JP2009140105A - Tactile sense presentation device and tactile sense presentation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To actualize effective information transmission of an object by extracting a desired object based on the basis of a display level and presenting it. <P>SOLUTION: A tactile sense presentation device which uses a tactile sensing device for presenting a plurality of objects includes: a binarization threshold setting means 11 of setting a threshold for extracting and binarizing a predetermined object based on a difference in display level composed of a luminance level or color level when objects are displayed on a screen for each object, an object threshold information extracting means 13 of extracting the predetermined object meeting an extraction condition from the plurality of objects using the threshold set by the binarization threshold setting means and a display level set by a user, and a tactile sense presentation means 15 of selecting the object extracted by the object threshold information extracting means based on the display level and presenting it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tactile presentation device and a tactile presentation method, and more particularly to a tactile presentation device and a tactile presentation method for realizing effective information transmission of an object.

  Conventionally, development of multimedia reception and presentation systems has been carried out for the purpose of conveying data broadcasting and Internet information to people with visual impairments such as blindness, low vision, deafness, etc. Research has been conducted on optimal presentation and access methods based on information acceptance and cognition.

  Here, with respect to GUI (Graphical User Interface), the possibility of GUI operation and content presentation method using tactile presentation together with presentation by voice or Braille is being studied.

  In addition, in order for visually impaired persons to obtain desired information from data broadcasting and Web GUI using a GUI interactive presentation method based on touch, an interactive presentation method in which the entire system including the operation system has appropriate feedback Is required. In addition, it is difficult to transmit information such as arrangement of GUI selection items and information such as diagrams and tables only by voice or Braille. Therefore, an interactive presentation method using a tactile display has been studied in addition to a conventional method having a remote control (keyboard) operation and voice (Braille) feedback.

  Here, as a method of displaying a figure or a GUI selection object by a tactile means such as a tactile display, there is a wide variety of methods of binarizing screen information and presenting it with unevenness as an entire image drawn with a bitmap or the like. It is used (for example, refer nonpatent literature 1).

Also, as an electronic tactile drawing creation method, there is a method of extracting position information of a touch pen or the like that touches the presentation surface of the tactile display and displaying the touched portion in a convex manner (for example, see Non-Patent Document 2).
Cage S Co., Ltd., “Dot View (registered trademark)”, URL: http: // www. kgs-jpn. co. jp / piezo. html. Watanabe et al., “Prototype of electronic raiser rider for the visually impaired”, Journal of the Japan Birch Reality Society, Vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 87-94, March 2002.

  As shown in the above-mentioned prior art, in order to present image information such as diagrams and graphs expressed in two dimensions on an electronic tactile display to a user or the like, the image is binarized at an appropriate level and expressed by unevenness. There is a way to do it.

  As a result, each of the objects scattered on the plane can be expressed, but there are a plurality of pieces of related information for an area having one shape, such as a city or a mountain existing in a map of Japan. In the case of overlapping, there is no effective means for presenting the figure to the tactile sense. To display this, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of screens for presenting the tactile sense. Also, it was not possible to touch the interactively displayed figure with a finger and confirm the information of the touched part by voice or Braille.

  In addition, the above-described conventional electronic raise writer extracts the position of contact on the tactile display using a touch pen or the like, and displays the stimulus pin in a convex manner with an appropriate line thickness with respect to the height of the back surface. This is a method for generating a figure. However, this method is for the purpose of drawing, and it is not considered to obtain information from a diagram that is interactively designated with a finger or the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a haptic presentation device and a haptic presentation method for realizing effective object information transmission.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs means for solving the problems having the following characteristics.

  The invention described in claim 1 is a tactile sensation presentation apparatus for presenting a plurality of objects using an apparatus capable of recognizing by tactile sense. For each object, a luminance level when the object is displayed on a screen or A binarization threshold setting means for setting a threshold for extracting a predetermined object and binarizing it according to a display level difference consisting of a color level; a threshold set by the binarization threshold setting means; Based on the display level, an object threshold information extraction unit that extracts a predetermined object that meets an extraction condition from a plurality of objects using the set display level, and an object extracted by the object threshold information extraction unit And tactile sense presenting means for selecting and presenting.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize effective object information transmission by extracting and presenting a desired object at the display level.

  In the invention described in claim 2, the binarization threshold value setting means sets a plurality of threshold values having different display levels, and the object threshold value information extracting means sets the display level within a range of at least two threshold values. It is characterized by presenting the object to which it belongs.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the object to be presented can be selected and extracted in more detail. Thereby, more accurate presentation can be realized.

  The invention described in claim 3 is for selectively extracting a predetermined object by using tag information described in a preset markup language among a plurality of information resources related to the object. Described in a binarization threshold tag setting means for setting a binarization threshold, markup display data generation means for generating doug information based on the display level and the threshold, and a tag extracted by the threshold Braille / voice presentation means for generating Braille or voice from information on the object and presenting it in association with the object.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, more detailed information can be presented by presenting information related to an object using Braille or voice using tag information described in a markup language. .

  The invention described in claim 4 corresponds to the indicated position detecting means for detecting the position indicated by the user for the object presented by the tactile sense providing means, and the position indicated by the indicated position detecting means. And an object selection means for selecting an object to be performed.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to present other objects and related information corresponding to the position designated by the user for the presented object. Accordingly, it is possible to realize effective and effective object presentation.

  The invention described in claim 5 is characterized in that the tactile sense presenting means uses the object selected by the object selecting means to transition the presentation content and presents related objects in stages.

  According to the invention of claim 5, a plurality of objects can be presented efficiently. Therefore, the user or the like can recognize the presented content more easily.

  The invention described in claim 6 is a tactile sensation presentation method for presenting a plurality of objects using a device capable of recognizing by tactile sensation. A binarization threshold setting step for setting a threshold for extracting a predetermined object based on a difference in display level composed of color levels and binarizing; a threshold set by the binarization threshold setting step; Based on the display level, an object threshold information extraction step for extracting a predetermined object that meets an extraction condition from a plurality of objects using the set display level, and an object extracted by the object threshold information extraction step And a tactile sense presenting step of selecting and presenting.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, it is possible to realize effective object information transmission by extracting and presenting a desired object at the display level.

  According to the present invention, effective information transmission of an object can be realized.

<Outline of the present invention>
In the display format of the figure in the case where related information exists in an area having a certain shape, such as a city or a mountain on a map, for example, the present invention provides a display group set in advance on the production side. Accordingly, hierarchical information having different luminance corresponding to the luminance on the screen of the information to be displayed is set, and on the presentation side, the binarization threshold corresponding to the luminance information is determined according to the user's operation, and sequentially Presenting the group information in the figure to the tactile sense presentation apparatus, and outputting the contents of the object (Item) selected from the group information by voice or Braille, and presenting the figure effective for a visually impaired person and Provide a presentation method.

  Hereinafter, embodiments in which the tactile sensation presentation apparatus and the tactile sensation presentation method according to the present invention having the above-described features are preferably described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Outline configuration example of tactile presentation device>
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a tactile sense presentation device according to the first embodiment. 1 is realized by a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer.

  1 includes a binarization threshold setting unit 11, a presentation control unit 12, an object threshold information extraction unit 13, a two-dimensional information display output conversion unit 14, and a tactile presentation unit 15. It is configured as follows.

  In the haptic presentation device 10 shown in FIG. 1, the threshold level display data 21 is an object composed of data for expressing various layouts such as diagrams and GUIs in binary or multi-level display levels, an object display level, or A threshold set by the binarized threshold setting means 11 is accumulated.

  The binarization threshold value setting means 11 sets a threshold value for extracting and binarizing a predetermined object according to the difference in display level in the subsequent stage for each object such as a diagram or graph to be presented. The display level may be set as a dedicated parameter. For example, a luminance level or a color level when an object is displayed on the screen can be used. Further, the threshold set by the binarized threshold setting means 11 is accumulated as a part of the threshold level display data 21.

  The presentation control unit 12 selects a threshold value with respect to the object threshold information extraction unit 13 and controls the extraction, presentation contents, and the like of the object finally presented to the tactile sense presentation unit 15. That is, the presentation control unit 12 performs control such as setting a display level for selecting an object to be presented by an operation of the user or the like, or changing the presentation content with the passage of time.

  The object threshold information extraction unit 13 includes a threshold set for each object by the binarization threshold setting unit 11 and a user set by the presentation control unit 12 among a plurality of objects included in the threshold level display data 21. The object to be extracted is extracted by comparing with the display level. The extraction method will be described later.

  The two-dimensional information display output conversion unit 14 performs conversion processing into image information for displaying the object extracted by the object threshold information extraction unit 13 as two-dimensional information on the tactile sense presentation unit 15 or another screen. Note that the two-dimensional information display output conversion means 14 performs binarization processing of the target object when displaying on the tactile sense presentation means 15.

  The tactile sense presenting means 15 presents the binarized image information obtained by the two-dimensional information display output converting means 14. The tactile sense presenting means 15 can use an existing tactile display device or the like. For example, a direct operation with a finger of a user or the like on the tactile display can be realized by a relatively inexpensive optical touch panel.

  Specifically, for example, as a touch panel-mounted tactile display, a tactile display (for example, manufactured by KGS) having a display area of 96 × 64 dots (pin spacing 2.4 mm) and an optical touch panel (Xiroku) Can be used. Since this touch panel is a triangulation method using sensors on both sides of the upper part, it does not interfere with the touch surface of the tactile display and does not require a marker or the like.

  Here, when a GUI screen is presented by a tactile display or the like, first, menu selection items and the like are converted into objects that are easy to touch and are arranged. Next, this tactile display display screen is binarized and presented by upper and lower tactile pins. The presented GUI operation can be performed by key operation from the tactile display and mouse operation by the touch panel (pointing and clicking: hereinafter referred to as touch operation). When an object is selected, the corresponding text information is synthesized by voice and fed back.

  The tactile sense presenting means 15 is not only displayed on the tactile display, but may be presented using another tactile sense presenting device, or may be displayed on a general-purpose computer display such as a PC (Personal Computer). .

  Here, in the case of supporting a general-purpose computer such as a PC, the resolution of the screen (1024 × 768) and the resolution of the tactile display (96 × 64) are different, so that the entire PC screen is displayed on the tactile display. Pixel number conversion is performed.

  Further, the optimum value is adjusted by the calibration function of the touch panel so that the finger position of the user on the tactile display matches the position indicated by the mouse cursor on the PC screen.

  Thereby, when a finger is moved on the tactile display, the mouse cursor on the PC screen can follow. If the mouse cursor is positioned accurately on the object on the PC screen at the moment when the object is touched with a finger, it can be selected correctly.

<Tactile sense presentation device 10: hardware configuration example>
Here, the haptic presentation device 10 described above includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a volatile storage medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a non-volatile storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a mouse and a keyboard, It can be configured by a computer including an input device such as a pointing device, a display unit for displaying images and data, and an interface for communicating with the outside.

  Therefore, each function in the binarized threshold setting unit 11, the presentation control unit 12, the object threshold information extraction unit 13, the two-dimensional information display output conversion unit 14, and the tactile presentation unit 15 included in the tactile sense presentation device 10 is as follows. Each can be realized by causing the CPU to execute a program describing the function. These programs can also be stored and distributed in a recording medium such as a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), semiconductor memory, or the like.

  That is, an execution program for causing a computer to execute the processing in each configuration described above is generated, and the tactile presentation processing can be realized by installing the program in a general-purpose personal computer such as a PC or a server, for example. .

  Here, a hardware configuration example of a computer that can execute the program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing the tactile sense presentation process according to the present embodiment.

  The computer main body in FIG. 2 includes an input device 31, an output device 32, a drive device 33, an auxiliary storage device 34, a memory device 35, a CPU 36 for performing various controls, and a network connection device 37. These are connected to each other by a system bus B.

  The input device 31 includes a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse operated by a user, a voice input device such as a microphone, and the like, and inputs various operation signals such as execution of a program from the user.

  The output device 32 includes a display for displaying various windows and data necessary for operating the computer main body for performing processing in the present invention, a speaker for outputting sound, and the like. Execution progress, results, etc. can be displayed or voice output. In this embodiment, tactile sense presenting means is provided. At this time, the above-described dedicated unit or the like can be externally attached.

  The input device 31 and the output device 32 may be integrated input / output means such as a touch panel, for example. In this case, a predetermined position using a user's finger or a pen-type input device is used. You can input by touching.

  Here, in the present invention, the execution program installed in the computer main body is provided by the recording medium 38 such as an optical disk, for example. The recording medium 38 on which the program is recorded can be set in the drive device 33, and the execution program included in the recording medium 38 is installed in the auxiliary storage device 34 from the recording medium 38 via the drive device 33.

  The auxiliary storage device 34 is a storage means such as a hard disk, and can store an execution program in the present invention, a control program provided in a computer, and the like, and can perform input / output as necessary.

  The memory device 35 stores an execution program read from the auxiliary storage device 34 by the CPU 36. Note that the memory device 35 includes a RAM, a ROM, and the like.

  The CPU 36 controls processing of the entire computer, such as various operations and input / output of data with each hardware component, based on a control program such as an OS (Operating System) and an execution program stored in the memory device 35. Each processing can be realized. Further, the CPU 36 can acquire various kinds of information necessary during execution of the program from the auxiliary storage device 34, and the CPU 36 can also store processing results and the like.

  The network connection device 37 obtains an execution program from another terminal connected to the communication network by connecting to a communication network or the like, or an execution result obtained by executing the program or the present invention. The execution program itself can be provided to other terminals. Further, the network connection device 37 outputs tactile presentation contents, text data, voice data, etc. to a tactile display connected in a state where data can be transmitted and received via a communication network, or input by a user key operation on the tactile display or the like. Information can be obtained.

  With the hardware configuration as described above, a special device configuration is not required, and a tactile sense presentation process can be realized efficiently at a low cost. In addition, by installing the program, it is possible to easily acquire the tactile sense presentation process in the present embodiment.

<Setting Method in Binarization Threshold Setting Unit 11>
Next, the setting method in the binarization threshold value setting means 11 mentioned above is demonstrated using figures. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the presentation contents of objects with different display levels.

  In FIG. 3, different display levels (brightness levels) are set for each group of objects (Items) for displaying the screen hierarchically in various layouts such as a map and a GUI. Each threshold value set by the binarized threshold value setting means 11 is accumulated as a part of the threshold level display data 21.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the configuration example of the threshold level display data 21, a group 1 (Items 1 to 4) representing a predetermined city on a predetermined display target map (for example, Hokkaido in FIG. 3), a predetermined Group 2 (Items 5 to 10),..., And a group n (Items 11 to 14) representing a predetermined lake are set as luminance levels [2], [3],. .

  In the present embodiment, the entire Hokkaido area shown in FIG. 3 is set to the maximum luminance or the minimum luminance using an item number that is not used elsewhere. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, according to the item corresponding to each luminance, for example, in the example of FIG. 3, Items 1 to 4 are ● (luminance level [2]), and Items 5 to 10 are ((Luminance level [3])), mountains, lakes, and the like can be presented in a form similar to the actual shape (for example, Items 11 to 14 in FIG. 3).

  Next, an example of threshold setting by the binarization threshold setting unit 11 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting a threshold value between a display level and a threshold value. In FIG. 4, Items 1 to n indicate a plurality of groups based on, for example, stepwise luminance levels as display levels preset by the binarization threshold setting unit 11 as shown in FIG. 3.

  Here, the luminance level in the present embodiment is set stepwise at equal intervals according to the number n of groups to be presented. For example, if the deviation between the levels is ΔX = 100 / n, the luminance level at each stage is expressed as Level (m) = 100− (n−m) ΔX with respect to m = 0 to n ( Luminance levels [1] to [n + 1]).

For each group, the binarization threshold is sequentially set such that, for example, Th _m = 100 − {(n−m) ΔX−ΔX / 2} within the range of two luminance levels. Setting is performed by the setting means 11. Further, the set value is stored as a part of the threshold level display data 21.

Hereinafter, from the threshold level display data 21 generated in this way, a threshold for selectively presenting an object can be selected by a user operation, and screen information can be presented hierarchically. 4 shows an example in which the threshold value is changed from the white level to the black level. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the threshold value may be changed from the black level to the white level.

<Presentation example>
Next, a presentation example using the tactile sense presenting means 15 and / or various display devices such as a display and a touch panel in the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of hierarchical presentation in the present embodiment. 5A shows a diagram for explaining a hierarchical sequential presentation method by changing a certain threshold value, and FIG. 5B shows setting a range by setting two threshold values. The figure for demonstrating the hierarchical sequential presentation method by is shown. Further, in the sequence shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, as an example, in the initial state (FIGS. 5A and 5I, FIGS. 5B and 5I), the binarization threshold value is set as shown in FIG. Th ₀ is set.

5 (a), when the user or the like selects the first threshold level by presenting the control unit 12, the object threshold information extraction unit 13 extracts the threshold value Th _0, shown in (i) of FIGS. 5 (a) In this way, objects in the whole area of Hokkaido corresponding to the extraction condition of m = 0, Th ₀ are extracted, the extracted objects are binarized by the two-dimensional information display output conversion means 14, and the whole area of Hokkaido is indicated by the tactile sense presentation means 15. Present.

Next, when the condition such that the user directly controls the presentation control unit 12 or the setting is made to switch to the next threshold level as time elapses, the object threshold value information is extracted. The means 13 extracts the corresponding data (group 1) from the objects included in the threshold level display data 21 according to the display level corresponding to Th ₁ , and m = 1, (ii) in FIG. black level group 1 (Item1~4) as shown in Th _1, and outputs other as white level.

  In the case of outputting an object, for example, items to be extracted, such as Items 1 to 4, etc., because the user touches the presentation surface with a finger or the like, the size of the area for outputting each item (Item) is It is preferable to set the size so that it can be clearly distinguished from the background object.

Thereafter, the threshold value is changed to Th ₂ , Th ₃ ,..., Th _n−1 sequentially by the operation of the user or the like in the above-described procedure, so that each attribute of the group is hierarchically changed. Corresponding figures can be presented.

  In the presentation control means 12, for example, a dedicated switch or the like is used, or the threshold level is changed in an analog manner with a variable resistor or the like, and the binarization threshold is obtained by image processing. Similar processing may be performed.

  Here, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which a predetermined object is extracted and presented using one display level threshold is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, as shown in FIG. As described above, thresholds of two or more different display levels are set in advance, and two of these display levels are used to form a range with the upper threshold level and the lower threshold level with respect to the display level. By setting the level to a desired threshold, it is possible to extract a desired group-specific object and output it by the tactile sense presenting means 15.

That is, by setting two or more display levels, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5B to 5I, only a predetermined luminance level or two or more groups are selectively presented. be able to. Even if the set luminance level is not continuous, by setting a plurality of upper and lower threshold values, objects between the corresponding threshold values can be extracted and displayed. Therefore, display with higher accuracy can be realized.
(Second Embodiment)
Here, in the present invention, as shown in the first embodiment described above, the threshold level display data 21 is not generated by being extracted from image information or the like and stored, for example, HTML (HyperText Markup Language). Or markup language such as XML (extensible Markup Language) and the like, and screen information can be presented, and further desired information can be interactively presented by braille or voice from an object (Item) for each group.

  Here, the content described above will be described below as a second embodiment. In the description of different embodiments of the present invention, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a tactile sense presentation device according to the second embodiment. 6 includes a binarized threshold tag setting unit 41, an object display level setting unit 42, a markup display data generation unit 43, an object selection unit 44, a presentation control unit 45, an object The threshold tag extraction means 46, the text data extraction means 47, the Braille / speech presentation means 48, the two-dimensional information display output conversion means 14, the tactile sense presentation means 15, and the pointing position detection means 49 are configured. Yes.

  The tactile sense presentation device 40 shown in FIG. 6 has an information resource 51 for various display data such as a figure, a graph, or a menu such as a GUI. The information resource 51 stores a plurality of pieces of data having various data formats that can correspond to the markup description language.

  The binarization threshold tag setting means 41 sets attribute data in a tag representing the binarization threshold set in the markup language. The binarization threshold value tag setting unit 41 has a function corresponding to the binarization threshold value setting unit 11 corresponding to the first embodiment described above.

  The object display level setting means 42 sets the display level (for example, the brightness level, the color level, etc.) of the object (Item). Further, the markup display data generating unit 43 describes display data constituting the screen in a markup language. The object display level setting means 42 and the markup display data generation means 43 have a function corresponding to the threshold level display data 21 in the first embodiment described above.

  The object selection unit 44 acquires the display data generated by the markup display data generation unit 43 and manages the screen information to be presented. The object selection unit 44 enables selection of an object (Item) by an interactive operation such as a tactile display.

  The presentation control unit 45 selects a threshold for extracting the object included in the information resource 51 and information about the object (for example, text data, Braille data, voice data, etc.) from the object threshold information tag extraction unit 46. Finally, the extraction of the object presented to the tactile sense presenting means 15 and the braille / voice presenting means 48, the content of the presentation, and the like are controlled. That is, the presentation control unit 45 performs control such as setting a display level for selecting an object to be presented by an operation of the user or the like, or changing the content of presentation as time passes.

  The object threshold information extraction unit 46 includes a threshold set for each object by the binarization threshold tag setting unit 41 among a plurality of objects included in the information resource 51 and information related to the object, and a user or the like. The object to be extracted is extracted by comparing with the display level set by. The extraction method will be described later.

  The text data extracting unit 47 extracts text information indicating the content of the selected object or information related to the object. At this time, if voice information is already included, it is extracted simultaneously.

  The Braille / speech presentation means 48 generates Braille and voice from the content obtained by the text data extraction means 47, the Braille is output by a Braille terminal, and the voice is output by voice output means such as a speaker. Note that the Braille / speech presentation unit 48 outputs the voice when the voice information is directly input from the text data extraction unit 47.

  As a result, in addition to the content presented on the tactile sense presenting means 15, various kinds of presentation means such as Braille and voice can be used to present the object-related information to the user in more detail.

  The indicated position detecting means 49 detects the position indicated by the user or the like with a dedicated input device such as a finger or a touch pen in the tactile sense providing means 15. By selecting the corresponding object by the object selection unit 44 corresponding to the designated position detected by the designated position detection unit 49, it is possible to realize selection and presentation of an interactive object or the like.

  The tactile sense presentation device 40 described above includes a volatile storage medium such as a CPU and a RAM, a non-volatile storage medium such as a ROM, an input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a pointing device, and a display unit that displays images and data. In addition, for example, an interface for communicating with the outside can be configured by a computer having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, the binarized threshold tag setting means 41, the object display level setting means 42, the markup display data generation means 43, the object selection means 44, the presentation control means 45, the object threshold tag extraction means 46, and the text included in the tactile sense presentation device 40 Each function in the data extraction means 47, the Braille / voice presentation means 48, the two-dimensional information display output conversion means 14, the tactile sense presentation means 15, and the pointing position detection means 49 causes the CPU to execute a program describing these functions. Each can be realized. These programs can also be stored and distributed in a recording medium such as a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), semiconductor memory, or the like.

  That is, an execution program for causing a computer to execute the processing in each configuration described above is generated, and the tactile presentation processing can be realized by installing the program in a general-purpose personal computer such as a PC or a server, for example. .

<Setting example by markup language>
Next, a setting example of a markup language in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the presentation content is described in a markup language. FIG. 7 shows an example in which screen information to be presented is described in a markup language using an item number, a display level, a threshold value, a file attribute, and the like for each object.

  In FIG. 7, the <No> tag indicates the item number of the object, the <Fig> tag indicates the file attribute of the image (including information such as the figure and shape), and the <Level> tag indicates the display level. Is a luminance level (which may be a color level), and a <Th> tag indicates a threshold level for binarization. In this way, by setting tags, a screen with discrete luminance levels can be configured. Moreover, the entire presentation content can be presented step by step with such tag information.

  Here, FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the presentation contents of the map information in the present embodiment. The example shown in FIG. 8 shows a case where a presentation method for obtaining desired information interactively by voice or Braille from an object (Item) for each group is described in a markup language. FIG. 8 shows an example in which objects such as cities and mountains in Hokkaido are searched hierarchically from a Japanese map.

  First, as shown in FIG. 8A, as a presentation pattern in the initial state, a white portion on the map of Japan is displayed convexly on the tactile sense presentation means 15. This information is display data set in advance in the information resource 51 described above.

  Next, the presentation pattern of the first hierarchy shown in FIG. 8B represents the two levels of luminance levels set by the object display level setting means 42, the background object is described in black level, Each of 6 is a group represented by a rectangle including each divided area, and the specific shape of the map is described in white level.

  Here, the binarization threshold value is set by the binarization tag threshold value setting means 41 using the above-described calculation formula shown in FIG. Further, the set threshold value data is set to the <Level> tag and the <Th> tag and presented by the markup display data generation unit 43 as attribute data of the corresponding tag as shown in FIG. 7, for example. A file described in a markup description language constituting the screen is generated.

  FIG. 8C shows the presentation pattern of the second hierarchy, and specifically, it is generated by the method shown in the first embodiment. Note that FIG. 8B and FIG. 8C are combined by setting link information such as a <Link> tag, for example, and can be sequentially presented hierarchically by a user operation.

  The screen display file generated by the markup display data generation means 43 is sent to the object selection means 44, extracted by the object threshold extraction means 46 and the text data extraction means 47, and finally the tactile sense presentation means 15 And Braille / voice presentation means 48.

  Further, for example, when the user indicates a predetermined position in the first layer diagram (FIG. 8B) using the finger or the like by the tactile sense presenting means 15, the position of the touching finger is indicated by the indicated position detecting means 49. The detected position information is compared with position information (for example, <Point> tag) including coordinates described in XML, and an object (Item) that satisfies the extraction condition and information related to the object are extracted. .

  Further, the text data extracting means 47 can obtain information corresponding to the described data to be output to the Braille / voice presenting means 48 for the contents of the extracted object (Item).

  Further, when any of the groups Items 1 to 6 is selected, information described in the XML file of the second hierarchy set in advance as link information is presented. In the screen display shown as the second hierarchy, by setting a stepwise threshold for each group, objects are sequentially presented according to the contents shown in the first embodiment, and corresponding to the touch position. An object can be selected, and the selected content can be displayed by Braille, speech synthesis, or the like.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a stepwise display level (brightness level or color level) is set for an object for each group for a presentation method such as a hierarchically related diagram, graph, or menu such as GUI. Moreover, the object for every group can be sequentially shown by outputting the corresponding object on the screen according to the threshold value to be compared.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of pieces of different information can be set in association with one piece of information. For example, a link with audio data or the like can be set for an object for tactile presentation. Thus, for example, when the user touches (instructs) a certain point in Hokkaido in the presentation state shown in FIG. 8B, the voice is output as “Hokkaido”, and the presentation state is shown in FIG. 8C. When the user touches a point with his / her finger, the place name, mountain name, lake name, etc. are output as voice (for example, “Sapporo”).

  In the above-described embodiment, these drawings and graphs can be enlarged or reduced by a volume knob or the like. Similarly, since the threshold for binarizing an image can be changed step by step with a volume knob or the like, by changing the display level (luminance level, color level) of the object for each type of information. Thus, it is possible to realize a presentation method utilizing more interactive operations such as selectively presenting only necessary information.

  In the presentation method in the above-described embodiment, when there are a plurality of objects at the same point, priorities are set in advance for the objects, and the objects with higher priorities are presented, or predetermined A plurality of objects can be presented sequentially as time elapses.

<About the size of the object to be presented>
Here, when an object is presented using the tactile sense presentation device, for example, one or a plurality of objects are presented in a vertical and horizontal lattice shape with pins in a convex state in the entire display area of the tactile display. In this case, it was confirmed by measurement that about 65% of the objects determined to be selected by the touch operation are correctly recognized at one time when the object has a vertical size × horizontal size of 2 × 2 or more.

  In addition, it was found from the measurement that objects having a 1-dot interval can be specified at a rate of approximately 90% or more for a size of 2 × 2 or more. In particular, the size of 2 × 3 arranged at an interval of 1 dot is the same as that in the case of Braille, and it is considered that the position when Braille is displayed on the tactile display can be specified. In addition, there was a report from the subject that there was a sense of security that the user actually pressed the button when the number of objects reached 3 × 3 or more.

  As described above, according to the present invention, effective object information transmission can be realized. That is, in tactile sensation presentation, a new presentation method can be presented that presents an object in which a plurality of pieces of related information overlap each other in a region of information having one shape.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the presentation side can easily present hierarchical screens by group by describing the position, brightness, and binarization threshold of objects constituting the screen in a markup language such as XML. Further, it is possible to search for a desired object according to an instruction by a user's finger or the like, present information related to the object by voice or Braille, or perform hierarchical presentation of related diagrams via a link.

  Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications, within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims, It can be changed.

It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the tactile sense presentation apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions which can implement | achieve the tactile sense presentation process in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the presentation content of the object from which a display level differs. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting of the threshold value of a display level and a threshold value. It is a figure which shows an example of the hierarchical presentation in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the tactile sense presentation apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example which described the presentation content by the markup language. It is a figure which shows an example of the presentation content of the map information in this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 40 Tactile sense presentation apparatus 11 Binary threshold setting means 12, 42 Presentation control means 13 Object threshold information extraction means 14 Two-dimensional information display output conversion means 15 Tactile presentation means 21 Threshold level display data 31 Input device 32 Output device 33 Drive Device 34 Auxiliary storage device 35 Memory device 36 CPU
37 Network connection device 38 Recording medium 41 Binary threshold tag setting means 42 Object display level setting means 43 Markup display data generation means 44 Object selection means 45 Object threshold tag extraction means 46 Text data extraction means 47 Braille / voice presentation means 48 Two-dimensional information display output conversion means 49 Pointed position detection means

Claims (6)

In a tactile sense presentation device for presenting a plurality of objects using a device capable of recognizing by tactile sense,
Binarization threshold value setting means for setting a threshold value for extracting and binarizing a predetermined object based on a difference in display level consisting of a luminance level or a color level when the object is displayed on the screen for each object When,
Object threshold information extraction means for extracting a predetermined object that meets an extraction condition from a plurality of objects, using the threshold set by the binarization threshold setting means and the display level set by the user;
A tactile sensation presentation apparatus comprising: a tactile sensation presentation unit that selects and presents an object extracted by the object threshold information extraction unit based on the display level. The binarization threshold setting means sets a plurality of thresholds having different display levels,
The tactile sensation presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object threshold information extraction unit presents an object belonging to a display level within a range of at least two thresholds. A binary value for setting a binarization threshold for selectively extracting a predetermined object using tag information described in a preset markup language among a plurality of information resources related to the object A threshold value setting means,
Markup display data generating means for generating doug information according to the display level and the threshold;
3. Braille / speech presentation means for generating Braille or speech from information related to an object described in a tag extracted by the threshold and presenting the information in association with the object. Tactile presentation device. Directed position detecting means for detecting a position designated by the user with respect to the object presented by the tactile sense presenting means;
4. The tactile sense presentation device according to claim 1, further comprising an object selection unit that selects an object corresponding to the position designated by the designated position detection unit. 5. The tactile sense presenting means is
The tactile sensation presentation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the presentation content is changed using the object selected by the object selection means, and related objects are presented step by step. In a tactile sense presentation method for presenting a plurality of objects using a device capable of recognizing by tactile sense,
A binarization threshold value setting step for setting a threshold value for extracting and binarizing a predetermined object based on a difference in display level consisting of a luminance level or a color level when the object is displayed on the screen for each object When,
An object threshold information extraction step for extracting a predetermined object that meets an extraction condition from a plurality of objects, using the threshold set by the binarization threshold setting step and the display level set by the user;
A tactile sense presentation method comprising: a tactile sense presentation step of selecting and presenting the object extracted in the object threshold information extraction step based on the display level.

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