JP2003271084A - Apparatus and method for providing information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide information having contents matching preference of even an unspecified passer-by for the passer-by. <P>SOLUTION: A feature extracting means 101 extracts a feature quantity regarding an attribute that the passer-by 3 has from image information obtained by an image information acquiring means 100. An information determining means 102 selects information to be provided for the passer-by 3 according to the extracted feature quantity. Then the selected provided information is outputted by an information output means 103 toward the passer-by 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus and an information providing method for providing information to unspecified passersby.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional information providing apparatuses or information providing methods are roughly classified into a type of providing information to an unspecified person and a type of providing information to a specific person. can do.

As an example of the former, an information providing device having an electronic bulletin board, a display, etc. installed at a store or a street is known. This type of device is mainly used to attract the interest of passers-by and to expand the number of customers.For example, it is a configuration that repeatedly displays information such as store introductions, recommended product guides, new products and new books. Has become. As other uses, it is also used for the purpose of displaying guidance in the facility.

As the latter example, an information providing service using the Internet or a mobile phone is known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-203811 proposes a system in which a user of a mobile phone can enjoy an information providing service that suits his / her lifestyle and taste.

[0005]

By the way, the former type cannot provide information tailored to the taste of an individual because the target is an unspecified person. Also, passers-by only receive information passively, so it is rare for the displayed information to be interested. Therefore,
There is a problem that a high appealing effect cannot be obtained even if advertising information is displayed.

On the other hand, since the latter type is targeted at a specific person, there is an advantage that an information providing service can be provided in accordance with an individual's taste. However, in this case, it is difficult to expand the number of users because registration of personal information is essential. In other words, from the viewpoint of privacy protection and the sense of crisis such as leakage, leakage, and misuse of personal information, there are many people who feel resistance to registering personal information, and such people hesitate to use the information providing service itself. There are many cases.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide information of contents matching the taste of an unspecified passerby. It is to realize an information providing apparatus and an information providing method that can be performed.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the information providing apparatus of the present invention is an information providing apparatus for providing information to an unspecified passerby and acquires image information of the passerby. Image information acquisition means, and characteristic amount extraction means for extracting a characteristic amount related to an attribute of a person from the acquired image information,
A configuration is provided that includes an information determination unit that determines provision information to be provided to the passerby based on the extracted feature amount, and an information output unit that outputs the determined provision information to the passerby. .

According to this structure, the attribute peculiar to a person can be estimated from (a characteristic amount of) an unspecified passerby without acquiring personal information relating to privacy.
Various attributes can be adopted, such as gender,
Attributes such as age group (age), race, height, physique, hairstyle, clothes, way of walking, belongings, walking alone or with a plurality of people are preferable. If such an attribute can be known, it is possible to estimate the person's taste and lifestyle tendency based on the attribute, and further, it is possible to determine the provided information that matches the taste and lifestyle tendency. . Therefore, it becomes possible to provide information to the unspecified passerby with the content that suits the taste of the person without acquiring the personal information.

As a result, it becomes possible for the information provider to efficiently provide information with a high appeal effect, while
For passersby, it is possible to obtain useful information for oneself without much trouble, which is a great benefit for both.

The information deciding means classifies the passerby into a predetermined category based on the extracted feature quantity, and information for selecting the provided information to be provided according to the category to which the passerby belongs. It is preferable to have a selection means.

According to this configuration, an unspecified passerby can be classified into a predetermined category without acquiring personal information relating to privacy. Although various methods of classification are possible, for example, the above attributes may be classified or a combination of a plurality of attributes may be used. If the passersby are classified in this way, it is possible to easily estimate the tendency of the taste or lifestyle for each category (in other words, the category may be set based on the taste or the tendency of the lifestyle). . Then, according to the category, it is possible to select the provided information that suits the taste and lifestyle tendency. Therefore, it becomes possible to provide information to the unspecified passerby with the content that suits the taste of the person without acquiring the personal information.

[0013] A provision information storage means for storing a plurality of types of provision information classified in advance corresponding to the category is provided.
It is preferable that the information selection means selects from the provided information storage means the provided information of a type corresponding to the category to which the passerby belongs.

As described above, the tendency of the taste and lifestyle can be estimated for each category. Therefore, if the provided information is classified in advance according to the category and stored in the provided information storage means, the information determination means The information determination process becomes simple. Then, the processing time required from the acquisition of the image information of the passerby to the provision of the information can be shortened, so that the optimum information can be provided in real time even to the passerby who is moving. Note that the process of classifying the provided information may be performed automatically, or the information provider (device manager)
May be done manually.

The provided information output by the information output means is
It is preferable to include outline information indicating a summary of the content of information and reference information indicating a method of acquiring more detailed content.

By including the outline information, it is possible to instantly transmit the summary of the information content to a moving passerby. Therefore, the output provided information is likely to attract the attention of passers-by. Further, a passerby who is interested in the outline information can obtain more detailed contents based on the reference information, and therefore, it is possible to provide information of substantial contents both quantitatively and qualitatively. Therefore, a high appeal effect can be obtained.

As the image information acquisition means for acquiring the image information of the passerby, an image pickup means such as a camera for capturing the image information of the face, half body or whole body of the passerby can be preferably used. In addition, a detection unit such as an infrared sensor or a distance sensor that acquires shape information or unevenness information of a passerby's face, half body, or whole body can be preferably used. In addition,
The image information acquisition means is not limited to the one exemplified here, and various kinds of means can be suitably used as long as they are means capable of acquiring image information capable of extracting a feature amount related to an attribute of a person. .

As the information output means, a display means such as an electronic bulletin board or a display for outputting information in characters or images, a voice output means such as a speaker for outputting information by voice, a portable telephone or portable information carried by a passerby. A transmitting means for transmitting digital information to a mobile terminal such as a terminal, a printing means for printing out information on a paper medium, and the like, and other similar information output means can be preferably used.

It is also preferable that the moving speed detecting means for detecting the moving speed of the passerby is provided, and the information is provided to the passerby only when the detected moving speed is less than a predetermined value. Passers-by moving at relatively high speeds are expected to be less interested in the output information, while passers-by or moving at slower speeds can receive the output information. It is thought to be highly effective. Therefore, if it is determined whether or not to provide information to the passerby based on the moving speed of the passerby, it is possible to provide the information efficiently and with a high appeal effect.

It is preferable that the moving speed detecting means calculates the moving speed of the passerby based on a plurality of pieces of image information acquired at a predetermined time interval. If the moving speed is detected using the image information acquired by the image information acquiring means, it is not necessary to separately provide a sensor or the like for measuring the moving speed of a passerby, and thus the device configuration is simplified,
Cost reduction can be achieved.

The information providing device of the present invention can be realized as a single device or a system composed of a plurality of information processing devices of a terminal and a server. For example, an information providing apparatus (system) as one embodiment thereof is an information providing apparatus that provides information to an unspecified passerby and is configured by including a terminal and a server, and the terminal is a passerby Image information acquisition means for acquiring image information, image information transmission means for transmitting the acquired image information to the server, and information output means for outputting the provision information received from the server toward the passerby,
The server includes image information receiving means for receiving image information from the terminal, feature amount extracting means for extracting a feature amount relating to an attribute of a person from the received image information, and the extracted feature amount. It is preferable that the configuration includes information determining means for determining the additional information to be provided to the passerby based on the above, and additional information transmitting means for transmitting the determined additional information to the terminal.

Further, the information providing method of the present invention is an information providing method for providing information to an unspecified passerby, the step of obtaining image information of a passerby, and the step of obtaining image information of the passerby, A step of extracting a feature amount relating to the attribute that has, a step of determining the provision information to be provided to the passerby based on the extracted feature amount, and a step of outputting the determined provision information to the passerby And are included.

The step of determining the provided information to be provided includes the step of classifying the passerby into a predetermined category based on the extracted feature amount, and the offer to be provided according to the category to which the passerby belongs. And selecting the information.

In the step of selecting the provision information to be provided, the provision information storage means for storing a plurality of types of provision information classified in advance corresponding to the category is used to select the type corresponding to the category to which the passerby belongs. It is preferable to select the provided information.

It is preferable that the provided information to be output includes general information indicating the gist of the content of information and reference information indicating a method of acquiring more detailed content.

It is also preferable to include a step of detecting the moving speed of the passerby and a step of providing information to the passerby only when the detected moving speed is less than or equal to a predetermined value.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be exemplarily described below with reference to the drawings.

First, with reference to FIG. 1, a schematic configuration of an information providing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Figure 1
It is a conceptual diagram of the information provision apparatus 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing apparatus 1 relates to image information acquisition means 100 for acquiring image information of the face, half body, whole body, etc. of the passerby 3 and the attributes possessed by the person from the acquired image information. A feature amount extraction unit 101 that extracts a feature amount, an information determination unit 102 that determines the provision information to be provided to the passerby 3 based on the extracted feature amount, and the determined provision information is output to the passerby 3. And an information output means 103.

According to this structure, an attribute peculiar to the person is estimated from (a characteristic amount of) an unspecified passerby 3 without acquiring personal information relating to privacy, and based on the attribute, the person's preference or Lifestyle trends can be estimated. That is, if the information determining means 102 determines the provided information that matches the taste and lifestyle estimated from the feature amount, the unspecified passerby 3 can obtain his / her taste without acquiring personal information. It is possible to provide information with contents that match.

As a result, the information provider can efficiently provide information with a high appeal effect, while
Since the passerby 3 can obtain useful information for himself or herself without any particular trouble, the benefit for both parties is great.

Next, a detailed configuration for embodying the information providing device 1 will be described.

Here, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to an information providing apparatus used to provide advertisement information regarding a newly published magazine in a bookstore, a convenience store, or the like. The scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in order to provide advertisement information such as store introductions, recommended product guidance, new product information, etc., installed in stores or streets. Appropriately applied to devices used, devices installed in theme parks, shopping malls, etc. to provide guidance information in the facility, and other devices that provide information service to unspecified passersby You can

(First Embodiment) First, FIG. 2 and FIG.
With reference to, the hardware configuration of the information providing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 shows an information providing device 1 according to this embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of FIG.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of installation of the same information provision apparatus 1 typically.

The information providing apparatus 1 is roughly composed of a camera 11, a display 12, a communication section 13, a memory section 14, and a CPU 1.
5, the storage unit 16 is included. These respective constituent elements are connected to each other via a bus 20. Specifically, in an information processing device such as a personal computer,
It can be configured by connecting the camera 11 and the display 12.

The information providing apparatus 1 having such a configuration is shown in FIG.
It is installed in the manner as shown in. Figure 3 shows the inside I of a bookstore
And the passage O as viewed from above. In this example, two information providing devices 1a and 1b are installed in the in-store I of the bookstore. The information providing device 1a includes the communication unit 13,
Memory unit 14, CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1
5, a camera 11a and a display 12a are connected to an information processing device 10a having a built-in storage unit 16. On the other hand, the information providing apparatus 1b includes an information processing apparatus 10b having a similar configuration, a camera 11b, and a display 12.
b is connected.

In the following description, the configuration or operation common to both of the two information providing devices 1a and 1b will be described without using the symbols "a" and "b", and either device will be described. Constitutions or actions peculiar to the above will be explained by clearly indicating the reference symbols "a" or "b".

The camera 11 is an image information acquisition means for acquiring the image information of the passerby 3 (3a, 3b) passing through the passage O outside the store. The camera 11 is installed in the show window 2 facing the passage O, and its angle of view (dotted line in the figure)
Image information is acquired by imaging the face, half body, or whole body of the passerby 3 present inside. Image information obtained by imaging is input to the information processing device 10. As the camera 11, C
CD (Charge Coupled Device) camera, video camera,
It is possible to use various image pickup means such as a digital camera capable of picking up an image of the passerby 3 and loading it into the apparatus as digital data.

The display 12 is the show window 2
Is an information output means that is installed adjacent to and outputs the provided information to the passerby 3. As the display 12, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, a CR
T (Cathode Ray Tube), FED (Field Emission Dis)
Various display means capable of outputting information in characters or images, such as play) and a projector, can be preferably used.
Further, instead of the display, display means such as an electronic bulletin board may be used.

In the present embodiment, the display means (display 12) is used as the information output means, but instead of the display means, a voice output means such as a speaker for outputting information by voice, a passage. A transmitting means for transmitting digital information to a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a portable information terminal possessed by a person, a printing means for printing out information on a paper medium, or other similar information output means may be used.

The communication section 13 is a communication means for controlling data communication using a computer network such as the Internet or an intranet, and corresponds to, for example, a network adapter, a terminal adapter, a modem or the like. The information providing device 1 can send and receive data to and from a server or another information providing device via the communication unit 13.

The memory section 14 is a RAM (Random Access).
Read-write memory such as Memory) and ROM (Read O
nly Memory) and other read-only memory. The ROM includes the information processing device 10
The BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) and the like are stored. On the other hand, the RAM temporarily stores / holds programs and data to be executed by the CPU 15, and serves as an execution area of programs for executing the processes described below.

The CPU 15 stores data stored in the storage unit 16, data input from the camera 11 or data received via the communication unit 13, or a program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 16 or the communication unit 13.
It is a computing means that reads a program received via the RAM into the RAM and performs a computing process based on the loaded content. The CPU 15 is also a control unit that controls devices such as the camera 11 and the display 12 based on the result of this arithmetic processing.

The storage section 16 is an auxiliary storage means for supplementing the storage capacity of the memory section 14. For example, magnetic disk devices (hard disks, etc.), optical disk devices (CD-RO)
M, CD-R, CD-R / W, DVD-ROM, DVD
-RAM, etc.), magneto-optical disk device (MO, etc.), semiconductor disk device (memory card, etc.), etc. The storage unit 16 stores a program necessary to achieve the purpose of using the device, that is, a program necessary to execute a series of processes described below. Basic software such as an operating system and a device driver is also stored in the storage unit 16. In addition, databases such as an attribute category database 17, a customer database 18, and a provided information database 19 are built in the storage unit 16. A detailed description of these databases will be given later.

Next, the functional configuration of the information providing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the information providing device 1 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the information providing apparatus 1 has functional blocks such as an outline, a feature quantity extraction unit 30 and an information determination unit 31.

These functional blocks are realized by the programs and data stored in the storage unit 16 being read into the memory unit 14 and processed by the CPU 15. It should be noted that the program for realizing these functional blocks may be configured by a single program or may be realized by combining a plurality of module programs.

The feature amount extraction unit 30 is composed of functional blocks of an image input unit 32, a face detection unit 33 and a face feature extraction unit 34, and from the image information acquired by the camera 11,
It functions as a feature amount extraction unit that extracts a feature amount related to an attribute of a person.

There are various ways of classifying people, that is, how to select attributes. Which is to be selected?
It may be appropriately determined according to the content of the information to be provided and the target layer for which the information is provided. For example, it is possible to classify people based on attributes such as sex, age group, race, height, physique, hairstyle, and clothes. In this embodiment,
Of these, two attributes, gender and age group, are used.

The image input section 32 functions as an image input means for taking in the image information captured by the camera 11 into the apparatus in a digitally processable format. For example, when an analog type image pickup means is used as the camera 11,
The image input unit 32 converts the digital image (hereinafter, digitized image information is referred to as “image data”).
Alternatively, when a moving image capturing means such as a video camera is used as the camera 11, the image input unit 32 captures image data for one frame.

The face detecting section 33 functions as a face area detecting means for detecting an area corresponding to the face of a passerby from the image data and generating information (face area information) such as coordinate points representing the area. . Further, the face detection unit 33 calculates the center line of the face from the positions of parts forming the face such as eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth in the face area, and estimates the face orientation, and the eye portion. It may have a function of estimating the direction of the line of sight from the ratio of the black-eye area and the white-eye area in FIG. In addition, such a function is described, for example, in “Wanderer Protection Support System, OMRON TECHNICS, Vol.39, No.2, pp.108-1.
This can be realized by applying the technology disclosed in "(13, 1999)".

The face feature extraction unit 34 functions as a face feature extraction means for extracting the feature amount related to the above attribute from the face region image data determined by the face region information. The feature amount is, for example, the size of the parts that make up the face such as eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, etc.
It is a parameterization of the position / relative arrangement and the outline of the face. Such a function is, for example, "Classifying
Facial Attributes using a 2-D Gabor Wavelet Repres
entation and Discriminant Analysis, Proceedings of
the 4th International Conference on Automatic Fac
e and Gesture Recognition, pp.202-207, (2000) '' and `` Modeling the Process of Ageing in Face Images, Pr.
oceedings of the International Conference on Compu
ter Vision, pp.131-136, (1999) ”.

The information determining section 31 is composed of functional blocks of the category classifying section 35 and the information selecting section 36, and determines the provided information to be provided to the passerby based on the characteristic amount extracted by the characteristic amount extracting section 30. Function as information determining means.

The category classifying unit 35 includes a feature quantity extracting unit 30.
It functions as a classifying unit that classifies the passersby into a predetermined category based on the feature amount extracted in (3). Specifically, by referring to the attribute category information stored in advance in the attribute category database 17, it is estimated to which category the passerby relating to the extracted feature amount belongs.

As shown in FIG. 5, the attribute category information stored in the attribute category database 17 has a data structure in which attributes (sex, age group), categories and parameters are associated with each other.

The category classifying unit 35 compares the extracted feature quantity with the parameters relating to each category, and calculates which category the feature quantity best matches with.

In the figure, a to o and A to O represent parameters for convenience. As a method of holding parameters, a method of having parameters for each attribute such as a gender estimation parameter, an age group estimation parameter, a race estimation parameter, and a method of having one parameter as a category estimation parameter combining them Various methods can be adopted. Each parameter is composed of one or more numerical values or numerical ranges.

As an example, as an age group estimation parameter, 0.0 to 0.2 is under 15 and 0.2 to 0.4.
Is 15 to 25 years old, 0.4 to 0.6 is 25 to 40 years old, and 0.
6 to 0.8 are 40 to 60 years old, 0.8 to 1.0 are 60 years old or more, and the parameters normalized in the numerical range of 0.0 to 1.0 are adopted. At this time, the category classification unit 35 checks in which numerical range the value of the feature amount relating to the age group is included in the extracted feature amount. For example, in the case of "0.12", it is determined that it corresponds to "under 15". Then, determination processing is similarly performed for other parameters, and finally, it is determined to which category the passerby relating to the extracted feature amount belongs.

The information selecting section 36 functions as information selecting means for selecting the provided information to be provided according to the category to which the passerby belongs. Specifically, the information selection unit 36 selects the provided information of the type corresponding to the category from the provided information database 19 serving as the provided information storage means, using the category to which the passerby belongs as a key.

The provision information database 19 stores a plurality of types of provision information classified in advance corresponding to each category. FIG. 6 shows an example of the data structure in a table format. In the figure, each column is classified by gender,
Each row represents a classification based on the age group, and provided information corresponding to each category is represented in each cell where the row and the column intersect.
For example, the provided information corresponding to the category of "female students" is three magazines, "Fashion A (3/10 issue)", "Hair H (March October issue)", and "Interior M (biweekly)". Is information about. The classification of magazines is
Set according to the readership assumed by the publisher.

The category classification unit 35 and the information selection unit 36 are
The category to which the passerby belongs and the provided information selected corresponding to the category are stored in the customer database 18 as customer data. At this time, the date and time when the image data was acquired and the name of the store where this device is installed are also stored. The customer data accumulated in this way is
It can be used as useful marketing information on the store side.

Next, referring to FIGS. 3 and 7 to 9,
A specific example of the information providing method according to the information providing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described.

FIGS. 7 to 9 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing of the information providing apparatus 1. FIG. 7 shows the feature amount extraction processing, FIG. 8 shows the category classification processing, and FIG. 9 shows the information selection processing. Further, FIG. 3 shows a state in which two passersby 3 a and 3 b are passing in front of the show window 2.
The passersby 3a and 3b are moving in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and the passerby 3a is about to come within the angle of view of the camera 11a and the passerby 3b is about to come within the angle of view of the camera 11b. Here, it is assumed that the passerby 3a is a female in her 40s and the passerby 3b is a male in her 20s.

When the information providing device 1a (1b) is activated, the CPU 15 reads the program and data stored in the storage unit 16 into the memory unit 14 and starts the feature amount extraction processing. The category classification process is continuously executed when the feature amount extraction process is normally completed, and the information selection process is continuously executed when the category classification process is normally completed.

When the feature quantity extraction process starts, first,
The camera 11a (11b) captures an image, and the passerby 3a (3
The image information of b) is acquired (step S100). This image information is taken into the information processing device 10a (10b) as digital image data by the image input unit 32 (step S101).

Subsequently, the face detecting section 33 detects an area corresponding to a face from the image data and generates face area information (step S102). At this time, the direction of the face and the direction of the line of sight may be estimated. If the face area information fails to be generated here (for example, if no passerby exists in the image)
Alternatively, when it is determined that the passerby is not facing the direction of the show window 2, it is considered that the face portion detection has failed. If the face portion detection fails, the processing of the current image data is stopped, and the process returns to step S100 to acquire new image information (step S103).

When the face portion is successfully detected, the face feature extraction unit 34 extracts the feature amount from the face area image data (step S104) and stores the feature amount in the storage unit 16 (step S105). . The stored feature amount is used for the category classification process in the next step, and is also stored in the person feature information database (not shown) provided in the storage unit 16. The feature amount data thus accumulated is used as sample data for grasping the tendency and variation of the face feature amount, and learning data for improving the accuracy of face detection and face feature extraction.

Next, the category classifying unit 35 is activated to start the category classifying process. The category classification unit 35 reads the feature amount extracted in step S104 from the storage unit 16 (step S110) and reads the attribute category information from the attribute category database 17 (step S111). Then, the category is estimated by comparing the feature amount and the parameter related to each category (step S112).

In the case of the information providing device 1a, the passerby 3a
Is determined to best match the parameters "j, k, l", the gender is "female", and the age group is "40-60".
“Year” and the category are classified as “middle-aged housewives”.
On the other hand, in the case of the information providing device 1b, it is determined that the feature amount of the passerby 3b best matches the parameters “D, E, F”, the gender is “male”, the age group is “15 to 25 years old”, and the category is Are classified as "students".

The category classifying unit 35 uses the passersby 3a, 3b.
The category to which is stored is stored in the customer database 18 (step S113), and the process ends.

Next, the information selecting section 36 is activated to start the information selecting process. The information selection unit 36 reads the category estimated in step S112 from the customer database 18 (step S120), and selects the provided information to be provided from the provided information database 19 using this category as a key (step S121).

In the case of the information providing device 1a, the passerby 3a
Belongs to "middle-aged housewives", so the information provided is "Cooking B (April issue)", "Health A (April issue)",
Information about the three magazine names "Women C (every month)" is selected. On the other hand, in the case of the information providing device 1b, since the category to which the passerby 3b belongs is "student class", the provided information is "fashion M (April issue)" and "sports S (4
Monthly) ”and“ Comic B (every month) ”are selected.

By displaying the provided information thus determined on the display 12, the provided information is output to the passersby 3a and 3b (step S122). Figure 10
Shows a display example of the display 12a, and FIG. 11 shows a display example of the display 12b. On the display 12a,
"Cooking B (April issue)" as "Today's release magazine information",
Three magazine names, "Health A (April issue)" and "Women C (every month)" are displayed. On the other hand, on the display 12b,
Three magazine names, "Fashion M (April issue)", "Sports S (April issue)", and "Comic B (every month)" are displayed as "Today's release magazine information".

Here, the specific contents of the magazine are not displayed, but only the magazine name is displayed as the general information 40 indicating the gist of the information contents (in addition to the magazine name, general information such as the headline of the special page is displayed. May be displayed). Then, as reference information 41 indicating a method of acquiring more detailed contents, a URL
(Uniform Resource Locator) "http://www.xxx.net"
(FIG. 10), the place of sale in the store (FIG. 11), etc. are displayed. Passersby 3a, 3b who were interested by looking at the magazine name
Can access detailed information such as the table of contents and introductory articles of magazines by accessing the homepage of the above URL from a mobile phone or a mobile information terminal, and can visit the sales place or ask a salesclerk. You can know the details of the magazine.

With the above, the information providing process is completed.

According to the configuration of the present embodiment described above, the feature amount is extracted from the face image information acquired by the camera 11, and the attribute of the passerby is automatically estimated based on the feature amount. An unspecified passerby can be classified into a predetermined category without acquiring the related personal information. According to the two attributes of gender and age group, passers-by, female youth, female students, housewives / employees, middle-aged housewives, female seniors, young people, students, businessmen, Since it was classified into 10 categories of middle-aged male and elderly male groups, it is possible to estimate the taste and lifestyle trends for each category, and the taste and lifestyle trends were matched according to the category. You can select the information to be provided. Therefore, it becomes possible to provide information to the unspecified passerby with the content that suits the taste of the person without acquiring the personal information.

As a result, the information provider can efficiently provide information with a high appeal effect, while
For passersby, it is possible to obtain useful information for themselves without the trouble of entering the store or searching for information by themselves, which is a great benefit to both parties.

If the face direction and the line-of-sight direction of the passerby are estimated and it is determined that the direction is toward the show window 2 (device installation side), information is provided. Since it is more likely that a person will get caught in the eyes of a passerby and become interested, it is possible to provide more efficient information.

Further, since the provided information is classified in advance in accordance with the categories and stored in the provided information database 19 and the provided information to be provided is selected from there by using the category as a key, the information determination process is simplified. become. Then, the processing time required from the acquisition of the image information of the passerby to the provision of the information can be shortened, so that the optimum information can be provided to the moving passerby in real time.

Further, by displaying the outline information 40 such as the magazine name on the display 12, it is possible to instantly transmit the summary of the information content to a moving passerby. Therefore, the output provided information is likely to attract the attention of passers-by. Further, by displaying the reference information 41 such as the URL in addition to the summary information 40, passers-by who are interested in the magazine name can obtain more detailed contents based on the URL. It is also possible to provide information with substantial content. Therefore, a high appeal effect can be obtained.

Further, since the category to which the passerby belongs, the provided information selected corresponding to the category, the acquisition date and time of the image data, etc. are automatically stored as customer data, it is possible to conduct a marketing survey without incurring labor costs. is there. Further, by changing the number of categories, how to divide, etc., or updating the content of the provided information based on this customer data, it is possible to provide the information with the content more suited to the passerby's taste.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 12 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment described above, the information providing apparatus having a single configuration is shown, but in the present embodiment, the information providing apparatus configured by the terminal including the camera and the display and the server in charge of the extra-small amount extraction processing and the information determination processing. 1 shows a barrel information providing system.

Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for the same components and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 12 is a system configuration diagram of the information providing system 4 according to this embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the information providing system 4
Is configured by connecting the terminal 5 and the server 6 via a computer network 7 such as the Internet.

The terminal 5 has a structure in which a camera 11 and a display 12 are connected to an information processing device 10 such as a personal computer. In addition to the function of the image input unit 32 shown in FIG. 4 of the first embodiment, the information processing apparatus 10 has a function of transmitting the acquired image data to the server 6, a function of receiving the provided information from the server 6, and a reception. It has a function of outputting the provided information to the display 12.

On the other hand, the server 6 is composed of one or a plurality of information processing devices such as personal computers, workstations or host computers.
Attribute category database 17, customer database 18
And the provided information database 19. The server 6 has a function of receiving image data from the terminal 5 in addition to the functions of the face detection unit 33, the face feature extraction unit 34, the category classification unit 35, and the information selection unit 36 shown in FIG. 4 of the first embodiment. It also has a function of transmitting the determined provision information to the terminal 5.

In the information providing system 4 configured as described above, the image information captured by the camera 11 of the terminal 5 installed at a store or the like is transmitted to the server 6 through the computer network 7. Then, the server 6 performs the extra minute amount extraction process of the passerby and the provision information determination process, and the provision information is transmitted to the terminal 5 through the computer network 7. The terminal 5 displays the provided information received on the display 12
Is displayed on the screen and the provided information is output to passersby.

Also according to the configuration of the present embodiment described above,
The same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in this embodiment, the terminal 5 and the server 6
Since the functions are divided into two, it is possible to install a plurality of terminals for one server. According to this configuration,
Since the provided information is centrally managed, it is easy to update the provided information. In addition, since customer data from a plurality of terminals is stored in the server, the value as marketing information increases. Further, since the equipment cost of the terminal can be kept low, the introduction of the device can be promoted.

On the contrary, a configuration in which one terminal transmits image data to a plurality of servers and acquires provision information from a plurality of servers is also possible. If the contents of the provided information database 19 are changed for each server, the terminal user can
By selecting the server to use according to the purpose and purpose,
It is possible to acquire the provided information of various contents.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 13 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the moving speed detection process and the feature amount detection process in the information providing process of the information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

The information providing apparatus of this embodiment has a moving speed detecting means for detecting the moving speed of a passerby. Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, a moving speed detecting section functioning as a moving speed detecting means is further provided in the feature quantity extracting section 30 in FIG. 4 (not shown). The moving speed detection unit calculates the moving speed of the passerby based on a plurality of image information (time-series images) obtained by imaging with the camera 11 at predetermined time intervals (comma several seconds to several seconds). The specific method will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the feature quantity extraction processing starts, first,
The moving speed detection unit resets the number counter to 0 (step S130). Then, the camera 11 captures an image,
The image information of the passerby 3 is acquired (step S131).
This image information is taken into the information processing device 10 as digital image data by the image input unit 32 (step S132).

Subsequently, the face detecting section 33 detects an area corresponding to a face from the image data and generates face area information (step S133). At this time, the moving speed detection unit
When the number counter is 1 or more, it is determined whether or not the detected face belongs to the same passerby as the face included in the previously processed image data. This processing does not need to be performed so strictly, and it is sufficient to compare the face area image data with each other and determine whether the similarity exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Further, since it is possible to estimate the moving direction of the passerby from the face direction and the like, it may be determined whether or not the same passerby is based on the transition of the position of the detected face area.

Here, even if the generation of the face area information fails (such as when there is no passerby in the image) or if the generation of the face area information succeeds, the same passerby is used. If not, it is considered that the face part detection has failed. If the face portion detection fails, the current process is stopped and the process returns to step S130 to start a new process (step S134).

On the other hand, when the face portion is successfully detected in step S134, the moving speed detection unit increments the number counter by 1 (step S135) and determines whether or not the count value of the number counter reaches a predetermined number. Is determined (step S136). If the specified number has not been reached,
When the number of sheets reaches the predetermined number by repeating the processes of steps S131 to S135, the process proceeds to the process of extracting the feature amount of the face of the passerby (step S104). The subsequent processing is similar to that of the first embodiment.

The processing performed by the moving speed detecting unit described above has the following meaning. That is, to check whether or not the same passerby is included in a predetermined number of time-series images,
It is equivalent to detecting whether the passerby is present within the angle of view of the camera 11 while capturing those images, in other words, whether the moving speed of the passerby is slower than a predetermined value. .

When the moving speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined value (when the predetermined number of sheets can be acquired), the process of step S104 is continued to provide the information to the passerby. When it is earlier than the predetermined value (when the predetermined number cannot be obtained), the process is stopped and the step S
By returning to 130, the information is not provided to the passerby.

It is expected that passers-by moving at relatively high speeds will be less interested in the information to be output, while passers-by moving at relatively slow speeds or stationary passers-by will output information. Is likely to receive. Therefore, if it is determined whether or not to provide information to the passerby based on the moving speed of the passerby as in the present embodiment, it is possible to provide information with high efficiency and appeal.

It goes without saying that the configuration of this embodiment can also achieve the same effects as those of the first embodiment.

Further, in the present embodiment, the moving speed of the passerby is calculated based on a plurality of image information, so that it is not necessary to separately provide a sensor or the like for measuring the moving speed of the passerby. . As a result, the device configuration is simplified and the cost can be reduced.

Although the device structure is complicated, a structure may be adopted in which a sensor for measuring the moving speed of a passerby is separately provided. Even in this case, it is possible to control whether or not to provide the information based on the moving speed of the passerby, and it is possible to effectively provide the information with a high appeal effect.

In this embodiment, the moving speed of the passerby is detected based on whether or not a predetermined number of image data of the same passerby has been acquired.
It is also preferable to adopt a method of calculating the moving speed based on the moving distance of the face portion of the same passerby included in a plurality of image data and the image capturing interval.

As described above, the first to third examples are given as specific examples of the present invention.
However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea described above.

For example, in each of the above embodiments, the feature amount is extracted using the face image of the passerby. However, in addition to the face or in place of the face, the image of the half body or the whole body of the person is used. It is also suitable to carry out the extraction of quantities. If you use images of the half or the whole body, physique, clothes, walking, belongings,
Various attributes that cannot be obtained from the face image, such as walking alone or standing together by multiple people, can be acquired, so the categories to be classified can be subdivided and information with a higher appeal effect can be provided. Become.

In the above embodiment, one camera is used as the image information acquisition means, but a plurality of cameras may be used, or other image information acquisition means may be used in addition to or instead of the cameras. Is also suitable. As the image information acquisition means, for example, an infrared sensor for acquiring shape information and unevenness information of the face, half body or whole body of a passerby, a detection means such as a distance sensor, and any other means capable of acquiring image information similar thereto. Various things can be applied.

In the first embodiment, the face direction and the line-of-sight direction of the passerby are estimated from one piece of image data. It is also preferable to check the time when the person is heading in the direction of and to provide the information to the passerby only when it is determined that the person is heading for a predetermined time or more.

[0111]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide information to the unspecified passerby with the content that suits the taste of the person without acquiring the personal information. This makes it possible for information providers to efficiently provide highly appealing information, while for passersby, it is possible to obtain useful information for themselves without extra effort. The profit for both parties is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an information providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of the information providing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an installation example of the information providing device of FIG.

4 is a functional block diagram of the information providing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of an attribute category database in a table format.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a provided information database in a table format.

7 is a flowchart showing a flow of feature amount extraction processing in the information providing processing of the information providing apparatus of FIG.

8 is a flowchart showing a flow of category classification processing in the information providing processing of the information providing apparatus of FIG.

9 is a flowchart showing a flow of information selection processing in the information providing processing of the information providing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a display example of provision information on a display.

FIG. 11 is a display example of the provided information on the display.

FIG. 12 is a system configuration diagram of an information providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of a moving speed detection process and a feature amount detection process in the information providing process of the information providing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,1a, 1b Information providing device 2 show windows 3,3a, 3b passersby 4 Information provision system 5 terminals 6 servers 7 Computer network 10, 10a, 10b Information processing device 11, 11a, 11b cameras 12, 12a, 12b display 13 Communications department 14 Memory section 15 CPU 16 Memory 17 Attribute category database 18 Customer Database 19 Provided information database 20 bus 30 Feature Extraction Unit 31 Information determination section 32 Image input section 33 Face detector 34 Face feature extraction unit 35 Category Classification Department 36 Information selection section 40 Summary information 41 Reference information 100 Image information acquisition means 101 Feature Extraction Means 102 information determining means 103 information output means I store O passage

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An information providing device for providing information to an unspecified passerby, comprising image information acquisition means for acquiring image information of a passerby, and characteristics relating to attributes of a person from the acquired image information. Feature amount extraction means for extracting the amount, information determination means for determining the provision information to be provided to the passerby based on the extracted feature amount, information for outputting the determined provision information toward the passerby An information providing device comprising: an output unit. 2. The information determining means selects the providing information to be provided according to the category to which the passerby belongs, and the classifying means for classifying the passerby into a predetermined category based on the extracted feature amount. The information providing device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A provision information storage unit for storing a plurality of types of provision information classified in advance corresponding to the category, wherein the information selection unit stores the provision information of a type corresponding to the category to which the passerby belongs. The information providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information is selected from the provided information storage means. 4. The provided information output by the information output means is
4. The method according to claim 1, comprising summary information indicating a summary of the content of information and reference information indicating a method of acquiring more detailed content.
The information providing device described in. 5. The moving speed detecting means for detecting the moving speed of the passerby is provided, and the information is provided to the passerby only when the detected moving speed is a predetermined value or less. The information providing device according to item 1. 6. An information providing method for providing information to an unspecified passerby, comprising: obtaining image information of a passerby; and extracting a feature amount related to an attribute of a person from the obtained image information. And a step of determining provision information to be provided to the passerby based on the extracted feature amount, and a step of outputting the determined provision information to the passerby. 7. The step of deciding the provided information to be provided includes a step of classifying the passerby into a predetermined category based on the extracted feature amount, and a step of providing the passerby according to a category to which the passerby belongs. The information providing method according to claim 6, further comprising: selecting the provided information to be provided. 8. The step of selecting the provision information to be provided corresponds to the category to which the passerby belongs from a provision information storage unit that stores a plurality of types of provision information classified in advance corresponding to the category. The information providing method according to claim 7, wherein the type of provided information is selected. 9. The information providing method according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the provided information to be output includes general information indicating a summary of the content of the information and reference information indicating a method of acquiring more detailed content. 10. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: a step of detecting the moving speed of the passerby, and a step of providing information to the passerby only when the detected moving speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value. The method of providing information according to item 1.