JP4631987B2 - Information processing terminal, information processing system, and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing terminal , an information processing system, and an information processing method, and in particular, assignment of various virtual information to a real-world environment or situation (position, object, etc.) and further, The present invention relates to an information processing terminal , an information processing system, and an information processing method for providing information.

  In recent years, a system or interface called “Augmented Reality” (hereinafter abbreviated as AR) has been proposed. “Augmented Reality” (hereinafter abbreviated as “AR”) refers to information corresponding to the context in the real world (situation (eg, position, object, etc.)) to the user. It is a generic name for systems and interfaces based on the concept of making the interface between the user and the real world more comfortable.

  The concept of AR is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 30, a user terminal, for example, a computer 122 that can be worn by a user (hereinafter referred to as a wearable computer) 122 always observes the real world environment 121 in an “ON” state. Appropriate information is presented to the user as needed.

  For example, the sensor 123 includes an infrared sensor, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) video camera, a microphone, and the like, and captures information (position information, ID information, audio information, etc.) of the real world environment 121. . Information captured by the sensor 123 is supplied to the server 125 via a network. The server 125 reads the data corresponding to the supplied real world information from the built-in database 125a (in which data corresponding to the real world information is stored in advance), and the read data is transmitted via the network. A display is made on a HUD (Head Up Display) 124. Thereby, the user can acquire data corresponding to the situation of the real world environment 121.

  One of the above-mentioned AR systems is described in the document “Steven Feiner, Blair MacIntyre, and Doree Seligmann. Knowledge-based augmented reality. Communication of the ACM, Vol. 36, No. 7, pp. 52-62, August 1993.” It is disclosed. This AR system relates to maintenance of a laser beam printer, and displays support information generated based on position information obtained by an ultrasonic sensor on a user's transmission type head mounted display.

  In addition to the above-described AR system, a system for exchanging various kinds of information related to real-world things or various kinds of information in a virtual world via a network etc. There is already an information exchange service system called the so-called bulletin board system (BBS) and chat. Furthermore, some personal computer communication services provide a bulletin board (forum) etc. that is subdivided according to the interests of each user, and users exchange information via the bulletin board. Plays a leading role in the user community. The bulletin board is usually used by a user to find a bulletin board related to his / her interests by its name, search service, etc., and to browse information on the bulletin board or write new information. .

  Non-Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 1 are known as conventional techniques.

JP 9-330336 A

Takuya Inudo, Yasuyuki Kiyosue, Proposal of information provision system Deja vu using mobile terminals, Information Processing Society of Japan Vol. 96 No. 120, Japan, Information Processing Society of Japan, December 6, 1996, pp. 15-20

  However, the support information displayed on the HUD or the like in the above-described conventional AR system is registered in advance in a database in the computer. For example, information that a user came up with during maintenance work (notes, etc.) There is a problem that cannot be added. That is, the AR system only reads information corresponding to the real world situation from information stored in advance in a database, and presents the read information to the user (in other words, a context-dependent browser). )

  In addition, when receiving the information exchange service by bulletin board or chat on the Internet or personal computer communication mentioned above, the problem is that the user must find the bulletin board related to his / her interests by name or search service etc. There is. However, there are an enormous number of bulletin boards on the Internet and the like, and it is not always easy to quickly find a bulletin board or the like on which desired information is described.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and presents information (eg, image information, text information, audio information, etc.) corresponding to the real world situation (eg, position and object) to the user. An information processing terminal that allows a user to give such information to a real-world situation, and allows a user to find desired information quickly and easily, An object is to provide an information processing system and an information processing method.

An information processing terminal according to the present invention includes a position detection unit that detects a current position, an object identification unit that identifies an object as an object in the real world, and an actual location specified by position information detected by the position detection unit. Grant information fetching means for the real world situation specified by the grant information given by the user via the grant information fetching means for the situation in the world and the object information identified by the object identification means Display means for displaying in a different area visually identifiable information provided by the user via the communication means, communication means for communicating with the information processing apparatus, and the position detected by the position detection means According to the granted information given to the real world situation specified by the information or the object information identified by the object identifying means. Registration for instructing to store the grant information given to the specified real-world situation to the information processing apparatus via the communication means and store it in the database provided in the information processing apparatus By having the instruction means , the above-described problems are solved.

An information processing system according to the present invention includes an information processing device and an information processing terminal that communicates with the information processing device. The information processing terminal includes the information processing device and the information processing device. Communication means for performing communication, position detection means for detecting the current position, object identification means for identifying an object as an object in the real world, and actual information specified by position information detected by the position detection means Grant information fetching means for the real world situation specified by the grant information given by the user via the grant information fetching means for the situation in the world and the object information identified by the object identification means and display means for displaying visually discernible different regions and impart information provided by the user via the above information processing apparatus A communication means for communicating with the information processing terminal, and the real world situation specified by the given information or the object identification information given to the real world situation specified by the position information. possess a database for storing the granted information provided Te, the information processing terminal, issuance information granted to real world situations identified by the position information detected by said position detecting means, or By further including registration instruction means for instructing the database to store the grant information assigned to the real world situation specified by the object information identified by the object identification means , Solve the problem.

Next, an information processing method according to the present invention is an information processing method of an information processing system configured to include an information processing device and an information processing terminal that communicates with the information processing device. The current position is detected by the position detection means, the object is identified by the object identification means as an object in the real world, and the given information is acquired for the real world situation specified by the position information detected by the position detection means. Granting granted by the user via the granting information capturing means to the real world situation specified by the granting information given by the user via the importing means and the object information identified by the object identifying means and information, and displayed on the display means in a visually distinguishable display mode, the registration instruction means, the real world Jo of which is specified by the location information The grant information assigned to the information or the grant information assigned to the real-world situation specified by the object information is transmitted to the information processing device and registered to be stored in the database of the information processing device. And the information processing apparatus, based on the registration instruction, in the real world specified by the grant information or the object identification information given to the situation of the real world specified by the position information in the database. The above-mentioned problem is solved by storing the above-mentioned grant information given to the situation.

  According to the present invention, by displaying the assignment information associated with the position information detected by the position detection means and the assignment information associated with the object information identified by the object identification means in a display form that can be identified by the user, The user can easily recognize whether the assignment information is associated with the position or the object.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of an information processing system of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the concept of "Augment-able Reality" in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the "Augment-able Reality" system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure used for description of visual ID. FIG. 3 is a block circuit diagram illustrating a configuration example of a sub-notebook PC in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of HUD. It is a figure for demonstrating the movement operation of the icon between a personal information area | region and a situation dependence area | region. It is a figure for demonstrating time machine mode. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a processing operation for generating information to be added to a real-world situation and registering it in a database in the “Augment-able Reality” system of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a processing operation of reading and displaying information assigned to a real-world situation from a database in the “Augment-able Reality” system of FIG. 3. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the Java applet (Java applet) in the computer (41) of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the email transmitted from the computer (42) of FIG. It is a figure which shows the conceptual structural example of the 2nd Embodiment system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an initial screen on client PC in the bulletin board search by ID. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the bulletin board searched according to ID. It is a figure which shows the example of a display screen in the case of new registration of ID. It is a flowchart which shows the flow at the time of performing search of the bulletin board corresponding to ID of articles | goods, browsing, writing, or new registration of a bulletin board in the client PC side of the system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow at the time of transmitting the bulletin board according to ID of articles | goods, or a new registration request with respect to the client PC in the server side of 2nd Embodiment system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the server side when the some bulletin board corresponding to the same ID is searched. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the client PC side when the list | wrist of several bulletin board names, summaries, etc. is transmitted from the server side. It is a figure which shows the conceptual structural example of the 3rd Embodiment system of this invention. It is a figure which shows one example of a display which displayed on the display screen the bulletin board searched with the specific shop name as a search condition in the present position. It is a figure which shows one display example which displayed on the display screen the bulletin board searched as what matched the additional search conditions from the bulletin board of each position of the present position vicinity. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the new registration of the bulletin board relevant to the present position. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of processes, such as search of the bulletin board corresponding to the present position, browsing, and writing. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in a server when the request | requirement of the new registration of the bulletin board corresponding to the present position is made from the client PC. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of processes, such as search of a bulletin board relevant to the present position, browsing, and writing. It is a flowchart which shows the similarity determination algorithm performed in the case of performing the position recognition using PHS, and using the combination of base station ID and electric field strength as convenient "position". It is a block circuit diagram which shows one specific structural example of the principal part of client PC (304,404) applicable to 2nd and 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure used for description of the concept of the conventional "augmented reality" (Augmented Reality).

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of an embodiment to which an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing method of the present invention are applied.

  In FIG. 1, the first information processing device (mainly a device used by a user, hereinafter referred to as a user terminal 200) is the situation of the real world environment 1 (context information, eg, object A real-world environment information recognition unit 201 serving as specific-information fetching means for fetching specific information for specifying a specific image (information relating to the ID, position, sound, etc. of the image) and the real-world environment information recognition unit 201 A real-world environment information analysis unit 202 that analyzes the captured information, a grant information fetch unit 203 that fetches grant information to be given to a real-world situation (object, position, etc.), and other information processing devices (for example, Mainly a device provided on the service providing side, hereinafter referred to as a server 210), and a communication unit 207 for performing information communication with the real-world environment information. And a control unit 204 that receives desired information from the server 210 based on the information analyzed by the analysis unit 202 and generates a video signal, an audio signal, and the like based on the desired information. A display unit 206 that displays a video signal from the control unit 204 on a screen and an audio output unit 205 that outputs an audio signal from the control unit 204 are also provided. Note that each function in the user terminal 200 of the present embodiment may be realized using either hardware or software.

  Also, in the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, specific information for identifying a situation in the real world, which is transmitted from the user terminal 200, and given to the real world situation specified by the specific information Information storage unit 213 for storing the assigned information, the specific information and the grant information transmitted from the user terminal 200, and the grant information read from the information storage unit 213 corresponding to the specific information Is transmitted to the user terminal 200, and a control unit 212 that controls information storage and reading of the information storage unit 213 and data transmission / reception in the communication unit 211 is provided. Note that each function in the server 200 of the present embodiment may be realized using either hardware or software.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the user terminal 200 and the server 210 are connected via a network or the like, for example, and an information processing system (network system) is configured.

  A specific first embodiment of the network system according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  That is, the information processing apparatus (for example, a user terminal) according to the first embodiment of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that communicates with another information processing apparatus (for example, a server), and captures a video of a real world. 3 as an example of the means, the IR sensor 22 of FIG. 3 as an example of a position detecting means for detecting the position of the real world, and an example of an object identifying means for identifying an object in the real world. As an example of the grant information fetching unit that fetches grant information to be given to the real world corresponding to the position information output from the image processing unit 61 in FIG. 5 or the object information output from the object identification unit. 3 of FIG. 3 and an example of a transmission unit that transmits the grant information, the position information, and the object information captured by the grant information capture unit Step S7 in FIG. 9 and step S29 in FIG. 10 as an example of a receiving unit for receiving the position information and object information transmitted from the transmitting unit from another information processing apparatus, and the receiving unit receive the information. Step S31 of FIG. 10 as an example of a display control unit that controls display of an image obtained by combining the provided information and the video information captured by the video capturing unit is provided as a main component.

  Further, the information processing apparatus (for example, server) of the present invention provides grant information to be given to the real world transmitted from another information processing apparatus (for example, a user terminal), position information representing the position of the real world, Step S8 in FIG. 9 as an example of a receiving unit that receives object information for identifying an object, and FIG. 3 as an example of a storage unit that stores the grant information received by the receiving unit in association with position information and object information. As an example of the database 12a, step S27 in FIG. 10 as an example of a reading unit that reads out the provision information corresponding to the position information and the object information from the storage unit, and a transmission unit that transmits the provision information read out by the reading unit Step S28 in FIG. 10 is provided.

  FIG. 2 shows the concept of “Augment-able Reality” in the first embodiment of the present invention. That is, the AR system according to the first embodiment of the present invention is different from the conventional AR system in that the information flow is a bidirectional AR system and is not merely “augmented”. Hereinafter, it is referred to as “Augment-able Reality”. In the first embodiment, as an example of a user terminal, a wearable computer 2 that is a computer that a user can wear is cited. Of course, a portable computer may be used instead of the wearable computer. The wearable computer 2 always observes the state of the real world environment 1 in the “ON” state, and presents appropriate information to the user as necessary.

  For example, the sensor 3 includes an infrared (IR) sensor, a CCD video camera, a microphone, and the like, and captures context information (position information, ID information, audio information, etc.) of the real world environment 1. ing. The context information captured by the sensor 3 is supplied to the server 5 via the network. The server 5 reads the data corresponding to the supplied context information from the built-in database 5a (data corresponding to the context information is stored in advance), supplies the read data to the HUD 4 via the network, and displays it. It is made to let you. Thereby, the user wearing the wearable computer 2 can acquire data corresponding to the situation in the real world.

  In addition, a user wearing the wearable computer 2 uses the sensor 3 to generate data (image data, text data, audio data, etc.) to be attached (given) to the situation in the real world environment 1. The generated grant data is supplied to the server 5 via the network. The server 5 stores the supplied grant data in the database 5a in association with the context information of the real world environment 1. The server 5 also displays the newly stored grant data on the HUD 4 via the network as necessary.

  When the user wearing the wearable computer 8 is in the same situation as the user wearing the wearable computer 2, the server 5 also provides data corresponding to the situation to the user wearing the wearable computer 8. It is designed to be presented via a network.

  Attaching and browsing information for the real world situation described above can also be performed from a normal computer environment. For example, when a user wearing the wearable computer 2 gives information to a predetermined room, the information can be accessed from a map on the normal (normal) computer 6, for example, on the Web. When the user sends an e-mail from the normal computer 7 to “Conference Room A”, the server 5 stores the received e-mail in the built-in database 5a. Thus, when the user wearing the wearable computer 2 visits “Conference Room A”, the contents of the e-mail are transmitted.

  Next, the configuration of the first embodiment of the augmentable reality system will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the augmentable reality system shown in FIG. 3 is installed in a building.

  The wearable unit 11 includes a CCD video camera 21, an IR sensor 22, a mouse 23, a microphone 24, an interface box 25, a sub-note PC (Personal Computer) 26, a HUD 27, an earphone 28, etc. carried by the user as main elements. Has been. The wearable unit 11 (sub-notebook PC 26) is connected to the server 12 via a wireless (wireless) LAN (Local Area Network) 16. The server 12 has a built-in database 12a. A normal (normal type) computer 41 is connected to the server 12 via a WWW (World Wide Web) interface 13. The normal computer 42 is connected to the server 12 via the email interface 14.

  In the augmentable reality system of FIG. 3, for example, an infrared beacon 17 and a visual ID are used to recognize the real world situation (position, object, etc.). The infrared beacon 17 is installed in each room in the building and transmits an infrared signal every predetermined time. Thereby, position recognition at the room level becomes possible. As shown in FIG. 4B, for example, a visual ID 52 on which a two-dimensional barcode (so-called cyber code) is printed is applied to an object (for example, a video cassette recorder (VCR) 51 in FIG. 4A). By pasting, recognition at the object level becomes possible.

  The CCD video camera 21 captures real-world images. Also, the CCD video camera 21 takes in the two-dimensional barcode data of the visual ID 52 pasted on the object 51. The captured image data and two-dimensional barcode data (visual ID 52) are supplied to the sub-notebook PC 26 via a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) interface 31.

  The IR sensor 22 receives the infrared signal transmitted from the infrared beacon 17 and supplies the received signal to the sub-notebook PC 26 via the interface box 25.

  The user operates the mouse 23 to input information to the sub notebook PC 26. The user inputs sound from the microphone 24. The input audio data is supplied to the sub-notebook PC 26.

  The sub notebook PC 26 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  The image data and two-dimensional barcode data captured from the CCD video camera 21 are supplied to the image processing unit 61 via the PCMCIA interface 31. The image processing unit 61 performs predetermined processing on the supplied image data, and supplies the processed data to the control unit 65. In addition, the image processing unit 61 identifies the supplied two-dimensional barcode data, specifies the object 51, and supplies the object data to the control unit 65.

  The signal received by the IR sensor 22 is supplied to the position information detection unit 62 via the interface box 25. The position information detection unit 62 detects the position of the room from the supplied signal (identifies the room), and supplies the detected position data to the control unit 65.

  Data input via the mouse 23 is supplied to the control unit 65. The audio data input via the microphone 24 is supplied to the audio processing unit 63. The audio processing unit 63 performs predetermined processing on the supplied audio data, and supplies the processed audio data to the control unit 65.

  The control unit 65 transmits the supplied position data, object data, image data, and audio data to the server 12 via the communication unit 32. The transmitted data is received by a communication unit (not shown) built in the server 12 via the wireless LAN 16. The synthesizing unit 66 synthesizes the output of the CCD video camera 21 and the output of the control unit 65, and supplies the synthesized image to the HUD 27 for display.

  The server 12 stores the received image data and audio data in the database 12a in association with the position data and the object data.

  Next, in the first embodiment, a process for reading information given to the real world situation will be described.

  When the position data and the object data are supplied from the position information detection unit 62 and the image processing unit 61, the control unit 65 transmits the position data and the object data to the server 12 via the communication unit 32. The transmitted position data and object data are received by the communication unit built in the server 12 via the wireless LAN 16.

  The server 12 reads image data and audio data corresponding to the received position data and object data from the database 12a. The read image data and audio data are transmitted from the communication unit to the sub-notebook PC 26.

  The transmitted image data and audio data are received by the communication unit 32 of the sub-notebook PC 26 via the wireless LAN 16. The communication unit 32 supplies the received image data and audio data to the control unit 65. The control unit 65 generates an icon corresponding to the supplied image data and audio data, and supplies the generated icon to the synthesis unit 66. In addition, the control unit 65 outputs the supplied audio data from the earphone 28. The synthesizing unit 66 synthesizes the corresponding icon with the supplied image data of the current field of view, and displays it on the HUD 27. Thereby, the user wearing the wearable unit 11 can acquire information corresponding to the situation in the real world.

  Next, a display example of the screen of the HUD 27 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, a display example when the user operates the VCR (object) in the editing studio (location) and pastes the noticed point as a voice memo (information on the VCR (object)) will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the display screen of the HUD 27 is divided into a personal information tray 71 and a context-aware area 72. On the personal information area 71, information carried by the user (such as a voice memo or an image snapshot) is displayed as an icon 75 (an icon indicating a voice memo).

  The situation dependent area 72 corresponds to the situation in the real world, and the display screen is switched every time the user moves and the situation changes. The situation dependent area 72 is divided into a location part 73 corresponding to position information at the room level and an object part 74 corresponding to the recognized object. When the user is in the editing studio and is in front of the VCR, an icon 76 indicating that the user is currently in the editing studio is displayed on the left side of the location unit 73. On the left side of the object portion 74, an icon 77 indicating that the user is in front of the VCR is displayed. In the location section 73, information (voice memo) attached to the editing studio is displayed as an icon 78. The user can hear the corresponding sound from the earphone 28 by clicking the icon 78 with the mouse 23. In the object part 74, information attached to the VCR is displayed as an icon 79 (voice memo) and an icon 80 (image snapshot).

  Next, a display example when a user attaches information generated in the personal information area 71 to the situation dependent area 72 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the user clicks the RECORD button 84 with the mouse 23, an icon 91 (voice note) is generated (FIG. 7A), and the icon 91 is displayed on the personal information area 71 (FIG. 7). (B)). When the user operates the mouse 23 and drags and drops the icon 91 to the location unit 73 (editing studio), the icon 91 is pasted to the room (editing studio) ((C) in FIG. 7). . The result of the above operation is transmitted to the server 12 via the wireless LAN 16. The server 12 registers the received data in the database 12a and provides the data to other users as necessary.

  Next, a display example in the time machine mode will be described with reference to FIG. Note that, here, when today's date is April 2, for example, a case of going back to the VCR of the meeting room on April 1 (Yesterday) will be described as an example.

  On the left side of the location portion 73, an icon 101 indicating that the user is in the April 1 meeting room is displayed. The user can go back to the room visited so far by clicking the context switching button 107 on the left side. On the left side of the object portion 74, an icon 102 indicating that the user is in front of the VCR is displayed. The user can go back to the object (thing) visited so far by clicking the context switching button 108 on the left side.

  The time indicator 109 indicates the date and time of the situation displayed in each area. In this case, it can be seen from the time indicator 109 that the meeting room is displayed at 12:15 on April 1 (yesterday) on the location unit 73. It can be seen that the object part 74 displays a VCR of 12:15 on April 1. From the time in the personal information area 71, it is understood that the current date is 12:15 on April 2 (today). Further, by clicking the up / down buttons (U, D) in each region, it is possible to move to the future or past state. For example, the user can move to the conference room on April 3 (tomorrow), for example, by attaching the information by operating the upper button U73 in the time indicator 109 displayed in the location section 73. It is.

  Icons 103 to 106 indicate information attached to the respective areas.

  Next, in the augmentable reality system of FIG. 3, the processing operation for generating information to be given to the real world situation and registering it in the database 12a on the network is shown in the flowchart of FIG. The description will be given with reference.

  First, when the user wearing the wearable unit 11 moves to a predetermined room (for example, an editing studio), in step S1, the IR sensor 22 receives the infrared signal transmitted from the infrared beacon 17 and receives the received signal. Is supplied to the position information detector 62 via the interface box 25.

  In step S <b> 2, the position information detection unit 62 detects a position at the room level (that the room is an editing studio) based on the supplied signal, and supplies the detected position data to the control unit 65.

  In step S 3, the CCD video camera 21 captures the visual ID (two-dimensional barcode) 52 pasted on the object (VCR) 51 and supplies the captured visual ID 52 to the image processing unit 61 via the PCMCIA interface 31. Then, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S <b> 4, the image processing unit 61 specifies the object (VCR) 51 from the supplied visual ID 52 and supplies the specified object data to the control unit 65.

  In step S <b> 5, the user wearing the wearable unit 11 inputs voice (voice memo) to be given to the editing studio and the VCR via the microphone 24. The input audio data is supplied to the audio processing unit 63.

  In step S6, the audio processing unit 63 performs a predetermined process on the supplied audio data, supplies the processed audio data to the control unit 65, and proceeds to step S7.

  In step S7, the control unit 65 transmits the supplied position data, object data, and audio data to the server 12 via the communication unit 32, and proceeds to step S8.

  In step S <b> 8, the communication unit (not shown) of the server 12 receives the transmitted position data, object data, and audio data via the wireless LAN 16.

  In step S9, the server 12 registers the received audio data in the database 12a in association with the position data and the object data, and the process is terminated.

  Next, in the augmentable reality system of FIG. 3, processing operations for reading and displaying information assigned to the real-world situation from the database 12 a will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 10. explain.

  First, when the user wearing the wearable unit 11 moves to a predetermined room (for example, an editing studio), in step S21, the IR sensor 22 receives the infrared signal transmitted from the infrared beacon 17 and receives the received signal. Is supplied to the position information detector 62 via the interface box 25.

  In step S <b> 22, the position information detection unit 62 detects a position at the room level (that the room is an editing studio) based on the supplied signal, and supplies the detected position data to the control unit 65.

  In step S 23, the CCD video camera 21 captures the visual ID (two-dimensional barcode) 52 pasted on the object (VCR) 51 and supplies the captured visual ID 52 to the image processing unit 61 via the PCMCIA interface 31. Then, the process proceeds to step S24.

  In step S <b> 24, the image processing unit 61 specifies the object (VCR) 51 from the supplied visual ID 52 and supplies the specified object data to the control unit 65.

  In step S25, the control unit 65 transmits the supplied position data and object data to the server 12 via the communication unit 32, and proceeds to step S26.

  In step S <b> 26, the communication unit (not shown) of the server 12 receives the transmitted position data and object data via the wireless LAN 16.

  In step S27, the server 12 reads out audio data corresponding to the received position data and object data from the database 12a, and proceeds to step S28.

  In step S28, the server 12 transmits the read audio data from the communication unit to the sub-notebook PC 26, and proceeds to step S29.

  In step S29, the communication unit 32 of the sub-notebook PC 26 receives the transmitted audio data via the wireless LAN 16, supplies the received audio data to the control unit 65, and proceeds to step S30.

  In step S <b> 30, the control unit 65 generates an icon corresponding to the supplied audio data, and supplies the generated icon to the synthesis unit 66.

  In step S31, the synthesizing unit 66 synthesizes the current view image data supplied from the CCD video camera 21 and the icon supplied from the control unit 65, displays them on the HUD 27, and the process ends.

  Next, a case where the database 12a is accessed from a normal computer environment will be described. FIG. 11 is a screen display example in the case where the information of the database 12a is acquired from a map on the Web (for example, so-called Java (registered trademark) Applet) in the computer 41. In the screen of FIG. 11, the user can also attach information to the real-world situation (position or object) via the Web (for example, Java Applet).

  In addition, the computer 42 can be used to send an e-mail to the real world situation. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when an email is transmitted to “Room 3” in the computer 42, the server 12 receives the email via the email interface 14. The server 12 stores the received electronic mail in the database 12a. As a result, when the user wearing the wearable computer 11 visits “Room 3”, the message content of the e-mail (for example, Today's meeting is canceled) is displayed on the HUD 27 and transmitted. .

  In the first embodiment described above, an infrared beacon is used to detect the position. However, position detection by GPS (Global Positioning System) or PHS (Personal Handyphone System) is also possible.

  In the first embodiment, the providing medium for providing the computer program for executing the above process to the user is not only an information recording medium such as a magnetic disk, so-called CD-ROM, but also a network such as the Internet or a digital satellite. A transmission medium is also included.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the term “system” means an overall apparatus composed of a plurality of apparatuses and means.

  Next, a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the second embodiment of the present invention, an ID already added to an object (article) in the real world is taken in by an ID reader, and a bulletin board on the Internet or a personal computer communication service is used based on the ID. An information processing system that enables registration and search, enables browsing of information related to an object corresponding to an ID from the bulletin board, and enables writing and exchanging information regarding an object to which the ID is added will be described.

  FIG. 13 shows a specific example system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 13, a personal computer (in this embodiment, a portable sub-notebook PC is used as an example, and is hereinafter referred to as a client PC 304) is used as an example of an information processing apparatus (user terminal). The barcode reader 306 reads the barcode 306 as an example of an ID (reading ID) that reads the book 307 as an example of an object (article) in the real world, an example of an ID added to the book 307, and an example of an ID reader that reads the ID. 305 is an example in which the Internet is used as an example of the network 303 and a server 301 having a hard disk 302 is used as an example of another information processing apparatus. The configuration of FIG. 13 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 13, a server 301 is the same as a normal WWW (world wide web) server, and includes a computer main body (server 301), a hard disk 302 for storing information such as a bulletin board of objects corresponding to IDs, It comprises a network connection device (not shown) for connecting the server 301 to the network 303.

  Further, the user terminal side (client PC 304 side) is a sub-notebook PC equipped with a modem, a PCMCIA interface, etc., and can be connected to the Internet etc. via a modem, and ID via the PCMCIA interface. It can be connected to a barcode reader 305 (which may be a CCD camera) as a reading device. Note that the means for reading the ID is not limited to a single unit such as the ID reading apparatus (such as a barcode reader) shown in FIG. 13, but may be an apparatus incorporated in the client PC 304, for example. For example, when a CCD camera is incorporated in the client PC 304, the CCD camera can be used as an ID reading device. Further, for example, when a number that can be read by human eyes is used as an ID added to an object in the real world, a keyboard for inputting the ID (a keyboard of a client PC) Are also included in the ID reader.

  In FIG. 14, an ID (barcode 306) already attached to a real-world article (for example, book 307) is captured by an ID reader (barcode reader 305), and on the basis of the captured ID, for example on the Internet An example of an initial screen displayed on the display device (for example, a liquid crystal display) of the client PC 304 when searching for a bulletin board in the server 301 is shown. The initial screen in FIG. 14 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 14, an ID input field 311 is displayed on the initial screen. Here, as shown in FIG. 13, in order to view a bulletin board on which various information related to the real-world book 307 such as commentary and book contents is posted, the bar attached to the book 307 is displayed. The code 306 is read by the bar code reader 305 (or a bar code number is input from the keyboard). As a result, a number corresponding to the barcode 306 is input to the ID input field 311 on the initial screen.

  When an ID (number) is input to the ID input field 311, the client PC 304 accesses the server 301 in a form in which the ID is encoded into a WWW URL (Uniform Resource Locator). For example, the following URL can be given as an example of the URL when the ID is recognized as “97780123456789”.

http://www.aaa.com/cgi-bin/bbs.cgi?id=9780123456789
If the bulletin board corresponding to the ID is already registered in the server 301 as a result of accessing the server 301 as described above, the server 301 displays the bulletin board screen corresponding to the ID as shown in FIG. Are displayed on the display screen of the client PC 304. The display screen of FIG. 15 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  That is, on the bulletin board screen shown in FIG. 15, for example, an ID number field 312 for displaying an ID number (above 9780123456789) and a bulletin board name for displaying the name of the bulletin board (in this example, “this AABBCC bulletin board”). A field 313, a link destination field 314 for a link to another search service (for example, a link for online shopping, etc.), a post field 315 for displaying a field or a button for new posting to the bulletin board, an already bulletin board A registration information field 316 and the like for displaying information registered in are arranged. According to the bulletin board in the form as shown in FIG. 15, information on the article (book) corresponding to the ID can be browsed and exchanged. For example, the opinion can be referred to in the same manner as a normal bulletin board, You can search or write new information.

  On the other hand, as a result of accessing the server 301 with the URL corresponding to the ID, there may be a case where the ID is not yet registered in the server 301 (the bulletin board corresponding to the ID does not exist).

  In such a case, as shown in FIG. 16, for example, the server 301 displays a new registration screen for requesting the user to newly register a bulletin board corresponding to the ID on the display screen of the client PC 304. To display. Note that the display screen of FIG. 16 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  That is, the new registration screen shown in FIG. 16 includes a name input field 317 for requesting input of basic information corresponding to the ID (9881234 in the example of FIG. 16), for example, the name of an article. Here, when the user inputs the article name (“health drink XYZ” in the example of FIG. 16) corresponding to the ID in the name input field 317, the server 301 receives the ID (9881234). A new bulletin board indicated by “health drink XYZ” which is the article name corresponding to the ID is registered.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, for example, a bulletin board on the Internet can be registered and searched based on an ID already attached to a real-world article (object). Information on the article corresponding to the ID can be browsed from the bulletin board, and further information on the article corresponding to the ID can be written or exchanged.

  Of course, this second embodiment can be applied not only to the above-described books and health drinks but also to various other products. For example, if a bar code attached to a music CD is scanned, the CD Information about the music on the CD can be easily obtained. In addition, since the bulletin board regarding this CD is a bulletin board accessed by those who are interested in the same CD, information distribution and community formation are naturally promoted. Similarly, for example, by scanning a barcode attached to an electrical product, the latest information by the user community of the electrical product can be obtained.

  On the other hand, in the system as in the second embodiment, the information placed on the bulletin board is not only the information provided from the client PC side as described above, but also, for example, each product sold by the product sales side. It may be the information. In this way, when the product sales side provides product information via the bulletin board, for example, it is possible to provide a place for information exchange with a unified interface for all products sold by the product sales side. Become.

  In the second embodiment, the above-described ID is assumed to be a typical barcode as described above (since there are many products whose model number is already printed and attached as a barcode, it is used as it is. However, examples of ID systems that can be used include JAN codes (EAN codes in Europe), ISBN codes, CDDB IDs, and the like. The JAN code is a type of barcode system, and is printed as a barcode on a product package in order to uniquely identify the product. The ISBN code is a code system for uniquely identifying a book, and a code number is printed on the back cover of the book. In many cases, a bar code corresponding to the ISBN code is also printed. CDDB ID is an ID system used on the Internet to identify music CDs (the URL already exists at /http:/www.cddb.com), and the number of tracks on the music CD, Information such as performance time is calculated and converted into a 32-bit number. The CDDB ID number can be used as the CD ID. Moreover, the name which can identify an object uniquely can be used not only as a barcode but as ID. For example, an e-mail (e-mail) address (that is, identifying a person), a WWW URL (homepage), a telephone number, an address, or a unique name (for example, a company name, trade name, trade name, trademark, etc.) can be used as an ID. It is.

  For example, a two-dimensional ID such as a so-called cyber code or a non-contact ID such as a wireless tag can be assumed as the ID. Further, depending on the type of ID, for example, cooperation with another type of information service such as online shopping is possible. The example of FIG. 15 is an example of a bulletin board screen when a unified number (ISBN code) of a book is scanned with a barcode reader. The bulletin board information about the book is displayed in the link destination field 314 to the online book sales page. The link destination is shown.

  In FIG. 17, on the client PC side of the system of the second embodiment, an ID attached to an article in the real world is read by an ID reading device, and a bulletin board corresponding to the ID is searched, viewed, written, Or the flow at the time of newly registering a bulletin board is shown. Note that the processing of FIG. 17 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 17, in the client PC, first, in step S41, application software for executing the bulletin board search based on the ID of the above-described second embodiment is started. In the second embodiment, since a personal computer (client PC) is taken as an example of a user terminal, application software is provided to execute a bulletin board search using the ID. If the user terminal is a dedicated device dedicated to searching and displaying the bulletin board by the ID, the dedicated device is powered on in step S41.

  When the application software is started up as in step S41, the client PC waits for an article ID input from the ID reader as step S42. When the ID of the article is input from the ID reader, the client PC connects to the server in step S43, and further transmits the input ID to the server in a form encoded in URL in step S44.

  Next, the client PC receives a reply from the server in step S45. Here, the reply from the server is information on the bulletin board corresponding to the ID as shown in FIG. 15 and registration of a new bulletin board as shown in FIG. 16 (registration of a new ID). Can be a request for. Accordingly, the processing at the client PC proceeds to the processing after step S47 when the reply from the server is information on the bulletin board, and on the other hand, when the reply from the server is a request for registration of a new bulletin board, step S52. Proceed to the subsequent processing.

  If it is determined in step S46 that the reply from the server is bulletin board information, the client PC displays a bulletin board screen corresponding to the ID shown in FIG. 15 on the display screen as step S47, for example.

  If it is determined in step S46 that the reply from the server is a new bulletin board registration request, the client PC responds to the user with the ID in step S52 as shown in FIG. A new registration screen for requesting new registration of the bulletin board is displayed on the display screen, and a name input field for requesting input of the name of the article corresponding to the ID is displayed in the new registration screen.

  Thereafter, in step S53, the client PC transmits the name of the article input in the name input field to the server. After the process of step S53, the process returns to step S45. As a result, the newly registered bulletin board is sent from the server to the client PC.

  Next, the client PC determines whether or not there is a writing on the bulletin board in step S48, and if there is a writing, transmits the writing information to the server in step S49. After the process of step S49, the process proceeds to step S50.

  If the client PC determines that there is no writing on the bulletin board in step S48, the process proceeds to step S50.

  When the process proceeds to step S50, the client PC determines whether or not a new ID is input from the ID reading device. When a new ID of another article is input in step S50, for example, The processing of the client PC returns to step S44 and transmits the ID to the server. On the other hand, if no new ID is input in step S50, the process proceeds to step S51.

  The client PC disconnects the communication line with the server in step S51 when there is no input of a new ID in step S50 and when the user instructs to disconnect the communication line. After the communication line is disconnected in step S51, when it is determined in step S54 that the application is terminated or the power is turned off, the process of the flowchart in step 17 is terminated, and the application is terminated or the power is turned off. If it is determined that it is not, the process returns to the process of step S42 and waits for an ID input. In the flowchart of FIG. 17, when starting transmission of ID to the server, the communication line between the server and the client PC is connected, and the communication line is set according to the user's instruction to disconnect the communication line. Although the method of cutting is used, a method of always connecting to the server may be used.

  Next, in FIG. 18, when an ID is sent from the client PC on the server side according to the second embodiment, a bulletin board corresponding to the ID or a new registration request is sent to the client PC. The flow is shown. Note that the processing of FIG. 18 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 18, the server is always in a state of waiting for ID reception from the client PC as in step S61. When an ID is received from the client PC in step S61, the process proceeds to step S62.

  When receiving the ID from the client PC in step S61, the server determines in step S62 whether or not the received ID is registered, that is, whether or not the bulletin board corresponding to the received ID is registered. If it is determined in step S62 that the bulletin board corresponding to the reception ID is not registered, the processing at the server proceeds to the processing after step S66, while the bulletin board corresponding to the reception ID is registered. If it is determined, the processing at the server proceeds to the processing after step S63.

  When it is determined in step S62 that a bulletin board corresponding to the received ID is registered, the server transmits bulletin board information corresponding to the ID to the client PC in step S63. After the process of step S63, the process proceeds to step S64.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S62 that the bulletin board corresponding to the received ID has not been registered, the server newly creates a bulletin board corresponding to the ID as shown in FIG. 16 in step S66. Information on a new registration screen for requesting registration is transmitted to the client PC.

  When the name of the article corresponding to the ID is received from the client PC in step S67, the server creates and registers a bulletin board for the article of that name as a bulletin board corresponding to the received ID in step S68, and further in step S69 the new registration is performed. The bulletin board information sent is sent to the client PC. After the process of step S69, the process proceeds to step S64.

  Next, in step S64, the server determines whether new information has been written on the bulletin board from the client PC (whether new write information has been transmitted). If it is determined in step S64 that the message has not been written on the bulletin board, the process returns to step S61 to wait for receiving an ID from the client PC.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S64 that writing has been made on the bulletin board, the writing information is added to the bulletin board or updated in accordance with the writing information in step S65. After the process of step S64, the process returns to the process of step S61 and enters a state of waiting for receiving an ID from the client PC.

  By the way, in the description of the second embodiment described above, an example in which one bulletin board corresponds to one ID is given. For example, a JAN code (EAN code in Europe), an ISBN code as described above, and the like. When a plurality of various ID systems such as a CDDB ID and a wireless tag can be used in combination, for example, the same ID may be used between a plurality of different ID systems. That is, in this case, IDs attached to a plurality of different articles are duplicated. When the IDs of a plurality of different articles overlap in this way, a plurality of bulletin boards for a plurality of articles are searched when an attempt is made to search for a bulletin board corresponding to the ID.

  Therefore, when a plurality of bulletin boards corresponding to the same ID are searched in the server, the system according to the present embodiment presents the names, summaries, and the like of each of the plurality of bulletin boards to the client PC. Let users select from the bulletin board.

  FIG. 19 shows the flow of processing on the server side when a plurality of bulletin boards corresponding to the same ID are searched as described above. The process of FIG. 19 is specifically an example of the process of FIG. 19 that can be performed in, for example, step S63 in the flowchart of FIG. 18, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 19, the server first determines whether or not a plurality of bulletin boards are registered for the ID when the ID is transmitted from the client PC in step S71.

  When the server determines that a plurality of bulletin boards are not registered for the ID in step S71, the server transmits bulletin board information corresponding to the ID to the client PC in step S74.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S71 that a plurality of bulletin boards are registered for the ID, the server transmits a list of names, summaries, and the like of the plurality of bulletin boards to the client PC in step S72.

  After the list of names and summaries of the plurality of bulletin boards is transmitted to the client PC, in step S73, a selection signal (namely, a bulletin board selection signal) such as a name selected by the client PC from the list of names of the plurality of bulletin boards. In step S74, the server transmits bulletin board information corresponding to the selection to the client PC.

  FIG. 20 shows a processing flow on the client PC side when a list of names, summaries, and the like of a plurality of bulletin boards is transmitted from the server side. Note that the process of FIG. 20 can be performed specifically in, for example, step S47 in the flowchart of FIG. The process of FIG. 20 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 20, the client PC first determines in step S81 whether the transmission signal from the server is a list of names of a plurality of bulletin boards.

  When the client PC determines in step S81 that the list is not a list of names of a plurality of bulletin boards, that is, when it is determined that the information sent from the server is information on one bulletin board corresponding to the ID, In step S84, the bulletin board transmitted from the server is displayed on the display screen.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S81 that the transmission signal from the server is a list of names of a plurality of bulletin boards, the client PC displays a list of the names and the like on the display screen in step S82, and these names are displayed. The user is requested to select a desired name (that is, a bulletin board) from the list.

  Next, in step S83, the client PC transmits the name of the bulletin board selected by the user from the list of names and the like to the server. Thereafter, when information on the bulletin board corresponding to the selected name or the like is sent from the server, the client PC displays the bulletin board sent from the server on the display screen in step S84.

  In addition, when a plurality of various ID systems can be used in combination, for example, if a bulletin board is managed by adding each ID system name (for example, ISBN) to each ID, ID duplication is avoided. It is also possible. That is, for example, when an ID is taken in by a client PC, information indicating to which system the ID belongs (name of the ID system) is added to the ID and transmitted to the server, and the server side Then, if the bulletin board is managed based on the ID and information added to the ID (name of the ID system), even if the same ID exists between different systems, one ID is assigned to one ID. It becomes possible to search the bulletin board.

  In the second embodiment described above, the providing medium for providing the computer program for executing the above process to the user includes an information recording medium such as a magnetic disk, a so-called CD-ROM, the Internet, a digital satellite, etc. A network transmission medium is also included.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the term “system” means an overall apparatus composed of a plurality of apparatuses and means.

  Next, a third embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the second embodiment described above, an example in which an article in the real world (ID that is actually attached to the article) is associated with a bulletin board is given. However, in the third embodiment of the present invention, The position of the real world is associated with the bulletin board.

  That is, in the third embodiment, the current position in the real world is captured by the position recognition device, and for example, a bulletin board on the Internet or a bulletin board in a personal computer communication service can be registered based on the captured current position. It is possible to search and browse the bulletin board corresponding to the current position and the vicinity thereof, and also to newly write to the bulletin board corresponding to the captured current position and the vicinity and to exchange information using the bulletin board. An information processing system will be described.

  FIG. 21 shows a specific example system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 21, a portable personal computer (in this embodiment, a sub-notebook PC is used as an example, hereinafter referred to as a client PC 404) is used as an example of an information processing apparatus (user terminal). When a position recognition device 405 such as GPS or PHS is used as an example of current position information detection means, a wireless network and the Internet are used as an example of a network 403, and a server 401 having a hard disk 402 is used as an example of another information processing device. An example is given. The client PC also includes an information input device 406 for information related to the current position (for example, text, photo, voice memo, etc.). Further, the user terminal may be a wearable computer as in the first embodiment. Note that the configuration of FIG. 21 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 21, a server 401 is the same as the WWW server in FIG. 13, and includes a computer main body (server 401), a hard disk 402 that stores information such as a bulletin board corresponding to each location in the real world, and a network 403. And a network connection device (not shown) for connecting the computer main body to the computer.

  The user terminal (client PC 404) is a sub-notebook type PC equipped with a modem, a PCMCIA interface, and the like, and serves as a wireless network device 407 (including a mobile phone and PHS) and a current position information detection device via the PCMCIA interface. The position recognition device 405 (GPS, PHS, etc.) is connected. The client PC 404 includes, for example, a CCD camera and a microphone as an example of an input device 406 for information related to the current position, and further includes a built-in clock for recognizing the current time. The CCD camera and microphone as the information input device 406 may be configured integrally with the client PC, or may be configured separately. Further, the client PC 404 uses the current position information detected by the position recognition device 405, the current time information from the built-in clock, the photo or voice memo input from the information input device 406, or text data input from a keyboard or the like. For example, information related to the current position such as can be transmitted to the server 401 via the wireless network device 407 and the network 403.

  Here, in the system of the third embodiment, for example, when a bulletin board corresponding to the current position is not registered in the server 401 and a bulletin board corresponding to the current position is newly registered, the client PC The information related to the current position (for example, a photo, text, voice mail, etc.) is input from the information input device 406, and the current position information detected by the position recognition device 405 and the built-in information for the information related to the current position. The current time information from the clock is attached as a search tag and transmitted to the server 401. Thereby, in the server 401, a bulletin board corresponding to the current position is newly registered.

  In the system according to the third embodiment, when a bulletin board corresponding to the current position is already registered in the server 401 and new information is written from the client PC 404 to the bulletin board corresponding to the current position. The new information is acquired from the information input device 406 or the keyboard, and the current position information detected by the position recognition device 405 and the current time information from the built-in clock are searched for new information related to the current position. Attached as a tag and transmitted to the server 401. As a result, the server 401 adds or updates new information related to the current position on the bulletin board corresponding to the current position.

  On the other hand, in the system of the third embodiment, when searching and browsing the bulletin board registered in the server 401 from the client PC 404, the current position information detected by the position recognition device 405, the keyword from the keyboard, etc. An additional search condition including current time information from the built-in clock is transmitted from the client PC 404 to the server 401. As a result, the server 401 searches for a necessary bulletin board from the hard disk 402 based on the current position information and additional search conditions, and transmits the bulletin board information obtained by the search to the client PC 404.

  In FIG. 22, the current position is, for example, in front of a restaurant whose store name is “AA restaurant”, and “AA restaurant” which is the store name as an additional search condition from the client PC 404 and “7 days from the current time”. ”Shows an example of the bulletin board (display example on the display screen of the client PC 404) obtained from the server 401 by the additional search condition when information indicating that the bulletin board is created within“ . Note that the display screen of FIG. 22 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 22, a search key input field 411 for inputting an additional search condition regarding a position and a time key input field 412 for inputting a desired time range from the current time (date and time) as an additional search condition are provided. When “AA restaurant” is entered as a keyword in the search key input field 411 and “7 days” is entered as a keyword in the time key input field 412, the server 401 sends the keyword according to those keywords. As an example of the bulletin board, a picture 413 of “AA restaurant” and texts 414, 415 (for example, “hamburger steak is delicious”, “spaghetti is not good”, etc.) regarding the evaluation of the AA restaurant are displayed.

  In the example of FIG. 22, when a unique keyword such as “AA restaurant” is input at the current position and a search is performed, a bulletin board about “AA restaurant” has already been registered in the past at the current position. However, it is very rare that the current position completely matches the position where the bulletin board was registered in the past. For this reason, when a search is performed in the system according to the third embodiment of the present invention, a bulletin board meeting an additional search condition is searched from bulletin boards already registered at positions near the current position. In this case, in the example of FIG. 22, it is desirable to simultaneously display the distance and direction from the current position to “AA restaurant” on the display screen. In addition, for example, when a search is performed by inputting “restaurant” which is a general name as a keyword, a plurality of bulletin boards regarding “restaurants” already registered at each position near the current position are searched. Will be.

  In FIG. 23, as described above, when the server 401 searches the bulletin board corresponding to the additional search condition from the bulletin boards in the vicinity of the current position, the bulletin boards in the vicinity are displayed on the display screen of the client PC 404. A screen display example in the case of having been performed is shown. Note that the display screen of FIG. 23 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 23, on the display screen of the client PC 404, the center O is the current position, a distance scale 425 indicating the distance from the center O (current position), a search key input field 411, and a time key input field 412 Is prepared. In the example of FIG. 23, when the general name “restaurant” is input as a keyword in the search key input field 411 and “7 days” is input as a keyword in the search key input field 412, the center O Bulletin boards 421, 422, 423, and 424 corresponding to these additional search conditions are detected from the bulletin boards already registered at positions near (current position), and these bulletin boards 421, 422, 423, and 424 are the clients. The state displayed on the display screen of the PC 404 is shown. In the example of FIG. 23, the search range is within a radius of 200 m from the center O, but the range may be wider or conversely narrow.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, when searching for a bulletin board corresponding to the current position, a bulletin board corresponding to the current position or its neighboring position is obtained as a search result. It is possible to browse the opinions of people who have visited in the past.

  When performing the bulletin board search as described above, it is also possible to perform filtering based on other accompanying information (for example, time, creator, explicitly attached keyword, etc.). In other words, as an example of filtering according to time, for example, if photos and messages while climbing Fuji are registered on the server as a bulletin board, for example, “Scenery seen in the winter from the same place” when climbing Fuji in summer It is possible to search for a photo bulletin board with additional search conditions, which can enrich the mountain climbing experience. Also, for example, in town, it is possible to attach information such as “impressions of this restaurant” to the bulletin board for each store, and to view the bulletin board of each store, forming guidebook information that users can participate in It becomes possible to do.

  24 and 25, when registering a bulletin board of information related to the current position on the client PC side of the system of the third embodiment, the bulletin board already registered corresponding to the current position is shown. The flow of processing when searching, browsing, writing, etc. is shown. FIG. 24 mainly shows the flow of new registration of the bulletin board, and FIG. 25 mainly shows the flow of processing such as searching, browsing, and writing of the bulletin board. 24 and 25 are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

  First, in FIG. 24, in the client PC, first, as step S91, application software for executing registration and search of the bulletin board corresponding to the current position in the third embodiment described above is started. In the third embodiment, since a personal computer (client PC 401 in FIG. 21) is taken as an example of a user terminal, an application is used to execute registration and search of a bulletin board corresponding to the current position. Although software is provided, if the user terminal is a dedicated device dedicated to bulletin board registration or search corresponding to the current location, the dedicated device is powered on.

  When the application software starts up as in step S91, the client PC first determines in step S92 whether the instruction from the user is a new registration of a bulletin board or a search for a new bulletin board. If it is determined in step S92 that the search is a search, the process proceeds to step S102, and the process proceeds to the bulletin board search routine of FIG. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S92 that the bulletin board is newly registered, the process proceeds to step S93 and subsequent steps.

  In step S93, the client PC obtains / creates data such as a photograph, voice, handwritten memo, and text from the keyboard and the information input device. Note that these data may be created or acquired by another application.

  In step S94, the client PC acquires current position information from the position recognition device. In step S95, the current time (date and time) information is acquired from the internal clock. In step S96, the process returns to step S93. The current position information and current time information obtained in steps S94 and 95 are attached as search tags to the data created or acquired in step S94.

  Next, in step S97, the client PC connects to the server, and in step S98, the data with the search tags attached is transmitted to the server. As a result, the bulletin board at the current position is newly registered in the server.

  Thereafter, in step S99, the client PC determines whether or not a user has instructed to search for a bulletin board, for example. If a bulletin board search instruction has been issued, the process proceeds from step S102 to the bulletin board search routine of FIG. If no bulletin board search instruction is issued in step S99, the process of the client PC proceeds to step S100.

  The client PC disconnects the communication line with the server in step S100 when the user gives an instruction to disconnect the communication line. After the communication line is disconnected in step S100, it is determined in step S101 whether the application is terminated or the power is turned off. If it is determined that the application is terminated or the power is not turned off, step S100 is performed. Returning to the process of S92, if it is determined that the process has been completed or turned off, the process of the flowchart of FIG. 24 is completed. In the flowchart of FIG. 24, when transmission of data and a search tag to the server is started, the communication line between the server and the client PC is connected, and in response to a user's instruction to disconnect the communication line. Although the communication line is disconnected, a system that is always connected to the server may be used.

  Next, when it is determined that the bulletin board is newly registered in step S92 of FIG. 24 and the process proceeds to step S102, the client PC acquires the current position information from the position recognition device in step S111 of FIG. In S112, the keyword from the keyboard or the like and the current time (date and time) information from the internal clock are acquired as additional search conditions.

  Next, the client PC connects to the server in step S113, transmits the current position and additional search conditions in step S114, and then receives a reply from the server in step S115.

  Here, the reply from the server may be a bulletin board searched from the current position and additional search conditions transmitted by the client PC, or a message when search is impossible.

  Accordingly, when the client PC process determines in step S116 that the reply from the server is bulletin board information, the process proceeds to the processes in and after step S117, and a message indicating that the reply from the server cannot be retrieved. Or the like, the process proceeds to step S122 and subsequent steps.

  If it is determined in step S116 that the reply from the server is not searchable, the client PC determines whether or not a new additional search condition has been acquired in step S122. If it is determined that it has not been acquired, step S121 is performed. If it is determined that it has been acquired, the new additional search condition is transmitted to the server in step S123, and the process returns to step S115.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S116 that the reply from the server is bulletin board information, the client PC sends the bulletin board transmitted from the server in step S117 (the bulletin board at the current position or a position near it as described above). Is displayed on the display screen.

  Next, in step S118, the client PC determines whether or not there is a writing on the bulletin board. If there is a writing, the client PC transmits the writing information to the server in step S119. After the process of step S119, the process proceeds to step S120.

  If the client PC determines in step S118 that there is no writing on the bulletin board, the process proceeds to step S120.

  When the processing proceeds to step S120, the client PC determines whether or not a new current position and additional search conditions are input. In this step S120, for example, the new current position and additional search conditions are input. Then, the processing of the client PC returns to step S114, and transmits the current position and additional search conditions to the server. On the other hand, if there is no input of a new current position and additional search conditions in step S120, the process proceeds to step S121.

  If there is no input of a new current position and additional search conditions in step S120, and the user issues a communication line disconnection instruction in step S120, the client PC establishes a communication line with the server in step S121. Disconnect. After the communication line is disconnected in step S121, the process proceeds to step S101 in FIG. 24. When the application is terminated or the power is turned off in step S121, the process is terminated. If the power is not turned off, the process returns to step S92 in FIG. 24 and waits for a bulletin board search or new registration instruction. In the flowchart of FIG. 25, when transmission of the current position and additional search conditions to the server is started, the communication line between the server and the client PC is connected, and the user's instruction to disconnect the communication line is given. The communication line is disconnected according to the method, but a method in which the communication line is always connected may be used.

  Next, in FIG. 26 and FIG. 27, when a server board of the third embodiment receives a bulletin board search request or new registration data of a bulletin board from the client PC, the bulletin board search or new information corresponding thereto is sent. The flow when registering is shown. FIG. 26 mainly shows a flow of new registration of a bulletin board, and FIG. 27 mainly shows a flow of processing such as a bulletin board search. The processing of FIGS. 26 and 27 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  First, in FIG. 26, the server is always waiting to receive a bulletin board search request or bulletin board new registration data from the client PC as in step S131, and the bulletin board search request is transmitted from the client PC in step S131. If it is determined, the process proceeds to step S134, and the process proceeds to the bulletin board search routine of FIG. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S131 that new registration data for the bulletin board has been transmitted from the client PC, the process proceeds to step S132 and subsequent steps.

  When the processing of step S132 proceeds, the server uses data such as photographs, voices, handwritten memos, and texts transmitted from the client PC, and search tags for the current position and current time (date and time) attached to the data. Create a notice board.

  Next, the server stores the created bulletin board in the hard disk as step S133. This completes the registration of a new bulletin board. After step S133, the process returns to the reception waiting state in step S131.

  Next, when it is determined that the bulletin board is newly registered in step S131 in FIG. 26 and the process proceeds to step S134, the server determines the current position and additional search condition transmitted from the client PC in step S141 in FIG. Receive.

  When the server receives the current position and additional search conditions from the client PC, the server searches for bulletin boards that match the current position and additional search conditions from the bulletin boards stored in the hard disk in step S142. In the search in step S142, if a bulletin board that matches the current position and additional search conditions is searched, the server processing proceeds to processing in step S143 and subsequent steps. If the search cannot be performed, the server processing is step. The process proceeds to S146 and subsequent steps.

  If it is determined in step S142 that the search has been completed, the server transmits the bulletin board to the client PC in step S143.

  Next, in step S144, the server determines whether or not writing to the bulletin board has been performed by the client PC. If the writing has been performed, the writing information is added to the bulletin board in step S145, or the written information is changed to writing information. After the bulletin board is updated, the process returns to step S131 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S142 that the search is impossible, the server transmits a message indicating that the search is impossible to the client PC. After that, when the server receives a new additional search condition from the client PC in step S147, the server performs a search again using the additional search condition in step S142, and the new additional search condition is sent. If not, the process returns to step S131 in FIG.

  In the third embodiment of the present invention, when position recognition is performed using PHS, the latitude and longitude are calculated based on the principle of triangulation using the electric field strength from a base station whose position is known in advance. As another method, another method is to use the ID of the base station having the strongest electric field strength as a convenient “position”, or to use a combination of base station ID and electric field strength (there may be a plurality). A method of using as a general “position” is conceivable. Here, “convenient” is described because there is no direct relationship between the base station ID and the latitude and longitude. However, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, it is only necessary to determine the vicinity of each “position” corresponding to the registered bulletin board, so it is not always necessary to obtain absolute position information.

  In the case of the method of using the above-mentioned base station ID and electric field strength pair as a convenient “position”, the convenience “distance” is calculated by calculating the similarity between the base station ID and the electric field strength observed later. Can be calculated. As a similarity determination algorithm in the similarity calculation, for example, a calculation method as shown in FIG. 28 can be considered. The calculation method of FIG. 28 corresponds to calculation of a correlation coefficient between a set of base station ID / electric field strength. In FIG. 28, IDi represents the i-th base station ID, Fi represents the electric field strength of the i-th base station, and d represents [IDi, Fi] (i = 1, 2,..., N). ID'j, F'j] (j = 1, 2,..., M) for convenience.

  In FIG. 28, for example, the client PC first initializes a variable of distance d to 0 in step S151, and then in step S152, [IDi, Fi] (i = 1, 2,..., N) Calculation of “distance” d for convenience is started between ID′j, F′j] (j = 1, 2,..., M).

  After starting the calculation, in step S153, the client PC determines whether the calculation loop for i, j where i = 1, 2,..., N, j = 1, 2,. Determine whether. If it is determined in step S153 that the process has not ended, it is determined in step S154 whether or not IDi = ID'j. If it is determined in step S154 that IDi = ID'j is not satisfied, the process returns to step S153. On the other hand, if it is determined that IDi = ID'j, d = d + Fi * F'j is determined in step S155. After that, the process returns to step S153.

  Thereafter, when the client PC determines in step S153 that the calculation loop has ended, d = d / (m * n) is obtained in step S156, and the distance d is obtained.

  In the above-described third embodiment, GPS or PHS is used to detect the position. However, for example, the traffic information beacon that has recently been deployed for the traffic information providing system, It is also possible to use an infrared beacon as in the embodiment.

  In the third embodiment, the providing medium for providing the computer program for executing the above process to the user is an information recording medium such as a magnetic disk, so-called CD-ROM, or a network such as the Internet or a digital satellite. A transmission medium is also included.

  Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the term “system” refers to an overall apparatus including a plurality of apparatuses and means.

  FIG. 29 shows a specific configuration example of a main part of the client PC (304, 404) applicable to the second and third embodiments described above.

  In FIG. 29, the ID taken in from the ID reader 305 such as the barcode reader is supplied to the ID analysis unit via the PCMCIA interface 501. The ID analysis unit 502 analyzes the supplied ID and supplies the analyzed ID data to the control unit 503.

  The position signal detected by the position recognition device 405 such as GPS or PHS is supplied to the position information calculation unit 505 via the PCMCIA interface 504. The position information calculation unit 505 calculates the current latitude / longitude (in the case of GPS) or convenient position information (in the case of PHS) based on the base station ID from the supplied signal, and the calculated current position data is used as the control unit 503. To supply.

  Data such as photographs, voices, and handwritten memos are input from the information input device 406, and the input data is supplied to the input information processing unit 506. The input information processing unit 506 performs processing according to the type of input data (photo, voice, handwritten memo, etc.) and supplies the input data after the processing to the control unit 503.

  Data such as text or keywords as search conditions is input from the keyboard 508, etc., and the internal clock 510 generates data of the current time (date and time), and the data from the keyboard 508 and the data from the internal clock 510 are controlled. Part 503.

  The control unit 503 uses the supplied ID data to access the server as described in the second embodiment, the input data, the keyword, the current time data, and the like. Information for bulletin board search and registration at the position as described in the embodiment is generated. Further, the control unit 503 generates a display signal to be displayed on an LCD (liquid crystal display) 507 as a display device, and further via a communication unit 509 as a device for connecting to the modem and the wireless network. Send and receive data to and from the server.

  As described above, according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention, information exchange using a bulletin board corresponding to a real-world item or position can be easily performed. Information can be obtained and new information can be easily notified to others. Further, according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention, it can be utilized as an information system for notifying product support information, advertisement information regarding a specific place, and the like. In addition, it is possible to attach a link related to an article or position supported by a certain bulletin board (for example, advertisement of a related product or advertisement of a store) to the bulletin board. It is also useful as an advertising medium that reliably delivers information to the community.

  As described above, according to the information processing apparatus and method and the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the assignment information is captured corresponding to the specific information for specifying the real world situation. It is possible to attach attachment information virtually to the situation. Further, the given information is information that can be browsed and exchanged related to the situation in the real world. Therefore, according to the present invention, not only the information (for example, image information, text information, voice information, etc.) corresponding to the real world situation (for example, position and object) is presented to the user, but the user Such information can be given to the situation, and the user can quickly and easily find desired information.

  In addition, according to the information processing apparatus and method according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the given information is stored in correspondence with the real world situation, information corresponding to the real world situation is provided to the user. Can be provided. This assigned information is information that can be browsed and exchanged related to the situation in the real world. Therefore, according to the present invention, not only the information (for example, image information, text information, voice information, etc.) corresponding to the real world situation (for example, position and object) is presented to the user, but the user Such information can be given to the situation, and the user can quickly and easily find desired information.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  1,121 Real World Environment, 2,8,122 Wearable Computer, 3,123 Sensor, 4,124 HUD, 5,12,125 Server, 5a, 12a, 125a Database, 6,7,15 Normal Computer, 11 Wearable Unit , 13 WWW interface, 14 E-mail interface, 16 Wireless LAN, 17 Infrared beacon, 21 CCD video camera, 22 IR sensor, 23 mouse, 24 microphone, 25 interface box, 26 sub-note PC, 27 HUD, 28 earphone, 31 PCMCIA Interface, 32 communication unit, 61 image processing unit, 62 position information detection unit, 63 voice processing unit, 65 control unit, 66 synthesis unit, 71 personal information area , 72 Situation-dependent area, 73 Location part, 74 Object part, 301, 401 Server, 302, 402 Hard disk, 303, 403 Network, 304, 404 Client PC, 305 ID reader, 306 Bar code, 307, 405 Position recognition Device, 406 information input device

Claims (12)

Position detection means for detecting the current position;
An object identification means for identifying an object as a real-world object;
By the grant information given by the user via the grant information fetching means to the real world situation specified by the position information detected by the position detection means, and the object information identified by the object identification means Display means for displaying the given information given by the user through the given information capturing means for the identified real-world situation in different areas that can be visually identified ;
A communication means for communicating with the information processing apparatus;
Giving information given to the real world situation specified by the position information detected by the position detecting means, or giving to the real world situation specified by the object information identified by the object identifying means An information processing terminal comprising: registration instruction means for instructing to store the assigned information transmitted to the information processing apparatus via the communication means and storing it in a database provided in the information processing apparatus . The registration instruction means instructs to select whether the grant information is given to the real-world situation specified by the position information or the object information, and stores it in the database. The information processing terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information processing terminal instructs. The display screen of the display means includes a position information area for displaying information related to the position information, an object information area for displaying information related to the object information, and an additional information area for displaying the additional information. Displayed,
By dragging and dropping the icon indicating the grant information displayed in the grant information area to the position information area or the object information area, the grant information is specified by either the position information or the object information. The information processing terminal according to claim 2 , wherein the information processing terminal instructs to select whether to be given to a real world situation. From the database, granted information stored by being given to the real world situation specified by the position information detected by the position detecting means, or by the object information identified by the object identifying means. It further has grant information acquisition means for acquiring grant information that is given and stored for the situation in the world,
The display means includes grant information given to a real world situation specified by the position information acquired from the database and grant information given to a real world situation specified by the object information. The information processing terminal according to claim 3 , wherein the information is displayed in the assigned information area. In an information processing system configured to include an information processing device and an information processing terminal that communicates with the information processing device,
The information processing terminal
A communication means for communicating with the information processing apparatus;
Position detection means for detecting the current position;
An object identification means for identifying an object as a real-world object;
By the grant information given by the user via the grant information fetching means to the real world situation specified by the position information detected by the position detection means, and the object information identified by the object identification means Display means for displaying the given information given by the user through the given information capturing means for the specified real-world situation in different areas that can be visually identified;
The information processing apparatus
A communication means for communicating with the information processing terminal;
Possess a database for storing the granted information given to real-world situations identified by the grant information or the object identification information granted to real world situations identified by the location information ,
The information processing terminal is provided with attached information given to a situation in the real world specified by the position information detected by the position detecting means, or real world specified by the object information identified by the object identifying means. The information processing system which further has a registration instruction | indication means which instruct | indicates to store the grant information provided with respect to the condition of said with respect to the said database . The registration instructing means of the information processing terminal instructs the database to select whether the grant information is given to the real world situation specified by the position information or the object information. 6. The information processing system according to claim 5, which instructs to store the information. The display screen of the display means of the information processing terminal displays a position information area for displaying information related to the position information, an object information area for displaying information related to the object information, and the given information. And the grant information area is displayed,
By dragging and dropping the icon indicating the grant information displayed in the grant information area to the position information area or the object information area, the grant information is specified by either the position information or the object information. The information processing system according to claim 6 , wherein the information processing system instructs to select whether to be given to a real world situation. The information processing terminal is provided from the database of the information processing device, and is given and stored with respect to the real-world situation specified by the position information detected by the position detection means, or the object identification means Further includes grant information acquisition means for acquiring grant information assigned and stored for the real-world situation identified by the object information identified by
The display means of the information processing terminal is configured to provide grant information assigned to a real world situation specified by the position information acquired from the database and a real world situation specified by the object information. The information processing system according to claim 7 , wherein the assigned information is displayed in a user-identifiable display form. In an information processing method of an information processing system configured to include an information processing device and an information processing terminal that communicates with the information processing device,
The information processing terminal detects a current position by a position detection unit, identifies an object by an object identification unit as an object in the real world, and identifies a real-world situation specified by position information detected by the position detection unit available through the issuance information capturing means with respect to real-world situations identified by the object information identified by the application information and the object identification means applied by the user via the issuance information capturing means with respect to and imparting information added by the user, and displayed on the display means in a visually distinguishable display mode, the registration instruction means, imparting information granted to real world situations identified or by the location information The information processing apparatus transmits the grant information given to the real world situation specified by the object information to the information processing apparatus. Register instructed to store in a database,
The information processing apparatus, based on the registration instruction, for the real world situation specified by the grant information or the object identification information given to the real world situation specified by the position information in the database. An information processing method for storing the above-mentioned grant information given in step (b). The registration instruction means instructs to select whether the grant information is given to the real-world situation specified by the position information or the object information, and stores it in the database. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein an instruction is given. The display screen of the display means of the information processing terminal displays a position information area for displaying information related to the position information, an object information area for displaying information related to the object information, and the given information. And the grant information area is displayed,
By dragging and dropping the icon indicating the grant information displayed in the grant information area to the position information area or the object information area, the grant information is specified by either the position information or the object information. The information processing method according to claim 10 , wherein a selection instruction is given as to whether or not to be given to a real world situation. The information processing terminal stores stored grant information given to the real-world situation specified by the location information detected by the location detection unit from the database of the information processing device, or the object identification unit Retrieve stored grant information given to the real-world situation identified by the object information identified by
The display of the grant information given to the real world situation specified by the position information acquired from the database and the grant information given to the real world situation specified by the object information 12. The information processing method according to claim 11 , wherein the information is displayed on the means in a display form that allows user identification.

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