Dialog System Gap Filler for Response Latency

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Users may experience discomfort due to delays between their utterances and the responses from dialog systems, leading to a perceived slow response and an uncomfortable dialog experience.

Innovation Solution

A dialog system that presents an action to fill the gap between a user's utterance and the system's response by estimating or predicting the end of the user's utterance, using verbal or non-verbal actions such as nodding or turning to another robot, before generating a response.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the dialog system waits for complete user utterance before generating response, then response accuracy is improved, but response time increases causing user discomfort

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponse accuracyVSAvoidresponse time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by detecting utterance end in advance and presenting filler actions (nodding, turning head) before the actual response is generated. This preliminary action fills the time gap between utterance end and response generation, creating the perception of faster response while maintaining accurate response generation processes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Filler actions serve as an intermediary between the user's utterance and the system's actual response. These intermediate actions (nodding, head turning, eye movement) bridge the time gap, maintaining user engagement and creating a natural conversational flow without compromising response accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Speed

If the system responds immediately after utterance detection, then response speed is improved, but natural conversation flow deteriorates due to insufficient processing time

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponse speedVSAvoidnatural conversation flow

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements periodic filler actions during the response generation period. These actions occur at regular intervals or in sequence (nodding, then head turning, then eye movement), maintaining natural conversation rhythm while allowing sufficient processing time for accurate response generation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The filler actions continue throughout the response generation period, ensuring continuous engagement with the user. This continuous action maintains the natural flow of conversation while the system processes and generates the appropriate response, preventing awkward silence or discontinuity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentUS11151997B2Dialog system, dialog method, dialog apparatus and program

Publication Date: 2021.10.19 NIPPON TELEGRAPH & TELEPHONE CORP

AI summary

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dialog technique that can reduce a user's uncomfortable feeling. A dialog system 100 is a dialog system that conducts a dialog with the user, the dialog system including a presentation part 50 that presents an action to fill a gap between a user utterance and a response utterance of the dialog system, after it is estimated or determined that the user utterance has ended or after a predicted time at which the user utterance ends, and before the dialog system makes a response utterance to the user utterance.