Patent Document ID: 8209179
Application ID: 10882360

Base Claim:
1. A speech communication system enabling a conversation with a conversation partner, said system comprising: a speech recognition unit configured to recognize a speech content of the conversation partner; a conversation control unit configured to continue the conversation using available resources; an image recognition unit configured to recognize a face of the conversation partner; and a tracking control unit configured to, in a normal mode, track a position of the conversation partner in response to both of a recognition result of the image recognition unit and a recognition result of the speech recognition unit, wherein while the speech communication system is in a failure mode as a result of an inability of the tracking control unit to track the position of the conversation partner, the conversation control unit is configured to continue the conversation without tracking including behaviors relying, in the normal mode, on tracking performed by the tracking control unit, the conversation is continued, without tracking, through the speech content of the conversation partner being recognized with the speech recognition unit and matching a predicted response.

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Claim 2:
2. The speech communication system according to claim 1 , wherein upon the failure to track the position of the conversation partner by the tracking control unit and the speech contents of the conversation partner not matching the predicted response, a notification is issued to request the conversation partner to make a response to said notification, the notification is repeated a prescribed number of times when the response to said notification is not received from the conversation partner, and the conversation control unit is configured to terminate the conversation when the response to said notification is not received from the conversation partner after the notification is repeated the prescribed number of times.