The voice recognition engine 117 is used for voice-recognizing the recorded user's speech (recorded data) to interpret the contents of the user's speech (converted into a text), and specifically performs sound analysis of the recorded data, and then converts the resultant recorded data into a text using an acoustic model, a language model, and voice recognition dictionaries, such as a pronunciation dictionary. The voice recognition engine 117 executes the voice recognition processing (for example, refer to Step T2 of FIG. 2) according to an instruction of the voice assistant/server program 132.

The communication module 120 is used for performing data communication with the plurality of devices 20 by cable or radio through a network.

The AC adaptor 123 is connected to a commercial power source to convert an AC voltage into a DC voltage, and then outputs the DC voltage to the DC-DC converter 122. The DC-DC converter 122 converts the DC voltage supplied from the AC adaptor 123 into a predetermined voltage, and then supplies power to each module.

In the above-described configuration, the CPU 111, the voice assistant/server program 132, and the voice recognition engine 117 can realize the functions of the voice recognition module 12 of FIG. 1. Moreover, the CPU 111 and the voice assistant/server program 132 can realize the functions of the voice assistant module 13 of FIG. 1.