JP2005049601A - Contrived experience system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contrived experience system which enables any users to easily experience a change in the living environment in a simple manner without exerting a physical load to a subject's body. <P>SOLUTION: Sensors capable of detecting the movements, etc., of hands and legs are attached to the subject 20 and the subject is asked to behave in the set place thereof in the case of the actual living environment. When the subject moves out of a region previously set by a movable region setting section 3, an annunciation means 16 applies a stimulus to the sensation of the subject 20. In the case of experiencing in a virtual space, data is selected and read out from a living place DB 6, living tool DB 7, a human body DB 11 and the living environment is built in the virtual space. A human model is arranged therein and is moved in compliance with the movement of the subject. When the movement of the subject goes out of the region set by the movable region setting section 3 in the same manner as above, the annunciation means 16 applies the stimulus to the sensation of the subject. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a simulated experience system that allows a simulated experience of life when aging or when a failure occurs.

  As humans age, their physical functions decline and their arms and legs are harder to go up and their behavior becomes inconvenient. Also, when a physical disorder occurs, the arm or leg is paralyzed and the physical function is reduced. In particular, the older you are, the more likely you are to suffer physical disabilities, and you may not be able to perform your daily life satisfactorily.

  By the way, in order for a healthy person to understand the position of the above-mentioned elderly person and a physically handicapped person, an apparatus and a system capable of simulating a body movement of the elderly person and a physically handicapped person have been proposed.

  For example, as an experience suit that makes it easy to experience various physical disabilities at the same time, a pocket is provided in a connected suit, and weights and sticks are put in the pocket, making it difficult to bend the arms and legs and make the joints difficult to bend. The thing is proposed (for example, refer patent document 1).

In addition, the experience space is reproduced in the virtual space, the movement of the subject is reflected in the human body model in the virtual space, and the subject is put on a suit provided with a motion restriction unit to restrict the movement of the joint ( For example, see Patent Document 2).
JP 2002-20909 A JP-A-10-340039

  However, in the above conventional technique, although the subject can experience the movements of the elderly and the physically handicapped, any means for restricting the movement of the subject applies physical force to the subject's body to control the body movement. Since it is a limitation, the load on the subject is large and may be painful.

  In addition, because it uses an exercise restriction device attached to the suit, it is necessary to make a suit or restriction device that fits each subject, and it takes time and effort for the subject to wear, etc. , Users can not easily experience.

  Therefore, for example, it has been difficult to easily experience life at the time of aging or the occurrence of physical disability in a housing facility or a showroom for daily life equipment.

  The present invention was created to solve the above-described problems, and any user can easily and easily experience changes in the living environment without applying a physical load to the subject's body. The purpose is to provide a simulated experience system.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a living environment reproduction means for reproducing an arbitrarily set scale of a real life space in a virtual space, and a movement of the subject in the real life space. Action detection means for measuring, action possible area setting means capable of arbitrarily setting an area in which the subject can act in the real life space, and action set by the action available area setting means It is a pseudo-experience system characterized by comprising notifying means for stimulating the subject's sense when the subject acts beyond the possible area.

    The invention described in claim 2 is a living environment reproduction unit that reproduces an arbitrary living environment in a virtual space, a virtual human body model generation unit that generates a virtual human body model based on the physical characteristics of the subject, Action detecting means for detecting movement, control means for reflecting the detected movement of the subject in the virtual human body model, and an actionable area in which the area in which the subject can act can be arbitrarily set in the virtual space A pseudo-experience comprising: setting means; and notification means for stimulating a subject's sense when the virtual human body model behaves beyond the actionable area set by the actionable area setting means System.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the actionable area setting means sets an actionable area based on a scale of living equipment arranged in a virtual space reproduced by the living environment reproduction means. The simulated experience system according to claim 1 or 2.

The invention described in claim 4 includes storage means in which an average value of human physical ability is accumulated for each age, and the actionable area setting means is the height of the subject, the experience age that the subject wants to experience Calculating the physical ability at the experience age based on the average height and the physical ability data corresponding to the experience age read from the storage means, and setting an actionable area from the calculated physical ability data 4. The simulated experience system according to claim 1, wherein the system is a simulated experience system.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 includes storage means in which an average value of human physical abilities is accumulated for each age, and the actionable area setting means determines the age of the subject read from the storage means. Based on the corresponding physical ability data, the physical ability data the subject currently has, and the physical ability data read from the storage means corresponding to the age of experience that the subject wants to experience, the physical ability at the experience age is calculated. 4. The simulated experience system according to claim 1, wherein the actionable area is set from the calculated physical ability data.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 6, the actionable area setting means sets a range in which the part is in a stationary state assuming that a failure has occurred in a specific part of the body in the virtual human body model as the actionable area. The simulated experience system according to claim 1, wherein the system is a simulated experience system.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the stimulus amount control for changing the stimulus amount from the notification means to the sensation in proportion to the range in which the subject's action exceeds the action possible area set by the action available area setting means. 7. The simulated experience system according to claim 1, further comprising means.

The invention described in claim 8 is characterized in that the sensory stimulus of the notification means is a stimulus to at least one of visual sense, auditory sense, olfactory sense, tactile sense, and skin sensation. This is a simulated experience system.

The invention described in claim 9 is characterized in that it includes an experience item selection means that allows the subject to arbitrarily select the living environment, the age of experience, the body part where the obstacle has occurred, and the type of stimulation of the notification means. The simulated experience system according to claim 1.

  According to the present invention, no physical load is applied to the subject's body, and the subject is encouraged to restrain the movement spontaneously. You can experience changes in the living environment, not just the life of the time. Moreover, since the suit and the exercise restriction device are not worn, it is easy to move, and the danger can be avoided by normal behavior when the subject falls or touches an obstacle during the experience. Furthermore, it is possible to experience the actions of first-class players and teach actions such as fire fighting.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the entire system to which the present invention is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this system basically uses a computer system. The data input unit 1 is composed of well-known devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner, etc., and inputs characters, numerical values, images, etc., and selects a desired one from a menu displayed on the display unit 14. It is used to do.

  The behavior detection unit 2 detects the movement of the subject 20 who wants to perform a pseudo-experience. In order to detect the movement of the subject 20, for example, a position sensor 40 is provided at a joint part of the body of the subject 20 as shown in FIG. It is attached.

  As the position sensor 40, for example, a magnetic sensor can be used. This magnetic sensor is, for example, a three-dimensional coil wound in three directions of X, Y, and Z, and a current is generated in the coil wound in each direction due to a change in magnetic flux. . When a magnetic field generator (a coil wound in each direction in three dimensions) is provided in the three-dimensional space where the subject is present, and a magnetic field is generated from the magnetic field generator in the X direction of the three-dimensional space, for example, the magnetic flux is generated by the magnetic field. Since the change occurs, current is generated in the position sensor 40 in each of the X, Y, and Z directions. Next, by sequentially generating magnetic fields in the Y and Z directions from the magnetic field generator, and detecting and analyzing current data generated in the position sensor 40 by these generated magnetic fields, the distance between the magnetic field generator and the position sensor, Since the inclination of the position sensor can be calculated, the movement of the subject can be detected.

  Further, the position sensor 40 may be a special marker, and the position of the subject's limb may be detected by performing image processing on data obtained by photographing the subject 20 from a plurality of directions with a camera.

  Furthermore, as will be described later, the movement speed and movement amount of the subject 20 are detected or calculated by the behavior detection unit 2 and sent to the central control unit 10.

  The living environment reproduction unit 8 reproduces the living environment in a virtual space, reads electronic data from the living place DB (database) 6 and the living equipment DB (database) 7 and displays them on a personal computer, for example. The living place DB 6 stores layout data such as floor plans of living places such as kitchens, bathrooms, toilets, and bedrooms. The living equipment DB 7 stores data (position, size, etc.) of daily life equipment used in each room, such as a sink used in the kitchen, a bathtub used in the bathroom, and a bed used in the bedroom.

  In addition, if necessary, the user can create living environment data unique to the user (the user's house floor plan or the living equipment possessed by the user) and store it in the living place DB 6 and the living equipment DB 7 in advance. Can reproduce the daily living environment.

  The human body model generation unit 12 inputs the physical characteristics of the subject 20 (height, weight, arm length, etc.) to the data input unit 1, and generates a human body model that reproduces the physique of the subject based on the data in the virtual space. The human body model is generated in the virtual space by selecting a model close to the physique of the subject from several human body models stored in the human body model DB (database) 11. The human body model DB 11 stores several human body model patterns created in advance as shown in FIG.

  The data integration unit 9 arranges the human body model created by the human body model generation unit 12 in the living environment constructed in the virtual space by the living environment reproduction unit 8 and integrates it into one data.

  The actionable area setting unit 3 can arbitrarily set a range (actionable area) in which the subject can act in the living space in the living environment reproduced in the virtual space by the living environment reproducing unit 8.

  The actionable area is set by specifying the range from the data input unit 1 while looking at the display unit 14, or the range is determined by calculating a certain actionable area by the arithmetic processing unit 4 as described later. There are ways to do this.

  The arithmetic processing unit 4 has a plurality of arithmetic processing units such as an arithmetic processing unit A, an arithmetic processing unit B, an arithmetic processing unit C, and an arithmetic processing unit D corresponding to different arithmetic processing methods. A physical ability DB 5 is connected to the arithmetic processing unit 4, and an average value of physical abilities for each age stored in the physical ability DB 5 is read out as necessary, and is used as needed by the arithmetic processing unit 4. It can be done.

  The central control unit 10 controls all peripheral devices connected to the central control unit 10 to perform arithmetic processing and the like, and the storage unit 13 is used for storing various data. The stimulus amount control unit 15 adjusts the amount of stimulus given to the subject 20 by the notification unit 16. The notification means 16 is configured to give a stimulus to the sense of the subject 20, and a stimulus to vision, hearing, smell, touch, and skin sensation can be considered.

  Next, the operation of the system will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  In the operation of FIG. 2, after the actual living environment (furniture) is arranged at an arbitrary place and the actual living environment is constructed, the subject is actually acted on the living environment, and the behavior is restricted. It is something to experience.

  First, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, living tools (furniture) such as a table, a television, and a storage are arranged in an appropriate real life place to reproduce the real life environment.

  Further, as described above, it is assumed that the position sensor 40 is attached to the subject, and a detection device that detects the position of the position sensor 40 is installed in the three-dimensional space shown in FIG.

  The real life space scale, which is the spatial scale (volume) of the real life environment set as described above, is input from the data input unit 1 or the like (S1), and the living space is coordinate-displayed inside the system (S2).

  The real life space scale is captured in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped as shown in FIG. 4 (a) if there are no life tools in the 3D space where you can experience life. If there is, the person cannot move in the installation space, so the installation space part is not included in the living space scale, and there are irregularities if the three-dimensional shape of the living place (room etc.) is not simple Since it is possible, it is conceivable that the actual shape is as shown in FIG.

  Next, an action possible area is set (S3). As shown in FIG. 4, after the real life space is displayed as coordinates and divided into small cubic cells, the actionable area setting unit 3 can act on the divided cells, and the actionable area (cell). Go into FIG. 5 shows an example of the result of the actionable area setting, and the broken line means the actionable area.

  The subject is free to act, but if you want to end the experience and stop the experience, or if you want to stop in the middle of the experience, you need to end the experience program. The central control unit 10 monitors whether or not there is an instruction to end the experience (S4).

  When there is an instruction to end the pseudo-experience (YES), the process ends, and when there is no instruction (NO), the action detection unit 2 detects the action of the subject (S5).

  If the detected behavior of the subject exceeds the actionable area set in S3 (S6 YES), the notification means 16 is activated (S7) to stimulate the subject's senses and return to step S4. .

  On the other hand, if the subject's action does not exceed the actionable area (S6 NO), the process returns to step S4.

  Since the position data from the position sensor 40 attached to the subject is captured corresponding to the frame of the moving image (video), the stimulus disappears when the subject's motion returns to the actionable area, but outside the actionable area. If there is, it will continue to stimulate.

  FIG. 7 shows another embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows that the subject does not actually act in the living place where the life tools are arranged, but reproduces the living environment in the virtual space, and arranges the virtual human body model close to the subject in the virtual space, The movement of the subject is reflected in the human model, and when the action exceeds the actionable region, the subject's sense is stimulated.

  First, various living places and living utensils used in the living places are produced by computer graphics or live action and accumulated in the living place DB 6 and the living utensil DB 7. With this processing, the living place DB 6 contains layout data such as floor plans of living places such as kitchens, bathrooms, toilets, bedrooms, etc., and the living equipment DB 7 contains sinks used in the kitchens, bathtubs used in the bathrooms, and bedrooms. Data (position, size, etc.) of daily equipment used daily in each room such as a bed to be used is stored.

  The human body model DB 11 stores a considerable number of human body model patterns having different physiques as shown in FIG.

  It is assumed that a position sensor 40 is attached to the subject, and a detection device that detects the position of the position sensor 40 is installed in the three-dimensional space where the subject is present.

  To detect a subject's movement speed, etc., it is assumed that he / she has walked using a device that detects the subject's stepping. The movement speed is calculated from the stepping tempo, and the subject's step length and the number of steps are measured in advance. The method of calculating the amount of movement from the method, taking the stepping action from the photographed subject's movement, calculating the moving speed from the tempo of the stepping, calculating the movement amount from the step length of the subject and the number of steps taken in advance, For example, a method may be used in which a subject walks on the conveyor and the movement speed is detected from the rotation speed of the rotation shaft of the conveyor and the movement amount is detected from the rotation amount.

  First, for example, the test subject sets the living environment by selecting a living place to be experienced and a living tool to be used with the data input unit 1 from a menu displayed on the display unit 14 (S20).

  According to the setting of the living environment, the corresponding data is read into the living environment reproduction unit 8 from the living place DB 6 and the living equipment DB 7 (S21).

  The subject inputs data of his / her physical characteristics (height, weight, arm length, chest circumference, waist circumference, etc.) from the data input unit 1 (S22), and based on the data, the human body model generation unit 12 A human body model that reproduces the physique of the subject is created (S23).

  Further, the human body model can be created by reading out the human body model pattern stored in the human body model DB 11 and selecting the human body model closest to the physique of the subject from the pattern (S23).

  As described above, the living environment constructed from the data read from the living place DB 6 and the living equipment DB 7 and the created human body model, the virtual human body model is added to the living environment constructed in the virtual space as shown in FIG. It can arrange (S24).

  The coordinate of the living space of the constructed living environment is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 (S25). Next, an actionable area is set as shown in FIG. 5 (S26).

    While the subject sees the living environment projected on the display 14 on the spot, the limbs are moved on the spot to act in the virtual space, but the experience is terminated and the experience is stopped. If the user wants to stop or wants to interrupt the experience, it is necessary to end the experience program. Therefore, the central control unit 10 monitors whether or not a pseudo-experience end instruction has been given (S27).

  The display unit 14 that presents reproduction data such as a living environment and a human body model to a subject or the like may be a head-mounted display or a large screen as well as a normal display connected to a computer system.

  When there is an instruction to end the pseudo-experience (YES), the process ends, and when there is no instruction (NO), the action detection unit 2 detects the action of the subject (S28). The movement of the subject detected by the behavior detecting unit 2 is transmitted to the central control unit 10 and reflected on the virtual human body model displayed on the display unit 14 (S29).

  If the detected behavior of the subject exceeds the actionable area set in S26 (S30 YES), the notification means 16 is activated (S31) to stimulate the subject's senses and return to step S27. .

  On the other hand, if the subject's action does not exceed the actionable area (S30 NO), the process returns to step S27.

Since the position data from the position sensor 40 attached to the subject is captured corresponding to the frame of the moving image (video), the stimulus disappears when the subject's motion returns to the actionable area, but outside the actionable area. If there is, it will continue to stimulate.

  Next, a method for setting an actionable area will be described.

As described above, the actionable area setting unit 3 arbitrarily sets a range (actionable area) in which the subject can act in the living space in the living environment reproduced in the virtual space by the living environment reproducing unit 8. The operator can sequentially set the actionable area from the data input unit 1 as shown in FIG. 5 (for example, the calculation is performed by the arithmetic processing unit A), but the setting is as follows. You can also.

  As described above, the living place DB 6 and the living equipment DB 7 store data produced by computer graphics or live action using various living places and the living equipment used in the living place. The scale (volume) of the living place and the scale (volume) of the living equipment are simultaneously measured and stored for each living place and every living equipment.

  In addition, when the subject experiences not in the virtual space but in an actually constructed living environment, the scale of the living place and the scale and position of the living equipment are stored in the storage unit 13 or the like.

  When the subject experiences in the virtual space, when the living environment is constructed by selecting data from the living place DB 6 and the living equipment DB 7, the placement position of the living equipment in the living place is determined. By subtracting the scale of the selected living equipment from the scale of the living place selected, the area where the subject can act is inevitably determined. This is because the test subject cannot act through the daily equipment. Similarly, when the subject experiences in an actually constructed living environment, the area where the subject can act is determined by subtracting the scale of the living equipment from the scale of the living place.

  In addition, based on the action possible area determined as described above, the action possible boundary line is corrected by an operation from the data input unit 1 in correspondence with other conditions, so that the action can be made more realistically. An area can be set.

  Actually, if you set the actionable range according to the size of the daily equipment, the notification means will also operate for actions such as opening the door or sitting on a chair, so behave so that you can touch things Make corrections such as setting the possible range slightly inside the scale of daily equipment. For example, such processing is performed by the arithmetic processing unit B of the arithmetic processing unit 4.

  Next, there is a method of using physical ability data at an age that a subject wants to experience as another method of setting an actionable region.

The data used is a database of physical abilities at each age.

The physical ability (living ability) database can be measured by recruiting a large number of subjects, and the average value can be used. In addition, data provided on the Internet, such as “a database of the Research Center for Human Life Engineering” can be used.

  The physical ability data at each age is stored in the physical ability DB (database) 5, and an example of the physical ability data is shown in FIG.

  The age item in FIG. 8 indicates the age, and data from the teenager to the 80s is recorded. Under age, the average height is recorded for each age, and data from H10 to H80 is described. Action items A to G are obtained by extracting the types of human actions in the living environment.

  For example, A to D are types of actions related to bathing, where A is a position where the foot is raised for the action of entering the bathtub, B is a position where the hand is raised from the shoulder for the action of having a shower, and C is an action of washing the bathtub. The position where the waist is bent and the head is lowered, and D indicates the area where the hand can reach with the position of the foot fixed for the operation of washing the bathtub wall.

  E to G are types of actions related to cooking, E is an area that can be reached by fixing the body direction for work on the cooking table, and F is a position where the hand rises from the shoulder when moving on the shelf. , G indicates a position where the waist bends about the vertical direction with respect to the movement of the surrounding object.

  And it is from A10 to G80 that represents the average value of physical ability for each age with respect to the types of actions from A to G, and the actionable area is set based on these numerical values. Can do. In addition, although the thing regarding bathing and cooking was shown as a kind of action in FIG. 8, it can record similarly about the kind of other action.

  The height of the subject and the age at which he / she wants to experience are input from the data input unit 1.

  If the height of the subject is X, for example, and the age he wants to experience is in his 70s, the ratio of X / H70 is calculated. If you think that your height is reflected in the length of parts such as arms and legs, you can multiply the above X / H70 value by the A70 to G70 values for each action in your 70s. Since the corrected numerical value is calculated, the actionable area can be set by this numerical value.

  The physical ability database may use data of a specific user instead of the average value. If it does in this way, in a home renovation and the design of goods, a designer can design according to a user's demand by experiencing a user's living ability. For example, the arithmetic processing unit C performs the above processing.

  The following example also uses the physical ability related to the action types A to G shown in FIG. 8, but the correction method is different.

  The current physical ability of the subject, in this case, the physical ability of items A to G is measured and input from the data input unit 1. Also, enter the subject's current age and the age they want to experience.

  If the subject's current age is 30's, the age he wants to experience is 60's, and the physical ability measurements from A to G are YA, YB, YC, YD, YE, YF, YG, respectively, Since the average value of physical ability can be read as A30 to G30 from Fig. 8, the ratio of these values, YA / A30, YB / B30, YC / C30, YD / D30, YE / E30, YF / F30, YG / G30 These ratios are multiplied by the physical abilities A60, B60, C60, D60, E60, and F60 of the physical abilities at the age of 60. The living ability at the time of aging in consideration of the physical ability of the subject can be calculated, and if the actionable area is set based on this value, the life experience at the time of aging unique to the subject becomes possible. These processes are performed by the arithmetic processing unit D, for example.

  Next, a method for setting an actionable region when experiencing the living behavior of a person with a physical disability will be described.

  For a body part that is assumed to have a physical disorder, the movement of that part stops, so that the position sensor 40 alone is not sufficient to detect whether it is moving or stationary. As shown in FIG. 11, a sensor mechanism having a potentiometer 41 is attached to the joint part of the body. When the arm or leg is bent, the resistance value of the potentiometer 41 changes, so that the rotation angle can be detected.

  Then, an area including a permissible range close to that the body part that is assumed to have a physical disorder is not moving, that is, is in a stationary state or close to a stationary state is set as an actionable region.

  This actionable area is not a mere spatial area as shown in FIG. 5, but is set as an area in the movement of an object such as a movable range of the joint and a range of vertical movement when comparing the forward and backward movements.

  Then, the body part that is assumed to have failed is monitored, and when the movement is confirmed, the notification means 16 stimulates the subject's senses. Although these processes are not shown, for example, the arithmetic processing unit E performs them.

  When the actionable area is set by the above-described several methods and the subject exceeds the actionable area, the notification means 16 gives a stimulus to the subject's sense. 15 is connected, and the stimulus amount control unit 15 has a function of changing the amount of stimulus given by the notifying means 16 according to the size beyond which the subject can move.

  Therefore, the function of the stimulus amount control unit 15 will be described.

  The central control unit 10 monitors and measures the size beyond which the subject can move. The magnitude exceeding this is sent to the stimulus amount control unit 15, and the stimulus amount control unit 15 determines the stimulus amount corresponding to the magnitude and controls the notification means 16 to output the determined stimulus amount.

  The start of stimulation starts from the moment when the subject exceeds the actionable region, and the amount of stimulation increases when the range exceeds, and conversely, the amount of stimulation decreases when approaching the boundary of the actionable region.

  Thus, by giving a stimulus in proportion to the amount exceeding the actionable area, it is possible to notify whether the subject's movement is in a direction away from or in an approaching direction. In addition, it is possible to reduce the load and influence on the subject by strengthening the stimulus corresponding to the amount exceeding the strong stimulus instead of giving a strong stimulus at the moment of exceeding the actionable region.

  Next, as the types of stimulation of the notification means 16, stimulation for vision, hearing, smell, touch, and skin sensation can be considered, and these will be described below.

  First, FIG. 12 shows an example of an apparatus in which the notification means 26 gives a stimulus for vision. As an example of the visual stimulation device 50, a head-mounted display (HMD) is attached to the subject, and a color is added to the field of view. For example, if the action area is exceeded, the field of view is slightly yellowed (the same feeling as wearing yellow sunglasses), and if the action area is further exceeded, the color of the field of view is darkened. Conversely, when returning to the actionable area, the color is lightened. FIG. 13 shows an example in which this color is set to black and the field of view is gradually cut off.

  FIG. 13A shows a state immediately before the field of view is deteriorated in the field of view on the boundary line of the actionable area, and FIG. 13B shows a slightly dark black color in the field of view when the actionable area is exceeded. FIG. 13 (c) shows the state of view when the actionable region is greatly exceeded, and the state where the black color is considerably darkened and the view is about to be blocked.

  In addition, the boundary line of the actionable area is always displayed in the field of view displayed on the HMD, the boundary line of the actionable area is displayed in red when the actionable area is exceeded, and the boundary line corresponding to the amount exceeding the actionable area is displayed. It is also possible to darken the red color.

  In addition, a fluorescent device is attached to a body part such as a limb, and the fluorescent device blinks in the actionable area, and the blinking frequency and the brightness of the light emission are increased or decreased in proportion to the amount exceeding the actionable area. good.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of an apparatus in which the notification means 16 gives a stimulus to hearing.

  As an example of the auditory stimulation device 51, headphones are worn by the subject. When the actionable area is exceeded, a sound is output, and the volume increases or decreases in proportion to the amount exceeding the actionable area. Moreover, it is possible to instruct how the subject exceeds the actionable region by using a body part such as “right foot” and “left hand” and a voice such as a distance such as “1 cm” and “5 cm”.

  As another example of the auditory stimulation device 51, a speaker is installed at a location away from the subject. As with the headphones described above, the sound is output when it exceeds the actionable area, the sound volume increases or decreases according to the amount exceeding the actionable area, and the sound of the body part, distance, etc. Is used.

  As another example of the auditory stimulation device 51, a small speaker can be attached to a body part such as a limb. The sound output method is the same as that for the headphones.

  As described above, the method of applying stimuli to hearing does not directly interfere with the behavior of the subject, such as actually restraining the movement or deteriorating the field of view, so that it can be experienced more safely.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of a device for applying a stimulus to the olfactory sense.

  The olfactory stimulation device 52 is configured as shown in FIG. 16, for example, in order to be attached to the subject and stimulate the olfaction of the subject. An olfactory stimulation device composed of an odor releasing device portion 53 and an odor suction device portion 54 is attached to the position of the subject's nose.

  When the action area is exceeded, the odor is released from the odor releasing device 53. If the subject continues to move in a direction beyond the actionable region, the odor continues to be released from the discharge device 53, and if the subject moves in a direction returning to the boundary of the actionable region, the odor suction device 54 sucks the odor. to continue.

  As with stimuli for hearing, the subject's movements are not directly disturbed, so it can be experienced more safely.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a device that gives a tactile stimulus.

  As an example of the tactile stimulation device 55, a vibrator is attached to a body part such as a limb of a subject. When the actionable region is exceeded, the vibrator operates, and the vibration amount increases or decreases in proportion to the amount exceeding the actionable region. Means for applying a stimulus to a moving part such as a limb has an advantage of being intuitive and easy to recognize.

  FIG. 18 shows an example of a device for stimulating the skin sensation.

  When a blower 56 for generating wind is installed at a position away from the subject and the actionable region is exceeded, the wind is released toward the subject, and the amount of airflow increases or decreases in proportion to the amount beyond the actionable region.

  As another example, an electrode is attached to a body part such as a subject's limb, and electricity flows to the electrode when it exceeds the actionable area, and the amount of electrical stimulation is increased or decreased in proportion to the amount exceeding the actionable area. Anyway. Like tactile sense, stimuli for skin sensations are intuitive and easy to recognize.

  Next, when experiencing in a real life space as shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to view an image experienced on the display unit 14 after the experience. The behavior of the subject reproduced on the computer can be observed objectively, the request for home remodeling and product design can be communicated to the designer, and conversely, the designer can make a proposal considering the characteristics of the subject. Can do.

  At the time of the experience, since the trajectory data of the movement of the subject's limbs and the like is obtained from the sensor attached to the subject, the data is recorded and stored in the storage unit 13.

  The living environment at the time of the above experience is reproduced in the virtual space. When the same data as the living environment at the time of experience exists in the living place DB 6 and the living equipment DB 7, the data may be used.

  Build a virtual human body model that matches the physique of the subject in the living environment reproduced in the virtual space. You may create based on the numerical value of a test subject's physique, and you may choose the closest thing to a test subject from the human body model memorize | stored in human body model DB11.

  By operating this human body model based on movement trajectory data of the subject's limbs and the like stored in the storage unit 13, the behavior of the subject during the experience is reproduced.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of means by which a subject can freely select an experience item.

  An item selection panel is illustrated as the experience item selection means, and a switch is used for the panel, but a touch sensor or the like may be used. This experience item selection means can be used as the data input unit 1.

  Living environment that can be presented by the system (kitchen, bedroom, etc.), experience age (changes in physical ability depending on age), body parts (hands, feet, etc.) with physical disability, human body model corresponding to experience age, notification means Information on stimuli (visual, tactile, etc.) is stored in a database in advance.

  About these database creation, you may utilize living place DB6, living equipment DB7, physical ability DB5, and human body model DB11 which were already demonstrated.

  For example, when the switch of kitchen of the item of living environment is pressed, when reproducing in the virtual space, the living utensil data arranged in the kitchen is read from the database together with the layout data such as the floor plan of the kitchen. It is displayed on the display unit 14.

  On the other hand, when the living environment is reproduced in real space, the living space scale of the kitchen is extracted from the database data and displayed in coordinates.

  When the switch of 80 years of experience age is pressed, physical ability (living ability) data in the kitchen based on the average physique of 80 years old is read from the database, and an actionable area is set. When reproducing in the virtual space, a human body model based on an average physique of 80 years old is read from the database.

  When the auditory switch is pressed by the notification means, the function of the stimulation amount control unit 15 is switched to the function of controlling the auditory stimulation device 51.

  As described above, the subject can easily experience the experience simply by selecting the selection item.

It is a schematic block diagram of the whole system of this invention. It is a flowchart figure in the case of performing a pseudo experience in a real life environment. It is a figure which shows the example of the constructed real life environment. It is a figure which shows the example which displayed the coordinate of the scale of the living space. It is a figure which shows the action possible area | region setting example by the action possible area | region setting part. It is a figure which shows a mode that the position sensor was attached to the test subject. It is a flowchart figure in the case of performing a pseudo experience in virtual space. It is a figure which shows the example of data of a physical ability database. It is a figure which shows the human body model data example of a human body model database. It is a figure which shows a mode that the human body model has been arrange | positioned in virtual space. It is a figure which shows the detection apparatus for detecting the rotation angle of a joint. It is a figure which shows the visual stimulation apparatus attached to the human body. It is a figure which shows a mode that a visual field is interrupted | blocked gradually by the effect | action of a visual stimulation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the auditory stimulation apparatus attached to the human body. It is a figure which shows the olfactory stimulation apparatus attached to the human body. It is a figure which shows an example of a visual stimulation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the tactile stimulation apparatus attached to the human body. It is a figure which shows the example of a skin sensation stimulating device. It is a figure which shows the structural example of an experience item selection means.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Data input part 2 Action detection part 3 Action possible area | region setting part 4 Arithmetic processing part 5 Physical ability DB
6 living place DB
7 Living equipment DB
8 Living environment reproduction unit 9 Data combination unit 10 Central control unit 11 Human body model DB
12 Human body model generation unit 13 Storage unit 14 Display unit 15 Stimulus amount control unit 16 Notification means 20 Subject

Claims (9)

A living environment reproduction means for reproducing an arbitrarily set real life space scale in a virtual space;
Action detecting means for detecting the movement of the subject in the real life space;
Actionable area setting means capable of arbitrarily setting an area in which the subject can act in the real life space in the virtual space;
A pseudo-experience system comprising: an informing unit that gives a stimulus to a subject's sense when the subject acts beyond the actionable region set by the actionable region setting unit. Living environment reproduction means for reproducing any living environment in a virtual space,
Virtual human body model generation means for generating a virtual human body model based on the physical characteristics of the subject;
Action detecting means for detecting the movement of the subject;
Control means for reflecting the detected movement of the subject in the virtual human body model;
Actionable area setting means capable of arbitrarily setting an area in which the subject can act in the virtual space;
A pseudo-experience system comprising: a notifying unit that gives a stimulus to a subject's sense when the virtual human body model behaves beyond the actionable region set by the actionable region setting unit.   3. The actionable area setting unit sets the actionable area based on a scale of a living device arranged in a virtual space reproduced by the living environment reproduction unit. Simulated experience system. It has a storage means that stores the average value of human physical ability for each age,
The actionable region setting means includes the height of the subject, the average height at the experience age that the subject wants to experience, and the physical ability at the experience age based on the physical ability data corresponding to the experience age read from the storage means 4. The simulated experience system according to claim 1, wherein an actionable region is set from the calculated physical ability data. It has a storage means that stores the average value of human physical ability for each age,
The actionable area setting means corresponds to the physical ability data corresponding to the age of the subject read from the storage means, the physical ability data that the subject currently has, and the experience age that the subject wants to experience from the storage means. 4. The physical ability at the experience age is calculated based on the read physical ability data, and an actionable area is set from the calculated physical ability data. Simulated experience system.   The actionable area setting means sets a range in which the part is in a resting state as an actionable area on the assumption that a specific part of the body has failed in the virtual human body model. The simulated experience system according to claim 5.   A stimulus amount control means is provided for changing the stimulus amount from the notification means to the sense in proportion to a range in which the subject's action exceeds the actionable area set by the actionable area setting means. The simulated experience system according to claim 1.   The simulated experience system according to claim 1, wherein the stimulus to the sense of the notification means is a stimulus to at least one of vision, hearing, smell, touch, and skin sensation.   9. The simulation according to claim 1, further comprising an experience item selection unit that allows the subject to arbitrarily select the living environment, the age of experience, the body part where the disorder has occurred, and the type of stimulation of the notification unit. Experience system.