Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America

Yuji Kunitake

Ryouta Miyazaki

Seiya Higuchi

Yusaku Ota

Keiichi Tanaka

Kento Ogawa

Tomonori Nakamura

Ryo Yokoyama

Masahiro Ishii

Kenji Shimizu

Kohei Tahara

Hidetaka Ohto

Masafumi Okubo

Michiko Sasagawa

Kohei Yamaguchi

Ryota Miyazaki

Hidetaka Oto

Yasuo Kohashi

Takao Adachi

Hiroo Ishikawa

Shiki Kou

A topic providing device includes a candidate topic extractor, a provided topic determiner, a voice synthesizer, and a speaker. When a determination is made that a parent and child are conversing and that there is a need to provide a new topic to the parent and child, based on a conversation history database and a child activity database storing at least one activity name indicating an activity the child was engaged in for a first predetermined period of time, the candidate topic extractor extracts at least one candidate topic that corresponds to the at least one activity name in the child activity database and does not correspond to an activity name included in text data recorded in a first database. From the at least one candidate topic, the provided topic determiner selects one topic to provide to the parent and the child. The voice synthesizer generates voice data containing the one topic. The speaker outputs the voice data.

Voice interaction device, voice interaction method, voice interaction program, and robot

A voice recognition method is provided that includes extracting a first speech from the sound collected with a microphone connected to a voice processing device, and calculating a recognition result for the first speech and the confidence level of the first speech. The method also includes performing a speech for a repetition request based on the calculated confidence level of the first speech, and extracting with the microphone a second speech obtained through the repetition request. The method further includes calculating a recognition result for the second speech and the confidence level of the second speech, and generating a recognition result from the recognition result for the first speech and the recognition result for the second speech, based on the confidence level of the calculated second speech.

Voice recognition method, recording medium, voice recognition device, and robot

A method is provided for correcting a dictionary used in a voice processing apparatus. The method includes first extracting a speech of a target speaker from audio collected by a microphone, and estimating a speech phonemic sequence configuring the speech. The method also includes calculating a match degree, using a first dictionary, between the speech phonemic sequence and a first phonemic sequence that corresponds to a first word registered in the first dictionary, and second extracting the first word corresponding to a highest match degree as a spoken word spoken by the target speaker. The method further includes first correcting a second dictionary based on the highest match degree, the second dictionary indicating a relation between a second word and a third word, and second correcting the second dictionary by correcting the relation between the third word matching the spoken word and the second word.

Method of correcting dictionary, program for correcting dictionary, voice processing apparatus, and robot

A robot including a spherical housing made up of a main housing portion, a first spherical cap portion, and a second spherical cap portion. The main housing portion is disposed between the first spherical cap portion and the second spherical cap portion. The robot further including a weight that is provided in the main housing portion and configured to rotate around a pivot that is orthogonal to a shaft connecting the spherical cap portions. When outputting a response to an input instruction received from a user, via an input device, based on a predetermined processing is determined to require a predetermined time or more, a robot controls a first drive mechanism during the predetermined processing such that the first drive mechanism rotates a weight around the pivot to reciprocally move the weight in the opposite directions of the pivot.

Robot

A robot includes a main casing, a first spherical cap and a second spherical cap, and a shaft linking the spherical caps. The robot further includes a display, a first driving mechanism causing the first and second spherical caps to be rotated by the shaft, and a second driving mechanism that causes the main casing to be rotated. The robot also includes a control circuit and an electric power source, charged by electric power from an external charger. If the remaining electric power of the electric power source is lower than or equal to a predetermined value, the second driving mechanism is controlled to stop rotation of the main casing, and the first driving mechanism is controlled to switch a rotational direction of the first spherical cap and the second spherical cap, causing the display to be reciprocally moved in a vertical direction.

Spherical robot having a driving mechanism for indicating amount of stored electric power

A control method includes executing a first application for operating a first appliance in order to provide a first service to a user. As a result, a first command is transmitted to the appliance corresponding to the first application. A second application is then executed for operating the first equipment in order to provide a second service to the user. As a result, a second command is transmitted to the appliance corresponding to the second application. Execution of at least the first application is terminated when the first application and the second application are alternately executed on the first appliance at least a predetermined number of times to stop the transmission of the first command to the first appliance.

Control method, controller, and recording medium

A method of controlling a plurality of equipment pieces by a controller including a microphone, a sensor, and a speaker includes collecting, with the microphone, sound around the controller, sensing, with the sensor, a location of a person with respect to the plurality of equipment pieces, generating sensing data based on the sensing, extracting an utterance for controlling the plurality of equipment pieces from the sound collected by the microphone, in accordance with the utterance, identifying a target equipment piece to be controlled among the plurality of equipment pieces, determining whether to control the target equipment piece based on the sensing data, when the control equipment piece is determined to be controlled, generating an audio response for verifying whether to control the target equipment piece in accordance with the utterance, and causing the speaker to output the audio response.

Control method, controller, and non-transitory recording medium

Provided is a method for configuring wireless connection settings, a wireless communications apparatus, and a display method, the method being executed by the wireless communications apparatus and including: (a) receiving a first radio signal which includes second configuration information; (b) receiving authentication information for use in authenticating a first device from a second device, the authentication information being uniquely associated with the first device; (c) retaining the authentication information; (d) establishing the wireless connection with the first device, using the second configuration information; (e) transmitting a second radio signal which includes the authentication information, to the first device through the wireless connection established; (f) receiving a third radio signal which includes response information to the authentication information; and (g) transmitting the first configuration information to the first device if the response information indicates that the first device has been successfully authenticated.

Method for configuring wireless connection settings, wireless communications apparatus, and display method

Disclosed is an information processing apparatus that allows the user to operate a plurality of applications simultaneously displayed on touch panels, using a hand that holds the terminal. Information processing apparatus includes touch panels that simultaneously displays a plurality of applications. Touch panel coordinate management section determines whether or not an enabling operation to enable a display control for applications is received. Tilt detection section detects whether or not information processing apparatus is tilted, when the enabling operation is received. Application control section and display control section move application displayed on touch panel positioned higher than touch panel toward application displayed on touch panel positioned lower than touch panel, when information processing apparatus is tilted.

Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Provided are an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program, which simply switch to a display method which a user desires. When an information processing device () in which two touch panels () are rotatably connected by a hinge () is in a two-screen state, the current screen mode is switched to another screen mode by carrying out a re-fold operation which, via a prescribed angle within a prescribed time, returns the information processing device () to an original state.

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Kyoto, Japan

Yuji Kunitake