Pioneer Corporation

Pioneer Corpoartion

Shinichi Gayama

Takehiko Shioda

Satoshi Odagawa

Toshio Tabata

Yasuteru Kodama

Takeshi Nakamura

Yasunori Suzuki

Hajime Miyasato

Yoshihiro Kawazoe

Mitsuo Yasushi

Masatoshi Yanagidaira

Hiroaki Shibasaki

Michikazu Hashimoto

Hajime Kobayashi

Naoaki Horiuchi

Naohiko Ichihara

Haruo Okada

Hideki Amano

Kouzou Morita

A music selecting apparatus and method, which are capable to indicate a music piece matching with the sensitivities of the user. A degree of chord change is stored as data for each of a plurality of music pieces, a sensitivity word for music selection is set in accordance with an input operation, and a music piece having the chord change degree corresponding to the set sensitivity word is detected in accordance with the chord change degree of each of the plurality of music pieces.

Music selecting apparatus and method

First, an extracting unit extracts chord progression of a tune to be reproduced. Then, a timing detector detects the timing of variation of the chord progression extracted by the extracting unit. Subsequently, an add-tone reproducing unit combines an add-tone with the tune to be reproduced according to the timing detected by the timing detector. The add-tone reproducing unit can also move a sound image to reproduce the tune or reproduce the tune as an arpeggio.

Music composition reproducing device and music composition reproducing method

An apparatus for recognizing contents of a video made of picture frames includes a splitting unit that splits the picture frames into a plurality of sets of video shots based on cut points indicating a change of screen; a similar-video-shot extracting unit that extracts video shots similar to each of the video shots from among the sets of video shots; a maximum-count-video-shot extracting unit that counts a number of similar video shots for each of the video shots and extracts a maximum count video shot having a maximum count of the similar video shots; and a representative-video-shot determining unit that takes the maximum count video shot as a representative video shot for the video.

Apparatus, method, and computer product for recognizing video contents, and for video recording

It is determined whether the broadcast program of the stored video signal is a broadcast program of a predetermined genre. A predetermined feature image portion of each of frames in the video signal of the broadcast program of the predetermined genre is detected from the stored video signal. Video data of only a feature image portion of a frame satisfying a predetermined appearance condition from the detected predetermined feature image portion is extracted. A video signal representing an image including a feature image portion represented by the video data is created and output as the menu, each time the video data is extracted.

Broadcast program contents menu creation apparatus and method

An interactive information providing apparatus is provided with: an output component that provides an information requesting output for requesting a user for information; an input component that receives from the user input information to the information requesting output; and an interaction controller component that controls the output component and the input component according to a scenario, to carry on a dialogue with the user. In the apparatus, the interaction controller component changes a level at which the output component requests a user for information, according to an importance parameter associated with the scenario.

Interactive information providing apparatus, interactive information providing program, and storage medium having stored same

An apparatus and a method for making music data each perform converting an input audio signal indicative of a music piece into a frequency signal indicative of magnitudes of frequency components at predetermined time intervals; extracting frequency components corresponding to tempered tones respectively at the predetermined time intervals from the frequency signal; detecting two chords each formed by a set of three frequency components as the first and second chord candidates, the three frequency components having a large total level of the frequency components corresponding to the extracted tones; and smoothing trains of the detected first and second chord candidates to produce music data.

Musical composition data creation device and method

An apparatus and a method for searching for a music piece which includes a storing device for storing first chord progression music data for a plurality of music pieces representing chronological changes in chords in the music pieces. Second chord progression music data representing chronological changes in at least a part of chords in a music piece is produced, the first chord progression music data for the plurality of music pieces stored and the second chord progression music data are compared on the basis of the amount of change in the root of a chord in a chord transition and the attribute of the chord after the transition in order to calculate a similarity for each of the plurality of music pieces, and a search output corresponding to a result of the calculation for each of the plurality of music pieces is produced.

Music searching apparatus and method

An automatic musical composition classification device and method that allow a plurality of musical compositions to be automatically classified based on the melody similarity. Chord progression pattern data representing a chord progression sequence for each of the plurality of musical compositions are saved, chord-progression variation characteristic amounts are extracted for each of the plurality of musical compositions in accordance with the chord progression pattern data, and the plurality of musical compositions are grouped in accordance with the chord progression sequence represented by the chord progression pattern data of each of the plurality of musical compositions and with the chord-progression variation characteristic amounts.

Automatic musical composition classification device and method

An information processing device and travel information voice guidance method for moving objects, capable of reliably providing travel information through voice guidance while avoiding insofar as possible the interruption of the user's enjoyment of music during music playback, comprising a song playback portion which outputs song audio signals representing song sounds; a travel information generation portion which generates travel information; a song playback judgment portion which judges whether, when travel information is generated, the song playback portion is outputting song audio signals; and voice guidance output portion which, when it is judged that song audio signals are being output, gives priority to output of voice guidance audio signals representing the above travel information over the above song audio signals, according to at least either one of the urgency of the above generated travel information, and the type of musical phrase in the song for which the above song audio signals are currently being output.

Information processing device and travel information voice guidance method

An apparatus and a method for detecting the structure of a music piece which produces partial music data pieces each including a predetermined number of consecutive chords starting from a position of each chord in chord progression music data; compares the partial music data pieces with the chord progression music data to calculate degrees of similarity for each of the partial music data pieces; detects a position of a chord in the chord progression music data where the calculated similarity degree indicates a peak value higher than a predetermined value for each of the partial music data pieces; and calculates the number of times that the calculated similarity degree indicates a peak value higher than the predetermined value for all the partial music data pieces for each chord position in the chord progression music data to produce a detection output representing the structure of the music piece.

Music structure detection apparatus and method

Provided is an image information summary device for reproducing the summary information, by which an operator is capable of grasping the image information appropriately by the use of the preliminary announcement information. A summary reproducing apparatus obtains the continuous voice image information which is provided in plural times and extracts a characteristic amount of each piece of voice image information. Simultaneously, upon carrying out the summary reproduction, the summary reproducing apparatus compares the object voice image information to be an object of the summary reproduction with the non-object voice image information having the preliminary announcement information in the object voice image information, detects the same shot from the object voice image information and decides the partial image information to be extracted on the basis of the same shot in this object voice image information.

Image information summary apparatus, image information summary method and image information summary processing program

In an example information processing apparatus, three information groups divided by type into general information, system-inherent information, and user information, are utilized to give operational directions. The information processing apparatus selects one or more best information from a plurality of input information based on the three information groups, whereby the best information can be selected with flexibility and high reliability.

Information processing apparatus and information processing method

A navigation apparatus, which is to be mounted on a movable body, comprises a navigation information acquisition unit, a requirement judgment unit and a control unit. The navigation information acquisition unit acquires navigation information relating to movement of the movable body. The requirement judgment unit judges as whether or not dialog start requirements are satisfied on the basis of the navigation information. The control unit gives a speech to a user to start providing interactive information, in case where the dialog start requirements are satisfied.

Navigation apparatus and interactive information providing program

An electronic system has (i) an information outputting apparatus having an output device for outputting a content information including at least one of an audio information and a video information and (ii) a navigation apparatus having an input device for inputting a destination in a movement of a movable body and a calculate device for calculating a necessary time length required for the movable body to arrive at the destination. A controlling apparatus is provided with: a selecting device for selecting the content information to be outputted during the movement of the movable body until the arrival at the destination, on the basis of an output time length information indicative of a time length required to output the content information, in response to the calculated necessary time length; and an output controlling device for controlling the output device so as to output the content information selected by the selecting device.

Apparatus for and method of controlling electronic system for movable body, electronic system for movable body, program storage device and computer data signal embodied in carrier wave

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Tsurugashima, Japan

Shinichi Gayama