Sony Corporation

Masanori Omote

Hiroaki Ogawa

Kazuo Ishii

Katsuki Minamino

Yasuharu Asano

Yasuhiko Kato

Kazuo Watanabe

Miyuki Tanaka

Masao Watari

Hiroshi Kakuda

Eiji Yamamoto

Hitoshi Honda

Hongchang Pao

Makoto Akabane

Tetsuya Kagami

Yusuke Iwahashi

Kenichiro Kobayashi

Tsuyoshi Takagi

Yoshikazu Takahashi

Helmut Lucke

Ai Kato

Hitoshj Honda

A robot apparatus, an information processing method and a program therefore are capable of notifying a user of the state of communication with an access point. A humanoid robotwhich independently determines an action in accordance with an instruction from a user or a surrounding environment, communicates with an access pointbased on IEEE 802.11b. For example, the robotcontrols a household electrical appliance-through a networkand receives a command from a personal computer-over the networkto execute a predetermined process. The robotmeasures the quality of communication with the access pointat regular intervals. When the communication quality of a predetermined level or lower is continued for a predetermined period, the robotgenerates speech, e.g., 'I cannot see the access point. What should I do?' and waits for an instruction from the user. When receiving an instruction from the user, the robottakes an action according to the instruction.

Robot apparatus, information processing method and program

A speech processing system including a speech recognition unit to receive input speech, and a natural language processing unit. The speech recognition unit performs speech recognition on input speech using acoustic models to produce a speech recognition result. The natural-language processing unit performs natural language processing on the speech recognition result, and includes: a machine translation unit; a dialog management unit; and a feedback unit. The feedback unit configured to feed back information obtained as a result of the natural language processing performed in the machine translation unit and the dialog management unit. The speech recognition unit processes feedback information including adaptation zones to adapt the acoustic models so that it can produce the speech recognition result with higher precision than when adaptation zones are not used.

Speech recognition with feedback from natural language processing for adaptation of acoustic model

The present invention relates to a voice recognition apparatus capable of easily registering a word which has not been registered. The registering of an unregistered word into a dictionary can be easily performed without causing a significant increase in the size of the dictionary. The clustering unit detects a cluster (detected cluster) to which a new unregistered word is to be added as a new member, from existing clusters obtained by clustering unregistered words. The unregistered word is added as a new member to the detected cluster, and the cluster is divided depending on the members of the cluster such that unregistered words which are acoustically similar to each other belong to the same cluster. The maintenance unit updates the word dictionary on the basis of the result of the clustering. The present invention may be applied to a robot including a voice recognition apparatus.

Sound processing registering a word in a dictionary

A speech processing system including a speech recognition unit to receive input speech, and a natural language processor. The speech recognition unit performs speech recognition on input speech using acoustic models to produce a speech recognition result. The natural-language processor performs natural language processing on speech recognition result, and includes: a speech zone detector configured to detect correct zones from the speech recognition result; a feedback unit to feed back information obtained as a result of the natural language processing performed on the speech recognition result to said speech recognition unit. The feedback information includes the detected correct zones. The speech recognition unit includes an adaptation processor to process the feedback information to adapt the acoustic models so that the speech recognition unit produces the speech recognition result with higher precision than when the adaptation processor is not used.

Drive means for performing a behavior based on a behavioral model prescribing a behavior is controlled, and the behavioral model is changed depending on a predetermined stimulus. Therefore, by giving the stimulus, the behavioral model can be freely changed, and a mechanical device, etc. having an improved amusing element can be realized.

Machine apparatus and its driving method, and recorded medium

A speech recognition unit performs speech recognition on input speech based on models, such as HMMs, and supplies a speech recognition result to a dialog management unit. The dialog management unit forms a reply to the speech recognition result. In this case, the dialog management unit detects zones in which the speech recognition result is correct based on the speech recognition result and the associated reply, and feeds them back to the speech recognition unit. Then, the speech recognition unit performs on-line adaptation of the models based on the speech of the correct zones fed back from the dialog management unit and the associated speech recognition result.

Speech recognition with feedback from natural language processing for adaptation of acoustic models

When an user inputs route search conditions such as place where the user is now, destination, and moving purpose, the route search conditions are transmitted to a navegation server. In the navegation server, map data corresponding to the route search conditions is detected and provided to a portable terminal.

Method and apparatus for information processing, and medium for information processing

A speech recognition system for use in an automobile navigation system performs speech processing for recognizing speech or spoken words that correspond to a name of a place and a word designating a desired operation of the navigation system. When a new audio signal is input during speech recognition processing of a previously input audio signal, by holding a talk switch down for a fixed time period, the processing of the previously input audio signal is canceled, and the new audio signal immediately undergoes speech recognition processing without requiring any continuation of the processing of the previously input audio signal. The speech recognition system also determines whether an input audio signal has been reinputted within a predetermined amount of time from when the audio signal was previously inputted.

Speech recognition system that restarts recognition operation when a new speech signal is entered using a talk switch

A book database stores at least phonetic signal information including phoneme information and rhythm information as document data, a central system transmits phonetic signal information stored on the book database to a terminal and the terminal receives the phonetic signal information is then carried out at the terminal and the document is then recited via synthesized sounds.

Information access system and recording medium

A speech recognition apparatus and method for use in a car navigation system performs speech processing for recognizing speech or spoken words referring to a specified region. An input audio signal or vocalized speech undergoes speech processing to determine and recognize the region specified in the speech. Data corresponding to the specified region is converted to coordinate position data for the region, and a map of the vicinity of the converted coordinate position data is displayed. When a new audio signal is input during speech recognition processing of a previously-input audio signal, the processing of the previously-input audio signal is interrupted and the new audio signal undergoes speech recognition processing. Accordingly, a high-efficiency operation of the car navigation system may be performed without interfering with the driving of the car. The speech recognition and apparatus also determines whether an input audio signal has been re-input within a predetermined amount of time from when the audio signal was previously input.

Interrupt correction of speech recognition for a navigation device

A navigation apparatus and navigation method for an automobile in which a map is visually displayed and a desired destination can be set by speaking the name of such destination. A voice recognition section recognizes the destination and marks it on the map that is being displayed and the best route to the displayed destination is then shown on the map to be followed by the driver of the automobile.

Navigation apparatus, navigation method and automotive vehicles

Voice processing for recognizing a predetermined voice such as a place name is performed by a voice processing section 14 from an audio signal inputted from a microphone 11 on the basis of an operation of a talk switch 18. When a map display is based on the recognized place name is performed, an incorrect reading and a place name commonly mistaken can be also recognized. Accordingly, a high grade operation of a navigation apparatus can be simply performed without obstructing an operator driving while a car.

Voice recognition apparatus, voice recognition method, map displaying

Information access system and recording system

A mapping determination method for obtaining mapping F from an N-dimensional metric vector space .OMEGA..sub.N to an M-dimensional metric vector space .OMEGA..sub.M has the following steps to get the optimal mapping quickly and positively. In the first step, complete, periodic, L.sub.m basic functions g.sub.m (X) according to the distribution of samples classified into Q categories on the N-dimensional metric vector space .OMEGA..sub.N are set. In the second step, a function f.sub.m (X) indicating the m-th component of the mapping F is expressed with the linear sum of the functions g.sub.m (X) and L.sub.m coefficients c.sub.m. The third step provides Q teacher vectors T.sub.q =(t.sub.q.1, t.sub.q.2, t.sub.q.3, . . . , t.sub.q.M) (where q=1, 2, . . . , Q) for the categories on the M-dimensional metric vector space .OMEGA..sub.M, calculates the specified estimation function J, and obtains the coefficients c.sub.m which minimize the estimation function J. In the fourth step, the coefficients c.sub.m obtained in the third step are stored in memory.

Mapping determination methods and data discrimination methods using the

A voice recognition device according to the present invention including a voice analyzer for acoustically analyzing voice every predetermined frame unit to extract a feature vector X, a converter for subjecting the feature vector X output from the analyzer to a predetermined conversion process, and a voice recognizer for recognizing the voice on the basis of a new feature vector output from the converter, wherein the converter conducts the predetermined conversion processing according to a mapping F from an N-dimensional vector space .OMEGA..sub.N to an M-dimensional vector space .OMEGA..sub.M, the feature vector X is a vector on the N-dimensional vector space .OMEGA..sub.N and the function f.sub.m (X) of an m-th component of the mapping F is represented by the following linear summation of the products of functions g.sub.m.sup.k (X) and coefficients c.sub.m.sup.k of L.sub.m : ##EQU1## Each function g.sub.m.sup.k (X) may be set to a monomial.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Masanori Omote