Conversation Assistance System Using Body Measurement Detection

Solution Overview

Problem

Individuals often struggle to recall important information about others during conversations, especially in unexpected or brief interactions, leading to awkwardness and the need for time-consuming internet searches, which can interrupt ongoing conversations.

Innovation Solution

A conversation assistance system that uses mobile devices to capture and analyze conversation information, including body measurements and gestures, to automatically detect when assistance is needed and provide relevant information, such as names or other details, discreetly during interactions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If a person searches the Internet to retrieve information about another person on a portable device, then the person can obtain information about the other person, but the search is time consuming and interrupts the conversation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation about other personVSAvoidtime for search

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by capturing conversation information (images, audio, text) during the interaction and preparing it for processing. The server proactively retrieves information about the other person before the user needs it, based on the captured conversation data and social network analysis, so that information is ready when the user looks at their device.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between the user and the information sources. The server captures conversation information from the portable device, analyzes it to identify the other person, retrieves relevant information from social networks, and presents it to the user. This intermediary handles the time-consuming search process in the background, freeing the user from having to manually search during the conversation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If a person searches the Internet to retrieve information about another person on a portable device, then the person can obtain information about the other person, but the search interrupts the conversation that has already begun

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation about other personVSAvoidconversation flow

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by capturing conversation information (images, audio, text) during the interaction and preparing it for processing. The server proactively retrieves information about the other person before the user needs it, based on the captured conversation data and social network analysis, so that information is ready when the user looks at their device.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between the user and the information sources. The server captures conversation information from the portable device, analyzes it to identify the other person, retrieves relevant information from social networks, and presents it to the user. This intermediary handles the time-consuming search process in the background, freeing the user from having to manually search during the conversation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Extent of automation

If the system captures and analyzes conversation information including body measurements and gestures, then the system can automatically detect when assistance is needed, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveautomatic detection of assistance needVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between the user and the information sources. The server captures conversation information from the portable device, analyzes it to identify the other person, retrieves relevant information from social networks, and presents it to the user. This intermediary handles the time-consuming search process in the background, freeing the user from having to manually search during the conversation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system employs self-service mechanisms where the portable device automatically captures conversation information without user intervention. The server automatically analyzes this information, identifies when assistance is needed based on pre-defined criteria, and retrieves relevant information. The user simply needs to look at their device to see the presented information, eliminating the need for manual searching or explicit requests for assistance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS11553077B2Conversation assistance system

Publication Date: 2023.01.10 PAYPAL INC

AI summary

Systems and methods for providing conversation assistance include receiving from at least one user device of a user, conversation information and determining that the conversation information is associated with a conversation involving the user and a first person that is associated with first conversation assistance information in a non-transitory memory. Body measurement data of the user is retrieved from the at least first user device. A need for conversation assistance in the conversation involving the user and the first person is detected using the body measurement data. First conversation assistance information associated with the first person is retrieved from the non-transitory memory. The first conversation assistance information associated with the first person is provided through the at least one user device.