There has so far been known a technique of synthesizing the singing voice from given singing data by e.g. a computer.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data are representative performance data and accepted as a de-facto standard in the related technical field. Typically, the MIDI data are used to generate the musical sound by controlling a digital sound source, termed a MIDI sound source, for example, a sound source actuated by MIDI data, such as computer sound source or a sound source of an electronic musical instrument. Lyric data may be introduced into a MIDI file, such as SMF (Standard MIDI file), so that the musical staff with the lyric may thereby be formulated automatically.
An attempt in using the MIDI data as representation by parameters (special data expression) of the singing voice or the phonemic segments making up the singing voice has been proposed in, for example the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication H-11-95798.
While these related techniques attempt to express the singing voice in the data forms of the MIDI data, such attempt is no more than a control with the sense of controlling a musical instrument.
It was also not possible with the conventional techniques to render the MIDI data, formulated for musical instruments, into songs without correcting the MIDI data.
On the other hand, the voice synthesizing software, for reading aloud an E-mail or a home page, is put for sale from many producers, including the present Assignee. However, the manner of reading is with the usual manner of reading aloud the text.
A mechanical apparatus for performing movements similar to those of a living organism, inclusive of the human being, using electrical or magnetic operations, is called a robot. The use of the robot in Japan dates back to the end of the sixties. Most of the robots used at the time were industrial robots, such as manipulators or transporting robots, aimed to automate the productive operations in a plant or to provide unmanned operations.
Recently, the development of a utility robot, adapted for supporting the human life as a partner for the human being, that is, for supporting human activities in variable aspects of our everyday life, is proceeding. In distinction from the industrial robot, the utility robot is endowed with the ability of learning how to adapt itself on its own to human operators different in personalities or to variable environments in variable aspects of our everyday life. A pet type robot, simulating the bodily mechanism or movements of quadrupeds, such as dogs or cats, or a humanoid robot, designed after the bodily mechanism or movements of the human being, walking on two legs in an erect style, as a model, is being put to practical application.
In distinction from the industrial robot, the utility robot apparatus are able to perform variable movements, centered about entertainment. For this reason, these utility robot apparatus are sometimes called the entertainment robots. Among the robot apparatus of this sort, there are those performing autonomous movements responsive to the information from outside or to inner states.
The artificial intelligence (AI), used for the autonomous robot apparatus, is artificial realization of intellectual functions, such as deduction or judgment. It is further attempted to artificially realize the functions, such as feeling or instinct. Among the expressing means by visual means or natural languages, for expressing the artificial intelligence to outside, there is a means by voice, as an example of the function of the expression employing the natural language.
The conventional synthesis of the singing voice uses data of a special style or, even if it uses MIDI data, the lyric data embedded therein cannot be used efficaciously, or MIDI data, prepared for musical instruments, cannot be sung.