Attention-Aware Communication Support With Timed Feedback

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional telecommunication systems face challenges in maintaining communication quality due to participants' difficulty in understanding what the other party is paying attention to, leading to reduced engagement and interaction.

Innovation Solution

An information processing apparatus that analyzes participants' attention amounts through biometric data and sensory information, using manual and automatic timing selection mechanisms to transmit feedback at optimal moments, enhancing communication quality by aligning participants' attention.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional telecommunication systems are used for online conversations and conferences, then communication can be maintained across networks, but communication quality deteriorates due to participants' difficulty in understanding what the other party is paying attention to

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication qualityVSAvoidattention information
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system provides real-time feedback to participants about their attention levels and what the other party is attending to. This feedback loop enables participants to adjust their communication behavior dynamically, improving overall communication quality by ensuring information is transmitted when the receiver is attentive.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

An intermediary system is introduced between communicators that analyzes attention states and facilitates information exchange. This mediator processes sensory inputs, determines attention levels, and coordinates communication timing to resolve the information loss problem without requiring direct awareness of attention states between participants.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If real-time feedback is provided to participants, then communication quality can be improved, but the system complexity increases due to need for biometric data analysis and timing mechanisms

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication qualityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses multi-functional sensors and processing units that serve multiple purposes: capturing sensory data, analyzing attention states, determining communication timing, and providing feedback. By making components universal and multi-functional, the system achieves high communication quality while controlling overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system automatically analyzes biometric data and determines optimal communication timing without requiring manual intervention or complex user configuration. The attention analysis unit and timing selection mechanism operate autonomously, reducing the operational complexity burden on users while maintaining high communication quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP4250700B1Information processing apparatus, information processing system, communication support system, and information processing method
Publication Date: 2025.10.15 RICOH CO LTD
  • EP4250700B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4250700B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4250700B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

An information processing apparatus (1) acquires participant information related to a particular participant of a plurality of participants in communication, acquires attention amount information related to an attention amount of the particular participant of the plurality of participants with respect to information exchanged during the communication, determines presentation information to be presented to the plurality of participants based on the attention amount information of the particular participant, adjusts timing for transmitting the presentation information to one or more other participants of the plurality of participants and transmits the presentation information to a presentation unit (1006, 404) provided for each of the plurality of participants.