JP2007148985A - Information providing system, information providing method and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing system, in which a person can acquire the position of another participant he/she wants to interact with in a site. <P>SOLUTION: The information providing device comprises a position request receiving means receiving position request information transmitted from a terminal device, and a position request report means reporting the position request to the other terminal device used by a participant corresponding to participant identification information contained in the received position request information. The other terminal device comprises a user announcement means prompting, upon receipt of the report from the information providing device, its user to acquire a mark located in a position closest to the other terminal device of a plurality of marks arranged in different positions of the site where a plurality of events are held. The information providing device includes a mark information receiving mean receiving mark information or mark identification information transmitted from the other terminal device, a position information recognition means recognizing position information for arrangement position of the mark by the received mark information or mark identification information, and a position information transmitting means transmitting the recognized position information to the terminal device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes an information providing device and a plurality of terminal devices that are used by each participant in a meeting composed of the plurality of participants and can communicate with the information providing device via communication means. The present invention relates to a technical field such as an information providing system.

  Conventionally, systems that provide information using a network have been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an information providing system that selects and outputs a desired content from content that changes every day between users connected by a computer network such as the Internet.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, an IC memory is mounted on an advertising medium, an identifier of a product is stored in the IC memory, a user reads the identifier of the product from a portable information device terminal, and the information is provided to a service provider. An information processing system is disclosed in which a provider can send detailed information about a product to the terminal by transmitting to the terminal.

  By the way, there are various academic societies in Japan, and each participant of the academic society can get to know and interact with many other participants at the conference venue.

In recent years, most of the participants own mobile phones, so for example, it is possible to contact other participants who have met at an academic conference using mobile phones.
JP 2000-322446 A JP 2001-266090 A

  However, if each participant is an unfamiliar participant and wants to interact with the conference presenter, the participant must know where the participant is at the venue and where the venue is. It is difficult. This is particularly noticeable when the venue is spread over many buildings and is held on many floors.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an information providing system, an information providing method, and the like that allow a participant to easily grasp the position of another participant who wants to interact in a venue. The task is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is an information providing apparatus and a communication means for the information providing apparatus used by each participant in a meeting composed of the plurality of participants. And a plurality of terminal devices that can communicate with each other, wherein the one terminal device is a device to which a holding medium that holds unique participant identification information is added for each participant. Identification information acquisition means for acquiring one participant identification information from a holding medium, and position request transmission for transmitting position request information including the acquired participant identification information to the information providing device via the communication means And the information providing device includes location request receiving means for receiving location request information transmitted from the one terminal device, and participant identification information included in the received location request information. A location request notification means for notifying that there is a location request to the other terminal device used by the participant corresponding to the information, and the other terminal device sends the notification from the information providing device. In the event that there are multiple events at the meeting, among the marks placed at different predetermined positions in the venue, the user can obtain a mark placed at a position close to the other terminal device. User notifying means for urging it, mark information acquiring means for acquiring one mark or mark identification information associated with the mark in accordance with the user's instructions, mark information indicating the acquired mark, or Mark information transmitting means for transmitting the mark identification information to the information providing apparatus via the communication means, and the information providing apparatus is further transmitted from the other terminal apparatus. Mark information receiving means for receiving mark information or the mark identification information, and position information recognition means for recognizing position information at the venue where the mark is arranged based on the received mark information or the mark identification information. And positional information transmitting means for transmitting the recognized positional information to the one terminal device via the communication means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the first aspect, the one terminal apparatus receives the positional information transmitted from the information providing apparatus and the received position information. Position information presenting means for presenting the position information to the user.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the first or second aspect, the object to which the holding medium is added is a card on which at least the name information of the participant is described, and is for each participant. The card is unique to the card.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the first or second aspect, the object to which the holding medium is added relates to a place, a time, and the event at which a plurality of events are held in the association. It is a medium that displays program information that defines the name information of each participant.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the fourth aspect, when the position information is recognized by the position information recognizing unit, the information providing apparatus uses the other terminal device. And highlight display means for highlighting the name information in the displayed program information.

  The invention described in claim 6 is included in the information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

  An information provision processing program according to a seventh aspect causes a computer to function as the information provision apparatus according to the sixth aspect.

  A terminal device according to an eighth aspect is included in the information providing system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

  A terminal processing program according to a ninth aspect causes a computer to function as the terminal device according to the eighth aspect.

  The invention according to claim 10 is an information providing apparatus and a plurality of terminals that are used by each participant in a meeting made up of the plurality of participants and can communicate with the information providing apparatus via communication means. An information providing method in an information providing system comprising: a device, wherein the one terminal device includes a device to which a holding medium holding unique participant identification information is added for each participant; Obtaining the participant identification information, and transmitting the position request information including the obtained participant identification information to the information providing device via the communication unit. The information providing device receives the location request information transmitted from the one terminal device, and the information providing device corresponds to the participant identification information included in the received location request information. A step of notifying the other terminal device used by the participant that there is a location request, and when the other terminal device receives the notification from the information providing device, A step of urging the user to acquire landmark information arranged at a position close to the other terminal device among a plurality of landmark information arranged at different predetermined positions in a venue where a plurality of events are held in The other terminal device acquires the mark identification information associated with the one mark or the mark information according to the instruction to the user, and the other terminal device indicates the acquired mark. A step of transmitting the mark information or the mark identification information to the information providing device via the communication means; and the mark providing information or the mark identification transmitted from the other terminal device by the information providing device. A step of receiving information, a step of recognizing position information at the venue where the mark is placed based on the received mark information or the mark identification information, and the information providing apparatus, And the step of transmitting the recognized position information to the one terminal device via the communication means.

  According to the present invention, each participant can easily grasp the position of other participants who want to exchange at the venue.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, embodiment described below is embodiment at the time of applying this invention with respect to an academic society participant exchange support system.

  First, with reference to FIG. 1, the configuration and function of an academic society participant exchange support system according to this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an academic society participant exchange support system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the conference participant exchange support system S provides information as a plurality of portable terminals 1A and 1B as a plurality of terminal devices and an information providing device that provides information to the portable terminals 1A and 1B. And a server 2.

  The mobile terminals 1A and 1B can communicate with each other by connecting to the information providing server 2 via a network NT as a communication means constructed by a mobile communication network (including a radio base station, an exchange station, etc.) and the Internet. ing. As the mobile terminals 1A and 1B, for example, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a PHS (Personal Handyphone System), or the like can be applied. In the present embodiment, the portable terminal is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a general-purpose personal computer (for example, a notebook PC) may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 1A is used by a participant A of an academic society (an example of a meeting composed of a plurality of participants), and the mobile terminal 1B is used by a participant B of the academic society. In the example of FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, two portable terminals 1A and 1B are shown. However, since there are actually a large number of participants in the academic society, there are more portable terminals. Will do. In the present embodiment, an academic society is described as an example of a meeting composed of a plurality of participants. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other meetings (for example, lectures, The present invention can be applied to any exhibition such as an exhibition where non-anonymous people gather.

  Each participant of the academic society is given a participant ID as unique participant identification information for each participant, and a unique business card is given to each participant (a business card dedicated to the academic conference). Yes, distributed to participants in advance).

  On the surface of such a business card, the name of the participant, the name of the company where he / she works, the department name, the company's address and telephone number, the email address of the participant's company, etc. are described. Furthermore, a QR code (two-dimensional barcode) is added to the surface of the business card as a holding medium for holding (for example, storing) the participant ID of the participant so as to be readable by the portable terminals 1A and 1B (for example, Printed or pasted). The holding medium added to each business card may be other than the QR code as long as it can hold the participant ID in a readable manner. For example, a digital watermark or an IC tag is also applicable. .

  In this embodiment, a business card is described as an example of a card to which a holding medium is added. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a name tag distributed to each participant may be used. In this case as well, the same contents as the business card are described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of the mobile terminals 1A and 1B.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminals 1A and 1B each include an information processing unit 11 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a working RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores data and programs, and the like. , A storage unit (for example, composed of a non-volatile memory or the like) 12 serving as identification information storage means for storing various information, and a communication unit (for example, for performing communication with the information providing server 2 via the antenna and the network NT) , Communication device, communication port, etc.) 13, a display unit 14 having a display panel for displaying various information, an operation unit 15 as an input means for inputting various operation instructions from a user, and the above QR code, item, etc. And a camera 16 as an imaging means for performing the program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 12 (including a terminal processing program). By performing the processing, the information processing unit 11 can identify the identification information acquisition unit, the position request transmission unit, the user notification unit, the landmark information acquisition unit, the landmark information transmission unit, the positional information reception unit, the positional information presentation unit, and the like of the present invention. Function to execute the processing described later. Although not shown, the mobile terminals 1A and 1B may include an IC tag reader for reading information stored in the IC tag.

  In the storage unit 12, a participant ID of a conference participant who is a user is stored in advance (in the case of the portable terminal 1A, the participant ID of the participant A, in the case of the portable terminal 1B, the participant ID of the participant B). ing. For example, such a participant ID is issued when a procedure for participating in an academic conference is performed by connecting to the information providing server 2 from the portable terminal 1A (sent from the information providing server 2 to the portable terminal 1A) and stored in the storage unit 12. Will be. The above-mentioned business card unique to the participant is mailed, for example, after the participation procedure is performed. Or handed over at the reception on the day of the conference.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of the information providing server 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the information providing server 2 includes an information processing unit 21 including a CPU, a working RAM, a ROM that stores data and programs, and a storage unit (participant information storage unit that stores various types of information). (For example, a hard disk drive) 22, a communication unit (for example, a communication device, a communication port, etc.) 23 for performing communication with the portable terminals 1A and 1B via the network NT, etc. For example, by executing a program (including an information provision processing program) stored in the ROM or the storage unit 22, the information processing unit 21 performs the position request receiving unit, the position request notifying unit, the mark information receiving unit, the position of the present invention. It functions as information recognition means, position information transmission means, highlight display means, and the like, and executes processing to be described later.

  In the storage unit 22, a participant information database 22a, a position information database 22b, and a program information database 22c are constructed.

  In the participant information database 22a, information such as names written on the business cards of the respective participants is stored in association with the participant IDs of the respective participants.

  In the position information database 22b, landmark information indicating a plurality of landmarks arranged at different predetermined positions in a venue where a plurality of events at the academic conference (for example, presentations by academic conference participants) is performed (or associated with the landmarks). Mark ID as mark identification information) and position information indicating the position where each mark is arranged are registered in association with each other.

  Here, as the mark, for example, an exhibit, an object, a poster, or the like (the contents (for example, shape, pattern, color, etc.) are different for each arranged position) or a mark ID is embedded (stored). E.) QR code or IC tag (marker ID is different for each arranged position). In addition, as the mark information indicating the mark, for example, image data such as an exhibit, an object, or a poster is applicable.

  Further, the position information may be represented by, for example, the building name (for example, Building No. 1), the number of floors (for example, the second floor), the room name (for example, Room No. 3), etc. (For example, the coordinates (X, Y) of the map 012 (the map of the second floor of Building No. 1)). Further, as will be described later, the position information is information presented to the participant who is the user of the mobile terminals 1A and 1B, and any presentation format can be used as long as the participant can grasp the position in the venue. However, for example, it may be displayed on the portable terminals 1A and 1B in the form of “in front of the 1st building, 2nd floor, 3rd room”, or output by voice, or the position is indicated by some mark or the like. The map in the venue may be displayed on the mobile terminals 1A and 1B.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the arrangement position of the mark in the venue. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a map of Building No. 1 and the second floor is shown, and landmarks are scattered in various places.

  The program information database 22c includes, for example, a place where each of a plurality of presentations at an academic conference is performed (for example, the first building, the second floor, the third room), the time, and the names of participants related to the presentation (an example of name information) Stored is program information that defines a QR code or the like that holds the participant ID of the participant. The information providing server 2 transmits the program information to a display device (not shown) installed at a predetermined position via a dedicated cable and displays the program information on a monitor (an example of a medium for displaying the program information). It has become. The program information is also displayed (printed) on a medium such as a poster pasted at a predetermined position in the venue and a guide book (booklet) distributed to each participant. Each participant who came to the venue can grasp the presenter, the presentation location, the presentation time, and the like by viewing the program information.

  Next, the operation of the conference participant exchange support system S according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing in the portable terminals 1A and 1B and the information providing server 2, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the display panel of the display unit 14 of the portable terminals 1A and 1B. is there.

  First, the participants A and B of the academic society perform login operations when they come to the conference venue or before that. For example, when the participant A operates the operation unit 15 of the mobile terminal 1A to activate a predetermined application, a login screen (not shown) is displayed on the display panel. When the participant A operates the operation unit 15 to input his / her participant ID and password through the login screen and presses the execution button, the portable terminal 1A receives the information providing server via the network NT. 2 is connected and the entered participant ID and password are transmitted. On the other hand, the information providing server 2 performs an authentication process as to whether or not the transmitted participant ID and password are registered. If registered, the information providing server 2 notifies the portable terminal 1A to that effect (if registered) ( Same for participant B). Note that by storing the participant ID and password in the storage unit 12 of the portable terminal 1A, automatic login can be performed simultaneously with the activation of the application.

  For example, a display screen 51 as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display panels of the portable terminals 1A and 1B that have received the notification. In the example of the display screen 51 shown in FIG. 6, an entrance registration button 51a and a position request button 51b are provided. Participant A is a presenter of an academic conference.

  For example, when the participant A operates the operation unit 15 of the mobile terminal 1A to select the entrance registration button 51a and presses an execution button (not shown), the mobile terminal 1A activates the camera 16. Participant A then presses the shutter (not shown) with the lens portion of camera 16 of his / her mobile terminal 1A close to the QR code printed on a poster, for example, a mark installed near the entrance of the venue Then, the QR code is photographed, and the information processing section 11 of the mobile terminal 1A acquires (by decoding) the landmark ID embedded (associated) with this (step S1).

  Next, the information processing unit 11 of the mobile terminal 1A acquires the participant ID of the participant A stored in the storage unit 12 (step S2).

  Next, the information processing section 11 of the portable terminal 1A transmits an entrance registration message including the acquired landmark ID and participant ID to the information providing server 2 via the network NT (step S3).

  On the other hand, when the information processing unit 21 of the information providing server 2 receives the admission registration message transmitted from the portable terminal 1A (step S4), the information is arranged based on the mark ID included in the received admission registration message. The position information in the venue is recognized, that is, the position information associated with the mark ID included in the admission registration message is recognized among the plurality of mark IDs stored in the position information database 22b (step S5).

  Next, the information processing unit 21 of the information providing server 2 stores information indicating the entrance to the venue in association with the participant ID included in the entrance registration message, for example, in the participant information database 22a (step S6). Participant ID and information indicating entrance to the venue are transmitted to the display device described above, and the name in the program information displayed on the monitor is highlighted (for example, the names of other participants who have not yet entered the venue) And the display color of the participant's name (or background) is changed, or a mark indicating admission is displayed in the vicinity of the participant's name (step S7). Thereby, for example, each participant who came to the venue can grasp that the presenter is in the venue by looking at the program information.

  Next, the participant B who desires to meet the participant A entering the venue operates the operation unit 15 and is displayed on the display panel of the portable terminal 1B, for example, the display screen shown in FIG. When the position request button 51b in 51 is selected and an execution button (not shown) is pressed, the portable terminal 1B activates the camera 16. Then, the participant B brings the lens portion of the camera 16 of his / her portable terminal 1B closer to, for example, a QR code corresponding to the participant who is the presenter A displayed on the monitor or poster of the display device or the guidebook. When a shutter (not shown) is pressed, the QR code is photographed, and the information processing unit 11 of the mobile terminal 1B acquires (by decoding) the participant ID of the participant A embedded therein (step S8). ).

  When participant B meets with participant A in the past and exchanges business cards, the QR code written on the participant A's business card is photographed with the portable terminal 1B, and the participant ID of participant A is acquired. You may comprise so that.

  Next, the information processing unit 11 of the mobile terminal 1B transmits a location request message (an example of location request information) including the acquired participant ID to the information providing server 2 via the network NT (step S9).

  On the other hand, when the information processing unit 21 of the information providing server 2 receives the position request message transmitted from the portable terminal 1B (step S10), for example, the participant ID included in the received position request message is displayed in the position request list. (Step S11).

  On the other hand, the mobile terminal 1A transmits a confirmation message including its participant ID to the information processing unit 21 of the information providing server 2 periodically (for example, at an interval of 1 minute) after logging in. The information processing unit 21 of the server 2 determines whether or not the participant ID included in the confirmation message is included in the position request list. If included, the information is included in the position request list (that is, The mobile terminal 1A used by the participant A corresponding to the participant ID (included in the location request message) is notified of the location request (step S12).

  On the other hand, when there is the notification from the information providing server 2, the information processing unit 11 of the mobile terminal 1 </ b> A is located at a position close to the mobile terminal 1 </ b> A among a plurality of marks arranged at different predetermined positions in the venue. A display screen for prompting the participant A who is the user to acquire the placed landmark is displayed on the display panel, and the camera 16 is activated. Then, the participant A closes the lens portion of the camera 16 of his / her mobile terminal 1 </ b> A close to a QR code printed on, for example, a poster which is a mark placed at a position closest to the participant A (not shown). When is pressed, the QR code is photographed, and the information processing section 11 of the portable terminal 1A acquires (by decoding) the landmark ID embedded in the QR code (step S13). That is, the landmark ID associated with the landmark is acquired in accordance with an instruction from the participant A who is the user of the mobile terminal 1A.

  In step S13, the mark ID stored in the IC tag, which is the mark placed closest to the participant A, may be acquired by the IC tag reader of the portable terminal 1A.

  Next, the information processing unit 11 of the mobile terminal 1A transmits a reply message including the acquired landmark ID to the information providing server 2 via the network NT (step S14).

  On the other hand, when the information processing unit 21 of the information providing server 2 receives the reply message transmitted from the mobile terminal 1A (step S15), the mark is arranged based on the mark ID included in the received reply message. The position information in the venue is recognized, that is, the position information associated with the mark ID included in the reply message is recognized among the plurality of mark IDs stored in the position information database 22b (step S16).

  Next, the information processing unit 21 of the information providing server 2 acquires the recognized position information and transmits it to the mobile terminal 1B via the network NT (step S17).

  On the other hand, when the information processing unit 11 of the portable terminal 1B receives the position information transmitted from the information providing server 2 (step S18), as the received position information, for example, “In front of the first building, the second floor, the third room” Display information on the display panel or display a map as shown in FIG. 4 and blink a star at the location where the participant A acquired the landmark on the map, for example. (Or enlarged display) (step S19).

  In steps S13 and S14, a display message, an object, a poster, or the like, which is a mark placed at a position closest to the participant A, is photographed by the camera 16 of the portable terminal 1A, and a reply message including the image data. May be transmitted to the information providing server 2. In this case, the information processing unit 21 of the information providing server 2 performs image analysis on the contour and color of the image included in the received reply message in step S16, and stores the image stored in advance in the position information database 22b. The position information associated with the closest image data among the data is recognized.

  As described above, according to the above embodiment, each participant can easily grasp the position of the participant when the participant is not yet acquainted and wants to interact with the conference presenter. . In addition, when the venues are spread over many buildings, and the venue is held on many floors, it is possible to easily grasp the location of the participant who wants to interact.

  Note that after the mobile terminal 1B receives the location information of the participant A, the mobile terminal 1A and the mobile terminal 1B can exchange messages via the information providing server 2. In this case, in the portable terminal 1A and the portable terminal 1B, the message input by the user is transmitted to the information providing server 2 together with the participant ID, and is transmitted to the other party portable terminal 1A or portable terminal 1B.

It is a figure showing the example of whole composition of the society participant exchange support system concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a schematic structure of portable terminal 1A, 1B. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an information providing server 2 It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the arrangement position of the mark in a meeting place. It is a flowchart which shows the process in portable terminal 1A, 1B and the information provision server 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display screen displayed on the display panel of the display part 14 of portable terminal 1A, 1B.

Explanation of symbols

1A, 1B Mobile terminal 2 Information providing server 11 Information processing unit 12 Storage unit 13 Communication unit 14 Display unit 15 Operation unit 16 Camera 21 Information processing unit 22 Storage unit 22a Participant information database 22b Location information database 22c Program information database 23 Communication unit NT Network S Society Participant Exchange Support System

Claims (10)

An information providing system comprising: an information providing device; and a plurality of terminal devices that are used by each participant in a meeting made up of the plurality of participants and can communicate with the information providing device via communication means There,
1 of the terminal device,
Identification information acquisition means for acquiring one participant identification information from the holding medium in a thing to which a holding medium holding unique participant identification information for each participant is added;
Position request transmission means for transmitting position request information including the acquired participant identification information to the information providing apparatus via the communication means, and
The information providing apparatus includes:
Position request receiving means for receiving position request information transmitted from the one terminal device;
Position request notification means for notifying that there is a position request to the other terminal device used by the participant corresponding to the participant identification information included in the received position request information,
The other terminal device is:
When there is the notification from the information providing device, it is arranged at a position close to the other terminal device among landmarks arranged at predetermined positions different from each other in a venue where a plurality of events are held in the meeting A user notification means for encouraging the user to obtain the mark;
Mark information acquisition means for acquiring one mark or mark identification information associated with the mark according to the user's instruction;
Mark information transmitting means for transmitting the mark information indicating the acquired mark or the mark identification information to the information providing apparatus via the communication means, and
The information providing apparatus further includes:
Mark information receiving means for receiving the mark information transmitted from the other terminal device or the mark identification information;
Based on the received landmark information or the landmark identification information, position information recognition means for recognizing position information in the venue where the landmark is arranged;
Position information transmitting means for transmitting the recognized position information to the one terminal device via the communication means;
An information providing system comprising: In the information provision system of Claim 1,
1 of the terminal device,
Position information receiving means for receiving position information transmitted from the information providing device;
Position information presenting means for presenting the received position information to a user;
An information providing system comprising: In the information provision system according to claim 1 or 2,
The information providing system, wherein the holding medium is added to a card in which at least participant name information is described and is unique to each participant. In the information provision system according to claim 1 or 2,
The object to which the holding medium is added is a medium that displays program information that specifies the location, time, and name information of the participants related to the event, in which the plurality of events are held in the association. Information provision system. The information providing system according to claim 4,
When the position information is recognized by the position information recognizing unit, the information providing apparatus displays the name information of the participant who uses the other terminal device and the name information in the displayed program information. An information providing system comprising highlight display means for light display.   An information providing apparatus, which is included in the information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   An information provision processing program for causing a computer to function as the information provision apparatus according to claim 6.   6. A terminal device that is included in the information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   A terminal processing program for causing a computer to function as the terminal device according to claim 8. In an information providing system comprising: an information providing device; and a plurality of terminal devices that are used by each participant in a meeting composed of the plurality of participants and can communicate with the information providing device via communication means An information providing method,
The terminal device of 1 acquiring the participant identification information of 1 from the holding medium in a thing to which a holding medium holding unique participant identification information for each participant is added;
The one terminal device transmits the location request information including the acquired participant identification information to the information providing device via the communication unit;
The information providing device receiving the location request information transmitted from the one terminal device;
The information providing device notifying that there is a location request to the other terminal device used by a participant corresponding to the participant identification information included in the received location request information;
When the other terminal device receives the notification from the information providing device, the other terminal among the pieces of landmark information arranged at predetermined positions different from each other in a venue where a plurality of events in the meeting is performed A step of prompting the user to obtain landmark information arranged at a position close to the device;
The other terminal device acquires the mark identification information associated with the mark or the mark information of 1 according to an instruction to the user;
The other terminal device transmits the mark information indicating the acquired mark or the mark identification information to the information providing apparatus via the communication unit;
The information providing device receiving the landmark information or the landmark identification information transmitted from the other terminal device;
The information providing device recognizes position information in the venue where the landmark is arranged based on the received landmark information or the landmark identification information;
The information providing device transmitting the recognized location information to the one terminal device via the communication means;
An information providing method comprising:

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