Abstract: A work support method, for supporting work performed by multiple users including a target user on an object in a virtual space where the object is placed, includes obtaining first information including at least one of sound information, input information, or schedule information; obtaining second information indicating manipulation of the object by the target user; determining whether the manipulation by the target user is to be applied to one or more other users among the multiple users based on the first information; generating images each viewed by a corresponding one of the one or more other users based on the result of the determining and the second information; and outputting the generated images to terminals of the one or more other users.

Abstract: A speech translation device, for conversation between a first speaker making an utterance in a first language and a second speaker making an utterance in a second language different from the first language, includes: a speech detector that detects, from sounds that are input, a speech segment in which the first speaker or the second speaker made an utterance; a display that, after speech recognition is performed on the utterance, displays a translation result obtained by translating the utterance from the first language to the second language or from the second language to the first language; and an utterance instructor that outputs, in the second language via the display, a message prompting the second speaker to make an utterance after a first speaker's utterance or outputs, in the first language via the display, a message prompting the first speaker to make an utterance after a second speaker's utterance.

Abstract: A speech recognition device includes: an obtaining unit which obtains a speech uttered in a conversation between a first speaker and a second speaker; a storage which stores the speech obtained; an input unit which receives operation input; an utterance start detector which, when the input unit receives the operation input, detects a start position of the speech; and a speaker identification unit which identifies a speaker of the speech as the first speaker who has performed the operation input or the second speaker who has not performed the operation input, based on (i) first timing at which the input unit has received the operation input and (ii) second timing indicating the detected start position of the speech. The first and second timing are set for each speech of the first and second speakers. A speech recognizer performs speech recognition on the speech whose speaker has been identified.

Abstract: A speaker recognition device includes: an obtaining unit which obtains a speech uttered by a speaker included in one or more speakers; a storage which stores the speech obtained by the obtaining unit; a trigger input unit which receives a trigger; an utterance start detector which detects a start position of the speech stored in the storage, when the trigger input unit receives the trigger, the start position being a position at which utterance of the speech has started; and a speaker identification unit which identifies the speaker of the speech from the one or more speakers based on at least first timing and second timing, the first timing being timing at which the trigger input unit has received the trigger, the second timing being timing indicating the start position of the speech detected by the utterance start detector.

Abstract: A speech translation device includes: a beamformer which forms, from a speech signal obtained by a microphone array, a first beam and a second beam having different directions; a direction designator which designates one of the first beam and the second beam according to a user operation; a signal-to-noise (SN) ratio calculator which calculates an SN ratio using the designated beam as a signal component in the SN ratio, and the other beam not designated as a noise component; a display determiner which determines whether recognition of the designated beam is difficult, using the calculated SN ratio, and determines a speaking instruction for overcoming difficulty of the recognition when determining that the recognition is difficult; and a display which displays the speaking instruction determined by the display determiner in a display area.

Abstract: A speech translation apparatus includes: an estimator which estimates a sound source direction, based on an acoustic signal obtained by a microphone array unit; a controller which identifies that an utterer is a user or a conversation partner, based on the sound source direction estimated after the start of translation is instructed by a button, using a positional relationship indicated by a layout information item stored in storage and selected in advance, and determines a translation direction indicating input and output languages in and into which content of the acoustic signal is recognized and translated, respectively; and a translator which obtains, according to the translation direction, original text indicating the content in the input language and translated text indicating the content in the output language. The controller displays the original and translated texts on first and second display areas corresponding to the positions of the user and conversation partner, respectively.

Abstract: A method executed in a translation system includes: (A) receiving source text in a first language; (B) translating the source text into a second language to generate first translated text; (C) acquiring a determination result as to whether or not the first translated text has been correctly translated; (D) in a case where the first translated text has not been correctly translated, generating first parallel translation data that includes the source text and the first translated text; (E) transmitting the first parallel translation data to a terminal device; (F) receiving, from the terminal device, second translated text obtained by the source text being correctly translated into the second language; and (G) registering, into a parallel translation database, second parallel translation data that includes the source text and the second translated text.

Abstract: A speaker recognition device includes: an obtaining unit which obtains a speech uttered by a speaker included in one or more speakers; a storage which stores the speech obtained by the obtaining unit; a trigger input unit which receives a trigger; an utterance start detector which detects a start position of the speech stored in the storage, when the trigger input unit receives the trigger, the start position being a position at which utterance of the speech has started; and a speaker identification unit which identifies the speaker of the speech from the one or more speakers based on at least first timing and second timing, the first timing being timing at which the trigger input unit has received the trigger, the second timing being timing indicating the start position of the speech detected by the utterance start detector.

Abstract: A speech translation device, for conversation between a first speaker making an utterance in a first language and a second speaker making an utterance in a second language different from the first language, includes: a speech detector that detects, from sounds that are input, a speech segment in which the first speaker or the second speaker made an utterance; a display that, after speech recognition is performed on the utterance, displays a translation result obtained by translating the utterance from the first language to the second language or from the second language to the first language; and an utterance instructor that outputs, in the second language via the display, a message prompting the second speaker to make an utterance after a first speaker's utterance or outputs, in the first language via the display, a message prompting the first speaker to make an utterance after a second speaker's utterance.

Abstract: A speech recognition device includes: an obtaining unit which obtains a speech uttered in a conversation between a first speaker and a second speaker; a storage which stores the speech obtained; an input unit which receives operation input; an utterance start detector which, when the input unit receives the operation input, detects a start position of the speech; and a speaker identification unit which identifies a speaker of the speech as the first speaker who has performed the operation input or the second speaker who has not performed the operation input, based on (i) first timing at which the input unit has received the operation input and (ii) second timing indicating the detected start position of the speech. The first and second timing are set for each speech of the first and second speakers. A speech recognizer performs speech recognition on the speech whose speaker has been identified.

Abstract: This information processing method includes: acquiring a first speech signal including a first utterance; acquiring a second speech signal including a second utterance; recognizing whether the speaker of the second utterance is a first speaker by comparing a feature value for the second utterance and a first speaker model; when the first speaker is recognized, performing speech recognition in a first language on the second utterance, generating text in the first language corresponding to the second utterance subjected to speech recognition in the first language, and translating the text in the first language into a second language; and, in a case where the first speaker is not recognized, performing speech recognition in the second language on the second utterance, generating text in the second language corresponding to the second utterance subjected to speech recognition in the second language, and translating the text in the second language into the first language.

Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus includes a start information acquisition unit that acquires start information including detection information about a key to a vehicle and a start instruction to start an engine, a first authentication unit that acquires, in accordance with the start information, sensing information about a user detected by a sensor of the vehicle and information about a preregistered user corresponding to the sensing information and authenticates whether the detected user is the preregistered user, a second authentication unit that acquires, in accordance with the start information, authentication information input by the user and preregistered authentication information corresponding to the authentication information and authenticates whether the input authentication information is the same as the preregistered authentication information, and a control information output unit that outputs control information regarding start of the engine based on at least one of the authentication results receive

Abstract: A speech translation device includes: a beamformer which forms, from a speech signal obtained by a microphone array, a first beam and a second beam having different directions; a direction designator which designates one of the first beam and the second beam according to a user operation; a signal-to-noise (SN) ratio calculator which calculates an SN ratio using the designated beam as a signal component in the SN ratio, and the other beam not designated as a noise component; a display determiner which determines whether recognition of the designated beam is difficult, using the calculated SN ratio, and determines a speaking instruction for overcoming difficulty of the recognition when determining that the recognition is difficult; and a display which displays the speaking instruction determined by the display determiner in a display area.

Abstract: A speech translation apparatus includes: an estimator which estimates a sound source direction, based on an acoustic signal obtained by a microphone array unit; a controller which identifies that an utterer is a user or a conversation partner, based on the sound source direction estimated after the start of translation is instructed by a button, using a positional relationship indicated by a layout information item stored in storage and selected in advance, and determines a translation direction indicating input and output languages in and into which content of the acoustic signal is recognized and translated, respectively; and a translator which obtains, according to the translation direction, original text indicating the content in the input language and translated text indicating the content in the output language. The controller displays the original and translated texts on first and second display areas corresponding to the positions of the user and conversation partner, respectively.

Abstract: A speech recognition method acquires sound information via multiple microphones, detects a sound source interval including sound from the sound information, acquires an estimated direction of speech by conducting direction estimation on a speech interval from among the sound source interval, conducts an adaptation process of using the sound information to estimate filter coefficients, decides a buffer size of the sound information to hold in a buffer, based on sound source interval information, estimated direction information, and adaptation process convergence state information, holds the sound information in the buffer according to the buffer size, conducts a beamforming process using the sound information held in the buffer and the filter coefficients to acquire speech information, and conducts speech recognition on the speech information acquired by the beamforming process.

Abstract: A noise reduction device includes an acoustic characteristic determination unit, a microphone pair selection unit, and a noise reduction unit. The acoustic characteristic determination unit determines, using one of microphone pair signals obtained from a plurality of microphone pairs, whether acoustic characteristics of each of the plurality of microphone pairs satisfy a certain requirement. The microphone pair selection unit selects, from among the plurality of microphone pairs, a target microphone pair whose acoustic characteristics have been determined to satisfy the certain requirement. The noise reduction unit reduces, using a microphone pair signal obtained from the target microphone pair, noise included in an input signal obtained from at least one of microphone signals output from a plurality of microphones.

Abstract: A sound collecting apparatus capable of effectively suppressing sounds other than a target sound is provided. The sound collecting apparatus includes a plurality of microphones. A total number of effective microphone pairs in which a distance between two microphones is smaller than a distance D is larger than a total number of the plurality of microphones. The distance D is represented by D=c/2f, where the frequency of the target sound acquired from each of the plurality of microphones is f and sound velocity is c. When an angle formed by a straight line connecting two microphones configuring an effective microphone pair and a predetermined straight line is ?, the angles ? of all effective microphone pairs acquired from the plurality of microphones are different from each other.

Abstract: This information processing method includes: acquiring a first speech signal including a first utterance; acquiring a second speech signal including a second utterance; recognizing whether the speaker of the second utterance is a first speaker by comparing a feature value for the second utterance and a first speaker model; when the first speaker is recognized, performing speech recognition in a first language on the second utterance, generating text in the first language corresponding to the second utterance subjected to speech recognition in the first language, and translating the text in the first language into a second language; and, in a case where the first speaker is not recognized, performing speech recognition in the second language on the second utterance, generating text in the second language corresponding to the second utterance subjected to speech recognition in the second language, and translating the text in the second language into the first language.

Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus includes a start information acquisition unit that acquires start information including detection information about a key to a vehicle and a start instruction to start an engine, a first authentication unit that acquires, in accordance with the start information, sensing information about a user detected by a sensor of the vehicle and information about a preregistered user corresponding to the sensing information and authenticates whether the detected user is the preregistered user, a second authentication unit that acquires, in accordance with the start information, authentication information input by the user and preregistered authentication information corresponding to the authentication information and authenticates whether the input authentication information is the same as the preregistered authentication information, and a control information output unit that outputs control information regarding start of the engine based on at least one of the authentication results receive

Abstract: A method executed in a translation system includes: (A) receiving source text in a first language; (B) translating the source text into a second language to generate first translated text; (C) acquiring a determination result as to whether or not the first translated text has been correctly translated; (D) in a case where the first translated text has not been correctly translated, generating first parallel translation data that includes the source text and the first translated text; (E) transmitting the first parallel translation data to a terminal device; (F) receiving, from the terminal device, second translated text obtained by the source text being correctly translated into the second language; and (G) registering, into a parallel translation database, second parallel translation data that includes the source text and the second translated text.