JP4625058B2 - Virtual space broadcasting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for remotely obtaining image information in a virtual space on a network. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a program for using a portable information terminal to obtain information about an image captured by a user in a virtual space and user behavior information in the virtual space.

  In recent years, a virtual space has been constructed on the Internet, and various services that are similar to the real world space or that make use of the unique characteristics of the virtual space have begun to be provided (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

  The virtual space shown in Non-Patent Document 1 is a permanent 3D online space created and developed by users, the ability to design and sell 3D content, land and micro currency (exchanged for real cash) Combined with the ability to own and develop), you can build a real business in virtual space.

  In such a virtual space, it is important to acquire information in the user's virtual space or to communicate between users. For example, in the virtual space, the user obtains information in the virtual space and acts in the same manner as in the real world. Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which users of each terminal share the same virtual space via the Internet and can exchange information such as text chat and voice conversation between users. Has been. In addition, it is disclosed that in a virtual space, a user communicates with other users using an avatar that is his or her own character, and this avatar can edit the appearance and the like by the user himself (see, for example, Patent Document 2). ).

Translated by Rimmaru Nakagawa, Second Life Official Guide, Impress R & D Edition, May 2007 JP 2001-154966 A JP-A-9-244845

  However, the method described in the above document has a feature that the virtual space itself is constructed using advanced computer graphics in order for the user to obtain various information in the virtual space. Therefore, it is necessary to use a personal computer having a high-performance 3D graphics function such as a game device, and there is a problem that an operation performed by a user in a virtual space can be performed only by an indoor personal computer. It was.

  At present, portable information terminals such as mobile phones, PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) are rapidly spreading and are indispensable in daily life. The exchange of information with a personal computer at home using these portable information terminals has been widely performed. Therefore, if a virtual space can be used while maintaining continuity in both a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone and a personal computer at home or the like, the user can use the virtual space more widely without being restricted as described above. You can enjoy the service through.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention prevents the user's action range in the real space from being constrained to the vicinity of an indoor personal computer or the like, and the content of the virtual space is changed to a virtual space in a mobile environment such as a mobile phone. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means that allows a user to use a virtual space service at a time when the user is free, such as traveling on a train, by browsing image information inside. Further, in order to further accelerate the service through the virtual space, the user changes the use means from a personal computer or the like to a portable information terminal, and conversely, from the portable information terminal to the personal computer or the like, to the same virtual space. An object of the present invention is to provide a virtual space access means in a mobile environment that can maintain the continuity of access.

  The present invention provides the following solutions.

(1) A virtual space broadcasting device that transmits a captured image in a virtual space using a computer network,
An instruction receiving unit that receives a user instruction from the portable information terminal;
An avatar automatic movement control unit for moving an avatar, which is a substitute of the user in the virtual space, according to a predetermined action pattern in the virtual space;
A camera position determination unit that arranges a plurality of cameras for acquiring images of arbitrary points in the virtual space at a plurality of positions in the virtual space according to the user's instruction;
An action image generation unit that acquires images taken by the plurality of cameras and creates an action video file as an action record of the user's avatar;
A broadcast distribution unit for transmitting the behavior video file;
A virtual space broadcasting device comprising:

  According to such a configuration, by using the virtual space broadcasting apparatus of the present invention, the user can remotely access the virtual space service from the portable information terminal and give an instruction to the avatar that is the user's alternation. When an avatar given a command acts, an image from an arbitrary position in the virtual space is taken by a plurality of cameras. An action moving image file is created as a user action record from a plurality of captured images, and is transmitted to the user's portable information terminal and other user terminals in the virtual space.

(2) a conversation control unit that automatically responds in a conversation with an avatar of another user encountered in the virtual space;
A conversation behavior information combining unit that combines the content of the conversation with the other user's avatar with the behavior information of the user's avatar;
The virtual space information summary creation device according to (1), further comprising:

  According to such a configuration, when an avatar of another user is encountered in the virtual space, a conversation (chat) with other avatars can be enjoyed according to the behavior pattern given by the user. The conversation is automatically performed according to a response pattern registered in advance. For example, if you are spoken to as "Hello" from the other avatars, "Hello, your healthy it is going" conversation like that is performed automatically without user's instruction. Reply without hesitation even in unexpected conversations. Such a conversation record is also recorded in combination with the action information. The action information obtained from the result is transmitted to the user's portable information terminal or other user terminal together with the moving image file as the action result of the avatar.

(3) The virtual space broadcasting apparatus according to (1), wherein at least one of the plurality of cameras is installed at a line of sight of the avatar.

(4) The virtual space broadcasting apparatus according to (1) to (3), wherein the photographing of the plurality of cameras can be switched according to an instruction from the user.

  According to the configuration of (3) or (4), one of the camera positions is provided at the line of sight of the user's avatar, and is switched from time to time by switching an image installed at another position. You can also enjoy realistic images.

(5) The virtual space broadcasting apparatus according to (1), wherein the user instruction is performed based on a scenario in which a predetermined position and time in the virtual space are determined in advance.

(6) The virtual space broadcasting device according to (1), further including a conversation behavior information transmission unit that detects corresponding information of the captured moving image file and transmits the detected information to the terminal of the other user.

  According to such a configuration, a command given from the user to the avatar can be given in a predetermined action pattern (scenario) instead of being given as a command each time. By doing so, the user does not need to give a command while the avatar acts according to the scenario, and can receive only the action result of the scenario later.

(7) The virtual broadcast device according to (1), wherein the broadcast distribution unit transmits the captured moving image file to a blog server storing the user's blog.

  According to such a configuration, not only the moving image file can be transmitted to the user's portable information terminal but also posted on a blog created by the user himself / herself, so that it can be viewed by other users.

(8) A computer program for transmitting a captured image in a virtual space using a computer network,
Receiving a user instruction from the portable information terminal;
Moving an avatar that is a substitute of the user in the virtual space according to a predetermined action pattern in the virtual space;
Arranging a plurality of cameras for acquiring images of arbitrary points in the virtual space at a plurality of positions in the virtual space;
Acquiring images taken by the plurality of cameras, and creating an action video file as an action record of the user's avatar;
Automatically responding to conversations with other users' avatars encountered in the virtual space;
Combining the content of the conversation with action information of the user's avatar;
Transmitting the behavior video file;
A computer program that causes a computer to execute.

  According to such a configuration, the virtual space broadcasting apparatus of the present invention is provided in the form of a computer program. Therefore, by installing a program for executing the above steps in a general computer, it can be easily realized without developing dedicated hardware.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a service having a continuity with an indoor use environment for image information in a virtual space, even for a mobile environment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that these embodiments are merely examples, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

[Functional configuration of virtual space broadcasting device]
FIG. 1 shows an outline of functions of a virtual space broadcasting apparatus 10 according to an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the virtual space broadcasting apparatus 10 will be simply referred to as this apparatus.

  This apparatus virtually transmits an avatar according to a user instruction receiving unit 11 that receives an instruction or a scenario from a user's portable information terminal 30 (for example, a mobile phone), an instruction that the user gives each time, or scenario data 21 that is given in advance by the user. An avatar automatic movement control unit 12 that automatically moves in space, a virtual space providing server 40 that provides a virtual space service, a camera position determination unit 13 that determines the positions of a plurality of cameras in the virtual space, a virtual The action image generation unit 14 that creates the action information (behavior video) of the action of the avatar that is the user's alternation from the image data 22 obtained from the space providing server 40, and controls conversation (chat) with other avatars. Conversation control unit 15 to record the obtained conversation content (conversation data 23) and combine it with avatar action information The conversation behavior information combining unit 16, the conversation behavior information transmission unit 17 that transmits to the other user terminal 50 of the conversation partner, and a behavior video including the conversation contents to the user's portable information terminal 30 and the blog server 60, broadcasting A distribution unit 18 is provided.

  As shown in the figure, the function for providing the virtual space service itself is constructed by one or more external virtual space providing servers. Details of each functional block in the apparatus will be described later. Note that such a configuration is merely an example, and needless to say, the configuration of other functionally equivalent variations is not excluded.

[Hardware configuration of virtual space broadcasting device]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the virtual space broadcasting device 10 according to an example of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

  This device may be a computer device such as a typical server, and includes a CPU 110 constituting the control unit 108 (a plurality of CPUs such as the CPU 120 may be added in a multiprocessor configuration), a bus line 107, a communication I / O. F140, main memory 150, BIOS (Basic Input Output System) 160, USB port 190, graphic controller 130, I / O controller 170, keyboard and mouse 180, and other input means and display device 122. The graphic controller 130 is mainly used to process a virtual space image. A storage unit 109 such as a tape drive 172, a hard disk 174, an optical disk drive 176, or a semiconductor memory 178 can be connected to the I / O controller 170. The BIOS 160 stores a boot program executed by the CPU 110 when the apparatus is activated, a program depending on the hardware of the apparatus, and the like. The hard disk 174 stores various programs for functioning as the apparatus and programs for executing the functions of the present invention. As the optical disk drive 176, for example, a DVD-ROM drive, a CD-ROM drive, a DVD-RAM drive, a CD-RAM drive, or the like can be used. In this case, the optical disk 177 corresponding to each drive is used. A program or data can be read from the optical disk 177 by the optical disk drive 176 and provided to the main memory 150 or the hard disk 174 via the I / O controller 170. Similarly, the tape medium 171 corresponding to the tape drive 172 can be used mainly for backup.

  The program provided to the apparatus is provided by being stored in a recording medium such as the hard disk 174, the optical disk 177, or a memory card. The program may be installed in the apparatus and executed by being read from the recording medium via the I / O controller 170 or downloaded via the communication I / F 140.

  The above program may be stored in an internal or external storage medium. Here, examples of the storage medium include, but are not limited to, a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, an optical recording medium, and an electronic medium. The magnetic recording medium includes a magnetic tape, a flexible disk, a hard disk 174, a magnetic random access memory (MRAM), and the like. The magneto-optical recording medium includes a magneto-optical disk (MO and MD). Includes write-once compact discs (CDs), write-once digital multipurpose discs (DVDs), write-once Blu-ray discs, write-once holographic discs, etc., and electronic media with electrically writable read-only memory, random access memory, flash memory, Includes silicon storage disks. Further, a storage device such as a hard disk 174 or an optical disk library provided in a server system connected to a communication line such as a dedicated communication line or the Internet may be used as a recording medium, and a program may be provided to the apparatus via the communication line. Good.

  Here, the display device 122 displays a screen for accepting data input by an administrator of the device, or displays a calculation result screen. The display device 122 is a cathode ray tube display device (CRT), a liquid crystal display device ( LCD). The input means accepts input by the user, and may be configured with a keyboard and mouse 180 or the like. The communication I / F 140 is a network adapter for enabling the apparatus to be connected to a terminal via a dedicated network or a public network. The communication I / F 140 may include a modem, a cable modem, and an Ethernet (registered trademark) adapter.

  In the above example, the hardware configuration has been described. However, it may be realized by installing a program for executing the above functions in a general computer and operating the computer as the present apparatus.

[Processing flow]
FIG. 3 shows the processing flow of this apparatus. First, in step S10, an instruction (command) or a scenario is received from the user's portable information terminal 30. The scenario may be given from the portable information terminal 30 or may be given in advance to the apparatus from a personal computer at the user's home. The scenario data may be a sequence of commands, but may be a natural language as shown in an example described later, and is analyzed and acquired as an action pattern in step S11.

  Next, in step S12, the avatar is moved according to the command or the action pattern. In the case of a command, it may be considered that only one action pattern is given. The behavior pattern may be, for example, a single action such as “Avatar moves from point A to point B at 12:00” and a set of the single actions. When the avatar moves, an image around the avatar is acquired in step S13. The timing to acquire the image may be every fixed time, but not only the camera at the avatar's eye position but also multiple fixed point cameras in the virtual space, and when the avatar comes to that position, that fixed point You may make it acquire the image from a camera. It is assumed that the camera function and the captured image itself are obtained from the virtual space providing server 40.

  Next, in step S14, a camera image is obtained. In step S15, a moving image file (for example, Flash, MPEG, AVI, MOV format, etc.) is created from the image. For example, if the captured image is an image captured from three cameras, a moving image may be created using a predetermined editing pattern (for example, switching camera images every 2 to 3 seconds). . Alternatively, a partial image may be cut out from the entire captured image by edge processing, an image similar to the partial image may be searched, and a feature amount of the image may be extracted from similar image information. Such a technique is publicly known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-114053). By doing so, it can be recognized that the building shown in the image is, for example, a shopping mall. Since the feature amount of the image can be transmitted as text, the data amount can be greatly reduced as compared with the case where the image itself is transmitted.

  Of course, since the positions of all the buildings and structures in the virtual space are managed by data, it is easy to recognize the building in the surrounding image from the current position of the avatar. However, for example, a more detailed image feature amount can be obtained by analyzing an image taken from the avatar's line of sight. For example, when standing in front of a store in a shopping mall, it is possible to obtain information such as what the display is by photographing the show window. If a partial image is extracted even if there are multiple items, for example, objects such as “clothes” and “chairs” can be recognized, and it can be concise to the user by “summarizing” them as character information. I can tell you.

  In step S16, it is determined whether another avatar has been encountered. And in step S17-S19, the process when the other user's avatar is encountered is performed. Here, “encounter” may be defined as a case where avatars approach each other within a certain distance (for example, within 1 meter), or may be defined as a case where avatars contact each other. Normally, when a command such as “conversation” is given to the avatar and the other party responds, the conversation starts. However, in this device, the scenario data is used to automatically start the conversation for the avatar. Can be given. For example, when entering a store in a shopping mall, it is possible to give a scenario or a program that allows the user to talk to the “clerk” avatar there and automatically complete the shopping. Such an automatic conversation response can be performed by using a known technique, but by using a chatbot system as described later, it is possible to realize an automatic conversation response to a plurality of conversation partners at the same time. (Step S17).

  Here, in step S18, this conversation content is combined with the action information of the avatar. For example, action information (spatial position information, time information, etc.) in the avatar is included in the recording of the conversation content. In step S19, conversation information obtained by combining such conversation contents and behavior information is transmitted. The transmission destination may be a user terminal, but may be a user terminal of another avatar.

  The processes in steps S10 to S19 are repeated until all action patterns (here, the action pattern assumes a single action) (step S20). Thus, finally, in step S21, when all the action patterns are completed, a moving image file as a record of those actions is created and transmitted to the user's portable information terminal by e-mail or the like. The user can use the service in the virtual space by viewing the moving image file in a mobile environment such as a train. That is, by using the apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to enjoy the virtual space service continuously (seamlessly) while staying on the spot, even from the outside.

[Specific examples of behavior patterns]
FIG. 4 shows a conceptual concrete example of an action pattern (scenario). In FIG. 4A, as an action pattern (scenario 1), an action pattern of walking from XX shopping mall to XX shopping mall from 12:00 and an action pattern of going from XX shopping mall to XX park at 14:00 are shown. Yes.

FIG. 4B shows a conversation pattern (scenario 2) with another user as a more detailed action pattern in the shopping mall. For example, since “only look” is set as the action at the store, the store clerk ignores it even if it speaks, or responds only “I just look”. On the other hand, at the Δ △ store, “shop if there is something you like” is set as an action, so camera images from the avatar line of sight are frequently taken to identify the features of the product. You can also call a clerk if you meet a pre-determined favorite condition. When the store clerk talks to you, make sure to answer in advance. Such automatic answering is possible in a limited number of situations. For example, on a homepage on the Internet, a chatbot system that automatically responds to inquiries in natural language about products from viewers has already been put into practical use. FIG. 4C similarly shows a conversation pattern (scenario 3) in XX park.

[Conversation control unit (chat bot system)]
FIG. 5 shows more detailed functional blocks of the conversation control unit 15 of FIG.

  The conversation control unit 15 includes a communication unit 211 having a plurality of channels, a response message generation unit 212, a response message queuing unit 213, and a response message presentation unit 216. Further, the buffer control unit 215 controls a buffer having a queue structure that stores the question and the response in association with each other. The storage unit 214 includes two active cache buffers 217 and inactive cache buffers 218 as the queue buffers. Provide a book. Here, the reason why the communication unit 211 includes a plurality of channels is to enable response to a plurality of users (dialogue partners) at a time. The reason why the storage unit 214 includes two buffers is to speed up the processing.

  The utterances (questions) uttered by a plurality of users are disassembled and queued for each utterance element by the buffer control unit 215, and a response element that is a response (answer) is created for each utterance element included in the queue. The The response message queuing unit 213 queues the speech element and the response element in the active cache buffer 217 and the inactive cache buffer 218. Further, the response message presenting unit 216 presents the response element to the conversation partner at a natural speed at an appropriate timing (for example, after a certain period of time). By doing this, even if the questioner (speaker) speaks a long sentence that spans several lines, the long sentence is broken down into utterance elements and a response element is created for each utterance element. It can be presented at a natural timing that the person can understand.

  In the above example, a chatbot system that enables simultaneous response with a plurality of users is shown, but a known chatbot system that assumes only a single user may be used.

[Camera position determination unit]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the concept of the camera position determination unit 13 in FIG. As illustrated, in this example, three cameras 100 to 102 are illustrated. The camera 100 is provided at a user's (Avatar A) eye line position, and the camera 101 is a camera for performing spatial sensing from the sky. The camera 102 is a camera that performs spatial sensing from an oblique overhead position from a bird, a power pole, or the like. Actually, the camera 101 and the camera 102 do not need to be one, but can be installed at an arbitrary position in the virtual space, and by specifying the ID of each camera, switching of the captured image is an instruction or scenario from the user. To make it easier. Also, when talking with other users' avatars, you can have a camera that looks at the other person's line of sight, such as shooting yourself from the other person's line of sight, not just your own line of sight. Good.

[Camera image text part]
Although not shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 shows functional blocks of a camera image text part (text camera) that can be used as an option of the action image generation part 14. The role of the camera image text part is to generate text representing the feature amount of the image taken from the camera. The camera image text part may use known similar image search technology (the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-114053 or the like), and may further use co-occurrence information of partial images included in the image as described in the next figure. .

  FIG. 7 is an overall view showing the functional part of the camera image text part, the databases 309 to 311 used for performing the function, and the relationship between the input and output to the camera image text part. The camera image text unit includes a spatial image input unit 302 that receives input of spatial image information, a partial image acquisition unit 303 that acquires a partial image from an image received by the spatial image input unit 302, and a partial image acquisition unit 303. A feature information extraction unit 304 that extracts feature information from the acquired partial image, an image dictionary recorded in the image dictionary DB 309 based on the feature information extracted by the feature information extraction unit 304, and an item related to the partial image A candidate item acquisition unit 305 that acquires a candidate name, and an item determination that determines an item name with reference to the item co-occurrence dictionary recorded in the item co-occurrence dictionary DB 310 for the item candidate name acquired by the candidate item acquisition unit 305 306 and the title based on the item name determined by the item determination unit 306 A title name determining unit 307 that determines a title name with reference to the title / item correlation dictionary recorded in the item correlation dictionary DB 311; a title name / item name output unit 308 that outputs the determined title name and item name; Is provided. In the camera image text portion, spatial image information 312 is input as two-dimensional image data, and title name / item name information 313 is output as text data.

  The candidate item acquisition unit 305 includes an image dictionary to be referred to. In this image dictionary, a search tag that records feature information of a partial image and contents such as an item name and an item number of an item having the feature information are recorded in association with each other. The feature information includes, for example, the outline of the item and the number of colors constituting the item. The image dictionary is recorded on the image dictionary DB 309.

  Furthermore, a co-occurrence degree table for each item representing the co-occurrence relationship between different items is provided to constitute a part of the item co-occurrence dictionary. Here, the co-occurrence degree refers to a ratio at which two different items appear in the same image. For example, even if the mother appears in the image, the baby does not necessarily appear in the image, but the item i of item number i and the item j of item number j 2 have a high ratio so that the mother also appears when the baby appears. When there is one item, the ratio ki_j where the item j appears together when the item i appears is different from the ratio kj_i where the item i appears together when the item j appears. If they are different, ki_j = kj_i can be set in accordance with whichever is larger. This is because simple handling is possible. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that ki_j = kj_i. The item co-occurrence degree table is recorded in the item co-occurrence dictionary DB 310.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of the same item in one image (for example, a tree or a flower in a park), an item co-occurrence degree table that shows a co-occurrence relationship between the same items is also prepared. Part of The ratio of the second same item appearing in the same image when one item appears in the second column, and the third same item appearing in the same image when two items appear When the n same items appear in one image, such as the third column, the ratio of the (n + 1) th same item appears in the (n + 1) th column in the same image. Is displayed. The item-specific multiple co-occurrence degree table is recorded in the item co-occurrence dictionary DB 310.

  A processing flow of the camera image text portion will be described. First, an input of a two-dimensional spatial image is accepted. The spatial image may be a still image or a moving image. Acceptance of image input is performed with one still image in the case of a still image and a plurality of still images constituting the moving image as a unit in the case of a moving image.

  Next, a partial image is cut out from the acquired image by edge processing. In the case of a still image, a partial image is cut out from one image, but in the case of a moving image, the partial image is cut out from a plurality of still images constituting one moving image. Then, feature information is extracted from the cut out partial image. The feature information includes the outline of the partial image and the number of colors of the partial image. Such a technique is known as described above, and by doing so, it can be recognized that the furniture shown in the image is, for example, a sofa. Since the feature amount of the image can be transmitted as text, the data amount can be greatly reduced as compared with the case where the image itself is transmitted.

  Next, referring to the image dictionary, based on the similar image search technology already put into practical use, item names and item numbers are acquired in descending order of the similarity of the feature information. At that time, in order to exclude candidates with low possibility, it is possible to select those whose similarity is equal to or higher than a certain standard (for example, 20%). Usually, a plurality of candidate items are selected. This criterion may be changed as appropriate to make it optimal. In the similar image search, visual information from the image to be searched is indicated by numerical sequence data (image feature amount) of several hundred dimensions, and the degree of similarity (similarity) between the data is determined between the image feature amount vectors. , That is, the difference between the image feature amounts.

  In this way, when candidate items are acquired for one partial image, they are registered in the candidate item table in descending order of similarity, and the same processing is performed if there is another partial image in the same image. Then, when all the partial images are cut out, the process proceeds to the next process.

  Next, among the candidate items acquired for each partial image, the highest similarity (the highest similarity) is compared, and two candidate items are selected from the highest one. For example, if the highest similarity of the partial image α is 0.92, the highest similarity of the partial image β is 0.88, and the highest similarity of the partial image γ is 0.75, the items for the partial image α and the partial image β The item name is determined while referring to the separate co-occurrence degree table.

  Note that the above-described configuration of the camera image text portion is merely an example, and any other known technique can be used as long as a feature amount can be extracted from the image and represented by character information. In addition, since all objects in the virtual space are data on the computer, extracting the feature amount of the image in the virtual space by further using the object data information analyzes the image information in the real world. Is much easier than that.

  Thus, since the camera image text part can express the feature from the image data as text, the transmission amount can be greatly reduced by transmitting the feature together with the image data as necessary. This is useful in view of the fact that the communication speed at the mobile terminal is not always sufficient for receiving a moving image file.

[Camera image]
FIG. 8 shows an example of an image obtained by photographing a landscape in a virtual space using the three cameras illustrated in FIG. FIG. 8A shows an image (or video) of the user's line of sight photographed from the camera 100. FIG. 8B shows an image (video) from directly above the sky. FIG. 8C is an image (video) of a bird's eye view obliquely above. These images (videos) may not necessarily be moving images but may be still images taken at regular intervals. This is because it is possible to make a plurality of still images continue to look like a pseudo moving image. Of course, according to an instruction from the user or scenario data, an image to be transmitted may be selected as a video of a specific camera, or an edited image obtained by appropriately editing images taken by a plurality of cameras may be transmitted.

[Assumed scene]
FIG. 9 shows an example of an image of a user's usage scene in one embodiment. The action recorded by the user (avatar) in the virtual space is displayed on the mobile phone on the user's mobile information terminal (here, the mobile phone), centering on the moving image file created by the action image generation unit 14. In this way, the user can see an image of an avatar image that is completely different from his / her appearance and age in the virtual space.

  Moreover, in order to transmit not only a moving picture but a user's action record also in text, you may make it summarize the text information part of action record data. As a technique for summarizing sentences, various known techniques such as an RSS (Rich Site Summary) technique may be used. In this way, the user's behavior information can be transmitted not only with images but also with timely text information, so that the virtual space service can be installed at home according to the scene of the user's usage environment without overloading the communication load of the mobile terminal. It can be used without losing continuity as in the case of using with a personal computer.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment which concerns on this invention was described, this invention is not restricted to embodiment mentioned above. The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

It is a figure which shows the outline of the function of the virtual space broadcasting apparatus 10 which concerns on an example of suitable embodiment of this invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a virtual space broadcasting device 10. FIG. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the virtual space broadcasting transmission apparatus. It is a figure which shows the conceptual specific example of an action pattern (scenario). FIG. 3 is a diagram showing more detailed functional blocks of a conversation control unit 15. It is a figure which shows the concept of the camera position determination part. It is a figure which shows the functional block of the optional camera image text part. It is a figure which shows the example of the image which image | photographed the scenery in the virtual space using three cameras. It is a figure which shows an example of the image of a user's usage scene.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Virtual space broadcasting apparatus 11 User instruction | indication receiving part 12 Avatar automatic movement control part 13 Camera position determination part 14 Action image generation part 15 Conversation control part 16 Conversation action information coupling | bond part 17 Conversation action information transmission part 18 Broadcast delivery part 21 Scenario data 22 Image data 30 Mobile information terminal 40 Virtual space providing server 50 Other user terminal 60 Blog server 211 Communication unit 212 Response message generation unit 213 Response message queuing unit 214 Storage unit 215 Buffer control unit 216 Response message presentation unit 217 Active cache buffer 218 Inactive cache buffer 302 Spatial image input unit 303 Partial image acquisition unit 304 Feature information extraction unit 305 Candidate item acquisition unit 306 Item determination unit 307 Title name determination unit 308 Title name Item Name output unit 309 image dictionary DB
310 Item Co-occurrence Dictionary DB
311 Title / Item Correlation Dictionary DB
312 Spatial image information 313 Title name / item name information

Claims (8)

A virtual space broadcasting device that transmits a captured image in a virtual space using a computer network,
An instruction receiving unit that receives a user instruction from the portable information terminal;
An avatar automatic movement control unit for moving an avatar, which is a substitute of the user in the virtual space, according to a predetermined action pattern in the virtual space;
A camera position determination unit that arranges a plurality of cameras for acquiring images of arbitrary points in the virtual space at a plurality of positions in the virtual space according to the user's instruction;
An action image generation unit that acquires images taken by the plurality of cameras and creates an action video file as an action record of the user's avatar;
A conversation control unit that automatically responds to conversations with other users' avatars encountered in the virtual space;
A broadcast distribution unit for transmitting the behavior video file;
A virtual space broadcasting device comprising: In a conversation with another user's avatar encountered in the virtual space, a conversation control unit that automatically responds,
A conversation behavior information combining unit that combines the content of the conversation with the other user's avatar with the behavior information of the user's avatar;
The virtual space information summary creation device according to claim 1, further comprising:   The virtual space broadcasting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of cameras is installed at a line of sight of the avatar.   The virtual space broadcasting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein photographing of the plurality of cameras can be switched according to an instruction from the user.   The virtual space broadcasting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user's instruction is performed based on a scenario in which a predetermined position and time in the virtual space are determined in advance.   The virtual space broadcasting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conversational behavior information transmitting unit that detects corresponding information of the captured moving image file and transmits the detected information to the terminal of the other user.   The virtual broadcast apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast distribution unit transmits the captured moving image file to a blog server that stores the user's blog. A computer program for transmitting a captured image in a virtual space using a computer network,
Receiving a user instruction from the portable information terminal;
Moving an avatar that is a substitute of the user in the virtual space according to a predetermined action pattern in the virtual space;
Arranging a plurality of cameras for acquiring images of arbitrary points in the virtual space at a plurality of positions in the virtual space;
Acquiring images taken by the plurality of cameras, and creating an action video file as an action record of the user's avatar;
Automatically responding to conversations with other users' avatars encountered in the virtual space;
Combining the content of the conversation with action information of the user's avatar;
Transmitting the behavior video file;
A computer program that causes a computer to execute.

Images