Home appliance, control system by voice recognition and operating method of the same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laundry treating apparatuses face limitations in recognizing and processing natural language voice commands due to high computational complexity and restricted system resources, limiting their ability to control various operations and accommodate diverse user inputs.
Innovation Solution
A control system that includes an audio input unit, a communication unit, a controller, and an audio output unit, which transmit voice commands to a voice recognition system for processing. This system analyzes user intentions and determines the feasibility of operations, allowing for efficient natural language recognition and control of home appliances through a network of servers, including automatic speech recognition, natural language processing, and text-to-speech servers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If natural language recognition is implemented in an individual device, then voice command processing capability is improved, but system resource consumption and computational complexity increase beyond what embedded modules can handle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between the home appliance and the voice recognition system. The home appliance's controller captures voice data and transmits it to an external server for recognition and intention analysis, rather than processing it locally. This mediator approach allows the appliance to benefit from advanced natural language processing capabilities while keeping its own hardware requirements minimal and manageable.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive voice recognition and intention analysis are performed, then user intent understanding is improved, but processing time and system resource usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing voice data on the server side and maintaining readiness to respond to common commands. The server can prepare recognition models and intention analysis frameworks in advance, so when a voice command is received, the processing can be executed more efficiently without requiring full computational resources to be allocated in real-time at the appliance level.
3Adaptability or versatility
If natural language processing is outsourced to external servers, then processing capability is improved, but network dependency and system reliability are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements partial local processing capability by equipping the home appliance's controller with basic voice data capture and transmission functions. While comprehensive recognition is performed externally, the appliance maintains essential operational autonomy and can handle basic voice command workflows. This partial local capability ensures the system remains functional even when network connectivity is intermittent, balancing external processing power with local reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A home appliance including an audio input unit including at least one microphone and into which a voice command formed of natural language is inputted; a communication unit which transmits the voice command to a voice recognition system as voice data, and receives a response signal from the voice recognition system; a controller which sets an operation corresponding to the response signal, outputs an operation state, and outputs a guidance announcement, according to a result of voice recognition of the voice recognition system; and an audio output unit which outputs the guidance announcement corresponding to the operation, wherein the controller determines whether it is possible to set the operation or to support a function for the operation in response to the response signal and an operation state of the home appliance, and performs the operation.