JP2005271098A - Personal information control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a personal information control system, using a robot terminal for realizing the presentation operation in due consideration of the privacy of an individual without causing a user to be aware of sharing the information about the user's robot terminal with a server and the other robot terminals through a network. <P>SOLUTION: When a matter of great urgency occurs in a specified individual making a pair with the robot terminal, a personal information disclosure permit identifier of an information control table is registered or varied to permit output of personal information about the specified individual from the robot terminals other than the robot terminal related to the specified individual. Provided that in the case of outputting the personal information, a presentation operation identifier of an operation control table is transmitted to the robot terminal to cause the robot terminal to perform the presentation operation, and after that, the concerned personal information is output. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention is a technique effective when applied to a personal information control system, particularly a system in which information output from a robot terminal is controlled by a server.

  Many pet robots imitating animals such as dogs and cats have been proposed. These pet robots are provided with input means such as a CCD camera (CM), CMOS camera and microphone, and output means such as an LED and a speaker (SP) to input and output personal information of the owner. Conceivable.

  Further, it is considered that the operation is controlled by a server using these plural pet robots as robot terminals and information is shared between the robot terminals.

  However, as a user who is the owner, if the robot terminal that he owns (owns) is aware that information is shared with other robot terminals via the network and server, Could make you feel that your privacy is not protected.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-160184 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique in which a robot terminal connected to a network extracts information from an image captured by a camera and transmits the extracted information to a server. Yes.
JP 2002-160184 A

  The present invention provides sufficient privacy to the user without making the user aware that the robot terminal used by the user shares information with the server or other robot terminals via the network. It is an object of the present invention to provide a personal information control system using a robot terminal that realizes a presentation operation in consideration.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means.

  Claim 1 of the present invention is “consisting of a plurality of personal terminals each associated with a specific individual and a server capable of communicating with each personal terminal, wherein: An information control table for registering the type of information to be output and whether or not to output the information, and a personal information database for storing personal information received from each personal terminal, and each personal terminal includes: Based on the contents of the information control table of the server, the input means for inputting the associated personal information, the storage means for storing the input information and the information received from the personal information database of the server An individual terminal control means for controlling the output of the information of the personal information and an output means for outputting the information stored in the storage means in accordance with a control instruction of the personal terminal control means A broadcast output control system ".

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the personal terminal is a robot terminal that transmits will information to an observer by a gesture such as an operation of the movable part, and the server performs a series of operations of the movable part of the robot terminal. An operation control table registered as an identifier, and robot terminal control means for selectively transmitting the personal information in the personal information database and the rendering operation identifier in the operation control table to the robot terminal, the information control table Can register a personal information disclosure permission identifier that permits the robot terminal to output personal information input from a robot terminal other than the robot terminal associated with the specific individual or the input means of the server. ,
The robot terminal control means, when the personal information disclosure permission identifier is registered with reference to the information control table, after transmitting the rendering operation identifier to the robot terminal and causing the robot terminal to perform the rendering operation, The personal information output control system according to claim 1, wherein the personal information permitted in the above is output through the robot terminal.

  When an emergency or the like occurs in a specific individual, the personal information disclosure permission identifier in the information control table is registered or changed, so that an individual related to the specific individual from a robot terminal other than the robot terminal related to the specific individual Output of information is allowed. However, when outputting the personal information, the rendering operation identifier of the motion control table is transmitted to the robot terminal to cause the robot terminal to perform the rendering operation, and then the personal information is output. As a result, in the event of an emergency, the robot terminal outputs personal information of a third party that should not have been input (intelligible) in the relationship between the user and the robot terminal. It is possible to output information after performing a staging operation that makes it seem that there is nothing to do about it, and it is possible to realize information output considering personal privacy.

The embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the concept of the present invention.

  The present invention has been made based on the following concept.

(1). Don't tell the user even if they know that the robot terminal cannot know.
In other words, in a network server to which a plurality of robot terminals are connected, it is normal to manage from which robot terminal information (personal information) is managed, and information (personal information) input from a certain robot terminal is In principle, it is handled as information unique to the paired user.

  Therefore, in principle, information input from a robot terminal that is paired with another user must not be output from another robot terminal.

(2). In the event that the principle of (1) is not observed, it is not surprising that the robot terminal knows information (personal information) input from other robot terminals. After that, the information (personal information) is output.

  Therefore, it is preferable that the robot terminal imitates the appearance of an animal. This is a strange ability that animals do not have (the instinct inherent to each animal), and uses the preconceived concept that people think is not unnatural even if they sense that they do not know can do. As a specific production operation, the user performs the imitation of an animal-to-animal communication act (for example, output of a howling sound when the animal is a dog) before outputting other personal information to the user. The other personal information may be output to the user.

  As other production operations, once the user exits from the front of the user (the range of the field of view) (behaves as if the robot terminal itself has gone to other places once), The other personal information may be output.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the present embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the present system is composed of a server and a plurality of robot terminals, and the server and these robot terminals can communicate with each other by a communication system such as a wireless LAN.

  The robot terminal is controlled by a central processing unit (CPU), and via a bus (BUS), a network interface (NWIF), a main memory (MM), a drive unit, an input / output interface (input / output IF), a database management unit Etc. are connected.

  The database management unit is provided with storage means such as an operating system (OS), application programs, and a personal information storage unit. These storage means can be constituted by a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, a hard disk device or the like.

The input / output interface (input / output IF) is provided with input means such as a microphone (MIC), a camera (CM), etc., and information input from these input means is used by the user paired with the robot terminal. The personal information is temporarily stored in the personal information storage unit. Further, the input / output interface (input / output IF) is provided with output means such as a display unit (DSP) and a speaker (SP) composed of a liquid crystal display, an LED, etc., and the personal information is transmitted via these means. The personal information received from the storage unit or server can be output.

  The drive unit is composed of, for example, a servo motor, a fluid actuator, and the like, and is configured to operate the limbs of the robot terminal and the movable unit of the head in response to an instruction from a central processing unit (CPU).

  The server is controlled by a central processing unit (CPU), and a network interface (NWIF), a main memory (MM), a database management unit, and the like are connected via a bus (BUS).

  The database management unit is provided with storage means such as an operating system (OS) and application programs. Further, the database management unit is provided with an information control table, a personal information database (personal information DB), and an operation control table.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the information control table, the personal ID of the user and the ID (robot ID) of the robot terminal paired with the personal ID are registered as personal / robot pair information. And the address of the personal information database which registers the personal information of this user ID is registered. Furthermore, a personal information disclosure permission identifier can be registered in the table, and “OFF” is registered in a normal case. This personal information disclosure permission identifier is a flag area for indicating whether or not the personal information input from the robot terminal may be output from another robot terminal. For example, in the case of FIG. 3, the personal information input from the robot terminal with the robot ID R0001 is prohibited from being output from another robot terminal (for example, R0002) because the personal information disclosure permission identifier is “OFF”. . On the other hand, since the personal information disclosure permission identifier of the personal information input from the robot terminal with the robot ID R0002 is “ON”, it is permitted to be output from another robot terminal (for example, R0001). .

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the personal information database, the personal information is registered together with the information ID for each personal ID. The personal information registered here is in any data format such as text information (for example, ABC.TXT), moving image information (for example, XYZ.MOV), image information (for example, VWZ.JPG), audio information (for example, PQR.WAV). It may be. Among them, moving image information and image information can be input through a camera (CM) provided in the robot terminal, and audio information can be input through a microphone.

As shown in FIG. 5, a series of operation instruction signals (here, (1) to (4)) are registered in the operation control table together with the production operation identifier. The performance action identifier (DI0001) shown in the figure is (1) searching for a user who is paired with his robot terminal using an input means such as a camera (CM), and (2) finding the user. Once the user has moved away from the user, (3) approach the user again after a certain period of time, and (4) output other permitted personal information (personal information obtained from other robot terminals). That's it. Through such a series of performance operations, information that the robot terminal should not know can be output to the user after making it appear as if the robot terminal has confirmed that the robot terminal has once left the user. , Without making the user aware that the robot terminal is sharing information with the server or other robot terminals via the network, the user knows " It is possible to realize information output that makes you feel no wonder.

  The production operation identifier is transmitted by the server as a series of operation instruction signals from the server to the robot terminal, and the robot terminal that receives the operation instruction signals controls the drive unit by the central processing unit (CPU). It has come to be realized.

Next, the personal information input processing procedure in the server will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the central processing unit (CPU) of the server detects whether personal information is input from any of the robot terminals. Here, for example, when voice information (personal information of the user of M0002) is input (PQR.WAV) through the microphone of the robot terminal (R0002), the voice information (PQR.WAV) is temporarily stored in the personal information storage unit in the robot terminal. The server receives it via the network (step 601).

  Next, referring to the information control table for the received personal information (PQR.WAV), the address of the personal information database of the corresponding user (M0002) is read, and the personal information (PQR.WAV) is An information ID is assigned and registered in the personal information database designated by the address. In this way, voice information (PQR.WAV) input from the user M0002 to the robot terminal R0002 is registered in the personal information database of the server in association with the information ID (MD0004). At this time, the personal information disclosure permission identifier of the information control table is set to “OFF” as an initial value. As a result, the personal information (PQR.WAV) is not output from other than the robot terminal R0002 paired with the user M0002 that has input the personal information.

  Next, when an emergency situation occurs in the user M0002, the personal information (PQR.WAV) is also output from a robot terminal (for example, R0001) paired with a user other than the user M0002. Will be described.

  The server monitors the robot terminal R0002. For example, when the user M0002 who is paired with the robot terminal R0002 is judged to have a funny facial color or an unsatisfactory facial expression, for example, the robot terminal R0002 When the user M0002 cannot be recognized for a long time by the camera (CM) of R0002, the personal ID of the user and the personal information disclosure permission identifier of the personal information about the robot terminal R0002 are displayed on the information control table as an emergency situation requiring attention. Rewrite from “OFF” to “ON”.

  This is because, for example, there is a possibility that something has changed on the body of the user M0002, and it may be appropriate to disclose the personal information input by the user M0002 through the robot terminal R0002 to other users. It is. The personal information disclosure permission identifier may be assigned an emergency level identifier that indicates a severe degree of emergency for an emergency that is assumed in advance for the user M0002. The range of personal information disclosed to the person may be changed. When it is determined that there is a possibility that an abnormality has occurred, the level of the emergency level identifier may be raised gradually from mild to severe according to the elapsed time.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the server monitors the information control table (step 701), and when a personal ID having a personal information disclosure permission identifier “ON” is found (in the above example, M0002: step 702). ) The personal information database is searched, and the information ID corresponding to M0002 is extracted (step 703). Here, MD0004 is searched.

  Next, the personal information (PQR.WAV) corresponding to the information ID is read (step 704). Then, a robot ID corresponding to a personal ID other than the user's personal ID is extracted (step 705). In the above example, M0001 is extracted as the personal ID, and R0001 is extracted as the paired robot ID. As to which robot ID is paired, a pair of robot IDs to be paired may be registered in the control table in advance.

  Next, the action operation identifier (DI0001) and the personal information (PQR.WAV) are transmitted to the extracted robot ID (here, R0001) with reference to the operation control table.

  The central processing unit (CPU) of the robot terminal (R0001) that has received them stores the rendering operation identifier (DI0001) and personal information (PQR.WAV) in the personal information storage unit, and then defines the calculation operation identifier. After instructing the drive unit to perform the operation, the personal information (PQR.WAV) is output.

Specifically, first, (1) a user M0001 paired with the robot terminal R0001 is searched for with a camera (CM), and (2) when found, the user once leaves the user. By such an operation, an effect operation is performed as if the user personally (PQR.WAV) of the user M0002, which should not be known by the robot terminal R0001, is viewed from somewhere. When searching for the user M0001 with a camera (CM), for example, a person is first identified (human body identification) from a captured image captured by the camera (CM), and if it is identified as a person, biometrics that further identifies the individual. Whether or not the user is M0001 may be specified using a technique (for example, face authentication).

  Next, (3) approach the user M0001 again and (4) output the personal information (PQR.WAV) from the speaker (SP).

  In this way, the personal information (PQR.WAV) input by the user M0002 to the paired robot terminal R0002 before the emergency situation (unknown location) occurs in the user M0002 is paired with another robot terminal R0001. By listening to the user M0001 who is, it becomes possible to obtain a clue to know the location, it is possible to prevent the user M0002 from being involved in crimes and accidents, or to solve early It becomes.

However, from the viewpoint of the user M0001, privacy is not protected if the robot terminal R0001 paired with itself suddenly outputs the personal information (PQR.WAV) of the user M0002, which should not be known originally. Since there is a possibility of receiving a strong impression, the personal information (PQR.WAV) is output after the above-described production operation ((1) to (3) in FIG. 5) is performed. . By such a production operation, the user M0001 can make it seem that there is no help for the personal information (PQR.WAV) of other people that the robot terminal R0001 should not know. An information sharing network that fully considers personal privacy without making the user (M0001) aware that the robot terminal R0001 shares information with the server and other robot terminals (R0002) via the network. A robot control system can be constructed.

  The present invention can be used in an information output control system using a robot terminal as an information terminal.

Explanatory drawing explaining the concept of the present invention A block diagram showing a system configuration of an embodiment Explanatory drawing showing the contents of the information control table Explanatory diagram showing the contents of the personal information database Explanatory drawing showing the contents of the operation control table Flow chart showing server processing procedure (1) Flow chart showing server processing procedure (2)

Explanation of symbols

CPU Central processing unit MM Main memory BUS Bus NWIF Network interface SP Speaker input / output IF Input / output interface MIC Microphone CM Camera DSP Display unit M0001, M0002 User R0001, R0002 Robot terminal

Claims (2)

It consists of a plurality of personal terminals associated with each specific individual and a server that can communicate with each personal terminal.
The server includes
An information control table for registering the type of information that each personal terminal should output for each personal terminal and whether or not to output that information;
A personal information database for storing personal information received from each of the personal terminals;
Have
Each personal terminal includes
An input means for inputting personal information associated with the information;
Storage means for storing the input information and information received from the personal information database of the server;
Personal terminal control means for controlling the output of the information based on the contents of the information control table of the server;
An output means for outputting information stored in the storage means in accordance with a control instruction of the control means in the personal terminal;
A personal information output control system. The personal terminal is a robot terminal that transmits will information to an observer by a gesture such as operation of a movable part,
In the server, an operation control table for registering an operation of a series of movable parts of the robot terminal as an effect operation identifier,
Robot terminal control means for selectively transmitting the personal information in the personal information database and the rendering action identifier in the action control table to the robot terminal is provided,
In the information control table, a personal information disclosure permission identifier for permitting the robot terminal to output personal information input from a robot terminal other than the robot terminal associated with the specific individual or the input means of the server can be registered. And
The robot terminal control means, when the personal information disclosure permission identifier is registered with reference to the information control table, after transmitting the rendering operation identifier to the robot terminal and causing the robot terminal to perform the rendering operation, The personal information output control system according to claim 1, wherein the personal information permitted in the above is output through the robot terminal.

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