Abstract: [Object] To realize dynamic and flexible dialogue in response to an inquiry from a user. [Solution] Provided is an information processing device including: a reception unit that receives inquiry information; an acquisition unit that acquires answer information in response to the inquiry information from at least one or more acquisition destination candidates determined on a basis of the inquiry information; and a sending unit that sends response information that is generated on a basis of the answer information. The acquisition unit sends a request using a common data format to the at least one or more acquisition destination candidates, and acquires the answer information using a common data format based on the request.

Abstract: A toner conveying device includes a toner conveying portion having vertical and horizontal conveying portions, a conveying member arranged in the horizontal conveying portion, a toner loosening member, and first and second magnetic members. The toner loosening member is arranged in the vertical conveying portion to be movable vertically. The first magnetic member is attached to the bottom end of the toner loosening member. The second magnetic member is attached to a part of the conveying member facing the toner loosening member. The magnetic pole of the first magnetic member on its side facing the conveying member is the same as the magnetic pole of the second magnetic member on its side facing the toner loosening member. The toner loosening member vertically reciprocates as the repulsive magnetic field between the first and the second magnetic members changes periodically with the rotation of the conveying member.

Abstract: A toner conveying device includes a toner conveying portion having vertical and horizontal conveying portions, a conveying member arranged in the horizontal conveying portion, a toner loosening member, and first and second magnetic members. The toner loosening member is arranged in the vertical conveying portion to be movable vertically. The first magnetic member is attached to the bottom end of the toner loosening member. The second magnetic member is attached to a part of the conveying member facing the toner loosening member. The magnetic pole of the first magnetic member on its side facing the conveying member is the same as the magnetic pole of the second magnetic member on its side facing the toner loosening member. The toner loosening member vertically reciprocates as the repulsive magnetic field between the first and the second magnetic members changes periodically with the rotation of the conveying member.

Abstract: In an apparatus for recognizing a travel lane of a vehicle, a deviation determiner is configured to, if two or more shape change points are extracted by a shape change point extractor and the second derivative value of curvature of an extracted boundary line at at least one of the two or more shape change points is inverted in sign, determine whether or not the extracted boundary line and an estimated boundary line estimated from travel lane parameters estimated by a travel lane parameter estimator are deviating from each other beyond a predetermined allowable range. A driving aid is configured to, if it is determined that the extracted boundary line and the estimated boundary line are deviating from each other beyond the predetermined allowable range, perform control upon deviation to prevent occurrence of undesirable situations that may be caused by deviation between the extracted boundary line and the estimated boundary line.

Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus to allow a user to use a device network by a natural and simple operation by automatically selecting a device for providing a response to a request, the information processing apparatus including: a request acquiring part configured to acquire a request to a system; a response determining part configured to determine a response to the request; a device selecting part configured to select, on the basis of at least an attribute of the response, a device that provides the response among devices included in the system; and a device controller configured to perform control that causes the selected device to provide the response.

Abstract: A lane-line recognizing apparatus includes an acquiring unit, an extractor, and an identifier including a storage and an estimator. The acquiring unit acquires a traveling environment information on a traveling environment in front of an own vehicle. The extractor extracts feature quantities of lane-line components of lane lines from each frame image on a basis of the traveling environment information acquired by the acquiring unit. The identifier identifies the lane lines on the basis of the feature quantities extracted by the extractor. The storage stores the feature quantities extracted by the extractor. When the feature quantities are extracted again after a transition from a condition where the lane lines are identifiable to a condition where the lane lines are unidentifiable, the estimator estimates, on the basis of the feature quantities stored in the storage, the lane lines after the transition to the condition where the lane lines are unidentifiable.

Abstract: A lane keep control apparatus includes a first calculator. The first calculator includes a first determiner, a second determiner, a third determiner, and a second calculator. The first determiner is configured to determine whether a preceding vehicle travels on a traveling lane of an own vehicle. The second determiner is configured to determine whether a blinker of the preceding vehicle blinks. The third determiner is configured to determine whether widening of one or both of lane lines is present. The second calculator is configured to set, on a condition that the blinker of the preceding vehicle is determined as blinking and the widening is determined as being present, a target traveling course on the basis of one of the lane lines positioned on opposite side of the other of the lane lines that is positioned on a side on which the blinker of the preceding vehicle is determined as blinking.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a selection unit selecting at least a part of a text included in contents, an acquisition unit acquiring a processing result of natural language processing for the part of the text selected by the selection unit, a specifying unit specifying a predetermined part of the text based on the processing result acquired by the acquisition unit, a detection unit detecting a keyword from the predetermined part of the text based on the processing result acquired by the acquisition unit, a tag generation unit automatically generating a tag in accordance with the keyword detected by the detection unit, and an association unit associating the tag generated by the tag generation unit with the predetermined part of the text.

Abstract: An estimating device includes: a movement amount computing section that, on the basis of a position of a predetermined region within an image picked-up at a first time, and a position of a region that corresponds to the predetermined region and is within an image picked-up in a same direction at a second time that is after the first time, computing a movement amount of the predetermined region in a vertical direction; a movement amount integrating section that computes an integrated value of the movement amounts, each time the movement amount is computed; a correcting section that corrects the integrated value of a current point in time on the basis of time series data of the integrated values of the movement amounts within a past predetermined time period; and an estimating section that estimates a pitch angle of the vehicle on the basis of a corrected integrated value.

Abstract: An apparatus for identifying a line marking on a road surface. In the apparatus, an extractor extracts a paint candidate that is a candidate for road surface paint used to identify a line marking in an image captured by a camera mounted on a vehicle to capture an image of an area including a road surface ahead of the vehicle. A determiner determines whether or not the paint candidate has at least one predefined flare feature. A line marking identifier identifies a line marking using the paint candidate which meets an identification condition used to identify a line marking. The line marking identifier sets the identification condition to be more stringent for a flare paint candidate that is the paint candidate determined by the determiner to have the at least one predefined flare feature than for the paint candidate determined by the determiner to have no predefined flare feature.

Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus to allow a user to use a device network by a natural and simple operation by automatically selecting a device for providing a response to a request, the information processing apparatus including: a request acquiring part configured to acquire a request to a system; a response determining part configured to determine a response to the request; a device selecting part configured to select, on the basis of at least an attribute of the response, a device that provides the response among devices included in the system; and a device controller configured to perform control that causes the selected device to provide the response.

Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus to allow a user to use a device network by a natural and simple operation by automatically selecting a device for providing a response to a request, the information processing apparatus including: a request acquiring part configured to acquire a request to a system; a response determining part configured to determine a response to the request; a device selecting part configured to select, on the basis of at least an attribute of the response, a device that provides the response among devices included in the system; and a device controller configured to perform control that causes the selected device to provide the response.

Abstract: A developing device includes a developing container including a first conveyance chamber and a second conveyance chamber disposed above the first conveyance chamber, a first stirring-conveyance member which conveys developer in the first conveyance chamber in a first direction, a second stirring-conveyance member which conveys the developer in the second conveyance chamber in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a developer carrier. A second communication portion is formed which allows the first and second conveyance chambers to communicate with each other at their end portions on a downstream side in the second direction. In the first conveyance chamber, a guide member is disposed which guides, to the downstream side in the first direction, the developer passing through the second communication portion to fall into the first conveyance chamber.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a vaccine containing fixed virus particles, wherein a summed fever response of three rabbits to the fixed virus particles in a pyrogen test is less than 80% based on a summed fever response of three rabbits to original virus particles of the fixed virus particles or corresponding inactivated virus particles.

Abstract: A steering assistant includes a lane width setting unit and a determination unit. The lane width setting unit provides setting of a lane width between lane lines on right and left sides of an own vehicle. The determination unit monitors a lane line state to determine how the lane line state has transited, in which the lane line state involves presence or absence of the lane lines on the right and left sides of the own vehicle. The lane width setting unit provides the setting of the lane width, with a virtual lane line assumed on side on which the lane line is missing, when it is determined that the lane line state has transited to a state in which the lane line is provided on either one of the right and left sides of the own vehicle.

Abstract: A developing device includes a developing container including a first conveyance chamber and a second conveyance chamber disposed above the first conveyance chamber, a first stirring-conveyance member which conveys developer in the first conveyance chamber in a first direction, a second stirring-conveyance member which conveys the developer in the second conveyance chamber in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a developer carrier. A second communication portion is formed which allows the first and second conveyance chambers to communicate with each other at their end portions on a downstream side in the second direction. In the first conveyance chamber, a guide member is disposed which guides, to the downstream side in the first direction, the developer passing through the second communication portion to fall into the first conveyance chamber.

Abstract: Provided is an encoder apparatus including: a scale provided to a rotation shaft of a drive apparatus and having a predetermined pattern; a detector that detects the predetermined pattern; a rotation information calculator that calculates rotation information on the rotation shaft by using detection results of the detector; an eccentricity information calculator; and a corrector that corrects the rotation information.

Abstract: In an apparatus for recognizing a travel lane of a vehicle, a deviation determiner is configured to, if two or more shape change points are extracted by a shape change point extractor and the second derivative value of curvature of an extracted boundary line at at least one of the two or more shape change points is inverted in sign, determine whether or not the extracted boundary line and an estimated boundary line estimated from travel lane parameters estimated by a travel lane parameter estimator are deviating from each other beyond a predetermined allowable range. A driving aid is configured to, if it is determined that the extracted boundary line and the estimated boundary line are deviating from each other beyond the predetermined allowable range, perform control upon deviation to prevent occurrence of undesirable situations that may be caused by deviation between the extracted boundary line and the estimated boundary line.

Abstract: An estimating device includes: a movement amount computing section that, on the basis of a position of a predetermined region within an image picked-up at a first time, and a position of a region that corresponds to the predetermined region and is within an image picked-up in a same direction at a second time that is after the first time, computing a movement amount of the predetermined region in a vertical direction; a movement amount integrating section that computes an integrated value of the movement amounts, each time the movement amount is computed; a correcting section that corrects the integrated value of a current point in time on the basis of time series data of the integrated values of the movement amounts within a past predetermined time period; and an estimating section that estimates a pitch angle of the vehicle on the basis of a corrected integrated value.

Abstract: A lane recognition apparatus includes a lane recognizer, a lane evaluator, and a recognition state monitor. The lane recognizer recognizes lane lines of a road on which a vehicle travels. The lane lines include a first lane line and a second lane line. The lane evaluator evaluates, as recognition reliability, reliability of the recognition of the lane lines recognized by the lane recognizer, based on a plurality of characteristic amounts that are obtained from the recognition of the lane lines. The recognition state monitor monitors, upon completion of the recognition of the first lane line following the evaluation on the recognition reliability, a state of the recognition of the second lane line to adjust a timing at which a result of the recognition of the lane lines is provided to a driver.