CN114207649A

CN114207649A - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing program

Info

Publication number: CN114207649A
Application number: CN202080053719.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 名田阳一; 秋月诚
Original assignee: Zensho Holdings Co Ltd
Current assignee: Zensho Holdings Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-07-25
Filing date: 2020-07-06
Publication date: 2022-03-18
Also published as: JP7336905B2; WO2021014952A1; JP2021022036A

Abstract

The information processing device is provided with: a storage unit that stores map information; a first acquisition unit that acquires position information on a plurality of sales positions for selling a commodity; an extraction unit that extracts a sales clearance area that is an area outside a predetermined range from a plurality of sales locations, based on the location information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the map information stored in the storage unit; a second acquisition unit that acquires at least one of specific information on the population of the sales clearance extracted by the extraction unit, the amount of traffic of the vehicle traveling in the sales clearance, and the number of people using the public transportation traveling in the sales clearance; and a first specifying unit that specifies the sales margin as a new sales area for the commodity when the numerical value recorded in the specific information acquired by the second acquiring unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

Description

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing program

Technical Field

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

Background

In the case of a branch store newly provided with a store for selling commodities, a high fee is spent, and therefore, a survey conducted by a surveyor and a branch store evaluation based on the survey are emphasized. As a system for assisting the survey and the branch evaluation, there is a system described in patent document 1.

In the system described in patent document 1, when information on competing stores surveyed by a surveyor, real estate information on a candidate real estate, and the like are input to the system to specify a branch candidate, a map centering on the specified branch candidate and a range of a business turn considered by the surveyor as a business turn are displayed in a superimposed manner on a display unit. The system described in patent document 1 acquires the number of people and households within a business district. The system described in patent document 1 evaluates branch candidate locations based on information on the branch candidate locations and information on business circles, and outputs evaluation results.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2001-125955

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

There are a method of selling goods by a store and a method of selling goods by a vending machine.

In order to sell the commodities more, it is sometimes considered better to closely arrange the shop and the vending machine, but if the shop and the vending machine are closely arranged, there is a possibility that mutual business circles are duplicated. In the case where the business circles overlap with each other, there is a possibility that sales of the commodities cannot be increased, and efficiency of arrangement of the stores and the vending machines may be deteriorated.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program capable of presenting an efficient sales location of a commodity.

Means for solving the problems

An information processing device according to one embodiment includes: a storage unit that stores map information; a first acquisition unit that acquires position information on a plurality of sales positions for selling a commodity; an extraction unit that extracts a sales clearance area that is an area outside a predetermined range from a plurality of sales locations, based on the location information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the map information stored in the storage unit; a second acquisition unit that acquires at least one of specific information on the population of the sales clearance extracted by the extraction unit, the amount of traffic of the vehicle traveling in the sales clearance, and the number of people using the public transportation traveling in the sales clearance; and a first specifying unit that specifies the sales margin as a new sales area for the commodity when the numerical value recorded in the specific information acquired by the second acquiring unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

In the information processing apparatus according to one aspect, the plurality of selling locations for selling the product may include a location where the vending machine is installed and a location of the store, and the information processing apparatus may include: a third acquisition unit that acquires external information transmitted from an information acquisition unit of a vending machine, the information acquisition unit being used to acquire information external to the vending machine; a fourth acquisition unit that acquires traffic information relating to traffic conditions around the vending machine based on the external information acquired by the third acquisition unit; a first prediction unit that predicts sales of the commodity based on the traffic information acquired by the fourth acquisition unit; and a communication unit that transmits the sales prediction predicted by the first prediction unit to stores within a predetermined range from the vending machine.

The information processing apparatus according to one aspect may further include a fifth acquisition unit that acquires crime prevention information indicating a possibility of crime occurring around the vending machine based on the traffic information acquired by the fourth acquisition unit, and the communication unit may transmit the crime prevention information acquired by the fifth acquisition unit to stores within a predetermined range from the vending machine.

The information processing apparatus according to one aspect may further include a second prediction unit that predicts the number of arriving stores of the store based on the traffic information acquired by the fourth acquisition unit, wherein the communication unit may transmit the number of arriving stores predicted by the second prediction unit to the store within a predetermined range from the vending machine.

In the information processing apparatus according to one aspect, the information acquisition unit may be at least one of an image pickup unit that generates image data as external information, a microphone that generates sound data as the external information, and a vibration sensor that generates vibration data as the external information.

The information processing apparatus according to one aspect may further include: a sixth acquisition unit that acquires, from one or more stores, first aggregated information relating to an aggregated (japanese: backdoor) situation of the store; a seventh acquisition unit that acquires second aggregation information relating to an aggregation state of the vending machine based on the external information acquired by the information acquisition unit; an eighth acquiring unit that acquires terminal position information on a position of a terminal from the terminal held by the user; and a second specifying unit that extracts stores and vending machines located at a distance within a predetermined range from the terminal based on the terminal position information acquired by the eighth acquiring unit, and specifies stores and vending machines within a predetermined time until the supply of the product based on the extracted first aggregate information of the stores and the extracted second aggregate information of the vending machines, wherein the communication unit transmits information on the stores and vending machines specified by the second specifying unit to the terminal.

In one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a computer that executes: a storage step of storing the map information in a storage unit; a first acquisition step of acquiring position information on a plurality of sales positions for selling a commodity; an extraction step of extracting a sales margin, which is an area outside a predetermined range from a plurality of sales locations, based on the location information acquired by the first acquisition step and the map information stored in the storage unit; a second acquisition step of acquiring at least one of specific information on the population of the sales clearance extracted by the extraction step, the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the sales clearance, and the number of persons using the public transportation traveling in the sales clearance; and a first specifying step of specifying the sales blank area as a new sales area of the commodity when the numerical value recorded in the specific information acquired in the second acquiring step is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value.

An information processing program according to one embodiment causes a computer to realize the following functions: a storage function of storing map information; a first acquisition function of acquiring position information on a plurality of sales positions for selling a commodity; an extraction function of extracting a sales margin, which is an area outside a predetermined range from a plurality of sales locations, based on the location information acquired by the first acquisition function and the map information stored in the storage unit; a second acquisition function of acquiring at least one of specific information about population of the sales clearance extracted by the extraction function, traffic volume of vehicles traveling in the sales clearance, and number of persons using public transportation traveling in the sales clearance; and a first specifying function of specifying the sales margin as a new sales area of the commodity when the numerical value recorded in the specific information acquired by the second acquiring function is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

An information processing device according to one aspect extracts a sales clearance outside a predetermined range from a plurality of sales locations based on location information and map information, and predicts that guests are gathered when a numerical value recorded in specific information of the sales clearance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, for example, at least one of a population of the sales clearance, a traffic volume of a vehicle traveling in the sales clearance, and a number of persons using public transportation traveling in the sales clearance is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

The information processing method and the information processing program according to one embodiment can achieve the same effects as those of the information processing apparatus according to the above-described one embodiment.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an information processing system according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the sales white space extracted by the extraction unit.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the information acquiring unit.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing method for the information processing apparatus to specify a new sales region.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing method based on external information acquired by the vending machine.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing method of proposing a store and a vending machine to a terminal.

Detailed Description

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

The information processing system 1 includes an information processing device 10, a store 50, a vending machine 60, and a terminal 70.

The store 50 is a facility that provides goods to users. Examples of the products offered to the user by the store 50 and the vending machine 60 are food and drink. In fig. 1, only one store 50, one vending machine 60, and one terminal 70 are shown, but the information processing system 1 may have a plurality of stores 50, vending machines 60, and terminals 70.

The terminal 70 is a terminal held by a user, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal.

The information processing device 10 is disposed in, for example, a management headquarters for managing the stores 50 and the vending machine 60. The information processing apparatus 10 is capable of transmitting and receiving information among the stores 50, the vending machine 60, and the terminals 70. The information processing apparatus 10 is capable of transmitting and receiving information between the store 50, the vending machine 60, and the terminal 70 and processing the information, and the information processing apparatus 10 is, for example, a terminal, a server, or the like.

The information processing apparatus 10 determines an area where the store 50 or the vending machine 60 is not set as a new sales area based on the position information on the set position (sales position) of the store 50 or the vending machine 60 that has been set. That is, the information processing apparatus 10 determines a new branch area of the store 50 or the vending machine 60.

Further, the information processing apparatus 10 may also determine a new sales region for setting the vending machine 60 based on only the setting position (sales position) of the store 50. Alternatively, the information processing apparatus 10 may determine a new sales region for setting the store 50 based on only the setting position (sales position) of the store 50. Alternatively, the information processing apparatus 10 may determine a new sales area for setting at least one of the store 50 and the vending machine 60 based on only the setting position (sales position) of the vending machine 60. Alternatively, the information processing apparatus 10 may determine a new sales area for installing at least one of the store 50 and the vending machine 60 based on the installation positions (sales positions) of both the store 50 and the vending machine 60.

Next, the information processing apparatus 10 will be described in detail.

As shown in fig. 1, the information processing apparatus 10 includes: the storage unit 31, the communication unit 32, the display unit 33, the first acquisition unit 11, the extraction unit 12, the second acquisition unit 13, the first determination unit 14, the third acquisition unit 15, the information acquisition unit 61, the fourth acquisition unit 16, the first prediction unit 17, the fifth acquisition unit 18, the second prediction unit 19, the sixth acquisition unit 20, the seventh acquisition unit 21, the eighth acquisition unit 22, and the second determination unit 23. The first acquisition unit 11, the extraction unit 12, the second acquisition unit 13, the first specification unit 14, the third acquisition unit 15, the information acquisition unit 61, the fourth acquisition unit 16, the first prediction unit 17, the fifth acquisition unit 18, the second prediction unit 19, the sixth acquisition unit 20, the seventh acquisition unit 21, the eighth acquisition unit 22, and the second specification unit 23 may be one function of a control unit of the information processing apparatus 10.

The storage unit 31 stores map information. The map information may be information relating to a map such as an urban map, a road map, and a topographic map, which can identify the positions of the stores 50 and the vending machine 60.

The communication unit 32 communicates with the vending machine 60, the store 50 (a terminal (not shown) disposed in the store 50), and a terminal 70 held by the user.

The display unit 33 can display characters, images, and the like.

The first acquisition unit 11 acquires position information on a plurality of sales positions for selling a commodity. The location for selling the commodities refers to a location where the shop 50 and the vending machine 60 are provided. The store 50 and the vending machine 60 are stores and vending machines of the same system managed by a management headquarters or the like in which the information processing device 10 is installed. The first acquisition unit 11 acquires the position information of the stores 50 and the position information of the vending machines 60. The first acquisition unit 11 may acquire position information from, for example, a server or the like (not shown) disposed outside, or may acquire position information input by an operation input unit (a keyboard, a mouse, or the like (not shown)) such as a worker who manages the headquarters.

The extraction unit 12 will be described with reference to fig. 2.

The extraction unit 12 extracts a sales clearance area, which is an area outside a predetermined range from a plurality of sales locations, based on the location information acquired by the first acquisition unit 11 and the map information stored in the storage unit 31. The extraction unit 12 records the sales location (the location of the store 50 and the vending machine 60) on a map based on the map information. The extraction unit 12 estimates, for example, a predetermined range a1 within a predetermined distance from the sales location as the sales area of the sales location. Sales areas are estimated per sales location. The extraction unit 12 extracts one or more sales white spaces a2 outside the estimated sales area.

The predetermined distance may be set according to the store 50 and the vending machine 60, or may not be set according to the store 50 and the vending machine 60.

As the predetermined distance from the vending machine 60, for example, a relatively short distance such as a distance that a resident or the like in the vicinity of the vending machine 60 can travel may be set. As a specific example, the predetermined distance from the vending machine 60 may be set to any distance such as 50m, 100m, 200m, 300m, or 500 m.

The predetermined distance from the store 50 may be set to a relatively long distance such as a distance that a resident or the like relatively far from the store 50 can travel by a car, a motorcycle, or the like, in addition to a resident or the like near the store 50. As a specific example, the predetermined distance from the store 50 may be any distance such as 1km, 2km, 3km, 5km, 8km, or 10 km. The extracting unit 12 extracts another area (an area outside the predetermined range (sales blank area)) which is not within the predetermined range from the plurality of sales locations.

The predetermined distance may be set for each sales location, or may not be set for each sales location. In this case, a different distance may be set as the predetermined distance for each sales location based on a survey of neighbors for each sales location (e.g., a survey of population, traffic volume of vehicles, number of people using public transportation, or the like). The predetermined distance may be set to be a relatively short distance in a case where the number of neighboring population is relatively small, or may be set to be a relatively long distance in a case where the number of neighboring population is relatively large.

The extraction unit 12 may extract a region outside the predetermined range as a sales clearance region when the range of the region is equivalent to or more than the predetermined range (the same as or more than the predetermined range). When the predetermined range is set according to the store 50 and the vending machine 60 as described above, the extraction unit 12 may be configured to extract a sales margin for the store and a sales margin for the vending machine. On the other hand, even when the predetermined range is set in accordance with the store 50 and the vending machine 60, the extraction unit 12 may extract the sales margin based on the predetermined range of either the store 50 or the vending machine 60 (for example, the predetermined range corresponding to the store 50).

The second acquisition unit 13 acquires at least one of the specific information about the population of the sales clearance extracted by the extraction unit 12, the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the sales clearance, and the number of people using the public transportation traveling in the sales clearance. The second acquisition unit 13 may acquire specific information from, for example, a server or the like (not shown) disposed outside, or may acquire specific information input by a staff member or the like in the management headquarters via an input unit (a keyboard, a mouse, or the like (not shown)) based on a survey.

The population of the sales clearance may be, for example, the population living in the sales clearance and the population working in the sales clearance. For example, when a main road such as a main road exists in the sales clearance, the vehicle traveling in the sales clearance may be a vehicle traveling on the road. For example, in the case where a railway station, a bus station, or the like exists in a sales clearance, the number of users of public transportation traveling in the sales clearance may be the number of users who use the station and the bus station.

When the numerical value recorded in the specific information acquired by the second acquisition unit 13 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, the first specification unit 14 specifies the sales margin as a new sales region of the product. The first specifying unit 14 specifies the sales clearance as a new sales area for the product when the population of the sales clearance is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the sales clearance is equal to or greater than a threshold value, or the number of people using the public transportation traveling in the sales clearance is equal to or greater than a threshold value. The new sales area is an area for setting the store 50 or an area for setting the vending machine 60. The management headquarters can determine that the shop 50 or the vending machine 60 is newly installed at any position in the new sales area.

The threshold value is appropriately set by the first specification unit 14, for example, in consideration of the possibility of sales of a predetermined number of products (the possibility of obtaining a benefit).

Further, the threshold value may be plural. That is, the threshold value may be, for example, two threshold values of a threshold value for setting the vending machine 60 in the new sales area and a threshold value for setting the store 50 in the new sales area. In this case, the first specification unit 14 may be configured to, for example: the new sales area is not determined when the numerical value recorded in the specific information is less than the first threshold value, the new sales area is determined for setting the vending machine 60 when the numerical value recorded in the specific information is equal to or more than the first threshold value and less than the second threshold value, and the new sales area is determined for setting the store 50 when the numerical value recorded in the specific information is equal to or more than the second threshold value.

The information processing device 10 described above may have the following configuration.

As described above, the plurality of selling locations for selling commodities include the location where the vending machine 60 has been provided and the location where the shop 50 has been provided.

The third acquisition section 15 acquires external information transmitted from the information acquisition section 61 of the vending machine 60 that has been set up for acquiring information outside the vending machine 60. The information acquiring unit 61 transmits the external information to the information processing device 10 at a predetermined timing. The third acquiring unit 15 acquires the external information transmitted from the information acquiring unit 61.

Here, the information acquiring unit 61 provided in the vending machine 60 will be described.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the information acquiring unit.

The information acquisition unit 61 is at least one of an imaging unit 611 that generates image data as external information, a microphone 612 that generates sound data as external information, and a vibration sensor 613 that generates vibration data as external information.

The image pickup unit 611 generates still image data or moving image data as image data. The imaging unit 611 is a camera or the like. The image pickup section 611 picks up an image of the outside of the vending machine 60 (relatively near the vending machine 60). The image pickup unit 611 picks up an image of, for example, a pedestrian or a vehicle. The imaging unit 611 may be configured to image a pedestrian or a vehicle when the pedestrian travels on a road in the vicinity of the vending machine 60 or when the vehicle travels on a road in the vicinity of the vending machine 60. In this case, the image pickup unit 611 may be configured to pick up an image of a pedestrian or a vehicle by interlocking with a detection sensor for detecting the pedestrian or the vehicle, for example.

The microphone 612 picks up sounds outside the vending machine 60. The microphone 612 may be set to capture a relatively loud sound (a sound greater than a preset threshold), for example. The relatively loud sound is, for example, a sound when the vehicles travel collectively, and the magnitude of the sound may also be judged based on a measurement result of a decibel meter or the like.

The vibration sensor 613 acquires vibration outside the vending machine 60 (vibration transmitted to the vending machine 60). The vibration sensor 613 may be configured to acquire relatively large vibration (vibration larger than a predetermined threshold) or vibration having a predetermined characteristic (vibration having a characteristic vibration waveform), for example. The relatively large vibration or vibration having a vibration waveform characteristic is, for example, vibration when the vehicles travel collectively.

The fourth acquiring unit 16 acquires traffic information relating to traffic conditions around the vending machine 60 based on the external information acquired by the third acquiring unit 15. As an example, the fourth acquisition unit 16 acquires attributes (e.g., gender, age, and the like, as an example) related to a pedestrian walking in a relatively close vicinity of the vending machine 60 as the traffic information based on the image data (external information) captured by the imaging unit 611. Further, as an example, the fourth acquisition unit 16 acquires, as the traffic information, an attribute (a vehicle type such as a car, a truck, and a motorcycle, as an example) relating to a vehicle traveling relatively near the vending machine 60 based on the image data (external information) captured by the image capturing unit 611. The fourth acquisition unit 16 may also acquire, as the traffic information, the number of pedestrians, the week and time period during which the pedestrians traveled, the number of vehicles, and the week and time period during which the vehicles traveled.

In addition, the fourth acquisition unit 16 can acquire, as the traffic information, the attribute relating to the vehicle traveling around the vending machine 60 based on external information (for example, image data, sound data, vibration data, or the like). The attribute relating to the vehicle may be, for example, a running state of the vehicle in the case where a plurality of vehicles run (the vehicles run collectively), in addition to the vehicle types such as the cars, trucks, and motorcycles described above.

The first prediction unit 17 predicts sales of the commodity based on the traffic information acquired by the fourth acquisition unit 16. For example, when there are relatively many pedestrians among the plurality of pedestrians captured by the imaging unit 611, the first prediction unit 71 predicts that the sales of the product is predicted to be food in which the amount of the product is likely to be large, that is, that the large portion of beef rice covered with rice is sold. For example, when there are relatively many pedestrians with an attribute of female among the plurality of pedestrians captured by the imaging unit 611, the first prediction unit 17 predicts that the sales of the product will be a food with a small possibility and a healthy food, that is, a small number of beef rice covered with rice, salad, and the like will be sold successfully. The first prediction unit 17 is not limited to the above example, and may perform sales prediction of various products based on traffic information acquired based on external information (image data, sound data, or vibration data). The product is not limited to beef rice, and may be various foods and drinks (for example, a food provided by a family restaurant, a food provided by a sushi store, a food provided by a steak store, or the like), or may be other products than foods and drinks.

The first prediction unit 17 may be configured to predict sales of the product based on, for example, statistics of a plurality of pieces of traffic information acquired by the information acquisition units 61 of the plurality of vending machines 60.

The communication unit 32 transmits the sales prediction predicted by the first prediction unit 17 to the stores 50 located within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60. The communication unit 32 transmits the sales prediction to one or more stores 50 within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60 that acquired the external information. The predetermined range is set as appropriate, for example, a distance that a driver of a pedestrian traveling near the vending machine 60 or a vehicle traveling near the vending machine 60 can take the way, such as 1km, 2km, 3km, 5km, 8km, or 10 km.

The fifth acquisition unit 18 acquires crime prevention information indicating the possibility of crime occurring around the vending machine 60 based on the traffic information acquired by the fourth acquisition unit 16. For example, in the case where an attribute indicating that a plurality of vehicles travel (vehicles travel collectively) is recorded in the traffic information, the fifth acquisition unit 18 generates crime prevention information including information that the vending machine 60 or the store 50 may be damaged or that a user using the vending machine 60 or the store 50 may be harmed.

The fifth acquiring unit 18 may be configured to display the crime prevention information on the display unit 33 when the crime prevention information is generated. The staff or the like at the management headquarters can confirm the crime prevention information displayed on the display unit 33 as the key management area in the neighborhood of the vending machine 60.

The communication unit 32 transmits the crime prevention information acquired by the fifth acquisition unit 18 to the stores 50 within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60. The communication unit 32 transmits the sales prediction to one or more stores 50 within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60 that acquired the external information. The predetermined range is appropriately set, for example, in consideration of the distance from the vending machine 60 to which the vehicle group predicted to travel collectively arrives.

The second prediction unit 19 predicts the number of arriving people in the store 50 based on the traffic information acquired by the fourth acquisition unit 16. The second prediction unit 19 predicts that, for example, when the number of pedestrians or traveling vehicles is large on a specific day of the week or in a specific time zone based on the traffic information, it is predicted that there are many arriving guests in the store 50 or the like located in the neighborhood of the vending machine 60 on the specific day of the week or in the specific time zone.

The communication unit 32 transmits information on the number of arriving stores predicted by the second prediction unit 19 to the stores 50 located within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60. The communication unit 32 transmits the number of delivered stores to one or more stores 50 within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60 that acquired the external information. The information on the number of people arriving at the store is information indicating that the number of people arriving at the store is increased, for example, in a specific week or a specific time period, as predicted by the second prediction unit 19. The predetermined range is set as appropriate, for example, a distance that a driver of a pedestrian traveling near the vending machine 60 or a vehicle traveling near the vending machine 60 can take the way, such as 1km, 2km, 3km, 5km, 8km, or 10 km.

When the store 50 receives the information on the number of arriving stores, it can reflect the information on the arrangement of many staff in the store 50 on a specific week or a specific time zone. The schedules configure the schedules involved for the personnel of the store 50.

The sixth acquisition unit 20 acquires first aggregation information related to an aggregation situation of one or more stores 50 from the stores 50. The plurality of stores 50 transmit the first aggregated information to the information processing apparatus 10, respectively. The sixth acquisition unit 20 acquires the first aggregate information transmitted from each store 50. The first aggregated information may be, for example, a status of in-line waiting in the store 50, specifically, information indicating how many groups are in-line waiting. The first aggregate information is generated, for example, based on the number of sets of in-line waiting input by the staff of the store 50 to the terminal (not shown) disposed in the store 50, or based on the terminal disposed in the store 50 being linked with the terminal 70 held by the guest performing in-line waiting via an application program. For example, when the store 50 is taken out, the number of groups to be queued for the taken-out may be recorded in the first aggregation information.

The seventh acquisition section 21 acquires the second aggregation information related to the aggregation status of the vending machine 60 based on the external information acquired by the information acquisition section 61. For example, since the image pickup unit 611 serving as the information acquisition unit 61 picks up an image of the outside of the vending machine 60, when there are a plurality of users using the vending machine 60, it is possible to pick up an image of a user who is waiting in line. When the external information is acquired by the third acquisition unit 15, the seventh acquisition unit 21 acquires the number of users waiting in line as second aggregation information based on the external information (for example, image data).

The eighth acquiring unit 22 acquires terminal position information on the position of the terminal 70 from the terminal 70 held by the user. The terminal position information may be, for example, not only terminal position information transmitted from a terminal 70 held by a user who is waiting in line at the store 50 or the vending machine 60, but also terminal position information transmitted from a terminal 70 held by a user who is then scheduled to go to the store 50 or the vending machine 60, and terminal position information transmitted from a terminal 70 in which an application capable of transmitting and receiving information with the information processing apparatus 10 is installed.

The second determination unit 23 extracts the stores 50 and the vending machines 60 that are at a distance within a predetermined range from the terminal 70 based on the terminal position information acquired by the eighth acquisition unit 22, and determines the stores 50 and the vending machines 60 within a predetermined time until the supply of the product based on the extracted first aggregation information of the stores 50 and the extracted second aggregation information of the vending machines 60. The information processing device 10 has the positions (position information) of the stores 50 and the vending machine 60 registered in advance. The second specifying unit 23 extracts the stores 50 and the vending machines 60, which are located at a distance within a predetermined range from the position of the terminal 70 indicated by the terminal position information, based on the terminal position information and the position information of the stores 50 and the vending machines 60. The distance in the predetermined range is appropriately set, for example, in consideration of a relatively short distance at which the user can walk to the store 50 or the vending machine 60, a distance at which the user can travel to the store 50 or the vending machine 60 by using a vehicle such as a car or a motorcycle, or the like. The predetermined time until the supply of the product is set as appropriate, for example, to a time that is less unpleasant for the user who is waiting in line.

The second determination section 23 determines the store 50 or the vending machine 60 that is not in-line or the store 50 or the vending machine 60 that is relatively few in-line based on the first aggregation information and the second aggregation information.

The communication unit 32 transmits information on the stores 50 and the vending machine 60 identified by the second identification unit 23 to the terminal 70.

Thereby, the terminal 70 can acquire information of the stores 50 and the vending machines 60 which are not in line or have relatively little in line. When acquiring the information, the terminal 70 may display, for example, position information (address and the like) of the store 50 and the vending machine 60 on a terminal display unit (not shown), or may display a map indicating the positions of the store 50 and the vending machine 60 on the terminal display unit. The terminal 70 may display the number of sets waiting in line in the store 50 and the vending machine 60 on the terminal display unit, or may display the number of sets waiting in line in the store 50 for taking out on the terminal display unit. The terminal 70 may display information on products sold in the store 50 and the vending machine 60 on a terminal display unit, for example.

Next, an information processing method according to an embodiment will be described.

First, a processing method of the information processing apparatus 10 for specifying a new sales area will be described.

In step ST101, the first acquisition unit 11 acquires position information on a plurality of sales positions for selling a product. The location for selling the commodities refers to a location where the shop 50 and the vending machine 60 are provided.

In step ST102, the extraction unit 12 extracts a sales margin out of a predetermined range from a plurality of sales locations based on the location information acquired in step ST101 and the map information stored in the storage unit 31.

The extraction unit 12 records the sales location (the location of the store 50 and the vending machine 60) on a map based on the map information. The extraction unit 12 estimates, for example, a predetermined range within a predetermined distance from the sales location as a sales area of the sales location. The extraction unit 12 extracts one or more regions outside the estimated sales region as sales blank regions.

In step ST103, the second acquisition unit 13 acquires at least one of the population of the sales open area, the traffic volume of the vehicle, and the number of people using the public transportation (specific information) extracted in step ST 102. The second acquisition unit 13 acquires specific information from, for example, an external server or the like (not shown), or acquires specific information input to the information processing device 10 by a staff member or the like managing the headquarters based on a survey.

In step ST104, the first determination unit 14 determines whether or not the numerical value recorded in the specific information acquired in step ST103 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. The threshold value is appropriately set in consideration of, for example, the possibility of sales of a predetermined number of products (the possibility of obtaining a benefit). If the numerical value of the specific information is equal to or greater than the threshold value (yes), the process proceeds to step ST 105. If the value of the specific information is not equal to or greater than the threshold value ("no"), the new sales area cannot be specified in the processing, and the processing is terminated.

In step ST105, the first specification unit 14 specifies the sales margin extracted in step ST102 as a new sales region of the product. When the plurality of sales margin areas are extracted in step ST102, the first specification unit 14 specifies the sales margin area having the value of the specific information in the plurality of sales margin areas equal to or larger than the threshold value as the new sales area.

For example, when a new sales area is identified, the first identification unit 14 displays the sales area on the display unit 33 or stores the sales area in the storage unit 31.

Next, a processing method based on the external information acquired by the vending machine 60 will be described.

In step ST201, the third acquisition section 15 acquires the external information from the vending machine 60 that has been set. The external information is generated by the information acquiring unit 61 of the vending machine 60. The information acquiring unit 61 is, for example, an image pickup unit 611, a microphone 612, a vibration sensor 613, or the like.

In step ST202, the fourth acquisition unit 16 acquires traffic information around the vending machine 60 based on the external information acquired in step ST 201. The traffic information is, for example, information related to attributes (for example, sex, age, and the like) of pedestrians walking near the vending machine 60, and information related to attributes (for example, vehicle type or vehicle performing collective travel) of vehicles traveling near the vending machine 60, and the like.

In step ST203, the first prediction unit 17 predicts the sales of the product based on the traffic information acquired in step ST 202. The first prediction unit 17 may be configured to predict sales of the product by counting the plurality of pieces of traffic information acquired by the information acquisition units 61 of the plurality of vending machines 60.

In step ST204, the communication unit 32 transmits the predicted sales predicted in step ST203 to one or more stores 50 within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60.

In step ST205, the fifth acquisition unit 18 acquires crime prevention information indicating the possibility of crime occurring around the vending machine 60 based on the traffic information acquired in step ST 202. For example, in the case where collective travel of the vehicles is estimated based on the traffic information, the fifth acquisition unit 18 generates crime prevention information.

In step ST206, the communication unit 32 transmits the crime prevention information acquired in step ST205 to one or more stores 50 within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60.

In step ST207, the second prediction unit 19 predicts the number of arriving people at the store 50 based on the traffic information acquired in step ST 202. The second prediction unit 19 predicts that, for example, in a store 50 or the like in the neighborhood of the vending machine 60, the number of arriving customers is increased in a specific week or a specific time zone.

In step ST208, the communication unit 32 transmits the information on the number of arriving stores obtained in step ST207 to one or more stores 50 within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60.

Next, a processing method of proposing the store 50 and the vending machine 60 to the terminal 70 will be described.

In step ST301, the sixth acquisition unit 20 acquires the first aggregated information from one or more stores 50. The first aggregate information is, for example, a queue status (the number of groups to be queued) in the store 50.

In step ST302, the seventh acquisition section 21 acquires the second aggregation information of the vending machine 60 based on the external information acquired by the information acquisition section 61 of the vending machine 60. The second aggregate information is, for example, the number of users who are queued up in the vending machine 60.

In step ST303, the eighth acquiring unit 22 acquires terminal position information from the terminal 70 held by the user.

In step ST304, the second specifying unit 23 extracts the stores 50 and the vending machine 60 located at a distance within a predetermined range from the position of the terminal 70 indicated by the terminal position information, based on the terminal position information acquired in step ST303 and the position information of the stores 50 and the vending machine 60 registered in advance. The extracted stores 50 and the vending machine 60 may be one or more, respectively.

Further, the processing of step ST301 and step ST302 may be performed after the processing of step ST303 and step ST304 in addition to the above-described examples.

In step ST305, the second determination unit 23 determines, from among the stores 50 and the vending machines 60 extracted in step ST304, the stores 50 and the vending machines 60 that are not waiting in line, or the stores 50 and the vending machines 60 that are waiting in line relatively less, based on the first aggregation information acquired in step ST301 and the second aggregation information acquired in step ST 302.

In step ST306, the communication unit 32 transmits information on the store 50 and the vending machine 60 identified in step ST305 to the terminal 70.

Next, the effects of the present embodiment will be described.

The information processing device 10 includes: an extraction unit 12 that extracts a sales blank area outside a predetermined range from a plurality of sales locations based on the location information and the map information; a second acquisition unit 13 for acquiring specific information of the sales white space; and a first specifying unit 14 that specifies the sales margin as a new sales area of the product when the numerical value recorded in the specifying information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

Thus, the information processing apparatus 10 can specify the region where the store 50 or the vending machine 60 is not installed as the new sales region, and therefore, by newly installing the store 50 or the vending machine 60 in the sales region, the store 50 or the vending machine 60 can be efficiently installed. That is, the information processing apparatus 10 can present an efficient sales location of the commodity.

The information processing device 10 may include: a third acquisition unit 15 that acquires external information from the information acquisition unit 61 of the vending machine 60; a fourth acquisition unit 16 that acquires traffic information around the vending machine 60 based on external information; a first prediction unit 17 that predicts sales of the product based on the traffic information; and a communication unit 32 that transmits the sales prediction to the stores 50 within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60. In this case, the information acquisition unit 61 may be at least one of the image pickup unit 611, the microphone 612, and the vibration sensor 613.

Thus, the information processing device 10 transmits the sales prediction to the store 50 located in the vicinity of the vending machine 60 based on the situation around the vending machine 60 that has been installed, and therefore, the store 50 can efficiently sell the product.

The information processing device 10 may be provided with a fifth acquisition unit 18 that acquires crime prevention information around the vending machine 60 based on the traffic information. In this case, the communication unit 32 may be configured to transmit the crime prevention information to the stores 50 located within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60.

Thus, the information processing device 10 can secure the facilities of the store 50 and the safety of the use guests at the store 50. In addition, the information processing device 10 can identify the neighborhood of the vending machine 60 as the important management area based on the crime prevention information by a staff member or the like who manages the headquarters.

The information processing device 10 may be provided with a second prediction unit 19 that predicts the number of arriving people at the store 50 based on the traffic information. In this case, the communication unit 32 may be configured to transmit the number of arriving stores predicted by the second prediction unit 19 to the stores 50 located within a predetermined range from the vending machine 60.

Thus, the information processing device 10 can create a schedule of staff and the like arranged in the store 50 based on the prediction of the number of people arriving at the store, and can store an appropriate amount of products in advance.

The information processing device 10 may include: a sixth acquisition unit 20 that acquires the first aggregated information from the store 50; a seventh acquiring unit 21 that acquires second aggregation information of the vending machine 60; an eighth acquiring unit 22 that acquires terminal position information on the position of the terminal 70 held by the user; and a second determination unit 23 that extracts the stores 50 and the vending machines 60 that are within a predetermined range of distance from the terminal 70 based on the terminal position information, and determines the stores 50 and the vending machines 60 within a predetermined time until the products are provided based on the extracted first aggregation information of the stores 50 and the extracted second aggregation information of the vending machines 60. In this case, the communication unit 32 may be configured to transmit information on the stores 50 and the vending machine 60 identified by the second identification unit 23 to the terminal 70.

Thereby, the information processing apparatus 10 can provide the user with information of the stores 50 and the vending machines 60 that can provide the products relatively quickly (without waiting in line or with relatively little waiting in line). In addition, the information processing apparatus 10 can suppress the user from feeling unpleasant due to waiting in line in the store 50 or the vending machine 60.

In the information processing method, a computer executes the steps of: an extraction step of extracting a sales blank area outside a prescribed range from a plurality of sales locations based on the location information and the map information; an acquisition step of acquiring specific information of a sales blank area; and a determination step of determining the sales blank area as a new sales area of the product when the numerical value recorded in the specific information is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value.

Thus, in the information processing method, since the region where the store 50 or the vending machine 60 is not installed can be determined as the new sales region, the store 50 or the vending machine 60 can be efficiently installed by newly installing the store 50 or the vending machine 60 in the sales region. That is, in the information processing method, an efficient sales location of a commodity can be presented.

The information processing program causes a computer to realize the following functions: an extraction function of extracting a sales blank area outside a prescribed range from a plurality of sales locations based on the location information and the map information; an acquisition function of acquiring specific information of a sales blank area; and a specifying function of specifying the sales blank area as a new sales area of the commodity when the numerical value recorded in the specific information is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value.

Thus, the information processing program can specify the region where the store 50 or the vending machine 60 is not installed as the new sales region, and therefore, by newly installing the store 50 or the vending machine 60 in the sales region, the store 50 or the vending machine 60 can be efficiently installed. That is, the information processing program can present an efficient sales location of the commodity.

Each part of the information processing device 10 described above may be realized as a function of an arithmetic processing device of a computer or the like. That is, the first acquisition unit 11, the extraction unit 12, the second acquisition unit 13, the first specification unit 14, the third acquisition unit 15, the fourth acquisition unit 16, the first prediction unit 17, the fifth acquisition unit 18, the second prediction unit 19, the sixth acquisition unit 20, the seventh acquisition unit 21, the eighth acquisition unit 22, and the second specification unit 23 of the information processing device 10 may be implemented as a first acquisition function, an extraction function, a second acquisition function, a first specification function, a third acquisition function, a fourth acquisition function, a first prediction function, a fifth acquisition function, a second prediction function, a sixth acquisition function, a seventh acquisition function, an eighth acquisition function, and a second specification function, respectively, of an arithmetic processing unit using a computer or the like.

The information processing program enables the computer to realize the above-described functions. The hygiene management program may be recorded in a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium such as an external memory or an optical disk.

As described above, each part of the information processing device 10 may be realized by an arithmetic processing device of a computer or the like. The arithmetic processing unit and the like are configured by, for example, an integrated circuit or the like. Therefore, each part of the information processing device 10 can be realized as a circuit constituting an arithmetic processing device or the like. That is, the first acquisition unit 11, the extraction unit 12, the second acquisition unit 13, the first specification unit 14, the third acquisition unit 15, the fourth acquisition unit 16, the first prediction unit 17, the fifth acquisition unit 18, the second prediction unit 19, the sixth acquisition unit 20, the seventh acquisition unit 21, the eighth acquisition unit 22, and the second specification unit 23 of the information processing device 10 may be implemented as a first acquisition circuit, an extraction circuit, a second acquisition circuit, a first specification circuit, a third acquisition circuit, a fourth acquisition circuit, a first prediction circuit, a fifth acquisition circuit, a second prediction circuit, a sixth acquisition circuit, a seventh acquisition circuit, an eighth acquisition circuit, and a second specification circuit of an arithmetic processing device or the like constituting a computer.

The storage unit 31, the communication unit 32, and the display unit 33 of the information processing device 10 may be implemented as a storage function, a communication function, and a display function, for example. The storage unit 31, the communication unit 32, and the display unit 33 of the information processing device 10 are configured by, for example, an integrated circuit or the like, and thus can be realized as a storage circuit, a communication circuit, and a display circuit. The storage unit 31, the communication unit 32, and the display unit 33 of the information processing device 10 may be configured by a plurality of devices, for example, and configured as a storage device, a communication device, and a display device output device.

Description of the reference numerals

1: an information processing system; 10: an information processing device; 11: a first acquisition unit; 12: an extraction unit; 13: a second acquisition unit; 14: a first determination section; 15: a third acquisition unit; 16: a fourth acquisition unit; 17: a first prediction unit; 18: a fifth acquisition unit; 19: a second prediction unit; 20: a sixth acquisition unit; 21: a seventh acquisition unit; 22: an eighth acquisition unit; 23: a second determination section; 31: a storage unit; 50: a store; 60: a vending machine; 61: an information acquisition unit; 611: an image pickup unit; 612: a microphone; 613: a vibration sensor; 70: and (4) a terminal.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus includes:

a storage unit that stores map information;

a first acquisition unit that acquires position information on a plurality of sales positions for selling a commodity;

an extraction unit that extracts a sales margin, which is an area outside a predetermined range from the plurality of sales locations, based on the location information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the map information stored in the storage unit;

a second acquisition unit that acquires at least one of specific information on the population of the sales clearance extracted by the extraction unit, the amount of traffic of the vehicle traveling in the sales clearance, and the number of people using the public transportation traveling in the sales clearance; and

and a first specifying unit that specifies the sales margin as a new sales area for the commodity when the numerical value recorded in the specific information acquired by the second acquiring unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

the plurality of sales locations for selling commodities include a location where a vending machine is provided and a location of a store,

the information processing device is provided with:

a third acquisition unit that acquires external information transmitted from an information acquisition unit of the vending machine, the information acquisition unit being configured to acquire information external to the vending machine;

a fourth acquisition unit that acquires traffic information relating to traffic conditions around the vending machine based on the external information acquired by the third acquisition unit;

a first prediction unit that predicts sales of the commodity based on the traffic information acquired by the fourth acquisition unit; and

and a communication unit that transmits the sales prediction predicted by the first prediction unit to stores within a predetermined range from the vending machine.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

further comprises a fifth acquisition unit that acquires crime prevention information indicating a possibility of crime occurring around the vending machine based on the traffic information acquired by the fourth acquisition unit,

the communication unit transmits the crime prevention information acquired by the fifth acquisition unit to a store within a predetermined range from the vending machine.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,

further comprising a second prediction unit that predicts the number of arriving people at the store based on the traffic information acquired by the fourth acquisition unit,

the communication unit transmits the number of arriving shops predicted by the second prediction unit to shops within a predetermined range from the vending machine.

5. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4,

the information acquisition unit is at least one of an imaging unit that generates image data as the external information, a microphone that generates sound data as the external information, and a vibration sensor that generates vibration data as the external information.

6. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising:

a sixth acquisition unit that acquires, from one or more stores, first aggregation information relating to aggregation conditions of the store;

a seventh acquisition unit that acquires second aggregation information relating to an aggregation state of the vending machine based on the external information acquired by the information acquisition unit;

an eighth acquiring unit that acquires terminal position information on a position of a terminal from the terminal held by the user; and

a second specifying unit that extracts stores and vending machines located within a predetermined range of distance from the terminal based on the terminal position information acquired by the eighth acquiring unit, and specifies stores and vending machines within a predetermined time until the supply of the product based on the extracted first aggregate information of the stores and the extracted second aggregate information of the vending machines,

wherein the communication unit transmits information on the store and the vending machine identified by the second identification unit to the terminal.

7. An information processing method in which a computer executes the steps of:

a storage step of storing the map information in a storage unit;

a first acquisition step of acquiring position information on a plurality of sales positions for selling a commodity;

an extraction step of extracting a sales margin, which is an area outside a predetermined range from the plurality of sales locations, based on the location information acquired in the first acquisition step and the map information stored in the storage unit;

a second acquisition step of acquiring at least one of specific information on the population of the sales clearance extracted by the extraction step, the amount of traffic of vehicles traveling in the sales clearance, and the number of persons using public transportation traveling in the sales clearance; and

a first specifying step of specifying the sales margin as a new sales area of the commodity when the value recorded in the specific information acquired in the second acquiring step is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value.

8. An information processing program that causes a computer to realize functions of:

a storage function of storing map information;

a first acquisition function of acquiring position information on a plurality of sales positions for selling a commodity;

an extraction function of extracting a sales margin, which is an area outside a prescribed range from the plurality of sales locations, based on the position information acquired by the first acquisition function and the map information stored by the storage function;

a second acquisition function of acquiring at least one of specific information on the population of the sales clearance extracted by the extraction function, the amount of traffic of vehicles traveling in the sales clearance, and the number of persons using public transportation traveling in the sales clearance; and

a first specifying step of specifying the sales margin as a new sales area of the commodity when the value recorded in the specific information acquired by the second acquiring step is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.