JP5440008B2 - Information providing apparatus, information providing program, and information providing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus, an information providing program, and an information providing method.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, information providing apparatuses that are installed in areas where an unspecified number of people gather and provide various information to users have been put into practical use. Specifically, the information providing apparatus displays a list of various types of information, and accepts an operation for selecting arbitrary information from the displayed list from the user. The information providing apparatus displays content corresponding to the information selected by the user.

  Such an information providing apparatus is installed in a commercial facility, for example, and displays a list of services handled by the commercial facility such as a store or an event. Then, the information providing apparatus displays contents such as handled products, prices, recommended products, etc., related to the service selected by the user. Or an information provision apparatus guides a user to a store by displaying a coupon ticket etc. as a content, and induces a user's willingness to purchase.

  Here, the content provided by the information providing apparatus is normally generated based on information collected in advance. For example, in a commercial facility, the above-described various contents are generated based on information collected by a commercial facility operator such as a store clerk. In recent years, a method for collecting various information using a robot has been proposed, and it has been studied to collect information on which content is based on the robot.

JP 2003-241833 A JP 2007-260864 A JP 2005-44287 A JP 2006-72612 A

  However, with the above-described conventional technology, it is impossible to provide information according to a change in situation to the user.

  Specifically, since the conventional information providing apparatus provides content generated based on information collected in advance, it is not possible to provide content that reflects a change in situation after information is collected. For example, in a commercial facility, a commercial facility operator who collects information cannot immediately grasp changes in the user's trends and store conditions in the commercial facility. I can't. Even if a robot is used as the information collecting means, the route on which the robot circulates is specified in advance by the user, so that information according to a change in the situation other than the circulated route cannot be collected. In other words, the conventional technology cannot provide the user with information according to local situation changes.

  The disclosed technology has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide an information providing apparatus, an information providing program, and an information providing method capable of providing a user with information corresponding to a situation change. .

  In one aspect, the information providing apparatus disclosed in the present application circulates a patrol route set in a predetermined area, collects information related to the area, and outputs a plurality of contents related to the area An operation accepting unit that accepts an operation for selecting arbitrary content from the content output by the output unit, and the number of times of selection of the content selected by accepting an operation by the operation accepting unit for each content. The information collecting unit based on the patrol route created by the patrol route creation unit, the patrol route creation unit creating the patrol route based on the tabulation result of the number of selections by the tabulation unit An information providing apparatus comprising: a content creation unit that creates content using collected information.

  According to one aspect of the information providing apparatus disclosed in the present application, there is an effect of providing information according to a situation change.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of the information providing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the information providing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of the information providing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating data stored in the news gathering data storage unit. FIG. 4B is a diagram of an example of information stored by the store master. FIG. 4C is a diagram (1) illustrating an example of information stored in the volume level table. FIG. 4-4 is a diagram (2) illustrating an example of information stored in the volume level table. FIG. 4-5 is a diagram (1) illustrating an example of information stored in the number table. FIG. 4-6 is a diagram (2) illustrating an example of information stored in the number table. FIG. 4-7 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the coverage data table. FIG. 4-8 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the interview table. FIG. 4-9 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the price information table. FIG. 4-10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the image table. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating data stored in the display content storage unit. FIG. 5B is a diagram of an example of information stored in the content table. FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating an example of a template stored in the template table. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating data stored in the selection information storage unit. FIG. 6B is a diagram of an example of information stored in the basic content table. FIG. 6C is a diagram of an example of information stored in the selection count history table. FIG. 6-4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the selection count table. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of content output by the output unit. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating an example of a time transition of the selection number counting result totaled by the counting unit. FIG. 8-2 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for selecting a tour point. FIG. 8C is a diagram of an example of a traveling point determination data table generated by the traveling point determination unit. FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating data stored in the cyclic route data storage unit. FIG. 9-2 is a diagram of an example of information stored in the cyclic route data table. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating data stored in the coverage data storage unit. FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the cyclic route data table. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating a method for determining a cyclic route. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed by the information providing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a patrol point determination process performed by the information providing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a cyclic route determination process performed by the information collecting robot according to the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of information collection processing performed by the information collection robot according to the second embodiment. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of information collection processing at a large change point performed by the information collection robot according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of information collection processing at a patrol point performed by the information collection robot according to the second embodiment. FIG. 18 is a flowchart (1) illustrating a processing procedure of an interview process at a large change point performed by the information collecting robot according to the second embodiment. FIG. 19 is a flowchart (2) illustrating a processing procedure of an interview process at a large change point performed by the information collecting robot according to the second embodiment. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a process procedure of an interview process at a patrol point performed by the information collecting robot according to the second embodiment. FIG. 21 is a flowchart of the content creation process performed by the information providing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer that executes an information providing program.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an information providing apparatus, an information providing program, and an information providing method disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

  First, the configuration of the information providing apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of the information providing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the information providing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment includes an information collection unit 11, an output unit 12, an operation reception unit 13, a totaling unit 14, a traveling route creation unit 15, and a content creation unit. 16.

  The information collecting unit 11 circulates a patrol route set in a predetermined area and collects information regarding the area. The output unit 12 outputs a plurality of contents related to the area. The operation reception unit 13 receives an operation for selecting an arbitrary content from the content output by the output unit 12 from the user.

  The totaling unit 14 totals the number of selections of the content selected by receiving the operation by the operation receiving unit 13 for each content. The traveling route creation unit 15 creates a traveling route based on the result of counting the number of selections by the counting unit 14. The content creation unit 16 updates the content using information collected by the information collection unit based on the tour route created by the tour route creation unit 15.

  As described above, the information providing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment changes the route for collecting information in the region according to the content reference status by the user, and the content is based on the information collected through the changed route. Create Therefore, according to the information providing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide the user with information according to the situation change.

  Next, an information providing system will be described as a second embodiment. Below, the outline | summary of the information provision system which concerns on Example 2, the structure of an information provision system, the flow of a process of an information provision system is demonstrated in order, and the effect of Example 2 is finally demonstrated.

  First, the outline of the information providing system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the information providing system according to the second embodiment. The information providing system according to the second embodiment is constructed for commercial facilities, for example, and provides users with information on services handled by the commercial facilities such as stores and events.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the information providing system 100 according to the second embodiment includes an information providing apparatus 200 and an information collecting robot 300. The information providing apparatus 200 outputs content related to various services in the commercial facility. The information collecting robot 300 circulates in the commercial facility and collects information related to stores and events. Here, the information providing apparatus 200 and the information collecting robot 300 are communicably connected by wireless communication.

  With such a configuration, in the information providing system 100, the information providing apparatus 200 displays a list of contents related to services handled by the commercial facility, and the user performs an operation of selecting arbitrary contents from the displayed list. Accept (see (1) in FIG. 2). And the information provision apparatus 200 totals the selection frequency of the content selected by the user for every content.

  On the other hand, the information collecting robot 300 changes the patrol route based on the result of counting the number of times content is selected by the information providing apparatus 200 (see (2) in FIG. 2). For example, the information collecting robot 300 changes the tour route by adding, as an additional tour point, a point corresponding to content having a greater number of selections than the other content to the basic tour route based on the count result of the selection times ( (See (3) in FIG. 2). Then, the information collecting robot 300 circulates the changed patrol route and collects information regarding stores and events. For example, the information collecting robot 300 collects word-of-mouth communication and evaluation related to a store or an event by interviewing a user at an additional patrol point (see (4) in FIG. 2).

  Thereafter, the information providing apparatus 200 creates content using the information collected by the information collecting robot 300 (see (5) in FIG. 2). And the information provision apparatus 200 displays the produced content (refer (6) of FIG. 2).

  As described above, in the information providing system 100 according to the second embodiment, the information collection robot 300 changes the patrol route in the commercial facility according to the content reference status by the user. The information providing apparatus 200 creates content based on information collected by the information collecting robot 300 based on the changed patrol route. Therefore, according to the information providing system 100 according to the second embodiment, it is possible to provide the user with information corresponding to the change in the situation in the commercial facility.

[Configuration of information provision system]
Next, the configuration of the information providing system 100 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of the information providing system 100 according to the second embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the information providing system 100 includes an information providing apparatus 200 and an information collecting robot 300. Here, the information providing apparatus 200 and the information collecting robot 300 are communicably connected via a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). The communication between the information providing apparatus 200 and the information collecting robot 300 is not limited to the wireless LAN, and may be wired communication.

  The information providing apparatus 200 includes an output unit 201, an operation receiving unit 202, a wireless communication unit 203, a storage unit 210, and a control unit 220.

  The output unit 201 outputs a plurality of contents related to a region. For example, the output unit 201 outputs a list of various contents related to the region, and outputs contents selected by the user from the output list. For example, the output unit 201 is installed in a commercial facility or the like, and displays a list of services handled by the commercial facility such as a store or an event. The output unit 201 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display. Note that the output unit 201 may sequentially output contents instead of outputting a list of contents.

  The operation reception unit 202 receives an operation for selecting an arbitrary content from the output content from the user. The operation accepting unit 202 accepts an operation for selecting an arbitrary content from a list of various contents related to the region output by the output unit 201 from the user. For example, the operation reception unit 202 receives, from the user, an operation for selecting content such as handled products, prices, recommended products, etc. related to services handled by commercial facilities from the list of information displayed by the output unit 201. The operation receiving unit 202 is an input device such as a touch panel and a push button integrated with the output unit 201, for example.

  The wireless communication unit 203 controls transmission / reception of data exchanged with the information collecting robot 300 via the wireless LAN. For example, the wireless communication unit 203 transmits a traveling point determination data table 311b described later to the information collecting robot 300, and receives information collected by the information collecting robot 300.

  The storage unit 210 stores data and programs necessary for various processes performed by the control unit 220. The storage unit 210 includes a news gathering data storage unit 211, a display content storage unit 212, and a selection information storage unit 213. The storage unit 210 is a storage device such as a semiconductor element such as a flash memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), or a hard disk.

  The news gathering data storage unit 211 stores information collected by the information collecting robot 300. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating data stored in the coverage data storage unit 211. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the interview data storage unit 211 includes a store master 211a, a volume level table 211b, a number of people table 211c, an interview data table 211d, an interview table 211e, a price information table 211f, and an image table. 211g.

  Store master 211a memorizes information about a store or a place in a commercial facility. FIG. 4B is a diagram of an example of information stored by the store master 211a. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the store master 211a stores, for each store or place, information in which a store ID (store identifier: store identifier), a point coordinate, a type, and a name are associated with each other.

  Here, the store ID is identification information for uniquely identifying a store or a place. Moreover, a point coordinate is a coordinate which shows the position of a shop when the whole commercial facility is represented by XY coordinate. The type is a type of store or place, for example, a restaurant, a home appliance store, a passage, or the like. The name is the name of the store or place.

  The volume level table 211b stores information related to the volume measured by the information collecting robot 300. 4-3 and 4-4 are diagrams illustrating an example of information stored by the volume level table 211b. As shown in FIGS. 4-3 and 4-4, the volume level table 211b includes a volume ID (volume identifier: volume identifier) that uniquely identifies a record in the volume level table 211b, a measured volume, and a volume level. The measured measurement date and time and the coordinates of the point where the volume is measured are stored in association with each other. Here, FIG. 4-3 is a volume level table 211b measured at 10 o'clock, and FIG. 4-4 is a volume level table 211b measured at 9 o'clock. For example, the record whose volume ID is “5” shown in FIG. 4-3 indicates that the volume measured at 10: 9 on November 5, 2008 at the point of coordinates (3, 3) was 95 dB. Show.

  The number table 211c stores information on the number of people measured by the information collecting robot 300. 4-5 and 4-6 are diagrams illustrating an example of information stored in the number-of-persons table 211c. As shown in FIGS. 4-5 and 4-6, the number of people table 211c includes a number of people ID (number of people identifier: number of people identifier) that uniquely identifies the record of the number of people table 211c, the number of people measured, and the number of people. The measurement date and time and the coordinates of the point where the number of people was measured are stored in association with each other. Here, FIG. 4-5 is a number table 211c measured at 10:00, and FIG. 4-6 is a number table 211c measured at 9:00. For example, the record with the person ID “9” shown in FIG. 4-5 indicates that 12 persons were measured at the point of coordinates (2, 1).

  The news gathering data table 211d stores information collected by the information collecting robot 300. FIG. 4-7 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the coverage data table 211d. As shown in FIG. 4-7, the coverage data table 211d includes a coverage ID that uniquely identifies a record in the coverage data table 211d (coverage identifier: coverage identifier), coverage date, point coordinates, number of people, volume, The image ID (image identifier: image identifier), the price ID (price identifier: price identifier), the interview ID (interview identifier: interview identifier), and the coverage type are stored in association with each other.

  Here, the date and time is the date and time when the information was collected, and the point coordinates are the coordinates of the point where the information was collected. The number of people is a measured value of the number of people, and the volume is a measured value of the volume level. The image ID corresponds to the image ID of the image table 211g, the price ID corresponds to the price ID of the price information table 211f, and the interview ID corresponds to the interview ID of the interview table 211e.

  The interview table 211e stores the results of interviews conducted by the information collecting robot 300. FIG. 4-8 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the interview table 211e. As shown in FIG. 4-8, the interview table 211e stores the interviewed shop ID, the listener type, the keyword and product keyword extracted from the user's answer, and the evaluation value. For example, the record whose interview ID is “1” shown in FIG. 4-8 indicates that the keyword “pasty” is extracted from the answer from the user. The store ID corresponds to the store ID of the store master 211a. The interview table 211e is used as information for generating a title and wording when the content creation unit 221 creates content.

  The price information table 211f stores price information collected by the information collecting robot 300. FIG. 4-9 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the price information table 211f. As illustrated in FIG. 4-9, the price information table 211f stores a price ID that uniquely identifies a record of the price information table 211f, a product name and a price extracted from a POP, and the like in association with each other. For example, a record whose price ID is “1” shown in FIG. 4-9 indicates that the price of soft ice cream is 80 yen. The record with the price ID “2” indicates that the wagon sale is 500 yen. The price information table 211f is used as information for generating a title and wording when the content creation unit 221 creates content.

  The image table 211g stores image information collected by the information collecting robot 300. FIG. 4-10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the image table 211g. As illustrated in FIG. 4-10, the image table 211g stores an image ID that uniquely identifies a record in the image table 211g, a store ID of a store or a place where the image is captured, and image data in association with each other. . The image table 211g is used as information for generating a title and wording when the content creation unit 221 creates content.

  The display content storage unit 212 stores data related to content provided to the user. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating data stored in the display content storage unit 212. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the display content storage unit 212 stores a content table 212a and a template table 212b.

  The content table 212a stores information necessary for creating content. FIG. 5B is a diagram of an example of information stored in the content table. As shown in FIG. 5B, specifically, the content table 212a includes a content ID, a publication date, a coverage data ID, a type, a store ID, a content creation title, and a content creation word. The image ID and the coverage time are stored in association with each other.

  Here, the content ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the content, and the posting date is the date when the content is posted. The type is a content type, and the content creation title is a title used when the content is created. Further, the content creation wording is a wording used when content is created, and the coverage time is the time when information that is the basis of the content is collected. The coverage data ID corresponds to the coverage ID of the coverage data table 211d, and the store ID corresponds to the store ID of the store master 211a. The content table 212 a is created by the content creation unit 221 based on various types of information stored in the news gathering data storage unit 211. The content table 212a may be overwritten on the content table 212a created in the past as the content is updated.

  The template table 212b stores templates serving as templates for creating content. FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating an example of a template stored by the template table 212b. As illustrated in FIG. 5C, for example, the template table 212b stores a template having time information, an image, a title, and an area for displaying a store, a price / product, a word of mouth, an event, and the like. The template table 212b is used together with data of the content table 212a when content is output by the output control unit 222.

  The selection information storage unit 213 stores information about the number of times of selection of content selected by the user. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating data stored in the selection information storage unit. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the selection information storage unit 213 stores a basic content table 213a, a selection count history table 213b, and a selection count tabulation table 213c.

  The basic content table 213a stores a content ID corresponding to the store ID. FIG. 6B is a diagram of an example of information stored in the basic content table 213a. As illustrated in FIG. 6B, the basic content table 213a stores a content ID and a store ID in association with each other. For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 6B, the content with the content ID “1” corresponds to the store with the store ID “1”. A plurality of content IDs may be associated with one store ID.

  The selection frequency history table 213b stores the date and time when the content is selected for each content ID. FIG. 6C is a diagram of an example of information stored in the selection count history table. As illustrated in FIG. 6C, the selection history table 213b stores the content ID of the content selected by the user and the date and time when the content is selected in association with each other. That is, by referring to the basic content table 213a and the selection frequency history table 213b, it is possible to detect which store content is selected at which date and time.

  The selection count totaling table 213c stores the number of content selections for each content ID. FIG. 6-4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the selection count table. As illustrated in FIG. 6-4, the selection count totaling table 213c records the result of totaling the selection count for each content ID. For example, the example illustrated in FIG. 6-4 indicates that the number of selections for the content with the content ID “1” is 15 times.

  The control unit 220 performs overall control of the information providing apparatus 200 by executing various programs. Specifically, the control unit 220 includes a content creation unit 221, an output control unit 222, a totaling unit 223, a traveling point determination unit 224, and a communication control unit 225.

  The content creation unit 221 creates the content table 212a using information collected by the information collection robot 300 based on the tour route created by the tour route creation unit 321.

  Specifically, the content creation unit 221 generates a content creation word and title based on the interview table 211e or the price information table 211f. For example, the content creation unit 221 selects an arbitrary record from the coverage data table 211d and determines the type of information collection point.

  If the information collection point is a hall / passage, the content creation unit 221 determines whether the event is being held. If an event is being held, a title and wording are generated based on the interview results. Here, when there is no interview result, the content creation unit 221 reads the volume of the event holding point from the volume level table 211b and determines whether or not the volume is larger than a preset reference value.

  If it is determined that the content is larger than the reference value, the content creation unit 221 generates a title “busy event is being held” and generates a wording from the volume level. On the other hand, when the volume level falls below the reference value, the content creation unit 221 generates a title “currently being held” and generates a wording from the volume level. Here, the reference value of the volume level can be set as an arbitrary value.

  Further, when the information collection point is a store, the content creation unit 221 extracts an evaluation word based on the interview result, and generates a title and a wording. An explanation will be given by taking interview ID1 of the interview table shown in FIG. 4-8 as an example. In interview ID1, the keyword is recorded as “delicious” and the product keyword is recorded as “pasta”. Therefore, the content creation unit 221 creates a wording “Pasta is delicious”.

  Here, when there is no interview result, the content creation unit 221 reads the product name and price from the price information table 211f, and generates a title and wording. For example, the price ID 2 of the price information table 211 f is recorded as the product name “wagon sale” and the price “500 yen”. Therefore, the content creation unit 221 generates a title “Wagon sale is being held at the store C” and a wording “the main product was △△ 500 yen uniform”, and records the date and time of publication close to the present in the content table 212a. .

  The output control unit 222 outputs the content to the output unit 201. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of content output by the output unit 201. As shown in FIG. 7, specifically, the output control unit 222 generates content including information collection time, an image, a title, and information such as a store, a price / product, a word of mouth, an event, Output to the output unit 201.

  The output control unit 222 extracts a list of information including the content ID that has reached the posting time from the content table. Then, the output control unit 222 writes the extracted information in a corresponding field of the template illustrated in FIG. 5C, for example, and generates content. Then, the output control unit 222 outputs the generated content to the output unit 201.

  Further, the output control unit 222 searches the basic content table for a store ID corresponding to the content selected by the user. Subsequently, the output control unit 222 extracts a list of information including the content ID corresponding to the searched store ID from the content table. Then, the output control unit 222 writes the extracted information in a corresponding field of the template illustrated in FIG. 5C, for example, and generates content. Then, the output control unit 222 outputs the generated content to the output unit 201. Note that the output control unit 222 may create a content heading list based on the evaluation value obtained from the listener.

  The totaling unit 223 totals the number of selections of the content selected by accepting the operation by the operation accepting unit 202 for each content. Specifically, the totaling unit 223 refers to the selection number history table 213b stored in the selection information storage unit 213, and totals the number of selections of the content selected by the user for each content ID. Then, the totaling unit 223 registers the totaled result in the selection count totaling table 213c of the selection information storage unit 213.

  The traveling point determination unit 224 creates a traveling route by adding a point corresponding to the content having a large number of selections to the basic traveling route based on the result of the number of selections by the counting unit 223. Specifically, when the number of content selections is totaled by the totaling unit 223, the traveling point determination unit 224 selects a traveling point to be toured by the information collecting robot 300 based on a preset priority order.

  Here, a method of selecting a tour point by the tour point determination unit 224 will be described. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating an example of the time transition of the selection count totaling result totaled by the totaling unit 223. Here, the horizontal axis indicates the date and time, and the vertical axis indicates the number of times content is selected. As shown in FIG. 8A, at the time of November 4, 2008, the number of selections for the content at the point A is the highest, and then the ranking of the content at the point B is ranked higher. On the other hand, the number of selections for the content at the G point and the content at the H point is low, and the aggregation order is located at the lower position. The content at the point C, the content at the point D, the content at the point E, and the content at the point F are in the middle, and the content at the point C is November 3, 2008 on the previous day. The number of selections is markedly increased compared to.

  FIG. 8-2 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for selecting a tour point. Here, the X-axis and the Y-axis indicate the position coordinates of the point. As shown in FIG. 8-2, the basic circuit route starting from the charging station, the A point, the B point, the C point, the D point, the E point, the F point, the G point, and the H point. And are located. A point that is one unit of the number of movements from the departure point is defined as a lattice point. The traveling point determination unit 224 selects, as traveling points, two points with higher ranks and two points with lower ranks. Furthermore, the traveling point determination unit 224 determines whether or not there is a point having a significant change in the totaling order, and selects one point when there is a point having a significant change in the totaling order. On the other hand, if there is no significant change in the total ranking, it is assumed that one point is selected as a traveling point at random from the points with the middle total ranking.

  The traveling point determination unit 224 selects the A point and the B point that are determined to be in the higher rank as the traveling point. Next, the traveling point determination unit 224 adds the G point and the H point that have been determined to have a lower rank to the traveling point. Further, the traveling point determination unit 224 determines that the point C has a significant change in rank as compared to the previous day, and selects the point C as the traveling point.

  As described above, the traveling point determination unit 224 determines the points A, B, C, G, and H shown in FIG. 8-2 as the traveling points. In addition, the selection method of this patrol point is not limited to the above, and can be set according to an arbitrary standard. FIG. 8C is a diagram of an example of the traveling point determination data table 311b generated by the traveling point determination unit 224. As illustrated in FIG. 8C, the traveling point determination unit 224 generates information associating the determined traveling point, the priority at the time of route creation, and the selection criterion as the traveling point determination data table 311b, Transmit to the collection robot 300.

  The communication control unit 225 performs transmission / reception timing by the wireless communication unit 203, confirmation of transmission / reception, distribution of received data to a storage unit, and the like.

  The information collecting robot 300 includes an audio output unit 301, an audio input unit 302, an image acquisition unit 303, a wireless communication unit 304, a driving unit 305, a storage unit 310, and a control unit 320.

  The voice output unit 301 is controlled by the information collecting unit and outputs the voice synthesized by the information collecting robot 300. The audio output unit 301 is, for example, a speaker.

  The voice input unit 302 is controlled by the information collecting unit and inputs the content of the conversation made by the user and the surrounding volume level. The voice input unit 302 is, for example, a microphone.

  The image acquisition unit 303 captures an image by the information collecting robot at the lattice points. The image acquisition unit 303 is a camera, for example.

  The wireless communication unit 304 controls transmission / reception of data exchanged with the information providing apparatus 200 via the wireless LAN. For example, the wireless communication unit 304 receives the traveling point determination data table 311 b and transmits information stored in the coverage data storage unit 312 to the information providing apparatus 200.

  The driving unit 305 provides a driving force for the information collecting robot 300 to go around the facility for information collection in accordance with an instruction from the patrol control unit 322. Here, the drive unit 305 is, for example, a wheel that drives electricity or the like as power.

  The storage unit 310 stores data and programs necessary for various processes performed by the control unit 320. Specifically, the storage unit 310 includes a tour route data storage unit 311 and a coverage data storage unit 312. The storage unit 310 is, for example, a semiconductor device such as a flash memory or a storage device such as a hard disk.

  The traveling route data storage unit 311 stores data necessary for the information collecting robot 300 to travel the route. FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating data stored in the cyclic route data storage unit 311. As illustrated in FIG. 9A, the traveling route data storage unit 311 stores a traveling route data table 311a and a traveling point determination data table 311b.

  The cyclic route data table 311a stores information indicating the cyclic route. FIG. 9-2 is a diagram of an example of information stored in the cyclic route data table 311a. As illustrated in FIG. 9B, the traveling route data table 311a stores information in which the XY coordinates of the traveling points included in the traveling route, the names of the traveling points, and the number of movements from the departure point are associated with each other. . The traveling route data table 311a is a guidepost when the information collecting robot 300 is traveling.

  The traveling point determination data table 311b records the priority order, the traveling point name, and the selection criterion for determining the traveling point in association with the traveling point determined by the traveling point determination unit 224. The priority order determined by the traveling point determination unit 224 can be arbitrarily set.

  The news gathering data storage unit 312 stores information collected by the information collecting robot 300. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating data stored in the news gathering data storage unit 312. As shown in FIG. 10, the news gathering data storage unit 312 includes a store master 312a, a volume level table 312b, a number of people table 312c, a news gathering data table 312d, an interview table 312e, a price information table 312f, and an image table 312g. Remember.

  The store master 312a stores the same contents as the store master 211a illustrated in FIG. That is, the store master 312a is transmitted by the information providing apparatus 200. The volume level table 312b stores information related to the volume measured by the information collecting robot 300. The volume level table 312b stores the same contents as the volume level table 211b shown in FIG. 4-3.

  The number of people table 312c stores information on the number of people measured by the information collecting robot 300. The number of people table 312c stores the same contents as the number of people table 211c shown in FIG. The news gathering data table 312d stores information collected by the information gathering robot 300. The news gathering data table 312d stores the same contents as the news gathering data table 211d shown in FIG.

  The interview table 312e stores the results of interviews performed by the information collecting robot 300. The interview table 312e stores the same contents as the interview table 211e shown in FIG. 4-8. The price information table 312f stores price information collected by the information collecting robot 300. The price information table 312f stores the same contents as the price information table 211f illustrated in FIG. 4-9.

  The image table 312g stores image information collected by the information collecting robot 300. The image table 312g stores the same contents as the image table 211g illustrated in FIG. 4-10.

  The control unit 320 performs overall control of the information collecting robot 300 by executing various programs. Specifically, the control unit 320 includes a tour route creation unit 321, a tour control unit 322, an information collection unit 323, and a communication control unit 324.

  The traveling route creation unit 321 determines the traveling route by adding the traveling point determined by the traveling point determination unit 224 to the basic traveling route. Here, it is assumed that the basic tour route is a 12-unit closed route preset by the tour route creation unit 321. For example, the basic tour route is a route indicated by a thick line in FIG.

  FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the cyclic route data table. FIG. 11A illustrates a case where a traveling point is added based on the traveling point determination data table 311b. As illustrated in FIG. 11A, the traveling route creation unit 321 determines that the total number of movements of the information collection robot 300 is 21 times.

  Here, the information collecting robot 300 is limited in power supply capacity, and needs to be charged at regular intervals. For this reason, the information collecting robot 300 may not be able to incorporate all of the tour points determined by the tour point determination unit 224 into the tour route in a single tour. That is, the traveling route creation unit 321 needs to determine the traveling route within the movable range of the power supply capacity of the power source of the information collecting robot 300.

  For example, when it is assumed that the power supply capacity of the information collecting robot 300 can move 20 units by one charge, the traveling route creation unit 321 causes the information collecting robot 300 to travel the traveling route shown in FIG. Therefore, it is determined that the power capacity limitation cannot be satisfied. Therefore, the traveling route creation unit 321 resets the route according to the priority order of the traveling points set in the traveling point determination data table 311b. This time, the traveling point determination data table 311b sets priorities in the order of A point, B point, H point, C point, and G point, so the traveling route creation unit 321 selects the traveling route excluding the G point. Reset and calculate the number of routes.

  As illustrated in FIG. 9B, the traveling route creation unit 321 calculates the number of traveling routes excluding the point G, and determines that the total number of movements is 19 that satisfies the power supply capacity of the information collecting robot 300. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating a method for determining a cyclic route. As illustrated in FIG. 11B, the traveling route creation unit 321 determines a traveling route. Note that the setting of the priority order of the traveling points shown in the traveling point determination data table 311b is not limited to this and can be arbitrarily set.

  The patrol control unit 322 controls the information collecting robot 300 to patrol the facility for information collection with reference to the patrol route data table 311a stored in the patrol route data storage unit 311. Specifically, the patrol control unit 322 detects the coordinates of the position where the information collection robot 300 moves a certain distance, and whether the patrol route data table 311a has coordinates that match the detected coordinates. Determine. Here, when there is a coincident coordinate, the traveling control unit 322 determines that the position is a lattice point. The patrol control unit 322 searches the patrol route data table 311a for the position coordinates of the lattice point at which the information collecting robot 300 has arrived, and determines whether the arrived lattice point is a target point for information collection. The coordinates are determined using a known method such as the number of wheel rotations, surrounding image confirmation, and wireless.

  The information collection unit 323 controls various information collection performed by the information collection robot 300. Specifically, the information collection unit 323 includes a situation change determination unit 323a, an interview control unit 323b, a price information extraction unit 323c, and an image acquisition control unit 323d.

  When the information collection robot 300 arrives at a lattice point, the situation change determination unit 323a determines whether or not there has been a situation change from the previous tour.

  Specifically, the situation change determination unit 323a controls the image acquisition unit 303 to capture a surrounding image, uses the face authentication function for the captured image, and determines whether a person exists in the captured image. Determine. Here, when it is determined that there is a person, the situation change determination unit 323a measures the number of people, records the measurement result, the measurement date and time, and the coordinates of the measurement point in the number of people table 312c, and collects data Store in the storage unit 312. Furthermore, the situation change determination unit 323a calculates the difference between the number of people measured this time and the number of people measured last time by comparing the record of the current number of people table 312c with the record of the previous number of people table 312c. Next, the situation change determination unit 323a determines whether or not the calculated difference exceeds a preset threshold. If the difference exceeds the threshold, the situation change determination unit 323a determines that the situation has changed.

  Here, the situation change determination unit 323a will be described assuming that the threshold of the number of persons is set when the number of persons more than twice the previous number is measured. For example, in the situation change determination unit 323a, the number of people at the point of coordinates (2, 1) has increased three times compared to the previous arrival time. Therefore, the situation change determination unit 323a sets the point of coordinates (2, 1) as the change large point, adds this point to the coverage target, and records it in the coverage type column of the coverage data table 312d. Note that the threshold value of the set number of people is not limited to the one set this time, and can be set arbitrarily.

  In addition, the situation change determination unit 323a controls the voice input unit 302 to measure the surrounding volume, records the measurement result, the measurement date and time, and the coordinates in the volume level table 312b and stores them in the coverage data storage unit 312. To do. Furthermore, the situation change determination unit 323a calculates the difference between the currently measured volume and the previously measured volume by comparing the current and previous volume level table 312b. Next, the situation change determination unit 323a determines whether or not the calculated difference exceeds a preset threshold. If the difference exceeds the threshold, the situation change determination unit 323a determines that the situation has changed.

  Here, the situation change determination unit 323a will be described assuming that the threshold value of the volume level is set when the difference from the previous time exceeds 50 dB. For example, when the situation change determination unit 323a arrives at the point of the coordinates (3, 3), the state change determination unit 323a determines that there is a difference of 65 dB in the volume level compared to the previous time. Therefore, the situation change determination unit 323a sets the point of the coordinates (3, 3) as a changed point, adds this point to the information collection target point, and records it in the coverage type column of the coverage data table 312d. The set volume level threshold is not limited to the one set this time, and can be set arbitrarily.

  The interview control unit 323b controls the interview process. Specifically, the interview control unit 323b controls the image acquisition unit 303 to continuously take images. Next, the interview control unit 323b determines whether or not there is a stopped person in the continuously shot images. Here, when there is a person who is stopped in the image, the interview control unit 323b starts the interview process.

  Next, the interview control unit 323b determines the type of coverage point from the store master 312a. And the interview control part 323b synthesize | combines the audio | voice according to a store classification, controls an audio | voice output part, and asks a user a question. The interview control unit 323b controls the voice input unit to listen to the user's opinion. The interview control unit 323b analyzes the answers using the voice recognition function and extracts evaluation words. The interview control unit 323b records the extracted evaluation word as a keyword in the interview table and stores it in the interview data storage unit 312.

  The price information extraction unit 323c extracts the product name and price information from the POP. Specifically, the price information extraction unit 323c controls the image acquisition unit 303 to determine whether or not POP can be detected in the captured image. Here, when the POP can be detected, the price information extraction unit 323c extracts the product name and price information, records them in the price information table 312f, and stores them in the news gathering data storage unit 312.

  The image acquisition control unit 323d controls the image acquisition unit 303 to capture an image of a store or product for content placement. The image acquisition control unit 323d records the captured image data in the image table 312g and stores it in the news gathering data storage unit 312.

  The communication control unit 324 performs transmission / reception timing by the wireless communication unit 304, confirmation of transmission / reception, distribution of received data to a storage unit, and the like.

[Information provision system processing]
Next, a flow of processing performed by the information providing system 100 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed by the information providing system 100 according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 12, in the information providing system 100, in the information providing apparatus 200, the totaling unit 223 determines whether or not a predetermined total scheduled time has come (step S101). The totaling unit 223 totals the content selection frequency history when the predetermined total scheduled time has come (step S101, Yes) (step S102). Subsequently, the traveling point determination unit 224 performs a traveling point determination process based on the total number of selections (step S103). The patrol point determination process will be described in detail later. Thereafter, the traveling point determination unit 224 transmits traveling point determination data indicating the traveling point determined by the traveling point determination process to the information collecting robot 300 (step S104).

  On the other hand, in the information collecting robot 300, the traveling route creation unit 321 receives the traveling point determination data transmitted from the information providing apparatus 200, and performs the traveling route determination process based on the received traveling point determination data (step S105). . The cyclic route determination process will be described in detail later.

  Thereafter, under the control of the patrol control unit 322, the information collecting robot 300 patrols based on the patrol route determined by the patrol route determination process (step S106). When the information collecting robot 300 arrives at a point where information is to be collected, the information collecting unit 323 performs an information collecting process (step S107). The information collection process will be described later in detail.

  Thereafter, the information collection unit 323 registers the information collected by the information collection process in the material data table 312d (step S108). In addition, the information collection unit 323 transmits the collected information to the information providing apparatus 200 as a coverage result via the wireless communication unit 304 (step S109).

  On the other hand, in the information providing apparatus 200, the content creation unit 221 performs content creation processing based on the interview result transmitted from the information collection robot 300 (step S110). The content creation process will be described later in detail.

  Thereafter, the content creation unit 221 registers the content created by the content creation process in the content table 212a (step S111). Then, the output control unit 222 determines the content publication date and time or outputs the content registered in the content table 212a to the output unit 201 in response to an operation by the user.

[Circuit point determination process]
Next, a processing procedure of a patrol point determination process performed by the information providing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of the patrol point determination process performed by the information providing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 13, when the total number of content selections is totaled by the totaling unit 223 (step S <b> 201), the traveling point determination unit 224 selects a higher ranking point and adds the selected point to the traveling point. (Step S202). For example, the traveling point determination unit 224 adds the A point and the B point to the traveling point. Further, the traveling point determination unit 224 selects a point having a lower order of aggregation and adds the selected point to the traveling point (step S203). For example, the traveling point determination unit 224 adds the G point and the H point to the traveling point.

  Here, the traveling point determination unit 224 determines whether or not there is a point where there has been a significant change in the totaling rank as compared with the totaling result of the previous day (step S204). If there is a point that has a significant change in the order of counting compared to the previous day's count result (step S204, Yes), the traveling point determination unit 224 further adds the point to the circulating point (step S204). S205). For example, the traveling point determination unit 224 adds the C point to the traveling point. If there is no significant change in the total order (step S204, No), the traveling point determination unit 224 randomly selects a traveling point from among the intermediate points in the total order and selects the selected point. It adds to a patrol point (step S206).

  In addition, the order which selects the point used as a patrol point is not necessarily restricted to what was demonstrated above. For example, after selecting a point where there is a significant change in the total order, a higher, lower, or middle point may be selected.

[Circuit route determination processing]
Next, a processing procedure of a cyclic route determination process performed by the information collecting robot 300 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a cyclic route determination process performed by the information collecting robot 300 according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the cyclic route creation unit 321 sets a basic cyclic route based on the cyclic route data table 311a (step S301). Subsequently, the traveling route creation unit 321 selects a traveling point with reference to the traveling point determination data table 311b (step S302). Thereafter, the traveling route creation unit 321 calculates a travel distance of the route obtained by adding the selected tour point to the basic route (step S303), and whether or not the calculated travel distance satisfies the power supply capacity constraint of the information collecting robot 300. Is determined (step S304).

  Here, when the movement distance does not satisfy the power supply capacity constraint (No in step S304), the traveling route creation unit 321 has a priority based on the priority set in the traveling point determination data table 311b. All traveling points except the lowest point are selected (step S302). Then, the tour route creation unit 321 calculates again the travel distance of the route obtained by adding the selected tour point to the basic tour route (step S303), and whether the calculated travel distance satisfies the power supply capacity constraint of the information collecting robot 300. It is determined whether or not (step S304).

  In this way, the traveling route creation unit 321 repeats the selection of the traveling point and the setting of the route until the moving distance satisfies the power supply capacity constraint. When the travel distance satisfies the power supply capacity constraint (Yes in step S304), the cyclic route creation unit 321 determines the route set at that time as the cyclic route (step S305).

[Information collection process]
Next, a processing procedure of information collection processing performed by the information collection robot 300 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of information collection processing performed by the information collection robot 300 according to the second embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 15, the patrol control unit 322 repeatedly determines whether or not the information collection robot 300 has arrived at the lattice point during the movement (step S401). When the patrol control unit 322 determines that the information collecting robot 300 has arrived at the grid point (step S401, Yes), the situation change determination unit 323a measures the number of people around (step S402), and The surrounding volume level is measured (step S403). Thereafter, the situation change determination unit 323a records the measured number of people in the number of people table 312c, and records the volume level in the volume level table 312b (step S404).

  Subsequently, the situation change determination unit 323a compares the measurement result with the measurement result recorded when the same point was visited in the past (step S405), and whether or not the magnitude of the change in the measurement result exceeds the threshold value. Is determined (step S406). If the magnitude of the change exceeds the threshold (Yes at step S406), the information collecting unit 323 uses the point where the information collecting robot 300 is present as the information collecting point as information collecting point. Collection processing is performed (step S407). The information collection process at the point of great change will be described in detail later.

  Thereafter, the patrol control unit 322 determines whether or not the point where the information collecting robot 300 is at that point is a patrol point (step S408). Further, even when the magnitude of the change in the measurement result does not exceed the threshold (No in step S406), the patrol control unit 322 determines whether or not the point where the information collecting robot 300 is present is the patrol point. Determination is made (step S408).

  When the point where the information collecting robot 300 is located is a patrol point (step S408, Yes), the information collecting unit 323 sets the point where the information collecting robot 300 is present as the information collecting point at the patrol point. Information collection processing is performed (step S409). On the other hand, when it is determined that the point where the information collecting robot 300 is located is not a patrol point (No in step S408), the information collecting unit 323 does not perform the information collecting process at the patrol point. The information collection process at the patrol point will be described in detail later.

  Thereafter, the patrol control unit 322 determines whether or not the point where the information collecting robot 300 is located is an end point (step S410). When the end point is an end point (step S410, Yes), the process ends. Then, when the point where the information collecting robot 300 is not the end point (No at Step S410), the patrol control unit 322 moves the information collecting robot 300 and repeats the above processing until the end point is reached. .

[Information collection process at large change points]
Next, a processing procedure of information collection processing at a large change point performed by the information collection robot 300 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of information collection processing at a large change point performed by the information collection robot 300 according to the second embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 16, the situation change determination unit 323a of the information collection unit 323 initializes the number of people increase flag and the volume increase flag to “0” (step S501). Thereafter, the situation change determination unit 323a refers to the store master 312a to determine the type of information collection point (step S502).

  Subsequently, the situation change determination unit 323a determines whether or not the number of people around has increased compared to the previous time (step S503). If the number of people has increased (step S503, Yes), the situation change determination unit 323a sets the number of people increase flag to “1” (step S504). On the other hand, when the number of people has not increased (No in step S503), the situation change determination unit 323a keeps the increase flag as “0”.

  Furthermore, the situation change determination unit 323a determines whether or not the surrounding volume level has increased compared to the previous time (step S505). If the volume level has increased (step S505, Yes), the status change determination unit 323a sets the volume increase flag to “1” (step S506). On the other hand, when the volume level has not increased (step S505, No), the status change determination unit 323a keeps the volume increase flag at “0”.

  Subsequently, the interview control unit 323b measures the moving speeds of surrounding people (step S507), and determines whether or not there are people who have stopped around (step S508). If there is a person who has stopped (step S508, Yes), the interview control unit 323b performs an interview process at the large change point (step S509). On the other hand, when there is no person stopped around (No in step S508), the interview control unit 323b does not perform the interview process. The interview process at the large change point will be described in detail later.

  Thereafter, the situation change determination unit 323a refers to the store master 312a to determine whether the information collection point is a store (step S510). If the information collection point is a store (step S510, Yes), the price information extraction unit 323c detects a nearby POP (step S511), and extracts price information and a product name from the detected POP. (Step S512). On the other hand, when the information collection point is not a store (step S510, No), the price information extraction unit 323c does not detect the POP.

  Thereafter, the image acquisition control unit 323d captures an image for content posting (step S513). Then, the image acquisition control unit 323d records the captured image in the image table 312g of the material data storage unit 312 (step S514).

  Note that the order in which information is collected at a large change point is not limited to that described above. For example, before extracting the price and the product name from the POP, an image for posting content may be taken, or after extracting the price and the product name and taking the image, an interview process may be performed.

[Information collection process at patrol points]
Next, a processing procedure of information collection processing at a patrol point performed by the information collection robot 300 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of information collection processing at a patrol point performed by the information collection robot 300 according to the second embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 17, the state change determination unit 323a of the information collection unit 323 refers to the store master 312a to determine the type of information collection point (step S601).

  Subsequently, the interview control unit 323b measures the moving speed of the surrounding people (step S602), and determines whether or not there is a stopped person in the surroundings (step S603). And when there is a person who has stopped (Step S603, Yes), interview control part 323b performs an interview process in a patrol point (Step S604). On the other hand, when there is no person stopped around (No in step S603), the interview control unit 323b does not perform the interview process. The interview process at the patrol point will be described in detail later.

  Thereafter, the state change determination unit 323a refers to the store master 312a to determine whether or not the information collection point is a store (step S605). If the information collection point is a store (step S605, Yes), the price information extraction unit 323c detects surrounding POPs (step S606), and extracts price information and product names from the detected POPs. (Step S607). On the other hand, when the information collection point is not a store (step S605, No), the price information extraction unit 323c does not detect the POP.

  Thereafter, the image acquisition control unit 323d captures an image for content posting (step S608). Then, the image acquisition control unit 323d records the captured image in the image table 312g of the material data storage unit 312 (step S609).

  Note that the order in which information is collected at the patrol point is not limited to that described above. For example, before extracting the price and the product name from the POP, an image for posting content may be taken, or after extracting the price and the product name and taking the image, an interview process may be performed.

[Interview processing at a large change point]
Next, a process procedure of an interview process at a large change point performed by the information collecting robot 300 according to the second embodiment will be described. 18 and 19 are flowcharts illustrating the processing procedure of the interview process at the large change point performed by the information collecting robot 300 according to the second embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 18, the situation change determination unit 323a refers to the store master 312a to determine the type of information collection point (step S701).

  Here, when the type of the information collection point is a hall or a passage (step S701, hall / passage), the interview control unit 323b determines the value of the volume increase flag (step S702). If the volume increase flag is “0” (step S702, No), the interview control unit 323b controls the audio output unit 301 to ask the user “What do you have fun?” (Step S703).

  On the other hand, when the volume increase flag is “1” (step S702, Yes), the interview control unit 323b controls the audio output unit 301 to give the user “something that is very lively but something fun. Is there a question? (Step S704).

  When the type of the information collection point is a restaurant (step S701, restaurant), the interview control unit 323b determines the value of the increase flag (step S705). When the increase flag is “0” (step S705, Yes), the interview control unit 323b controls the audio output unit 301 to give the user “something very lively but something fun. Is there a question? (Step S704).

  On the other hand, if the increase flag is “1” (No in step S705), the interview control unit 323b controls the voice output unit 301 to ask the user “Is the meal finished?” A question is asked (step S706). Thereafter, the interview control unit 323b receives an answer from the user via the voice input unit 302, and determines whether or not the answer indicates “after meal” (step S707).

  Here, when the content of the answer from the user indicates “after meal” (step S707, Yes), the interview control unit 323b controls the audio output unit 301 to notify the user “ “How was your meal?” Is asked (step S708). On the other hand, when the content of the response from the user indicates “before meal” (No in step S707), the interview control unit 323b controls the voice output unit 301 to notify the user “From now on. “What do you want to eat?” Is asked (step S709).

  If the type of information collection point is other stores (step S701, other stores), the interview control unit 323b determines the value of the increase flag (step S710). If the increase flag is “0” (step S710, Yes), the interview control unit 323b asks “Is it quite lively but do you have any fun?” (Step S704).

  On the other hand, when the number of people increase flag is “1” (step S710, No), the interview control unit 323b controls the voice output unit 301 to ask the user “Are there good products?” (Step S711).

  Thereafter, the interview control unit 323b receives an answer from the user via the voice input unit 302 and analyzes the received answer (step S712).

  Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 19, the interview control unit 323b determines whether the respondent of the interview is a store clerk based on the analysis result of the reply (step S713). If the respondent is a store clerk (step S713, Yes), the interview control unit 323b controls the audio output unit 301 to ask the store clerk “What is a recommended product?” (Step S714). . On the other hand, when the respondent is not a store clerk (step S713, No), the interview control unit 323b extracts an evaluation word from the received answer (step S715).

  Thereafter, the interview control unit 323b controls the audio output unit 301 to ask the respondent “Can I post it?” As a confirmation of whether or not the content can be placed (Step S716), and answer the question. It is determined whether or not the content of “” indicates “possible to post” (step S717). Here, when the content of the answer to the question indicates “possible to post” (step S717, Yes), the interview control unit 323b responds with “Thank you for posting the interview result. Thank you”. (Step S718). Then, the interview control unit 323b records the interview result in the interview table 312e (step S719).

  On the other hand, when the content of the answer to the question indicates “cannot be posted” (step S717, No), the interview control unit 323b says “Thank you for posting the content of the interview. Thank you.” A response is made (step S720).

[Interview processing at the patrol point]
Next, the process procedure of the interview process at the patrol point performed by the information collecting robot 300 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of an interview process at a patrol point performed by the information collecting robot 300 according to the second embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 20, the situation change determination unit 323a refers to the store master 312a to determine the type of information collection point (step S801).

  Here, when the type of the information collection point is a hall or a passage (step S801, a hall / passage), the interview control unit 323b controls the voice output unit 301 to give the user “something fun. Is there? "(Step S802).

  If the type of the information collection point is a restaurant (step S801, restaurant), the voice output unit 301 is controlled to ask the user "Is the meal finished?" S803). Thereafter, the interview control unit 323b receives an answer from the user via the voice input unit 302, and determines whether or not the answer indicates “after meal” (step S804).

  Here, when the content of the answer from the user indicates “after meal” (step S804, Yes), the interview control unit 323b controls the audio output unit 301 to notify the user “ The question is "How was your meal?" (Step S805). On the other hand, when the content of the answer from the user indicates “before meal” (step S804, No), the interview control unit 323b controls the voice output unit 301 to notify the user “from now on. “What do you want to eat?” Is asked (step S806).

  If the type of information collection point is other stores (step S801, other stores), the interview control unit 323b controls the audio output unit 301 to indicate that the user has “good product. "?" (Step S807).

  Thereafter, the interview control unit 323b receives an answer from the user via the voice input unit 302 and analyzes the received answer (step S808). Thereafter, the interview control unit 323b performs the same processing as Steps S713 to S720 shown in FIG.

[Content creation process]
Next, a processing procedure of content creation processing performed by the information providing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 21 is a flowchart of the content creation process performed by the information providing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 21, the content creation unit 221 selects one record in the ID order or an arbitrary order with reference to the coverage data table 211d (step S901). Subsequently, the content creation unit 221 determines the type of the information collection point with reference to the store master 211a (step S902).

  If the type of information collection point is a hall or a passage (step S902, hall / passage), the content creation unit 221 determines whether the information collection point is holding an event (step S902). S903). Here, for example, event information indicating whether or not an event is being held is stored in advance in the storage unit 210 or the like for each hall and passage, and the content creation unit 221 refers to the event information, thereby Judge whether or not it is being held.

  If the information collection point is being held (step S903, Yes), the content creation unit 221 determines whether there is an interview result based on the interview ID of the record selected from the interview data table 211d. Determination is made (step S904).

  Here, when there is an interview result (step S904, Yes), the content creation unit 221 acquires a name from the store master 211a, and generates a title “Event is being held at XX” (step S905). ). Furthermore, the content creation unit 221 acquires a keyword from the interview table 211e based on the interview ID, and generates a wording of the content with the acquired keyword (step S906). On the other hand, when there is no interview result (step S904, No), the content creation unit 221 determines whether or not the volume flag is “1” (step S907).

  If the volume flag is “1” (step S907, Yes), the content creation unit 221 generates a title “busy event being held” (step S908). Furthermore, the content creation unit 221 generates the wording “volume level ○ dB” using the volume of the record selected from the coverage data table 211d (step S910).

  On the other hand, if the volume flag is not “1” (No in step S907), the content creation unit 221 generates a title “currently being held” (step S909). Furthermore, the content creation unit 221 generates the wording “volume level ○ dB” using the volume of the record selected from the coverage data table 211d (step S910).

  If the information collection point is a store (step S902, store), the content creation unit 221 determines whether there is an interview result based on the interview ID of the record selected from the coverage data table 211d. (Step S911).

  If there is an interview result (step S911, Yes), the content creation unit 221 acquires a keyword from the interview table 211e based on the interview ID, and generates a content wording with the acquired keyword (step S911, Yes). S912). Furthermore, the content creation unit 221 acquires a name from the store master 211a, and generates a title “Introducing a popular XX store” (step S913).

  On the other hand, when there is no interview result (step S911, No), the content creation unit 221 determines whether there is price information based on the price ID of the record selected from the coverage data table 211d (step S914). ).

  Here, when there is price information (step S914, Yes), the content creation unit 221 acquires the product name and price from the price information table 211f based on the price ID. Then, the content creation unit 221 generates a content title and wording using the acquired product name and price (step S915).

  If the information collection point is not being held (step S903, No) and if there is no price information (step S914, No), the content creation unit 221 generates a content title and wording. do not do.

  After that, the content creation unit 221 registers the title and wording generated by the above processing in the content table 212a (step S916). Then, when outputting the content to the output unit 201, the output control unit 222 applies the title, wording, and image registered in the content table 212a to the template area and outputs them (step S917).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, in the information providing apparatus 200, the output control unit 222 outputs a plurality of contents related to stores and places in a commercial facility. In addition, the operation reception unit 202 receives an operation for selecting arbitrary content from the content output by the output control unit 222 from the user. Moreover, the totaling unit 223 totals the number of selections of the content selected by accepting the operation by the operation accepting unit 202 for each content. On the other hand, in the information collecting robot 300, the traveling route creation unit 321 creates a traveling route based on the result of counting the number of selections by the counting unit 223 of the information providing apparatus 200. The patrol control unit 322 patrols the information collecting robot 300 based on the patrol route created by the patrol route creation unit 321, and the information gathering unit 323 collects information related to the store and place in the commercial facility. In the information providing apparatus 200, the content creation unit 221 creates content using information collected by the information collection unit 323 of the information collection robot 300.

  That is, in Example 2, the information collecting robot 300 changes the patrol route in the commercial facility according to the content reference status by the user. The information providing apparatus 200 updates the content based on the information collected by the information collecting robot 300 based on the changed patrol route. Therefore, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to provide the user with information corresponding to a change in the situation in the commercial facility.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the traveling route creation unit 321 of the information collection robot 300 is based on the result of the number of selections performed by the totaling unit 223 of the information providing apparatus 200, and the point corresponding to the content having a larger number of selections than other content. Is added to the basic tour route to create a tour route. Therefore, according to the second embodiment, it becomes possible to collect information at a store or a place where the user's interest is increasing in the commercial facility, and thus it is possible to provide content that is highly likely to indicate the user's interest. Is possible.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the traveling route creation unit 321 of the information collecting robot 300 makes a traveling route so that the traveling route travels within the range of the movable distance determined based on the power supply capacity of the power source of the information collecting robot 300. create. Therefore, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to prevent the information collecting robot 300 from being turned off during the patrol, and thus it is possible to efficiently collect information in the commercial area.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the information collection unit 323 of the information collection robot 300 is changing the situation compared to the previous tour while traveling the tour route created by the tour route creation unit 321. The point is identified as a change major point, and further information is collected at the identified change major point. Therefore, according to the second embodiment, it becomes possible to collect information at a store or a place where the situation has actually changed in the commercial facility, so that information according to the situation change can be provided more accurately. Is possible.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the information providing apparatus and the information collecting robot are in a one-to-one manner has been described. However, the information providing apparatus disclosed in the present application is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of information providing devices and a plurality of information collecting robots may be used in the same region. In this case, for example, the information providing apparatus accumulates information collected by a plurality of information collecting robots in the storage unit. Further, for example, the information providing apparatus shares the information collected by the information collecting robot by exchanging the accumulated information with other information providing apparatuses.

  Moreover, although the said Example demonstrated the case where the information provision apparatus was installed in a commercial facility, the information provision apparatus which this application discloses is not restricted to this. For example, the information providing apparatus may be installed in a museum or an airport.

  In addition, each component of each device illustrated in the above embodiment is functionally conceptual and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed or arbitrarily distributed in arbitrary units according to various loads or usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured.

  For example, the information providing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment may have the function of the traveling route creation unit 321 of the information collection robot 300. Further, for example, the function of the traveling point determination unit 224 included in the information providing apparatus 200 and the function of the traveling route creation unit 321 included in the information collection robot 300 may be integrated and included in any of the apparatuses.

  Further, it is assumed that the information providing system 100 according to the embodiment includes a server device that can communicate with the information providing apparatus 200 and the information collecting robot 300. In that case, the server apparatus may have some of the functions of the information providing apparatus 200 and the information collecting robot 300.

  For example, the server device includes the totaling unit 223 and the traveling point determination unit 224 of the information providing device 200, and includes the traveling route creation unit 321 of the information collection robot 300. In this case, the server device receives information indicating the content selection status from the information providing device 200, and counts the number of content selections based on the received information. Then, the server device creates a tour route based on the count result of the number of selections, and transmits information indicating the created tour route to the information collecting robot 300.

  The configuration of each device according to each of the above embodiments can be variously changed without departing from the gist. For example, the functions of each apparatus can be realized by implementing the functions of the information providing apparatus 200 and the information collecting robot 300 shown in FIG. 3 with software and executing the software on a computer. Hereinafter, an example of a computer that executes an information providing program in which the functions of the information providing apparatus 200 and the information collecting robot 300 are implemented by software will be described.

  FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer that executes an information providing program. In FIG. 22, a computer 400 corresponds to the information providing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3, and a computer 500 corresponds to the information collecting robot 300 shown in FIG.

  The computer 400 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 420 that executes various arithmetic processes, an input device 440 that receives input of various data from a user, and an output device 450 that outputs various information. Here, the input device 440 corresponds to the operation reception unit 202 illustrated in FIG. 3. The output device 450 corresponds to the output unit 201 illustrated in FIG.

  The computer 400 also includes a medium reading device 460 that reads a program and the like from a storage medium, and a network interface 470 that exchanges data with other computers via a network. Here, the network interface 470 corresponds to the wireless communication unit 203 illustrated in FIG. 3.

  The computer 400 also includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) 410 that temporarily stores various types of information and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 430 that stores various types of information. Here, the RAM 410 and the HDD 430 correspond to the storage unit 210 shown in FIG.

  The HDD 430 stores a totaling program 431 having the same function as the totaling unit 223 shown in FIG. 3 and a content creation program 432 having the same function as the content creating unit 221 shown in FIG. In addition, the CPU 420 reads the aggregation program 431 and the content creation program 432 from the HDD 430 and expands them in the RAM 410. Then, the CPU 420 executes the aggregation program 431 as the aggregation process 421 and executes the content creation program 432 as the content creation process 422.

  The aggregation program 431 and the content creation unit 221 are not necessarily stored in the HDD 430, and may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and read from the storage medium and executed. Alternatively, the aggregation program 431 and the content creation unit 221 may be stored by another computer and read and executed via a public line, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the like. Good.

  The computer 500 includes a CPU 520 that executes various arithmetic processes, an input device 540 that receives input of various data from a user, and an output device 550 that outputs various information. Here, the input device 540 corresponds to the voice input unit 302 and the image acquisition unit 303 illustrated in FIG. 3.

  The computer 500 also includes a medium reading device 560 that reads a program and the like from a storage medium, and a network interface 570 that exchanges data with other computers via a network. Here, the network interface 570 corresponds to the wireless communication unit 304 shown in FIG.

  In addition, the computer 500 includes a RAM 510 that temporarily stores various types of information and an HDD 530 that stores various types of information. Here, the RAM 510 and the HDD 530 correspond to the storage unit 310 shown in FIG.

  The HDD 530 includes a cyclic route creation program 531 having the same function as the cyclic route creation unit 321 shown in FIG. 3 and an information collection program 532 having the same function as the information collection unit 323 shown in FIG. Remembered. Further, the CPU 520 reads the cyclic route creation program 531 and the information collection program 532 from the HDD 530 and expands them in the RAM 510. Then, the CPU 520 executes the traveling route creation program 531 as the traveling route creation process 521 and executes the information collection program 532 as the information collection process 522.

  The traveling route creation program 531 and the information collection program 532 are not necessarily stored in the HDD 530, and may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and read out from the storage medium and executed. . Alternatively, the traveling route creation program 531 and the information collection program 532 may be stored by another computer and read and executed via a public line, the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Information provision apparatus 11 Information collection part 12 Output part 13 Operation reception part 14 Total part 15 Travel route creation part 16 Content creation part

Claims (8)

An information collecting unit that circulates a patrol route set in a predetermined area and collects information about the area;
An output unit for outputting a plurality of contents related to the region;
An operation accepting unit that accepts an operation of selecting arbitrary content from the content output by the output unit from a user;
A counting unit that counts the number of times of selection of the content selected by accepting the operation by the operation receiving unit;
Based on the counting result of the number of selections by the counting unit, a traveling route creation unit that creates a traveling route;
Information using said information collected by said information collecting section based on patrol route created by the patrol route creation unit, and having a content creation unit to create content that is output from the output unit Providing device.   The tour route creation unit creates the tour route by adding a point corresponding to content having a greater number of selections than other content to the basic tour route based on a count result of the number of selections by the summation unit. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1.   The said cyclic route creation part produces the said cyclic route so that it may circulate within the range of the movable distance determined based on the power supply capacity of the power supply which the said information collection part has. 2. The information providing device according to 2.   The information collection unit identifies a point where the situation has changed as compared to the previous round as a large change point while patrolling the round route created by the round route creation unit, and the identified change The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further collecting information at a large point. The content creation unit is content derived from content selected by a user using information collected by the information collection unit based on a tour route created by the tour route creation unit, and the output unit The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the content output from the terminal is created. The information collecting unit circulates a patrol route set in a predetermined area, collects information on any store related to the area,
The content creation unit
Based on the tour route created by the tour route creation unit, the content output from the output unit is created using the store information collected by the information collection unit.
The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, 2, or 3. An aggregation procedure for aggregating the number of selections selected by the user for each of a plurality of contents output by the output unit;
Based on the counting result of the number of selections by the counting procedure, a traveling route creation procedure for creating a traveling route of an information collecting unit that collects information on a predetermined area;
Using the information collected by the information collection unit based on the cyclic route created by the cyclic route creation procedure to cause the computer to execute a content creation procedure for creating content output from the output unit. Information providing program. An information providing method by an information providing system having an information output device that outputs information about a predetermined region and an information collection device that collects information about the region,
The information output device is
An output step of outputting a plurality of contents related to the region;
An operation accepting step of accepting an operation for selecting arbitrary content from the content output by the output step from the user;
A totaling step of counting, for each content, the number of selections of the content selected by accepting the operation in the operation accepting step;
The information collecting device is
Based on the counting result of the number of selections by the counting step, a traveling route creation step for creating a traveling route;
An information collecting step for patroling the patrol route created by the patrol route creating step and collecting information on the area;
The information output device is
A content creation step of creating content to be output by the output step using the information collected by the information collection step.

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