JP2017041120A - Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance business efforts by allocating a staff who can correspond to a language that can be recognized by visitors as a staff in charge of the visitors.SOLUTION: An information processing device 100 includes a storage part 120 for storing staff information obtained by associating a staff with a language that can be corresponded to by the staff. Also, it includes a language specification part 150 for specifying a language recognizable by a visitor. Also, it includes a staff determination part 160 for associating a language that can be corresponded to by a staff described in the staff information with the language specified by the language specification part 150, and determining a staff who is in charge of the visitor among the staff described in the staff information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

  With the widespread use of digital signage (electronic signage), development of signage devices that can give an effective impact to users is in progress.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a display method that enhances the sales effect by projecting an image on a human-shaped screen to give an impression that a person is responding, leading customers to entering a store or purchasing. ing.

JP 2011-150221 A

  By the way, even if the number of customers is increased by the effective signage, it is difficult to increase the sales effect by colliding with the language barrier if a staff member who cannot respond in a language that can be recognized by the customer becomes a staff member. For example, when a visitor is a foreigner who can only speak French, if the staff who can speak French does not respond, the visitor cannot be satisfied and it is difficult to improve the sales effect. In addition, even in hotels and public facilities, it is difficult to respond to the satisfaction of the visitors unless the staff in charge is able to respond in a language that the visitors can recognize, and it is difficult to increase the sales (business) effect. is there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an information processing apparatus capable of enhancing a sales effect by assigning a staff who can respond in a language recognizable by a visitor as a staff in charge of the visitor, An object is to provide an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention provides:
Language identification means for identifying languages that visitors can recognize,
Staff determining means for determining a staff in charge of the visitor from among the staff based on the language specified by the language specifying means;
It is characterized by providing.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to enhance the sales effect by assigning a staff who can respond in a language recognizable by the visitors as a staff in charge of the visitors.

It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the information processing system to which the information processing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 is applied. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structure of the signage apparatus used for the information processing system to which the information processing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 is applied. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating a visitor list | wrist. It is a figure for demonstrating staff information. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a display of a shop situation. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a display of a shop situation. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the determination process of a staff in charge. It is a flowchart for demonstrating display processing, such as a shop situation.

  Hereinafter, an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same or it corresponds in drawing.

(Embodiment 1)
The information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the information processing apparatus 100 is used as an allocation apparatus for customer staff in a restaurant and an in-store status display apparatus.

  An overview of an information processing system 1000 to which the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1000 includes an information processing device 100, a signage device 300, an order terminal 400, and a cash register 500. Each device in the information processing system 1000 is connected to each other via a network 700. The user terminal 600 can access the information processing apparatus 100 via the network 700.

  The signage device 300 is installed at a storefront or at a store reception. The signage device 300 functions as an input / output device of the information processing apparatus 100 that performs image pickup, voice acquisition, and signage display of a store visitor. The information processing apparatus 100 identifies a language that can be recognized by the store visitor based on the image and audio information acquired from the signage device 300, and assigns a staff who can respond in that language as the staff in charge of the store visitor. The display for the visitor is displayed in a language that the visitor can recognize. Further, the information processing apparatus 100 manages the in-store situation such as a waiting time situation, a table situation, and an order situation. The order terminal 400 and the user terminal 600 can acquire information on the in-store situation described later by accessing the information processing apparatus 100. The above is the outline of the information processing system 1000. Hereinafter, the configuration of each apparatus will be described.

  First, the configuration of the signage device 300 will be described with reference to FIG. The signage device 300 includes an image input unit 301, an audio input unit 302, an audio output unit 303, an NFC (Near Field Communication) R / W (Reader / Writer) unit 304, a display unit 305, a control unit 306, a communication unit 307, a human It consists of a sensor 308 and a bus 309.

When the image input unit 301 acquires information indicating that there is a store visitor from the human sensor 308, the image input unit 301 images the store visitor. The image input unit 301 includes a sensor camera or the like.
The voice input unit 302 acquires a voice uttered by a customer. The voice input unit 302 includes a microphone or the like.
The voice output unit 303 outputs the signage information (question items and the like) supplied from the information processing apparatus 100 as a voice. The audio output unit 303 includes a speaker or the like.
The NFC R / W unit 304 communicates with the user terminal 600 using the NFC function. The NFC R / W unit 304 includes a wireless communication module such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). For example, using the NFC function, a QR code (registered trademark) indicating a store visit number and coupon information is supplied to the user terminal 600, and user information such as a user ID is acquired from the user terminal 600.
The display unit 305 displays signage information (question items, in-store situation, menu, etc.) supplied from the information processing apparatus 100. For example, a question item is displayed in a candidate language acquired by a candidate language acquisition unit 152 of the information processing apparatus 100 described below, such as “May I help you? How many people?”. The display unit 305 includes a liquid crystal display or the like.

The control unit 306 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and the like. Application software for the information processing system 1000 is stored in the ROM. By executing the application software, the CPU controls each unit in the apparatus to function as the signage apparatus 300 of the information processing system 1000. The RAM functions as a work area for the CPU.
The communication unit 307 transmits the imaging information acquired by the image input unit 301 and the audio information acquired by the audio input unit 302 to the information processing apparatus 100. In addition, the communication unit 307 receives signage information to be displayed on the display unit 305 from the information processing apparatus 100. The communication unit 307 includes wireless communication modules such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) and Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity).
The human sensor 308 is composed of an infrared sensor or the like, and notifies the image input unit 301 that a customer is present in front of the signage device 300.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the order terminal 400 acquires the order information of the store visitor input by the staff in charge, and transfers it to the information processing apparatus 100. Also, the table cleanup information input by the staff in charge of cleaning the table is acquired and transferred to the information processing apparatus 100. Further, the order terminal 400 can display in-store status and waiting time information, which will be described later, on the display unit of the order terminal 400 by the operation of the staff.

  The cash register 500 supplies the information processing apparatus 100 with the accounting status and accounting details of the store visitor managed with the store visit receipt number. Thereby, the information processing apparatus 100 can acquire information indicating which store visitor has completed the accounting process, and can display the accounting status.

  The information processing apparatus 100 identifies a language that the store visitor can recognize based on the image and audio information acquired from the signage apparatus 300, and determines a staff member who can respond to the language. Further, the information processing apparatus 100 manages in-store information such as the number of store visitors, staff assignment status, order status, and empty table status. The information processing apparatus 100 is physically composed of a ROM, a RAM, a CPU, and the like. The ROM stores application software (information processing program) of the information processing system 1000 including an image recognition program and a language recognition program. The CPU reads the information processing program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executes the information processing program, thereby realizing the following functions. A functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. Functionally, the information processing apparatus 100 functionally includes a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, a store visitor count unit 130, an information management unit 140, a language identification unit 150, a staff determination unit 160, an in-store situation management unit 170, and output information generation. Unit 180.

  The communication unit 110 communicates with other devices included in the information processing system 1000. Specifically, the communication unit 110 receives imaging information and audio information from the signage device 300, receives order information from the order terminal 400, and receives accounting processing information and the like from the cash register 500. In addition, the communication unit 110 transmits information such as a waiting time and an in-store situation to be described later to the signage device 300, the order terminal 400, and the user terminal 600. The communication unit 110 includes a wireless communication module such as LTE or Wi-Fi.

  The storage unit 120 stores a candidate language list associated with a nationality group, which will be described later, staff information storing languages that staff can handle, content information such as menus, application software for the system, and the like. The storage unit 120 includes a memory chip, a hard disk device, and the like.

The store visitor count unit 130 counts the number of store visitors from the imaging information of the store visitors acquired from the signage device 300 using a known image recognition technique. Specifically, the number of visitors is counted by classifying into adults, children, and the like. Then, the store number list illustrated in FIG. 4 is registered in the information management unit 140 by associating the reception number (slip number) with the number of store visitors (number of adults / children).
FIG. 4 is an example of a store visitor list for registering information about store visitors. As shown in FIG. 4, the store visitor list is registered with the store visitor reception number, the number of visitors, the estimated waiting time, the table number assigned to the visitor, the language estimated by the visitor to be recognizable, and the staff in charge. . The store visitor count unit 130 registers the store visitor reception number and the number of store visitors among the information registered in the store visitor list shown in FIG.
For example, when the store visitor count unit 130 receives the visitor registration of the visitor number # 12, as shown in FIG. 4, “the store visitor number # 12 has 4 adults and 2 children. And register the number of customers.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the information management unit 140 manages information related to the information processing system 1000. Specifically, the information management unit 140 describes the number of store visitors (store visit status) counted by the store visitor count unit 130, the estimated waiting time, the table number, the language that the store visitor can recognize, and the staff in charge. The store visitor list illustrated in 4 is managed. In addition, the information management unit 140 manages the availability of the table in the store, the order status, the accounting status, and the like.

  The language specifying unit 150 specifies languages that can be recognized by the store visitor. The language specifying unit 150 includes a nationality estimating unit 151, a candidate language acquiring unit 152, and a specifying unit 153.

  The nationality estimation unit 151 acquires, for example, the skeleton information of the face of the store visitor from the image of the store visitor acquired from the signage device 300, and uses a known image recognition technique to select a candidate country ( Estimate nationality group). Nationality groups are groups in countries where similar races live, such as Europe, Asia and Africa. Therefore, the meaning of the country and nationality to which the store visitor used here includes not only the registered nationality but also the concept of the country where the store visitor was born and raised and the country where the store visitor's parent was born and raised. .

  The nationality estimation unit 151 stores in advance skeleton information such as a caucasian skeleton, a mongoloid skeleton, and a negroid skeleton. Then, the nationality estimation unit 151 compares the store skeleton information acquired using the image recognition technology with the stored skeleton information so that the store skeleton information approximates what type of skeleton information. It is determined whether it is. Specifically, the Caucasian skeleton is European (UK, France, Germany, Spain ...), the Mongoloid skeleton is Asian (Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, ...), and the Negroid skeleton is African. (Egypt, Ethiopia, Cameroon, etc.) Estimate the nationality group from the skeleton.

  The candidate language acquisition unit 152 acquires a candidate language list stored in the storage unit 120 in association with the nationality group from the storage unit 120 based on the nationality group estimated by the nationality estimation unit 151. For example, when the nationality estimation unit 151 estimates that the visitor is a Caucasian skeleton (European), the candidate language acquisition unit 152 stores in advance in the storage unit 120 as a language used in the country of the European nationality group. A candidate language list of a certain “English, Spanish, French, German,...” Is acquired.

  The identifying unit 153 identifies the type of language uttered by the store visitor from speech (words) uttered by the store visitor using a known language recognition technique. Specifically, a specific language such as Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, German is specified. When specifying a language that can be recognized by the store visitor, the specifying unit 153 registers the specified language in the language column of the store visitor list shown in FIG. 4 managed by the information management unit 140.

  The staff determination unit 160 assigns a staff who can respond to the store visitor in the language specified by the language specification unit 150. Specifically, based on the staff information shown in FIG. 5 stored in the storage unit 120, a staff who can respond in the language specified by the language specifying unit 150 is assigned to each store group. Then, the staff name assigned to the column of the staff in charge of the visitor list shown in FIG. 4 managed by the information management unit 140 is registered. For example, if the language specified by the language specifying unit 150 is French, the staff determination unit 160 collates the staff information shown in FIG. 5 and the only staff that can respond in French is “Nick”. "Is assigned as the staff in charge, and" Nick "is registered in the field of the staff in charge in the visitor list shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the in-store situation management unit 170 can centrally manage the table status, staff assignment status, order status, accounting status, etc. individually managed by the information management unit 140. Create a display screen. The contents indicated by the display symbols used on the display screen of the in-store situation will be described with reference to FIG. The table display 810 in FIG. 7A is a display created for each table. The in-store situation management unit 170 displays the table number in the table number 811 field. In the column of the store visit receipt number 812, the store visit receipt number is displayed. The assigned staff member is displayed in the column of the staff member 813. When a customer is guided to the table, a customer guided mark 814 is displayed. When the customer is calling the staff, a staff calling mark 815 is displayed. If the accounting has been completed, an accounting completed mark 816 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7B, when the customer is not guided to the table, the customer guided mark 814 is not displayed. If the staff is not called, the staff calling mark 815 is not displayed. If the accounting is not completed, the accounting completed mark 816 is not displayed. In addition, the in-store situation management unit 170 displays the table with different colors in the store receipt number 812 as illustrated in FIG. 7C in order to make it easy to grasp the situation of the table.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the customer at the store reception number “# 2” is guided to the table with the table number “01” in the upper left, the staff in charge is Frankie, and the customer calls the staff in charge. It is shown that. In addition, when the table with the table number “10” is displayed in “gray”, referring to FIG. 7C, it indicates that the table is “waiting for tidying up”. If the table with the table number “04” is displayed in “white”, referring to FIG. 7C, the table has been cleaned up and the situation is before the next customer is guided. It is shown that. In addition, the table number “11” and the table number “12” are marked with a mark indicating that they are customers of the same group. As described above, the in-store situation management unit 170 creates an in-store situation display screen for grasping the in-store situation at a glance based on the information managed by the information management unit 140.

  Further, the in-store status management unit 170 estimates the time (waiting time) required to guide the store registrant to the table from the table status, order status, accounting status, etc. managed by the information management unit 140, and FIG. The estimated waiting time is registered in the “estimated waiting time” column of the store visitor list shown. Specifically, the in-store situation management unit 170 estimates the waiting time based on the number of empty tables, the elapsed time since the food was provided, the accounting status, the actual statistics data of the customer waiting time, and the estimated waiting time. The time is registered in the information management unit 140.

  The output information generation unit 180 generates signage information to be displayed on the display unit 305 of the signage device 300 and a display unit (not shown) installed in each table. Specifically, the content created in the language specified by the language specifying unit 150 is selected from the signage content stored in the storage unit 120 as the content to be displayed on each display unit. More specifically, when the language identifying unit 150 identifies the language that the visitor can recognize as English, the display relating to the store visit number of the visitor is generated in English. For example, the guidance display to the table managed by the store visit number, the menu display in the assigned table, the accounting display, the coupon ticket issuance display, etc. are generated in English. In addition, the information processing apparatus 100 causes the signage apparatus 300 to display signage information generated in each language by the output information generation unit 180 via the communication unit 110.

  Next, the operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment having the above configuration will be described. When a visitor approaches the signage device 300, the human sensor 308 detects the presence of the visitor. When the human sensor 308 detects a visitor, the image input unit 301 captures the visitor and transfers the image to the information processing apparatus 100. The information processing apparatus 100 counts the number of store visitors and registers the store visitor, and performs processing for assigning staff who can respond in a language that the store visitor can recognize. Here, a staff member determination process in which the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment assigns a staff who can respond in a language recognizable by the store visitor will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the administrator of the information processing system 1000 activates the application software of the information processing system 1000 and acquires an image of the store visitor from the signage device 300, the flowchart of the assigned staff determination process shown in FIG.

  When the captured image of the visitor is acquired from the signage device 300, the nationality estimation unit 151 of the information processing apparatus 100 extracts the skeleton information of the visitor's face from the acquired captured image of the store visitor, and sets the nationality group of the visitor. Estimate (step S11). Specifically, the nationality estimation unit 151 compares the skeleton information stored in advance in the storage unit 120 with the skeleton information of the store visitor acquired using the image recognition technology, so that the store skeleton information is obtained. Determine what type of skeleton is close to. For example, if the skeletal information extracted from an image of a store visitor is similar to a Caucasian skeleton, the image recognition program will assume that the country to which the store belongs belongs to a European nationality group . If it is similar to a Mongoloid skeleton, it is assumed that the country is included in the Asian nationality group.

  When the nationality estimation unit 151 estimates a nationality group, the candidate language acquisition unit 152 acquires a candidate language list of languages used in the countries in the nationality group from the storage unit 120 (step S12). For example, if it is estimated that the person is European, a candidate language list such as “English, Spanish, French, German,...” Is acquired.

  The language specifying unit 150 selects one language from the candidate language list, and controls the output information generating unit 180 so that the question items and the like are displayed on the display unit 305 of the signage device 300 in that language. For example, the output information generation unit 180 is controlled to select one language from the candidate languages “English, Spanish, French, German,...” And “May” is displayed on the display unit 305 of the signage device 300. "I help you? How many people?" In this way, by displaying the questions and the like to the store visitor in a language that is assumed to be recognizable by the store visitor, a situation is set in which the store visitor is likely to make a sound (step S13). The question items may be displayed and the question items may be output by voice from the voice output unit 303.

  When the store visitor who sees the display does not respond by voice (step S14: No) and not all the candidate languages are displayed (step S15: No), the language specifying unit 150 selects the next language in the candidate language list. The output information generation unit 180 is controlled to display the same in (for example, Spanish) (step S16).

  When all the candidate languages have been displayed (step S15: Yes), the language specifying unit 150 determines that the estimated nationality group was an error. And the candidate language acquisition part 152 acquires the candidate language list corresponding to the nationality group which the nationality estimation part 151 made the 2nd candidate from the memory | storage part 120 (step S17, step S12). And the language specific | specification part 150 repeats the process from step S12 to step S17. For example, when the candidate of the second nationality group is an Asian nationality group, the question items are displayed sequentially in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and the like.

  On the other hand, when there is a voice response from the customer to the question items displayed on the display unit 305 of the signage device 300 (step S14: Yes), the specifying unit 153 of the information processing device 100 uses a known language recognition technique. The language is specified from the voice uttered by the visitor (step S18). For example, when the store responds in French (step S14: Yes) while displaying sequentially with different display languages such as English, Spanish, French, German,... (Steps S12 to S17), The identifying unit 153 identifies the language that can be recognized by the store visitor as French (step S18).

  When the language that can be recognized by the store visitor is specified, the staff determination unit 160 assigns the staff in charge based on the specified language and the staff information shown in FIG. 5 stored in the storage unit 120 (step S19). . For example, if the language recognizable by the store visitor is French, referring to the staff information shown in FIG. 5, the only staff who can respond in French is “Nick”, so “Nick” is assigned as the staff in charge. When the staff determination unit 160 assigns the staff in charge, the staff name “Nick” assigned to the column of the staff in charge of the customer list shown in FIG. 4 managed by the information management unit 140 is registered. This is the end of the assigned staff determination process.

  On the other hand, the information processing apparatus 100 creates a display screen of the in-store situation illustrated in FIG. 7 so that the staff and the customer can grasp the in-store situation such as the degree of congestion. This display process starts when the application software of the information processing system 1000 is activated, and is updated as needed depending on the store visitor and order status. Here, the waiting status and in-store status display processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the administrator of the information processing system 1000 activates the application software of the information processing system 1000 according to the first embodiment, the flowchart of the display process illustrated in FIG. 9 starts.

  When the application software of the information processing system 1000 according to the first embodiment is activated, the in-store situation management unit 170 counts the number of empty tables managed by the information management unit 140, the elapsed time since the dish is provided, the accounting situation, the customer The waiting time is estimated based on the actual statistics data of the waiting time. Then, the estimated waiting time is registered in the waiting status column of the store visitor list shown in FIG. 4 managed by the information management unit 140. Further, the in-store status management unit 170 creates the in-store status display screen shown in FIG. 6 based on information such as the table status and staff assignment status managed by the information management unit 140 (step S31). Normally, application software is launched before the store is opened, so that a display screen without a visitor is created at first.

  When there is a new store visitor, the store visitor count unit 130 registers the store visitor reception number and registers the store visitor number in the information management unit 140. In addition, the language specifying unit 150 registers the specified language in the information management unit 140. The staff determination unit 160 registers the assigned staff member in the information management unit 140. When the store visitor presses a button for calling a staff member, the information is input to the information management unit 140. When the staff inputs table cleanup information, the information is sequentially input to the information management unit 140. As described above, when new information is input to the information management unit 140 (step S32: Yes), the in-store situation management unit 170, as needed, based on the new information, the store visitor list shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. Is updated (step S33).

  The staff can grasp the latest in-store situation by accessing the information processing apparatus 100 from the order terminal 400 via the network 700 and browsing the information shown in FIGS. A visitor or a customer who wants to visit the store can access the information processing apparatus 100 via the network 700 and browse the information shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. I can do it. It should be noted that information that can be browsed by the staff and information that can be browsed by the customer are distinguished. For example, the customer is presented with only the customer's receipt number, the number of people, and the waiting status in the store list shown in FIG. It may be.

  Next, the in-store situation management unit 170 controls the output information generation unit 180 to display the latest information on the display unit 305 of the signage device 300 via the communication unit 110 (step S34). The in-store situation management unit 170 continues the processing from step S32 to step S35 until the application software is terminated (step S35: No). When the administrator of the information processing system 1000 gives an instruction to end the application software of the information processing system 1000 (step S35: Yes), the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus 100 assigns staff who can respond in a language recognizable by the store visitor and displays the content in a language recognizable by the store visitor. As a result, the store visitor can be prevented from colliding with the language barrier and the sales effect can be enhanced.

  Moreover, since the staff in charge for each store group is displayed, the staff in charge for each store group can be easily known.

  Further, the candidate of the country to which the customer belongs is estimated from the appearance characteristics of the customer, and the language that can be recognized by the customer is specified from the languages used in the candidate country. That is, since the language to be identified is corrected according to the store visitor's response to each of the estimated candidate languages, the probability of erroneous identification can be reduced.

  Candidate languages that can be recognized by the store visitor are estimated based on the appearance characteristics of the store visitor, and questions and the like are displayed to the store visitor in each estimated candidate language. I can do it. By guiding the store visitor to speak, the language that the store visitor can recognize can be specified more accurately.

  Since the content is displayed in a language recognizable by the store visitor, it is possible to increase the possibility that a higher sales effect can be obtained.

  In the description of the first embodiment, the visitor's nationality group is estimated from the skeleton information of the visitor's face. However, the scope of the present invention need not be limited to this. For example, it is also possible to acquire clothes information of customers using an image recognition technique and estimate a nationality group from the clothes information. Specifically, if a visitor wears a sari, she is estimated to be Indian, if she wears a simachogori, presumes a Korean, and if she is wearing a turban, she is an Indian or Middle Eastern person. presume. In this case, the candidate languages that can be recognized by the store visitor can be narrowed down to fewer languages than when estimated from the skeleton information. This can be realized by changing application software used for image recognition. Moreover, you may estimate a visitor's nationality group based on both skeleton information and clothes information. Moreover, you may estimate a visitor's nationality using another method.

  In the description of the first embodiment, the question items and the like are displayed on the display unit 305 of the signage device 300 in each of the candidate languages, and the language is specified from the voice responded by the visitor. As another embodiment, instead of displaying the question items and the like in each of the candidate languages on the display unit 305, the question items and the like are output by voice from the voice output unit 303, and the language is specified from the voice that the store visitor responds to Also good. In other words, the language that can be recognized by the store visitor may be directly identified from the voice uttered by the store visitor without estimating the nationality group. In the case of this embodiment, image recognition processing becomes unnecessary, and the apparatus cost can be reduced. In addition, the store visit processing time can be shortened.

  In the description of the first embodiment, after the nationality group is estimated, the question items and the like are displayed in a plurality of languages, and the language is specified from the voice that the store visitor responds to. As another embodiment, after the candidate language list is created, the candidate language list is displayed on the display unit 305 of the signage device 300 so that the candidate language can be selected, and the store visitor can select a language that can be recognized by the store visitor. Good. In the case of this embodiment, it is not necessary to display questions and the like in each of the candidate languages, and the store visit processing can be performed in a short time. In order to realize this, a selection screen for selecting a language is displayed on the display unit 305 so that the store visitor can select the language. Specifically, touch switches such as “English”, “French”, and “German” are formed on the screen of the display unit 305 so that the customer can select the language by touching the corresponding language.

  In addition, content may be displayed in advance in a plurality of languages on the display unit 305 of the signage device 300, and a language that can be recognized by the store visitor may be specified based on the language of the content touched by the store visitor. Specifically, the display screen may be created so that the display frame of the content displayed in each language is a touch switch. Content in a plurality of languages may be displayed simultaneously on one screen, or may be sequentially displayed in a time division manner. In the case of this embodiment, neither image recognition processing nor language recognition processing is required, and the apparatus cost can be reduced. Further, since the processing time can be shortened, the store visit processing can be performed in a short time.

  Alternatively, content may be displayed in advance in a plurality of languages, and a language that can be recognized by the store visitor may be specified based on the language of the content touched by the store visitor. Content in a plurality of languages may be displayed simultaneously on one screen, or may be sequentially displayed in a time division manner.

  Moreover, nationality information may be acquired from the personal information acquired from the user terminal 600 owned by the customer using the NFC function, and the language that the customer can recognize may be specified from the acquired nationality information.

  In the above description, the case where the information processing apparatus according to the present invention is used for assigning staff in a restaurant and displaying the in-store status is described, but it can also be used in public facilities, hotels, general stores, and the like.

  In the description of the first embodiment, the case where the signage device 300 and the information processing device 100 are separate devices has been described. However, the device configuration need not be limited to this, and the signage device 300 and the information processing device 100 may be integrated. The storage unit 120 may be provided outside the information processing apparatus 100 as an external storage device. Further, the storage unit 120 may be provided in the cloud server. Further, the information processing apparatus 100 may be built in a cloud server.

  In the above description, in order to facilitate understanding, the case where the network 700 connecting the devices is a single network has been described. However, you may communicate with each apparatus using a some network. For example, an LTE network is used for communication with the user terminal 600 and the cloud server, and wired or wireless local communication is used for communication between in-store devices such as the signage device 300, the order terminal 400, and the cash register 500. An area network may be used.

  In the above description, Bluetooth (registered trademark) has been described as an example of the NFC communication module. However, a communication module such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band), Gigbee, or infrared communication may be used. In addition, the communication unit 110 has been described as being configured by a wireless communication module such as LTE or Wi-Fi. However, the communication unit 110 may be configured by an NFC communication module, an optical communication module, or the like.

  In addition to being able to provide an information processing apparatus having a configuration for realizing the functions according to the present invention in advance, by applying a program, an existing personal computer, an information terminal device, or the like can be used as the information processing apparatus according to the present invention. It can also function. That is, by applying the program for realizing each functional configuration by the information processing apparatus 100 exemplified in the above embodiment so that a CPU or the like for controlling an existing personal computer, an information terminal device, or the like can be executed. It can be made to function as an information processing apparatus concerning. The information processing method according to the present invention can be implemented using an information processing apparatus.

  Moreover, the application method of such a program is arbitrary. For example, the program can be stored and applied to a computer-readable recording medium (CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), MO (Magneto Optical disc), etc.), the Internet, etc. It is also possible to apply the program by storing it in a storage on the network and downloading it.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and the present invention includes the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof. included. Hereinafter, the invention described in the scope of claims of the present application will be appended.

(Appendix 1)
Language identification means for identifying languages that visitors can recognize,
Staff determining means for determining a staff in charge of the visitor from among the staff based on the language specified by the language specifying means;
An information processing apparatus comprising:

(Appendix 2)
A storage means for storing staff information in which the staff is associated with a language that the staff can handle;
The staff determination unit is responsible for the visitor from among the staff described in the staff information by associating a language that can be handled by the staff described in the staff information with a language specified by the language specifying unit. Determine the staff to do,
The information processing apparatus according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein

(Appendix 3)
Further comprising nationality estimation means for estimating a candidate of the country to which the visitor belongs from the appearance characteristics of the visitor using image recognition technology;
The language specifying means specifies a language that the visitor can recognize from languages used in the country to which the visitor belongs, estimated by the nationality estimation means;
The information processing apparatus according to appendix 1 or 2, characterized in that:

(Appendix 4)
The nationality estimating means extracts the skeleton information of the visitor's face from the appearance characteristics of the visitor using image recognition technology, and estimates the candidate country to which the visitor belongs based on the extracted skeleton information ,
The information processing apparatus according to supplementary note 3, wherein

(Appendix 5)
The nationality estimating means extracts the visitor's clothes information from the appearance features of the visitor using image recognition technology, and estimates the country candidate to which the visitor belongs based on the extracted clothes information.
The information processing apparatus according to appendix 3 or 4, characterized in that:

(Appendix 6)
The language specifying means comprises candidate language acquisition means for acquiring a language used in the country estimated by the nationality estimation means,
The information processing apparatus further includes output information generation means for generating information to be provided to the visitors in each language acquired by the candidate language acquisition means,
The language specifying unit specifies the language that the visitor responds to as the language that the visitor can recognize with respect to the information generated by the output information generation unit in each language and provided to the visitor. To
The information processing apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 3 to 5, characterized in that:

(Appendix 7)
Using language recognition technology to identify the language of the country in which the voice uttered by the visitor is provided with a specifying means for specifying the language of the country in which the voice uttered by the visitor is,
The language specifying means specifies the language specified by the specifying means as a language that the visitor can recognize;
The information processing apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 6, wherein:

(Appendix 8)
An information processing system comprising an information processing device and a plurality of display devices,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Language identification means for identifying languages that visitors can recognize,
Staff determining means for determining a staff in charge of the visitor from among the staff based on the language specified by the language specifying means;
With
The display device includes display means for displaying information related to the staff in charge acquired from the information processing device.
An information processing system characterized by this.

(Appendix 9)
A language identification step for identifying languages that visitors can recognize;
A staff determination step for determining a staff member in charge of the visitor from the staff based on the language identified in the language identification step;
An information processing method including:

(Appendix 10)
Computer
Language identification means for identifying languages that visitors can recognize,
Staff determining means for determining a staff in charge of the visitor from among the staff based on the language specified by the language specifying means;
Program to function as.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Information processing apparatus, 110 ... Communication part, 120 ... Memory | storage part, 130 ... Store visitor count part, 140 ... Information management part, 150 ... Language specification part, 151 ... Nationality estimation part, 152 ... Candidate language acquisition part, 153 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS: 160, staff determination unit, 170: in-store situation management unit, 180 ... output information generation unit, 300 ... signage device, 301 ... image input unit, 302 ... audio input unit, 303 ... audio output unit, 304 ... NFC R / W unit, 305 ... display unit, 306 ... control unit, 307 ... communication unit, 308 ... human sensor, 309 ... bus, 400 ... order terminal, 500 ... cash register, 600 ... user terminal, 700 ... network, 810 ... Table display, 811 ... Table number, 812 ... Visiting reception number, 813 ... Staff in charge, 814 ... Customer guided mark, 815 ... S Tsu-off call in the mark, 816 ... settled account mark, 1000 ... information processing system

Claims (10)

Language identification means for identifying languages that visitors can recognize,
Staff determining means for determining a staff in charge of the visitor from among the staff based on the language specified by the language specifying means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: A storage means for storing staff information in which the staff is associated with a language that the staff can handle;
The staff determination unit is responsible for the visitor from among the staff described in the staff information by associating a language that can be handled by the staff described in the staff information with a language specified by the language specifying unit. Determine the staff to do,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. Further comprising nationality estimation means for estimating a candidate of the country to which the visitor belongs from the appearance characteristics of the visitor using image recognition technology;
The language specifying means specifies a language that the visitor can recognize from languages used in the country to which the visitor belongs, estimated by the nationality estimation means;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The nationality estimating means extracts the skeleton information of the visitor's face from the appearance characteristics of the visitor using image recognition technology, and estimates the candidate country to which the visitor belongs based on the extracted skeleton information ,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3. The nationality estimating means extracts the visitor's clothes information from the appearance features of the visitor using image recognition technology, and estimates the country candidate to which the visitor belongs based on the extracted clothes information.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The language specifying means comprises candidate language acquisition means for acquiring a language used in the country estimated by the nationality estimation means,
The information processing apparatus further includes output information generation means for generating information to be provided to the visitors in each language acquired by the candidate language acquisition means,
The language specifying unit specifies the language that the visitor responds to as the language that the visitor can recognize with respect to the information generated by the output information generation unit in each language and provided to the visitor. To
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. Using language recognition technology to identify the language of the country in which the voice uttered by the visitor is provided with a specifying means for specifying the language of the country in which the voice uttered by the visitor is,
The language specifying means specifies the language specified by the specifying means as a language that the visitor can recognize;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. An information processing system comprising an information processing device and a plurality of display devices,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Language identification means for identifying languages that visitors can recognize,
Staff determining means for determining a staff in charge of the visitor from among the staff based on the language specified by the language specifying means;
With
The display device includes display means for displaying information related to the staff in charge acquired from the information processing device.
An information processing system characterized by this. A language identification step for identifying languages that visitors can recognize;
A staff determination step for determining a staff member in charge of the visitor from the staff based on the language identified in the language identification step;
An information processing method including: Computer
Language identification means for identifying languages that visitors can recognize,
Staff determining means for determining a staff in charge of the visitor from among the staff based on the language specified by the language specifying means;
Program to function as.

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