Domestic appliance having variable security based on automatic determination of user supervision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing domestic appliances with speech recognition systems face misinterpretation issues, leading to incorrect command execution, particularly when users direct speech towards others in the room, rather than the appliance.
Innovation Solution
A domestic appliance equipped with a camera to determine the user's supervision level by imaging the operating area, combined with a speech recognition device that assesses the probability of correct command detection, allowing the control device to execute commands only when the supervision level and detection probability are sufficient.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If speech recognition is permanently activated, then the user can operate the appliance hands-free, but misinterpretation of commands occurs when users speak to others in the room
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary verification by capturing images with the camera before executing speech commands. The control device analyzes the user's presence and attention state in advance, determining a security level that must be satisfied before command execution. This preliminary check prevents misinterpretation of commands directed at other people.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a camera to continuously monitor the operating area and provides feedback about user presence and attention state. The control device adjusts command execution behavior based on this visual feedback, creating a closed-loop system that verifies user supervision before acting on speech commands.
2Reliability
If a camera is added to monitor user supervision, then command execution accuracy improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The camera serves multiple functions: it monitors user presence, detects attention state, and provides visual verification for speech recognition. By making the camera multi-functional, the patent avoids adding separate components for each function, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device combines image processing and speech recognition processing into a single decision-making unit. It integrates the security level from image analysis with the speech command probability to make unified execution decisions, merging multiple verification functions into one centralized control mechanism.
3Reliability
If speech command execution depends on image analysis, then misinterpretation is prevented, but response time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of the operating area using the camera and determines the security level in advance. This pre-computed security level is then quickly compared against the speech recognition probability, enabling fast execution decisions without requiring time-consuming image analysis at the moment of command execution.
Data Source
AI summary
A domestic appliance includes a user interface for a user to input commands, a camera for taking an image of an operating area from which the user interface can be operated by the user, a speech recognition device for detecting a speech command, and a control device configured to determine a level of security depending on the image that was taken by the camera and to execute the speech command detected by the speech recognition device depending on the level of security that has been determined.