JP2020021107A - Information provision system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique that reduces security risk in particular and effectively utilizes data obtained from a user.SOLUTION: An information provision system includes a management server and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network. The information acquisition device receives mission information including determination condition information. The information acquisition device acquires first external information based on the determination condition information, determines whether or not the first external information satisfies a determination condition, generates determination result information based on the determination, and transmits the determination result information to the management server.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system.

  Patent Literature 1 proposes a system in which information is added to an image based on image analysis without increasing the processing load on a server, and a reward is given according to processing.

JP-A-2003-16187

  A service that receives image data and video data from a camera or the like installed by a user and provides a considerable reward to the user is known as in Patent Document 1. Such a service is intended, for example, for security purposes or environmental investigation.

  Specifically, there is a type in which an image (video) is continuously transmitted from a camera installed by a user and a reward is given every transmission time, and a type in which a reward is given for each number of images acquired by the camera.

  However, when an image (raw data) acquired by a camera is transmitted to a service provider in real time, there is a risk of disclosure risk from the viewpoint of personal information and security.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for reducing risks in privacy and security and for effectively utilizing an image obtained from a user.

According to the present invention, there is provided an information providing system including a management server, and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network,
The information acquisition device is:
Receiving mission information including determination condition information and processing information;
Obtaining first external information based on the determination condition information, and determining whether the first external information satisfies a determination condition;
Acquiring the second external information when the first external information satisfies the determination condition, and processing the second external information based on the processing information to generate processing information;
Transmitting the processing information to the management server;
An information providing system is obtained.

  According to the present invention, the determination unit and the processing unit for detecting and processing an object included in the external world information are provided on the information acquisition device side, so that there is no need to transmit so-called raw data to the management server, and security and personal Leakage of information and unnecessary disclosure can be prevented.

  In other words, by using the present invention, the user can provide only necessary information to the management server while always activating the acquisition unit such as a camera.

  Further, according to the present invention, as long as the user has his / her own terminal, it is possible to receive a plurality of rewards by receiving a plurality of mission information, and to encourage active participation in the present system. .

  Further, according to the present invention, since the user can provide the management server with information within his / her permissible range, the user can control the security by his / her own will.

1 is a configuration diagram of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional block diagram of a management server in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional block diagram of the information acquisition device in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flow of information processing on the information acquisition device side according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a flow of information processing on the management server side according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an area acquired by a camera. It is a display example displayed on a user's HMD. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating types of information transmitted from an information acquisition device to a management server.

The contents of the embodiment of the present invention will be listed and described. The information providing system according to the embodiment of the present invention has the following configuration.
[Item 1]
An information providing system including a management server and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network,
The information acquisition device is:
Receiving mission information including determination condition information;
Obtaining first external information based on the determination condition information, and determining whether the first external information satisfies a determination condition;
Generating judgment result information based on the judgment;
Transmitting the determination result information to the management server;
Information system.
[Item 2]
The information providing system according to item 1, wherein
The information acquisition device transmits the determination result information to the management server according to a predetermined transmission condition.
Information system.
[Item 3]
The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein
The information acquisition device transmits the determination result information to the management server every predetermined time,
Information system.
[Item 4]
An information providing system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein
The information acquisition device transmits the determination result information to the management server according to a transmission instruction,
Information system.
[Item 5]
An information providing system including a management server and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network,
The information acquisition device is:
Generating judgment condition information and processing information with reference to the mission information;
Acquiring first external information based on the determination condition information, and determining whether the first external information satisfies a determination condition;
Obtaining the second external information when the first external information satisfies the determination condition, and processing the second external information based on the processing information to generate processing information;
Transmitting the processing information to the management server;
Information provision system.

(First Embodiment)
<Structure>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing elements constituting an information providing system according to the present embodiment. Note that the configuration in the figure is an example, and elements other than these may be included.

  The information providing system according to the present invention has a management server 1, a plurality of users P1 (information acquisition device 2: not shown), and a plurality of companies (company terminals: not shown). These are communicably connected to each other via the network with the management server 1 as a starting point.

  In the information providing system according to the present embodiment, the information acquisition device 2 receives the mission information transmitted from the company terminal via the management server 1, and acquires the acquisition unit (such as a GPS, a camera, or a microphone) of the information acquisition device 2. Only information that satisfies a predetermined condition is cut out (or processed) from the information obtained in the section (1) and transmitted to the management server 1 to obtain a reward.

<Hardware configuration>
The hardware configuration of the information providing system will be described with reference to FIGS. The management server 1 and the information acquisition device 2 according to the present embodiment have the following hardware configuration. The following configuration is an example, and may have other configurations. Further, other means having the same function can be appropriately adopted.

<Management server 1>
The management server 1 constitutes a part of the information providing system by executing information processing via communication between the information acquisition device 2 and the company terminal. The management server 1 has a function related to processing of the entire information providing system.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block diagram of the management server 1. Note that the configuration shown is an example, and functions other than these may be added.

  The management server 1 may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer, or may be logically realized by cloud computing.

  The management server 1 includes at least a processor 10, a memory 11, a storage 12, a transmission / reception unit 13, an input / output unit 14, and the like, and these are electrically connected to each other through a bus 15.

  The processor 10 is an arithmetic device that controls the operation of the entire management server 1, controls transmission and reception of data between elements, and performs information processing and the like necessary for executing applications. For example, the processor 10 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and executes programs and the like stored in the storage 12 and expanded in the memory 11 to execute each information processing.

  The memory 11 includes a main storage configured by a volatile storage device such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and an auxiliary storage configured by a non-volatile storage device such as a flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disc Drive). . The memory 11 is used as a work area or the like of the processor 10, and stores a basic input / output system (BIOS) executed when the management server 1 is started, various kinds of setting information, and the like.

  The storage 12 stores various programs such as application programs. A database storing data used for each process may be built in the storage 22.

  The transmission / reception unit 13 connects the management server 1 to a network. The transmission / reception unit 13 may include a short-range communication interface of Bluetooth (registered trademark) and BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). The transmission / reception unit receives the request from the company terminal and transmits the generated mission information to the information acquisition device.

  The input / output unit 14 is an information input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and an output device such as a display.

  The bus 15 is commonly connected to the above elements, and transmits, for example, an address signal, a data signal, and various control signals.

<Information acquisition device 2>

  The information acquisition device 2 forms a part of an information providing system by executing information processing via communication with the management server 1.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block diagram of the information acquisition device 2. Note that the configuration shown is an example, and functions other than these may be added.

  The information acquiring device 2 is external information such as a video, an image, a sound, and a temperature that can be acquired by any sensor device. For example, portable communication devices such as smartphones and tablet terminals with cameras, AR goggles, simple camera devices, and the like can be cited for the purpose of acquiring images and images. Alternatively, a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer may be used.

  As illustrated, the information acquisition device 2 includes at least a processor 20, a memory 21, a storage 22, a transmission / reception unit 23, an input / output unit 24, and the like, and these are electrically connected to each other through a bus 25. Since these functions are the same as those of the management server 1 described above, detailed description is omitted here.

  The information acquisition device 2 according to the present embodiment is a camera installed at a predetermined place like a so-called surveillance camera.

  The input / output unit 24 described above includes at least a camera unit 242 as an input unit.

  The camera unit may be an ordinary fixed camera, or may be one that changes its view direction by rotating. Further, it may be one that can move its own position.

As shown in FIG. 4, the information acquisition device 2 according to the present embodiment includes, as functional blocks, a determination unit, a processing unit, and an acquisition unit in addition to the reception unit and the transmission unit. These functions will be described later.
<Data>
As shown in FIG. 4, the mission information according to the present embodiment has at least determination condition information, and may also include processing information and reward information. The entire mission information, the determination condition information, the processing information, and / or the reward information may be generated by the management server 1 or a part or all of the information acquisition device may be generated. .

  The determination condition information is information acquired by the acquisition unit of the information acquisition device 2 (position information, image / video by camera, time, temperature, air pressure, operation status, and other information acquired directly or indirectly by a sensor group included in the information acquisition device. Information (functional package) necessary for determining (recognizing) whether the acquired information) satisfies a predetermined determination condition is included. The information to be acquired may be plural or a combination thereof.

  The processing information is information (functional package) for processing information obtained from the acquisition unit when the above-described determination condition is satisfied.

  The above-described determination condition information and processing information include, for example, logic for extracting an object from an image (video) acquired by a camera unit or the like. The logic can employ various techniques required for extracting the target, such as an image recognition model and a voice recognition model (if the target is voice).

  For example, for a fixed camera provided on the side of the road, "specific information may be extracted from information obtained by the camera. In this case, the presence or absence of a vehicle running on the road and the type of vehicle , License plate, state, etc. may be car information.

  For example, in the case of mission information with the effect of “abandoned place information of empty cans falling in the city”, the judgment condition information is to allow the camera unit (acquisition unit) to always acquire an image and determine whether there is an empty can in the image. The processing information is information for determination (recognition), and the processing information is instruction information for acquiring position information of the information acquisition device when it is determined that the empty can has fallen.

  Also, in the case of mission information to the effect that "information on license plate of a vehicle left in the city", the determination condition information is to allow the camera unit (acquisition unit) to constantly acquire an image and determine whether or not there is an abandoned vehicle in the image. The processing information is information for cutting out a license plate from an abandoned vehicle, or information for recognizing characters on the license plate and extracting it as text information.

  In the present embodiment, it may be determined whether or not a specific state is established using only the determination condition information, and the result of the determination may be transmitted to the server as the determination result information. That is, the information itself or a part of the information acquired by the information acquisition device may be transmitted to the management server without using the processing information.

<Process flow>
Subsequently, a flow of processing of the information providing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the management server 1 according to the present embodiment is connected to a plurality of information acquisition devices 2, 2 ′. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram, and the management server 1 does not need to be one, and each function may be distributed to a plurality of terminals via a cloud.

  In the present embodiment, an information recipient (not shown) (a company or the like who wants the information) makes a request to the management server 1. Requests include, for example, "I want to check the traffic volume on a certain road", "I want to know the traffic volume in a certain area and the attributes of passers-by", "I want to know the information on empty cans left in the city", "I want to collect information on illegal parking" And "I want to know the purchased items of the user who entered the convenience store." For example, it relates to the visual information of the user mainly obtained by using the camera unit.

  At this time, the company may set a reward for the information to be known or collected. For example, "0.1 yen for finding one empty can", "0.7 yen for finding one abandoned vehicle", "8 yen for providing product information purchased at a convenience store", and the like. The method of setting the reward may be set for each number or number, set according to a set number, or set according to the time of searching.

  The management server 1 transmits the request to the information acquisition device as the above-described mission information, and causes the information acquisition device to perform a predetermined process. The mission information includes, for example, items such as “empty can / 0.1 yen”, “parked vehicle / 0.7 yen”, and “visual information in convenience store / 8 yen”.

  When the HMDs of the users P1 to Pn are considered as the information acquisition devices, the camera unit mounted on each HMD can acquire the information of the fields of view V1 to Vn.

  In this case, the user who has received the mission information can select whether to participate in the mission specified by the mission information. When the user participates in the mission, the participation information is transmitted to the management server 1, and the identification information of the mission and the identification information of the user (information acquisition device) are managed in association with each other.

<Process on Information Acquisition Device 2>
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the receiving unit of the information acquisition device 2 receives the mission information transmitted from the management server 1. At this time, of the mission information, only the determination condition information or the processing information may be received as the mission information.

  The mission information is input to the control unit. Hereinafter, the respective processes performed when the above-described mission information regarding the “traffic volume and car attributes of a certain road” and the “traffic volume of certain areas and the attributes of passers-by” are received will be described.

  When receiving such mission information, the determination unit enables the function of the camera unit based on the determination condition information and constantly obtains an image, and determines whether a vehicle or a pedestrian is included in the image by image recognition technology. judge. At this time, information on the type of the vehicle and information on the attributes of the passers-by may be further acquired as the determination result information. The cameras may use a common camera or may require different ones. The processing unit may acquire the position information from the GPS based on the determination result. The position information is output to the transmission unit as processing information and transmitted to the management server 1.

  In addition to the functions described above, the processing unit further trims only the car number in the acquired video, applies mosaic to parts other than the number, extracts only the number of empty cans from the image, and It may be converted to data (another format) or a process of extracting brands of empty cans. In addition, it may be transmitted together with other information obtained by the information acquisition device, such as time information.

  Note that, if necessary, the raw data acquired by the acquiring unit may be output to the transmitting unit without any processing.

  Subsequently, when receiving the “information on the license plate of a vehicle left in the city”, the determination unit enables the function of the camera unit based on the determination condition information to always acquire the image, and includes the image in the image. It is determined by an image recognition technique whether or not there is a stopped vehicle. The processing unit extracts only the license plate portion from the video. The extracted information is output to the transmission unit and transmitted to the management server 1 as processing information.

  In addition to the functions described above, the processing unit further trims only the license plate portion of the image, applies a mosaic to a portion other than the license plate, extracts only the text of the license plate from the image, and extracts the text. The information may be converted into data or information on the type of the vehicle may be extracted. Further, in addition to these pieces of information, position information may be obtained from the GPS.

  The image recognition model according to the present embodiment is input to an image to be processed. Next, a region to be recognized is extracted from the input image. For example, when the recognition target is an object (person) related to the target information, an area determined to be such is extracted from the supplied image. A plurality of regions may be extracted from one image.

  After that, a feature amount is extracted from the extracted region (the image of the region). The content of the extracted feature amount is specified by the recognition process.

  As the recognition processing (image recognition model), a method suitable for the recognition target, such as HMM (Hidden Markov Model) or SVM (Support Vector Machine), is used. Then, a feature amount suitable for the method to be used is extracted, and parameters are held.

<Process on Management Server 1>
As shown in FIG. 5, the data transmitted from the information acquisition device 2 is received by the receiving unit of the management server 1. The received data is input to the control unit, and the reward is calculated in the reward calculation unit.

  The calculation of the reward is performed according to the evaluation condition. Evaluation conditions are performed from various viewpoints. For example, if the information transmitted from the information acquisition device is not the information to be provided by the mission information, the value is 0 (that is, if a processing error or the like has occurred on the information acquisition device side, or an unauthorized operation has been performed). Etc.). In addition, even if the information satisfies the target information, if there is another user who has already transmitted the same information, the information is not new as data, so a low reward is given.

  As described above, the evaluation condition is defined in terms of eligibility as the target information and usefulness of the data. In addition, the viewpoint of evaluation may be other than this.

  The reward calculation unit corrects and determines a reward to be given to the user based on the evaluation condition. The method of correcting the reward includes, but is not limited to, a method of multiplying a coefficient according to a reference amount or increasing or decreasing a constant.

  The determined reward is notified to the information acquisition device 2.

<Example>
FIG. 6 shows external world information that can be acquired by a camera beside the road. For example, the type of the vehicle (RV / sedan or the like) and the vehicle name in the video may be transmitted to the management server side as the determination result information by superimposing it on the actual video (as shown).

  In FIG. 7, a car stopped on the road is recognized as an abandoned vehicle, and a cursor is displayed on the license plate of the car. In this case, the information of the license plate is transmitted to the management server 1.

  Similarly, in FIG. 7, the empty cans discarded on the road are recognized, and a cursor is displayed on the empty cans. In this case, information that the empty can was on the road is transmitted to the management server 1.

  The above-described transmission of the raw data, the determination result information, and the processing information may be performed sequentially or may be performed after a certain amount of data is collected.

  As described above, the management server 1 gives the set reward to the user (information acquisition device) according to the analysis result transmitted from the information acquisition device.

  FIG. 7 is an image diagram illustrating types of information transmitted from the information acquisition device 2 to the management server 1. As described above, not all information acquired by the camera unit is transmitted to the management server 1. In other words, only information related to the detection target included in the mission information is extracted from the external information and transmitted to the management server 1.

  Information transmitted from the information acquisition device to the management server 1 may be, for example, the following three patterns. In the case of an empty can, information on only "presence / absence" of the detection target is transmitted to the management server 1 (1). Further, in the case of an abandoned vehicle, if image data of only the license plate portion is transmitted to the management server 1 (2), character information is further analyzed from the license plate (that is, the information of (2) is processed). ) There is a case where it is transmitted to the management server 1 (3). Further, information obtained from another sensor group may be added and transmitted (4).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, of the information acquired by the camera unit of the information acquisition device, only the part necessary for the mission information is transmitted to the management server 1 that is extracted, and thus the data The following effects can be obtained in addition to weight reduction.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, since there is no need to transmit so-called raw data to the management server, it is possible to prevent security and leakage of personal information and unnecessary disclosure.

  Further, by using the present invention, the user can provide only necessary information to the management server while always activating the camera unit. That is, it is not necessary to start the camera unit only when the detection target is photographed by the camera unit (for example, when an abandoned vehicle is found or when an empty can is found).

  Also, by receiving a plurality of mission information, a plurality of rewards can be obtained, and active participation in the present system can be encouraged. As a result, it is possible to improve the efficiency of providing information to a company that has made a request for mission information.

  Note that the reward information may be changed according to the amount and content of the information received from the information acquisition device. Further, the user may control the amount and content of information transmitted to the management server 1.

  In the present embodiment described above, the information acquisition device 2 may transmit the determination result information and the processing information to the management server 1 according to a predetermined transmission condition, or may transmit the information at predetermined time intervals, The transmission may be performed according to the transmission instruction.

  The embodiment described above is merely an example for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit and interpret the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and it goes without saying that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the present invention can be applied not only to an HMD but also to, for example, an unmanned aerial vehicle (e.g., a drone) having a camera unit, an automobile having an automatic driving function, and the like. In this case, an analysis unit for analyzing the detection target of the mission information may be provided on the unmanned aerial vehicle or the vehicle side.

  Further, the above-described mission information is not limited to the example, and may be, for example, information on a specific person, an object, a phenomenon, or the like, or information on a user's home.

  Note that the information providing system according to the present invention also has the following configuration.

[Configuration 1]
An information providing system including a management server and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network,
The information acquisition device is:
Receiving mission information including determination condition information and processing information;
Obtaining first external information based on the determination condition information, and determining whether the first external information satisfies a determination condition;
Acquiring the second external information when the first external information satisfies the determination condition, and processing the second external information based on the processing information to generate processing information;
Transmitting the processing information to the management server;
Information system.

[Configuration 2]
An information providing system according to configuration 1, wherein
The information acquisition device transmits the processing information to the management server according to the accumulation status thereof,
Information system.

[Configuration 3]
An information providing system according to configuration 1 or 2, wherein
The management server includes a mission information management server that manages the mission information, and a processing information management server that receives the processing information.
The information acquisition device is:
Receiving the mission information from the mission information management server;
Transmitting the processing information to the processing information management server;
Information system.

[Configuration 4]
The information providing system according to any one of Configurations 1 to 3, wherein
The first external information obtaining means is different from the second external information obtaining means.
Information system.

[Configuration 5]
The information providing system according to any one of Configurations 1 to 4, wherein
The second external information is obtained by the same acquisition unit as the first external information.
Information system.

[Configuration 6]
The information providing system according to any one of Configurations 1 to 5, wherein
The information acquisition device includes a sound pickup unit,
At least one of the first external information or the second external information is audio information acquired by the sound collection unit.
Information system.

[Configuration 7]
The information providing system according to any one of Configurations 1 to 6, wherein
The management server provides a user with a reward associated with the mission information according to the processing information,
Information system.

[Configuration 8]
The information providing system according to any one of Configurations 1 to 7, wherein
The management server evaluates the processing information acquired from the information acquisition device according to an evaluation condition,
The reward is calculated based on the evaluation,
Information system.

[Configuration 9]
An information providing system according to configuration 8, wherein:
The content of the processing information can be changed within a predetermined range by designation from the information acquisition device,
The management server corrects the reward according to the designation,
Information system.

[Configuration 10]
An information providing system including a management server and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network,
The information acquisition device is:
Receiving mission information including determination condition information;
Obtaining first external information based on the determination condition information, and determining whether the first external information satisfies a determination condition;
Generating information on the presence or absence of an object satisfying the determination condition in the first external world information;
Transmitting the generated information to the management server;
Information system.

[Configuration 11]
An information providing system including a management server and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network,
The information acquisition device is:
Receiving mission information including determination condition information;
Obtaining first external information based on the determination condition information, and determining whether the first external information satisfies a determination condition;
Acquiring the second external information when the first external information satisfies the determination condition;
Transmitting the second external information to the management server;
Information system.

[Configuration 12]
An information providing system including a management server and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network,
The information acquisition device is:
Receiving mission information including determination condition information;
Obtaining first external information based on the determination condition information, and determining whether the first external information satisfies a determination condition;
Generating judgment result information based on the judgment;
Transmitting the determination result information to the management server;
Information system.

1 management server 2, 2 'information acquisition device

Claims (5)

An information providing system including a management server and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network,
The information acquisition device is:
Receiving mission information including determination condition information;
Obtaining first external information based on the determination condition information, and determining whether the first external information satisfies a determination condition;
Generating judgment result information based on the judgment;
Transmitting the determination result information to the management server;
Information system. The information providing system according to claim 1,
The information acquisition device transmits the determination result information to the management server according to a predetermined transmission condition.
Information system. The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein
The information acquisition device transmits the determination result information to the management server every predetermined time,
Information system. The information providing system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein:
The information acquisition device transmits the determination result information to the management server according to a transmission instruction,
Information system. An information providing system including a management server and a plurality of information acquisition devices connected to the management server via a network,
The information acquisition device is:
Generating judgment condition information and processing information with reference to the mission information;
Obtaining first external information based on the determination condition information, and determining whether the first external information satisfies a determination condition;
Acquiring the second external information when the first external information satisfies the determination condition, and processing the second external information based on the processing information to generate processing information;
Transmitting the processing information to the management server;
Information system.