JP2007334685A - Content retrieval device and content retrieval method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reproduce music of the desired taste by avoiding any complicated music selection operation. <P>SOLUTION: Agent characters 60a-60d have the appearance (feature, costume, belongings, etc.) related to music preferences different from each other. When a user selects an agent character 64, a keyword association list associated with the music preference of the agent character 64 is read (S391), and a keyword is extracted from the list (S392). Each music is retrievably stored in the database by the attributes such as an album name, a music title, a music release day, an artist name, a category, a tie-up content, a lyric writer name, a composer name and the lyrics, and the music with the attributes suitable for the music preference of the agent character 60a is retrieved from the database by the extracted keyword (S393). The retrieved music is reproduced and listened by a user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content search apparatus, a content search method, and a program capable of efficiently searching for content as a predetermined processing target that matches a predetermined preference.

  In Patent Document 1, in an in-vehicle audio apparatus (reference numeral 110 in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1), each user inputs user information such as his / her favorite artist (S110 in FIG. 5 of Patent Document 1), and Statistics of reproduction music related data such as artist name, music title and music genre are collected for the music actually played by the registered user and stored as preference data of the user (paragraph 0048 of Patent Document 1 and S190 of FIG. 5). The construction of a preference database for each user (reference numeral 143 in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1) is disclosed.

  And the vehicle-mounted audio apparatus of patent document 1 sends preference data to the music management center in response to a request from the music management center (S300 to S330 in FIG. 6 of patent document 1). The intro or rust portion of the music that matches the preference data is sent to the in-vehicle audio device (paragraph 0055 of Patent Document 1), and the user in the car tries to listen to the music that suits his / her preference and likes the music The music is purchased from the management center and all data is downloaded (S350 to S410 in FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 2 discloses a car navigation device that displays a character on a display, and the character interacts with a driver while moving, and informs information related to driving (FIGS. 4 to 6 of Patent Document 2). . In the car navigation device, when the driving character appropriately inquires the driver “Do you want to listen to music information?” And the driver answers the character “I want to listen to music”, the character is the driving character. Is switched to the character for music (paragraph 0051 of FIG. 7 and FIG. 7). In addition, when the music character asks "Do you want to listen to the latest chart?" And the driver answers "I want to hear", the music character responds with "Do you want to play the best ten?" Music is downloaded from the service center and played back (paragraph 0053 and FIG. 7 of Patent Document 2).
JP 2005-300772 A JP 2004-233175 A

  It is very troublesome for a user to search for a song such as a reproduced song by specifying an artist name or a song name one by one. The audio device of Patent Literature 1 can perform trial listening of purchased music without specifying a specific music name, but it is necessary to input user information such as age in advance. Moreover, the user's preference information about music is statistically determined based on the music actually played by the user, and it takes a considerable amount of time until predetermined reliable preference information is created for each user. Furthermore, the user wants to occasionally listen to music that is slightly different or much different from the music that is usually listened to for a change of mood, etc., but Patent Document 1 does not mention this coping method. .

  The audio device of Patent Document 2 automatically selects music, but the target of music selection is a fixed music selection that has nothing to do with each music preference, and the user deviates from the music that the user wishes this time. Will be selected.

  An object of the present invention is to perform a content search in which a user can accurately select a content of a desired taste with a simple and efficient user operation without specifically specifying the content or collecting statistics on the user's preference. An apparatus, a content search method, and a program are provided.

The content search apparatus of the present invention includes the following.
Agent character control means for controlling an agent character directed to a predetermined content preference, and content whose attributes match the content preference of the agent character based on the attribute information of each content and the content preference of the agent character Content search means for searching from a predetermined content database.

The content search method of the present invention includes the following steps.
A step of detecting an agent character selected by a user from among a plurality of agent characters oriented to different content preferences, and an attribute is selected based on attribute information of each content and content preference of the selected agent character A step of searching content that matches the content preference of the agent character from a predetermined content database.

  The program of the present invention causes a computer to function as each means of the above-described content search apparatus of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, the agent character can be used as a guideline for selecting the content with the desired taste, and the content suitable for the content preference directed by the agent character can be selected based on the agent character. User operations can be streamlined. In addition, since the agent character selects the music that the user likes, it is possible to select music as if there is a passenger, and it is possible to listen to music that is not normally heard.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an in-vehicle AV (Audio & Visual) device 10. The in-vehicle AV device 10 typically serves as a car navigation device. The input unit 11 includes a microphone, a touch panel, and a remote controller, and is operated by the user when the user issues a predetermined instruction to the in-vehicle AV device 10. The user's voice input from the microphone of the input unit 11 is converted into data recognized by the language analysis unit 12, and the processed data is sent to the agent processing unit 15. Input data other than voice is sent directly to the agent processing unit 15.

  The agent processing unit 15 includes a music search unit 16. The music search unit 16 searches for music based on a character DB (database) 26 described later and a music DB in the storage device 27. The output unit 19 includes a speaker and a display, and agent characters 60a to 60d (FIG. 5) are appropriately displayed on the display. The display normally serves as a touch panel of the input unit 11, and the user can touch the icon or button displayed on the display with a finger to perform a predetermined instruction or selection.

  The agent processing unit 15 generates speech data for reading a text other than the utterance of the agent character or the speech of the agent character, and sends it to the speech synthesis unit 18. The voice synthesizer 18 converts the voice data into a voice signal and emits the sound from the speaker of the output unit 19. An audio signal such as a music reproduction sound, a program audio of a tuner (not shown), and a video signal are directly sent to the output unit 19.

  The communication unit 21 can communicate with a mobile phone or a base station of DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) wirelessly 22. The agent processing unit 15 sends transmission data to the radio 22 and receives reception data from the communication unit 21. The vehicle information detection unit 23 detects the current location using a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal and sends a detection signal to the agent processing unit 15.

  The character DB 26 stores images, sounds, and setting data associated with each agent character. The agent processing unit 15 uses the character DB 26 to operate the agent character on the display of the output unit 19 or outputs the utterance of the agent character being displayed on the display from the speaker of the output unit 19. The storage device 27 is equipped with a music database, a reproduction history, and an association list for extracting a music search keyword related to content preference associated with each agent character as audio data of each music. The character DB 26 can be stored in the storage device 27 together with the music database and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the agent music selection reproduction method 35. The agent music selection reproduction method 35 is implemented in the in-vehicle AV apparatus 10 and is activated when the user selects audio on the menu screen of FIG. Note that the screens A to E described in several steps in FIG. 2 are the screens in FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8, respectively. In addition, the user instruction in the agent music selection reproduction method 35 is performed by touching a button on a display as a touch panel or by the user's voice.

  In S36, a music proposal signal is received. The music proposal signal is generated when the user selects “agent selection” from the audio menu screen (= screen A) in FIG. With the reception of the music proposal signal, the display screen changes from the audio menu screen (= screen A) in FIG. 3 to the audio menu screen (= screen B) in FIG.

  In S37, the agent character selection screen (= screen C) of FIG. 5 is displayed on the display. In the character selection screen of FIG. 5, the number of agent characters 60a to 60d is four for convenience of illustration, but five or more agent characters may be prepared, and all agent characters are displayed on one screen. If not, the user may be able to select a predetermined agent character by scrolling the screen.

  Each of the agent characters 60a to 60d included in the agent character selection screen of FIG. 5 has a different appearance, and the user can determine an approximate image (personality, personality, etc.) of each agent character 60a to 60d based on the appearance of each agent character 60a to 60d. Personality, occupation, age and gender). Appearance includes clothes and belongings (tennis rackets, school bags, hats) as well as appearance and style. Examples of the appearance of the agent character include a middle-aged male (father-like), an urban OL style, a male student style, a female student style, and a robot style. The agent character is not limited to a person, and may be an anthropomorphic person such as an animal, a plant, nature, and an artifact. In the agent selection type reproduction method 35, the music preference of each agent character 60a-d is associated with the appearance image of each agent character 60a-d.

  In the character selection screen of FIG. 5, profiles 61a to 61d are attached to the agent characters 60a to 60d. Specific contents of the profiles 61a to 61d include, for example, the name, sex and favorite thing (hobby / interest) of the agent character. A keyword association list (the left end in FIG. 9) described later is associated with the profiles 61a to 61d. In the keyword association list, the “favorites” of the profiles 61a to 61d are associated in advance with types of tunes and keywords that can be imagined from the words. In addition, the setting of “favorites” may be changed according to vehicle information such as season, time, and position information. For a word for which it is difficult to specify a keyword, it is possible to connect to the Internet and obtain a related keyword from a dedicated database or the like. Alternatively, data may be downloaded using a personal computer at home and transferred to the in-vehicle AV apparatus 10 using a memory or the like.

The following shows an example of association. [O] is not an association list in the storage device 27 but a related keyword from an association list downloaded from the net.
・ Snowboard: Snow, snow, winter, ski, winter, snow, winter
・ Drive ・ ・ ・ drive, drive, car, car, sea ・ drama ・ ・ ・ drama, [DB search / drama on the net]
・ Travel ・ ・ ・ Hotel, Trip, hotel
・ Event ・ ・ ・ Christmas, Birthday, Festival, Graduation, [Search online DB / Name]
···Such.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the agent character 60a and the profile 61a. Prior to selecting an agent character, the user can instruct each agent character 60a-d to introduce himself / herself by the voice of each agent character 60a-d. The contents of the self-introduction can include the contents of the profiles 61a to 61d, and the voices of the agent characters 60a to 60d are set to reflect their personality. The voice of each agent character 60a-d can include elements of tone, voice color, how to speak, sex and / or dialect. The dialects of the agent characters 60a to 60d may be dialects corresponding to the land according to the current location.

  In S38, the user selects one agent character this time from the agent character selection screen (= screen C) in FIG. In S39, the music is searched with the related keyword of the selected agent character. During the search, the screen becomes the agent music selection screen (= screen D) of FIG.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of processing for searching for a music piece that reflects the music preference of the agent character 64 from the profile of the agent character 64. The agent character 64 has a female student style. In FIG. 6, music that reflects the preference of the agent character 64 is searched from the profile. However, the display of the profile is omitted, and the agent character 64 is based only on the appearance and / or voice of the agent character 64. You may make it search the music reflecting the taste of.

  The process according to FIG. 9 will be described. Note that S391 to S393 in FIG. 9 mean sub-steps of S39. In S391, the profile of the agent character 64 "Marco / female (since the gender is apparent from the appearance of the agent character 64, it is usually omitted from the profile information but may be specified) / 17 years old / snowboard / drama / watching movies Is read out from the character DB 26.

  In S392, based on the read keyword association list, [song / J-POP], [female], [snow, snow, winter, skiing, winter, snow, winter, drama, movie, AAAA (drama theme song), The keyword “aaaa (singer name)] is extracted. In S393, the music including the extracted keyword is picked up from the music information recorded in the storage device 27.

  The music information includes attribute information of each music. The attributes of a song include, for example, an album name, a song name, a song release date, an artist name (the artist may be distinguished from a singer and a performer), genre, tie-up content, songwriter name, composer name, Includes lyrics. In this way, music that includes the extracted keyword as an attribute value can be searched from the extracted keyword.

The pickup result of S393 is as follows. The pickup results are delimited by “/”, the left of “/” is the music name, and the right is the name of the movie or drama of the singer or exhibitor.
AAAA / aaaa
Snow Nachara / bbbb
What's Winter / cccc
DDDD / aaaa
Snow nachara / eeee
○○○ / Soundtrack for movie “○○○”

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. In S40, it is determined whether or not the music picked up in S393 is present as music data in the storage device 27. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S44, and if not, the process returns to S37. Since the keyword association list in S391 is set in association with the agent character 64 regardless of the music stored in the storage device 27, the extracted keyword in S392 is also stored in the storage device 27. It will be extracted regardless of the music. On the other hand, the music data that the user actually holds in the storage device 27 can be downloaded from the music distribution server on the Internet to the in-vehicle AV device 10 or transferred from the hard disk device of the home personal computer. The data is limited to music data that is set in a drive of the in-vehicle AV apparatus 10 and a music CD is dubbed to the storage device 27. Accordingly, in S393, there may be a case where even one piece of music corresponding to the extracted keyword cannot be searched. Therefore, the determination in S40 is performed. If the determination is negative, the process returns to S37 to change the selection to another agent character. Prompt.

  S44 to S49 relate to a reproduction process for the music that can be picked up in S393. In S44, one piece of music that is included in the music of the search result and that has not been inquired to the user about whether or not playback is possible is randomly selected. In S45, the inquiry screen (= screen E) in FIG. 8 for asking the user whether or not the selected music piece can be reproduced is displayed on the display. In addition to the name of the music, the name of the artist and other music information are also displayed on the inquiry screen. The user selects “OK” on the screen when the reproduction of the tune to be inquired is permitted, and selects “Return” on the reproduction permission / inhibition screen when the reproduction is denied.

  If the user selects “OK”, the process proceeds to S46 to play the music, and if the user selects “return”, that is, playback refusal, the process returns to S44. The user can instruct to cancel the random music selection as appropriate after the music reproduction in S46 is completed and during the music reproduction in S46. That is, in the determination in S49, it is determined whether or not the user has instructed to stop random playback (= random music selection). As soon as there is a stop instruction, the process proceeds to S52, and the music playback in S46 is completed without receiving the stop instruction. Then, the process returns to S44.

  In the music selection of S44, music can be selected from music other than the search results of S39. For example, the selection time of the music other than the search results can be selected based on the playback history of the past playback count for each music. In the case of the music of the search result of S39, when the reproduction of a plurality of music having the recent reproduction history is continued, it may be determined that the music selection time is other than the music of the search result. The utterance of the agent character 60a at that time is, for example, “Would you like to listen to this song for the first time in a long time?”, “I wonder if such a song is good once in a while” or “This is a familiar number!”.

  In S52, it is determined whether or not there is an agent character change instruction from the user. If the determination is positive, the process returns to S37, and if not, the agent music selection reproduction method 35 is terminated.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the content search apparatus 70. The above-described in-vehicle AV device 10 (FIG. 1) is an example of the content search device 70. The content search device 70 is not limited to a vehicle-mounted type, and may be deployed at home or portable. The content search device 70 includes agent character control means 71, content search means 72, and processing means 73.

  The agent character control means 71 controls the agent character 77 directed to predetermined content preference. The content search means 72 searches the predetermined content database 78 for content whose attributes match the content preference of the agent character 77 based on the attribute information of each content and the content preference of the agent character 77. The processing means 73 performs a predetermined process on the searched content as a processing target.

  The content is typically music, audio content other than music, and / or video content, but in addition to books, restaurants, food, predetermined products, A destination or the like can be adopted. The content processing is, for example, content reproduction, but other processing such as download, purchase, delivery, and guide route search is not excluded in addition to reproduction. The processing means 73 as the reproduction means can select and reproduce the content searched by the content search means 72 at random. When the content is a song, the content attribute information includes, for example, an album name, a song name, a song release date, an artist name (an artist may be distinguished from a singer and a player), a genre, and a tie-up. Contents, songwriter name, composer name, lyrics, etc.

  Preferably, there are a plurality of agent characters 77, and each agent character 77 is directed to a different content preference. The content search means 72 searches the agent character 77 selected from the plurality of agent characters 77 for content that matches the content preference of the agent character 77.

  Selection from one agent character 77 from among a plurality of agent characters may be performed based on user selection, or a character selection means (not shown) of the content search device 70 performs at random. May be. Furthermore, the content search device 70 may detect the current location, destination, season, weather, time, and / or number of passengers, and automatically select one agent character 77 based on the detected location. .

  For example, the agent character 77 directs the appearance and / or voice of the agent character 77 to the content preference. Specific examples of the agent character 77 are the agent characters 60a to 60d (FIG. 5). As described above for the agent characters 60a to 60d, not only the appearance and style but also the clothes and belongings (tennis rackets, school bags) , Hat). As an appearance example, a middle-aged male (old man style), urban OL style, male student style, female student style, or robot style, and anthropomorphic animals, plants, or nature are assumed. As in the case of the agent characters 60a to 60d, the tone of the agent character 77 can include tone, voice color, how to speak, sex and / or dialect as elements.

  Preferably, the agent character 77 has a profile (e.g., FIG. 9) oriented to the content preference. As described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the profile can be used as a judgment material when selecting the agent character with reference to the display of the output unit 19 by the user.

  The processing means 73 may be configured to process a plurality of contents obtained by mixing content based on the search result of the content search means 72 and content unrelated to the search result. The ratio between the content based on the search result of the content search means 72 and the content unrelated to the search result is arbitrary and may be changed according to the current location, time, etc. without being fixed. For example, when the content is music and the processing content in the processing means 73 is reproduction of music, the user listens to music that is unrelated to the music preference of the agent character control means 71 as appropriate by such mixing. Can contribute to the user's mood change.

  The content preference characteristic of the agent character control means 71 may not be fixed but may include a fixed portion and a changed portion. For example, the change portion is changed in relation to the present location, the destination, the season, the weather, the time, and / or the number of passengers.

  In this way, the user can select content in a desired palatability range based on the agent character 77, so that detailed instructions that are complicated and time-consuming can be omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the content search method 87. The content search method 87 is applied to the content search device 70, and each specific aspect described in the content search device 70 is also applied to the content search method 87 as it is.

  In S88, an agent character 77 selected by the user is detected from among a plurality of agent characters 77 directed to different content preferences. In S 89, based on the attribute information of each content and the content preference of the selected agent character 77, the content whose attributes match the content preference of the selected agent character 77 is searched from the predetermined content database 78. In S90, a predetermined process is performed on the searched content as a processing target.

  The program to which the present invention is applied causes a computer to function as each unit of the content search device 70. Another program to which the present invention is applied causes a computer to execute each step of the content search method 87.

  In addition to the case where these agent characters are set in advance when the content search apparatus is purchased, the agent character can be downloaded or purchased from the website of the manufacturer of the content search apparatus, or the BBS of the agent character created by an individual user. You may make it possible to purchase an agent character through collaboration with anime or a popular character. Furthermore, in the above description, the music selection by one agent character has been described. However, music selection by a plurality of (two persons are appropriate) agent characters can be performed simultaneously.

  Although the present invention has been described with respect to various specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this, and each component in the various specific embodiments is modified (including deletion) without departing from the gist of the invention. And can be materialized. Various inventions can also be formed by replacing constituent elements between various specific forms or combining a plurality of constituent elements in various specific forms.

It is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle-mounted AV device. It is a flowchart of an agent music selection type reproduction method. It is a figure which shows a menu screen. It is a figure which shows an audio menu screen. It is a figure which shows an agent character. It is an enlarged view of an agent character and a profile.

It is a figure which shows the screen during the music search by an agent. It is a figure which shows the screen which inquires a user about reproduction | regeneration possibility. It is explanatory drawing of the process which searches the music which reflects the music preference of an agent character from the profile of an agent character. It is a block diagram of a content search device. It is a flowchart of a content search method.

Explanation of symbols

70: content search device, 71: agent character control means, 72: content search means, 73: processing means, 77: agent character, 78: content database, 87: content search method.

Claims (9)

Agent character control means for controlling an agent character oriented to a predetermined content preference, and an attribute adapted to the content preference of the agent character based on the attribute information of each content and the content preference of the agent character Content search means for searching for content from a predetermined content database;
A content search apparatus comprising: There are a plurality of the agent characters, and each agent character is directed to a different content preference,
2. The content search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content search means searches for a content that matches the content preference of the agent character for an agent character selected from a plurality of agent characters.   3. The content search apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the agent character is selected based on a user selection. The content search means includes a selection means for selecting a plurality of agent characters,
The content search apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the selection unit randomly selects an agent character.   The content search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the agent character directs the appearance and / or voice of the agent character to the content preference. The agent character has a profile oriented to its content preference,
The content search apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a user can refer to the profile.   The content preference characteristic includes a fixed part and a changing part, and the changing part is changed in relation to the current location, the destination, the season, the weather, the time, and / or the number of passengers. 7. The content search device according to any one of 6. A step of detecting an agent character selected by a user from among a plurality of agent characters directed to different content preferences, and an attribute based on the attribute information of each content and the content preference of the selected agent character Searching a predetermined content database for content that matches the content preference of the selected agent character;
A content search method comprising:   A program that causes a computer to function as each unit of the content search device according to claim 1.

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