JP2011013871A - Communication device, communication method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

There is a need for a welfare device that allows an operator such as a disabled person, an elderly person, or a sick person with a speech disability to communicate his / her intentions. However, the conventional apparatus has a complicated input operation. Provided is a versatile communication device that can quickly communicate and change messages easily.
[Solution] Constructing conversation components into a hierarchical database, creating a selection screen for each layer that displays a plurality of visual symbols that symbolize the components, and supporting combinations of components selected at each layer Assisting communication by displaying voice messages and outputting voices.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an intention transmitting apparatus, method, and program for outputting a message by hierarchical input that can be easily operated and transmitted by a disabled person, an elderly person, a sick person, and the like with a speech disorder.

  Currently, input operations using various switches, joysticks, mice, touch panels, and the like are performed in the fields of robot engineering, care and welfare equipment development, and entertainment. In the field of development of care and welfare equipment, for an operator who cannot perform complicated input operations, such as an elderly person or a sick person, an apparatus that can convey an intention intuitively with a simple operation is desired. In particular, for patients with speech disabilities and elderly people, there is a demand for a device that can more easily convey basic intentions such as care and feelings to the caregiver.

  Conventionally, there are those that assist the utterance of a dial or a picture card. Moreover, the technique regarding the apparatus which assists the conversation of the user with a language function or a hearing disorder is shown by patent document 1 and 2, for example. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that uses a message board for selecting a request for physical care in addition to a Japanese dial. Patent Literature 2 discloses a communication support system that selects symbol display using a portable information terminal.

JP 2004-268768 A JP 2003-255825 A

  When using a conventional dial, it is necessary to point one character at a time to convey the message. Similarly, even in the case of an electronic device, an apparatus for an utterance disorder patient or the like to communicate his / her intention to the other party using an artificial voice usually needs to generate utterance contents by inputting characters one by one using a keyboard. However, when the message is complicated, there is a problem that it takes time to input characters. Since Patent Document 1 uses a dial and a message board, there is a similar problem.

  On the other hand, it is almost impossible to display many kinds of messages necessary for daily life at the same time with the conventional technology that displays multiple types of pictures representing the message itself or displays it as options on each section of the card or board. is there. In addition, if a special electronic device is required, it is expensive. In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult for a disabled person or the like to use to find one target among the many presented. Another problem is that it takes time to learn that the operation of the input device is complicated. Users of these devices are not only unable to speak, but also have inadequate functions such as detailed hand movements, and inadequate memory and language comprehension. The input method is required to be easier to understand and simple.

  A database is necessary to efficiently manage a large number of messages (about several hundreds) that are frequently used on a daily basis. In addition, the required message varies depending on the degree of failure, characteristics, environment, situation, etc. of the user. Even for the same user, the message used changes over time. As described above, it is necessary to add or change a message in the database according to the user, and in that case, it is necessary to quickly reflect the message. In addition, there is a demand for a versatile device that satisfies these conditions and allows users including many caregivers in the Internet browsing environment to additionally reflect messages.

  An object of the present invention is to solve these problems, and it is an object of the present invention to enable an operator such as a disabled person with speech disability, an elderly person, or a sick person to easily operate and communicate his / her intention. An object of the present invention is to quickly communicate an intention with a small number of operations. It is an object of the present invention to be versatile so that messages can be changed and added, and to be easily customized for each user.

  The present invention has the following features in order to achieve the above object.

  The communication device of the present invention comprises means for storing the conversation components in a hierarchical database, and display means for displaying a plurality of visual symbols on the selection screen of each layer, each of which is displayed as a symbol. A message corresponding to the combination of components selected in the hierarchy is displayed and output as a voice.

  According to the method of the present invention, conversational components are hierarchically stored in a database, and a plurality of visual symbols representing the components as symbols are displayed on a selection screen of each hierarchy, and the components selected in each hierarchy are displayed. A message corresponding to the combination is displayed and a voice is output. Further, the program of the present invention is for communication of intention for executing the method of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, various messages can be generated by only a few selection operations. Further, according to the present invention, it can be used even by a user who is insufficient in speech and inadequate functions such as fine hand movements. In addition, since the software and database are in WEB format, the present invention can be used with an Internet browser, and it is easy to add or change messages, and caregivers can make various customizations according to the conditions of disabled people. High versatility.

  Specifically, according to the present invention, for example, one of 512 types of messages can be selected by a simple input operation in which one of eight types of selections is selected three times. Compared with the conventional dial input, which can select only three characters by character input one by one, or when a very large space is required to arrange 512 kinds of messages by picture card method, It is easy to operate and can send messages quickly.

The figure explaining the input scene of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram explaining the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the display screen of the 1st hierarchy of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the display screen of the 2nd hierarchy of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the display screen of the 3rd hierarchy of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the last screen of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining the database of this invention.

  The present invention is an apparatus for easily generating a message having a complicated content by continuously selecting a constituent element of a conversation hierarchically databased in a WEB page format or the like, and a system for executing the method. It is a program for. Conversational components refer to meaningful chunks that make up a conversation, and are mainly composed of meaningful vocabularies such as verbs and nouns. Visual symbols that symbolize the components of a conversation refer to pictures, photographs, pictograms, conventionally used word-like picture cards, pictograms, and the like.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining how the apparatus of the present invention is used, and shows a selection input scene. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between selection in each layer and the final message. FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 are diagrams for explaining the display screen of the display means and the state of selection input, in which a plurality of visual symbols displaying symbols of conversation components are displayed. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display screen of the first hierarchy. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen of the second hierarchy. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display screen of the third hierarchy. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the final screen.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the user performs an operation of selecting one symbol display on the display selection screen on which the conversation components are displayed as symbols. Examples of the first-level symbol display in FIG. 3 are “to eat and drink”, “to move”, “various activities”, “feelings”, “body care”, “time”, “play”, “television”, “person”, and the like. The multidirectional arrow at the center is a display for instructing selection, but may be a specific symbol display. As shown in FIG. 1, this system is operated on a personal computer screen with a touch panel. First, the user selects a message to be transmitted from the options in the first layer.

  When one symbol display is selected, the second hierarchy that is the object of the next operation is displayed as shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when “move” is selected in the first hierarchy, a screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed as an option of the second hierarchy that is the target of “move”. As shown in FIG. 4, “toilet”, “bathroom”, “other room”, “other floor”, “hospital”, “public facility”, “direction”, “outdoor”, and the like are displayed.

  Next, the user selects what he / she wants to convey from the second-tier options. When one symbol display in the second hierarchy is selected, the third hierarchy that is the detailed content of the constituent elements of the conversation such as the target and purpose of the operation is displayed as shown in FIG. For example, when “toilet” is selected in the second level, the third level is displayed as shown in FIG. 5 for the purpose of the operation. As shown in FIG. 5, “toilet”, “hand wash”, “face wash”, “toothpaste”, “makeup”, “shave”, “hairdressing”, and the like are displayed.

  The user selects what he / she wants to convey from the third layer options. When one symbol display in the third hierarchy is selected, a single message from the components selected in the first, second, and third hierarchy is displayed on the final screen and output as audio. Is done. FIG. 6 shows a final screen on which a message is output. In this way, the message is finally determined, and the message is output by characters on the personal computer screen and voice from the speaker. FIG. 6 shows how a character on a personal computer screen outputs sound. The character on the final screen may be an avatar (CG character) registered for each user. In addition, the selection contents can be confirmed when the choices in each hierarchy are displayed on the display screen as in the upper part of the screen of FIG.

  As shown in each figure, the choices are indicated by visual symbols with simple symbol display, and the selection screen for each hierarchy is created so that the understanding ability is weakening. Even people with disabilities who are easy to understand and who cannot easily move their fingers can create a variety of messages without using the keyboard and output voices, enabling rapid real-time communication. In particular, it is possible to select and input in a hierarchical structure with the feeling of having a natural conversation, so to compose a sentence of a message by selecting several pictorial pictures such as pictograms so that the words are spoken naturally. Can do. Furthermore, the constructed sentence is practical because it can be transmitted by character expression and artificial voice linked to the avatar's conversation operation on the personal computer monitor. In addition, if the output device is installed at a remote place such as a patient and a nurse center, it is easy to communicate between remote places.

  As described above, the present invention is a device that finally generates a complex message by repeating a simple selection operation a plurality of times and expresses it by both artificial speech and characters. ). Since various messages can be classified into hierarchical categories, each message is placed in a hierarchical category, and a system for selecting it is constructed. For example, in the case of three layers as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, display and select in the order of “first layer (large category)”, “second layer (small category)”, and “third layer (final option)”. I will let you. At this time, since the selection results in each layer until reaching the final result can be accumulated, a complicated message can be generated by combining the selections of a plurality of layers. In particular, it is possible to create a situation close to natural linguistic expression by assigning differences in hierarchy to constituent elements of grammatical words. For example, one operation can be selected from 512 types (8 to the cube of 8) by performing an operation of selecting one from eight types in each layer three times. A database in which daily activities of life are classified hierarchically supports the apparatus of the present invention. In the field of welfare and long-term care, 512 kinds of messages can almost satisfy daily conversation of daily activities. Although an example of three layers has been shown, the present invention can be implemented with four or more layers as needed.

  The program for the apparatus of the present invention is created in the WEB page format and can be used by any personal computer on the network. Selection of choices and display of the selected message are controlled in a WEB page format (HTML language or Java (registered trademark) script). An example of the database of the present invention is shown in FIG. The database manages all display screens, all layer options (characters and pictograms), option positions, final message display, and artificial voice data, using a partly common identification number. An identification number for managing them uniformly can be called a map ID. When registering new options (characters and pictograms), customization such as changing the screen presentation position of existing options can be easily performed by assigning identification numbers. The map ID is particularly excellent in expressing screen transition information between hierarchies. A difference in digits expresses a difference in hierarchy, and a difference in digits of the digits expresses a difference in belonging category.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the specific structure of the map ID is “1” in the first digit on the left, and is divided into, for example, every two digits from that to be the identifier of each layer. In the case of two digits, it is possible to set the number of selection branches that can be represented by two digits in each layer. For example, the first hierarchy is “100...” (“1000000” in FIG. 7), and the second hierarchy is “1aa00...” (“1aa0000” in FIG. 7) with the option selected in the first hierarchy as aa. The third hierarchy is “1aabb00...” (“1aabb00” in FIG. 7) when bb is selected in the second hierarchy after aa is selected in the first hierarchy. Further, the entire selection screen may be created in the HTML language, and the file name with the extension “.html” appended to the map ID may be used.

  This system can be implemented on any standard computer with a WEB browser installed. If there is a set of files (program and database) on the hard disk, only a copy of the folder can be used even if the computer is not actually connected to the Internet. Is available.

  Furthermore, by placing the program on the WEB server, the present invention can be used by using the program of the present invention as long as there is no file in the hard disk of an individual personal computer and the Internet can be accessed. If there are many users who use the present invention via the Internet, the usage frequency of each message is examined by analyzing the usage history of the person accessing the system on the server, leaving the high frequency one, and the low frequency It is possible to maintain and improve the quality, such as replacing the message with another message candidate.

  The database can switch the message group that is expected to be necessary according to the state of failure, characteristics and environment of the user by default. For example, even when using the present invention for physical function disorders, there are different databases for patients who are seriously ill and are always cared for in hospital beds, and patients who are cared for at home but can be moved in a wheelchair. Prepare.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the input unit that selects a screen using the display screen as a touch panel is illustrated, but various inputs are possible as the input unit. It is important for the input means to match the level of the user's failure. In addition to the touch panel, there are an arrow key, a mouse, and a line-of-sight input. Alternatively, an input unit that detects the left and right and front and back or top and bottom movements of the head as a joystick movement and selects a display screen option according to the present invention may be used. Also, input can be performed using an electroencephalogram. The user's brain wave, in particular, an event-related brain wave called P300 (positive potential change after 300 ms after presentation of the stimulus) is measured while changing the place where each symbol display on the display screen shines in order or randomly. Thus, the symbol display that the user wants to convey is detected and used as an input. This utilizes the phenomenon that the electroencephalogram is enhanced at the moment when the focused symbol display shines.

  The example shown in the above embodiment is described for easy understanding of the invention, and is not limited to this embodiment.

  The apparatus, method, and program of the present invention are useful as welfare equipment that supports care for the speech disabled, severely disabled, and elderly people.

Claims (3)

  Means for hierarchically building up and storing conversational components in a database, and display means for displaying a plurality of visual symbols on the selection screen of each layer, wherein the component symbols are displayed as symbols. A message transmitting device characterized by displaying a message corresponding to the combination and outputting a voice.   Conversation components are hierarchically stored in a database, and a plurality of visual symbols displaying the components as symbols are displayed on each layer selection screen, and messages corresponding to the combinations of the components selected in each layer are displayed. A communication method characterized by displaying and outputting sound.   Conversation components are hierarchically stored in a database, and a plurality of visual symbols displaying the components as symbols are displayed on each layer selection screen, and messages corresponding to the combinations of the components selected in each layer are displayed. A program for communication that displays and outputs sound.

Images