JP2006302045A - Conference support program, conference support apparatus, and conference support method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To present relevant information relating to a conference by a proper method according to a conference scene. <P>SOLUTION: A conference support apparatus 60 includes a relevant information retrieval part 61 for retrieving relevant information relating to presentation materials of the conference, a conference condition acquisition part 62 for acquiring conference condition information representing a condition of the conference, a presenting method determination part 63 for determining a relevant information presenting method according to the condition of the conference on the basis of the acquired conference condition information, and a relevant information presenting part 64 for presenting retrieved relevant information in accordance with the determined relevant information presenting method. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a conference support program, a conference support device, and a conference support method for presenting information related to a conference in a conference.

  There has been proposed a system that automatically searches for and presents related information from the actions of participants, documents used, and the like during a conference (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, a technique has been proposed in which the context of an entity (user, computer, machine, organization, service, etc.) is determined, a notification method according to the determined context is determined, and notification is transmitted to the entity using the determined notification method. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

JP 2001-256335 A Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2003-527713

  By the way, for example, when a presentation is being performed, presentation of related information related to the conference may obstruct the flow of the presentation. On the other hand, when brainstorming is being performed, presentation of related information is effective as a stimulus for creating various ideas. As described above, it is desirable that the related information related to the conference is presented to the conference participant by an appropriate method (timing, presentation amount, presentation location, etc.) according to the conference scene.

  However, since the system described in Patent Document 1 does not consider the method for presenting related information, the related information cannot be presented by an appropriate method according to the conference scene. In particular, presentation of related information may interfere with the progress of the conference.

  Further, Patent Document 2 does not disclose a configuration for presenting related information by an appropriate method according to a conference scene.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a conference support program, a conference support device, and a conference support method that can present information related to a conference by an appropriate method according to the conference scene.

  The conference support program according to the present invention is a conference support program for presenting information related to the conference in the conference, and the computer searches the related information search means for searching the related information related to the presentation material of the conference, the conference Conference status acquisition means for acquiring conference status information indicating the status of the conference, presentation method determination means for determining a related information presentation method according to the status of the conference based on the conference status information acquired by the conference status acquisition means, and presentation According to the related information presenting method determined by the method determining means, it is made to function as related information presenting means for presenting related information searched by the related information searching means.

  In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the related information search means executes a search for related information related to the presentation material, triggered by the presentation material being presented.

  In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the presentation method determining means specifies the number of speakers within a predetermined period based on the meeting status information, and determines the related information presentation method according to the specified number of speakers.

  Further, in a preferred aspect of the present invention, the presentation method determining means specifies the degree of overlap of the speech within a predetermined period based on the meeting status information, and determines the related information presentation method according to the specified degree of overlap of the speech. To do.

  Moreover, in the suitable aspect of this invention, a presentation method determination means changes a presentation timing, a presentation amount, and a presentation location according to the condition of the meeting shown by meeting condition information.

  The conference support device according to the present invention is a conference support device that presents information related to the conference in the conference, and shows related information search means for searching related information related to the presentation material of the conference, and the status of the conference A meeting status acquisition unit that acquires conference status information, a presentation method determination unit that determines a related information presentation method according to the status of the conference based on the conference status information acquired by the conference status acquisition unit, and a presentation method determination unit And related information presenting means for presenting the related information retrieved by the related information retrieving means in accordance with the determined related information presenting method.

  The conference support method according to the present invention is a conference support method for presenting information related to the conference in the conference, and includes a related information search step of searching for related information related to the presentation material of the conference, and the status of the conference A conference status acquisition step for acquiring conference status information, a presentation method determination step for determining a related information presentation method according to the conference status based on the conference status information acquired in the conference status acquisition step, and a presentation method determination step A related information presenting step for presenting the related information retrieved in the related information retrieving step according to the determined related information presenting method.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the meeting assistance program, the meeting assistance apparatus, and the meeting assistance method which can show the information relevant to a meeting by the appropriate method according to the meeting scene can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic conference system 1 including a conference support device 60 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, the electronic conference system 1 includes a shared screen display device 10, an explainer console 20, a participant PC 30, a conference status sensor 40, a screen control device 50, and a conference support device 60.

  The shared screen display device 10 is a relatively large display (for example, about 50 type or more) that displays various images on a shared screen shared by all the conference participants (hereinafter, abbreviated as “participants”). Here, the shared screen display device 10 is a so-called electronic white board, which can be operated by touching the screen with a finger, and can write characters, figures, and the like on the screen with an electronic pen.

  The explainer console 20 is an input / output device that displays various types of information on a console screen and receives operation inputs from a conference presenter (also referred to as a presenter or speaker) via the console screen. This is a touch panel type display (about 15 inches).

  The participant PC 30 is an information processing apparatus that displays various types of information on the PC screen and receives operation inputs from the participant via the PC screen. For example, the participant PC 30 is a personal computer installed in each participant's seat.

  The conference status sensor 40 is a sensor that detects the status of the conference. For example, a video camera that captures all participants (the entire conference room) and outputs video data, and images of each participant by capturing each participant. Multiple video cameras that output data, microphones that capture the voices of all participants (the audio of the entire conference room) and output audio data, and capture the voices of each participant and output audio data for each participant Examples include a plurality of microphones and a plurality of seating sensors that detect the presence or absence of seating in each chair.

  The screen control device 50 is a device that controls the shared screen of the shared screen display device 10, the console screen of the explainer console 20, and the PC screen of the participant PC 30. In particular, the screen control device 50 accepts a document selection operation from the presenter via the console screen, reads the selected document from a predetermined storage area, and displays the read document on the shared screen. Therefore, the presenter can display a desired document on the shared screen by selecting the document on the console screen, and can switch the document on the shared screen according to the progress of the meeting.

  The conference support device 60 is a device that presents information related to the conference to the participants in the conference. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the conference support apparatus 60 includes a related information search unit 61, a conference status acquisition unit 62, a presentation method determination unit 63, and a related information presentation unit 64 as functional blocks. Here, the conference support apparatus 60 is a computer, and each of the above functional blocks is realized by the CPU executing a conference support program according to the present embodiment stored in a storage medium such as a ROM. However, each of the functional blocks may be realized by other configurations such as a dedicated hardware circuit.

  The related information search unit 61 automatically searches for related information related to the conference presentation material. Here, the related information search unit 61 can handle an appropriate document used or used as a conference presentation material as a conference presentation material. However, in the present embodiment, the related information search unit 61 is displayed or displayed on the shared screen. Treat the document as an announcement material. Therefore, in the following description, a document displayed on or displayed on a shared screen will be referred to as presentation material as appropriate.

  Further, the timing of searching for the related information may be determined as appropriate, and may be before or after the presentation material is presented to the participants. However, in the present embodiment, from the viewpoint of performing a necessary search when necessary, the related information search unit 61 searches for related information about the presentation material triggered by the presentation material being displayed on the shared screen. Execute.

  More specifically, here, the related information search unit 61 acquires the presentation material being displayed on the shared screen from the screen control device 50. Here, the related information search unit 61 can acquire the presentation material by an appropriate means. For example, the document file of the presentation material may be acquired from a presentation application in the screen control device 50, the graphic data of the presentation material may be acquired from the VRAM in the screen control device 50, or the shared screen may be displayed. The image data of the presentation material may be acquired by photographing with a camera. Next, the related information search unit 61 extracts text information from the acquired presentation material, and creates a search formula based on the words analyzed by morphological analysis. Then, the related information search unit 61 acquires, as related information, a document that matches the search expression by using a document database specified in advance or a document archive specified by a meeting or a participant as a search target. Then, the related information search unit 61 holds the document acquired as the related information in association with the presentation material that is the source of the search. Here, from the viewpoint of presenting useful related information, it is preferable that the search target includes records of past conferences that form a series of conferences with the conference, and related materials submitted in advance by participants. However, the search target and search method are not limited to the above, and may be determined as appropriate.

  The conference status acquisition unit 62 acquires conference status information indicating the status of the conference. Here, as the conference status information, for example, sensor information (video data, audio data, seating sensor output, etc.) obtained from the conference status sensor 40, screen operation event information obtained from the shared screen display device 10, and the screen control device 50 are used. Transition information of presentation materials on the shared screen obtained from the above, the number-of-participant data obtained through an appropriate user interface such as an IC card reader, or a combination thereof.

  Here, the conference status acquisition unit 62 acquires audio data from a microphone attached to each participant individually, monitors the presence / absence of each participant based on the audio data, and displays the transition as conference status information Record as. FIG. 2 shows an example of the transition (the speech transition during the conference) recorded by the conference status acquisition unit 62. FIG. 2 shows changes in presence / absence of speech from participants A to E.

  The presentation method determination unit 63 determines a related information presentation method according to the conference status based on the conference status information acquired by the conference status acquisition unit 62. Here, the presentation method determination unit 63 specifies a conference scene based on the conference status information, and determines a related information presentation method according to the specified conference scene. More specifically, the presentation method determination unit 63 determines the related information presentation method as follows.

  That is, the presentation method determination unit 63 determines the total number of speakers at a fixed time interval (Δt) (for example, 15 seconds) based on the current time based on the message transition shown in FIG. 2 recorded by the meeting status acquisition unit 62. (N) and the degree of overlap of speech (the maximum number of simultaneous speakers (m) and the overlap time ratio of speech (r)) are calculated. Here, the speech overlap time ratio is a ratio of a period in which speech overlaps with respect to a certain time interval (Δt).

  Next, the presentation method determination unit 63 specifies a conference scene based on the preset conference scene definition based on the calculated parameter values n, m, and r.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the meeting scene definition. In the conference scene definition of FIG. 3, the conference scene when n = 1 (m = 1, r = 0) is “presentation”. This is because if there is only one speaker, there is a high possibility of a presentation. The conference scene when n = 2 and m = 1 (r = 0) is “Q & A”. This is because there is a high possibility of a question and answer session when there are two speakers and there is no overlap in speech. The conference scene when 0 <r ≦ 0.3 (n ≧ 2, m ≧ 2) is “discussion”. This is because there is a high possibility of discussion when there are overlaps in the statements and the overlaps are relatively small. The conference scene when r> 0.3 (n ≧ 2, m ≧ 2) is “brainstorming”. This is because there is a high possibility of brainstorming when there are overlaps in speech and there are relatively many overlaps.

  According to the meeting scene definition of FIG. 3, since “n = 1” at time t1 in FIG. 2, “presentation” is specified, and at time t2, “n = 2” and “m = 1”, so “question and answer” is specified. At time t3, 0 <r ≦ 0.3, so “discussion” is specified, and at time t4, r> 0.3, so “brainstorming” is specified.

  Next, the presentation method determination unit 63 determines a related information presentation method according to a preset presentation method definition according to the identified conference scene. This is because depending on the conference scene, presentation of related information may be useful and may interfere with the progress of the conference. Here, as related information presentation methods, for example, presentation timing, presentation location, presentation form (icon presentation, thumbnail presentation, list presentation, etc.), presentation amount, presence / absence of presentation (whether or not to present), or these Is determined.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the presentation method definition. In the presentation method definition of FIG. 4, the conference scene and the related information presentation method are associated with each other. Specifically, a presentation method “not presented” is set for “presentation”. This is because, when a presentation is being performed, it is determined that presentation of related information is not useful because the presenter obstructs the flow of the presentation performed by the presenter.

  On the other hand, with regard to “brainstorming”, a presentation method of “presenting a large number of thumbnails in a random arrangement in the vicinity immediately on the shared screen. Not presenting on the console screen and the PC screen” is set. Here, the reason why the related information is presented is that in brainstorming, the presentation of the related information is effective as a stimulus for creating various ideas. Also, the reason for presenting only on the shared screen and not on the console screen or PC screen is that it is desirable to concentrate the participant's attention on the shared screen because brain interaction is important in brainstorming. is there.

  For “Q & A”, a presentation method of “not presented on shared screen. Presented immediately on console screen. Presented on PC screen as presence / absence of related information” is set. ing. This is because in the question-and-answer session, the explainer mainly interacts with the questioner, but the presentation of the material supplementing the answer may be effective for the explainer.

  As for “Discussion”, “In the sharing screen, the presence or absence of related information is instantly displayed with icons, and a small number of thumbnails are arranged and presented when the utterance is interrupted. Immediately on the console screen. A list presentation method is set on the PC screen, in accordance with the selection of the participant, the presence / absence of related information is immediately presented as an icon, or the list is presented immediately. Here, the reason why the related information is presented is that, in the discussion, appropriate presentation of the relevant information may be effective when the discussion proceeds. Also, the reason for making the presentation conservative is to prevent the progress of the discussion from being hindered.

  The related information presentation unit 64 presents the related information searched by the related information search unit 61 in accordance with the related information presentation method determined by the presentation method determination unit 63. Here, the related information presentation unit 64 presents all the participants by displaying the related information on the shared screen, presents them to the explainer by displaying them on the console screen, and displays them on the PC screen. To present. Specifically, the related information presentation unit 64 instructs the screen control device 50 to present related information according to the related information presentation method. In response to this instruction, the screen control device 50 displays related information on a predetermined screen in a manner according to the related information presentation method.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of related information presentation. FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D show states of icon presentation, list presentation, thumbnail presentation (alignment), and thumbnail presentation (random), respectively. In FIG. 5A, the presentation material 101 is displayed on the screen 100, and the icon “related information” is displayed on the upper right corner of the screen. In FIG. 5B, the presentation material 201 is displayed on the screen 200, and the title 202 of related information is displayed in a list on the lower right corner of the screen. In FIG. 5C, the presentation material 301 is displayed on the screen 300, and the thumbnails 302 of related information are arranged and displayed in the right corner of the screen. In FIG. 5D, presentation material 401 is displayed on a screen 400, and thumbnails 402 of related information are displayed randomly around the screen.

  Here, the conference support device 60 accepts an operation for selecting related information via the screen on which the related information is presented, and displays the content of the selected related information on a predetermined screen. For example, when a title or thumbnail is touched on the shared screen or the console screen, the conference support apparatus 60 displays the content of related information corresponding to the touched item on the shared screen. When the icon is touched on the shared screen or the console screen, the conference support device 60 displays a thumbnail or title list of related information on the shared screen.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the conference support apparatus 60. The operation of the conference support apparatus 60 will be described below with reference to FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that the conference status acquisition unit 62 continuously acquires and records conference status information from the conference status sensor 40 and the like.

  In FIG. 6, the related information search unit 61 monitors the presentation material displayed on the shared screen by an appropriate method, and when it is detected that the presentation material on the shared screen has been switched (S1: YES), sharing is performed. Presentation material displayed on the screen is acquired from the screen controller 50 (S2). Note that the switching of the presentation material described above includes not only switching from one presentation material to another, but also displaying the first presentation material at the start of the conference.

  Next, the related information search unit 61 determines whether or not a search for related information, which will be described later, has been executed for the acquired presentation material (S3).

  When it is determined that the search has not been executed (S3: NO), that is, when the presentation material is displayed on the shared screen for the first time, the related information search unit 61 searches for related information related to the content of the presentation material. Search is performed (S4), and the search result (related information obtained by the search or the fact that there is no related information) is associated with the presentation material that is the source of the search and held in a predetermined search result storage area (S5). Here, the related information search unit 61 continues the search even when the presentation material on the shared screen is switched before the search is completed, and associates the search result with the presentation material based on the search result after the search is completed. Hold.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the search has been executed (S3: YES), that is, if the presentation material is displayed on the shared screen for the second time or later, the search process is not performed and the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S <b> 6, the presentation method determination unit 63 specifies a conference scene based on the conference status information acquired by the conference status acquisition unit 62.

  Next, the presentation method determination unit 63 determines a related information presentation method according to the identified conference scene, and notifies the related information presentation unit 64 of the determined related information presentation method (S7).

  The related information presentation unit 64 refers to the search result storage area according to the related information presentation method notified from the presentation method determination unit 63 and presents the related information related to the presentation material acquired in step S2 (S8). ). Here, the display of the related information on a certain screen is limited to the period during which the presentation material that is the basis of the related information is displayed on the screen. Therefore, for example, when the presentation material is switched between step S2 and step S8 on the shared screen, display of the related information is not executed. If the presentation material is switched while the related information is presented, the display of the related information is stopped. However, the related information may be displayed together with a presentation material different from the presentation material from which the related information is based. In this case, in order to clarify which presentation material is related, it is preferable to present the related information in association with the presentation material from which the related information is based.

  According to the present embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) In the present embodiment, a related information presentation method is determined in accordance with the status of the conference, and related information related to the presentation material of the conference is presented according to this related information presentation method. For this reason, relevant information related to the conference can be presented to the conference participants by an appropriate method according to the conference scene such as presentation, question and answer, discussion, brainstorming. Thereby, for example, access to information related to the conference can be made possible without disturbing the progress of the conference. The participant can access information necessary for the content of the conference at an appropriate timing while concentrating on the progress of the conference.

  (2) In the present embodiment, retrieval of related information related to the presentation material is executed in response to the presentation material being presented. For this reason, it is possible to execute a search when related information is actually required, and to avoid the execution of an unnecessary search while enabling presentation of the related information at an appropriate timing. For example, when a search is executed in advance, a search process may be executed and a search result may be held for a presentation material that has not been used as a result. According to the present embodiment, such waste can be eliminated.

  (3) The number of speakers within a predetermined period is highly related to the conference scene, such as one for presentation, two for question and answer, and two or more for discussion and brainstorming. According to the present embodiment, the number of speakers in a predetermined period highly related to the conference scene is specified as described above, and the related information presentation method is determined according to the specified number of speakers. The related information can be presented by a more appropriate method according to the situation.

  (4) The degree of overlap of statements within a predetermined period is highly relevant to the conference scene, such as very small for presentations and questions and answers, small for discussions, and large for brainstorming. According to the present embodiment, the degree of overlap of statements within a predetermined period highly related to the conference scene is specified in this way, and the related information presentation method is determined according to the specified degree of overlap of the statements. Related information can be presented by a more appropriate method according to the meeting scene. Further, by determining the related information presentation method according to the number of speakers within a predetermined period and the degree of overlapping of messages within a predetermined period, it is possible to present related information by a more appropriate method.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change variously within the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

  For example, the conference support program, apparatus, and method according to the present invention are not limited to the electronic conference system, and can be applied to various conferences.

  In addition, information specific to the participant (used document / folder, used PC, etc.) may be designated by performing participation registration prior to the conference. The information specific to the participant specified here can also be used to specify a target range of related information search and an information presentation destination. For example, the conference support apparatus 60 accepts participation registration from a participant via an appropriate user interface, and uses a use document / folder preset for the registered participant as a search target. In addition, the conference support apparatus 60 designates the participant PC 30 to be used by the participant in the participation registration, and designates the designated participant PC 30 as the related information presentation destination.

  Further, when there is no need to present related information according to the conference scene, execution of related information search can be temporarily stopped.

  The conference scene may be specified by a method other than the above-described specifying method. Hereinafter, modifications of the conference scene specifying method will be described.

(Modification 1)
The meeting status acquisition unit 62 acquires video data of each participant or all participants from the video camera, determines the presence or absence of each participant's speech from the movement of each participant's mouth in this video data, and each participant Record changes in presence or absence of utterances. The presentation method determination unit 63 specifies the conference scene based on the statement transition recorded by the conference status acquisition unit 62, as in the above embodiment.

(Modification 2)
The meeting status acquisition unit 62 acquires the number of writers for the shared screen display device 10 from the shared screen display device 10 and records the transition. The presentation method determination unit 63 specifies a conference scene based on the maximum number of writers within a predetermined period. For example, when the maximum number of writers is 0 or 1, “presentation” is specified, and when it is 2 or more, “non-presentation” is specified.

(Modification 3)
The conference status acquisition unit 62 receives participant registration through an IC card reader or the like and acquires the total number of participants, and obtains the number of seated persons based on the output of the seating sensor. Then, the number of standing persons is calculated by subtracting the number of seated persons from the total number of participants. The presentation method determination unit 63 specifies “presentation” when the number of standing persons is 1, and “other than presentation” when the number is two or more.

(Modification 4)
The meeting status acquisition unit 62 acquires the presentation material on the shared screen from the screen control device 50, and records the transition of the presentation material. The presentation method determination unit 63 refers to the transition of the recorded presentation material, and when the presentation material is switched in a predetermined order (for example, according to the page), “presentation”, and in other cases (for example, various types) If the page has been switched to a different page or multiple presentation materials are displayed at the same time, etc.), specify “non-presentation”.

  In the above embodiment, the conference scene is identified based on the conference status information, and the related information presentation method is determined according to the identified conference scene. The related information presentation method may be determined from the meeting status information. For example, the related information presentation method may be directly determined from the parameter values n, m, and r.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electronic conference system containing the meeting assistance apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the statement transition during a meeting. It is a figure which shows an example of a meeting scene definition. It is a figure which shows an example of a presentation method definition. It is a figure which shows the example of related information presentation. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of a meeting assistance apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic conference system, 10 Shared screen display apparatus, 20 Explainer console, 30 Participant PC, 40 Conference status sensor, 50 Screen control apparatus, 60 Conference support apparatus, 61 Related information search part, 62 Conference status acquisition part, 63 Presentation method determination unit, 64 related information presentation unit.

Claims (7)

A conference support program for presenting information related to a conference at the conference, the computer comprising:
Related information search means for searching related information related to the presentation material of the meeting,
Meeting status acquisition means for acquiring meeting status information indicating the status of the meeting;
A presentation method determining unit that determines a related information presentation method according to the conference status based on the conference status information acquired by the conference status acquisition unit; and
Related information presenting means for presenting related information retrieved by the related information retrieving means in accordance with the related information presenting method determined by the presenting method determining means;
A conference support program characterized by functioning as The conference support program according to claim 1,
The related information search means is a conference support program characterized by executing a search for related information related to the presentation material in response to the presentation material being presented. The conference support program according to claim 1 or 2,
A presentation support determining program characterized in that the presentation method determining means specifies the number of speakers within a predetermined period based on the conference status information, and determines a related information presentation method according to the specified number of speakers. The conference support program according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A presentation support determining program characterized in that the presentation method determining means specifies the degree of overlap of statements within a predetermined period based on the conference status information, and determines the related information presentation method according to the specified degree of overlap of statements. A conference support program according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The presentation support determining program is characterized in that the presentation method determining means changes the presentation timing, the presentation amount, and the presentation location according to the status of the conference indicated by the conference status information. A conference support device that presents information related to the conference in the conference,
Related information search means for searching related information related to the presentation material of the meeting,
Meeting status acquisition means for acquiring meeting status information indicating the status of the meeting;
A presentation method determining means for determining a related information presentation method according to the meeting status based on the meeting status information acquired by the meeting status acquiring means;
Related information presenting means for presenting related information retrieved by the related information retrieving means in accordance with the related information presenting method determined by the presenting method determining means;
A conference support apparatus characterized by comprising: A meeting support method for presenting information related to a meeting at the meeting,
A related information search step for searching related information related to the presentation material of the meeting;
A meeting status acquisition step for acquiring meeting status information indicating the status of the meeting;
A presentation method determination step for determining a related information presentation method according to the conference status based on the conference status information acquired in the conference status acquisition step;
A related information presenting step for presenting the related information retrieved in the related information retrieval step in accordance with the related information presenting method determined in the presenting method determining step;
A meeting support method characterized by comprising:

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