Dialog device and dialog method

A dialog method for acquiring content information from an information source via an information acquisition unit and for executing a conversation with a user using a conversational sentence generated from the content information, the content information being at least one of news, a newspaper article, a blog article, traffic information, and regional information, the information source being at least one or more news distribution sites on an Internet, and the dialog method comprising:

• as steps to be executed by at least one processor,
• a conversation execution step of changing the content information used in generation of the conversational sentence, setting the content information used in the generation of the conversational sentence as specific content information, and continuing the conversation with the user;
• an attribute setting step of setting a plurality of attribute information pieces with respect to the specific content information used in the generation of the conversational sentence in the conversation execution step, the plurality of attribute information pieces being words in the content information;
• and
• an acquisition control step of controlling the information acquisition unit to acquire other content information having at least a number of same attribute information pieces as the specific content information, the other content information used to generate a next conversational sentence after the conversational sentence with the specific content information, wherein:
• the attribute setting step defines a plurality of threads with respect to the specific content information, each of the plurality of threads having one of the plurality of attribute information pieces, and each of the plurality of threads being one of a keyword, a broad category classification, a category detail, a date, a place, and a news distribution site;
• the plurality of threads includes (i) one or more fixed threads, or (ii) the one or more fixed threads and one or more transit threads, the one or more fixed threads being threads where the attribute information piece in each of the one or more fixed threads is fixed and does not change between the conversational sentence and the next conversational sentence, and the one or more transit threads being threads where the attribute information piece in each of the one or more transit threads is not fixed and changes between the conversational sentence and the next conversational sentence;
• in response to the acquisition control step controlling the information acquisition unit to acquire the other content information used to generate the next conversational sentence, the acquisition control step changes at least one of the fixed threads in the plurality of threads to a transit thread;
• another fixed thread in the plurality of threads in both the conversational sentence and the next conversational sentence has a same attribute information piece;
• a number of the fixed threads in the plurality of threads is changeable;
• and wherein
• the dialog method further comprises a priority setting step that sets a priority order of the fixed threads, a fixed thread with a lower priority order among the fixed threads being changed in the acquisition control step to the transit thread;
• and
• the acquisition control step specifies one of the plurality of threads having a higher priority order, as set in the priority setting step, as the fixed thread.

A dialog device that executes a conversation with a user by using a conversational sentence generated from current content information and a next conversational sentence generated from other content information, the current content information and the other content information being at least one of news, a newspaper article, a blog article, traffic information, and regional information, and the dialog device comprising:

• a communication processing unit including an antenna for mobile communication and configured to acquire the current content information and the other content information from at least one or more news distribution sites on an Internet;
• and
• a microcomputer configured
• to define a plurality of threads for the current content information and the other content information, each of the plurality of threads being one of a keyword, a broad category classification, a category detail, a date, a place, and a news distribution site,
• to set attribute information for the plurality of threads for the current content information to generate the conversational sentence, the attribute information being words in the current content information and the other content information,
• to fix the attribute information associated with at least one of the plurality of threads for the current content information to specify at least one fixed thread, the fixed attribute information of the at least one fixed thread configured not to change between the current content information for generating the conversational sentence and the other content for generating the next conversational sentence,
• to set the attribute information for the plurality of threads for the other content information to generate the next conversational sentence, and
• to change the current content information used to generate the conversational sentence to the other content information used to generate the next conversational sentence to continue the conversation with the user, wherein in response to acquiring the other content information for generating the next conversational sentence, the microcomputer is further configured to generate the next conversational sentence with the fixed attribute information of the at least one fixed thread of the current content information and the set attribute information of the plurality of threads for the other content information and to output the next conversational sentence, and wherein
• the microcomputer is further configured to set a priority order of the at least one fixed thread in the plurality of threads, a fixed thread with a lower priority order among the at least one fixed thread being changed by the microcomputer to a transit thread, the transit thread being such that the attribute information is not fixed and changes between the current conversational sentence and the next conversation sentence, and wherein
• the microcomputer is further configured to specify one of the plurality of threads having a higher priority order as the at least one fixed thread.