individual reaction history information table has multiple individual reaction records. An individual reaction history information table may be provided for each user. That is, an individual reaction history information table may be provided for each user, containing information about reaction actions performed by that user in the past. An individual reaction record contains information about reaction actions performed by that user in the past. An individual reaction record includes, for example, reaction identification information, reaction content, attribute information, and reaction date and time. The reaction identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying the reaction of that individual reaction record. The reaction content indicates the content of the reaction. The attribute information indicates the attribute information of the image shown in the reaction action when a reaction action using a character string is performed. The reaction date and time indicates the date and time when the reaction action was performed. The number of responders indicates the number of users who agreed with the reaction action.

[0032] The control unit 23 is configured using a processor such as a CPU and a memory. The control unit 23 functions as a conversation control unit 231 when the processor executes a program. Note that all or part of the functions of the control unit 23 may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Examples of computer-readable recording media include portable media such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a semiconductor storage device (e.g., an SSD), and storage devices such as a hard disk or semiconductor storage device built into a computer system. The program may be transmitted via a telecommunications line.

[0033] The conversation control unit 231 controls a conversation conducted by one or more users. The conversation control unit 231 generates display information for displaying comments made in the conversation for each group participating in the conversation, and transmits the display information to the terminal devices 10 of the members (users) of the group participating in the conversation. The display information will be described below based on a specific example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 10.

[0034] 7 to 13 are diagrams showing specific examples of screens displayed on the terminal device 10. The display information for the displayed screen is generated by the control unit 23 of the conversation control device 20. A conversation display area 90 is displayed on the screen. The conversation display area 90 may occupy the entire physical screen of the image display device in the display unit 13 of the terminal device 10, or it may only be a part of it.

[0035] A plurality of comment display areas 91 are displayed in the conversation display area 90. A comment display area 91 may be provided for each comment made by a user participating in the conversation. An icon image 911 and comment content 912 are displayed in the comment display area 91. The icon image 911 is an icon image of the user who made the comment. The comment content 912 indicates the content of the comment made by the user corresponding to the icon image 911. If a user makes a comment using a character string, the character string is displayed in the comment content 912. If a user makes a comment using an image such as a stamp, the image is displayed in the comment content 912.

[0036] When a reaction action is performed in response to the comment content 912, a reaction image 913 is displayed in the comment display area 91 for the comment content 912. When multiple reaction actions are performed, a reaction image 913 may be displayed for each reaction action. The reaction image 913 displays the character string used in the reaction action and the number of actions of agreement with the reaction action (number of people who agree).

[0037] The conversation control system 100 is capable of performing reaction actions using not only conventional reaction actions using pre-prepared images (icons), but also images showing arbitrary character strings input by the user. In FIG. 7, the reaction actions "Hello," "Huh?", and "Raise your hand if you were tired last night" are performed. When a character string is input by the user as a reaction action, the conversation control unit 231 generates a reaction image 913 showing the input character string. The conversation control unit 231 then displays the generated reaction image 913 in the statement display area 91 of the statement that is the target of the reaction action.

[0038] In FIG. 7, two reaction images 913 are displayed in response to the statement "Hello." The first reaction image 913 is a reaction image 913 with the character string "Hello," and the number "3" next to the character string represents the number of users who agree. In other words, it shows that three users have performed an agreement action in response to the reaction action "Hello." The second reaction image 913 is a reaction image 913 with the character string "Huh?" and the number "1" next to the character string represents the number of users who agree. In other words, it shows that one user has performed an agreement action in response to the reaction action "Huh?"

[0039] A user who wishes to consent to a reaction action operates the operation unit 12 of their terminal device 10 to perform a predetermined operation on the reaction image 913 of the reaction action to be consented to. For example, the operation may be a touch operation on a touch panel or a click operation with a pointing device such as a mouse. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , the consent operation may be performed by moving the cursor 92 over the reaction image 913 of the reaction action to be consented to and clicking. In this case, consent is given to the reaction image 913 containing the character string "Hmm?" In response to this operation, the conversation control unit 231 searches the reaction history record of the reaction image 913 for which consent has been given, adds the user identification information of the user who consented to the consenter identification information, and increments the number of consenters. The conversation control unit 231 updates the display of the operated reaction image 913 based on the updated reaction history record. Specifically, the conversation control unit 231 updates the number of consenters for the reaction image 913 from "1" to "2" and displays it. FIG. 8 shows a specific example of the screen after such an update.

[0040] Operation buttons 914 are displayed in a predetermined area within the comment display area 91. The operation buttons 914 are not displayed until a predetermined operation (e.g., touching or moving the cursor 92) is performed on the display area, but may be displayed in response to the predetermined operation. In the example of Fig. 9, the cursor 92 is located in the area where the operation button 914 is displayed, so the operation button 914 is displayed.

[0041] By operating the operation button 914, it is possible to instruct one process from one or more types of processes. Specific examples of such processes include a process for canceling a reaction action, a process for canceling an agreement action, and a process for performing a reaction action. When an instruction to cancel a reaction action is given, the instructed reaction action can be canceled. The reaction image 913 of the canceled reaction action may be controlled so as not to be displayed. A configuration may be made such that cancellation is not accepted for reaction actions for which an agreement action has already been performed by another user. When an instruction to cancel an agreement action is given, the agreement action for the instructed reaction image 913 can be canceled. The number of agreements may be decremented in the reaction image 913 of the canceled agreement action. The conversation control unit 231 updates the reaction history table and the individual reaction history table in response to these instructions.

[0042] When a command to perform a reaction action is issued using the operation button 914, a reaction operation area 93 is displayed. It is desirable that the reaction operation area 93 be displayed near the utterance display area 91 of the utterance to be reacted to. However, the reaction operation area 93 may be displayed outside the utterance display area 91 of the utterance to be reacted to. Multiple operation areas may be displayed in the reaction operation area 93. In the example of FIG. 10, a default reaction operation area 931, a history reaction operation area 932, and a new reaction operation area 933 are displayed.

[0043] The default reaction operation area 931 displays, as options, images (stamps) that have been prepared in advance in the conversation control system 100. In the example of Fig. 10, four types of images are displayed as images that have been prepared in advance in the conversation control system 100. When the user operates one of the images, a reaction action using the operated image is executed.

[0044] The history reaction operation area 932 displays the contents of reaction actions previously performed by the operating user as options. A predetermined number of options may be selected from the most recent options. The options displayed in the history reaction operation area 932 may be determined based on information recorded in the individual reaction history information storage unit 223, for example. In the example of FIG. 10 , three types of reaction contents are displayed as reaction actions previously performed by the user. When the user operates one of them, a reaction action using the operated reaction content is executed.

[0045] The new reaction operation area 933 displays an input field for the user to input a character string to generate a new reaction image. As shown in FIG. 11 , a character string can be input into the new reaction operation area 933. In the example of FIG. 11 , the character string "I'm so sunburned, it stings" is input. The input character string is displayed in the new reaction operation area 933. When the confirm button 934 is operated with a character string input into the new reaction operation area 933, the conversation control unit 231 generates a reaction image using the character string input into the new reaction operation area 933 at that time. The conversation control unit 231 then generates a reaction history record for the generated reaction image and registers the reaction history record in the reaction history table of the reaction history information storage unit 222. The conversation control unit 231 newly displays the generated reaction image 913 in the comment display area 91 of the comment to be reacted to. In FIG. 12 , a new reaction image 913 using the character string "I'm so sunburned, it stings" is displayed. Because no consent action has been performed at this point, the number of consenters is zero. If the number of consenters is zero, the number indicating the number of consenters may be controlled not to be displayed, as shown in FIG.

[0046] When generating the reaction image 913 based on the input character string, the conversation control unit 231 may perform the following processing. The conversation control unit 231 may select a specific color from one or more color options to represent the character string in the reaction image 913. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a color, it may select the color according to the number of characters in the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the number of characters and the color is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a color, it may select the color according to the number of bytes in the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the number of bytes and the color is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a color, it may select the color according to the character code of the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the character code and the color is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a color, it may select the color according to a number indicating the order of the reaction action performed in response to the utterance. In this case, the correspondence between the number indicating the order and the color is predetermined. The conversation control unit 231 may use criteria different from those described above for selecting a color. For example, the conversation control unit 231 may select a color randomly.

[0047] The conversation control unit 231 may select a specific font from one or more font options to represent the character string in the reaction image 913. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a font, it may select the font based on the number of characters in the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the number of characters and the font is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a font, it may select the font based on the number of bytes in the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the number of bytes and the font is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a font, it may select the font based on the character code of the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the character code and the font is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a font, it may select the font based on a number indicating the order of the reaction action performed in response to the utterance. In this case, the correspondence between the number indicating the order and the font is predetermined. The conversation control unit 231 may use criteria different from those described above for selecting a font. For example, the conversation control unit 231 may select a font randomly.

[0048] The conversation control unit 231 may insert a line break into the input character string to generate a multi-line character string reaction image 913. The position at which to insert the line break may be determined, for example, as a position of a predetermined number of bytes of the character string, or as a position of a predetermined number of characters.

[0049] The conversation control unit 231 may select from a plurality of candidates the font size of the characters in the reaction image 913. For example, the conversation control unit 231 may select the font size according to the number of lines. More specifically, if the font size used for one line is 1, a smaller font size (e.g., 0.7) may be selected for two lines.

[0050] If the length of the input character string or the number of lines of the character string exceeds the maximum value, the conversation control unit 231 may instruct the user to reduce the number of characters without generating a reaction image 913. For example, the maximum value may be set to 10 characters. For example, the maximum number of lines may be set to 2 lines.

[0051] A maximum number of reaction actions that can be performed for one comment may be set. The reaction images 913 may be displayed across multiple lines. When the reaction images 913 are displayed across multiple lines, the vertical width of the comment display area 91 may be expanded. In the example of FIG. 13, three lines of reaction images 913 are displayed. The comment display area 91 in FIG. 13 is expanded vertically compared to the comment display area 91 shown in FIGS. 7 to 12.

[0052] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device 80 applied to this embodiment. The information processing device 80 includes a processor 81, a main memory device 82, a communication interface 83, an auxiliary memory device 84, an input / output interface 85, and an internal bus 86. The processor 81, the main memory device 82, the communication interface 83, the auxiliary memory device 84, and the input / output interface 85 are communicably connected to each other via the internal bus 86. The information processing device 80 may be applied to, for example, the terminal device 10 and the conversation control device 20. In this case, for example, the communication units 11 and 21 may be configured using the communication interface 83. For example, the memory units 14 and 22 may be configured using the auxiliary memory device 84. Furthermore, the control units 15 and 23 may be configured using the processor 81 and the main memory device 82.

[0053] The conversation control system 100 configured in this way allows for the presentation of reaction images with a greater degree of freedom. Specifically, the conversation control system 100 generates and displays reaction images 913 using not only images (stamps) prepared in advance in the conversation control system 100, but also any character string entered by the user. This allows the user to freely enter character strings and generate and display original reaction images.

[0054] Furthermore, in the conversation control system 100, the color and font of a reaction image using a character string are selected from a plurality of options according to predetermined criteria, thereby improving the visibility of each reaction image.

[0055] (Modification) The processes of the conversation control unit 151 of the terminal device 10 and the conversation control unit 231 of the conversation control device 20 described above may be implemented so as to be executed by either of the conversation control units.

[0056] The conversation control device 20 may be implemented using multiple information processing devices. For example, the conversation control device 20 may be implemented using a device such as a cloud. For example, in the conversation control device 20, the storage unit 22 and the control unit 23 may be implemented in different information processing devices. For example, the storage unit 22 of the conversation control device 20 may be distributed and implemented in multiple information processing devices.

[0057] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0058] It can be applied to technology that allows conversation by displaying information.

[0059] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100... conversation control system, 10... terminal device, 11... communication unit, 12... operation unit, 13... display unit, 14... storage unit, 141... user information storage unit, 15... control unit, 151... conversation control unit, 20... conversation control device, 21... communication unit, 22... storage unit, 221... speech history information storage unit, 222... reaction history information storage unit, 223... individual reaction history information storage unit, 23... control unit, 231... conversation control unit, 90... conversation display area, 91... speech display area, 911... icon image, 912... speech content, 913... reaction image, 914... operation button, 92... cursor, 93... reaction operation area, 931... default reaction operation area, 932... history reaction operation area, 933... new reaction operation area, 934... decision button

Claims

1. A conversation control system having a control unit that generates an image showing an input character string and generates display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in a conversation.

2. A conversation control system as described in claim 1, wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a color of the reaction image from a plurality of options based on a predetermined criterion.

3. A conversation control system as described in claim 1, wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a font to be used in the reaction image from a plurality of options based on a predetermined criterion.

4. A conversation control system as described in claim 1, wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a position of a line break in the character string shown in the reaction image based on an input character string.

5. The conversation control system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a size of the character string shown in the reaction image based on an input character string.

6. A conversation control method comprising: a step of generating an image showing an input character string; and a step of generating display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in the conversation.

7. A computer program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device having a control unit that generates an image showing an input character string and generates display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in a conversation.

Images