Table talk enhancer: a tabletop system for enhancing and balancing mealtime conversations using utterance rates

The purpose of this research is to enhance mealtime communication by visualizing the utterance rates of individuals during meals. We developed a system called "Table Talk Enhancer" that visualizes mealtime communication by illuminating the dining table surface with three LED lights (red, green, and blue). The system records the voices of people sharing a meal using directional microphones fixed at the center of the table, and it calculates their utterance rate, which is the ratio of time spent on individual utterances to the total mealtime. The system changes the illumination patterns of the table surface based on the values of the in- dividual utterance rates and a balance of them. Each LED light shines brightly when people speak frequently, and each of the lights blinks synchronously when the utterance rates of the individual users have a proper balance. This illumination affects the conversation implicitly. For an evaluation, we installed our proposed system at a public location for five days. We did not teach the participants the meaning of the different illumination patterns. As a result, we found that although the participants did not know the specific meaning of the feedback, their utterance rates during meals increased more with the feedback than without it.