Talk-to-Resolve System for Human-Robot Interaction Dialogue

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional human-robot interaction systems face challenges in resolving task ambiguities due to unclear or insufficient natural language instructions and difficulties in identifying desired objects in dynamic environments, leading to the need for continuous and inefficient dialogue with humans to clarify intentions.

Innovation Solution

The Talk-to-Resolve (TTR) system initiates a continuous dialogue between the robot and user, using visual uncertainty analysis to formulate questions and incrementally generate a semi-grounded execution plan, allowing the robot to ask specific questions to resolve ambiguities and adapt to changing scenarios.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If continuous dialogue is initiated to resolve ambiguities, then task understanding accuracy is improved, but interaction time and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetask understanding accuracyVSAvoidinteraction time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary visual analysis and caption generation before initiating dialogue, preparing potential ambiguity points in advance. This allows the robot to proactively identify and address uncertainties before they become blockers, reducing the need for extended back-and-forth conversations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Visual captions serve as an intermediary between the robot's perception and the human user. Instead of directly questioning the user about ambiguous objects, the system generates descriptive captions that highlight uncertainties, allowing the user to clarify intentions more efficiently through natural conversation about the captured scene.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If visual uncertainty analysis and caption comparison are performed, then object identification accuracy is improved, but computational complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveobject identification accuracyVSAvoidcomputational complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The visual analysis process is segmented into distinct stages: caption generation, argument extraction, and ambiguity detection. Each stage processes specific aspects of the visual scene independently, allowing the system to manage computational complexity by breaking down the overall task into smaller, more tractable sub-tasks that can be executed sequentially.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs visual analysis and caption generation only when necessary to resolve specific ambiguities, rather than continuously analyzing all scenes. By applying partial action only where needed, the system achieves high object identification accuracy for critical objects while minimizing overall computational overhead.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3995266B1Methods and systems for enabling human robot interaction dialogue using caption generation for target scene objects and comparing captions with task arguments
Publication Date: 2024.05.29 TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LTD
  • EP3995266B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3995266B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3995266B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

The disclosure herein relates to methods and systems for enabling human-robot interaction (HRI) to resolve task ambiguity. Conventional techniques that initiates continuous dialogue with the human to ask a suitable question based on the observed scene until resolving the ambiguity are limited. The present disclosure use the concept of Talk-to-Resolve (TTR) which initiates a continuous dialogue with the user based on visual uncertainty analysis and by asking a suitable question that convey the veracity of the problem to the user and seek guidance until all the ambiguities are resolved. The suitable question is formulated based on the scene understanding and the argument spans present in the natural language instruction. The present disclosure asks questions in a natural way that not only ensures that the user can understand the type of confusion, the robot is facing; but also ensures minimal and relevant questioning to resolve the ambiguities.