FR3101178A1 - INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM ESPECIALLY FOR THE ANALYSIS OF INTERACTION EVENTS - Google Patents

Abstract

INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM ESPECIALLY FOR THE ANALYSIS OF INTERACTION EVENTS The interactive communication system (1) comprises an interactive device deployed on site having a plurality of physical interaction organs (OR) which are arranged for interactions with users. According to the invention, the interactive device deployed on site comprises a control device (2) hosting an Internet browser engine (20), the control device providing a control function of the interactive device deployed using the control engine. Web browser. Fig. 2

Description

INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM ESPECIALLY FOR THE ANALYSIS OF INTERACTION EVENTS

The invention relates generally to the field of creating interactive experiences for users. More particularly, the invention relates to an interactive communication system capable of being deployed in various access points, such as public access points or of sale. Interactive communication systems find a privileged application in the collection, storage and analysis of data from user interaction events.

Interactive systems provide users, or visitors to a site, with interactive experiences that can be designed for different purposes such as, for example, information, presentation and sale of products, marketing tests, etc. These systems are of great interest for various applications of communication and marketing, merchandising, or "merchandising" in English, and others. In addition, they help meet the individual information needs of customers and guide them in purchasing decisions.

The data collected by an interactive system during interactive user experiences can be used for analytical, metric or statistical studies, for example, to better understand the behavior and reactions of users. It is also possible thanks to these systems to test different strategies, for example, of marketing or merchandising, and to refine them from the lessons extracted from the collected data.

The systems known in the state of the art generally comprise a chain for acquiring information from sensors, a control unit hosting an interactivity application and an actuator control chain. The terms "sensors" and "actuators" are to be understood here in a very broad sense, as they can be very diverse devices that form "human-machine interfaces" between visitors and the system.

Sensors are the physical organs that trigger interactions and include, for example, simple keys, infrared presence detectors, audio sensors, cameras, gesture sensors, accelerometers, barcode readers, electronic labels dynamics of the NFC type, portable communication devices such as “smartphones”, etc. Actuators are the physical organs delivering interactive communication responses from the system to visitors and which generally follow interaction requests initiated by sensors. Interactive communication responses can be very diverse and auditory, visual or kinesthetic in nature. Thus, for example, it could be a spoken message, music, luminous lighting, possibly a dynamic display, a video, the diffusion of a home fragrance, from a movement of an object, a tactile sensation or the like. Sound speakers, video screens directly receiving audio or video signals for broadcasting or activation signals delivered by the system could be used, as well as for example portable communication devices such as “smartphones”, lighting lamps. with LEDs, fragrance diffusers, electric motors, linear actuators, intermediate control devices such as relay or electronic switches, etc.

Interactive systems have a great variety of embodiments and are most often designed specifically for a particular application, which induces relatively high development costs.

Interactive systems of the type described above have been proposed by the present applicant in his patent applications FR3039682A1 FR3068809A1 and WO2019008498A1, with characteristics aimed at increasing their adaptability to the diversity of applications, as well as an improvement in robustness. and fault tolerance.

Although these systems proposed by the present applicant respond in a generally satisfactory manner to the expectations of their users, it is however desirable to improve their functional architecture for more flexibility and flexibility during the design and operation of the applications, a reduction in costs. development costs and times and optimal use of resources and tools available with the Internet.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to an interactive communication system comprising an interactive device deployed on site having a plurality of physical interaction organs which are arranged for interactions with users. According to the invention, the interactive device deployed on site includes a controller hosting a web browser engine, the controller providing a control function of the interactive device deployed using the web browser engine.

According to one particular characteristic, the control device also performs a function of formatting interaction event data detected in the interactive device deployed on site, the interaction event data being intended to be used by a system. interaction event analysis software.

According to another particular characteristic, the function of formatting interaction event data is provided with the aid of the Internet browser engine, and the control device also performs a function of transmitting the data of interaction events. interaction to the interaction event analysis software system which is provided using the web browser engine.

According to yet another particular feature, the interaction event data is recorded chronologically in a textual data file for transmission to the interaction event analysis software system.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the textual data file is of JSON or XML type.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the control device is configured using the loading of an HTML type file by the Internet browser engine.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the loading of the HTML type file implements in the control device a structured logical representation of the interactive device deployed on site, elements of connection between the structured logical representation and physical or virtual components of the deployed interactive device. , as well as at least one “JavaScript” type library, the structured logical representation being modifiable as a function of the interactions detected in the interactive device deployed on site and acting on the plurality of physical interaction members.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the interactive device deployed on site is connected to one or more computer servers through the Internet network, the computer server (s) hosting an interactive device administration software system and an analysis software system. 'interaction events.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the interactive communication system comprises a database accessible by the software system for analyzing interaction events in which the data of detected interaction events, said event data, are stored. interactions detected being extracted from the textual data file transmitted by the Internet browser engine and being stored in the database according to a predetermined relational model. According to another embodiment, the data of detected interaction events are stored in so-called "CSV" type files for "Comma-Separated Values" in English.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the interactive device comprises a data communication network and at least one local controller to which is connected at least one physical interaction member, the control device and the local controller being connected to the communication network of data.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the data communication network is of the RS485, USB or I2C type.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the interactive device comprises at least one expansion card connected to a local controller, the expansion card supporting the connection of several physical interaction units and supporting several serial communication protocols.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the Internet browser engine comprises a video player. The video player is, for example, of the so-called “native” type or of the so-called “plugin” type.

According to yet another particular characteristic, the control device is a nanocomputer.

Other advantages and characteristics of the present invention will emerge more clearly on reading the description below of several particular embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an interactive device of an interactive communication system deployed in a commercial space.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the general architecture of an embodiment of an interactive communication system according to the invention, designed for the capture and analysis of interaction events.

Fig.3 is a block diagram relating to the operation of a control device, provided with an Internet browser engine, in the interactive communication system of Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is a relational model of a database used for the storage of interaction event data in an interaction event analysis software system included in the interactive communication system of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an illustrative screen drawing of a graphical user interface in the interaction event analysis software system included in the interactive communication system of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a simplified block diagram of an illustrative example of an interactive communication system according to the invention.

Fig. 7 partially shows an HTML type file transmitted to the web browser engine of the controller in the illustrative example of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 partially shows an example of script lines relating to the detection and processing of an interaction event in the illustrative example of Fig. 6.

In the illustrative example of Fig. 1, the interactive device deployed in a shopping center detects the presence of a VIS visitor in the interactive space using a DP infrared presence detector. Depending on the position of the VIS visitor in the interactive space, different stimuli aimed at provoking exchanges are emitted by the interactive device. Thus, an ET2 video screen attracts the visitor's attention with a dynamic display and audio content and invites them to use an ET1 touch table. Using the ET1 touch table, the VIS visitor discovers a range of products displayed on the ET2 screen, scans a QR-type matrix code with his smartphone for a connection to a server via a local network or the Internet, indicates a contact email address, etc. The location of the VIS visitor in the interactive space is detected here more precisely by means of several sensitive mats TS1, TS2 and TS3. Thus, for example, when the presence of the visitor VIS in front of the display unit PR is detected by the sensitive mat TS2, the dynamic display content of the video screen AD changes and the visitor VIS receives more direct information and is invited to discover the products offered for sale which are arranged on the shelving. The LE lighting installation and an FA fragrance diffuser are also provided here in the interactive device to provide a light and olfactory atmosphere suited to a context or a detected situation. A TS3 sensitive mat placed at the foot of a CA sofa will allow, for example for the purposes of metric studies, an estimate of the state of fatigue of visitors when they arrive in the interactive space. In this example, the presence detector DP, the touch panel ET1 and the sensitive mats TS1, TS2 and TS3 constitute interaction triggering sensors and the video screens ET2, AD, the lighting installation LE and the fragrance diffuser. FA constitute interaction actuators. In the remainder of the description, the sensors and actuators of the interactive communication system of the invention are generally designated by the terms "interaction members".

A particular embodiment 1 of an interactive communication system according to the invention is now described with reference to Figs. 2 to 10. In this particular embodiment, the interactive communication system is designed for capture and analysis. interaction events. It will be noted that other embodiments of the interactive communication system according to the invention will not include this functionality for capturing and analyzing interaction events and will, for example, be dedicated to interactive animation, to product presentation, information dissemination or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the interactive communication system 1 here comprises a plurality of physical OR interaction members connected to a control device 2 through a data communication network 3. The OR interaction members are connected to local interaction controllers 4 connected to the data communication network 3. Expansion cards 41, only one of which is visible in FIG. 2, can be provided for an extension of the number of interaction devices. OR connected to the same local controller 4. Network distributors 31 called “hub” in English, only one of which is visible in FIG. 2, can also be provided to extend the data communication network 3.

In accordance with the invention, the control device 2 is typically a computer device, such as a nanocomputer, comprising means for processing and storing data and providing second level data processing in the deployed interactive device. The control device 2 hosts a communication gateway (not shown) with the Internet IP network and a hardware and software interface (communication pilot software called "driver") with the data communication network 3. The control device 2 is typically implemented using a computer. Thus, for example, a single-board nanocomputer with an “ARM” type processor (for “Advanced Risc Machine” in English), such as the “Raspberry Pi” (registered trademark), equipped with the “OS Linux” operating system. can be used for control device 2.

As visible in FIG. 2, the control device 2 notably hosts an Internet browser engine, marked 20, and a video player, marked 21, the functions of which in the interactive communication system 1 will appear clearly below in the description.

As also visible in FIG. 2, the control device 2 is connected to a computer server 5, or a cloud of servers, through the Internet IP network. The server 5 here hosts an interactive device administration software system 50 and an interaction event analysis software system 51. In this exemplary embodiment, it is considered that the interactive device of the system 1 is deployed on a computer. only one site and that the software systems 50 and 51 are dedicated to the management of this single interactive device and to the analysis of the interaction data coming from this single site. In other embodiments, the software systems 50 and 51 will be responsible for the management of several interactive devices of the system 1 deployed on several sites and the analysis of all the interaction data from this plurality of sites.

The data communication network 3 is here typically a serial data communication bus of the “RS485” type, of the half-duplex or full-duplex type, the control device 2 being the master device and the local interaction controllers 4 being the slave devices. Of course, other bus standards can be used depending on the application, for example, an "I2C" or "USB" type bus. RF radio communication modules (not shown) could also be used to create a wireless data communication network 3. A synchronous communication protocol will advantageously be used on the data communication network 3 for easy synchronization between the hardware part of the system and the software part thereof, for example, to synchronize physical actions in the interactive device on site with the video player 21.

The local controller 4 is typically built around a microcontroller installed on an electronic printed circuit board of the "PCB" type. In this particular embodiment, the local controller 4 provides first level data processing in the deployed interactive device. The local controller 4 comprises here in particular an interaction member port 400, an extension interface port 401 for connecting an extension card 41 and a DMX type output port (for "Digital Multiplexing ») Dedicated to lighting control (LED diodes). The local controller 4 also comprises a hardware and software interface (communication pilot software called "driver") with the data communication network 3 for communications in particular with the control device 2. The local controller 4 can also manage functions of addressing in the network and a power supply of the connected devices.

The expansion card 41 is typically built around a microcontroller located on an electronic printed circuit board of the "PCB" type. Like the local controller 4, the expansion card 41 provides first level data processing in the deployed interactive device. The expansion card 41 is designed to allow more connectivity of different types of OR interaction organs and allow a richer interaction ecosystem. To do this, the expansion card 41 includes multiprotocol management of serial communication on the ports of the OR interaction units. Serial communication management is also managed by the card 41 on its communication port with the local controller 4. A power supply unit independent from that of the local controller 4 can also be integrated into the expansion card 41.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 3 to 5, the operation of the interactive communication system 1 is described above in more detail, in relation to the internet browser engine 20 installed in the control device 2.

The interactive device administration software system 50 and the interaction event analysis software system 51 communicate with the web browser engine 20, designated BROWSER_engine in Fig. 3, through the Internet IP network. In this exemplary embodiment, to simplify the description, it is considered that the interactive device administration software system 50 and the interaction event analysis software system 51 are hosted in the same server 5. Several other configurations are of course possible.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the interactive device administration software system 50 essentially comprises an HTML_server which notably contains files of the “HTML” type (for “HyperText Markup Language” in English) and of the “JavaScript” type ( trademark), an MNGT system management and administration software module and a UI1 user interface software module. An API1 programming interface software module may also be provided, depending on the applications. A data storage unit ST1 is provided for the storage of system data. Various software tools for developing and administering the system, such as, for example, an HTML text editor and the like, can also be hosted in the ST1 data storage unit.

The HTML_server communicates, for example, using the TCP / IP protocol with an HTML client, HTML_client, of the BROWSER_engine engine, by sending files in HTML format, HTML_file. HTML_file files include scripts, typically in "JavaScript" language.

Depending on the application, other types of textual data files such as "JSON" (for "JavaScript Object Notation" in English) or "XML" (for "eXtensible Markup Language" in English) may also be used for exchanges. The type of file used for exchanges can be defined through the API1 programming interface of the interactive device administration software system 50.

In the BROWSER_engine engine, the received HTML_file is parsed by an HTML_parser parser, also called "parser" by those skilled in the art. The information extracted from the HTML_file file by the HTML_parser parser allows the BROWSER_engine engine to build a DeOM object model as a set of objects linked in a tree structure, similar to building an object model of document "DOM" (for "Document Object Model" in English) for displaying an HTML page by an Internet browser.

In the present invention, the DeOM object model is a device object model corresponding to the interactive device deployed on site of the interactive communication system 1. The DeOM object model is a programming interface which allows the various SCRIPT scripts installed in the BROWSER_engine engine, and possibly other software programs, to dynamically access a structured logical representation of the DLSR device of the deployed interactive device. The modification of the DLSR representation of the deployed interactive device, namely, the modification of its content, its structure, its style or others, by scripts and other programs authorizes the piloting and updating of the interactive device.

The scripts implemented in the BROWSER_engine engine include in particular those extracted from the HTML_file file transmitted by the interactive device administration software system 50. A JavaScript JAV engine is included in the BROWSER_engine engine.

Different so-called "plugin" type programs can also be installed to work with the BROWSER_engine engine. The choice of these "plugin" programs will depend on the applications. Thus, the video player 21, mentioned above in relation to the description of the control device 2 in FIG. 2, is implemented in the example of FIG. 3, in the form of a "plugin" program designated here as "VIDEO_Player. ". A video sequence available on the Internet at a "URL" address (for "Uniform Resource Locator" in English) can thus be downloaded by the BROWSER_engine engine and read by the VIDEO_Player player, for example, under the control of a code of 'proper instruction in a script. For example, the “VIDEO_Player” player could be the “Flash Player” (registered trademark) of the Adobe company (registered trademark).

In the spirit of the invention, the structured logical representation of the DLSR device is an arbitrary mental representation of the deployed interactive device. The DLSR representation is made up of ELEMENT elements (see also Fig. 4), which differ from the physical elements of the deployed interactive device, and to which are associated ATTRIBUTE attributes (see Fig. 4).

Thus, the DLSR representation deals with ELEMENT elements which are, for example, zones, products and others relating to the mental representation of the deployed interactive device and not sensors, pushbuttons, LEDs, network distributors and others. which enter into a physical representation of the deployed interactive device.

A modification of an ELEMENT element, or one of its ATTRIBUTE attributes, of the DLSR representation can result in a modification of the deployed interactive device. So, for example, a modification of the background as an attribute of a product area forming an ELEMENT element defined in the DLSR representation will cause a change in the lighting of a physical area of the site by a command different from LED lighting.

Different BINDING link software elements are provided for interfacing, at input and at output, the ELEMENT elements of the DLSR representation with physical or virtual components of the deployed interactive device. BINDING linkages incorporate, for example, software drivers to perform their interfacing functions. A BINDING binding element can also modify properties of an element or call methods applicable to that element. It is shown schematically in Fig. 3 of the OUT_OR outputs of the BINDING link software elements to the OR interaction devices of the deployed interactive device and of the IN_OR inputs of the OR interaction devices.

The IN_OR inputs indicate actions detected in the interactive device deployed by the OR interaction bodies. The IN_OR entries can lead to modifications of the ELEMENT elements of the DLSR representation and therefore of the interactive device deployed in reaction to the actions detected.

IN_OR entries can be converted into EVENT events, relating to ELEMENT elements or ATTRIBUTE attributes thereof, which are intended to be transmitted to the interaction event analysis software system 51. EVENT events include EVENT_type types and VALUE_type values (see Fig. 4). EVENT events are handled using an EVENTSENDER library encoded in JavaScript.

EVENT events, the EVENT_type types and associated VALUE_type values, as well as the affected ELEMENT elements and ATTRIBUTE attributes, are recorded in an EVENT_file text data file which is passed by the BROWSER_engine to the event analysis software system. 'interaction 51.

As shown in Fig. 3, the interaction event analysis software system 51 includes an EVENT_file_parser parser which parses the EVENT_file file to extract data. The EVENT_file_parser parser processes the EVENT_file file according to the format used, which may have been specified through an API2 programming interface. Typically, a JSON or XML type file will be used for the EVENT_file text data file, but not exclusively.

The data extracted from the EVENT_file file is stored in a DB database hosted in an ST2 data storage unit. The extracted data is stored in the database DB according to the relational model shown in Fig. 4 and includes the EVENT events with their EVENT_type types and their associated VALUE_type values, the ELEMENT elements with their ELEMENT_type types and the ATTRIBUTE attributes with their types. ATTRIBUTE_type and their ATTRIBUTE_value values.

The event-related data, stored in the DB database, is processed using an ANALYTICS software module. The ANALYTICS software module analyzes the data collected by the interactive communication system 1. A UI2 user interface allows the user to launch various analysis tools and to view and browse the results. A simplified screen drawing of a graphical user interface GUI in a particular multisite application of the invention is shown by way of example in Fig. 5. In this application, different indices, curves and the like are available for a plurality of stores in which the interactive communication system is deployed. Comparisons between stores as well as an overview are also available for user analysis of the results.

Advantageously, the invention uses protocols, such as TCP / IP, and open textual data files, such as HTML, JSON, XML or others which are widely used and supported by a large number of platforms. This greatly facilitates interoperability with the various software platforms used by customers using event data.

With reference to Figs. 6 to 9, by way of example, the operation of an illustrative interactive communication system 6 is described above.

In the interactive communication system 6, the on-site interactive device comprises four push-button switches BP1 to BP4 with which are associated readings of video sequences on a display screen 60. Pressing a push-button causes playback on the display screen 60 of the video sequence associated with it.

In Fig. 6, the controller of the interactive communication system 6 installed on site is represented by block 61. The data communication network, local controller and the like installed on site are represented by block 62.

The control device 61, for example in the form of a nanocomputer, comprises an Internet browser engine 610 incorporating a video player (not shown) as described above with reference to Fig.3. The display screen 60 is connected to the control device 61, for example, through an "HDMI" socket (for "High Definition Multimedia Interface" in English). The various video sequences started by the pushbuttons BP1 to BP4 are located at URL_V addresses in the Internet IP network and are downloaded into the control device 61. An interactive device administration software system 63 and an interactive device software system. analysis of interaction events 64 are hosted in a cloud of servers.

FIG. 7 partially shows a Sys6_HTML file, here of HTML5 type, transmitted to the browser engine 610 of the controller 61 for the deployment of the interactive device. In the Sys6_HTML file, the physical part of the device formed by the four pushbuttons BP1 to BP4 is defined between the <hdml> and </hdml> tags (item 7). Pushbuttons BP1 to BP4 are identified respectively "product1Button" to "product4Button". Between the <body> and </body> tags (marker 8) are inserted the various scripts which will be executed in the browser engine 610. The object model of the interactive device (cf. DeOM in Fig. 3) is implemented in a JavaScript library named "deom.js" which is imported into the Sys6_HTML file. The scripts detecting presses on pushbuttons BP1 to BP4 and defining the operating logic of the interactive device are inserted to control the loading and playback of the video sequences.

Fig. 8 shows script lines relating to the detection of an event of pressing the push button BP1 (product1Button) and the subsequent processing. As can be seen in these lines, the detection of a "click" on the push-button by a detection loop (eventlistener) controls the actuation of LED diodes (DMX port) which change the lighting color of a physical zone. corresponding to the location, for example, of a product associated with BP1, and controls the playback of the corresponding video sequence (playvideo1). This "click" detection also causes the creation of an event (ev) which is transmitted (eventsender) for chronological recording in the event file (cf. Event_file in Fig.3) intended for the analysis software system. interaction events 64.

The interactive communication system according to the invention may take various embodiments. In the illustrative embodiments described here with reference to the figures, the interactive communication system is permanently connected to the Internet network essentially for the recurrent sending of the interaction event data to a software system for analyzing events. 'interaction. Other embodiments will not include this link to the Internet, for example, when analysis of interaction events is not provided in a remote server. It will be noted that an interactive communication system according to the invention, once the control device has been configured by loading an HTML file, can operate autonomously without it being necessary for the Internet browser engine to be connected to the. Internet network.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been described here by way of illustration. Those skilled in the art, depending on the applications of the invention, may make various modifications and variants falling within the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims (10)

Interactive communication system (1) comprising an interactive device deployed on site having a plurality of physical interaction members (ORs) which are arranged for interactions with users (VIS), characterized in that said interactive device deployed on site comprises a control device (2) hosting an Internet browser engine (20, BROWSER_engine), said control device (2) providing a control function of said interactive device deployed using said Internet browser engine (20, BROWSER_engine) . Interactive communication system according to claim 1, characterized in that said control device (2) also performs a data formatting function of interaction events detected in said interactive device deployed on site, said event data interaction being intended to be exploited by an interaction event analysis software system (51). An interactive communication system according to claim 2, characterized in that said function of formatting interaction event data is performed with the aid of said Internet browser engine (20, BROWSER_engine), and in that said device control (2) also performs a function of transmitting said interaction event data to said interaction event analysis software system (51) which is provided with the aid of said Internet browser engine (20, BROWSER_engine ). Interactive communication system according to claim 3, characterized in that said interaction event data are recorded chronologically in a textual data file (EVENT_file) for their transmission to said interaction event analysis software system (51 ). Interactive communication system according to claim 4, characterized in that said textual data file (EVENT_file) is of JSON or XML type. Interactive communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said control device (2) is configured using the loading of an HTML type file (HTML_file) by said Internet browser engine (20, BROWSER_engine). Interactive communication system according to claim 6, characterized in that said loading of said HTML-type file implements in said control device (2) a structured logical representation (ELEMENT, DSLR) of said interactive device deployed on site, link elements (BINDING ) between said structured logical representation (DSLR) and physical or virtual components of said deployed interactive device, as well as at least one “JavaScript” type library (JAV, EVENTSENDER), said structured logical representation (ELEMENT, DSLR) being modifiable in depending on the interactions detected in said interactive device deployed on site and acting on said plurality of physical interaction organs (OR). Interactive communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said interactive device deployed on site is connected to one or more computer servers (5) through the Internet network (IP), said one or more servers computer systems (5) hosting an interactive device administration software system (50) and an interaction event analysis software system (51). An interactive communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said Internet browser engine (20, BROWSER_engine) comprises a video player (VIDEO_Player). Interactive communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said control device (2) is a nanocomputer.