A system, a computer program product, and method for controlling synthesized speech output on a voice-controlled device. A sensor is used to capture an image of a face of a person. A database of previously stored images of facial features is accessed. In response to i) not recognizing the at least one person the voice-controlled device selects a first set of conversational starters; ii) recognizing the person and recognizing previous communications with the person, the voice-controlled device selects a second set of conversational starters; iii) recognizing the person and not recognizing previous communications with the person, the voice-controlled device selects a third set of conversational starters; or iv) recognizing the at least one person and recognizing previous communications with the person selecting but do not know the person's name selecting a fourth set of conversational starters. The voice controlled device outputs the selected set of conversational starters.

A robot detects a voice using a microphone array, and identifies a sound source direction. The robot directs a head portion in the sound source direction. When an object including characteristics as a voice emitting body is detected in a filming region of a sound source direction identified using the microphone array, the voice emitting body is identified as a voice emission source. When a voice emitting body is identified as a voice emission source, the robot directs a body toward a sound source (emission source). When a special environmental sound is detected, a predetermined motion is executed.

The invention relates to an operation-assistance system for guiding a medical auxiliary instrument (20), which can be inserted in an operating site (12) of a patient body (10) via an operation opening (11), and can be moved in a controlled manner. The system comprises a kinematic robot (3, 4, 5) that receives the medical auxiliary instrument (20) on the free end thereof by means of an auxiliary instrument holding device (6), and can be moved in a motor-controlled manner in order to guide the medical auxiliary instrument (20) in the operating site (12), by means of control signals (SS) generated by a control unit (CU). At least one voice control routine (SSR) is implemented in the control unit (CU), by means of which different voice commands (SB, SB1, SB2) are detected and evaluated and associated control signals (SS) are determined in accordance.

The present invention describes devices and methods for assisting in the education of individuals, particularly the education of children. The present invention brings provides technological interventions with information about the child's eye-gaze location, gesture activity, emotional expression or other inputs. The disclosure further seeks to enhance learning by mimicking, for example, the parent's output of activities of physical gesture and of directed eye gaze or joint attention to enhance the child's learning experience. The present invention includes responds to input, either from the user, other indivduals, or information stored in memory. The present invention then processes, via a processor and associated memory, the inputs according to one or more computer program modules. Based on the input and computer program module(s), the present invention then processes an output, of various forms, to the user.

A companion robot is disclosed. In some embodiments, the companion robot may include a head having a facemask and a projector configured to project facial images onto the facemask; a facial camera; a microphone configured to receive audio signals from the environment; a speaker configured to output audio signals; and a processor electrically coupled with the projector, the facial camera, the microphone, and the speaker. In some embodiments, the processor may be configured to receive facial images from the facial camera; receive speech input from the microphone; determine an audio output based on the facial images and/or the speech input; determine a facial projection output based the facial images and/or the speech input; output the audio output via the speaker; and project the facial projection output on the facemask via the projector.

The present invention allows a robot to carry out communication with excellent affectiveness. A speech and behavior control device (1) includes an utterance content selecting section (16) which selects utterance content of a robot (100) from among a plurality of utterances, a movement control section (17) which controls a movable part (13) to move based on a kind of feeling corresponding to the utterance content, and an audio control section (18) which controls the robot (100) to output the utterance content as audio after movement of the movable part (13) has been started.

A serving robot includes a camera to obtain image data including at least one of a facial expression or a gesture, which is associated with food, of a customer, a microphone to obtain voice data including voice of the customer, which is associated with the food and a processor to obtain customer reaction data including at least one of the image data or the voice data, through at least one of the camera or the microphone, estimate a reaction of the customer to the food, from the obtained customer reaction data, and generate or update customer management information corresponding to the customer based on the estimated reaction. The robot estimates the reaction the customer from the customer reaction data through the learning model based on artificial intelligence.

Systems and methods are described include a robot and/or an associated computing system that can use various cues about an environment of the robot to apply a bias to increase the accuracy of speech transcription. In some implementations, audio data corresponding to a spoken instruction to a robot is received. Candidate transcriptions of the audio data are obtained. A respective action of the robot corresponding to each of the candidate transcriptions of the audio data is determined. One or more scores indicating characteristics of a potential outcome of performing the respective action corresponding to the candidate transcription of the audio data are determined for each of the candidate transcriptions of the audio data. A particular candidate transcription is selected from among the candidate transcriptions based at least on the one or more scores. The action determined for the particular candidate transcription is performed.

Exemplary implementations may: receive one or more inputs including parameters or measurements regarding a physical environment from the one or more input modalities; identify a user based on analyzing the received inputs from the one or more input modalities; determine if the user shows signs of engagement or interest in establishing a communication interaction by analyzing a user's physical actions, visual actions, and/or audio actions, the user's physical actions, visual actions and/or audio actions determined based at least in part on the one or more inputs received from the one or more input modalities; and determine whether the user is interested in an extended communication interaction with the robot computing device by creating visual actions of the robot computing device utilizing the display device or by generating one or more audio files to be reproduced by one or more speakers.

An autonomously motile device may be controlled by speech received by a user device. A first speech-processing system associated with the user device may determine that audio data includes a representation of a command; a second speech-processing system associated with the autonomously motile device may determine that the command should be executed by the autonomously motile device. A network connection is established between the user device and the autonomously motile device, and a device manager authorizes execution of the command.