JP2020035470A - Information providing device, information acquiring device, information providing method, information acquiring method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information acquiring device, an information acquiring method, an information providing device, an information providing method, and a program that suppress delay when the information providing device provides the information acquiring device with information corresponding to a present location.SOLUTION: A server stores an information storage file that stores marker information on a marker existing in each division area. A potable information terminal obtains positional information (latitude and longitude) on a present location from a positional information acquisition unit S11, arranges a character string obtained by truncating the fractional digits in seconds of the acquired latitude and longitude in the order of latitude and longitude, and determines a character string obtained by attaching a prescribed extension to the character string obtained by arrangement to be a file name of an information storage file to be acquired S12, transmits a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of the information storage file of the determined file name to a server via a communication unit S14, and receives the information storage file transmitted from the server as a response to the transmission request signal via the communication unit S16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus and an information providing method for providing target information related to a recognition target existing around a current position, and position correspondence information associated with position information, an information acquisition apparatus and information for acquiring such information. The present invention relates to an acquisition method and a program for causing a computer to execute these methods.

  Patent Literature 1 searches for store information around a current location based on position information acquired by a GPS function or the like of a portable information terminal or the like owned by a user, and distributes the store information obtained by the search to the user's portable information terminal. Discloses a server to perform.

JP 2012-3428 A

  When a large number of portable information terminals or the like (information acquisition devices) request a server (information providing device) to search for store information or the like based on positional information of the current location, a large search load is generated in the server. As a result, a response to the search request may be delayed, and the mobile information terminal may not be able to appropriately acquire information corresponding to the current location at the current location.

  The present invention provides an information providing apparatus, an information obtaining apparatus, an information providing method, an information obtaining method, and a program capable of suppressing a delay when information corresponding to a current location is provided from the information providing apparatus to the information obtaining apparatus.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information acquisition device for acquiring target information on a recognition target present around a current position from an information providing device via a communication line.
The information providing device is provided in correspondence with each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and outputs target information about a recognition target existing in each divided area. An information storage file to be stored is stored.
The information acquisition device,
A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating the current position,
A communication unit that communicates with the information providing device via a communication line;
A control unit.
The control unit is
Based on the position information obtained by the position information obtaining unit, determine the file name of the information storage file to be obtained,
A transmission request signal of the information storage file corresponding to the determined file name is transmitted to the information providing device via the communication unit,
An information storage file transmitted from the information providing device as a response to the transmission request signal is received via the communication unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information acquisition apparatus for acquiring position correspondence information associated with position information from an information providing apparatus via a communication line.
The information providing device is provided in correspondence with each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and generates position correspondence information corresponding to position information belonging to each divided area. A plurality of information storage files to be stored are stored.
The information acquisition device,
A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating the current position,
A communication unit that communicates with the information providing device via a communication line;
A control unit.
The control unit is
Based on the position information obtained by the position information obtaining unit, determine the file name of the information storage file to be obtained,
A transmission request signal of the information storage file of the determined file name is transmitted to the information providing device via the communication unit,
An information storage file transmitted from the information providing device as a response to the transmission request signal is received via the communication unit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information acquisition method in which an information acquisition device acquires target information about a recognition target existing around a current position from an information providing device via a communication line.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information acquisition method in which an information acquisition device acquires position correspondence information associated with position information from an information providing device via a communication line.

  In a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a computer to function as a means for executing the information acquisition method according to the fourth or fifth aspect of the present invention.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing apparatus for providing target information on a recognition target present around a current position to an information acquiring apparatus via a communication line.
The information providing device is
Information storage, provided corresponding to each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of parts in a predetermined manner, and storing target information on a recognition target existing in each divided area. A storage unit for storing a file,
A communication unit that communicates with the information acquisition device via a communication line,
A control unit.
The control unit is
From the information acquisition device, when a file name is specified, and a transmission request signal of the information storage file is received via the communication unit, the information storage file corresponding to the specified file name is read from the storage unit,
The read information storage file is transmitted to the information terminal via the communication unit.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing device for providing position correspondence information associated with position information to an information acquisition device via a communication line.
The information providing device is
A plurality of pieces of information which are provided corresponding to a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and store position correspondence information corresponding to position information belonging to each divided area. A storage unit for storing a storage file;
A communication unit that communicates with the information acquisition device via a communication line,
A control unit.
The control unit is
From the information acquisition device, when a file name is specified, and a transmission request signal of the information storage file is received via the communication unit, the information storage file corresponding to the specified file name is read from the storage unit,
The read information storage file is transmitted to the information terminal via the communication unit.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing method in which an information providing apparatus provides target information about a recognition target existing around a current position to an information acquisition apparatus via a communication line.

  In a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing method in which an information providing device provides position correspondence information associated with position information to an information acquisition device via a communication line.

  In a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a computer to function as a means for executing the information providing method according to the eighth or ninth aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit, a plurality of pieces of target information (or position correspondence information associated with position information) related to recognition targets existing around the current position are stored. The file name of the information storage file to be acquired among the information storage files is determined. Then, a transmission request signal of the information storage file corresponding to the determined file name is transmitted to the information providing device, and the information storage file transmitted from the information providing device as a response to the transmission request signal is received by the information acquisition device.

  Therefore, when the information providing device provides the information acquisition device with the target information (or the position correspondence information associated with the position information) related to the recognition target existing around the current position, the information providing device is configured based on the position information indicating the current position. This eliminates the need for a process of searching a database or the like. Therefore, a problem such as a delay in response to the search request does not occur, and a delay in acquiring information corresponding to the current location in the information acquisition device is suppressed.

1 is a configuration diagram of an information system according to a first embodiment. It is an external view of a portable information terminal. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a portable information terminal. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing contents stored in a ROM of the portable information terminal. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a server. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating contents stored in an HDD of a server. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an information storage file stored in an HDD of a server. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the contents of information recorded in an information storage file. It is a figure explaining a divided area. It is a figure showing the picture displayed on the display of the personal digital assistant. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of marker information provision operation | movement by a server and marker information acquisition operation | movement by a portable information terminal. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a divided area according to the second embodiment. It is a figure explaining the same division area. It is a figure explaining the same division area. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an information storage file stored in an HDD of a server. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of marker information provision operation | movement by a server and marker information acquisition operation | movement by a portable information terminal. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a process of determining an information storage file to be acquired by the portable information terminal.

  An information system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
1. Configuration FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the information system according to the first embodiment.

  The information system of the present embodiment includes a portable information terminal 100 and a server 200. The portable information terminal 100 and the server 200 are connected via a communication line 300 such as the Internet. The portable information terminal 100 is an example of a device to which the information acquisition device of the present invention is applied, and the server 200 is an example of a device to which the information providing device of the present invention is applied.

1-1. Configuration of Portable Information Terminal FIG. 2 is an external view of the portable information terminal 100.

  On the outer surface of the portable information terminal 100, a display unit 11, a camera 12, and an operation unit 13 are provided. A touch panel 14 is provided on a surface of the display unit 11.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the portable information terminal 100.

  The portable information terminal 100 includes a central processing unit 21 (hereinafter, referred to as “CPU 15”), a nonvolatile memory 16 (hereinafter, referred to as “ROM 16”), a volatile memory, in addition to the display unit 11, the camera 12, the operation unit 13, and the touch panel 14. A memory 17 (hereinafter, referred to as a “RAM 17”), a communication unit 18, and a position information acquisition unit 19 are provided.

  The CPU 15 performs arithmetic processing. The CPU 15 implements various functions described later in the portable information terminal 100 using a computer by performing arithmetic processing based on an OS and a program described later recorded in the ROM 16.

  The ROM 16 stores programs to be processed by the CPU 15 and various data.

  The RAM 17 temporarily stores programs, data, and the like when the CPU 15 executes the programs.

  The display unit 11 displays an image based on display image data output from the CPU 15. The display unit 11 is, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL display panel.

  The operation unit 13 has a plurality of buttons. The button is, for example, a push button type switch, and can perform a function selection or a function execution instruction.

  The touch panel 14 is a flat pointing device. The touch panel 14 is provided so as to overlap the display surface of the display unit 11 and outputs a signal related to a position touched by the user.

  The camera 12 captures an image of a subject and generates image data.

  The communication unit 18 converts a signal input from the CPU 15 into a signal of a predetermined communication standard and outputs the signal to the communication line 300. The communication unit 18 converts a signal input through the communication line 300 into a signal in a format usable by the CPU 15 and outputs the signal to the CPU 15. The communication unit 18 corresponds to a communication standard such as W-CDMA, LTE, Wimax, and a communication standard such as a wireless LAN.

  The position information acquisition unit 19 acquires the position information of the current location. The position information acquisition unit 19 can be configured by, for example, a GPS receiver, and outputs information indicating the latitude and longitude of the current location as the location information of the current location.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing contents stored in ROM 16 of portable information terminal 100.

  The ROM 16 stores an operating system 31 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “OS 31”), an application program 32, and various data 33.

1-2. Configuration of Server FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the server 200.

  The server 200 includes a central processing unit 21 (hereinafter, referred to as “CPU 21”), a hard disk drive 22 (hereinafter, referred to as “HDD 22”), a volatile memory 23 (hereinafter, referred to as “RAM 23”), and a communication unit 24.

  The CPU 21 performs an arithmetic process. The CPU 21 implements various functions described later in the server 200 using a computer by performing arithmetic processing based on an OS and a program described later recorded in the HDD 22.

  The HDD 22 stores programs to be processed by the CPU 21 and various data. Note that a solid state drive (SSD) may be provided instead of the HDD 22.

  The RAM 23 temporarily stores programs, data, and the like when the CPU 21 executes the programs.

  The communication unit 24 converts a signal input from the CPU 21 into a signal of a predetermined communication standard and outputs the signal to the communication line 300. In addition, the communication unit 24 converts a signal input via the communication line 300 into a signal in a format usable by the CPU 21 and outputs the signal to the CPU 21. The communication unit 24 supports communication standards such as W-CDMA, LTE, and Wimax, and communication standards such as wireless LAN.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the contents of data and the like stored in the HDD 22 of the server 200.

  The HDD 22 stores an operating system 41 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “OS 41”), programs such as an application program 42, various data 43, and a plurality of information storage files 44.

  The information storage file 44 is a file in which marker information on markers is recorded. A marker is a recognition target when performing marker recognition processing (space recognition processing, feature extraction processing) or augmented reality (AR) processing based on an image acquired by a camera, and includes a mat (rug), a poster, and a sticker. , Traffic signs, signs, buildings, structures, parts of buildings and structures (eg, windows and doors), and any other object available in spatial recognition. The information storage file 44 is provided for each predetermined target area described later. The plurality of information storage files 44 are stored in the HDD 22 in advance by the start of operation of the present information system, and are used to register new marker information or to change or delete the contents of already registered marker information. At other times, it can be updated at appropriate times.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the information storage file 44 stored in the HDD 22.

  In the example of FIG. 7, information storage files 44 such as “3606131400517.xxx”, “3606131400518.xxx”, “3606141400516.xxx”, “3606141400517.xxx”, and “3606141400518.xxx” are recorded as the information storage files 44. ing.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the content of information recorded in the information storage file 44. FIG. 8 shows, by way of example, the contents of information recorded in the information storage file 44 "36061314000517.xxx".

  The information storage file 44 having a file name of “3606131400517.xxx” stores marker information on the markers M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6. The marker information includes a marker feature amount, guidance information, and position information. In this example, the information storage file 44 records the position information, but the information storage file 44 may not include the position information. If the position information is included, when the marker is recognized in the captured image, for example, it is possible to accurately display the position of the marker on the display unit 11 of the portable information terminal 100 so as to be superimposed on the map. .

  The feature amount is an amount indicating a feature of an image of the marker captured from a predetermined direction. The feature amount is an amount generally used in the related art for similarity comparison (image recognition) of images in feature detection processing (space recognition processing). One marker may be imaged from a plurality of directions, and the feature amount may be recorded for each of the captured images. Thereby, similarity comparison can be performed for one marker based on a plurality of feature amounts, and the recognition probability of the marker increases.

  The guidance information is information displayed on the display unit 11 of the portable information terminal 100 when the marker is recognized.

  The position information is information indicating the latitude and longitude of the place where the marker exists.

  The marker M1 is a mat arranged in a donut store, and records information such as "C1," "all donut half price," and "36061385, 140051711" as feature amount, guide information, and position information.

  The marker M2 is a mat arranged in a clothing store, and records information such as "C2", "bargain", and "36061386, 140051740" as feature amount, guidance information, and position information.

  The marker M3 is a poster placed at the gas station, and records information such as "C3", "120 yen / L for recurable gasoline", and "36061378, 140051789" as feature information, guide information, and position information.

  The marker M4 is a poster placed at the entrance of the parking lot of the home goods store, and records "C4", "our entrance is left", and "360613233, 140051723" as feature information, guidance information, and position information. I have.

  The marker M5 is a traffic sign arranged on the road, and information such as "C5", "has a school road", and "36061234, 140051747" is recorded as feature amount, guidance information, and position information.

  The marker M6 is a sticker affixed to the entrance door of the convenience store, and records information such as "C6", "accepting reservation", and "360061315, 140051778" as feature amount, guidance information, and position information.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a divided area.

  The information storage file 44 is provided corresponding to each of a plurality of divided areas Ar obtained by dividing (dividing) a predetermined target area based on latitude and longitude. The predetermined target area is an area that provides a service provided by the information system. The predetermined target area is an area having the whole world, the whole of Japan, one or more prefectures, and other arbitrary ranges. In the present embodiment, the divided area Ar is configured as a rectangular area obtained by dividing a predetermined target area in units of one second in the latitude direction and the longitude direction. For example, FIG. 8 shows a divided area Ar surrounded by latitude lines of 36 degrees 06:13 seconds and 36 degrees 06:14 seconds and longitude lines of 140 degrees 05 minutes 17 seconds and 140 degrees 05:18 seconds. The six markers M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6 described exist.

  The file name of the information storage file 44 is set based on the latitude and longitude. For example, the file name of the information storage file 44 is set based on the latitude on the small latitude end side and the longitude on the small longitude end side of the divided area Ar. For example, the file name of the divided area Ar surrounded by the latitude lines at 36 degrees 06:13 seconds and 36 degrees 06:14 seconds and the longitude lines at 140 degrees 05 minutes 17 seconds and 140 degrees 05:18 seconds is Is set to “36061314000517.xxx” based on the latitude 36 ° 06: 13 on the small latitude end side and the longitude 140 ° 05: 17 second on the small longitude end side of the divided area Ar.

2. Operation In the present embodiment, the marker information acquisition operation by the portable information terminal 100 is realized by executing the application program 32 stored in the portable information terminal 100 on the CPU 15. The marker information providing operation by the server 200 is realized by executing the application program 42 stored in the server 200 on the CPU 21.

2-1. Outline of Operation The portable information terminal 100 according to the present embodiment performs a feature detection process (space recognition process) based on a feature amount or the like on an image captured at the current location, so that the feature is consistent or constant in the image. It is determined whether or not there is a marker that is similar to a certain degree or more, and if so, guidance information corresponding to the marker is notified by voice or image. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example thereof. When a marker M (mat) is detected in an image G captured by the camera 12, guidance information J associated with the marker M is added to the captured image G. Display superimposed. This example shows a case where the marker M is a mat and information of “all donut half price” is displayed as guide information. In addition, as a technique of the above-described feature detection processing (space recognition processing), a known technique can be used. As a technique for superimposing and displaying the guide information, a known augmented reality (AR) technique can be used. At this time, the portable information terminal 100 may display a map near the site based on the position information included in the acquired marker information, and may also display the position of the marker on the map.

  The feature amount and guidance information required in the above operation are provided from the server 200 via the communication line as one information stored in the information storage file 44 corresponding to the divided area Ar including the current location based on the location information of the current location. Is done. Hereinafter, the marker information providing process and the marker information obtaining process will be described in detail.

2-2. Marker Information Providing Process and Marker Information Obtaining Process FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a marker information providing process by the server 200 and a marker information obtaining operation by the portable information terminal 100. The marker information acquisition process in the portable information terminal 100 is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle.

  The CPU 15 of the portable information terminal 100 acquires the current location information (latitude, longitude) from the location information acquisition unit 19 (S11). In the following description, it is assumed that the position information acquisition unit 19 outputs the latitude and longitude of the current location in units of 1/100 second.

  The CPU 15 of the portable information terminal 100 determines the file name of the information storage file 44 to be obtained based on the obtained position information. For example, a character string obtained by truncating digits after the decimal point in seconds in the acquired latitude and longitude is arranged in the order of latitude and longitude, and a character string obtained by adding a predetermined extension to the obtained character string is stored as information. It is set as the file name of the file 44 (S12). For example, if the latitude is 36 degrees 06 minutes 13.78 seconds and the longitude is 140 degrees 05 minutes 17.56 seconds, the file name is set to "36061314000517.xxx".

  The CPU 15 of the portable information terminal 100 determines whether or not the set file name is the same as the file name determined in the processing of the previous cycle according to this flowchart (S13).

  If the file name is the same as the file name determined in the previous cycle of processing (YES in S13), CPU 15 of portable information terminal 100 returns to the processing in step S11. If the file name is the same as the file name determined in the previous cycle, the information storage file 44 with the file name has already been downloaded.

  If the file name is not the same as the file name determined in the previous cycle (NO in S13), CPU 15 of portable information terminal 100 generates a signal (transmission request signal) requesting transmission of information storage file 44 having the determined file name. Then, the data is transmitted to the server 200 via the communication unit 18 (S14).

  When the transmission request signal for the information storage file 44 is received via the communication unit 24, the CPU 15 of the server 200 reads the information storage file 44 having the received file name from the HDD 22, and transmits the read file via the communication unit 18 ( S15).

  Upon receiving the information storage file 44 from the server 200, the CPU 15 of the portable information terminal 100 stores the information storage file 44 in the ROM 16 (S16).

3. According to the portable information terminal 100 of the first and second embodiments, a plurality of information storage files for storing marker information about markers present around the current position based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 19. The file name of the information storage file 44 to be obtained among the files 44 is determined. A transmission request signal of the information storage file 44 corresponding to the determined file name is transmitted to the server 200, and the information storage file 44 transmitted from the server 200 as a response to the transmission request signal is received by the portable information terminal 100.

  Therefore, when the server 200 provides the portable information terminal 100 with the target information on the recognition target existing around the current position, a process of searching a database or the like based on the position information indicating the current position becomes unnecessary. Therefore, a problem such as a delay in response to the search request does not occur, and a delay in acquiring information corresponding to the current location in the portable information terminal 100 is suppressed.

  Although improvements can be made by improving the performance of the server CPU, such as increasing the capacity of the memory, or the like, the cost of constructing the server increases. According to the present invention, since a marker information search operation is not required, the server 200 (information providing apparatus) does not greatly increase the server performance and provides a delay in providing the position correspondence information corresponding to the current location. Can be suppressed.

  Further, even when the transfer requests of the information storage file 44 are temporarily concentrated, the load can be balanced by using an inexpensive device such as a load balancer.

(Embodiment 2)
Embodiment 2 will be described. In the first embodiment, the divided area Ar corresponding to the information storage file 44 is an area having a range of 1 second in each of the latitude direction and the longitude direction, and the ranges are set so as not to overlap each other. In the embodiment, each divided area Ar has the same size as that of the first embodiment, but is divided by being shifted by a predetermined amount in each of the latitude and longitude directions so as to overlap at least the adjacent divided area Ar. I have. The details will be described below.

  As described above, the divided area Ar is a rectangular area having a range of one second in each of the latitude direction and the longitude direction. Then, in the present embodiment, the division is made with a shift of 0.25 seconds in each of the latitude direction and the longitude direction. In addition, each divided area Ar is divided such that the upper end, the lower end, the left end, and the right end pass positions of 0.00 seconds, 0.25 seconds, 0.50 seconds, or 0.75 seconds. FIG. 12, FIG. 13, and FIG. 14 are diagrams showing examples. Specifically, FIG. 12 is divided so that the upper end and the lower end of the divided area Ar pass through the position of 0.75 seconds in the latitude, and the left end and the right end of the divided area Ar pass the position of +0.25 seconds in the longitude. An example of a divided area Ar group is shown. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a divided area Ar group that is divided so that the upper end and the lower end of the divided area Ar pass through the position of 0.50 second in latitude, and the left end and the right end of the divided area Ar pass the position of 0.50 second in longitude. Here is an example. FIG. 14 shows a divided area Ar group that is divided so that the upper end and the lower end of the divided area Ar pass through the position of 0.25 seconds in latitude, and the left end and the right end of the divided area Ar pass the position of 0.75 seconds in longitude. Here is an example. Although not shown, the divided area Ar group and the divided area Ar group are arranged such that the upper end and the lower end of the divided area Ar pass through the position of 0.25 seconds in the latitude, and the left end and the right end of the divided area Ar pass the position of 0.25 seconds in the longitude. There is also a divided area Ar group divided such that the upper end and the lower end of the divided area Ar pass through the position of 0.75 seconds in latitude, and the left end and the right end of the divided area Ar pass the position of 0.75 seconds in longitude. .

  The file name of the information storage file 44 in the second embodiment is set based on the latitude and longitude, as in the first embodiment. However, since the number of digits after the decimal point is increased by two, the number of characters in the file name is four characters. It has increased.

  For example, in FIG. 12, each latitude line at 36 degrees 06 minutes 12.75 seconds and 36 degrees 06 minutes 13.75 seconds and each longitude line at 140 degrees 05 minutes 17.25 seconds and 140 degrees 05 minutes 18.25 seconds. The file name of the divided area Ar surrounded by is based on the latitude 36 ° 06: 12.75 seconds on the small latitude end side and the longitude 140 ° 05: 17.25 seconds on the small longitude end side of the divided area Ar, and is “360612755140051725”. .Xxx ". In this divided area Ar, markers M3, M5, M6, M7, M8, and M9 are arranged, and these markers M3, M5, M6, and M3 are stored in an information storage file 44 having a file name "360612755140051725.xxx". Marker information for M7, M8, and M9 is recorded.

  In FIG. 13, each latitude line at 36 degrees 06 minutes 12.50 seconds and 36 degrees 06 minutes 13.50 seconds, and each longitude line at 140 degrees 05 minutes 17.50 seconds and 140 degrees 05 minutes 18.50 seconds. The file name of the divided area Ar surrounded by is based on the latitude 36 degrees 06 minutes 12.50 seconds on the small latitude end side and the longitude 140 degrees 05 minutes 17.50 seconds on the small longitude end side of the divided area Ar, and is "360612250140051750". .Xxx ". Markers M5, M6, M10, M11, and M12 are arranged in the divided area Ar. The information storage file 44 having the file name "360612250140051750.xxx" stores these markers M5, M6, M10, M11, and M12. Is recorded.

  In FIG. 14, each latitude line at 36 degrees 06 minutes 13.25 seconds and 36 degrees 06 minutes 14.25 seconds, and each longitude line at 140 degrees 05 minutes 16.75 seconds and 140 degrees 05 minutes 17.75 seconds. The file name of the divided area Ar surrounded by is based on the latitude 36 degrees 06 minutes 13.25 seconds on the small latitude end side and the longitude 140 degrees 05 minutes 16.75 seconds on the small longitude end side of the divided area Ar, and is "36061325140051675". .Xxx ". In this divided area Ar, markers M1, M2, M13, and M14 are arranged. In the information storage file 44 having the file name "360612355140051675.xxx", the markers for these markers M1, M2, M13, and M14 are stored. Information is recorded.

  Then, the information storage files 44 of all the divided areas Ar including the information storage file 44 having the above contents are stored in the HDD 22 of the server 200 as shown in FIG.

2. Operation In the present embodiment, the marker information acquiring operation by the portable information terminal 100 is performed by executing the application program 32 stored in the portable information terminal 100 on the CPU 15, and the marker information providing operation by the server 200 is This is realized by executing the application program 42 stored in the server 200 on the CPU 21.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the marker information providing operation by the server 200 and the marker information obtaining operation by the portable information terminal 100. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining the information storage file 44 to be acquired by the portable information terminal 100. The marker information acquisition process in the portable information terminal 100 is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle. In steps S21, S26, S27, S28, and S29, the same processes as those in steps S11, S13, S14, S15, and S16 of FIG. 11 of the first embodiment are performed.

  The CPU 15 of the mobile information terminal 100 determines the file name of the information storage file 44 to be finally obtained based on the position information obtained from the position information obtaining unit 19 in step S21. The file name of (reference file) is set (S22). For example, a numerical value indicating the latitude and longitude obtained by truncating digits less than seconds in the obtained latitude and longitude and a numerical value obtained by arranging the numerical values in the order of latitude and longitude with a predetermined extension is used as the file name of the information storage file 44. Set. For example, when 36 degrees 06 minutes 13 seconds 82 is obtained as the latitude of the current position Pn and 140 degrees 05 minutes 16 seconds 14 as the longitude, the file name is set to "36061300140051600.xxx".

  The CPU 15 of the portable information terminal 100 obtains the latitude and longitude of the center Pc of the divided area Ar corresponding to the reference file set in step S22 (S23). The range of the divided area Ar can be obtained based on the file name. For example, if the file name is “36061300140051600.xxx”, “36061300” of the first eight characters (eight digits) of the file name indicates the latitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds) of the south end of the divided area Ar, and the file name "140051600" of nine characters (9 digits) from the ninth character to the seventeenth character indicates the longitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds) at the western end of the divided area Ar. The range of each divided area Ar is one second in latitude and longitude. Therefore, the latitude of the center Pc of the divided area Ar can be obtained as 36 degrees 06 minutes 13.5 seconds obtained by adding 0.5 seconds to the latitude indicated by the first eight characters (eight digits) of "36061300". The longitude of the center Pc can be obtained as 140 degrees 05 minutes 16.5 seconds obtained by adding 0.5 seconds to the longitude indicated by the first nine characters (9 digits) of “140051600”.

  The CPU 15 of the portable information terminal 100 determines the distance between the current position (the position indicated by the position information acquired in step S21) and the center position of the divided area Ar obtained in step S23 (the distance in the latitude direction and the distance in the longitude direction). ) And the direction when the center position of the divided area Ar is viewed from the current position is obtained (S24). That is, a vector between the current position and the center position of the divided area Ar is obtained. The distance may be obtained as a length or as a latitude difference and a longitude difference.

  The CPU 15 of the portable information terminal 100 determines that the distance (the distance in the latitude direction and the distance in the longitude direction) between the center position and the current position of the divided area Ar corresponding to the information storage file 44 among the plurality of information storage files 44. The smallest information storage file 44 is determined as a file to be acquired (S25). The file name of the information storage file 44 to be acquired is obtained by dividing the obtained distance by the interval at which the information storage file 44 is provided (0.25 seconds in the present embodiment), and rounding the value obtained by the division to an integer. Can be obtained by In the above example, the information storage file 44 is provided at intervals of 0.25 seconds in the latitude and longitude directions. Therefore, if the obtained distance in the latitude direction (latitude difference) is, for example, 0.32 seconds, dividing 0.32 by 0.25 seconds and rounding to an integer value yields a value of 1. This is the number of movements in the latitude direction. In addition, if the obtained distance in the longitude direction (longitude difference) is, for example, 0.36 seconds, a value of 1 is obtained by dividing 0.36 seconds by 0.25 seconds and rounding. This is defined as the number of movements in the longitude direction. In addition, the vector to be sought is almost in the southeast direction. In this case, a file to be downloaded is a divided area Ar existing in the northwest direction with respect to the reference file, which is moved by one in the latitude direction and moved by one in the longitude direction. Then, in this case, a value obtained by multiplying the numerical value “36061300” corresponding to the latitude indicated by the file name “36061300140051600.xxx” of the reference file by 25 × the number of movements is added. As a result, a numerical value "36061325" is obtained. Further, a value obtained by multiplying the numerical value “140051600” corresponding to the longitude indicated by the file name “36061300140051700.xxx” of the reference file by 25 × the number of movements is subtracted. As a result, a numerical value "140051575" is obtained. Then, the extension “xxx” is added to the numerical value (character) “36061325140051575” obtained by arranging the numerical value (character) “36061325” in the latitude direction and the numerical value (character) “140051675” in the longitude direction in this order. The added character string “36061325140051575.xxx” is determined as the file name of the information storage file 44 to be acquired.

  Based on the file name obtained in this manner, the CPU 15 of the portable information terminal 100 thereafter performs steps S26, S27, S28, and S29 similar to steps S13, S14, S15, and S16 of FIG. Perform processing.

  According to the present embodiment, the portable information terminal 100 can acquire the information storage file 44 whose current position is near the center of the divided area Ar. This prevents the current location of the user from being near the end in the divided area Ar corresponding to the acquired information storage file 44. Therefore, no matter what direction the user faces in the current location, it is possible to present various information based on the marker.

(Application Example of Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2)
An example of a service that can be realized by using the marker information providing system of the above embodiment will be described.

1. First Application Example In a first application example, the information acquisition device of the present invention is applied to a drone, and performs automatic delivery of articles by the drone. The drone incorporates the information acquisition device of the present invention and a drone control unit, and the drone control unit is based on the latitude and longitude acquired by the position information acquisition unit of the information acquisition device and the image captured by the camera. It performs flight control such as the operation of the rotary wings, and can fly automatically to the destination. In addition, the drone control unit, when the control unit of the information acquisition device recognizes the mat as a marker placed at the destination based on the image captured by the camera, moves on the mat, and mats the home delivery Place on top. If the mat is placed on a veranda, for example, delivery can be made even when a resident is not present. Then, the drone returns to the place of departure. In that case, the information acquisition device acquires the marker information from the server. Thus, regardless of the direction in which the drone is flying, marker information on the current location and surrounding areas can be acquired almost in real time. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately recognize the marker near the destination.

2. Second Application Example In a second application example, the information acquisition apparatus of the present invention is applied to a mobile robot, and provides guidance such as guide dog walking when a visually impaired person walks, shopping, and the like. Do. The robot has the information acquisition device of the present invention and a robot control unit, and controls the operation of the robot based on the latitude, longitude, and the image captured by the camera, acquired by the position information acquisition unit of the information acquisition device. , And move while avoiding obstacles or the like appropriately according to the surrounding situation. Also, when the camera of the information acquisition device recognizes a marker such as a mat (marker) placed at the entrance of a store or a poster or a sticker pasted on a wall surface, the robot control unit associates the marker with the marker. The obtained marker information is obtained from the server, and the obtained content is notified to the user by voice reading out or the like. For example, in association with markers such as mats, posters, and stickers, the recommended information of the store, the inventory status of the goods, the availability status of the entertainment and the reservation status are stored in the server, and are notified by voice reading out, etc. Even visually impaired persons can appropriately and easily recognize such information. In particular, according to the present invention, the time delay in acquiring marker information is suppressed, so that when the user is at the current location, the above-described various information corresponding to the current location can be acquired almost in real time.

3. Third Application Example In a third application example, the information acquisition device of the present invention is applied to a vehicle such as a car or a Segway that can be automatically driven, and the vehicle includes an information acquisition device of the present invention and an automobile control unit. And performs travel control of the vehicle based on the latitude and longitude acquired by the position information acquisition unit (GPS receiver) of the information acquisition device and the video imaged by the camera. Based on the surrounding situation detected by the camera and the information associated with the detected marker, the vehicle automatically travels, and various information associated with the marker is displayed to the display unit or read aloud to the occupant. provide. The marker is, for example, a traffic sign, a sticker, a poster, a mat, and the like. If, for example, the sticker calls attention to a child or an elderly person, the content is recorded on the server in association with the marker. Thereby, when the sticker is recognized, the sticker is downloaded from the server, and the content described on the sticker is notified to the driver by voice reading out or the like, or as in the case of the robot of the second example, the mat, It is possible to provide the occupants with the recommended information of the store, the stock status of articles, the vacancy status of entertainments, the reservation status information, and the like, which are associated with markers such as posters and stickers. Further, in particular, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the above various information almost in real time when the user is at the site. Therefore, an appropriate service can be provided to the occupant of the vehicle.

(Embodiment 3)
In the third embodiment, in place of the target information related to the recognition target existing around the current position in the first embodiment, the portable information that acquires the position correspondence information associated with the position information from the server 200 via the communication line 300 Provided is a terminal 200 and a server 200 (information providing device) that provides position correspondence information associated with the position information to the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) via the communication line 300.

  The position correspondence information includes at least the guidance information described in FIG. 8, but the position information and the feature amount are not essential. Otherwise, the configuration can be the same as that of the first embodiment. If the position correspondence information includes the position information, the portable information terminal 100 displays the guidance information at the position indicated by the position information on the map based on the position information included in the acquired position correspondence information. Etc. become possible. In the present embodiment, the guide information can be provided in the portable information terminal 100 at the current location without causing a search load on the server 200 for the guide information of the facilities and shops around the current location.

(Embodiment 4)
The fourth embodiment provides an information system in which the division mode of the division area Ar in the information system of the second embodiment is applied to the information system of the third embodiment. That is, each divided area Ar is a rectangular area having a predetermined area, and is divided by being shifted by a predetermined amount in the latitude and longitude directions so as to overlap at least the adjacent divided area Ar. The CPU 15 determines that the position indicated by the acquired position information is the position closest to the center position of the divided area Ar among the at least one divided area Ar including the position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 19. The information storage file 44 corresponding to the divided area Ar may be determined as the information storage file 44 to be acquired. As a result, similarly to the second embodiment, the portable information terminal 100 acquires the information storage file 44 corresponding to the divided area Ar where the current position (current position) of the user and the center position of the divided area Ar are closest. Therefore, the user can use the position correspondence information corresponding to the position around the user, with the current position being substantially at the center.

(Summary of Embodiments 1 to 4)
(1) In the first and second embodiments,
A portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) that acquires marker information (target information) about a marker (recognition target) existing around the current position from a server 200 (information providing device) via a communication line 300 is provided. .
The server 200 (information providing device) is provided so as to correspond to each of a plurality of divided areas Ar obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and a marker existing in each divided area Ar An information storage file 44 for storing marker information (target information) for (recognition target) is stored.
The portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device)
A position information acquisition unit 19 that acquires position information indicating the current position;
A communication unit 18 that communicates with the server 200 (information providing device) via the communication line 300;
And a CPU 15 (control unit).
The CPU 15 (control unit)
Based on the position information obtained by the position information obtaining unit 19, the file name of the information storage file 44 to be obtained is determined,
A transmission request signal of the information storage file 44 corresponding to the determined file name is transmitted to the server 200 (information providing device) via the communication unit 18,
The information storage file 44 transmitted from the server 200 (information providing device) as a response to the transmission request signal is received via the communication unit 18.

  According to the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) of the first and second embodiments, based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 19, the marker information (marker) on the marker (recognition target) existing around the current position. The file name of the information storage file 44 to be acquired among the plurality of information storage files 44 storing the target information) is determined. A transmission request signal of the information storage file 44 corresponding to the determined file name is transmitted to the server 200 (information providing device), and the information storage file 44 transmitted from the server 200 (information providing device) in response to the transmission request signal is transmitted. The information is received by the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device).

  Therefore, when the server 200 (information providing device) provides the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) with the marker information (target information) about the marker (recognition target) existing around the current position, the current position is indicated. The process of searching a database or the like based on the position information becomes unnecessary. Therefore, a problem such as a delay in response to the search request does not occur, and a delay in acquiring information corresponding to the current location in the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) is suppressed.

(2) In the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) of the first and second embodiments,
The portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device)
A camera 12 (imaging unit) for capturing an image,
A display unit 11 (notifying unit) capable of notifying information by an image.
The marker information (target information) includes a feature amount used for a recognition process based on an image captured by the camera 12 (imaging unit), guide information (notification information) to be notified when the marker (recognition target) is recognized, and including.
The CPU 15 (control unit)
By performing a recognition process based on a feature amount on an image captured by the camera 12 (imaging unit), it is determined whether or not a marker (recognition target) whose feature matches or is similar to a certain degree or more exists in the image. Is determined, and when it is determined that the marker exists, the notification information corresponding to the marker (recognition target) is notified by an image via the display unit 11 (notification unit).

  Thereby, the guide information (notification information) associated with the marker (recognition target) existing around the current location can be notified to the user by the image via the display unit 11 (notification unit). In such a case, according to the information systems of the first and second embodiments, in the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device), the guide information corresponding to the current location is displayed on the display unit 11 (notification unit) while suppressing delay. Can be notified to the user via. Note that the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) may have a sound output unit (notification unit) such as a speaker, and in this case, guidance information (notification information) is transmitted from the sound output unit (notification unit) by voice. You may be notified.

(3) In Embodiments 3 and 4,
A portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) that acquires position correspondence information associated with position information from a server 200 (information providing device) via a communication line 300 is provided.
The server 200 (information providing device) is provided in correspondence with each of a plurality of divided areas Ar obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and includes information on position information belonging to each divided area Ar. A plurality of information storage files 44 for storing corresponding position correspondence information are stored.
The portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device)
A position information acquisition unit 19 that acquires position information indicating the current position;
A communication unit 18 that communicates with the server 200 (information providing device) via the communication line 300;
And a CPU 15 (control unit).
The CPU 15 (control unit)
Based on the position information obtained by the position information obtaining unit 19, the file name of the information storage file 44 to be obtained is determined,
A transmission request signal of the information storage file 44 having the determined file name is transmitted to the server 200 (information providing device) via the communication unit 18,
The information storage file 44 transmitted from the server 200 (information providing device) as a response to the transmission request signal is received via the communication unit 18.

  According to the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) of the third and fourth embodiments, a plurality of information storages that store the position correspondence information associated with the position information based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 19. The file name of the information storage file 44 to be obtained among the files 44 is determined. A transmission request signal of the information storage file 44 corresponding to the determined file name is transmitted to the server 200 (information providing device), and the information storage file 44 transmitted from the server 200 (information providing device) in response to the transmission request signal is transmitted. The information is received by the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device).

  Therefore, when the server 200 (information providing device) provides the position correspondence information associated with the position information to the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device), the server 200 (information providing device) searches a database or the like based on the position information indicating the current position. Is unnecessary. Therefore, a problem such as a delay in response to the search request does not occur, and a delay in acquiring information corresponding to the current location in the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) is suppressed.

(4) In the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) of the third and fourth embodiments,
The portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device)
It further includes a display unit 11 (notification unit) capable of notifying information by an image.
The position correspondence information includes guidance information (reporting information) that reports according to the position indicated by the position information.
The CPU 15 (control unit)
The guide information (notification information) included in the acquired position correspondence information is notified by an image via the display unit 11 (notification unit).

  Thereby, the guide information (notification information) associated with the position information of the position around the current location can be notified to the user by an image via the display unit 11 (notification unit). In such a case, according to the information systems of the third and fourth embodiments, in the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device), the guide information corresponding to the current location is displayed on the display unit 11 (notification unit) while suppressing delay. Can be notified (presented) to the user via. Note that the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) may have a sound output unit (notification unit) such as a speaker, and in this case, guidance information (notification information) is transmitted from the sound output unit (notification unit) by voice. You may be notified.

(5) In the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) of the first to fourth embodiments,
The plurality of divided areas Ar are obtained by dividing a predetermined target area based on latitude and longitude.

  As a result, the information storage files 44 of the plurality of divided areas Ar stored in the HDD 22 (storage unit) of the server 200 (information providing device) are stored in the storage unit 44 based on the latitude and longitude based on all the target information corresponding to the predetermined target area. It can be easily generated simply by dividing.

(6) In the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) of the second and fourth embodiments,
Each divided area Ar is a rectangular area having a predetermined area, and is divided by being shifted by a predetermined amount in the latitude and longitude directions so as to overlap at least the adjacent divided area Ar.
The CPU 15 (control unit) determines that the position indicated by the acquired position information is at the center position of the divided area Ar among at least one divided area Ar including the position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 19. The information storage file 44 corresponding to the divided area Ar at a close position is determined as the information storage file 44 to be acquired.

  Thus, in a case where the user is using the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) while moving, the divided area Ar where the current position of the user (current location) and the center position of the divided area Ar are the closest. Is acquired in the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device). Therefore, the user can use the marker information (target information) and the position correspondence information of the markers (recognition targets) existing around the user with the current position being the center.

(7) In the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) of the first to fourth embodiments,
The file name of each information storage file 44 includes information indicating the latitude and longitude indicating the position of the divided area Ar corresponding to each information storage file 44.

  Thus, the file name of the information storage file 44 to be acquired at the current location can be determined by simple calculation based on the location information of the current location.

(8) In Embodiments 1 and 2,
An information acquisition method in which the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) acquires marker information (target information) about a marker (recognition target) existing around the current position from the server 200 (information providing device) via the communication line 300. Is provided.

(9) In Embodiments 3 and 4,
An information acquisition method is provided in which the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) acquires the position correspondence information associated with the position information from the server 200 (information providing device) via the communication line 300.

(10) In the first to fourth embodiments,
An application program 32 (program) for causing a computer to function as a means for executing the information acquisition method is provided. Note that the program according to the present invention may be configured as a program integrally having a function as an OS.

  Thereby, the control unit of the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) can be configured using the computer.

(11) In the first and second embodiments,
A server 200 (information providing device) that provides marker information (target information) about a marker (recognition target) existing around the current position to the portable information terminal 100 (information acquiring device) via the communication line 300 is provided. .
The server 200 (information providing device)
Marker information (marker information) on a marker (recognition target) that is provided corresponding to each of a plurality of divided areas Ar obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of sections in a predetermined manner and is present in each divided area Ar HDD 22 (storage unit) for storing an information storage file 44 for storing the target information).
A communication unit 24 for communicating with the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) via the communication line 300;
And a CPU 21 (control unit).
The CPU 21 (control unit)
When a transmission request signal of the information storage file 44 specifying the file name is received from the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) via the communication unit 24, the information storage file 44 corresponding to the specified file name is read. Read from the HDD 22 (storage unit),
The read information storage file 44 is transmitted to the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) via the communication unit 24.

  According to the server 200 (information providing device) of the first and second embodiments, the same effect as that described with respect to the portable information terminal 100 (information acquiring device) of the first and second embodiments can be obtained.

(12) In the server 200 (information providing device) of the third and fourth embodiments,
A server 200 (information providing device) is provided that provides the position correspondence information associated with the position information to the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) via the communication line 300.
The server 200 (information providing device)
A plurality of storage areas are provided in correspondence with a plurality of divided areas Ar obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of areas in a predetermined manner, and store position correspondence information corresponding to position information belonging to each divided area Ar. HDD 22 (storage unit) for storing an information storage file 44 of
A communication unit 24 for communicating with the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) via the communication line 300;
And a CPU 21 (control unit).
The CPU 21 (control unit)
When a transmission request signal of the information storage file 44 specifying the file name is received from the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) via the communication unit 24, the information storage file 44 corresponding to the specified file name is read. Read from the HDD 22 (storage unit),
The read information storage file 44 is transmitted to the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) via the communication unit 24.

  According to the server 200 (information providing device) of the third and fourth embodiments, the same effects as those described with respect to the portable information terminal 100 (information obtaining device) of the third and fourth embodiments can be obtained.

(13) In the server 200 (information providing device) of the first to fourth embodiments,
The plurality of divided areas Ar are obtained by dividing a predetermined target area based on latitude and longitude.

  As a result, the information storage files 44 of the plurality of divided areas Ar stored in the HDD 22 (storage unit) of the server 200 (information providing device) are stored in the storage unit 44 based on the latitude and longitude based on all the target information corresponding to the predetermined target area. It can be easily generated simply by dividing.

(14) In the server 200 (information providing device) of the second and fourth embodiments,
Each divided area Ar is a rectangular area having a predetermined area, and is divided by being shifted by a predetermined amount in the latitude and longitude directions so as to overlap at least the adjacent divided area Ar.

  Thus, in a case where the user is using the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device) while moving, the divided area Ar where the current position of the user (current location) and the center position of the divided area Ar are the closest. Is acquired in the portable information terminal 100 (information acquisition device). Therefore, the user can use the position correspondence information corresponding to the position around the user, with the current position being substantially at the center.

(15) In the server 200 (information providing device) of the first to fourth embodiments,
The file name of each information storage file 44 includes information indicating the latitude and longitude indicating the position of the divided area Ar corresponding to each information storage file 44.

  Thus, the file name of the information storage file 44 to be acquired at the current location can be determined by simple calculation based on the location information of the current location.

(16) In Embodiments 1 and 2,
An information providing method in which the server 200 (information providing device) provides the portable information terminal 100 (information obtaining device) via the communication line 300 with marker information (target information) related to a marker (recognition target) existing around the current position. Is provided.

(17) In Embodiments 3 and 4,
An information providing method is provided, in which the server 200 (information providing device) provides the portable information terminal 100 (information acquiring device) via the communication line 300 with the position correspondence information associated with the position information.

(18) In the first to fourth embodiments,
An application program 42 (program) for causing a computer to function as a means for executing the above information providing method is provided. Note that the program according to the present invention may be configured as a program integrally having a function as an OS.

  Thus, the CPU 21 (control unit) of the server 200 (information providing device) can be configured using a computer.

(Other embodiments)
In each of the above embodiments, the case where the information acquisition device of the present invention is applied to the portable information terminal 100 has been described. However, the information acquisition device of the present invention can be applied to various devices as described in the first to third application examples. For example, the information acquisition device of the present invention may be a scouter-type tool such as Google (registered trademark) glass, a compact digital camera, a single-lens reflex camera, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, or the like, which can be connected to the Internet.

  In the above embodiment, the file name of the file corresponding to the current position is set using a part of the latitude and longitude information. However, in the present invention, the file name does not need to include the latitude and longitude information as long as the information storage file associated with the latitude and longitude information can be read. For example, in the information acquisition device, based on the information of the latitude and longitude, a unique character string composed of a plurality of alphabets and the like is generated by a certain rule, and on the server side, information of a file name generated by the certain rule is generated. The storage file may be stored. Even in this case, the server only needs to read the information storage file corresponding to the file name and transmit it via the communication line 300.

  In the embodiment, the shape of each divided area Ar is rectangular. However, in the present invention, the shape of each divided area is not limited to a rectangle. For example, the shape of each divided area may be a circle, an ellipse, a triangle, a pentagon or more polygon, or any other shape. Further, the shape of the divided area may be different for each divided area.

  In the embodiment, the area of the plurality of divided areas Ar is the same in all the divided areas Ar. However, in the present invention, a divided area having an area different from other divided areas may exist in the plurality of divided areas. For example, in a divided area in which the marker density per predetermined area is relatively large, the area may be reduced by further subdividing the divided area, or a divided area in which the marker density per predetermined area is relatively small. In the area, the area of the divided area may be increased by combining the area with another divided area or the like. By changing the area of the divided area according to the marker density in this way, the variation in the number of markers included in one information storage file is reduced, and the variation in data capacity per information storage file is reduced. Can be. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the time required for downloading the information storage file from becoming extremely long depending on the divided area.

  In the embodiment, the size of the divided area Ar is 1 second in each of the longitude direction and the latitude direction. However, the size of the divided area may be another value such as 2 seconds, 3 seconds,... Or 1 minute, 2 minutes,. Further, the length in the longitude direction and the length in the latitude direction may be different.

  A first information storage file group obtained by dividing the predetermined target area in the first division mode; and a second information storage file group obtained by dividing the predetermined target area in the second division mode. The group may be stored. In this way, for example, in the first division mode, the size of the divided area Ar is set to, for example, 1 second in the latitude and longitude directions, and in the second division mode, for example, the size is set to, for example, 1 second in the latitude and longitude directions. May be minutes. The first information storage file may be applied to a user having a slow moving speed, and the second information storing file may be applied to a user having a fast moving speed. Further, which one of the first and second information storage files is applied to each user is determined by detecting a moving speed or an acceleration based on a change in the position indicated by the obtained position information, The determination may be made based on the detected moving speed or acceleration. Thus, for example, when the user is walking, the first division mode is applied, and when the user is moving by high-speed moving means such as a car or a train, the second division mode is applied. Can be. When the moving speed is high, if the range of the divided area is small, the transmission request and download of the information storage file frequently occur, and the transmission to the next divided area is performed during the transmission request and download of the information storage file. There is a possibility that the information storage file suitable for the current location cannot be received because of the movement. Therefore, when the moving speed is high, the above-described situation is suppressed by acquiring the information storage file of the second mode in which the range of the divided area is large. On the other hand, if the second division mode is applied to all users, there is a problem that the communication data amount as a whole increases. By applying the first division mode to a user whose moving speed is slow, an increase in the communication data amount as a whole can be suppressed. Since the change in the position information can be detected in each information communication terminal, which of the first division mode and the second division mode is applied is determined in each information acquisition device, and the determined mode is adopted. May be specified in the file group corresponding to.

  In the above-described embodiment, the position information of the current position is acquired using the GPS receiver in step S11 or S21, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the location information of the current location may be acquired by using a wireless LAN SSID or the like. In this case, the server stores the SSID of the access point of the wireless LAN and the latitude and longitude information (position information) of the position where the access point is installed in association with each other. Further, the information acquisition device has a wireless LAN communication function. When detecting the SSID at the site, the information acquisition device requests the server to transmit the latitude and longitude information (position information) corresponding to the SSID. The server transmits the latitude / longitude information (position information) corresponding to the SSID to the information acquisition device. The information acquisition device determines the file name of the information storage file 44 corresponding to the divided area including the current location based on the latitude / longitude information (position information) corresponding to the SSID received from the server in the same manner as in the above embodiment. . With such a configuration, the information storage file 44 can be obtained even in an environment where radio waves from GPS satellites cannot be used, such as inside a store or facility.

11 display unit 12 camera 13 operation unit 14 touch panel 15 CPU
16 ROM
17 RAM
18 Communication unit 19 Position information acquisition unit 21 CPU
22 HDD
23 RAM
24 Communication unit 31 OS
32 application program 33 data 41 OS
42 application program 43 data 44 information storage file 100 portable information terminal 200 server 300 communication line Ar divided area G image J guide information M, M1 to M14 marker

Claims (18)

An information acquisition device that acquires target information about a recognition target present around a current position from an information providing device via a communication line,
The information providing device is provided in correspondence with each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and includes target information on a recognition target existing in each of the divided areas. Stores an information storage file,
The information acquisition device,
A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating the current position,
A communication unit that communicates with the information providing device via the communication line;
And a control unit,
The control unit includes:
For each of the latitude and longitude indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit, a character string obtained by truncating digits after the decimal point in seconds is arranged in the order of latitude and longitude, and a predetermined expansion is performed on the obtained character string. Determine the character string with the child as the file name of the information storage file to be obtained,
A transmission request signal for requesting transmission of the information storage file of the determined file name is transmitted to the information providing apparatus via the communication unit,
Receiving the information storage file transmitted from the information providing device as a response to the transmission request signal via the communication unit,
Information acquisition device. An imaging unit that captures an image,
A notification unit that can notify information by voice or image,
The target information is used for a recognition process based on an image captured by the imaging unit, includes a feature amount of the recognition target, and notification information to be notified when the recognition target is recognized,
The control unit includes:
Recognition processing of a match / similar part having a feature amount that matches or is at least similar to the feature amount of the recognition target included in the target information stored in the received information storage file with respect to the image captured by the imaging unit Is performed, and when the matching / similar part is recognized, notification information corresponding to the recognition target is notified by voice or image via the notification unit.
The information acquisition device according to claim 1. An information acquisition device for acquiring position correspondence information associated with position information from an information providing device via a communication line,
The information providing device is provided in correspondence with each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and position correspondence information corresponding to position information belonging to each divided area. Stores an information storage file,
The information acquisition device,
A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating the current position,
A communication unit that communicates with the information providing device via the communication line;
And a control unit,
The control unit includes:
For each of the latitude and longitude indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit, a character string obtained by truncating digits after the decimal point in seconds is arranged in the order of latitude and longitude, and a predetermined expansion is performed on the obtained character string. Determine the character string with the child as the file name of the information storage file to be obtained,
A transmission request signal for requesting transmission of the information storage file of the determined file name is transmitted to the information providing apparatus via the communication unit,
Receiving the information storage file transmitted from the information providing device as a response to the transmission request signal via the communication unit,
Information acquisition device. It further comprises a notifying unit capable of notifying information by voice or image,
The position correspondence information includes notification information to be notified according to the position indicated by the position information,
The control unit includes:
When an information storage file is received from the information providing device, the notification information included in the position correspondence information included in the received information storage file is notified by voice or image via the notification unit,
The information acquisition device according to claim 3. The plurality of divided areas are obtained by dividing the predetermined target area based on latitude and longitude,
The information acquisition device according to claim 1. Each divided area is a rectangular area having a predetermined area, and is divided by being shifted by a predetermined amount in each of the latitude direction and the longitude direction so as to overlap at least an adjacent divided area,
The control unit, among at least one divided area including a position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit, a position indicated by the acquired position information is closest to a center position of the divided area Determining the information storage file corresponding to the divided area to be the position as the information storage file to be acquired;
The information acquisition device according to claim 5. The file name of each information storage file includes information indicating the latitude and longitude indicating the position of the divided area corresponding to each information storage file,
The information acquisition device according to claim 5. An information acquisition method in which the information acquisition device acquires target information related to a recognition target present around the current position from the information providing device via a communication line,
The information providing device is provided in correspondence with each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and includes target information on a recognition target existing in each of the divided areas. Stores an information storage file,
The information acquisition device,
A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating the current position,
A communication unit that communicates with the information providing device via the communication line;
And a control unit,
The control unit, the latitude indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit, for each of the longitude, character strings obtained by truncating digits after the decimal point in seconds in the order of latitude and longitude, characters obtained by arranging A determining step of determining a character string having a predetermined extension in the column as a file name of an information storage file to be obtained;
A transmission step of the control unit transmitting a transmission request signal requesting transmission of the information storage file having the determined file name to the information providing apparatus via the communication unit;
The control unit includes a receiving step of receiving, via the communication unit, an information storage file transmitted from the information providing device as a response to the transmission request signal,
Information acquisition method. An information acquisition method in which an information acquisition device acquires position correspondence information associated with position information from an information providing device via a communication line,
The information providing device is provided in correspondence with each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and position correspondence information corresponding to position information belonging to each divided area. Stores multiple information storage files that store
The information acquisition device,
A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating the current position,
A communication unit that communicates with the information providing device via the communication line;
And a control unit,
The control unit, the latitude indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit, for each of the longitude, character strings obtained by truncating digits after the decimal point in seconds in the order of latitude and longitude, characters obtained by arranging A determining step of determining a character string having a predetermined extension in the column as a file name of an information storage file to be obtained;
A transmission step of the control unit transmitting a transmission request signal requesting transmission of the information storage file having the determined file name to the information providing apparatus via the communication unit;
A receiving step of receiving, via the communication unit, an information storage file transmitted from the information providing apparatus as a response to the transmission request signal,
Information acquisition method.   A program that causes a computer to function as a unit that executes each step of the information acquisition method according to claim 8. An information providing device that provides target information about a recognition target present around the current position to an information acquisition device via a communication line,
Information storage, provided corresponding to each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of parts in a predetermined manner, and storing target information on a recognition target existing in each divided area. A storage unit for storing a file,
A communication unit that communicates with the information acquisition device via the communication line,
And a control unit,
The control unit includes:
From the information acquisition device, the latitude and the longitude indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit of the information acquisition device, a character string obtained by truncating digits after the decimal point in seconds in the longitude is arranged in the order of latitude and longitude, and arranged. When a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of an information storage file whose file name is a character string obtained by adding a predetermined extension to the obtained character string is received via the communication unit, the transmission request signal is designated by the transmission request signal. Read the information storage file of the file name from the storage unit,
Transmitting the read information storage file to the information acquisition device via the communication unit;
Information providing device. An information providing device that provides position correspondence information associated with position information to an information acquisition device via a communication line,
A plurality of pieces of information which are provided corresponding to a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and store position correspondence information corresponding to position information belonging to each divided area. A storage unit for storing a storage file;
A communication unit that communicates with the information acquisition device via the communication line,
And a control unit,
The control unit includes:
From the information acquisition device, the latitude and the longitude indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit of the information acquisition device, a character string obtained by truncating digits after the decimal point in seconds in the longitude is arranged in the order of latitude and longitude, and arranged. When a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of an information storage file whose file name is a character string obtained by adding a predetermined extension to the obtained character string is received via the communication unit, the transmission request signal is designated by the transmission request signal. Read the information storage file of the file name from the storage unit,
Transmitting the read information storage file to the information acquisition device via the communication unit,
Information providing device. The plurality of divided areas are areas obtained by dividing the predetermined target area based on latitude and longitude.
The information providing device according to claim 11. Each divided area is a rectangular area having a predetermined area, and is divided by being shifted by a predetermined amount in each of the latitude direction and the longitude direction so as to overlap at least an adjacent divided area.
The information providing device according to claim 13. The file name of each information storage file includes information indicating the latitude and longitude indicating the position of the divided area corresponding to each information storage file,
The information providing device according to claim 13 or claim 14. An information providing method in which the information providing apparatus provides the information obtaining apparatus via a communication line with target information regarding a recognition target existing around the current position,
The information providing device,
Information storage, provided corresponding to each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of parts in a predetermined manner, and storing target information on a recognition target existing in each divided area. A storage unit for storing a file,
A communication unit that communicates with the information acquisition device via the communication line,
And a control unit,
The control unit, from the information acquisition device, the latitude indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit included in the information acquisition device, the character string in which the fractional digits in the seconds in the second decimal place are truncated, the latitude, longitude When a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of an information storage file having a character string obtained by adding a predetermined extension to a character string obtained by arranging the file name is received through the communication unit, the transmission is performed. A reading step of reading out the information storage file having the file name specified by the request signal from the storage unit;
The control unit includes a transmitting step of transmitting the read information storage file to the information acquisition device via the communication unit.
Information provision method. An information providing method, wherein the information providing device provides the position acquiring information associated with the position information to the information acquiring device via a communication line,
The information providing device,
A plurality of pieces of information which are provided corresponding to a plurality of divided areas obtained by dividing a predetermined target area into a plurality of pieces in a predetermined manner, and store position correspondence information corresponding to position information belonging to each divided area. A storage unit for storing a storage file;
A communication unit that communicates with the information acquisition device via the communication line,
And a control unit,
The control unit, from the information acquisition device, the latitude indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit included in the information acquisition device, the character string in which the fractional digits in the seconds in the second decimal place are truncated, the latitude, longitude When a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of an information storage file having a character string obtained by adding a predetermined extension to a character string obtained by arranging the file name is received through the communication unit, the transmission is performed. A reading step of reading out the information storage file having the file name specified by the request signal from the storage unit;
The control unit includes a transmitting step of transmitting the read information storage file to the information acquisition device via the communication unit.
Information provision method.   A program for causing a computer to function as means for executing each step of the information providing method according to claim 16.

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