JP2002342804A - Device and method for reception of visitor, and recording medium recorded with visitor reception program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a visitor KIOSK terminal for acquiring and storing personal information as to a visitor. SOLUTION: The KIOSK terminal is installed in an entrance of a monitored facility, the each visitor signs own name in the KIOSK terminal. A name card, or the name of the visitor and an employment place of the visitor, and a face image of the visitor are acquired therein. The visitor writes down a visiting company person and the purpose of visit. The company person is informed of an arrival of the visitor by an electronic mail or a voice phone. The visitor's information is stored locally or remotely, automatically retrieved, and sent to the company person. A user is able to input information about a visit- predicted person via a network interface. A phone interface is provided to input a greeting speach and to inspect an arrival situation of the visitor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a technology for automatically collecting information, and more particularly to a system and an apparatus for collecting information on visitors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At workplaces around the world, visitors are accepted daily at places such as business offices, government offices, and real estate agents. The visitor is often greeted by a receptionist who gives the visitor a name sheet and fills in information about the visit. The visitor writes his / her name, work place, visitor, etc. on the entry form. In some cases, this information is manually entered into a computer database by a receptionist or security guard. Such information is typically used for security purposes. A guest entrance permit or ID may be issued to the visitor to inform the presence of the visitor. The receptionist often informs the visitor of the arrival of the visitor. These activities are so frequent that they have become part of the receptionist format in the United States and other countries.

[0003]

There are opportunities to improve the technology for gathering information about visitors. Since there is only one entrance to the office where identification is required, valuable data about visitors can be easily collected at the entrance.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve a technology for automatically collecting information on visitors.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides techniques for gathering information about visitors, and in particular, a networked peripheral for accepting, identifying, verifying and tracking visitors.

One embodiment of the present invention is a visitor kiosk system for receiving, identifying, matching, and tracking visitors to a facility. A visitor kiosk terminal is installed at the entrance of the facility to be monitored. Each visitor to the facility signs a kiosk terminal. The visitor's business card is scanned and an image of the visitor is captured. When the visitor does not have a business card, the visitor's name and work name are manually entered. In a specific embodiment, the visitor's conversation is recorded. The visitor enters the name of the destination and the purpose of the visit. The visiting party is notified of the arrival of the visitor by email or voice telephone. Data about the visitor may be stored locally or remotely. Automatic matching of various types of information about the visitor is performed and communicated to the visitor. The network interface allows the user to enter information about the upcoming visitor and make notes about the visit after the visitor leaves. The telephone interface provides the ability to enter voice messages and check the status of the visitor.

[0007] A representative embodiment according to the present invention is a visitor accepting device for collecting information about a visitor. The device may be implemented as a kiosk terminal including a display, one or more input devices, a storage device, a processor, and one or more sensors. The processor captures information about the visitor from inputs to the input device made in response to prompts (prompting symbols) displayed on the display by the processor and information obtained from the sensors. Next, the processor stores information about the visitor.

In a specific embodiment, the input device is an input device such as a touch sensor, keyboard, mouse, trackball, touchpad, and combinations of these devices, or other types of input devices. Any device may be used.

[0009] The visitor accepting device displays a greeting on a display. Greetings can be customized according to the interests of the visitor and may include, for example, product image slide shows, advertisements, stock quotes, daily cartoons, and news. Sensors include business card scanners, microphones, video cameras, speakers, docking stations that obtain information from one or more visitor wands, handwriting tablets, one or more biological or biometric sensors, and / or One or more security sensors and the like are included.

[0010] The information about the visitor includes the name, the institution to which the visitor belongs, the purpose of the visit, the date and / or time of the visit, the destination of the visit, and at least one of the identities of the groups that are visiting at the same time. Contains two items. Further, other types of information may be provided from sensors attached to the visitor information collection device. For example, a microphone records a sample of the visitor's voice, a video camera records the visitor's image, and a handwriting tablet records the visitor's signature. Some of the information about the visitor is collected from the sensor while the visitor is unaware. In the following, collection of information of a type not noticed by the visitor is referred to as “unconscious capture”. Other information is collected from the visitor when the visitor knows and when the visitor is aware. This type of information collection is referred to as "capturing on consciousness." However,
These terms are not used to limit the scope of the invention.

In a specific embodiment, a number of types of interfaces can connect the kiosk terminal to the information consumer. For example, a telephone interface provides a telephone connection through the public switched telephone network. One or more network interfaces connect the kiosk terminals to one or more communication networks. Public servers are connected, for example, using connections to networks and network interfaces. Furthermore, the local server connects one or more kiosk terminals to one or more information users, for example, using a local area network (LAN). The local server provides a storage location for holding information about visitors.

In a specific embodiment, the business card scanner scans one or both sides of a business card printed on one side or both sides. If the computer detects the presence of text on one or both sides, the computer processes the text according to the language of the text. The text is processed in one particular embodiment using OCR software.

Another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention is a visitor reception method for collecting information about a visitor. The method comprises a number of steps, for example, collecting information about a visitor during an interactive session with an automated kiosk terminal. The method further includes the step of replacing the information with a format that can be stored. The method also includes the step of storing information for search. The storage is performed locally or remotely, depending on the embodiment. A procedure for automatically obtaining information about a visitor from one or more sources and providing information about the visitor is part of the method.
In a specific embodiment, the procedure for obtaining information about a visitor from one or more sources includes searching on the Internet, searching a publicly available database,
The search may be performed by performing a search of a visitor information database obtained from the kiosk terminal, a search of a local database, or one or more other searches. Further, in some specific embodiments, the procedure for acquiring information includes a procedure for detecting information about the visitor without being noticed by the visitor (unconscious capture) and a prompt for the visitor to notice. Procedure for acquiring information about the visitor (capture during awareness).

[0014] A further exemplary embodiment according to the present invention is a system for tracking visitor activity in a facility. The system includes a plurality of positioning devices (locators), a network interconnecting the plurality of positioning devices, and one or more portable visitor wands. The portable visitor wand notifies the relevant visitor identity to one or more positioning devices,
The positioning device tracks the position of the visitor based on the notified identity information. In a specific embodiment, the visitor wand is implemented by a handheld wand-type device, a personal data assistant (PDA), an active badge, a mobile phone-type device, and the like. The communication link between the positioning device and the visitor wand may be any such as an infrared communication link, a wireless communication link, an optical communication link, a magnetic card sensing, a telephone communication link, a pager communication link, or a Bluetooth ( ^TM ) communication link. Such a communication link may be used. Bluetooth ^TM is a Bluetooth ^TM Speci
A wireless protocol standard developed by alInterest Group (see, for example, www.bluetooth.com).

In a specific embodiment, one or more logs are created that record the exchange of identity information notified from the visitor wand to the positioning device. Certain types of logs are
It is called "personal history" and is a record of a positioning device that a specific visitor has stopped (visited). Another type of log, "location history," is a record of visitors who have stopped at a particular positioning device.

[0016] Still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus for automatically configuring a database. This device is
A display, one or more input devices, a storage device,
And a processor. The processor captures information from the input device. This information is information entered by the visitor in response to a prompt presented by the processor through the display. The processor stores information about the visitor in the storage device. In one particular embodiment, this information includes personnel information used to annotate the document. Further, in certain specific embodiments, the personnel information is used to replace one or more names with hypertext links to the personnel information.

[0017] A further exemplary embodiment is a method for presenting an image. The method has a procedure for automatically capturing an image of a person. The method further comprises presenting the captured image to the person. The method also includes receiving from the person a designation of a preferred image selected from the captured images.

The present invention provides a number of advantages over the prior art. The present invention provides an automated technique for collecting, organizing, retrieving, and storing information about visitors. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to capture information about a visitor and a visit when the visitor has the consent (capture at the time of consciousness), or to communicate with the visitor while the visitor does not notice. Capturing information about visits (capturing when conscious).

The above and other advantages are set forth throughout the specification. The features and advantages of the present invention may be better understood with reference to the following description of embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a technique for capturing and storing personal information about a visitor. In one preferred embodiment, the present invention provides an interactive visitor kiosk terminal located at the entrance of a facility. Each visitor to the facility is asked to sign a kiosk terminal. During the signing process, the kiosk terminal collects some information about the visitor and their visit. The visitor's business card is scanned,
A picture of the visitor is taken. If the visitor does not have a business card card, the visitor's name and work name are manually entered. In a specific embodiment, the voice of the visitor is recorded. The visitor inputs the destination name and the purpose of the visit. The visiting party is notified of the arrival of the visitor by email or voice telephone. Data about the visitor is stored locally and / or remotely. A variety of information about the visitor is automatically checked and the result is notified to the visitor. The network interface is used by facility users to enter information about prospective visitors. The telephone interface implements a mechanism for entering voice greetings and a mechanism for checking the arrival status of visitors.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a visitor kiosk device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a visitor reception area 10 including a stationary visitor kiosk terminal 100 and a plurality of portable reception devices 300. The portable reception device 300 is also called a visitor wand. According to the present invention, a number of embodiments for implementing the visitor kiosk terminal 100 are provided. Each embodiment may implement a number of functions depending on the configuration of the components and processes that make up the embodiment. Visitor kiosk terminal 100 is preferably implemented using a computer such as a personal computer (PC). Computers allow visitors to enter information, for example, touch screens,
And / or a keyboard or keypad. Of course, other devices such as touchpads, track devices, joysticks, mice, etc. may be used in various embodiments of the present invention. By using the buttons on the touch screen, certain applications can eliminate the keyboard and the like. But,
For other applications, the visitor kiosk terminal 100 includes a keyboard.

The user interface of the visitor kiosk terminal 100 can use any of a plurality of languages to interact with the visitor. The visitor may select a preferred language on the initial login screen. Voice commands can be added to prompts in the user interface. In addition, especially when the visitor needs to wait for the destination, music may be added to make the visitor feel comfortable. The user interface of the kiosk terminal 100 includes the name of the visitor, the institution to which the visitor belongs,
The purpose of the visit and related matters, such as, for example, that the visitor is staying in the United States to attend Comdex ^™ can be captured. The date and time of the visit and the destination of the visit are manually entered or selected from a list. Whether a visitor is alone or a member of a group that is visiting at the same time may be collected by the visitor kiosk terminal 100.

[0023] The user interface may display the greeting so that the visitor can view it. Greetings include many types of information, such as, for example, product image slide shows, advertisements, latest stock quotes, and daily comics.
The information is selected according to local preferences and can be changed depending on the nature of the facility and expected visitor preferences. In one embodiment, the date the visitor last visited is included in the greeting for the visitor. Data regarding the visitor's last visit is stored locally on the visitor kiosk terminal 100 computer to prepare such a type of greeting for the visitor. This data is also used to output a record of all visits during a given period. Such a request is examined using a date range, a time range, a business name range, a destination range, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a visitor reception and information collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates a number of components and interfaces of the visitor kiosk terminal 100 of FIG. FIG. 2 shows an example of a visitor kiosk terminal 100 incorporated in a visitor information system. The visitor kiosk terminal 100 is shown in a region surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. The visitor kiosk terminal 100 includes a computer 202 to which a number of sensors, input / output devices, and interfaces are connected. For example, the computer 202 includes a microphone 204,
Video camera 206, speaker 208, docking station 210 for visitor wand, tablet 212 for handwriting, one or more biological or biometric sensors 21
4 and exchange information with the business card scanner 216. In some specific embodiments, some of these components are included, and in other specific embodiments, components other than those shown in FIG. 2 may be included.
In addition, the kiosk terminal 100 includes, for example, a computer touch screen, an optional keyboard, a mouse,
It is possible to incorporate a number of devices not shown in FIG. 2, such as a trackball, a touchpad, a combination of these devices, or other types of input devices.

The microphone 204 captures a sample of the visitor's voice. This is "unconscious capture" that is performed while the visitor does not know. Alternatively, the visitor's voice is sampled after obtaining permission in advance. In that case, the audio capture function of the microphone 204 will be activated after asking the visitor for consent. The microphone 204 captures any words spoken while the visitor is near the kiosk terminal. In a specific embodiment using awareness capture, the visitor may be asked, for example, "Please speak your name." The recorded audio is forwarded to the visitor and is used to identify the visitor. The audio data is stored and used as training data for other algorithms that can identify speakers in unclassified audio tracks, or recognize the utterance of the visitor. For a more detailed description of techniques for identifying individuals based on audio data, see MJ Newman,
Issued to LS Gillick, Y. Ito, entitled "Spea
ker identification using unsupervised speech model
No. 5,946,654, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

Video camera 206 collects interactive information about the visitor. For example, a visitor may be asked if he or she is willing to photograph the visitor. If the visitor returns a positive answer, the visitor poses in front of the camera and presses the capture button when the system is ready to take an image. In some embodiments, the camera captures a short video clip. The clip is captured, for example, in a time window near the time when the shooting button was pressed. The best frame, ie, the single frame most suitable for web framing, is selected from the clip and presented to the visitor. In another embodiment, the video capture is performed without the visitor's knowledge. This video capture is an unconscious capture. Embodiments utilizing unconscious capture may omit the capture button. Further, such an embodiment captures an image of each visitor that has signed the kiosk terminal. The video clip is shot, for example, from when the visitor first starts logging in to immediately after finishing the login. The clip and the best single frame from the clip are saved together.

In one embodiment, two or more cameras are used to capture images of the visitor from different directions. For example, one camera is used to capture an image of the entire face viewed from the front. Other cameras are located around the kiosk terminal and are used to collect visitor clips viewed from various angles. The wide-angle view taken at a predetermined distance from the visitor is used by the system to determine the height of the visitor. These video clips are later used as an aid in identifying the visitor in another environment. If the clip indicates that the visitor is walking around the room, the visitor can be identified using known techniques that demonstrate that a person is often identifiable by a combination of height, body type, posture and walking style. A more detailed description of techniques for identifying individuals based on these characteristics can be found in D. Cunado, JM Nash, MS Nixon, J.
N. Carter; "Gait extraction and description by evi
dence gathering ", Proceedings of the Second Intern
ational Conference on Audio and Video-based Person
Identification, Wahington, DC, March 22-23, 199
9, p.43-48. This document is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

In a specific embodiment, a plurality of close-up images of a visitor are combined to produce a three-dimensional representation of the visitor. One embodiment utilizes Avatarme, Ltd.'s software product (www.avartar.com) to generate a three-dimensional image of a visitor that can later be used to identify the visitor in another environment. I do.

The information captured by the visitor kiosk terminal is:
Used by other office equipment to identify visitors.
This allows automatic identification of a visitor to be performed by a device that uses unconscious capture. In a specific embodiment, after the visitor kiosk terminal provides information about the visitor to other devices in the facility, these other devices use this information to later identify the visitor. Thus, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the on-site photocopier determines that a particular visitor has requested a copy service based on the identification information collected for the visitor at the visitor kiosk terminal. Can be recognized. A visitor kiosk terminal may combine information regarding the authority of a particular visitor to use certain devices with networked equipment within the facility. After these devices recognize the visitor,
Determine if the visitor is authorized to access a particular device.

The speaker 208 is used by the kiosk terminal to execute a pre-recorded greeting. The pre-recorded greeting is, for example, "Welcome to the XX Institute"
Or a greeting created for an individual visitor. For example, after scanning Mr. X's business card, the kiosk terminal may welcome the identified visitor with a greeting, "Mr. X, welcome to our company." In a specific embodiment, instructions to the visitor are read out. For example, Digital EquipmentCorporati
Computer synthesized speech obtained by DECtalk, a product of on, or voice obtained by pre-recorded audio clips, is used to generate speech speech. The kiosk terminal 100 can be used before and after the visitor signs,
Alternatively, it is possible to play the music at another point during the signing procedure.

Docking station 2 for visitor wand
10 is a connection part to the visitor wand 300. The visitor wand is used, for example, as an identification badge.
Each visitor is given a visitor wand and is asked to carry that visitor wand while visiting the facility. In a specific embodiment, the visitor wand may record the whereabouts of the visitor, the visitor's visitor, and what the visitor spoke during the visit. This information is compiled into a "visitor diary" that records what the visitor has experienced within the facility. Docking station 21 for visitor wand
0 gives information about the time the visitor wand was removed and returned. Combined with the visitor kiosk terminal user interface software, the identity of the visitor holding a particular visitor wand is tracked. The docking station includes a mechanism for downloading data to and uploading data from the visitor wand. The visitor wand will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0032] The handwriting tablet 212 captures the visitor's signature at the kiosk terminal and acts as a replacement for the traditional entry form. The visitor is prompted by the user interface to sign the tablet. Preferably, a pressure sensitive tablet is used. Of course,
Other types of tablets are used in various specific embodiments. The handwriting tablet obtains a sample of the visitor's signature and allows for accurate verification of the visitor's signature after the visit. A detailed description of the technology for personal identification based on handwritten characters can be found in the publication R. Plamondon and G.
Lorette, "Automatic signature Verification: The st
ate of the art ", Pattern Recognition, 22, No.2, 10
7-131, 1989. This document is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

[0033] Biological and biometric sensors 214 connected to the kiosk terminal computer 202 provide data that can later be used to biometrically identify the visitor. Biological and biometric sensors 214
Collects information related to human body functions such as, for example, weight, body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, one or more fingerprints, and smell. Fingerprints can be read through a special mouse, the space bar on the keyboard, or a touch screen. A detailed description of the technique of weighing can be found in the publication: M.
D. Addlesse, AH Jones, F. Livesey and ES Samari
a, "The ORL Active Floor", IEEE Personal Communica
tions, Vol.4, No.5, October 1997, pp.35-4 (ftp: // f
tp.uk.research.att.com:/pub/docs/att'tr.97.11.pdf)
It is described in. This document is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

In a specific embodiment, the biometric identification and / or visitor wand identification identifies that the visitor is at a networked office device, such as a copier, printer, facsimile machine, or the like. Used to A visitor who has permission to use the device recognizes the visitor's biometric information by comparing the visitor's kiosk terminal 100 to the known biometric "signature" for that visitor and permission information. Is done. In some cases, images of documents processed by the visitor using office equipment are captured without the visitor's knowledge and passed to the visitor at the end of the visit.

The emotional state of the visitor is recognized by a combination of these biological measurements. Techniques for estimating emotional states from biological measurements are well known. The emotional state of the visitor is determined, and the result of the determination is notified to the visitor. This information is useful for the destination to respond to the visitor's silent request. For example, nervous people are willing to accept the opportunity to make a phone call. Thus, by knowing the emotional state of the visitor, the facility accepting the visitor can select an action for reassuring the visitor.

The business card scanner 216 is connected to the kiosk terminal computer 202 and is connected to the visitor kiosk terminal 10.
Placed near zero. Kiosk terminal computer 20
Event-based software within the user interface controls the operation of the business card scanner 216.
At an appropriate point during the interaction with the visitor, the visitor inserts the business card into the business card scanner 216. Business card insertion is detected,
The operation of the scanner is started. Business card images are acquired,
Will be saved. An optical character recognition (OCR) program is applied to the image locally on the kiosk terminal computer or remotely on the server 22. The result of the OCR is displayed to the visitor using the interface software of the kiosk terminal computer 202. Fields such as "name" are detected by OCR and used in the user interface to address visitors. The visitor is asked to confirm the result of the OCR through a prompt on the display screen or a voice message. In a specific embodiment, a double-sided business card scanner is used. In these embodiments, for example, information can be input from a foreign language business card such as used in Japan, where English information and Japanese information are printed on each side. OCR software determines the language being printed and automatically applies the appropriate algorithm.

The kiosk terminal 100 can be connected to a computer system, a network, or the like using a number of interfaces to provide information to people at the facility. Local network interface 220
Is the kiosk terminal 100 and the local network 2
0 to communicate with client computers and other devices. Local network 20 may be, for example, a local area network (LAN). The private server 22 is, for example, an in-company dedicated computer that can be accessed only by employees in the facility. Private server 22 is a convenient location for storing information about visitors gathered from one or more kiosk terminals used at one or more facilities. A browser (not shown) runs on server 22
The above visitor information is accessible. For example, a number of devices (not shown) such as a network-type copier, a facsimile machine, and a computer such as Ricoh's eCabinet are connected via a network 20 to a kiosk terminal 10.
0 can be communicated.

The network interface 222
The kiosk terminal 100 is generally connected to a freely accessible network 30 for external communication. The network interface 222 is connected to the kiosk terminal 100
And is used to communicate between publicly accessible resources such as sites on the World Wide Web. The public server 32 is connected to the network 3
0, the network interface 222, and the computer 2 for the kiosk terminal via a firewall software application (not shown).
02, for example, allowing free access to specific information about visitors and / or facilities. A web browser (not shown) provides an interface to this information.

The telephone interface 224 makes a telephone connection via a public switched telephone network (PSTN or POTS). The telephone interface 224 has a function for a person in the facility to exchange information with the kiosk terminal 100 using a telephone.

The ability to have network access provides a number of advantages in particular embodiments.
For example, in one embodiment, the information sent from the video camera of the kiosk terminal is displayed on a monitor (not shown) of the computer of the person who intends to visit the visitor. The computer monitor is connected to the kiosk terminal computer 202 via the network 20, for example.
Connected to. A person who intends to visit the visitor can see the area around the kiosk terminal to know if the visitor has arrived. As a result, people on the facility side
As soon as the visitor arrives at the kiosk terminal, the visitor can be greeted and, if necessary, a personal greeting can be given. A client monitor (not shown) can indicate in real time actions performed on the keyboard and / or touch screen of kiosk terminal computer 202. The client monitor can receive the supply of raw audio information from the microphone 204 of the kiosk terminal 100. In a specific embodiment, the microphone 204 provides audio information without the visitor's notice (capturing unconsciously).

Various system maintenance and update functions are implemented by the network interface. In one embodiment, communication between the kiosk terminal computer 202 and the server 22 is initiated after the visitor signs at the kiosk terminal. In the case of the present embodiment, communication is realized using a Unix socket opened to a process on the server 22. Next, the kiosk terminal computer 202 sends a message indicating that the new visitor has arrived to the server 22.
Send to In response to this message, the process on the server 22 is, for example, the kiosk terminal computer 2
Open an ftp connection to 02 and obtain a copy of the file associated with the newly arrived visitor. These files include, for example, business card images, processing results of business card images by OCR, text data, sound files, video clips, and the like. The kiosk terminal computer 202 can respond to the status request created by the server 22 via the network 20, for example. The kiosk computer 202 tracks its performance using a number of statistical measures, such as the start date of the program, the number of visitors, and the date the last visitor logged in. In a specific embodiment, known statistical moments, such as mean, mode, average, standard deviation, kurtosis, etc., track visitor numbers, visitor arrival times, etc. Used to Next, for example, in response to a request from server 22 made using a socket call, kiosk terminal computer 202 returns a list of recorded events and / or statistics to the requestor. The server 22 analyzes the statistic returned from the kiosk terminal computer 202,
Check whether the kiosk terminal 100 is operating normally.

In one embodiment, kiosk terminal computer 202 sends an e-mail message over network 20. This e-mail message
The arrival of the visitor is notified to the destination connected to the network 20. The destination can identify the visitor by the email message. Attachments, such as the visitor's sound, video, and / or still image, are attached to the email to help identify the visitor. The kiosk terminal computer 202 receives the e-mail message and processes the message in response to a command. For example, an e-mail message titled "SHOW VISITORS" might have the address kiosk@crc.rico
When sent to the h.com visitor kiosk terminal 100, the kiosk terminal returns a list of visitors and the date that the visitor signed the kiosk terminal 100. Similarly, the kiosk terminal 100 is notified of a visitor's coming schedule. For example, the e-mail message "VISITOR 8/22/1999 Mr.X"
Indicates that this visitor's expected visit date is August 22. In one embodiment, this information is used by the kiosk terminal to post-process the results of applying OCR software to an image obtained by scanning a visitor's business card. Further, in a specific embodiment, the information obtained from this notification is used to construct a user interface. For example, a pull-down menu is created using the name of the visitor who has been notified that the kiosk terminal is to visit. When a prospective visitor arrives, the visitor can select his name from a pull-down menu. Information on the prospective visitor is used to notify the destination that the particular prospective visitor has not yet arrived. The user interface can be changed based on the prospective visitor. For example,
If a person of the famous company X is going to visit, a photograph highlighting the relationship with the company X can be displayed on the screen.

In one embodiment, kiosk terminal computer 202 includes a web server program that builds a stand-alone visitor information collection system on network 20. In such a configuration, the kiosk terminal computer 202 holds a home page that displays the visitors processed by the kiosk terminal 100 and the destinations of the visits. You can use the visitor name, host name,
This information can be queried based on parameters such as date or date range, purpose and associated events. For example, a query such as “display a visitor who visited in June for a review meeting” is issued as a query for information stored by the visitor kiosk terminal 100. In one embodiment, the CGI script is executed by the kiosk terminal computer 202 to retrieve the appropriate data and display the search results as a web page. The prospective visitor is web server 2
2 using a CGI script. Using the form interface, users can enter date, name, organization,
You can enter your phone number, email address, purpose of visit, scheduled arrival time, and schedule. Furthermore, the name of each person in the facility where the visitor meets and the time of each visit are also input.

The network interface 222
It is connected to the World Wide Web via the external network 30. In a specific embodiment, personal information about the visitor is automatically collected from the World Wide Web. For example, a visitor may try to find a topic of interest to the visitor. The visitor's local weather over the past few days or weeks, the position of the local sports team and recent game results are searched to create a "person profile" that is useful as the basis for conversations with the visitor. . You can also search for the latest cultural events, such as plays in the visitor's local area. For example, popular Internet sites such as YAHOO ^™ are one of the sources from which such data can be obtained.

When the visitor returns to the facility, a list of the weather when the visitor visited last time and a very important news story at that time can be obtained. This information is communicated to the visitor via an email message prior to the visitor's expected arrival time.

The creation of personal information includes security-related information. Security-related information is useful if the visitor has never visited the facility before.
For example, searching for the visitor's name on an online newspaper may provide answers to multiple security-related questions. Examples of security-related questions are "Who recently wrote a letter to the editor?", "Who was recently arrested?" Should I do that? " Local newspapers are searched for recent breaking news local to the visitor. Also, the person's name is searched in one or more databases. The database includes vehicle department (DMV) data such as genealogy information, ham radio licenses, aircraft pilots, driver licenses and registrations, voter registrations, property rights,
Includes readily available archives for tax obligations and various criminal records.

Visitor information obtained from the World Wide Web and other external sources is augmented by information stored in a database located on server 22 or directly from kiosk terminal computer 202. . This information may be entered using a "visitor" web form. For example, the visitor's personal car type, hobby (for example, golf), favorite food, the place where he ate when he visited last time, and the like are incorporated into the visitor's personal profile. This information is compared to online restaurant guides to determine which restaurants visitors can recommend to eat during their stay. The history of accommodation hotels is also used to suggest visitor accommodations.

A public server 32 connected to a generally freely accessible communication network 30 allows the World Wide Web to be used as an activity base for later communication with visitors. As described above, a visitor is assigned a web page when visiting a facility. Each time a visitor visits the facility, the web page is updated with the latest visit record. Information about the visitor (with or without photos), minutes, etc. are pasted on the visitor's web page. For example, other information such as the weather and headline of the day when the visitor last visited may be added. In addition, technical reports or documents submitted by the visitor at the time of the visit are posted on the visitor's web page. In the embodiment utilizing an extranet, people inside the company can securely share the selected information with the customer by posting the information on the customer's web page. Of course, this concept is also useful in situations other than in-person interview visits, and can be extended to encompass ongoing relationships initiated by email or telephone. According to a specific embodiment, the visitor is provided with a mechanism to control the distribution of information by tracking who the visitor has met and what has been discussed. Further, specific embodiments can help a visitor remember what was discussed at a meeting held during the visit.

The telephone interface 224 implements a communication function between the visitor and the callee via telephone. When a visitor registers with a kiosk terminal and specifies a destination, the destination is called by telephone. The kiosk terminal notifies the destination of the arrival of the visitor. When there is no response from the called party, the designated delegate is called. The kiosk terminal sends a pre-recorded message to the destination or its agent. If the visitor's name is
If known (from the processing result or the entered name), the name is incorporated into the message by the speech synthesizer. The telephone interface allows the kiosk terminal to also function as a speakerphone. When the callee answers the telephone call from the kiosk terminal, a connection is established with the visitor. In this way, the visiting party (host) greets the visitor, tells him to meet him at the kiosk terminal immediately, and tells him to guide him to the facility. A video link can be added to this interface, so that a conversation like a video conference can be performed.

In some embodiments, the kiosk terminal 100
Receives a telephone call via the telephone interface 224. In this embodiment, the kiosk terminal 100 has a touch-tone interface, and the caller can perform various options. One option is to check the status of the expected visitor. Another option is to leave a voice message that is played to the prospective visitor when it arrives. Using the touch tone interface, the visitor of the visitor can be changed, and the planned visitor can be added or deleted.

In a specific embodiment, a security device (not shown) such as a metal detector or explosive detector is incorporated into the kiosk terminal. These embodiments can increase security for persons working in the security area. In one embodiment, a detector for RF transmission or reception can detect whether a visitor has an eavesdropping device. A detailed description of many embodiments of commercially available sensors that are useful for constructing certain embodiments can be found in "The Spy Store" (http: //www.thespystore.c
om).

In a specific embodiment, a printer (not shown) is associated with the visitor kiosk terminal 100. In some embodiments, after the visitor signs at the kiosk terminal,
Receive the printed receipt from the printer. This receipt includes a URL uniquely assigned to the visitor. This URL is created for the visitor, and the public server 32
Represents a web page located at This web page is
Provide a place to access visitors and information gathered about visits. Other potentially useful information,
For example, information such as what has changed since the visitor last visited the facility is printed on the receipt.

Next, the operation of the above-described components and other components of the specific embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail. In many specific embodiments, not all of these components may be present. Also, many embodiments include other components. These changes will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 3A is a structural diagram of a visitor wand according to an embodiment of the present invention. The visitor wand 300 shown in FIG. 3A has a display area 30 for presenting a message to the visitor.
2 as a hand-held device. The display area 302 displays an entry created by the visitor using the keypad 304 to the visitor. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, the keypad 304 comprises a "qwerty" type key arrangement. However, a subset type that is part of a "qwerty" type key array, as well as a "qwety"
Alternative key arrangements may be used in other embodiments, such as a superset type key arrangement, including an rty "type key arrangement. The handgrip 306 has a contour that conforms to the visitor's hand. In one embodiment, a video camera 310 is integrated into the visitor wand.
12a and 312b can detect biological information about the visitor, such as heart rate. Visitor wand 3
00 can guide the visitor to the facility. The circuit for the visitor may include a visitor wand 30 before the visitor arrives.
0 is stored. The visitor wand 300 displays the tour with instructions to the visitor at specific intervals during the day. For example, at 10 am, the visitor wand 300
A message saying, "Get on the elevator to the 4th floor, go 50 feet to the right and you will reach Room 561." Alternatively, the instruction may be displayed graphically using a map.

The visitor wand 300 includes an audio recorder. Microphone 308 and audio recording circuitry (not shown) have the ability to save copies of notes from meetings attended by visitors while traveling around the facility. The recorded content can be parameterized by the identity of the visiting destination, calculated as described above. As a result, the visitor or the destination can be easily searched later. For example, a visitor may want to make an inquiry such as "Search for conversations I had with Mr. X on August 9".

A video camera 310 is incorporated into the wand 300 to record visitor behavior and experience within the facility. The recording is supplemented by still images or video clips captured from other cameras in the facility. For example, images from cameras in a particular room are captured and stored on a wand or server when the visitor is in that room. A detailed description of techniques for capturing video recordings can be found in the publications: M. Eldridge, M. Lamming, and
M. Flynn; "Does a Video Diary Help Recall?", Tech
nical Report EPC-1991-124, published in People and
Computers VII, A. Monk et.al. (ed.), Cambridge U
niversity Press, 1992, pp. 257-269.

The biological sensors 312a and 312b
Detects heartbeat, heat, smell, etc. These sensors help identify the wand user and help detect if the wand has been passed from one person to another. Sensors 312a and 312b can detect biometric data and can determine the emotional state of the visitor from the biometric data. This information is also useful for the facility side to make the visitor feel comfortable. For example, a herbal tea can be served to a visitor determined to be very nervous.

In a specific embodiment, an inertial sensor is mounted on the wand. For a detailed description of inertia detection techniques, see the publication: Marc A. Viredaz; "The Itsy Pocket Computer V
ersion 1.5: User's Manual ", Technical Note TN-54,
Compaq Western Research Laboratory, July 1998. This document is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. An inertial sensor signals when the wand is stationary for an extended period of time. This indicates that the visitor has removed the wand.

In a specific embodiment, visitor wand 3
00 maintains wireless communication with one or more transceivers located within the facility using an antenna 316 connected to internal communication circuitry (not shown). Visitor wand 300 includes circuitry (not shown) that can measure distance from other transceivers in the facility. The facility is equipped with a number of fixed transceivers, from which the wand 300 can position the wand by triangulation principles. This location information is transmitted to the kiosk terminal 1 by a fixed transceiver.
Transmitted to a common point such as 00, the kiosk terminal 1
00 functions as a base station.

The microphone 308, the speaker 314,
Antenna 316 and associated circuitry (not shown)
Add phone features to the wand. The visitor can communicate with the visitor using a telephone by scrolling the cursor to the name of the visitor in the display 302 and pressing a button in the keypad 304.
The visitor wand establishes a telephone connection with the selected destination. Similarly, the callee can communicate with the visitor by calling the wand's telephone number given to the visitor. This telephone number is recorded by the kiosk terminal 202 and notified to the visitor on the visitor's circuit. This number may be posted on a web page accessible using the network 20.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram of a typical visitor wand according to another embodiment of the present invention. The visitor wand 320 shown in FIG. 3B is implemented as a handheld device with cellular telephone communication capabilities. Wand 320
Is implemented as a handheld device having a display area 322 for presenting a message to a visitor. Display area 3
Numeral 22 displays the entry created by the visitor using the keypad 324 to the visitor. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B, the keypad 324 comprises an alphanumeric style key arrangement. However, other key arrangements may be used in other embodiments, such as a subset type that is part of a "qwerty" type key arrangement, as well as a superset type key arrangement that includes a "qwerty" type key arrangement. . The microphone 328, the speaker 334, and an audio recording circuit (not shown) realize an audio input / output function. Microphone 328, speaker 334, and antenna 336 provide telephone access with a wand. In this embodiment, a video camera 330 is integrated into the visitor wand. A plurality of biometric sensors 332a and 332b can detect biological information about the visitor, such as heart rate.

FIG. 3C is a block diagram of an exemplary visitor wand according to a further embodiment of the present invention. The visitor wand 340 shown in FIG. 3C is implemented as a personal data assistant (PDA) type device. Wand 34
Numeral 0 includes a digital handwriting pad 344, and the visitor can use the digital handwriting pad 344 to input data such as a memorandum. The memorandum is stored in the memory of the wand 340 and retrieved later. The wand 340 has a display area 342 for presenting a message to the visitor, and the display area 342 displays an entry created by the visitor using the handwriting pad 344 to the visitor. Microphone 348, speaker 35
4 and an audio recording circuit (not shown) realize an audio input / output function. Microphone 348, speaker 354, and antenna 356 provide wand-based telephone access. In this embodiment, the video camera 3
50 is incorporated into the visitor wand. A plurality of biometric sensors 352a and 352b can detect biological information about the visitor, such as heart rate.

The record of the visitor with whom the visitor has met is created using the fixed physical location of the visitor and the technique of triangulation. The physical location of the destination is determined by an accurate mapping between the estimated location of the visiting destination and the actual physical location. This mapping is determined from an office layout or the like. For example, visitor A, who holds a particular visitor wand, is located by the signal from the visitor wand in the vicinity of destination B's office when in the facility to visit destination B. Another option requires that the visitor carry a transceiver similar to the visitor wand. In this example, the destination is
It is considered that the person is carrying a wand that is physically near the visitor.

A microphone in a facility that is not attached to the wand can enhance the recording performance of the visitor wand. These additional microphones may be attached to the fixed transceivers described above, or other connections may be utilized. In one configuration example, the wand transmits the location of the wand and the audio signal to record to the base station. The base station also receives audio input from other microphones in the facility. The base station determines which microphone is active given the physical location of the wand. Audio from each active microphone is captured and stored. Alternatively, the audio from the microphone with the highest audio level is saved. When a reduced amplitude signal from a non-wand microphone is present in the background of the sound recorded by the wand microphone, the audio signals from multiple microphones are compared to confirm the selection of the non-wand microphone. Instead of selecting one audio track, save two or more audio tracks from the active microphone set. From the microphones in the active state, the N sharpest signals are selected. Alternatively, signals from all active microphones may be stored.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a typical hardware configuration of a visitor wand in a specific embodiment according to the present invention. The visitor wand 300 shown in FIG. 4 includes an antenna 316 connected to a high-frequency circuit 420. The audio circuit 430 connects the high frequency circuit 420 with the speaker 314 and the microphone 308. The audio circuit 430 and the high-frequency circuit 420 are a CPU 460
Connected to. CPU 460 controls various functions of the components of visitor wand 300. CPU 460
Controls the high-frequency circuit 420 and the audio circuit 430 according to a control program stored in the memory 480 connected to the CPU 460. The memory 480 may be a RAM, a flash RAM,
And / or ROM. CPU 460
Is connected to the keypad 304 and the display 302, and inputs and outputs information to and from visitors. CPU 460
Displays on the display 302 information necessary for communication, such as the connection status, the telephone number of the called party, the e-mail address, and the e-mail data to be transmitted or received, together with the information necessary for the user of the visitor wand 300. C
The PU 460 is connected to the I / O port 466,
Port 466 provides interconnection to multiple sensors and devices. For example, camera 310, biometric sensor 312
a and 312b, etc.
It is connected to the PU 460 and is accessible from the CPU 460.

The above description relates to the visitor wand 300 shown in FIG. 3A, but this description is merely an example of a hardware configuration and does not limit the present invention. Further, the visitor wand according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C is implemented using similar components and techniques as described with respect to FIG. Therefore,
The internal hardware configuration of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C will not be further described for brevity.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of visitor information processing according to one embodiment of the present invention. Step 50 in FIG.
At 2, the visitor kiosk terminal 100 records information about the visitor. Next, at step 504, the information is formatted into a storage format. In one specific embodiment, the information is formatted in HTML format. However, many other formats may be used in specific embodiments. Next, in step 506,
The information is stored in a database. The database is provided on a server 22 connected to the visitor kiosk 100. In another embodiment, the information is stored locally in a database at the visitor kiosk terminal 100. At step 508, information about the visitor is obtained from the database, and at the same time, from other sources, such as the Internet, the World Wide Web, and the like. Next, in step 510, information about the visitor is passed to the information consumer. The user can use a workstation to query and obtain information about the visitor. Alternatively, the user
For example, the information can be received by telephone. In various specific embodiments, the procedure for this visitor information processing can be varied. Also, in some embodiments, not all procedures are necessarily performed. Further, in many embodiments, additional procedures not described herein may be included. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that these modifications can be made.

FIGS. 6A-6M show examples of screens displayed during a typical reception session according to a specific embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6A shows a typical welcome screen (Ricoh Touchscreen Guestboo
k). The welcome screen, as part of the reception,
Image or product slideshow, advertising, latest stock price,
Display information such as daily comics. The information is selected according to regional preferences and can be changed depending on the intended audience. The welcome screen includes a picture 601 of the visited facility. A visitor can use a touch screen, keyboard or mouse to select a preferred language from language selection buttons 602. Therefore, a welcome message and a message prompting you to first touch the language selection button are displayed (Welcome to Richo '
s California Research Center.Please touch one of t
he buttons below to begin.). 6A to 6M, a case where English is selected as the language will be described.

FIG. 6B shows an example of a screen on which a plurality of destinations are presented to the visitor, and the visitor selects a destination from among the plurality of destinations.
(Who area you here to see today?). In this specific example, the destination is a selection button 605 (eg, Marko Balabanovic, Pamel) on which the name of the destination is drawn.
a Gage, Toshio Kanoh). However, in another embodiment, the selection button may be, for example, an image of the other party. Some select buttons are used to represent the destination group 606. For the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 6B, an Unknown button 60
7 and the Restart button 608, the visitor can specify that he does not know the name of the other party or that he wishes to redo the signing procedure again.

FIG. 6C shows an example of a typical screen on which the visitor can specify the purpose of the visit (Please choose the purse).
pose of your visit.) The visitor can use the scrolling window 610 to select a purpose. For example, the scrolling window 610 has a review meeting (Rev.
iew Meeting), technology demonstration (Technology
Demonstration), Sales Meeting, Recruitment Interview
(Job Interview), Other (Other), etc. are displayed. The selection is made by moving a cursor using a mouse, a trackball, or a keyboard, or by using a touch screen. The visitor can use the end key (Done) 611 to notify the kiosk terminal of the end of the selection. In the case of this embodiment, the visitor can select a back button (Back) 612 or a redo button (Restart) 613. In another specific embodiment, the user manually enters the purpose of the visit using the keyboard.

FIG. 6D is a diagram showing an example of a typical screen for prompting the user to scan a business card or to manually input visitor-related information using a keyboard. This screen displays a text statement (Please Choose business card scan or manual) to help visitors enter business cards.
entry by pressing one of the buttons below.) 615
And Photo Example 616 are shown. In this embodiment, the visitor can select the return button 617 or the start button 618.

FIG. 6E shows an operation method screen for scanning a visitor's business card. This screen displays the text statement (Ple
ase insert your business card face down in the Car
dScan.) 620 and a photograph example 621 are displayed to assist the visitor in inputting a business card. In this embodiment, the visitor can select the back button 622 or the first button 623.

FIG. 6F shows an example of a typical screen prompting a visitor to enter a name and an affiliation name. The screen of FIG. 6F is displayed when the visitor selects manual input of information according to the screen of FIG. 6D, or when the business card scanner cannot read the visitor's business card for some reason. The screen of FIG. 6F shows a text command (Please enter your nam).
e and organization. Press "Done" when you are fini
shed.) 625, a name field (Name) 626, and an affiliation field (Organization) 627. Visitors
For example, using a keyboard or other input device, the name field 626 and the affiliation field 62
Enter the appropriate information in 7. In this embodiment, the visitor can select the back button 628a, the next button 628b, or the first button 629.

FIG. 6G shows an example of a typical screen requesting a visitor to take a picture. This screen displays a text message (May we take your picture?) 630 and an image 6
31. The visitor can select either the Yes button 632 or the No button 633. In the case of the present embodiment, the visitor can select the button 634 at the beginning.

FIG. 6H shows an example of a typical screen for presenting an image 635 taken by a camera to a visitor. The visitor can take a picture by selecting the photograph button 636. In the case of this embodiment, the visitor
A return button 637 or a start button 638 can be selected. Text message (Please look at
the camera and press "Take" when you are ready.) 6
39 asks the visitor to press the capture button when ready. In one specific embodiment, the camera automatically takes multiple pictures of the visitor. Next, the plurality of photos are presented to the user (ie, the visitor), and the user can use a mouse or other pointing device or a keyboard to select one of the plurality of photos.
More than one photo can be selected. In this specific embodiment, the visitor need not select the capture button.

FIG. 6I shows an example of a typical result screen for presenting a photographed image of a visitor and information of the visitor to the visitor. The visitor can change the text using the text edit button 640, or use the redo shooting button 6
For example, the user can take a photograph again using the camera 41. In the case of this embodiment, the visitor can select the button 642 to the beginning. If the visitor is not dissatisfied with the captured image, the visitor can select the next button 643 and proceed to the next. In another embodiment, the procedure shown in FIGS. 6H to 6I can be replaced with a single prompt that automatically allows the user to select a particular image from among a plurality of images taken by the camera. . In this case, the image is automatically captured in response to the visitor granting permission to take his picture by selecting the Yes button 632 shown in FIG. 6G. In this example, information 644 collected about the visitor, for example, name and affiliation (N
ame: Derek Poppink, Organization: RSV) is displayed. Optionally, the kiosk terminal displays information about the visitor's last visit (Your last visit was 12:35 PMWedne
sday, August 11, 1999.) 645 and display it.

FIG. 6J shows an example of a typical screen requesting to record a visitor's voice. Visitors are asked to say their name by text message (Please say your name and press "Done".). The visitor can select the next (Done) button 647 when the utterance ends.

FIG. 6K is a diagram showing an example of a typical screen for inquiring whether or not another visitor accompanies the visitor. This screen displays a query (Is there another
person in your party?) 650. The visitor can select an appropriate button. When the visitor selects the Yes button 651, the next visitor will receive
The prompt shown at K is given in the same procedure. If the visitor selects the No button 652, the welcome screen shown in FIG. 6L is displayed. In the case of this embodiment, the visitor can select the start button 653.

FIG. 6L shows an example of a typical final screen displayed at the end of a reception session for one visitor. In the case of this embodiment, the screen displays a text message (Thank you for visiting the California Researc
h Center.Please have a seat while you are waitin
g.) 655. The visitor is given the last opportunity to further refine the reception session by selecting the first button 656.

FIG. 6M is a diagram showing a typical example of an HTML format expression representing a visitor created from information about the visitor collected at the visitor kiosk terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This representation 660 includes a digital image 661 of the visitor and a digital image 662 of the visitor's business card. In some embodiments, images on both sides of a double-sided business card are included. Typical text title (Title: Masamitu S
akukrai logged in onguestbook Thu Jul 22 09:31:00
1999) 663 indicates the name of the visitor and the date and time of the visit. U
RL664 represents the address of the web page for this visitor. In the data field (Data) 665, a link to the result of the OCR program applied to the visitor's business card is provided. In the handling field (Handling) 666,
A link is provided to the printing process that provides a mechanism for printing visitor information. For example, a copy of the visitor's business card image or a formatted copy of the visitor's web page information is printed. Search field (S
earching) 667 is a mechanism for inputting search parameters for information about visits. For example, a user can search for information about a visitor's previous visit, search for documents that include the visitor's name, or find other visitors associated with a particular visitor. Communications field 668 may be used to send visitor information by e-mail, or to provide visitor information to World
A link will be posted for publication on the Wide Web. In various embodiments, not all of these fields are present. Further, in many embodiments, other fields are incorporated. These various modifications are modifications that can be easily understood by those skilled in the art.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a typical technique for tracking a visitor wand in a specific embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows a kiosk terminal 100 connected to a plurality of positioning devices (locators) via a network 20. The figure shows positioning devices 700 distributed throughout the facility,
702 and 704 are shown. Positioning devices 700, 70
2 and 704 communicate with an example visitor wand 340 via a wireless communication link. Global Positioning System (GP
S) (not shown) allows the positioning device 7
00, 702, and 704 may determine the location of the visitor within the facility when the visitor wand 340 communicates with the positioners 700-704. In a specific embodiment, visitor location information is collected and recorded at multiple time intervals. From such data, one or more histories are prepared. For example, the personal history for a visitor includes the location where the visitor stopped in the facility. Another type of history, called location history, includes visitors who have visited a particular location within the communication range of one of the plurality of positioners 700-704. Other types of history can be created. For example, a history that tracks the location of the meeting and / or the frequency of the meeting, the usage status of the visitor wand, etc. is created in a specific embodiment.

The visitor wand 340 notifies the positioning device 700 of the information. This information includes, for example, an identifier, business card information, a visitor name, a URL of a homepage, and the like. Positioning device 700 also notifies visitor wand 340 of the information. For example, in one exemplary embodiment,
The locator 700 notifies the visitor wand 340 of information such as a locator box description identifier, a locator box URL, a geographical location such as latitude and longitude, and current time. In one specific embodiment, both the personal history and the location history are
Updated with a timed event such as the arrival of a visitor holding a particular visitor wand. For personal history, this event contains detailed information about the location. In particular, the URL of the locator box 700 is used to later obtain information such as, for example, persons who participated in the meeting other than visitors. The location history includes detailed information about the visitor. Various specific embodiments may include other types of capture devices to reinforce these histories, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, in one specific embodiment, the passive badge or ID card is
Used to include zero. Visitor wand 340
And various types of communication technologies can be used to perform communication between the positioning devices 700 to 704. For example, Bluetooth ^{T M} ,
Direct connection, (for example, Timex ^TM Data Link ^TM
Visual technology (such as used in watches), mobile phones, pagers or short message services (SM
S), magnetic card reading, infrared link, etc.
Used in specific embodiments to provide a communication path.
Further, the positioning device 700 can be connected to the Internet via a wireless connection.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a typical visitor information reference procedure according to one embodiment of the present invention. In a specific embodiment, information about the visitor is used to implement a personal name lookup function. FIG. 8 shows an e-mail document 840.
A workstation 850 browsing is shown. When reading a document such as an e-mail 840 displayed on the screen of the workstation 850, the user invokes the personal name reference function, for example, by clicking a browser button or a button on the user toolbar. Can be. The source of the document 840 is passed to a process that implements a personal name lookup function. The personal name lookup process scans document 840 for personal names. Next, the personal name reference process requests information about the individual from the server 22. The personal name in the document 840 where the recording is located on the server 22 is replaced by a hypertext link 825 to that recording. These hypertext links may, for example, indicate a record of the visit that the visitor made to the business. The user clicks on the hypertext link 825 to open the associated record 810 of the visitor's information. The user browses the information on the visitor stored in the related recording.
For example, the user selects a hypertext link 825 with a mouse to designate a visitor's desire to view a photograph. The picture of the visitor is useful for reviving the user's memory about the visitor. A specific embodiment that incorporates a personal name lookup function solves the problem of name to face matching.

In another embodiment, the personal name reference function is implemented using a proxy. In response, hypertext link 825 is automatically inserted. In another specific embodiment, the World Wide Web is, among many popular website search engines, for example,
Using one search engine, such as http://www.whowhere.lycos.com, the search is performed to find a home page or email address associated with the personal name.

A portable visitor kiosk according to another embodiment includes a digital camera and an optional portable card scanner. Software is run on the camera that allows the visitor to take a picture of the visitor. The visitor speaks his / her name, affiliation, and reason for the visit into the microphone attached to the camera, or types in such information using the keyboard on the camera. This data is kept on the camera,
Alternatively, it is downloaded to the server 22. In one specific embodiment, the information can be sold as a web service.

The above description is that of a preferred embodiment of the invention. It is recognized that modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a visitor reception and information gathering kiosk device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a visitor reception and information collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a visitor wand according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a visitor wand according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram of a visitor wand according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of a visitor wand according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for processing visitor information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6C is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6D is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6E is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6F is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6G is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6H is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6I is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6J is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6K is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6L is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6M is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen displayed during a reception session according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example of visitor wand tracking according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an HTML description of a visitor instance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 LAN 22 Private server 30 Communication network 32 Public server 100 Visitor kiosk terminal 202 Computer 204 Microphone 206 Video camera 208 Speaker 210 Visitor wand docking station 212 Handwriting tablet 214 Biological or biometric sensor 216 Business card scanner 220 LAN interface 222 Network Interface 224 Telephone Interface 300 Visitor Wand

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on front page (72) Inventor Marco Barabanovic, United States, California 94025, Menlo Park, Sand Hill Road No. 2882, Suite 115 Inside Ricoh Corporation (72) Inventor Michael Baxter, United States, California 94025 , Menlo Park, Sand Hill Road No. 2882, Suite 115 Ricoh Corporation (72) Inventor Jamey Graham United States, California 94025, Menlo Park, Sand Hill Road No. 2882, Suite 115 Ricoh Corporation ( 72) Inventor Peter E. Hart, California 94025, Menlo Park, Sand Hill Road 2882 , Suite 115 Ricoh Corporation (72) Inventor Dar Shanley United States, California 94025, Menlo Park, Sand Hill Road No. 2882, Suite 115 Ricoh Corporation (72) Inventor Gretzg Wolf, United States of America, California 94025 , Menlo Park, Sand Hill Road No. 2882, Suite 115 F-term in Ricoh Corporation (reference) 3E038 AA01 AA20 BA01 BB05 CA02 CA03 CA07 DA07 DB03 FA10 GA02 HA05 JA10 JB02 5E501 AA13 AA30 CA02 CA06 CB06 CB13 CB14 CB20 CB20

Claims (31)

[Claims] 1. A display, comprising: a display; at least one input device; a storage device; a processor; and at least one sensor, wherein the processor is responsive to a visitor in response to a prompt provided through the display. Collecting information about the visitor from the at least one input device, the processor collecting information about the visitor from the at least one sensor substantially simultaneously; Is stored in the storage device. 2. The visitor receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is a sensor that collects information about the visitor without being noticed by the visitor. 3. The visitor receiving device according to claim 1, wherein said processor further comprises a music reproducing device for controlling performance of music to the visitor. 4. The information on the visitor includes the name, the organization represented by the visitor, the purpose of the visit, the date of the visit, the time of the visit, the visit destination, and the group of the accompanying visitor. The visitor receiving device according to claim 1, comprising at least one of the following. 5. The visitor accepting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor displays at least one of a greeting, a product image slide show, an advertisement, a latest stock price, a daily comic, and news on the display. 6. A scanner for scanning at least one side of a business card printed on at least one of the first side and the second side, the processor comprising: the first side; The visitor reception device according to claim 1, wherein the text is processed in accordance with a language of the text in response to detection of the text on at least one of the second surface and the second surface. 7. The visitor receiving device according to claim 1, further comprising a microphone for inputting a voice of the visitor. 8. The visitor receiving device according to claim 1, further comprising a video camera for inputting an image of the visitor. 9. The visitor receiving device according to claim 1, further comprising a speaker for issuing a command to the visitor. 10. The visitor accepting device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one visitor wand for recording a visitor's experience. 11. The visitor receiving device according to claim 1, further comprising a biometric sensor for recording biometric information on the visitor. 12. The visitor receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a handwriting tablet for obtaining a handwritten sample of the visitor. 13. The visitor accepting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a security sensor for obtaining information on a sign of danger. 14. The visitor accepting device according to claim 1, further comprising a telephone interface for notifying a telephone message that the visitor has arrived to a visitor. 15. The visitor acceptance device of claim 1, further comprising a web interface providing a freely accessible information source collected about the visitor. 16. A procedure for collecting information about a visitor during an interactive session using an automated kiosk terminal, a step for formatting the collected information into a form suitable for storage, and a step for formatted search. A method of receiving information on a visitor from at least one information source. 17. The procedure for collecting information about a visitor using the automated kiosk terminal includes the steps of acquiring information from the visitor using a process that the visitor has understood, and using a process that the visitor is unaware of. 17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: obtaining information from a visitor. 18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing information on the visitor obtained from said at least one information source and information collected by said kiosk terminal to at least one destination using the information. 16. Visitor reception method described in 16. 19. The step of obtaining information about a visitor from the at least one information source includes the steps of performing a search on the Internet, searching a freely available database, and obtaining from the automated kiosk terminal. 17. The visitor reception method according to claim 16, further comprising at least one of a procedure for searching a database of the visitor information obtained and a procedure for searching a local document database. 20. A system comprising: a plurality of positioners; a network connecting the plurality of positioners; and at least one portable visitor wand, wherein the at least one portable wand comprises a plurality of positioners. Notifying the at least one of the locators of the identification information, wherein the at least one locator tracks a visitor's location based on the notified identification information, and tracks a visitor's behavior in the facility. system 21. The notification of the identification information from the at least one portable wand to the at least one positioning device may include: an infrared communication link, a wireless communication link, an optical communication link,
Magnetic card sensing, performed by at least one scheme selected from a telephone communication link, a pager communication link, and a Bluetooth communication link,
The system of claim 20. 22. The locator is operable to create a history of visits to the at least one locator.
The system of claim 20. 23. The system of claim 20, wherein the locator is operative to create a history of locators visited by a particular visitor. 24. A function for collecting information about a visitor during an interactive session using an automated kiosk terminal; a function for formatting information in a form in which the collected information is stored; and a formatted search. A function for storing information for a visitor, a function for automatically acquiring information about a visitor from at least one information source, information about a visitor acquired from the at least one information source, and information collected by the kiosk terminal. Recording a visitor reception program that causes a computer to implement the function of giving the information to a destination interested in the information. 25. A display, comprising: at least one input device; a storage device; and a processor, wherein the processor receives a command from the at least one input device input in response to a prompt provided through the display. An automatic database creation device for capturing information, wherein the processor stores the captured information in the storage device. 26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the information includes personnel information on at least one employee, and the storage device includes a database for storing the personnel information. 27. The apparatus further comprising at least one sensor device, wherein the sensor device acquires additional information incorporated in a database relating to the personnel information, wherein the additional information is associated with the personnel information by at least one link. An automatic database creation device according to claim 25. 28. The automatic database creation apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said additional information includes at least one of an image and an input time of said personnel information. 29. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the personnel information is used to annotate a document. 30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the personnel information is used to annotate a document by replacing at least one name with a hypertext link to the personnel information. 31. A step of automatically photographing at least one image of a person, a step of presenting the photographed at least one image to the person, and a step of presenting the person in the at least one image. Receiving information specifying a preferred image selected from the following.
Image provision method.