A vehicle control device is provided in a vehicle and includes a microphone, a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition engine different from the first voice recognition engine, and a processor for executing the first voice recognition engine or the second voice recognition engine on the basis of the vehicle traveling mode when a command is received through the microphone.

Provided are an MIC switching apparatus and an MIC switching method for a vehicle, which can achieve automatic switching between a headset MIC and an on-board device MIC. The MIC switching apparatus includes: a wireless headset MIC (14), a connector (12), an on-board device MIC (24), a data selector (13), and a controller (11). The connector (11) is configured to, when receiving a connection signal, control the data selector (13) to receive a sound signal from the on-board device MIC (24), and when not receiving the connection signal, control the data selector (13) to receive a sound signal from the wireless headset MIC (14). With the above features, automatic switching from sound acquisition by the on-board device MIC to sound acquisition by the wireless headset MIC may be achieved, thereby improving user experiences and increasing market competitiveness of the vehicle applying the method.

A user is assisted in performing a voice operation appropriately.

A situation determination section determines a situation. A state control section controls a voice command appropriate for the determined situation to put the voice command into a receivable state. For example, the user is informed of what the voice command in a receivable state is, by means of display or voice output. The user can utter a voice command without performing a user action to prevent false recognition, such as the utterance of a wake word. This reduces the troublesomeness and burden of the user.

An accompanying mobile body that can swiftly reflect a change in accompanying conditions by an instruction from a user on a state of movement. A predicted location calculation section calculates a predicted location of a user after a predetermined time period based on a state of movement of the user recognized by a movement state recognition section. An accompanying control section performs accompanying control to cause a shopping cart to move by a traveling unit toward a target location of accompanying that is a location apart from the predicted location by a specified distance in a specified direction. An accompanying condition change section changes one or both of the specified direction and the specified distance in accordance with an instruction to change from the user.

The disclosure describes systems and methods for processing audio signals in a vehicle to perform sound source separation. The sound source separation is performed using transfer functions and involves separation of the speech of multiple occupants. The separated speech can be used to isolate and correctly respond to a command to control vehicle systems.

A driving mode decision support for a decision to select a driving mode of driving on at least one road segment is provided to a user of an autonomous vehicle. A driver driving profile of a user is received. Segment information defining the at least one road segment is queried. The segment information includes at least a model driver driving profile associated with the at least one road segment. A driving mode decision support for the user is determined for the at least one road segment based on the driver driving profile of the user and the model driver driving profile. An indication of the driving mode decision support is provided to the user. The driving mode decision support includes a recommended driving mode of driving on the at least one road segment.

A voice information processing apparatus sequentially converts an utterance of a user into text during a voice reception period that is a period in which an uttered voice to be converted into text is received from a user, and in a case where it can be regarded that the utterance of the user has been interrupted, the voice information processing apparatus automatically causes utterance content already uttered by the user to be output by a voice during the voice reception period. As a result, the voice information processing apparatus can cause the user to recognize a content of a sentence that has been uttered by the user so far and converted into text, when it can be regarded that the utterance of the user has been interrupted.

Techniques for engaging a drowsy or otherwise impaired driver of a vehicle in a VUI dialog are described. A vehicle computing system sends data (e.g., raw sensor data and/or an indication that a driver is impaired determined based on the raw sensor data) to a remote server(s). The remote server(s) may separately determine whether the driver is impaired based on the raw sensor data and/or other contextual data. The remote server(s) selects a speechlet to provide output data based on the sensor data, contextual data, and or a level at which the driver is impaired. The remote server(s) then causes the vehicle computing system to present output audio corresponding to output data provided by the speechlet.

Methods and systems for determining an emotion of a human driver of a vehicle and using the emotion for generating a vehicle response, is provided. One example method includes processing captured voice data from the human driver over a period of time while the human driver operates the vehicle. The method includes analyzing the voice data to assist in prediction of the emotion of the human driver. The method includes generating the vehicle response. The vehicle response is selected in part based on the emotion that was predicted for the human driver.

A system for providing vehicle information to a user via audible signals. The system includes a data acquisition and transfer device disposable in communication with a vehicle computer on a vehicle to receive diagnostic data therefrom. A remote diagnostic server is disposable in communication with the data acquisition and transfer device to receive the diagnostic data. The remote diagnostic server includes a plurality of preset vehicle conditions stored thereon, and is operative to analyze the diagnostic data and generate an alert signal when the diagnostic data represents at least one of the preset vehicle conditions. The alert signal is receivable by a mobile communication device and is configured to allow the mobile communication device to generate an audible signal based on the alert signal. The audible signal includes diagnostic information associated with the diagnostic data received from the vehicle computer.