JP2002260031A - Multimedia information distribution system, method, and program for station business - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately and smoothly provide information responding to an inquiry and a demand from a customer even in an unmanned station. SOLUTION: This multimedia information distribution system 1 for the unmanned station is provided with a center server 30 mounted with a program 32 making a CPU 31 execute a step for receiving the inquiry of a user from an interphone 20 (or a portable terminal 60) operated by the user in the unmanned station via a network 10, and a step for responding to the inquiry of the user and bidirectionally exchanging information including an image along with a voice with the interphone 20 via the network 10 so as to bidirectionally dialogue through the multimedia information according to the state of the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system and method for distributing station information multimedia used for unmanned stations or stations operated by a small number of station staff (hereinafter referred to as "unmanned stations, etc."). More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for an information distribution system capable of exchanging not only audio but also video between a passenger and a center using an unmanned station or the like and interactively interacting with each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the railway industry, many railway companies have been trying to save human resources and improve the working conditions of station staff.
Railway stations are becoming unmanned, the number of station staff per station is being reduced, and such plans are being formulated. As a countermeasure, railway companies have introduced station equipment such as automatic ticket vending machines, automatic ticket gates, and automatic checkout machines, and have adopted a station service remote monitoring system that remotely controls these station equipment. .

[0003] The station service remote monitoring system, for example, transmits a video from a center monitoring device installed at one monitoring center (manned station or maintenance center) through a local monitoring device installed at a plurality of monitored stations (unmanned stations or the like). -Control voice and remote control station equipment (ticket vending machines, checkout machines, ticket gates, etc.)
Even if it is an unmanned station, it provides almost the same service as a manned station (for example, see JP-A-2000-217162).

[0004] Such automatic station service equipment and the station service remote monitoring system enable unmanned stations and reduce the number of station staff.

[0005] When the station is unmanned as described above, various inquiries handled by station staff at the time of manned operation must be handled from a remote center via a network. Therefore, there is known an unmanned station / center system in which a passenger at the unmanned station and a staff at a remote center can talk with each other. An example of this system is shown in FIG.

A conventional unmanned station / center system 100 shown in FIG. 3 uses interphones (including telephones) 101... 101 having known call buttons 101a and microphones / speakers 101b installed at various places in the unmanned stations. When the passengers US... US make inquiries, the inquiries are sent via the network 102 via the voice switching device 103 installed at the center side to the telephones 10 of the attendants OP.
4. Accepted at 104. Accordingly, the staff OP on the side of the center can use the explanation using the telephone 104 to guide the user to an appropriate place in response to the inquiry of the passenger US from the intercom 101, or to determine the appropriate device operation method for the fare adjustment or the like. It becomes possible to respond such as teaching.

[0007]

However, in the above-described conventional unmanned station / center system, the guide to the place where the passenger is inquired or the operation method of the inquired equipment is explained. Is performed only by voice, so that it is difficult to know how to get to the place where the passenger wants to go, or the operation of the device is erroneously performed. In the case of an emergency (emergency) such as a personal injury or storm and flood damage, inquiries from passengers are flooded, and queues have become a problem.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of such conventional circumstances, and even in an unmanned station or a station operated by a small number of station staff, it can respond to inquiries and requests from passengers. It is an object of the present invention to be able to provide information accurately and smoothly according to the situation of passengers.

Another object of the present invention is to eliminate queues caused by a flood of inquiries from passengers at unmanned stations or stations operated by a small number of station staff.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention makes it possible to provide not only voice but also video information, and also allows a voice synthesizer to automatically respond to telephone inquiries. Or information can be obtained from a home PC or mobile phone via the Internet. This makes it possible to smoothly provide the information requested by the passengers, and eliminates the queue caused by the flood of inquiries.

[0011] In other words, the present invention provides 1) distributing video information in addition to audio, 2) automatically responding to passenger inquiries using a voice synthesizing device, and 3) receiving information similar to an intercom from a portable terminal. It was completed with a focus on making it available.

That is, the station service multimedia information distribution system according to the present invention is used in an unmanned station or the like, and receives an inquiry from a terminal operated by a user who uses the station from the user. Receiving means for accepting via the network, and the terminal in response to an inquiry from the user accepted by the accepting means so as to enable interactive communication with multimedia information according to the situation of the user. And information exchange means for bidirectionally exchanging information including video in addition to audio via the network.

[0013] In the present invention, the information exchanging means includes first responding means for responding to the user's inquiry by an operator, and second responding for automatically responding to the user's inquiry with synthesized speech. Means.

In the present invention, the terminal is preferably a dedicated terminal installed at the station or a portable terminal used by the user.

[0015] The dedicated terminal in this case is preferably constituted by an intercom apparatus, and the intercom apparatus outputs a voice input means for inputting the voice of the user and a voice relating to a response to the inquiry of the user. Audio output means, video image capturing means for capturing an image of the user, information display means for displaying information including a video relating to a response to the user's inquiry, and information including the voice and the video. Communication means capable of bidirectional communication via a network.

The method for distributing multimedia information for station services according to the present invention is used for an unmanned station or the like, and accepts an inquiry of a user from a terminal operated by a user of the station via a network. In response to the user's inquiry, information including video in addition to audio is transmitted to and from the terminal via the network so as to enable a two-way dialogue with multimedia information according to the situation of the user. Is exchanged in the opposite direction.

The station service multimedia information distribution program according to the present invention for handling an unmanned station or the like receives an inquiry from a terminal operated by a user who uses the station via a network to a computer. Via the network, information including video in addition to audio between the terminal and the terminal so that interactive dialogue with multimedia information according to the situation of the user in response to the inquiry of the user is enabled. And the step of bidirectionally exchanging.

[0018]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a station service multimedia information distribution system, a method and a program therefor according to the present invention.
This will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 explains the outline of the station information multimedia information distribution system of the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a multimedia information distribution system 1 for unmanned stations
Implements a two-way dialogue between the passenger US on the unmanned station side and the clerk OP or computer on the center side via the network 10 using multimedia information including not only audio but also video.

More specifically, the multimedia information distribution system 1 for unmanned stations is arranged at various places on the unmanned station side,
Passenger US: Intercom that can be operated by US (dedicated terminal)
20, a center server 30 which is a computer located on the center side, and a telephone 40 used by staff OP... OP which are exchangeably connected via the center server 30.
.. 40 and an information DB (database) 50, and a portable terminal 60 for passengers US for enabling the same inquiry as in the case of the intercom 20 not only at unmanned stations but also at any place.

The network 10 is constituted by a predetermined communication line (a public line such as a telephone network including a mobile communication network using wireless communication, a dedicated line, or the like), and the communication line uses, for example, a TCP / IP communication protocol. Various services using the Internet are available.

The intercom 20 includes, for example, a microphone / speaker 21, an information display / operation unit 22 including a call button function, and a camera unit 23 in a known intercom configuration. Among them, the camera unit 23
Is an existing station service remote monitoring system (for example,
It is also possible to apply a surveillance camera described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No.

The information display unit / operation unit 22 is, for example, a touch-panel-type monitor that displays a menu or a button capable of selecting, searching, and instructing necessary information on a screen, or an input button such as a key. It is configured by an operable monitor, and is capable of displaying various information including video such as a map from the center side, together with audio input / output by the microphone / speaker 21.

The center server 30 is composed of a computer such as a server-dedicated computer (for example, a PC server, a UNIX (registered trademark) server, a business server) and the like, and this computer is connected to the network 10 by the processing of its CPU 31. Various programs (applications,
The software 32 is mounted in a predetermined recording medium (ROM, hard disk, or the like).

As a result, the center server 30
The execution of the program 32 by the CPU 31 enables the staff OP to respond to the inquiry of the passenger US sent from the intercom 20 or the portable terminal 60 via the network 10 according to the situation of the passenger US.
Using the telephone 40 and the information DB 50 of the present invention, the multimedia information distribution function 33 which realizes each means and each step of the present invention for exchanging multimedia information including not only audio but also video is achieved. The multimedia information distribution function 33 includes a reception / response function (speech synthesis) 34 including a speech synthesis function (speech synthesis device), an information distribution function 3
5 and an information search function 36 are included.

In the information DB 50, the center server 30 stores various kinds of information such as map information that shows directions from the station to the destination, lost objects, sightseeing guides, event guides, accommodation place guides, and the like, which are of interest to the passengers and inquiries. It is stored and managed in a searchable manner by the multimedia information search function 36).

The mobile terminal 60 includes, for example, a mobile phone, a P
HS (Personal Handy Phone), PDA (Portable Digital Assistant), notebook personal computer, wearable computer integrated with a clock, etc. For example, the center server 3 is connected to the device by wireless communication via the network 10 using the Internet.
Any type that can access 0 can be applied.

In addition to the portable terminal 60, a fixed dedicated terminal such as a personal computer (PC) (not shown) or a kiosk terminal placed at a predetermined location such as a station can access the Internet, for example, similarly to the portable terminal 60. It is possible to access the center server 30 via the network 10 by utilizing.

Here, the overall operation of the present example will be described with reference to FIG. 2, focusing on the processing of the center server 30.

First, consider the case of using the intercom 20, which is a dedicated terminal installed in various parts of the station. in this case,
When the center server 30 receives an inquiry (call) from the intercom 20 by operating the passenger US by executing the program 32 by the CPU 31 (step St1), the information display unit /
On the screen of the operation unit 22, a selection menu (or a selection button) including preset selection items such as "call attendant" and "response by computer" is displayed, and any of the selection items is selected. Prompt the passenger US (step St2).

Next, when "call attendant" is selected from the above-mentioned selection menu (including a case where it is determined that the passenger has been instructed by voice or the like corresponding thereto), the center server 30 transmits the vacant telephone 40 (step S
t3) If the result of the search indicates that the telephones 40 on the center side are all busy, a message corresponding to the content such as “Please wait” is displayed on the screen of the information display unit / operation unit 22 of the intercom 20 and the passenger The fact is notified to the US (step St4). On the other hand, if there is a vacant telephone 40, it is connected to the telephone 40 and connected to the attendant OP to enable a conversation (step St5). At the time of the conversation, the center server 30 executes the program 32 by the CPU 31.
As a result, if necessary, multimedia information including a map showing a route to a destination or an image of a lost object is searched from the information DB 50, and the searched information is displayed on a screen on the information display unit / operation unit 22. , The dialogue with the passenger US is advanced using such multimedia information, and the request is answered (Step St6).

When "response by computer" is selected from the above selection menu (including a case where it is determined that the passenger US is instructed by voice or the like), the center server 30 The US is prompted to select a desired screen or information by pressing a touch panel or a key of the information display unit / operation unit 22 of the intercom 20 (step St7), and the selected screen or information is displayed on the information display unit / operation. It is displayed on the screen of the unit 22 (Step St8).

At this time, the center server 30
The execution of the program 32 by the U31 provides a synthesized voice using a voice synthesizer, searches the information DB 50 for information on a map that shows directions to the destination requested by the passenger US, or information on a lost article, etc. The searched information is displayed on the screen of the information display unit / operation unit 22, and the dialogue with the passenger US is advanced to answer the request (step St9).

While the above processing is performed, an image such as the state of the passenger US using the intercom 20 at the unmanned station is obtained by the camera unit 23 and is sequentially monitored by a staff OP at the center. Thereby, the center staff OP can grasp the situation around the passenger US.

For example, in the processing of step St2 or the like, if no selection is made even after waiting for a predetermined time, the center staff OP
Confirms the situation while watching the image sent from the camera unit 23 on the unmanned station side, displays a message to that effect on the screen of the information display unit / operation unit 22, or sounds through the microphone / speaker 21. It is also possible to shed.
If there is no selection even after waiting, the clerk OP on the center side checks the situation one by one while watching the image from the camera section 23, and asks "Is the clerk called?" Is it? "
It is also possible to play a voice message corresponding to the contents, etc., and shift to the next process according to the passenger's response to the voice message.

Therefore, according to the present example, the passenger US at a certain station is moved from the station to the city hall, the accommodation place,
If you want to know information such as directions to destinations such as sightseeing spots and how to get there (taxi, bus, etc.), simply call the attendant OP using the intercom 20,
Through the dialogue, not only the voice of the telephone 40 from the center staff OP, but also multimedia information such as a map showing the route of the destination is distributed to the interphone 20 side, and the staff OP and the passenger US share the information with each other. The two-way dialogue can be performed while providing inquiries and requests from the passenger US as if the station staff were responding directly at the manned station, providing accurate and smooth information according to the situation of the passenger US. It becomes possible. Also,
The queue caused by the flood of inquiries will also be eliminated.

This is the same in the case of automatic response by a computer. In this case, desired information is obtained by sequentially selecting menus displayed on the screen of the information display section / operation section 22. It becomes possible.

It should be noted that, in addition to the directions of the destination, in the case of an inquiry about a lost item, the information display unit /
A lost item list is displayed on the screen of the operation unit 22, a search is performed by further narrowing down the conditions in the list (for example, the characteristics of the lost item such as the color or shape of an umbrella or a bag), or the lost item is stored. It is also possible to guide them to a place where they are. In addition, information on how to buy a commuter pass, nearby sightseeing spots and famous places, famous shops, gourmet information, weather information, event information, and the like can also be obtained by screen display by the information display unit / operation unit 22 or voice by the microphone / speaker 22. It becomes possible.

The above processing is an example in the case where the intercom 20 is used, but the same processing is performed even when the portable terminal (including a fixed terminal such as a PC) 60 uses the Internet. It is possible to do. in this case,
The portable terminal 60 has the same screen display / operation and voice functions as the information display / operation unit 22 and the microphone / speaker 21 of the intercom 20 described above, and can make the same inquiry as the intercom 20. Thus, the center server 30 executes the same processing as described above on the center side. At this time, if a camera in which the camera is connected to the portable terminal 60 integrally or separately is used, the situation of the user can be monitored on the center side as in the case of the camera unit 23 of the intercom 20.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Inquiries from passengers as if the staff members are responding directly at the manned station because the staff and the passengers can perform two-way dialogue while sharing the same information with multimedia information including video as well as audio. And requests
It is possible to provide information accurately and smoothly according to the situation of the passenger. In addition, queues caused by a flood of inquiries are eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the overall configuration of a station information multimedia information distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a processing example of a center server.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an outline of a conventional unmanned station / center system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Station information multimedia information distribution system 10 Network 20 Interphone 21 Microphone / Speaker 22 Information display / Operation unit 23 Camera unit 30 Center server 31 CPU 32 Program 33 Multimedia information distribution function 34 Reception / response function (voice synthesis) 35 Information distribution function 36 Information search function 40 Telephone 50 Information DB (database) 60 Mobile terminal

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A station information multimedia information distribution system used for an unmanned station or a station operated by a small number of station staff, wherein an inquiry from the user is received from a terminal operated by a user who uses the station. Accepting means for accepting via the network, and in response to the inquiry from the user accepted by the accepting means, the terminal in such a manner as to enable interactive communication with multimedia information according to the situation of the user. And an information exchange means for exchanging information including video in addition to audio between the two via the network. 2. The information exchange means comprises: first response means for responding to the user's inquiry by an operator; and second response means for automatically responding to the user's inquiry with synthesized voice. The station information multimedia information distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The station information multimedia information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal is a dedicated terminal installed at the station or a portable terminal used by the user. 4. The dedicated terminal is constituted by an intercom apparatus, and the intercom apparatus includes an audio input unit for inputting a voice of the user, and an audio output for outputting a voice relating to a response to an inquiry from the user. Means, image capturing means for capturing an image of the user, information display means for displaying information including an image relating to a response to the user's inquiry, and information including the audio and the image via the network. 3. A station information multimedia information distribution system according to claim 2, further comprising a communication means capable of performing two-way communication. 5. A station service multimedia information distribution method used for an unmanned station or a station operated by a small number of station staffs, wherein a terminal operated by a user who uses the station receives an inquiry of the user from a network. Information including video in addition to audio to and from the terminal so as to enable interactive communication with multimedia information according to the situation of the user in response to the inquiry of the user. A multimedia information distribution method for station services, characterized in that the information is exchanged in both directions via a telephone. 6. A station information multimedia information distribution program for use in an unmanned station or a station operated by a small number of station staff, comprising: a computer operating a terminal operated by a user of the station; Accepting an inquiry via a network; and responding to the user's inquiry, in addition to audio and video between the terminal so as to enable a two-way dialogue with multimedia information according to the situation of the user. Causing the information to be exchanged bidirectionally via the network.