Patent Publication Number: US-11640832-B2

Title: Emotion-based voice interaction method, storage medium and terminal device using pitch, fluctuation and tone

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a national stage application of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/CN2019/118580, filed on Nov. 14, 2019, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201811366588.7, filed on Nov. 16, 2018, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The disclosure relates to the technical field of intelligent terminals, in particular to an emotion-based voice interaction method, a storage medium and a terminal device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With the development of artificial intelligence, natural language processing has become an important research direction. In recent years, it has been widely used in different fields, such as home furnishings, automobiles, and educations. Due to the development of artificial intelligence in the language field, in addition to the original remote-control button interaction, touch screen interaction and natural language interaction, man-machine interaction has also entered a new era. 
     Although artificial intelligence continues to develop rapidly, and the efficiency, accuracy, and intelligence of natural language interaction are also constantly advancing, the dialogues of existing products are still stiff and mechanical, lacking emotion, and can only answer users according to preset fixed strategies. In terms of emotion expression, communication with users at the psychological level cannot produce interaction, and cannot meet the needs of users for human-computer interaction. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In view of the defects of the current technology, the disclosure aims to provide an emotion-based voice interaction method, a storage medium and a terminal device. 
     The technical scheme adopted by the disclosure is as follows: 
     An emotion-based voice interaction method includes: 
     receiving voice information to be processed, and acquiring an intention type of the voice information; 
     determining an emotion type of the voice information when the intention type is an emotion intention; and 
     generating a response voice of the voice information according to the emotion type, and playing the response voice. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the receiving voice information to be processed, and acquiring an intention type of the voice information includes: 
     receiving the voice information to be processed, performing word division on the voice information to obtain several words, and judging whether the several words being divided include an emotion keyword; 
     deciding the intention type of the voice information is an emotion intention when the several words include the emotion keyword. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the receiving the voice information to be processed, performing word division on the voice information to obtain several words, and judging whether the several words being divided include an emotion keyword includes: 
     receiving the voice information to be processed, and converting the voice information into text information; 
     dividing the text information into several words, and selecting words meeting a preset condition from the several words being divided; and 
     judging whether the selected words meeting the preset condition includes the emotion keyword. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the preset condition is that a part-of-speech of a word does not belong to a preset part-of-speech list. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the preset parts-of-speech list includes non-key part-of-speech, wherein the non-key part-of-speech is part-of-speech that do not have emotion and action meanings. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the deciding the intention type of the voice information is an emotion intention when the several words include the emotion keyword includes: 
     acquiring the number of emotion keywords included when the several words include the emotion keyword; 
     deciding the intention type of the voice information is the emotion intention when the number is equal to 1; and 
     detecting whether the emotion types corresponding to the emotion keywords are the same when the number is greater than 1, and deciding the intention type of the voice information is the emotion intention if the emotion types corresponding to the emotion keywords are the same. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the method further includes: 
     deciding the intention type of the voice information is an instruction intention if the emotion types corresponding to the emotion keywords are different. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the method further includes: 
     deciding the intention type of the voice information is the instruction intention when the voice information does not include the emotion keyword. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the method further includes: 
     judging whether the instruction intention can determine the instruction content when the intention type is the instruction intention; and 
     querying the user in a domain clarification manner until the instruction content can be determined when the instruction intention can determine the instruction content, and executing an instruction corresponding to the instruction intention. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the method further includes: 
     generating and playing an excitation voice according to the instruction when the instruction corresponding to the instruction intention is executed. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the determining an emotion type of the voice information when the intention type is an emotion intention includes: 
     performing emotion analysis on the voice information to obtain the emotion type corresponding to the voice information when the intention type is the emotion intention, wherein the emotion analysis includes one or more analysis modes of vocabulary emotion analysis, sentence meaning emotion analysis and sound rhythm emotion analysis. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the generating a response voice of the voice information according to the emotion type, and playing the response voice includes: 
     generating the response voice corresponding to the voice information according to the emotion type based on an emotion empathy principle and an emotion guiding principle, and playing the response voice, wherein the response voice includes an emotion response statement and a function guiding statement. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the generating the response voice corresponding to the voice information according to the emotion type based on an emotion empathy principle and an emotion guiding principle, and playing the response voice includes: 
     generating the response voice corresponding to the voice information according to the emotion type based on the emotion empathy principle and the emotion guiding principle; and 
     acquiring a voice characteristic of the voice information, and playing the response voice according to the voice characteristic. 
     Further, in one embodiment, the generating the response voice corresponding to the voice information according to the emotion type based on an emotion empathy principle and an emotion guiding principle, and playing the response voice includes: 
     generating the response voice corresponding to the voice information according to the emotion type based on the emotion empathy principle and the emotion guiding principle; and 
     generating an emotion visual image according to the response voice, and deducing the corresponding response voice through the visual image. 
     Further, in one embodiment, included before the receiving voice information to be processed, and acquiring the intention type of the voice information is: 
     activating a voice listening mode and actively playing a preset voice when a voice awakening instruction is received. 
     Further, in one embodiment, included after the receiving voice information to be processed, and acquiring the intention type of the voice information is: 
     recording a number of the voice information of which the emotion type is the emotion intention, and activating a preset active emotion mode when the number reaches a preset threshold value, wherein a terminal device actively plays voice in the active emotion mode. 
     A computer-readable storage medium having one or more programs stored thereon, the one or more programs being executable by one or more processors to implement steps in the emotion-based voice interaction method as described in any one of the above. 
     A terminal device includes: a processor and a memory; 
     the memory having a computer-readable program executable by the processor stored thereon; and 
     the processor, when executing the computer-readable program, implementing steps in the emotion-based voice interaction method as described in any of the above. 
     A computer-readable storage medium having one or more programs stored thereon, the one or more programs being executable by one or more processors to implement steps in the emotion-based voice interaction method as described in any one of the above. 
     A terminal device includes: a processor and a memory; 
     the memory having a computer-readable program executable by the processor stored thereon; and 
     the processor, when executing the computer-readable program, implementing steps in the emotion-based voice interaction method as described in any of the above. 
     The beneficial effects are as follows: compared with the current technology, the disclosure provides an emotion-based voice interaction method, a storage medium and a terminal device. The method includes: receiving voice information to be processed, and acquiring an intention type of the voice information; when the intention type is an emotion intention, determining an emotion type of the voice information; and generating a response voice of the voice information according to the emotion type, and playing the response voice. According to the disclosure, the intention type of the voice information is judged, and when the intention type is the emotion intention, the corresponding response voice is generated according to the emotion intention, so that the response voice can be matched with the emotion intention of a user, achieving the emotion interaction while realizing the voice interaction, and bringing convenience to the user during the use. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a flow diagram of an embodiment of an emotion-based voice interaction method provided by the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a flow diagram of step S 10  in an embodiment of the emotion-based voice interaction method provided by the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    is a flow diagram of step S 20  in an embodiment of the emotion-based voice interaction method provided by the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device provided by the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     The disclosure provides an emotion-based voice interaction method, a storage medium and a terminal device. In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and effects of the present disclosure clearer and more definite, the present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, as used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, “said” and “the” may include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It should be further understood that the word “comprise” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or combination thereof. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or an intervening element may also be present. Furthermore, “connected” or “coupled” as used herein may include wireless connection or wireless coupling. As used herein, the phrase “and/or” includes all or any element and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     Those skilled in the art can understand that, unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meanings as those commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosure belongs. It should also be understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with the meaning of the context of the current technology and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless defined as here. 
     The disclosure will be further explained below through the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the drawings. 
     The embodiment of the disclosure provides an emotion-based voice interaction method, as shown in  FIG.  1   . The method includes: 
     S 10 , receiving voice information to be processed, and acquiring an intention type of the voice information; 
     S 20 , determining an emotion type of the voice information when the intention type is an emotion intention; and 
     S 30 , generating a response voice of the voice information according to the emotion type, and playing the response voice. 
     The voice information can be voice input by a user in real time collected by a terminal device through a pickup, and can also be voice sent to the terminal device by external device through a network, and the like. In practical application, in order to reduce the loss of the terminal device caused by voice interaction, an execution main body of the flow shown in  FIG.  1    can be a cloud server, that is, the terminal device receives voice information to be processed and sends the voice information to the cloud server, the cloud server can generate response voice according to the obtained voice information and return the response voice to the terminal device, and the terminal device plays the response voice to the user. The terminal device is a terminal device with a voice function. Of course, it should be noted that the executing main body of the flow described in  FIG.  1    may also be the terminal device itself. 
     Further, in the step S 10 , the intention type refers to the type of meaning that the voice information is expected to express, and the intention type is used for determining a response mode of the voice information, wherein the voice information of different intention types corresponds to different response modes, so that corresponding operations can be quickly performed according to the intention of the user, and the timeliness of voice response can be improved. The intentions include emotion intentions and instruction intentions, wherein the emotion intention refers that the voice information is expected to express an emotion, i.e. the voice information contains an emotion expression, and the instruction intention refers that the voice information is expected to express an operation instructions, i.e. the voice information only contains an instruction expression. In one possible implementation of this embodiment, the intention type may be determined by judging whether the intention type is an emotion intention, and when the intention type is not an emotion intention, the intention type is an instruction intention. The emotion intention may be determined by determining whether the voice information includes an emotion keyword. Correspondingly, as shown in  FIG.  2   , the receiving voice information to be processed, and acquiring an intention type of the voice information includes: 
     S 11 , receiving the voice information to be processed, performing word division on the voice information to obtain several words, and judging whether the divided words include an emotion keyword; 
     S 12 , deciding that the intention type of the voice information is an emotion intention when the several words include the emotion keyword; and 
     S 13 , deciding that the intention type of the voice information is an instruction intention when the several words carry no emotion keyword. 
     The emotion key words are emotion words and can be preset and stored in a key word database. After word division is carried out on the voice information, all the divided words can be searched in the key word database. If the words are searched, the voice information is decided to include the emotion key word, and if the words are not searched, the voice information is decided to not include the emotion key word. In the embodiment, before the voice information is divided, the voice information needs to be recognized so as to convert the voice information into text information; then the text information is subjected to word division; after word division, the divided words can be subjected to part-of-speech screening, and non-keyword parts-of-speech (e.g. adverbs, personal pronouns and the like) can be deleted so as to improve the searching speed of emotion keywords. The non-key parts-of-speech can be stored in a part-of-speech list in advance. After several words are divided, the part-of-speech of each word can be obtained, and the divided words are screened according to the part-of-speech list so as to remove the words having the part-of-speech attributes in the part-of-speech list, wherein the non-key parts-of-speech is the part-of-speech without an emotion characteristic or an action characteristic, and the emotion characteristics refer to having emotion, and action characteristics refer to having action meaning. For example, the file information corresponding to the voice information is “oh, so tired today”, then the text information is subjected to word division to obtain “today”, “so tired” and “oh”, and the words are screened to obtain “today” and “so tired”, wherein the tired in the “so tired” is an emotion keyword, so that the intention type of the voice information can be determined to be the emotion intention. Of course, in a practical application, when the voice information includes no emotion keyword, it can be determined that the intention type of the voice information is the instruction intention. 
     Further, when each divided word is searched in the keyword database, a plurality of divided words can be included in the keyword database. When a plurality of emotion keywords are searched, whether the emotion types corresponding to the emotion keywords are the same can be judged, and if the emotion keywords are the same, one emotion keyword is selected from the emotion keywords as the emotion keyword of the voice information. When the emotion types corresponding to the plurality of emotion keywords are different, the intention type of the voice information can be determined as the instruction intention. Of course, in practical applications, when the voice information contains a plurality of different types of emotion keywords, mood and intonation corresponding to the voice information can be obtained, and the emotion keywords corresponding to the voice information are determined according to the mood and intonation. 
     Further, in the step S 20 , the emotion type refers to an emotion state of the user, for example, the emotion type can be happy, unhappy, angry, sad, etc. The emotion type can be directly determined according to the emotion keyword, and can also be determined according to the emotion keyword and the whole sentence meaning of the voice information. Correspondingly, as shown in  FIG.  3   , the when the intention type is an emotion intention, determining an emotion type of the voice information includes: 
     S 21 , performing emotion analysis on the voice information when the intention type is the emotion intention, wherein the emotion analysis is one or more of vocabulary emotion analysis, sentence meaning emotion analysis and sound rhythm emotion analysis; and 
     S 22 , determining the emotion type corresponding to the voice information according to the emotion analysis. 
     The vocabulary emotion analysis aims at the vocabularies of the voice information. Wherein the emotions of Chinese characters include commendatory words, derogatory words, positive and negative modal particles, curse words, etc. Different vocabulary has its emotion representation. The sentence meaning emotion analysis aims at the vocabularies and complete sentence meaning of voice information through natural language processing and analysis. Wherein the sentence meaning emotion analysis is mainly carried out on the basis of vocabulary emotion analysis. The sound rhythm emotion analysis aims at the sound of the voice information, and predicts emotion through comparing and judging the sound rhythm with historical interaction records and a standard sound emotion rhythm library and the like. Thus, the emotion type corresponding to the voice information can be determined through the emotion analysis including vocabulary emotion analysis, sentence emotion analysis and/or sound rhythm emotion analysis. In the present embodiment, the emotion type of the voice information is preferably determined, i.e. the emotion intention of the voice information is divided using the sound rhythm emotion analysis, e.g. the emotion intention belongs to a sad type, etc. The sound rhythm emotion analysis can also adopt phoneme analysis to determine the emotion type corresponding to the emotion intention. The phonemes may include the pitch, fluctuation, tone and the like of the sound. That is, the corresponding emotion type can be determined according to the pitch, fluctuation, tone and the like of the sound of the voice information. In practical application, the tone range corresponding to each emotion type can be preset, and the tone corresponding to the voice information can be matched with the tone range to determine the emotion type to which it belongs. 
     In addition, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the same manner may be used when pitch or fluctuation of the sound is used; or ranges for the pitch, fluctuation and tone of the sound are preset respectively, and then the pitch, fluctuation and tone of the sound are sequentially compared with the corresponding ranges to determine the emotion type corresponding to the pitch, fluctuation and tone of the sound. After determining the emotion type corresponding to the pitch, fluctuation and tone of the sound, the emotion type with large number is selected as the emotion types of the voice information. When the pitch, fluctuation and tone of the sound correspond to different emotion types, respectively, the emotion type corresponding to the voice information is determined according to a preferred level of the pitch, fluctuation and tone of the sound. Wherein, the preferred level of the pitch, fluctuation and tone of the sound is preset. Of course, when the pitch, fluctuation and tone of the sound correspond to different emotion types, respectively, one emotion type can also be randomly selected as the emotion type corresponding to the voice information. 
     Furthermore, in the step S 30 , the response voice is voice information generated according to the emotion type of the voice information, and the response voice is generated based on an emotion empathy principle and an emotion guiding principle. Wherein the emotion empathy principle refers to the principle of adopting a same emotion as the voice information carries, and the emotion guiding principle refers to guiding the users to release their emotions directionally. Therefore, the emotion empathy principle and the emotion guiding principle include two parts: an emotion empathy part and an emotion guiding domain part. The emotion empathy part is used for generating emotion resonance with the user, and the emotion guiding domain part is used for providing a mode for relieving emotion for the user. For example, the voice information is “oh, so tired today”, and the response voice generated based on the emotion sympathy principle and the emotion guiding principle can be “oh, then relax and have a rest, listen to the music”. Wherein “oh, then relax and have a rest” is the emotion sympathy part, and “listen to the music” is the emotion guiding domain, which can also improve the empathy between the response voice and the user to flow the emotion. Correspondingly, generating a response voice of the voice information according to the emotion type, and playing the response voice includes: generating the response voice corresponding to the voice information according to the emotion type based on an emotion empathy principle and an emotion guiding principle, and playing the response voice, wherein the response voice includes an emotion response statement and a function guiding statement. Of course, in practical application, when the response voice of the voice is generated according to the emotion type, the emotion visual image of the corresponding response voice can also be generated, the response voice and the emotion visual image are called, and the corresponding response voice is deduced through the visual image. 
     Furthermore, in order to improve the resonance between the response statement and the voice information, when the response voice is generated, the voice characteristic of the voice information can be obtained, and the response voice is played by adopting the voice characteristic, so that the response voice conforms to the context of the voice information. Wherein the voice characteristic refers to a voice feature of the voice information, for example, the voice characteristic can include volume, tone, audio and the like. The voice characteristic of the response voice is determined according to the volume, tone and audio, and the response voice is played by adopting the voice characteristic. Of course, in practical application, an user identification (ID) corresponding to the voice information can also be obtained, and the user&#39;s speaking format habits, accents, and mantras can be determined according to the user IDs; the response voice can be generated according to the speaking format habits, emotion types and mantras; and the manner of playing response information is determined according to the voice characteristics and accent, and the response information is played in the determined manner. 
     Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to improve the initiative of emotion voice interaction, after response voice is generated according to the emotion type, the times of emotion voice interaction can be recorded, and when the times reach a preset threshold value, a preset initiative emotion mode is automatically started. Correspondingly, included after generating a response voice of the voice information according to the emotion type, and playing the response voice is: 
     recording a number of the voice information of which the emotion type is the emotion intention, and activating a preset active emotion mode when the number reaches a preset threshold value, wherein a terminal device actively plays voice in the active emotion mode. 
     The active emotion mode is preset, and when the active emotion mode is activated, the terminal device actively plays voice to the user when the terminal device is started or the voice function is wakened up. Wherein the preset threshold value is preset, for example, 5 and the like. That is to say, when the number of times that the user and the terminal device perform emotion expression reaches 5 times, the terminal device automatically activates the active emotion mode by an active emotion processor, wherein the active emotion processor actively emits voice to the user after started so as to perform emotion interaction with the user. Of course, it should be noted that when the terminal device automatically activates the active emotion mode, the terminal device will immediately actively emit a voice, i.e. when the terminal device enters the emotion mode, the terminal device emits the voice. 
     Further, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: 
     when the intention type is the instruction intention, judging whether the instruction intention is clear, namely judging whether the instruction intention can determine the instruction content; and 
     when the instruction intention cannot determine the instruction content, querying the user in a domain clarification manner until the instruction content can be determined, and executing the instruction corresponding to the instruction intention. 
     When the instruction intention is what the user needs to execute and the user&#39;s current intention cannot determine the instruction content, the inquiry can be made in the form of the domain clarification inquiry to let the user further clarify the intention, and when the instruction intention can determine the instruction content, a corresponding operation is executed according to the instruction intention. For example, the user says “tianmimi (Chinese alphabetic writing)”, the smart device generates and plays the query voice in a domain clarification manner “do you want to watch the movie or listen to the song?”, and at the moment, if the user says “listen to the song”, the smart device determines that the user instruction intention is to play the song “tianmimi”, and then the smart device executes the operation of playing the song “tianmimi”. In addition, in order to provide the emotion of voice interaction, after the corresponding instruction is executed according to the instruction intention, a corresponding excitation voice can be generated. Correspondingly, the method further includes: when the instruction corresponding to the instruction intention is executed, the excitation voice is generated and played according to the instruction. For example, after performing the operation of playing the song “tianmimi”, a voice of “please enjoy it” can be generated and played. 
     Based on the above-described emotion-based voice interaction method, the disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium having one or more programs stored thereon, the one or more programs being executable by one or more processors to implement the steps in the emotion-based voice interaction method as described above. 
     The disclosure also provides a terminal device, as shown in  FIG.  4   , including at least one processor  20 ; a display screen  21 ; and a memory  22 , which may also include a communications interface  23  and a bus  24 . Wherein, the processor  20 , the display  21 , the memory  22  and the communications interface  23  may communicate with each other via the bus  24 . The display screen  21  is set to display a user guide interface preset in the initial setting mode. The communications interface  23  may transmit information. The processor  20  may call logical instructions in the memory  22  to perform the methods in the embodiments described above. 
     Furthermore, the logic instructions in the memory  22  described above may be implemented in the form of a software functional unit, and stored in a computer-readable storage medium when sold or used as a stand-alone product. 
     The memory  22 , as a computer-readable storage medium, may be configured to store software programs, computer-executable programs, program instructions or modules corresponding to the methods in the disclosed embodiments. The processor  20  executes the functional applications and the data processing, i.e. implements the methods in the embodiments described above, by running software programs, instructions or modules stored in the memory  22 . 
     The memory  22  may include a storage program area and a storage data area, wherein the storage program area can store an application program required by an operating system and at least one function; the storage data area may store data or the like created according to the use of the terminal device. In addition, memory  22  may include high-speed random-access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory. For example, a U disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk may store program code or may be a transient storage medium. 
     Furthermore, the processes loaded and executed by the above-described storage medium and the multiple instruction processors in the mobile terminal are have been described in detail in the above-described method and will not be set forth herein. 
     Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical solutions of the present disclosure and are not intended to be limiting thereof; although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that: the technical solutions of the above-mentioned embodiments can still be modified, or some of the technical features thereof can be equivalently replaced; such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the various embodiments of this disclosure.