Speech Understanding Feedback via Visual Indicators

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Users of interactive systems face inconvenience due to the lack of clear feedback on the understanding of their speech intent, making it difficult to determine how much further input is needed to receive a response.

Innovation Solution

An information processing apparatus and method that acquires speech information, derives the level of understanding, and displays this as an image, continuing to output questions until the understanding reaches a predetermined value, then providing a response when the level is sufficient, with visual feedback such as changing image areas or animated figures to indicate progress.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the system processes user speech to derive intent understanding, then the system can provide accurate responses, but the user cannot comprehend how much further input is needed to acquire a response

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveunderstanding level measurementVSAvoidfeedback information to user

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism by displaying visual indicators (progress bars, animated figures) that show the user the current level of understanding. This allows the user to comprehend how much further input is needed to acquire a response, resolving the information loss problem while maintaining measurement precision of the understanding level.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses color changes in visual indicators to represent different levels of understanding. For example, progress bars change color or fill level to indicate comprehension status, providing intuitive feedback to users about the system's understanding without requiring complex numerical data.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #32Color changes

2Reliability

If the system continues to output questions to improve understanding, then the level of understanding increases, but the interaction time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveintent understanding accuracyVSAvoidinteraction time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by allowing the system to stop asking questions when a predetermined understanding threshold is reached, rather than continuously asking questions until maximum understanding is achieved. This balances reliability (sufficient understanding) with time efficiency (avoiding unnecessary questions).

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary assessment of the user's speech to determine if the understanding level already meets the predetermined threshold, avoiding unnecessary questions and reducing interaction time while maintaining reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10978055B2Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for deriving a level of understanding of an intent of speech

Publication Date: 2021.04.13 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK

AI summary

In an information processing apparatus, an acquisition unit acquires speech information on a user's speech. A derivation unit, derives a level of understanding of an intent of the user's speech based on the speech information acquired by the acquisition unit. A display control unit causes a display unit to display an image corresponding to the level of understanding derived by the derivation unit. An output unit outputs a response to the user's speech based on the speech information acquired by the acquisition unit.