JP2005100277A - Information processor, server, information processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more easily specify an address of a destination and to improve convenience of a user using a navigation device. <P>SOLUTION: Position information on a facility being an object of an advertisement is retrieved from a photographed picture of the advertisement mentioned in a signboard or the like. An instruction on a retrieval result is given to the navigation device as the destination. An identifier is given to a specified description in the advertisement, in a store or the like so that it is comprehended, for example. The identifier is extracted from the photographed picture. Character recognition is facilitated by giving priority to the description pointed by the identifier. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to information processing technology, and mainly relates to technology for supporting a navigation function of a mobile terminal.

  In a navigation function of a mobile terminal typified by a car navigation device, setting a destination provides guidance information for guiding a route or the like to the destination. Therefore, the user can reach the destination without hesitation by following the guidance information even in an area that is not geographically sparse. However, in many cases, the user has to manually set the destination manually with respect to the navigation device, and this setting of the destination may be troublesome. In view of this, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a system in which a travel plan can be set by a computer different from the navigation device.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-143358

  However, in the conventional system described above, it is assumed that information for specifying a destination, for example, an address of the destination is known in advance. For this reason, for example, if you want to go to a store that is introduced by a signboard or magazine article that you happen to see on the go and the location of the store is not listed, you can check the location yourself and navigate It is necessary to input to the device.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to more easily identify the location of the destination, and to improve the convenience of the user who uses the navigation device.

  According to the present invention, an identifier extracting unit that extracts a predetermined identifier from a captured image of information described on an information display medium, and the description of the information indicated by the identifier extracted by the identifier extracting unit. A description item extracting unit that extracts items from the photographed image; and a specifying unit that specifies a location of a facility related to the information based on the description item extracted by the description item extraction unit. An information processing apparatus is provided.

  According to the present invention, the location of a facility related to the information is specified from a photographed image of information such as an advertisement described on an information display medium such as a signboard or a magazine. Therefore, a user who sees the information and wants to go to the facility indicated there can know the position of the destination facility simply by photographing the information. Therefore, the present invention can more easily specify the location of the destination, thereby improving the convenience of the user who uses the navigation device. Moreover, in the present invention, the identifier included in the information is extracted, and the description items indicated by the identifier are extracted, so that the accuracy of specifying the location of the facility can be improved.

  In the present invention, there are a plurality of types of identifiers according to the contents of the description items indicated by the identifiers, and the specifying means includes the types of identifiers extracted by the identifier extraction means and the description item extraction Based on the description items extracted by the means, the location information of the facility related to the information is retrieved from the location information database storing the location information of the facility for each type of the identifier, thereby determining the location of the facility. It can also be specified. With such a configuration, it is possible to further improve the accuracy of recognizing description items, and improve the efficiency of searching for location information of facilities.

  In this case, when the plurality of identifiers of the same type are extracted by the identifier extraction unit, the specifying unit is configured so that the user can select from the plurality of description items respectively indicated by the plurality of identifiers of the same type. The location of the facility related to the information can be specified based on any of the specified items described above. With such a configuration, for example, when a plurality of different pieces of information are included in a captured image, it is possible to specify the location of the facility desired by the user among facilities related to each information.

  Further, in this case, when a plurality of types of identifiers are extracted by the identifier extraction unit, the respective positions of the facilities related to the information specified by the specifying unit corresponding to the plurality of types of identifiers are determined. A determination unit that determines whether or not they coincide with each other, and a recording unit that records a determination result when the determination unit determines that they do not coincide with each other can be provided. With such a configuration, it is possible to cope with a case where the location of the facility is changed and a conflict with the location information database occurs.

  In this case, when there is no position information corresponding to the description item extracted by the description item extraction unit, an update unit that updates the position information database for the description item may be provided. With this configuration, information that is not registered in the position information database can be newly registered.

According to the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal having a photographing function and capable of communicating information with a car navigation device, and a server capable of communicating information via a network, wherein the information display is photographed by the portable terminal. Receiving means for receiving a photographed image of information described on a medium from the portable terminal; identifier extracting means for extracting a predetermined identifier from the photographed image received by the receiving means; and the identifier extracting means A description item extracting means for extracting the description item of the information indicated by the extracted identifier from the photographed image, and a location of a facility related to the information based on the description item extracted by the description item extraction means. Identifying means for identifying the information, and transmitting means for transmitting information on the location of the facility identified by the identifying means to the portable terminal; Server characterized by comprising is provided.
According to the present invention, the location of a facility related to the information is specified from a photographed image of information such as an advertisement described on an information display medium such as a signboard or a magazine. Therefore, a user who sees the information and wants to go to the facility indicated there can know the position of the facility as the destination only by photographing the information. Therefore, the present invention can more easily specify the location of the destination, thereby improving the convenience of the user who uses the navigation device. Moreover, in the present invention, the identifier included in the information is extracted, and the description items indicated by the identifier are extracted, so that the accuracy of specifying the location of the facility can be improved.

  In the present invention, the providing agent information extracting means for extracting providing agent information for identifying the providing agent of the information from the photographed image, and at least the providing agent information extracting means extracts the providing agent information. It is also possible to further comprise recording means for recording the points to be added on condition that each of the providing agents. With this configuration, the degree of contribution of each providing agent to the dissemination of information is clarified, and for example, it can be used as a basis for consideration paid to each providing agent.

  Further, according to the present invention, the information is extracted from the captured image of the information described on the information display medium, and the information is extracted based on the description items extracted by the extraction means. A specifying means for specifying the location of the related facility, and the specifying means, when there is a predetermined identifier in the description items extracted by the extracting means, is indicated by the identifier There is provided an information processing apparatus characterized in that a facility location related to the information is specified with priority given to a description item.

  According to the present invention, the location of a facility related to the information is specified from a photographed image of information such as an advertisement described on an information display medium such as a signboard or a magazine. Therefore, a user who sees the information and wants to go to the facility indicated there can know the position of the destination facility simply by photographing the information. Therefore, the present invention can more easily specify the location of the destination, thereby improving the convenience of the user who uses the navigation device. In addition, in the present invention, it is possible to increase the accuracy of specifying the location of the facility by prioritizing the description items indicated by the predetermined identifier among the description items of the information.

  According to the present invention, an identifier extraction step of extracting a predetermined identifier from a captured image of information described on the information display medium, and the information indicated by the identifier extracted in the identifier extraction step A description item extracting step of extracting the description item from the photographed image, and a specifying step of identifying a location of a facility related to the information based on the description item extracted in the description item extraction step. An information processing method is provided. Also, an identifier extracting step for extracting a predetermined identifier from a captured image of information described on the information display medium on the computer, and a description item of the information indicated by the identifier extracted in the identifier extracting step A program for executing a description item extracting step for extracting the information from the photographed image, and a specifying step for specifying the location of the facility related to the information based on the description item extracted in the description item extraction step is provided. The

  According to the method and the program of the present invention, the position of the facility related to the information is specified from the photographed image of the information such as the advertisement described on the information display medium such as the signboard and the magazine. Therefore, a user who sees the information and wants to go to the facility indicated there can know the position of the destination facility simply by photographing the information. Therefore, the present invention can more easily specify the location of the destination, thereby improving the convenience of the user who uses the navigation device. Moreover, in the present invention, the identifier included in the information is extracted, and the description items indicated by the identifier are extracted, so that the accuracy of specifying the location of the facility can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, an extraction process for extracting the description items of the information from a captured image of information described on the information display medium, and the information based on the description items extracted by the extraction process. A specific step of specifying the position of the related facility, and in the specific step, when there is a predetermined identifier in the description items extracted by the extraction means, the identifier indicated by the identifier There is provided an information processing method characterized in that the location of a facility related to the information is specified with priority given to a description item. In addition, an extraction process for extracting the description items of the information from a captured image of the information described on the information display medium in a computer, and a facility related to the information based on the description items extracted by the extraction process A program for executing a specifying step for specifying the position of the item, wherein, in the specifying step, if there is a predetermined identifier in the description items extracted by the extraction means, the identifier is indicated by the identifier. There is provided a program characterized by specifying a location of a facility related to the information in preference to the described items.

  According to the method and the program of the present invention, the position of the facility related to the information is specified from the photographed image of the information such as the advertisement described on the information display medium such as the signboard and the magazine. Therefore, a user who sees the information and wants to go to the facility indicated there can know the position of the destination facility simply by photographing the information. Therefore, the present invention can more easily specify the location of the destination, thereby improving the convenience of the user who uses the navigation device. In addition, in the present invention, it is possible to increase the accuracy of specifying the location of the facility by prioritizing the description items indicated by the predetermined identifier among the description items of the information.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the location of the destination can be specified more easily, and the convenience of the user who uses the navigation device can be improved.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a position information search system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The outline of the system will be described with reference to FIG. This system includes a car navigation device A, a mobile phone B that has a photographing function and can communicate information with the car navigation device A, and a server that can communicate information via the mobile phone B and a network (the Internet in the figure). C. When this system sets a destination for the car navigation apparatus A and receives guidance information, the system uses the captured images of various information such as advertisements described on signboards, magazines, flyers and other information display media. The destination can be set. Specifically, for example, when the user wants to go to a store, event venue, or other facility introduced by an article such as a signboard or magazine that the user happens to see, the car navigation device A It is possible to set the destination for. For this reason, for example, even if the location of the facility is not described in the information, the user can set the destination. In addition, since the trouble of manually inputting an address indicating the location of the destination into the car navigation device A can be saved, convenience for the user is improved. The procedure from information shooting to destination setting will be outlined below.

  First, the user photographs information described on a signboard or the like with the portable telephone B having a photographing function ((1) in the figure). Next, the mobile phone B accesses the server C and transmits a retrieval instruction together with data of the photographed image (hereinafter simply referred to as a photographed image) ((2) in the figure). The server C that receives the photographed image performs character recognition on the photographed image, extracts the contents of the information, and searches for the location information of the facility related to the information ((3) in the figure). The server C that has searched for the position information then transmits the searched position information as a response to the search instruction from the mobile phone B ((4) in the figure). The mobile phone B that has received the position information transmits it to the car navigation device A and designates it as a destination ((5) in the figure). In the car navigation device A, position information designated as a destination is set, guidance information such as a route to the destination, a map, etc. is displayed and provided to the user. As described above, in this embodiment, guidance information can be obtained simply by shooting an advertisement or the like that the user is interested in. Therefore, the location of the destination can be specified more easily, and the convenience of the user using the navigation device can be improved. Can be improved.

  Here, when character recognition is performed on a captured image and information is extracted as in the present embodiment, the recognition accuracy is reflected in the accuracy of position information. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is proposed to adopt a predetermined identifier when describing information on a signboard or the like. A person who writes information on a signboard or the like employs this identifier, so that the recognition accuracy of the written items can be improved. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating examples of information display media on which information is described. FIG. 2A shows an example in which a signboard is used as an information display medium, and ““ and “” ”shown on both sides of a description item“ XX store ”are identifiers. FIG. 2B shows an example in which a magazine is used as an information display medium. ““ And “” ”and“ 000-1111 ”shown on both sides of the description item“ X Hotel ”. “Δ” and “Δ” shown on both sides of the telephone number “are identifiers. As will be described later, a plurality of these identifiers are determined according to the contents of the description items, and designate the range of the description items to be recognized. Due to the presence of this identifier, in the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the accuracy of character recognition and improve the search accuracy or search speed of position information.

  Next, the configuration of the car navigation device A, the mobile phone B, and the server C will be described with reference to FIGS. The following description outlines these major configurations. FIG. 3A is a block diagram of the car navigation apparatus A. The CPU 101 is a processor that controls the entire car navigation apparatus A, and performs, for example, a process of providing the above-described guidance information to a user who is a vehicle occupant. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 102 is a memory for storing fixed data in addition to the basic program. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 has a work area for programs processed by the CPU 101, and stores variable data and the like. Needless to say, other storage means may be employed as the ROM 102 and the RAM 103. An HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 104 stores a car navigation program and the like. The display 105 is a display that displays and outputs various types of information such as guidance information, and displays various types of information according to instructions from the CPU 101.

  The speaker 108 provides various kinds of information to the user by voice such as synthesized voice. A GPS (global positioning system) sensor 111 is a position detection sensor that receives a radio wave transmitted from an artificial satellite and detects a current position (longitude, latitude) of the vehicle, and provides the current position information of the vehicle to the CPU 101. The car navigation device A provides guidance information based on the current position information and the destination transmitted from the mobile phone B. The operation switch 108 is an input device for the user to give various instructions to the car navigation device A. A map information DB (database, hereinafter the same) 109 is a database that stores map information for providing guidance information, and is constructed in a storage means such as a hard disk, CD, or DVD. The interface 110 is an interface for performing information communication with the mobile phone B, and is, for example, a connector of a communication cable. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the car navigation apparatus A and the portable telephone B are connected by a communication cable and wired communication is performed for information communication between the two, but of course wireless communication is also possible. The above is the configuration of the car navigation apparatus A. In the present embodiment, the car navigation apparatus is exemplified as a navigation apparatus that provides guidance information to the user. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, portable navigation for pedestrians. An apparatus can also be employed.

  Next, the configuration of the mobile phone B will be described. FIG. 3B is a block diagram thereof. The CPU 201 is a processor that controls the entire mobile phone B, and executes, for example, processing to be described later for position information search. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 202 is a memory for storing fixed data in addition to the basic program. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 203 has a work area for programs to be processed by the CPU 201, and stores application programs such as processing programs to be described later, variable data, and the like. Needless to say, other storage means may be employed as the ROM 202 and RAM 203. The imaging device 204 is, for example, a CCD camera or the like, and is configured to capture the information such as the above-described signboard and realize the imaging function of the mobile phone B. The wireless communication device 205 connects to the Internet via a base station and performs wireless information communication with the server C. The speaker 206 outputs sound, and the microphone 207 inputs sound. These are used, for example, for conversation during a telephone function. The interface 209 is an interface for performing information communication with the car navigation apparatus A, and has a standard corresponding to the interface 110 of the car navigation apparatus A. The display 210 is a display that displays and outputs various types of information, and displays various types of information according to instructions from the CPU 201. For example, a liquid crystal display device. The above is the configuration of the mobile phone B. In the present embodiment, the mobile phone has been described as a mobile terminal having a shooting function. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a PDA having a shooting function or the like. The portable terminal can also be adopted.

  Next, the configuration of the server C will be described. FIG. 4A is a block diagram of the server C. The CPU 301 is a processor that controls the entire server C, and executes, for example, a position information search process to be described later. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 302 is a memory for storing fixed data in addition to the basic program. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 303 has a work area for programs processed by the CPU 301 and stores variable data and the like. Needless to say, other storage means may be employed as the ROM 302 and the RAM 303. An HDD (hard disk drive) 304 stores a program for searching for position information, which will be described later, and the like. The communication device 305 is connected to the Internet and performs information communication with the mobile phone B, and is a network interface or the like. A display 306 is a display that displays and outputs various types of information, and displays various types of information according to instructions from the CPU 301. The input device 307 is a keyboard, a mouse, or the like.

  The server C is provided with various DBs (databases) described below. These DBs are constructed in one or a plurality of storage means represented by, for example, a built-in or external hard disk drive in the server C. Note that these DBs may be constructed in, for example, another database server that the server C can access via the Internet.

  The identifier DB 308 stores information related to the identifiers described above. FIG. 4B shows an example of the information. As shown in the figure, the identifier in the present embodiment is a set of an identifier indicating the start point of the description item and an identifier indicating the end point. The “content” column is information indicating the content of the description item indicated by the identifier, and a plurality of types of identifiers are set according to the content of the description item of the information. In the figure, “Name” corresponding to the name of the facility, etc., “Mark” corresponding to the mark of the business operator, etc., “Location” corresponding to the location of the facility, etc., “Phone number corresponding to the telephone number of the facility, etc.” However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various settings can be made according to the contents of the items to be described. “Characteristic data” is characteristic data of an identifier used when extracting an identifier from a captured image. The character recognition dictionary 309 is a dictionary data group used for character recognition when extracting information items from a photographed image, and stores data of feature amounts such as characters, words, symbols, and numbers. The position information DB 310 is a database in which position information of each facility is used to search for the position information of the facility related to the information from the extracted description items, and according to the type of the identifier, The name DB 310a, the mark DB 310b, the location DB 310c, and the telephone number DB 310d.

  FIG. 4C is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the name DB 310a. As shown in the figure, the location information of the facility represented by the name is stored for each “name”. In the present embodiment, this “position information” is information on the latitude and longitude of the facility. This is because the position information is constituted by the latitude and the longitude in the car navigation device A, and the position information is most easily used by the car navigation device A. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a location (address) or the like as long as the position information can be processed by the car navigation apparatus A. “Attached information” is information that is optionally attached when information related to the facility indicated by each name is arbitrarily accumulated and position information is transmitted to the mobile phone B as a search result. The attached information can include, for example, an advertisement of the facility. The information stored in the position information DB 310 has been described above by taking the name DB 310a as an example. However, information is stored in the same manner in the other DBs 310b to 310d.

  Next, processing of the entire system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, the process of the entire system is started when a user photographs an advertisement or the like written on a signboard or the like with the mobile phone B (S10). When an advertisement or the like is photographed, the mobile phone B accesses the server C in accordance with a user instruction, and transmits a search request for location information on the facility related to the description items indicated in the advertisement or the like together with the photographed image (S11). ). The server C that has received the search request and the photographed image executes a search process in S21. Details will be described later. After the search process, the server C transmits position information as a search result to the mobile phone B (S22). When the user connects the mobile phone B and the car navigation device A and instructs the mobile phone B to set the received location information as a destination, the mobile phone B receives the received location information. Is transmitted to the car navigation device A to instruct to set as a destination (S12). The car navigation device A uses the received position information as a destination, and searches for guidance information from the map information DB 109 based on the current position information detected by the GPS sensor 107 (S31). Thereafter, the retrieved guidance information is output to the display 105 and presented to the user, and one unit of processing is completed. The user operates the vehicle based on the guidance information displayed on the display 105.

  Next, the search process of S21 by the server C will be described. FIG. 6A is a flowchart illustrating an example of search processing. In S201, the above-described identifier is extracted from the captured image received from the mobile phone B. In S202, a process for extracting the description items of the information that is the target of the captured image indicated by the identifier extracted in S201 from the captured image is performed. In S203, based on the extracted description items, a facility related to the information that is the target of the captured image is searched, and the position information is specified. The process ends as described above. Hereinafter, an example of each process of S201 to S203 will be described in detail. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of each process of S201 to S203.

  First, an identifier is extracted from the captured image by the process of S201. In FIG. 7, ““ ”,“ ”” are extracted as identifiers. Next, in the process of S202, a photographed image is extracted from the description items indicated by the extracted identifier. In the case of the present embodiment, an image in a certain area (description item recognition area) indicated by an identifier is taken out of the photographed image, and character recognition is performed on the description item recognition area. This description item recognition area is set to an area having a predetermined width between identifiers. That is, in the present embodiment, the processing speed can be improved by not using the entire captured image as a character recognition target, but only the image in the description item recognition area as a character recognition target. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, each identifier is configured as a set for the start point and for the end point. However, for example, the identifier may be configured only for the start point. In this case, the length and width of the entry recognition area are defined for the identifier. Next, in the process of S203, the position information DB 310 is searched using the extracted description items as a search key, and the position information (longitude, latitude) of information related to the captured image is specified. At this time, for example, if the identifier is “name”, the search accuracy and search speed are improved by selecting and searching the DB corresponding to the type of the identifier so that the name DB 310a is selected.

  Next, an example of each process of S201 to S203 will be described. FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating an example of identifier extraction processing in S201. In this identifier extraction process, a known character recognition process can be employed. In S211, preprocessing is performed on the captured image. Here, for example, processing such as noise removal is performed. In S212, characters, symbols, etc. included in the captured image are cut out. In S213, the image feature amount such as each character cut out in S212 is extracted. In S214, matching is performed between the image feature amount of each character or the like extracted in S213 and the feature amount of each identifier stored in the identifier DB 308, and the similarity is calculated individually. In S215, the identifier having the highest similarity is specified from the calculation result of the similarity in S214. The process ends as described above.

  FIG. 6C is a flowchart illustrating an example of the description item extraction processing in S202. A well-known character recognition process can also be employed in this description item extraction process. In S221, the above described item recognition area is set based on the identifier extracted in S201. In S222, characters included in the description item recognition area set in S221 are cut out. In S223, the image feature amount such as each character cut out in S222 is extracted. In S224, the image feature amount of each character or the like extracted in S223 is matched with the feature amount of each character or the like stored in the character recognition dictionary B309, and the similarity is calculated individually. In S225, the character or the like having the highest similarity is selected from the similarity calculation result in S224, and the description items are specified. The process ends as described above.

  FIG. 6D is a flowchart illustrating an example of the position specifying process in S203. In S231, a database corresponding to the type of identifier extracted in S201 is selected from the position information DB 310 (310a to 310d). Since the database corresponding to the contents of the description items is selected by this selection, the search accuracy can be improved and the amount of information to be searched is smaller than that in the entire position information DB 310, so that the search speed can be improved. In S232, the search is executed using any database in the position information DB 310 selected in S231 using the description item extracted in S202 as a search key. In S233, the position information accumulated in the database is acquired and specified from the search result in S232. The process ends as described above. For example, as in the case of a facility with the same name, there may be a case where a plurality of search results are obtained for one description item. In this case, all the position information as the search results is transmitted to the mobile phone B. At the same time, the “attached information” shown in FIG. 4C is also transmitted, so that the user of the mobile phone B can select which position information is designated as the destination.

  As described above, in the system of the present embodiment, the location of the destination can be specified more easily, and the convenience of the user who uses the navigation device can be improved. Moreover, by extracting an identifier included in the information and extracting a description item indicated by the identifier, it is possible to improve the accuracy of specifying the location of the facility.

<Processing when there are multiple homogeneous identifiers>
When a plurality of pieces of information are described on the information display medium, a plurality of pieces of information may be shown in the photographed image depending on the manner of photographing. For example, FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating an example of a captured image in which two pieces of information are shown. If the facilities related to each of these information (the top of the figure is a business hotel ○○○○ and the bottom is an advertisement of × ○ hotel) are different from each other, the user wants which facility Location information is a problem. In this example, the user can select this. FIG. 8A is a flowchart showing an example of processing in this example. In this example, when a plurality of identifiers of the same type are extracted in the process of S201 described above, it is determined that a plurality of pieces of information are included in the captured image, and the user is prompted to select. After the process of S201, This is performed before the processing of S202.

  In S241, it is determined whether a plurality of identifiers of the same type have been extracted as a result of the identifier extraction processing in S201. If more than one are extracted, the process proceeds to S242. If not, the process ends. In step S242, the mobile phone B is inquired about which information to select. Here, the display screen data for selection is transmitted to the mobile phone B. The mobile phone B that has received this displays a selection screen on the display 210 in S101. FIG. 8C is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen displayed on the display 210. Here, it is displayed which information of A or B is selected. The user uses the operation switch 208 to select any information he desires. In S102, the user's selection instruction is transmitted to the server C. In the server C that has received the user's selection instruction, in step S243, according to the user's selection instruction, one of a plurality of identifiers of the same type is set as a processing target, and the process ends. By such processing, when a plurality of different information is included in the captured image, it is possible to specify the position of the facility desired by the user among the facilities related to each information.

<Processing when location information retrieved by multiple entries conflicts>
When a plurality of types of identifiers are extracted from one piece of information, the position information retrieved from the description items pointed to by each identifier should essentially match. However, for example, when the facility has moved, the information described on the signboard or the like is newer than the information in the position information DB 310, and the two may not match. FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example when the position information based on each identifier does not match. In the figure, there is a “name” identifier “” and a “location” identifier ○. As a result of the processing, the search result of the location information based on the description item “XX store” indicated by the former identifier is (X1, Y1) and the description item indicated by the latter identifier “country country rural town” The case where the search result of the position information based on 2-1 ″ is (X2, Y2) is shown. The reason for such inconsistency is, for example, when “XX store” has changed the name of the store or moved the location, and a signboard has been built without reporting this to the administrator of server C. It may be the case. Therefore, in this example, the position specifying process in S203 is configured as follows. FIG. 9A is a flowchart showing an example of the position specifying process in this example.

  In this figure, the same processing as that in FIG. Explaining only the different processing, when a plurality of pieces of position information are searched in S233, it is determined in S251 whether or not they match. If they match, the process ends. If they do not match, the process proceeds to S252. In S252, error recording is performed. Here, the fact that the position information does not match is recorded in a predetermined storage area of the HDD 304, for example. By recording, the administrator of the server C can modify and update the information in the database later, and the location of the facility is changed, etc. can do. In S252, an error can be notified, or when the administrator of the server C owns another terminal, it can be notified by e-mail that an error has occurred.

<Processing when location information is not retrieved>
This example relates to processing when position information is not retrieved. FIG. 10A is a flowchart showing an example of the position specifying process in this example. In this figure, the same processing as that in FIG. Only the different processing will be described. After the database search in S232, it is determined in S261 whether or not position information has been searched. If a search is made, the process of S233 described above is performed and the process ends. On the other hand, if no search is made, the process proceeds to S262, and error processing is performed. FIG. 10B is a flowchart illustrating an example of error processing. In S252, error recording is performed. Here, the fact that the position information has not been searched is recorded in a predetermined storage area of the HDD 304, for example. By recording, the administrator of the server C can later correct and update the information in the database, and can deal with the description items that could not be searched in the position information database 310. In S271, an error can be notified, or when the administrator of the server C owns another terminal, it can be notified that an error has occurred by e-mail. In S272, an error message indicating that the position information could not be retrieved is set for the user. This error message is transmitted to the mobile phone B in place of the position information in the position information transmission process of S22 of FIG.

  FIG. 10C is a diagram showing another example of the error processing in S262. In the example shown in the figure, when the position information is not searched, the position information is searched by expanding the search range. In S281, the clue information is extracted from the photographed image. This clue information is, for example, description items other than the description items indicated by the identifier, and can be searched in the location information database 310 such as the location and telephone number of the facility related to the information. More specifically, for example, it is assumed that a description item indicated by an identifier is a “name” of a store or the like, and position information corresponding to the name cannot be retrieved. However, there is a possibility that the location, telephone number, etc. of the store etc. not indicated by the identifier is described in the information. The location DB 310c and the telephone number DB 310d are not limited to the description items indicated by the identifier, and if the corresponding location information is accumulated as much as possible (for example, the location information corresponding to each location and phone number in Japan is accumulated. The location information can be searched using the location, telephone number, or the like as a clue. Therefore, in order to extract such description items and perform a search again, this is used as clue information. Note that the extraction of the clue information can be performed in the same manner as the description item extraction process described above, but the extraction range covers the entire captured image.

  In S282, it is determined whether or not the clue information has been extracted in S281. If it can be extracted, the process proceeds to S287, and if not, the process proceeds to S283. In S283, it is assumed that the position information cannot be searched from the entire description of the information, and the clue information is searched by accessing a search site on the Internet and performing a net search. Here, for example, the description item indicated by the identifier is used as a search key to the search site to obtain a search result. In S284, it is determined whether or not there is clue information in the search process of S283. If there is, the process proceeds to S287, and if not, the process proceeds to S285. In S285, error recording is performed, and in S286, an error message is set. These processes are the same as the processes of S271 and S272 in FIG.

  In S287, the position information database 310 is searched again using the clue information obtained in S281 or S283 as a search key. In S288, the position information database 310 is updated with the position information obtained as a result of S287. Here, the position information corresponding to the description item indicated by the identifier, which was not searched last time, is stored corresponding to the description item. The position information searched in S287 is transmitted as a search result to the mobile phone B in the position information transmission process in S22 of FIG.

  Thus, in this example, the position information database 310 can be automatically updated. As a result, the position information database 310 can be further enriched. For example, in the system of the present embodiment, it is assumed that a person who provides information described in an information display medium such as a signboard can freely use an identifier without registering in the server C in advance. Then, first, the use of identifiers is generally widespread, and the utilization of the system is increased. As described above, when there is no position information corresponding to the description item indicated by the identifier, the position information database 310 is automatically updated more and more so that the administrator of the server C updates the position information database 310 itself. Even if not, the stored information becomes more substantial, and it is possible to save the trouble of the administrator of the server C.

<Processing for information providers>
In general, a person (advertiser) who provides information such as an advertisement to a signboard or a magazine generally requests a specialized contractor (providing agent) for this rather than creating a signboard or the like. And it is generally difficult to examine the advertising effect of a signboard, etc., but in the system of this embodiment, when there is a search request for position information from the user, the user has definitely seen the signboard, By recording the frequency, the advertising effect such as a signboard provided by the providing agent can be estimated. If so, the providing agent wants to ask the advertiser to pay a price proportional to the effectiveness of the advertisement, and if the price is proportional to the advertising effect as the advertiser, it is satisfactory.

  Therefore, in this example, the degree of contribution of each providing agent to the dissemination of information is clarified, and, for example, a mechanism that can be used as a basis for consideration paid to each providing agent is provided. FIG. 11A is a conceptual diagram of this example. First, the advertiser requests an advertisement from the provider. The providing agent registers the self of the server C as the providing agent, and the registration No. Give and give. The server C records the number of times the location information related to the advertisement is provided to the user, and notifies the providing agent of this. The providing agent charges each advertiser based on the number of times of providing, and the advertiser pays it.

  In the case of this example, it is necessary to identify who is the agent who provides each advertisement. Therefore, in this example, the providing agent is specified in the advertisement by providing the providing agent information for identifying the providing agent, and the providing agent is specified by extracting the information by the server C. FIG.11 (b) is an example of the signboard in which such provision agent information was described. As shown in the figure, the providing agent information includes a providing agent identifier (☆) and a registration number of the providing agent. (0125). When the server C receives the photographed image of the signboard, it first extracts the providing agent identifier, and then registers the registration number indicated by the providing agent identifier. And the registration No. is extracted. The points of the providing agent will be added. FIG. 11C shows an example of the point addition table, which is stored in the HDD 304 of the server C. This point addition table is created for each providing agent, and points are attached in association with each position information provided to the mobile phone B by the server C. The position information is information that identifies the advertiser. The point indicates the number of times of provision, but may be other information (for example, the amount of consideration).

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing of the server C in this example. The point addition process shown in the figure is performed after the position information transmission process of S22. For example, the points can be added even when the above-mentioned providing agent information is extracted. However, the points are added on the condition that the position information is actually provided to the user. In S291, a process for extracting the providing agent identifier is performed. Here, the provider representative identifier is extracted from the captured image in the same manner as the identifier extraction process (S201) described above. That is, the providing agent identifier is determined in advance, and the feature amount is stored in, for example, the identifier DB 308 and extracted by matching this with a feature amount such as a character cut out from the photographed image. In S292, it is determined whether or not the providing agent identifier has been extracted in S291. If it has been extracted, the process proceeds to S293, and if not, the process is terminated because it is not an advertisement or the like by a provider. In S293, the registration No. indicated by the providing agent identifier is displayed. To identify the service provider. The processing in S293 is performed in the same manner as the description item extraction processing in S202. In S294, the points of the service agent specified in S293 are added. That is, points are attached in association with the position information provided to the user. When the same position information is provided again, points are added. In the case of position information provided for the first time, one point at which the item of the position information is newly created is recorded.

<Other examples of search processing>
In the search process of FIG. 6A, identifiers are first extracted and the character recognition range of the description items is limited. However, in the search process of this example, all description items in the photographed image are first extracted, and then Identifies the identifier and the description item indicated by the identifier. FIG. 13A is a flowchart of the search process of this example. In S301, all description items are extracted from the photographed image. In S302, a process for specifying position information related to information of the captured image is performed. FIG. 13B is a flowchart showing the description item extraction processing in S301. This process is substantially the same as the entry extraction process in FIG. In S311, pre-processing is performed on the captured image. Here, for example, processing such as noise removal is performed. In S312, characters, symbols, etc. included in the captured image are cut out. In S313, the image feature amount such as each character cut out in S312 is extracted. In S313, the image feature amount such as each character cut out in S312 is extracted. In S314, matching is performed between the image feature amount of each character or the like extracted in S313 and the feature amount of each character or the like stored in the character recognition dictionary B309, and the similarity is individually calculated. In S315, the character or the like having the highest similarity is selected from the similarity calculation result in S314, and the description items are specified. The process ends as described above.

  FIG. 13C is a flowchart showing the position specifying process in S302. In S321, it is determined whether or not an identifier exists in the description item specified in S315. When it does not exist, it progresses to S322, and when it exists, it progresses to S324. In the case of this example, when there is an identifier, priority is given to a description item indicated by the identifier, and when there is no identifier, a search is appropriately performed from each description item. In S322, the items specified in S315 are set as search targets in order in a predetermined unit, and the position information is searched from each database of the position information database 310 using this as a search key. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S327, and position information is acquired. When there are a plurality of search results, for example, the search result having the highest search frequency may be selected.

  In step S324, the description item indicated by the identifier is set as a search target. In S325, a corresponding database is selected from the position information database 310 according to the type of identifier. In S325, the position information is searched from the database selected in S324 using the description set in S231 as a search key. These processes are substantially the same as the processes in FIGS. 6C and 6D, and the priority is given to the items indicated by a predetermined identifier, thereby increasing the accuracy of the facility location specification. Can do. In S326, the position information of the search result is acquired, and the process ends.

<Others>
Although various examples have been described in the above embodiment, they can be configured in combination with each other. Further, in the above-described embodiment, a process is performed in which an image is taken by the mobile phone B and position information is specified by the server C. However, for example, by providing the car navigation device A with an image photographing function and a communication function with the server C, it is possible to photograph the car navigation device A and give a search instruction to the server C. In addition, the search process (S21 in FIG. 5) performed by the server C can be performed in, for example, the car navigation apparatus A or the portable phone B. In this case, the storage area of each database (308 to 310) becomes a problem. In the case of car navigation A, it is possible to employ a large-capacity storage means such as a DVD. In the case of the portable phone A, it may be possible that only the database depends on a server on the network.

It is a schematic diagram of a position information retrieval system concerning one embodiment of the present invention. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the example of the information display medium with which information was described. (A) is a block diagram of the car navigation device A, and (b) is a block diagram of the mobile phone B. (A) is a block diagram of the server C, (b) is an example of information stored in the identifier DB 308, and (c) is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the name DB 310a. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process of the whole position information search system. (A) is a flowchart showing an example of search processing, (b) is a flowchart showing an example of identifier extraction processing, (c) is a flowchart showing an example of description item extraction processing, and (d) shows an example of position specifying processing. It is a flowchart. It is a conceptual diagram of each process of S201-S203 of Fig.6 (a). (A) is a diagram showing an example of processing when a plurality of identifiers of the same type are extracted, (b) is a diagram showing an example of a photographed image including a plurality of information, and (c) is a display of the mobile phone B FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when information displayed on 210 is selected. (A) is a flowchart showing an example of processing when position information based on each identifier does not match, and (b) is a diagram showing an example when position information based on each identifier does not match. (A) is a flowchart showing another example of position specifying processing, (b) is a flowchart showing an example of error processing, and (c) is a diagram showing another example of error processing. (A) is a conceptual diagram of processing related to a provider, (b) is a diagram showing an example of a signboard with a provider representative identifier, and (c) is a diagram showing an example of a point record table. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process regarding a provision agent. (A) The flowchart which shows the other example of a search process, (b) is a flowchart which shows the example of a description item extraction process, (c) is a flowchart which shows the example of a position specific process.

Explanation of symbols

A Car navigation device B Mobile phone C Server

Claims (12)

An identifier extracting means for extracting a predetermined identifier from a captured image of information described on the information display medium;
Description items extracting means for extracting description items of the information indicated by the identifier extracted by the identifier extraction means from the photographed image;
A specifying means for specifying a location of a facility related to the information based on the description items extracted by the description item extraction means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: There are a plurality of types of identifiers depending on the contents of the description items indicated by the identifiers,
The specifying means is:
Based on the type of identifier extracted by the identifier extraction unit and the description item extracted by the description item extraction unit, the information from the location information database storing the location information of the facility for each type of identifier The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the location of the facility is specified by searching for location information of a related facility. The specifying means is:
When a plurality of identifiers of the same type are extracted by the identifier extraction means, any one of the items specified by the user from among the plurality of items described by the plurality of identifiers of the same type. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a position of a facility related to the information is specified based on the information. If multiple types of identifiers are extracted by the identifier extraction means, whether or not the locations of the facilities related to the information specified by the specification means corresponding to the multiple types of identifiers match Determining means for determining
A recording unit that records a determination result when the determination unit determines that they do not match;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:   The update means for updating the position information database for the description item when there is no position information corresponding to the description item extracted by the description item extraction unit. Information processing device. A portable terminal having a photographing function and capable of information communication with a car navigation device, and a server capable of information communication via a network;
Receiving means for receiving, from the portable terminal, a photographed image of information described on an information display medium photographed by the portable terminal;
Identifier extracting means for extracting a predetermined identifier from the captured image received by the receiving means;
Description items extracting means for extracting description items of the information indicated by the identifier extracted by the identifier extraction means from the photographed image;
A specifying means for specifying a location of a facility related to the information based on the description items extracted by the description item extraction means;
Transmitting means for transmitting information on the location of the facility specified by the specifying means to the portable terminal;
A server comprising: Providing agent information extracting means for extracting providing agent information specifying the providing agent of the information from the captured image;
A recording means for recording, for each providing agent, at least a point added on the condition that the providing agent information is extracted by the providing agent information extracting unit;
The server according to claim 6, further comprising: An extraction means for extracting the description items of the information from the captured image of the information described on the information display medium;
A specifying means for specifying a location of a facility related to the information based on the description items extracted by the extracting means,
In the case where there is a predetermined identifier in the description items extracted by the extraction means, the specifying means prioritizes the description items indicated by the identifier and determines the location of the facility related to the information. An information processing apparatus characterized by specifying. An identifier extraction step of extracting a predetermined identifier from a captured image of information described on the information display medium;
A description item extracting step of extracting a description item of the information indicated by the identifier extracted in the identifier extraction step from the photographed image;
Based on the description items extracted in the description item extraction step, a specifying step for specifying the location of the facility related to the information;
An information processing method characterized by comprising: On the computer,
An identifier extraction step of extracting a predetermined identifier from a captured image of information described on the information display medium;
A description item extracting step of extracting a description item of the information indicated by the identifier extracted in the identifier extraction step from the photographed image;
Based on the description items extracted in the description item extraction step, a specifying step for specifying the location of the facility related to the information;
A program that executes An extraction process for extracting the description items of the information from a photographed image of the information described on the information display medium, and a location of a facility related to the information is specified based on the description items extracted by the extraction process A specific process,
In the specifying step, when there is a predetermined identifier in the description items extracted by the extraction means, the location of the facility related to the information is given priority over the description items indicated by the identifier. An information processing method characterized by specifying. On the computer,
An extraction process for extracting the description items of the information from a photographed image of the information described on the information display medium, and a location of a facility related to the information is specified based on the description items extracted by the extraction process A program for executing a specific process,
In the specifying step, when there is a predetermined identifier in the description items extracted by the extraction means, the location of the facility related to the information is given priority over the description items indicated by the identifier. A program characterized by specifying.

Images