JP2021002235A - Estimation device, estimation method, estimation program, and system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an estimation device, method, program, and system for providing useful information on childcare.SOLUTION: An estimation device (information provision device 10), of a provision system, for estimating the emotional condition of an infant comprises an acquisition unit configured to acquire sound detected from the abdomen of the infant by a detection device WD (wearable device) attached to an article worn by the infant, and an estimation unit configured to estimate the emotional condition of the infant based on features of the sound acquired by the acquisition unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an estimation device, an estimation method, an estimation program and a system.

Conventionally, there is known a technique for estimating the state of an infant by using the biological information of the infant whose pronunciation cannot be maintained. As an example of such a technique, there is known a technique of installing a sensor on an absorbent article such as a diaper to detect whether or not an infant has excreted in the diaper.

JP-A-2019-37292

T Lindberg, Infantile Colic: aetiology and prognosis, Acta Paediatr, 89, 1-12, 2000 Nina F Steutel, Developing a core outcome set for infant colic for primary, secondary and tertiary care settings: a prospective study, BMJ Open, 2017 Sachiko Otawara In addition, "Introduction of forward leaning and abdominal exercises to persons with severe physical and mental disabilities who have weak intestinal peristalsis and repeat ileus", 48th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Physical Therapy Association, 2013 Intestinal Auscultation Experts 2017, vol33 (4), 112p

However, it may not be possible to say that the above-mentioned prior art can provide useful information on childcare.

For example, the technique described above merely detects whether or not the infant has excreted. For this reason, it is not possible to show the parent why the infant is crying, for example, when the infant is in a bad mood or when crying at night, except when the infant is excreting and crying. It cannot be said that the physical and mental burdens on parents can be reduced.

The present application has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present application is to make it possible to provide useful information regarding childcare.

The estimation device according to the present application is based on an acquisition unit that acquires a sound detected from the abdomen of the infant by a detection device attached to an article worn by the infant, and a feature of the sound acquired by the acquisition unit. It is characterized by having an estimation unit for estimating the emotional state of the infant.

According to one aspect of the embodiment, it is possible to provide useful information regarding childcare.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a provision system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a first diagram showing an example of the survey results. FIG. 3 is a second diagram showing an example of the survey results. FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of the shape of the wearable device WD according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the shape of the wearable device WD according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a mounting example of the wearable device according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the terminal device according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of information registered in the wearer database according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of information registered in the user database according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing executed by the information providing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of provided information provided by the information providing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration.

The description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings will clarify at least the following matters.

The emotional state of the infant is estimated based on the acquisition unit that acquires the sound detected from the abdomen of the infant by the detection device attached to the article worn by the infant and the characteristics of the sound acquired by the acquisition unit. An estimation device having an estimation unit.

In this way, the estimation device acquires the sound detected from the baby's abdomen from the detection device attached to the article worn by the baby. Here, the sound detected from the abdomen of the infant may include, for example, a sound emitted by the movement of the intestine of the infant (that is, an intestinal sound). As will be described later, the movement of the intestine of the infant is presumed to be related to the emotional state of the infant. Therefore, the estimation device estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the characteristics of the intestinal sound.

As a result of such processing, the estimator can estimate the emotional state of the infant, and thus provides the user with, for example, a notification that the infant is likely to cry or a notification that the infant is in a bad mood. can do. As a result, the estimation device can reduce the physical or mental burden associated with childcare of the user, and can provide useful information on childcare.

In addition, the estimation device acquires the sound generated when the infant's intestine is peristaltic, the sound generated during the phrase movement, or the sound generated during the pendulum movement, which is detected from the baby's abdomen. As a result of such processing, the estimator can estimate the emotional state of the infant from the state of intestinal movement of the infant.

Here, the estimation device may estimate the emotional state of the infant based on the number of acquired sounds having a predetermined characteristic. In addition, the estimation device may estimate the emotional state of the infant based on the frequency of the acquired sounds having a predetermined characteristic. In addition, the estimation device may estimate the emotional state of the infant based on the acquired sound type. As a result of such processing, the estimator can appropriately estimate the emotional state of the infant.

In addition, the estimation device estimates the intestinal peristaltic state of the infant based on the characteristics of the acquired sound, and estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the estimated peristaltic state. For example, the estimator estimates whether the peristaltic state is an elevated state, a decreased state, or a normal state, and estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the estimation result. Therefore, the estimation device can accurately estimate the emotional state of the infant.

In addition, the estimation device estimates whether or not the infant is in an emotional state in which it is easy to fall asleep as the emotional state of the infant. In addition, the estimation device estimates whether or not the infant is in an emotional state that makes it easy to cry at night as the emotional state of the infant. In this way, the estimation device estimates the emotional state of the infant, such as the emotion of falling asleep or the emotion of crying at night, so that it is possible to provide useful information regarding childcare.

In addition, the estimation device estimates the emotional state of the infant or the user who has a predetermined relationship with the infant regarding the quality of life as the emotional state of the infant. Therefore, the estimation device can provide information that improves the quality of the user.

In addition, the estimation device has a providing unit that provides information according to the estimated emotional state. Therefore, the estimation device can provide useful information for childcare.

In addition, the estimation device provides information indicating recommended behavior to a user who has a predetermined relationship with the infant, depending on the emotional state. Therefore, the estimation device can provide the user with what kind of action should be taken when the infant is crying, for example.

In addition, the estimation device may further acquire body temperature information indicating the body temperature of the infant detected by the detection device, and may further provide information according to the periodicity of the body temperature indicated by the body temperature information. In addition, the estimation device may further estimate the state of excretion of the infant based on the characteristics of the sound, and may further provide information according to the state of excretion estimated by the estimation unit. For example, the estimation device provides information indicating the bedtime of the infant specified based on the periodicity of the body temperature indicated by the body temperature information, or the wake-up time of the infant. Therefore, the estimation device can provide more useful information to the user.

In addition, the estimation device acquires the sound detected by the detection device attached so as to sandwich the end of the waistline among the absorbent articles worn by the infant. As a result, the estimation device can acquire the abdominal sound with less noise, so that the estimation accuracy of the emotional state of the infant can be improved.

Hereinafter, an example of an estimation device, an estimation method, an estimation program, and a mode for carrying out the system (hereinafter, referred to as “the embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the estimation device, estimation method, estimation program and system. Further, in the following embodiments, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

[Embodiment]
[1. About an example of the provided system]
First, an example of the provision system according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a provision system according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the providing system includes an information providing device 10 which is an example of an estimation device, and a terminal device 100 used by the user U. The providing system may have an arbitrary number of information providing devices 10 and terminal devices 100. Further, the information providing device 10 may execute a process described later with an arbitrary number of terminal devices 100.

The information providing device 10 is an information processing device that performs information processing described later, and is realized by, for example, a server device, a cloud system, or the like. For example, the information providing device 10 includes various mobile communication systems such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (Generation) including LET-Advanced, which is a kind of LET, and 5G, which will be standardized in the future, Wifi ( Communication is performed with the terminal device 100 via various wireless communication networks such as a registered trademark) or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or network N (for example, see FIG. 5) such as various wired communication networks.

The terminal device 100 is a terminal device used by the user U, is realized by a smart device such as a PC (Personal Computer), a server device, a smart television, a smartphone or a tablet, and is an information providing device via a network N. It is a portable terminal device capable of communicating with 10. Further, the terminal device 100 has a screen such as a liquid crystal display and has a touch panel function, and is distributed from the information providing device 10 such as tap operation, slide operation, scroll operation, etc. from the user with a finger, a stylus, or the like. It may have a function capable of accepting various operations on the content to be performed.

[1-1. About intestinal sounds of infants]
Here, in childcare, the emotional state of the infant is important. For example, when an infant is in a bad mood, night crying occurs. However, infants are unable to speak well. For this reason, when a night cry occurs, the user who raises the child becomes anxious and the mental burden increases. In addition, crying at night wakes up the sleeping user, which causes a physical burden.

In addition to the above-mentioned crying at night, it may not be possible to put the baby to sleep depending on the mood of the infant, such as when he is excited. In addition, when an infant cries, it is difficult to take appropriate measures unless the infant is in a good mood, such as whether he / she is in a bad mood or wants to excrete. Thus, the mood of the infant, that is, the emotional state, can be an important factor for childcare. In particular, for users who are raising children for the first time, it is difficult to estimate the mood from the condition of the infant, and it is estimated that the burden will increase.

On the other hand, it is known that the human intestine makes various movements and emits various sounds according to the movements (that is, "intestinal peristaltic sound", hereinafter collectively referred to as "intestinal sound"). ing. For example, the human intestine has a peristaltic movement to move the contents, a segmental movement to expand sales of the contents by changing the position of the constriction and bulge, and a contraction and relaxation in the long axis direction to move the contents. It is known to carry out a pendulum movement to expand sales (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 4). Due to these various exercises, the human intestine produces characteristic intestinal sounds such as "guru-guru" and "rumbling".

Here, it is considered that the emotional state of the human being changes due to the movement of the human intestine. Therefore, when the applicant investigated the relationship between the intestinal sound of the infant and the emotional state of the infant, he found that it may have a certain relationship.

For example, in such a survey, the number of night crying was inquired to the user, and the number of intestinal sounds such as "poco" or "gul" generated in the one-minute sound detected from the abdomen of the infant was counted. .. If the number of times the voice "poco" is generated is 5 times or less, the peristaltic state, which is the state of intestinal movement, is in the "decreased" state, and the number of times the voice "poco" is generated is 6 times or more. In some cases, the peristaltic state was "normal", and when the number of times the voice such as "poco" or "gul" was generated was 10 times or more, the peristaltic state was considered to be "enhanced". Then, the relationship between the peristaltic state and the number of night crying was investigated.

For example, FIG. 2 is a first diagram showing an example of the survey results. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal axis is the peristaltic state estimated from the intestinal sound, and the vertical axis is the number of night crying, and the relationship between the number of night crying and the peristaltic state of each infant is plotted. As shown in FIG. 2, it was found that the number of night crying tends to increase when the peristaltic state is in the "enhanced" state than when the peristaltic state is "normal" or "decreased".

Similarly, we inquired the users whether they were able to lie down smoothly and examined the peristaltic state. For example, FIG. 3 is a second diagram showing an example of the survey results. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal axis is the peristaltic state estimated from the intestinal sound, and the vertical axis is the evaluation value indicating whether the sleeping was smooth or difficult, and is between the evaluation value of the sleeping and the peristaltic state of each infant. Relationships were plotted. As shown in FIG. 3, it was found that when the peristaltic state was "normal" or "decreased", it was more difficult to put it to sleep than when it was in the "enhanced" state.

In this way, it can be seen that the number of night crying and the difficulty of sleeping can be related to the peristaltic state estimated from the intestinal sound. From the results of such investigations, the applicant came up with the idea of detecting sound from the infant's abdomen and estimating the emotional state of the infant based on the characteristics of the intestinal sound contained in the detected sound.

[1-2. About the outline of estimation processing]
Therefore, the information providing device 10 executes the following estimation process. First, the information providing device 10 acquires the sound detected from the abdomen of the infant detected by the detection device attached to the article worn by the infant. Then, the information providing device 10 estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the acquired characteristics of the sound.

Here, the emotional state of an infant need not be clearly distinguishable, such as "in a bad mood" or "hungry." More specifically, whether or not the information providing device 10 is an emotion that tends to cause a certain event in childcare, such as whether or not it is an emotion that makes it easy to cry at night and whether or not it is an emotion that makes it difficult to put to sleep. , It is sufficient to estimate whether or not the emotion is such that it is easy to hold an event. In other words, the information providing device 10 may estimate whether or not the emotional state of the infant is a state related to the presence or absence of various events in childcare and the progress of the events.

To give a more specific example, in the information providing device 10, the emotional state of the infant, such as whether or not the emotion is easy to excrete and whether or not the emotion is easy to show a pleasant pretense, is an arbitrary event. It may be estimated whether or not the condition is related to the presence or absence and progression of the disease.

As a result of such processing, the information providing device 10 can, for example, notify the user in advance that the infant is in a state where it is easy to cry at night or that it is in a state where it is difficult to put it to sleep. Therefore, the information providing device 10 can provide useful information for childcare that reduces the physical and mental burden on the user.

[1-3. About an example of estimation processing]
Hereinafter, an example of the estimation process will be described with reference to FIG. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the infant B1 is wearing the absorbent article D. Here, as the absorbent article D, any absorbent article can be adopted as long as it is an absorbent article used by infants, such as a tape-type diaper or a pants-type diaper worn by using a tape.

Here, the absorbent article D is equipped with a wearable device WD as a detection device for detecting the sound of the abdomen of the infant B1. For example, the wearable device WD is an article that can be attached to or detached from any absorbent article D, and is attached so as to sandwich the end of the waistline of the absorbent article D.

Hereinafter, an example of the wearable device WD will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of the shape of the wearable device WD according to the embodiment. For example, in the wearable device WD, as shown in FIG. 4, the head part P1, the connecting part P2, and the rear part P3 are integrally formed of a soft and flexible material such as silicone resin.

The head part P1 has an opening H1 smaller than the sensor S described later, and is configured to be able to hold the sensor S described later through the opening H1. Further, magnets M1 and M2 arranged so that the magnetic poles with respect to the front surface are inverted are enclosed in the head part P1 and the rear part P3. Therefore, the wearable device WD can be fixed to the object by bending the connection portion part P2 and sandwiching a part of an arbitrary object between the head part P1 and the rear part P3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the shape of the wearable device WD according to the embodiment. Note that FIG. 5 shows an example of a cross-sectional view when the wearable device WD is cut along the line AA shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the head part P1 of the wearable device WD is enclosed with a sensor S for measuring the voice of the abdomen of the infant through the opening H1. For example, the sensor S has a main body made of various resins or metals, and is equipped with various microphones and various circuits for performing short-range wireless communication such as NFC (Near field communication). The sensor S may be waterproof, and may be provided with a circuit for wireless power supply or a circuit or terminal for wired power supply. Such a sensor S is enclosed in the head part P1 of the wearable device WD through the opening H1.

Here, the opening H1 is provided so as to face the body side of the infant B1 when the connection part P2 of the wearable device WD is bent. For example, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of wearing a wearable device according to an embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, by bending the wearable device WD so as to sandwich the end of the absorbent article D between the magnets M1 and M2, the wearable device WD is absorbed by the electromagnetic EM generated by the magnets M1 and M2. It can be fixed to D. At this time, the head part P1 in which the sensor S is enclosed is arranged so as to come into contact with the body (for example, around the abdomen and flanks) of the infant B1 wearing the absorbent article D. As a result of such an arrangement, the wearable device WD can appropriately measure the abdominal voice of the infant B1. The main body of the wearable device WD may or may not be hollow.

The configuration of the wearable device WD shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is merely an example. For example, the wearable device WD may have a clip-like shape made of plastic. Further, for example, in the wearable device WD, a microphone is mounted in a range where the microphone is in contact with the infant B1 when worn (for example, the head part P1), and an NFC or the like is placed in a range where the microphone is not in contact with the infant B1 (for example, the rear part P3). It may be equipped with other functions. Further, the wearable device WD (or a sound collecting device such as a microphone) may be embedded in a portion of the absorbent article D such as a diaper that comes into contact with the abdomen of an infant.

Returning to FIG. 1, the explanation will be continued. Such a wearable device WD acquires the voice of the abdomen of the infant B1 (step S1). For example, the wearable device WD acquires the voice of the abdomen of the infant B1 at a predetermined time interval (for example, in units of several hours) for a predetermined time sentence (for example, for one minute). Then, the wearable device WD holds the voice information indicating the acquired voice in the storage device in the own device.

Then, the wearable device WD provides voice information to the terminal device 101 used by the user U (step S2). For example, the wearable device WD transmits the held voice information and body temperature information to the terminal device 100 via short-range wireless communication or the like.

In such a case, the terminal device 100 transmits the voice information to the information providing device 10 (step S3). In such a case, the information providing device 10 acquires the intestinal sound included in the voice information (step S4). Then, the information providing device 10 estimates the emotional state of the infant B1 from the characteristics of the intestinal sound (step S5). For example, the information providing device 10 estimates whether or not the emotional state of the infant B1 is a state in which it is easy to fall asleep. Then, the information providing device 10 provides the information indicating the estimated state to the terminal device 100 (step S6).

In this way, the information providing device 10 estimates the emotional state of the infant B1 from the sound detected by the detection device attached to the absorbent article worn by the infant B1. As a result of such processing, the information providing device 10 can reduce the physical or mental burden on the user U regarding childcare, and thus can structure the quality of life.

[1-4. About wearable device WD]
In addition, the information providing device 10 shall acquire not only the audio information indicating the sound detected by the wearable device WD but also the body temperature information indicating the body temperature of the infant detected by the wearable device WD. For example, the wearable device WD has a sensor S provided with a body temperature sensor that acquires sound and measures the body temperature of an infant, and outputs voice information indicating the detected sound and body temperature information indicating the detected body temperature to a terminal. It may be transmitted to the information providing device 10 via the device 100.

Further, the wearable device WD may have an acceleration sensor capable of detecting acceleration in each axial direction, and may output body movement information indicating the body movement of the infant. Such body movement information can be used to estimate various events related to infants, such as whether or not the infant is moving or sleeping.

[2. About an example of functional configuration]
Hereinafter, an example of the functional configuration for realizing the above-mentioned selection process will be described. In the following description, the outline of the functional configuration of the information providing device 10 will be described, and then an example of the processing exhibited by the functional configuration of the information providing device 10 will be described. In the following description, an example of processing when voice information and body temperature information are acquired from the wearable device WD will be described.

[2-1. Outline of the functional configuration of the terminal device 100]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the terminal device according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the information providing device 10 includes a communication unit 20, a storage unit 30, and a control unit 40.

The communication unit 20 is connected to the network N by wire or wirelessly, and transmits / receives information to / from the terminal device 100. For example, the communication unit 20 is realized by a communication circuit or the like.

The storage unit 30 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory (Flash Memory), or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk, and various data for executing output processing are registered. Will be done. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, the wearer database 31, the user database 32, and the model database 33 are registered in the storage unit 30.

Information about a wearer (that is, an infant) who wears the absorbent article D is registered in the wearer database 31. That is, the information of the user who is the target of estimating the emotional state is registered in the wearer database 31. For example, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of information registered in the wearer database according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the wearer ID (Identifier), the corresponding person ID, the feature information, the estimation result, and the sensor information are registered in the wearer database 31 in association with each other. Here, in the wearer database 31, information having items such as date and time, body temperature information (temperature), and voice information is registered as sensor information. In addition to the information shown in FIG. 8, various sensor data acquired from the wearer and information about the wearer may be registered in the wearer database 31.

Here, the "wearer ID" is an identifier for identifying the wearer. Further, the "correspondent ID" is an identifier for identifying a user who performs various actions toward the wearer, such as exchanging an absorbent article, and is, for example, a user ID described later. Further, the "characteristic information" is information indicating the characteristics of the intestinal sound included in the voice information, and is, for example, information indicating the peristaltic state of the intestine indicated by the intestinal sound. The "estimated result" is information indicating the emotional state of the infant estimated from the intestinal sound by the estimation process.

The "date and time" is information indicating the date and time when the body temperature indicated by the body temperature information and the voice indicated by the voice information are detected, and is, for example, information indicating the detection date and time. Further, the "body temperature information" is information indicating the wearer's body temperature (for example, Mr. Celsius) detected by the sensor S. Further, the "voice information" is information indicating the sound of the abdomen of the infant detected by the sensor S.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 8, the wearer database 31 corresponds to the wearer ID “UID # 1”, the corresponding person ID “U # 1”, the characteristic information “enhancement”, and the estimation result “night crying: many”. It is registered with. Such information is detected from the abdomen of the wearer because the user who performs various actions toward the wearer indicated by the wearer ID "UID # 1" is the user indicated by the corresponding person ID "U # 1". The characteristic of the sound, for example, the intestinal state that can be estimated from the characteristic of the intestinal sound is "enhancement", and the estimated emotional state is the emotional state that "crying at night" becomes "more". Indicates that there is.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 8, in the wearer database 31, the date and time “2019/05/01/10: 15: 25” and the body temperature information “37.2” are displayed for the wearer ID “UID # 1”. The voice information "voice # 1-1" is registered in association with each other. Such information is obtained when the body temperature measured at 10:15:25 on May 01, 2019 of the wearer indicated by the wearer ID "UID # 1" is "37.2" degrees. Indicates that the sound of is "voice # 1-1".

In the example shown in FIG. 8, conceptual information such as "audio # 1-1" is shown, but in reality, various PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) modulated sound data and lossy compressed audio are shown. Various audio data obtained by converting the sound detected by the sensor S in the format or the lossy compressed audio format will be registered.

In the user database 32, information on users who perform various actions on the wearer is registered. For example, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of information registered in the user database according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, information such as a user ID, terminal information, and related information is registered in the user database 32. In addition to the information shown in FIG. 9, arbitrary information about the user who performs various actions with respect to the wearer may be registered in the user database 32.

Here, the "user ID" is an identifier for identifying the user. Further, the "terminal information" is information for identifying the terminal device 100 used by the user indicated by the associated user ID. Further, the "relationship information" is information indicating the relationship between the user indicated by the associated user ID and the wearer indicated by the wearer ID associated with the user ID.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9, information such as the user ID "U # 1", the terminal information "T # 1", and the related information "mother" are registered in the user database 32 in association with each other. Such information indicates that the user indicated by the user ID "U # 1" is using the terminal device 100 indicated by the terminal information "T # 1". Further, such information is indicated by the wearer ID "UID # 1" in which the user indicated by the user ID "U # 1" is associated with the user ID "U # 1" in the wearer database 31. Indicates that the wearer is the "mother".

In the model database 33, a model for estimating the emotional state of the infant is registered from the sound detected from the abdomen of the infant. For example, in the model database 33, when voice data of a sound detected from the abdomen of an infant who often cries at night is input, a model trained to output information indicating that there is a lot of night crying is registered. .. Assuming that various parameters constituting the model are registered in the model database 33, the illustration will be omitted.

Any type of model can be adopted as such a model. For example, the information providing device 10 may adopt an SVM (Support Vector Machine) or a DNN (Deep Neural Network) as a model. Here, the DNN may be a CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) or an RNN (Recurrent Neural Network). Further, the RNN may be an LSTM (Long short-term memory) or the like. Further, the model may be realized by combining a plurality of models such as a model in which a CNN and an RNN are combined. An example of such a model learning method will be described later. When estimating or predicting the emotions of infants such as those who often cry at night using such a learning model, it is advisable to accept input from the user as to whether the estimation or prediction is correct or incorrect. As a result, the learning model can be updated using the input correctness.

Returning to FIG. 7, the description will be continued. The control unit 40 is, for example, an arithmetic processing device for executing various processes, and is, for example, a predetermined storage device (for example, a storage unit 30) by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or the like. It is realized by executing various programs (corresponding to an example of an output program) stored in the RAM with the RAM as a work area. Further, the control unit 80 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 40 includes an acquisition unit 41, an estimation unit 42, a specific unit 43, a provision unit 44, and a learning unit 45, and executes information processing described below.

[2-2. Information processing]
Hereinafter, an example of information processing executed by the control unit 40 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing executed by the information providing device according to the embodiment.

For example, the acquisition unit 41 determines whether or not the processing timing is predetermined (step S101). For example, when the acquisition unit 41 receives various sensor information such as voice information and body temperature information from the terminal device 100, it determines that it is the processing timing. Then, if the acquisition timing is not the predetermined processing timing (step S101: No), the acquisition unit 41 waits until the predetermined processing timing. Then, when the processing timing is predetermined (step S101: Yes), the acquisition unit 41 acquires voice information and body temperature information from the terminal device 100 (step S102).

Here, the acquisition unit 41 acquires voice information indicating the voice of the abdomen of the infant detected by the detection device attached to the article worn by the infant and body temperature information indicating the body temperature of the infant. For example, the acquisition unit 41 acquires voice information and body temperature information from the wearable device WD attached so as to sandwich the end of the waist circumference of the absorbent article D. As a result, the acquisition unit 41 acquires various intestinal sounds such as a sound generated when the intestine of an infant makes a peristaltic movement, a sound generated when a phrase movement occurs, a sound generated when a pendulum movement occurs, and the like. Then, the acquisition unit 41 registers the acquired sensor information in the wearer database 31.

The estimation unit 42 identifies the characteristics of the intestinal sound included in the voice information (step S103). Then, the estimation unit 42 estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the characteristics of the intestinal sound (step S104). For example, the estimation unit 42 estimates the peristaltic state of the intestine of the infant based on the characteristics of the acquired sound, and estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the estimated peristaltic state. More specifically, the estimation unit 42 estimates whether the peristaltic state is an increased state, a decreased state, or a normal state based on the intestinal sound, and based on the estimation result, whether or not it is easy to fall asleep and crying at night. Estimate the emotional state of the infant, such as whether it is easy or not.

For example, the estimation unit 42 estimates the emotional state of an infant based on the number of sounds having a predetermined characteristic. To give a more specific example, the estimation unit 42 uses various voice recognition techniques from the voice indicated by each voice information registered in the wearer database 31, and uses various voice recognition techniques to make a voice such as "poco" or a voice such as "guru". Is extracted, and the number of times the extracted voice, that is, the voice having a predetermined feature is counted. Subsequently, the estimation unit 42 identifies whether the intestinal condition of the infant is "enhanced", "normal", or "decreased" based on the number of times of each voice. Then, the estimation unit 42 estimates from the specified intestinal state whether the emotional state of the infant is a state in which night crying is reduced or a state in which night crying is increased. After that, the estimation unit 42 registers the information indicating the state of the intestine as characteristic information in the wearer database 31 together with the estimation result.

In addition to the above-mentioned estimation method, the estimation unit 42 may estimate the emotional state of the infant based on any condition. For example, the estimation unit 42 may estimate the emotional state of the infant based on the frequency of sounds having predetermined characteristics. For example, the estimation unit 42 identifies a sound having a predetermined characteristic among the intestinal sounds, and calculates the number of times the specified sound is generated within a predetermined period (for example, 1 minute) as a frequency. , It may be estimated whether the infant is in a state of increasing crying at night according to the calculated frequency.

In addition, the estimation unit 42 may estimate the emotional state of the infant based on the acquired sound type. For example, the estimation unit 42 individually counts the number of times a sound such as "poco" is generated and the number of times a sound such as "guru" is generated, and the emotional feeling of the infant is determined according to the number of times each sound is counted. The state may be estimated. Further, for example, the estimation unit 42 estimates that if there is a lot of "poco" sounds, it means that there are many night crying, and if there are many "guru" sounds, it means that it is difficult to fall asleep. Different states may be estimated depending on the type of.

It is presumed that the intestinal sound indicates not only the emotional state of the infant but also the state of excretion of the infant. For example, similar to the emotional state described above, the relationship between the peristaltic state of the intestine estimated from the intestinal sound (ie, normal, diminished, or hyperactive) and the amount of bowel movements was investigated. It was found that the amount of excrement tends to be larger when the peristaltic state is increased than when the peristaltic state is normal or decreased. Therefore, the estimation unit 42 may further estimate the state related to excretion such as whether or not there is a large amount of excrement from the characteristics of the intestinal sound.

The estimation unit 42 estimates not only the amount of excrement but also the state of excrement (for example, whether it is hard stool or loose stool) and the time zone for excretion as the state related to excretion. May be good. For example, when the estimation unit 42 detects an intestinal sound having a predetermined characteristic based on the relationship between the characteristic of the intestinal sound of each infant specified in advance and the time zone during which the infant excreted. May estimate the time zone corresponding to the detected intestinal sound as the time zone for excretion.

The various estimations described above may be realized on a rule basis or by processing using various models. For example, the information providing device 10 collects information indicating the abdominal sound detected from each infant, the amount of night crying and the ease of falling asleep, the time zone of defecation, the mode of defecation, and the like. Then, the information providing device 10 uses various pattern recognition techniques to identify a pattern between the intestinal sound and the emotional state or excretion-related state of the infant, and based on the specified pattern, a rule base. Then, the above-mentioned estimation may be performed.

For example, the information providing device 10 reads from the model database 33 a model that has been trained so as to output information indicating an emotional state or a state related to excretion from the sound of the abdomen by a learning process described later. Then, the estimation unit 42 may input the information output by the model as various estimation results by inputting the intestinal sound detected in the model. After that, the estimation unit 42 will register the estimation result in the wearer database 31.

Here, in order to promote the growth of infants, it is considered effective to maintain the sleep rhythm of infants. For this reason, if an appropriate time zone for the infant to fall asleep is detected and the detected information is provided to the user, it is considered that the infant's sleep with an appropriate rhythm can be promoted and the infant's development can be promoted. Be done. Therefore, the specific unit 43 specifies an appropriate time for falling asleep, which is an appropriate time zone for falling asleep, from the periodicity of body temperature (step S105).

For example, when an infant falls asleep, it is estimated that the infant's body movement decreases, the body temperature of the infant gradually rises toward falling asleep, and the body temperature gradually decreases after falling asleep. In addition, infants are generally considered to be sleeping at night. Therefore, the specific unit 43 specifies the sleep pattern of the infant and the appropriate time to fall asleep based on the periodicity of the body temperature indicated by the body temperature information and the maximum value of the body temperature.

For example, the identification unit 43 specifies the fluctuation cycle of the body temperature indicated by the body temperature information every 24 hours. Then, the specific unit 43 determines that the infant has fallen asleep at the timing when the maximum value of the body temperature at night is measured. In addition, the specific unit 43 may determine that the infant has woken up at the timing when the rate of increase in body temperature in the morning exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Then, the specific unit 43 identifies the sleeping pattern of the infant from the average bedtime and the wake-up time.

In addition, the specific unit 43 specifies the pattern of the time zone in which the infant fell asleep as the appropriate time for falling asleep. For example, the specific unit 43 may determine from the periodicity and the maximum value of the body temperature that a predetermined time before the timing at which the maximum value is reached is the appropriate time for falling asleep. That is, the specific unit 43 may specify an appropriate time zone as the timing for putting the infant to sleep from the periodicity and the maximum value of the body temperature.

In addition, the specific unit 43 may determine the sleep of the infant in consideration of the body movement of the infant. For example, the specific unit 43 determines that the infant has fallen asleep at the timing when the maximum value of the body temperature is measured in the periodicity of the body temperature indicated by the body temperature information and the body movement indicated by the body movement information becomes equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. You may. Further, if the body movement exceeds a predetermined threshold value at the time determined to be the appropriate time for falling asleep, it may be determined to provide a notification or information for promoting falling asleep. That is, the specific unit 43 determines that the appropriate sleep onset has not been performed when the body movement indicated by the body movement information satisfies a predetermined condition at the appropriate sleep onset time determined from the periodicity of the body temperature and the maximum value. May be good. Further, the specific unit 43 may specify the pattern of the time zone in which the infant wakes up (wake-up pattern) and the appropriate wake-up time, which is the appropriate time zone for waking up, as in the case of the appropriate time for falling asleep.

The providing unit 44 provides providing information according to the estimated emotional state and the appropriate time to fall asleep (step S106). For example, the providing unit 44 may provide information indicating recommended behavior to a user having a predetermined relationship with the infant, depending on the emotional state. For example, the donor 44 may notify the user to refrain from breastfeeding if the presumed cause of the emotional state is presumed to be overfeeding. Further, when it is presumed that it is difficult to go to bed, the providing unit 44 may provide web contents indicating music, lighting mode, etc. that facilitate sleep introduction.

In addition, the providing unit 44 may provide information that visually indicates a bedtime pattern, an appropriate time to fall asleep, an appropriate time to wake up, and the like, or may use information according to an estimated excretion state as the providing information. For example, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of provided information provided by the information providing device according to the embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the providing unit 44 allows the infant to wake up in a time zone suitable for waking up or to wake up based on the sleeping pattern, the appropriate time to fall asleep, the appropriate time to wake up, etc. specified by the specific unit 43. Providing information C10 indicating a highly sexual time zone (that is, wake-up timing), a time zone suitable for the infant to fall asleep, and a time zone in which the infant is likely to go to bed (that is, bedtime timing) is generated. Further, for example, when the estimation unit 42 estimates that the infant's emotional state is "likely to cry at night", the providing unit 44 may display an icon indicating that the infant is likely to "cry at night" as a night crying forecast. The provided information C10 indicating the text is generated. In addition, when the estimation unit 42 estimates that the emotional state of the infant is "it seems to be difficult to sleep", an icon or text indicating that "it seems to take time to sleep" as a night crying forecast. The provided information C10 indicating the above is generated.

Further, the providing unit 44 generates the providing information C10 indicating that excretion may be performed in the “morning” when the excretion time zone estimated by the estimating unit 42 is “morning”. In addition to the information shown in FIG. 11, the providing unit 44 may provide information indicating various excretion-related states such as whether the stool is loose or hard, and the amount of excretion. In addition, the providing unit 44 may provide information on the absorbent article corresponding to such a state related to excretion. For example, when the excrement of an infant is likely to become loose stool, the providing unit 44 may provide information promoting the use of an absorbent article having a function of preventing leakage of loose stool as providing information C10.

Subsequently, the learning process executed by the learning unit 45 will be described. For example, the learning unit 45 acquires the voice of the abdomen of each infant and sends a questionnaire requesting the input of the state to be estimated via the terminal device used by the parent of each infant. Then, the learning unit 45 accepts inputs such as whether or not there was a lot of crying at night, whether or not it was difficult to go to bed, the time zone of defecation, and various states related to defecation. In addition to these, the learning unit 45 may accept input of information indicating the emotional state of the infant to be estimated. For example, the learning unit 45 accepts inputs such as whether or not various infants have performed predetermined actions and whether or not they disliked food, such as whether or not they disliked food, whether or not they disliked hugging, and whether or not they threw things.

Then, when the learning unit 45 inputs the voice of the abdomen of a certain infant, the learning unit 45 learns the model so as to output the information indicating the behavior of receiving the input from the parent. Learn a model that estimates whether or not you are in the mood to perform a certain behavior and whether or not you are in the mood to dislike a predetermined behavior. For learning such a model, various arbitrary learning methods such as backpropagation can be adopted.

The learning unit 45 may input arbitrary information according to the voice of the abdomen of the infant. For example, the learning unit 45 may input an intestinal sound extracted from the abdomen of an infant, or may input only a sound having a predetermined characteristic among the intestinal sounds. In addition, the learning unit 45 may input the number of times, frequency, type, and the like of sounds having predetermined characteristics, and may input information indicating the peristaltic state of the intestine estimated from these. By inputting such information, the learning unit 45 estimates from the above-mentioned various sounds and information based on the sounds whether or not the infant is an emotion that performs a predetermined action, the state of excretion, and the like. You can train the model. Then, the learning unit 45 registers the trained model in the model database 33.

[3. About processing variations]
Hereinafter, variations of the above-mentioned processing will be described. The output processes described below may be performed individually or in any combination.

[3-1. About processing considering parent's QOL]
As described above, the sound of the infant's abdomen can be said to be useful information for estimating the emotional state of the infant and the state related to excretion. Here, when the emotional state of the infant or the state related to excretion is presumed, it is considered that the infant's behavior can be appropriately dealt with and the quality of life of the infant can be improved. Furthermore, such estimation results are considered to be able to reduce the burden of caring for infants and thus improve the quality of life of the caring relatives.

Therefore, the information providing device 10 may estimate the emotional state regarding the quality of life of the infant or the user who has a predetermined relationship with the infant. For example, when the information providing device 10 inputs the sound of the abdomen of the infant, the information providing device 10 learns the model so as to output a score indicating the quality of life of the infant or the parent thereafter. It is also possible to estimate various emotional states of an infant related to the quality of life based on the fluctuation of the score output when the sound of the abdomen of an infant is input. For example, when the score indicating the quality of life is continuously decreasing, the information providing device 10 continuously provides a message such as "Let's review the response to the baby" to continuously improve the score. The user may be guided to review the response to the baby so as to improve.

[3-2. About the executing subject]
In the above description, the terminal device 100 acquires the sensor information detected by the wearable device WD, the information providing device 10 acquires the sensor information from the terminal device 100, and the information providing device 10 performs various processes. The above-mentioned estimation process has been realized. However, the embodiments are not limited to this.

For example, all or part of the various processes executed by the information providing device 10 described above may be executed on the terminal device 100 side. For example, the terminal device 100 has an acquisition unit 41, an estimation unit 42, a specific unit 43, and a providing unit 44 shown in FIG. 7, and is obtained from sensor information acquired from the wearable device WD via short-range wireless communication. Emotional state estimates may be made. Further, the terminal device 100 may register various information in a storage device in its own device, or may be registered in a storage area on various networks such as a cloud server, for example.

[3-3. Applicable target]
In the above example, the information providing device 10 estimates the emotional state of the infant from the sensor information detected by the wearable device WD attached to the absorbent article worn by the infant, but the embodiment is limited to this. It is not something that is done. For example, the information providing device 10 estimates the emotional state of the long-term care recipient by using the sensor information detected by the absorbent article worn by the long-term care recipient or the wearable device WD attached to the clothes. You may go.

[3-4. Others]
Of the above-mentioned processes, all or a part of the processes described as being automatically performed may be performed manually. In addition, all or part of the processing described as being performed manually may be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, the processing procedure, specific name, and information including various data and parameters shown in the above document and drawings can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified. For example, the various information shown in each figure is not limited to the illustrated information.

Further, each component of each of the illustrated devices is a functional concept, and does not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown in the figure. That is, the specific form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to the one shown in the figure. In addition, each component may be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in any unit according to various loads, usage conditions, etc., in whole or in part thereof. In addition, the above-mentioned processes may be appropriately combined and executed within a consistent range.

[4. Hardware configuration]
Further, the information providing device 10 according to the above-described embodiment is realized by, for example, a computer 1000 having a configuration as shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration. The computer 1000 is connected to the output device 1010 and the input device 1020, and the arithmetic unit 1030, the cache (primary storage device) 1040, the memory (secondary storage device) 1050, the output IF (Interface) 1060, the input IF 1070, and the network IF 1080 are bused. Connected by 1090.

The arithmetic unit 1030 operates based on a program stored in the cache 1040 or the memory 1050, a program read from the input device 1020, or the like, and executes various processes. The cache 1040 is a cache that temporarily stores data used by the arithmetic unit 1030 for various operations such as RAM. Further, the memory 1050 is a storage device in which data used by the arithmetic unit 1030 for various operations and various databases are registered, and is realized by a ROM (Read Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory, or the like. Memory.

The output IF 1060 is an interface for transmitting information to be output to an output device 1010 that outputs various information such as a monitor and a printer. For example, USB (Universal Serial Bus), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), and the like. It may be realized by a connector of a standard such as HDMI (registered trademark) (High Definition Multimedia Interface). On the other hand, the input IF 1070 is an interface for receiving information from various input devices 1020 such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a scanner, and is realized by, for example, USB.

For example, the input device 1020 includes an optical recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a PD (Phase change rewritable Disk), a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MO (Magneto-Optical disk), and a tape medium. It may be realized by a device that reads information from a magnetic recording medium, a semiconductor memory, or the like. Further, the input device 1020 may be realized by an external storage medium such as a USB memory.

The network IF 1080 has a function of receiving data from another device via the network N and sending the data to the arithmetic unit 1030, and transmitting the data generated by the arithmetic unit 1030 to the other device via the network N.

Here, the arithmetic unit 1030 controls the output device 1010 and the input device 1020 via the output IF 1060 and the input IF 1070. For example, the arithmetic unit 1030 loads a program from the input device 1020 or the memory 1050 onto the cache 1040, and executes the loaded program. For example, when the computer 1000 functions as the information providing device 10, the arithmetic unit 1030 of the computer 1000 realizes the function of the control unit 140 by executing the program loaded on the cache 1040. When the computer 1000 functions as the terminal device 100, the computing device 1030 of the computer 1000 acquires various sensor information from the wearable device WD by executing a program (application) loaded on the cache 1040. A function to realize a function of transmitting sensor information to a computer functioning as an information providing device 10, and a function of displaying various provided information such as an estimation result of an infant's emotional state provided by the information providing device 10 on the screen. Will be realized.

That is, the application system includes a program mounted on various information processing devices such as the information providing device 10 and an application mounted on the terminal device 100. An application mounted on such a terminal device 100 includes an acquisition procedure for acquiring a sound detected from the abdomen of an infant by a detection device (for example, a wearable device WD) attached to an article worn by the infant, and an information processing device. The terminal device 100 is made to execute an output procedure for outputting the estimation result of the emotional state of the infant transmitted from the terminal device 100. Further, the program mounted on such an information processing device causes the information processing device to execute an estimation procedure for estimating the emotional state of the infant based on the characteristics of the sound acquired by the terminal device 100. Become.

[5. effect〕
As described above, the information providing device 10 estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the sound of the infant's abdomen detected by the detection device attached to the article worn by the infant. For example, the information providing device 10 is an emotional state of an infant, such as whether it is easy to cry at night or fall asleep, based on the characteristics of intestinal sounds, the type, number, frequency, etc. of characteristic sounds. Estimate whether it is easy to take various actions.

When the result of such estimation processing is provided to the user who cares for the infant, the user can prepare and provide various responses in advance based on the emotional state of the infant. It can reduce the physical and emotional burden and improve the quality of life. Therefore, the information providing device 10 can provide useful information regarding childcare.

The embodiments of the present application have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, these are examples, and the embodiments of the present application are implemented in other embodiments that have been modified or improved in various ways based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the embodiments described in the disclosure column of the invention. Is possible. Further, the above-mentioned "section, module, unit" can be read as "means" or "circuit".

10 Information providing device 20 Communication unit 30 Storage unit 31 Wearer database 32 User database 33 Model database 40 Control unit 41 Acquisition unit 42 Estimating unit 43 Specific unit 44 Providing unit 45 Learning unit 100 Terminal device WD wearable device

Claims (20)

An acquisition unit that acquires the sound detected from the abdomen of the infant by a detection device attached to the article worn by the infant,
An estimation device including an estimation unit that estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the characteristics of the sound acquired by the acquisition unit. The acquisition unit is characterized in that it acquires a sound detected from the abdomen of the infant when the intestine of the infant makes a peristaltic movement, a sound generated when a phrase movement occurs, or a sound generated when a pendulum movement occurs. The estimation device according to claim 1. The first or second aspect of the present invention, wherein the estimation unit estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the number of sounds having a predetermined feature among the sounds acquired by the acquisition unit. Estimator. Of claims 1 to 3, the estimation unit estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the frequency of sounds having a predetermined feature among the sounds acquired by the acquisition unit. The estimation device according to any one. The estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the estimation unit estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the type of sound acquired by the acquisition unit. .. The estimation unit estimates the intestinal peristaltic state of the infant based on the characteristics of the sound acquired by the acquisition unit, and estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the estimated peristaltic state. The estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The claim is characterized in that the estimation unit estimates whether the peristaltic state is an enhanced state, a decreased state, or a normal state, and estimates the emotional state of the infant based on the estimation result. The estimation device according to 6. The estimation according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the estimation unit estimates whether or not the infant is in an emotional state in which the infant is likely to fall asleep as the emotional state of the infant. apparatus. The estimation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the estimation unit estimates whether or not the infant is in an emotional state in which the infant is likely to cry at night as the emotional state of the infant. Estimator. The estimation unit is characterized in that, as the emotional state of the infant, the emotional state regarding the quality of life of the infant or a user having a predetermined relationship with the infant is estimated. The estimation device according to any one of them. The estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a providing unit that provides information according to an emotional state estimated by the estimation unit. The estimation according to claim 11, wherein the providing unit provides information indicating a recommended behavior to a user having a predetermined relationship with the infant according to the emotional state. apparatus. The acquisition unit further acquires body temperature information indicating the body temperature of the infant detected by the detection device.
The estimation device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the providing unit further provides information according to the periodicity of the body temperature indicated by the body temperature information. 13. The thirteenth aspect of the present invention, wherein the providing unit provides information indicating the bedtime of the infant or the wake-up time of the infant specified based on the periodicity of the body temperature indicated by the body temperature information. Estimator. The estimation unit further estimates the state of excretion of the infant based on the characteristics of the sound.
The estimation device according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the providing unit further provides information according to a state regarding excretion estimated by the estimation unit. The estimation unit estimates the time zone during which the infant excretes based on the state of excretion of the infant.
The estimation device according to claim 15, wherein the providing unit provides information indicating a time zone estimated by the estimation unit. The acquisition unit is any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the acquisition unit acquires a sound detected by a detection device attached so as to sandwich the end of the waist circumference among the absorbent articles worn by the infant. The estimation device according to one. The estimation method performed by the estimation device
The acquisition process of acquiring the sound detected from the abdomen of the infant by the detection device attached to the article worn by the infant, and
An estimation method comprising an estimation step of estimating the emotional state of the infant based on the characteristics of the sound acquired by the acquisition step. The acquisition procedure for acquiring the sound detected from the abdomen of the infant by the detection device attached to the article worn by the infant, and the acquisition procedure.
An estimation program for causing a computer to perform an estimation procedure for estimating the emotional state of an infant based on the characteristics of the sound acquired by the acquisition procedure. A system that includes a program installed in an information processing device and an application installed in a terminal device.
The application
The acquisition procedure for acquiring the sound detected from the abdomen of the infant by the detection device attached to the article worn by the infant, and the acquisition procedure.
An output procedure for outputting the estimation result of the emotional state of the infant transmitted from the information processing device, and
Is executed by the terminal device,
The program is a system characterized in that the information processing device executes an estimation procedure for estimating an emotional state of the infant based on the characteristics of the sound acquired by the terminal device.

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