Patent ID: 8694323

Claim:
An in-vehicle apparatus mounted in a vehicle, connected to a communication device, and provided with a speech recognition function, comprising, a signboard information data store that stores a plurality of signboard information items each including a signboard position of a signboard located at a position so as to be visible from a road on which the vehicle is driving and a character string shown on the signboard, a signboard information acquiring component that automatically obtains a signboard information item for a signboard including the signboard position of the signboard located at a position so as to be visible from the road where the vehicle is driving and the character string shown on the signboard and, upon obtaining the signboard information item, stores the obtained signboard information item in the signboard information data store, an image capturing component that controls a camera in accordance with information indicating a line-of-sight of a user and extracts, from an image taken by the camera for a signboard captured in the image, a signboard position of the signboard indicating a location visible from the road on which the vehicle is driving where the image is taken and a character string shown on the signboard, and stores a signboard information item for the signboard that includes the extracted signboard position and the extracted character string in the signboard information data store, a noun substitute data store that stores a noun substitute, a speech processing component to which speech is inputted, the speech processing component, upon determining that the inputted speech includes the noun substitute, selects, comparing the inputted speech with each of the signboard information items stored in the signboard information data store, a signboard information item from the signboard information data store for which the signboard position is within a predetermined range from a current position of the vehicle and for which at least a part of the character string matches a part of the speech inputted, and determines a response for confirming the character string being included in the selected signboard information item, and an output unit that provides an output indicating the response.