JP5334911B2 - 3D map image generation program and 3D map image generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and effectively generate a virtual space in which visual indications such as symbols or images to represent facilities existing in the real world are placed. <P>SOLUTION: Websites are automatically and recursively visited through hyperlinks, and information is downloaded from the websites. Contents containing facility information associated with address information are retrieved from the information downloaded from the visited websites. The retrieved contents are indexed by associating the address information contained in the retrieved contents with the facility information of the facilities existing in the places corresponding to the address information. A visual indication indicative of the facility is superimposed on a map image at the position corresponding to the address of the facility with reference to the indexed contents. The map image whereon the visual indication is superimposed is transmitted to a user through the Internet in response to the request from the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for generating a map image and providing it to a user and a server computer, and in particular, generates a three-dimensional map image in which a three-dimensional image such as a columnar image is arranged, and constructs a virtual space representing a building existing in the real world. Regarding technology.

  In recent years, a 3D map image in which a 3D image such as a columnar image representing a building in the real world is introduced in a map display space provided by a car navigation device or a virtual space that realizes a virtual shopping mall has been introduced. It is coming. For example, such a three-dimensional map image is searched for building height data corresponding to the XY coordinate value of each constituent point constituting a certain map element, and the height is displayed at a location on the map specified by each constituent point. It is generated by arranging columnar images having a height corresponding to the height data (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-149681

  However, in Patent Document 1, in order to generate a three-dimensional map image in which a three-dimensional image such as a columnar image is arranged, an operator manually performs building height data corresponding to the XY coordinate values of each component point in advance. Must be created. Also, in the real world, building construction, renovation and demolition are frequently performed in practice, and it takes an enormous amount of time to maintain the building height data. Therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of the labor of the operator that occurs when generating a 3D map image in which 3D images such as columnar images are arranged.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for easily constructing a virtual space expressing a building existing in the real world.

  An aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problem is a three-dimensional map image generation program. The three-dimensional map image generation program is a program for generating a three-dimensional map image using information on the Internet, and transmits a request message to a map server by designating an area on the map. A 360 ° panorama map corresponding to the area on the map by sending a request message to the street level view server corresponding to the area on the map. Receiving a provision of a street level view, generating a columnar image representing a building included in the area on the map by image processing the 360 ° panoramic street level view, and By superimposing columnar images, a virtual three-dimensional space corresponding to the area on the map is displayed. And generating a landscape CG whose viewpoint can be freely changed, and causing the computer to execute.

  The three-dimensional map image generation program of the above aspect includes a program executed on the user side terminal and a program executed on the web server side, and the program executed on the web server side is transmitted from the user side terminal. In response to a request message specifying the area on the transmitted map, corresponding to the area on the map, the request message is transmitted to the street level view server, thereby corresponding to the area on the map. Receiving a 360 ° panoramic street level view; and processing the 360 ° panoramic street level view to generate a columnar image representing a building included in the area on the map. The program executed by the web server and executed by the user terminal is Receiving the planar map provided from the map server; receiving a columnar image representing a building included in an area on the map from the web server; and the columnar map on the planar map. You may make the said user side terminal perform the step which produces | generates the landscape CG which can change freely the viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space corresponding to the area | region on the said map by superimposing an image.

  The program executed on the web server side receives 360 ° panorama street level view corresponding to the specified area from the street level view server by specifying latitude / longitude and size. The step may be performed by a web server.

  Further, the program executed on the web server side executes a step of receiving a map image corresponding to the designated area from the map server by designating the latitude / longitude and the size to the web server. You may let them.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, a virtual space expressing a building existing in the real world can be easily constructed.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the three-dimensional map image generation system which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the three-dimensional map image generation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a position information holding unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the website provided by the web server which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of an address information holding unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first display mode of a columnar image to which the facility image according to the first embodiment is pasted, while FIG. 6B relates to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the 2nd display mode of the columnar image to which the facility image was stuck. It is a figure which shows a mode that the map image containing the columnar image to which the facility image which concerns on Embodiment 1 was affixed is displayed on a screen. 6 is a diagram illustrating a flow of processing for generating a three-dimensional map image according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the three-dimensional map image generation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that the columnar image on which the facility image which concerns on Embodiment 2 was affixed is displayed on a screen. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of an address information holding unit according to Embodiment 3. It is a figure which shows an example of the display mode of the columnar image to which the facility image which concerns on Embodiment 3 was affixed. It is a figure which shows the structure of the three-dimensional map image generation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the columnar image which stuck the some facility image which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the three-dimensional map image generation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 5. FIG. It is a figure which shows the three-dimensional map image generation apparatus mounted as a web server connected to the internet. It is a figure explaining the typical usage pattern of the web server shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the floor design template used by embodiment of this invention. A web server that provides 3D map images, a user terminal that receives 3D map images from this web server, a map server that provides flat maps, and a search server that performs general Internet web searches It is explanatory drawing which shows the message and information exchanged between an engine, the street level view server which provides a 360 degree | times street level view, and a website of a facility.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a three-dimensional map image generation system according to the first embodiment. The three-dimensional map image generation system 10 according to the first embodiment is based on content posted on a website, electronic bulletin boards, blogs, e-mails, and other information that can be acquired via the Internet, such as buildings and domes. A three-dimensional map image including a three-dimensional image such as a columnar image or a spherical image representing a building is generated. In this specification, for convenience, these information sources are comprehensively displayed using the term website. In this specification, the term columnar image generally represents a rectangular column such as a quadrangular column, a cylinder, or other columnar shape. In addition, the expression format of the content posted on the website is not limited. That is, the content posted on the website may be expressed in any format such as a text format, an image format, a moving image format, and an audio format. Hereinafter, in this specification, a case where a three-dimensional map image including a columnar image is generated will be described as an example. As another example, a stereoscopic image having the shape may be generated according to the shape of the building to be expressed.

  The three-dimensional map image including the columnar image generated by the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 is used as, for example, a landscape CG (computer graphics) model that can freely change the viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space. Here, the three-dimensional columnar image represents a virtual building. A virtual shopping mall can be formed by further arranging a virtual store inside the virtual building.

  The three-dimensional map image generation system 10 includes a three-dimensional map image generation device 100, a web server 50, and a communication network 12. The communication network 12 is actually the Internet. The three-dimensional map image generation device 100 and the web server 50 are implemented by a personal computer, for example, and are connected to each other via the communication network 12. The communication network 12 according to the first embodiment includes a WAN (Wide Area Network) connected to the Internet and a LAN (Local Area Network). Alternatively, a communication network that transmits and receives predetermined data according to a communication standard such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) is included.

  The web server 50 publishes content posted on the website to the outside via the communication network 12. If the content provider is, for example, a store that operates a shopping business, the website shows the content indicating the name of the facility of the store, the content indicating the products and services handled by the facility, and the content indicating the address of the facility Will be posted. Hereinafter, general information related to the facility, such as the name of the facility, the products and services handled by the facility, the address of the facility, the outline of the facility, and the comment information of the user regarding the facility, is appropriately referred to as facility information.

  Although the details will be described later, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 generates a columnar image representing a facility and a building including the facility based on content posted on a website. The columnar image generated by the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 is arranged on the map image. Thereby, a map image including a columnar image representing a facility or a building including the facility can be generated.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the three-dimensional map image generation device according to the first embodiment. The three-dimensional map image generation device 100 includes a control unit 110, a display unit 190, a map image holding unit 102, a position information holding unit 104, a content holding unit 106, and an address information holding unit 108. The control unit 110 includes an acquisition unit 120, an address information acquisition unit 122, a floor information extraction unit 124, a floor specification unit 150, an attribute specification unit 126, a facility image association unit 128, a sorting unit 160, and an allocation. Unit 130 and a stereoscopic image generation unit 132. The sorting unit 160 further includes a counting unit 162.

  In terms of hardware components, these configurations are realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, a program loaded in the memory, etc. of an arbitrary computer. Here, functional blocks realized by their cooperation are shown. I'm drawing. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

  The map image holding unit 102 holds a map image. The three-dimensional map image generation device 100 acquires a map image provided by a map image provider such as the Geographical Survey Institute and stores it in the map image holding unit 102. The map image is, for example, a Japan map in which a coordinate system in real space, for example, a latitude / longitude coordinate system is set. That is, each point on the map image is associated with a latitude / longitude value which is position information indicating a position in the real world.

  The position information holding unit 104 holds a correspondence relationship between address information indicating the address of the building and position information indicating the position on the map image indicated by the address information. The address information held in the position information holding unit 104 is a list of address information indicating addresses that exist in the real world. This address information is partitioned to an address level of “X of address X” so that the building located at the address indicated by the address information can be uniquely identified. For example, the location information holding unit 104 stores address information that has been partitioned up to an address level of “1 of 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture”. This address information is, for example, an address acquired from a website (for example, http://phonebook.yahoo.co.jp) provided by a provider such as a telephone directory provider, a postal provider, or a map provider. Generated based on the list data. The specific data structure of the position information holding unit 104 will be described later.

  As an example of position information representing a position on a map image, a latitude / longitude value is given. In this case, in order to generate correspondence data between address information and latitude / longitude values, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 may use a web service that outputs latitude / longitude values corresponding to the address information. As a result, for example, the latitude / longitude value “latitude 31 degrees 36 minutes, longitude 130 degrees 31 minutes” associated with the address information “1 1 Chuocho 1-chome, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture” is transmitted to the communication network 12. Can be obtained through. Thereby, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 can specify the position on the map image indicated by the latitude / longitude value by referring to the latitude / longitude value associated with the address information in the position information holding unit 104.

  The capturing unit 120 captures the content posted on the website into the inside of the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 regularly or irregularly via the communication network 12. The capturing unit 120 may be a so-called robot search crawler, and recursively traces hyperlinks, circulates a huge number of websites, and captures content posted on the websites. The content captured by the capture unit 120 is stored in a content storage unit described later.

  The content holding unit 106 holds the contents constituting the content in the website captured by the capturing unit 120 in association with each other for each website including the content. For example, if a website contains content that indicates the name of the facility of the store, content that indicates the product or service handled by the facility, content that indicates the address of the facility, etc., the contents are stored in association with each other. To do.

  The address information acquisition unit 122 acquires address information representing the same building from the content holding unit 106. Specifically, the address information acquisition unit 122 refers to a plurality of address information included in the content acquired from the website via the communication network 12, identifies address information representing the same building, and The identified address information is acquired from the content holding unit 106.

  Specifically, the address information acquisition unit 122 sets the address information held in the position information holding unit 104 as a search word, and acquires address information including the set keyword from the content holding unit 106. This search word includes up to the address of the address information. That is, the address information excludes the part “XX building 2F”. For example, if the search word “1 of 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima prefecture” is set, address information indicating “1 Building 2F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima prefecture” Address information indicating “1F Building 4F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City” can be acquired.

  For example, if the message “Meeting at 4 o'clock of 1 XX building in 1-chome, 1-chome, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima, at 20:00 on October 10” is present in the content holding unit 106, the message “Kagoshima You may acquire the address information of 1XX Building 4F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi. That is, address information including a search word such as “1 in Chuocho 1-chome, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima Prefecture” is obtained on a random basis, regardless of the content, the origin of the information, and whether the information is authentic. This is because it is only necessary to obtain the floor information indicating the floor provided in the building. Note that all of the acquired address information represents the same building “XX building”. The address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122 in this way is held in the address information holding unit 108.

  The attribute specifying unit 126 acquires facility information associated with the address information acquired by the address information acquiring unit 122 from the content holding unit 106, and specifies an attribute of the facility. Here, inside the three-dimensional map image generation apparatus 100, there are attribute information indicating attributes such as “barber” and keywords for specifying the attribute “barber” such as “hair”, “shampoo”, and “cut”. , An attribute information holding unit (not shown) is provided in advance.

  The attribute specifying unit 126 extracts a keyword included in the facility information and specifies the attribute of the facility. Specifically, the attribute specifying unit 126 extracts a noun-type keyword, for example, the keyword “hair” or “shampoo” from the facility information. Next, the attribute information is acquired from the attribute information holding unit using the keywords as search keys, and the facility attributes are specified. In addition, if the attribute which the attribute information acquired for every keyword differs, it is good also considering the attribute which attribute information acquired most as an attribute of a facility.

  The facility image association unit 128 associates the identified facility attribute with an image for expressing the facility on the map image (hereinafter referred to as “facility image”). The correspondence information between the facility attribute information and the facility image is held in an address information holding unit described later. The facility image referred to in the first embodiment is assumed to use the same image, for example, an image of white color, regardless of the facility attribute.

  The address information holding unit 108 holds information about the facility such as the address information acquired by the address information acquiring unit 122 and the name of the facility. Specifically, the address information holding unit 108 includes the address information of the facility, the name of the facility associated with the address information, the name of the building including the facility, and the URL of the website on which the address information is posted ( Uniform Resource Locator). The address information holding unit 108 further holds attribute information indicating an attribute of the facility and a facility image. A specific data structure of the address information holding unit 108 will be described later.

  The floor information extraction unit 124 extracts floor information indicating the floor number from the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122. For example, if the address information is “1F Building 2F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture”, the floor information “2F” is extracted. Of course, the floor information indicates the floor number “2 floors above ground”.

  The floor specifying unit 150 specifies the top floor of the building based on the floor indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extracting unit 124. If there are a plurality of floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extracting unit 124, the floor specifying unit 150 specifies the highest floor among the plurality of floors as the highest floor of the building. For example, if the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 are “2F above ground”, “4F above ground”, “10F above ground”, and “12F above ground”, the floor specifying unit 150 may include the top floor of the building. The floor number is specified as “12F above the ground”.

  The stereoscopic image generating unit 132 generates a columnar image having a height corresponding to the highest floor specified by the floor specifying unit 150. For example, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 generates a gray-colored columnar image having a height corresponding to the highest floor number “12F on the ground”. For example, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 generates a columnar image having a height of 120 pixels in the vertical direction in association with “the ground 12F”. Note that the number of pixels at the height of the columnar image may be adjusted according to the resolution of the display. The correspondence between the highest floor number and the number of pixels representing the height of the floor may be held in advance in a database (not shown) in the three-dimensional map image generation device 100. In this case, the higher the highest rank, the larger the number of pixels. However, if the building height is directly described in the address information, a columnar image corresponding to the height is generated.

  The three-dimensional image generation unit 132 further refers to the map image holding unit 102 and the position information holding unit 104, and identifies the columnar image generated by itself by the position information associated with the address information of the same building. Place in the upper position. Specifically, for example, if the address information of the same building is “1 in 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture”, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 corresponds to the address information. It is arranged at a position on the map image specified by the latitude and longitude values of “latitude 31 degrees 36 minutes, longitude 130 degrees 31 minutes” attached.

  When a columnar image has already been arranged at the position on the map image specified by the latitude and longitude values by the previous arrangement processing, the stereoscopic image generating unit 132 once deletes the already arranged columnar image. Then, the newly generated columnar image is rearranged. On the other hand, the stereoscopic image generating unit 132 may simply adjust the height of the already arranged columnar images up and down instead of rearranging the columnar images. In the latter case, for example, if a columnar image representing a building with a higher floor is to be placed by a new content import process, the height of the columnar image is increased.

  As described above, the sorting unit 160 includes the counting unit 162. The counting unit 162 classifies the floor information extracted by the floor information extracting unit 124 into one or more groups for each floor indicated by the floor information, and counts the number of the classified groups. The sorting unit 160 divides the columnar image generated by the stereoscopic image generating unit 132 into a hierarchical structure into blocks equal to or greater than the number counted by the counting unit 162. Here, the block is a rectangular space provided for attaching a facility image, as will be described in detail later.

  For example, when the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 are “2F”, “4F”, “10F”, and “12F”, these four floor information is classified into four groups. . In this case, the columnar image generated by the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 is divided into four or more blocks.

  On the other hand, when there is the same floor among the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124, the plurality of floor information indicating the same floor is classified into one group. For example, if the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 are “2F”, “2F”, “10F”, and “12F”, the floor information is the first group “2F”, “ It is classified into three groups: a second group “10F” and a third group “12F”. In this case, the columnar image generated by the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 is divided into three or more blocks.

  The assigning unit 130 assigns the floor indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extracting unit 124 to the blocks divided by the sorting unit 160. For example, the allocating unit 130 assigns the number of floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extracting unit 124 to each of the four blocks partitioned by the partitioning unit 160 in ascending order from the lower layer to the upper layer, for example, “2F ”,“ 4F ”,“ 10F ”, and“ 12F ”. The allocation relationship between the blocks and the floors generated by the allocation unit 130 may be held in the 3D map image generation device 100.

  The above-described stereoscopic image generation unit 132 attaches the facility image associated with the identification information of the facility to the block of the floor number associated with the facility information. Specifically, for example, when the address information acquisition unit 122 acquires the address information of the “ABC” facility “1 Building 2F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture”, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 Attaches the facility image associated with the identification information of the “ABC” facility to the block of the floor number “2F”.

  The display unit 190 displays a map image including a columnar image to which the facility image is pasted by the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 to the user via the display. In this way, if there is a facility image to be pasted, a columnar image to which the facility image is pasted is generated. Thus, by pasting and displaying the facility image on the columnar image representing the building, it is possible to clearly indicate to the user that the facility represented by the facility exists in the building in the real world. Of course, if there is no facility image to be pasted, a gray-colored columnar image with no facility image pasted is displayed as it is.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the data structure of the position information holding unit according to the first embodiment. The position information holding unit 104 holds a correspondence relationship between address information indicating a building address and position information indicating a position on a map image specified by the address information. The location information holding unit 104 shown in FIG. 3 includes an address ID column 202, an address information column 204, and a location information column 206. The address ID column 202 stores an address ID for uniquely identifying address information. The address information column 204 stores a list of address information indicating addresses that exist in the real world. The position information column 206 stores latitude and longitude values that are position information indicating positions in the real world.

  For example, in the case of the data 210, it is indicated that the address information “1 in 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture” is associated with the address ID “KA0001”. Further, it indicates that a latitude / longitude value of “latitude 31 degrees 36 minutes, longitude 130 degrees 31 minutes” is associated as a position on the map image specified by the address information. That is, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 can specify the position on the map image indicated by the latitude / longitude value from the address information by referring to the latitude / longitude value associated with the address information.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a website provided by a web server. The content 28 posted on the website 20 shown in FIG. 4 shows the content 22 of the name of the facility of the “ABC” store, the content 26 of the list of services and products provided by the facility, and the address of the facility. Content 24 of address information is included. The content 28 posted on the website is acquired by the capturing unit 120 via the communication network 12 illustrated in FIG. 1, and the content is associated with each other and held in the content holding unit 106.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the data structure of the address information holding unit according to the first embodiment. The address information holding unit 108 holds the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122 and the like. The address information holding unit 108 shown in FIG. 5 includes a facility ID column 212, a facility name column 214, an address information column 216, a building name column 218, a URL column 220, an attribute information column 222, and a facility image name. Column 224 is provided.

  The facility ID column 212 stores an identification number for uniquely identifying a facility. In the address information column 216 and the facility name column 214, the address information expressing the same building acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122 and the name of the facility associated with the address information are stored. The building name column 218 stores the name of the building included in the address information, that is, the name of the building including the facility. The URL column 220 stores the URL of a website from which address information and facility names are acquired.

  The attribute information column 222 stores attribute information indicating the attribute of the facility. The facility image name column 224 stores the name of the facility image for expressing the facility on the map image. As described above, in the first embodiment, the facility image A of the same image is uniformly stored regardless of the facility attribute.

  Here, regarding the data 230, the facility ID is “0001”, the name of the facility is “ABC”, and the address information of the facility is “1 Building 2F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture”. Indicates that Furthermore, the name of the building including the “ABC” facility is “XX building”, and the URL of the website from which the facility name and address information is acquired is “http: // abc˜”. Show. Furthermore, the attribute of the “ABC” facility is “barber shop”, which indicates that the facility is represented on the map image using an image named “facility image A”.

  6A shows an example of the first display mode of the columnar image with the facility image pasted, while FIG. 6B shows the second display mode of the columnar image with the facility image pasted. An example is shown. Reference numeral 61 indicates a region to which the facility image is attached, or the facility image itself for convenience. Specifically, FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B show columnar images generated using the data structure shown in FIG. That is, in both FIGS. 6A and 6B, the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 shown in FIG. 2 are “2F”, “4F”, “10F”, and “12F”. This is an example of a columnar image generated when “

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the columnar image generated by the stereoscopic image generating unit 132 is divided into a plurality of hierarchical blocks by the dividing unit 160. Here, the difference between the columnar image shown in FIG. 6A and the columnar image shown in FIG. 6B is the number of divided blocks.

  The columnar image shown in FIG. 6A is divided into blocks of the number itself counted by the counting unit 162. First, the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 shown in FIG. 2 are “2F”, “4F”, “10F”, and “12F”, and the plurality of floor information is classified into four groups. The Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, the dividing unit 160 divides the block into four blocks. The allocation unit 130 assigns the rank indicated by the rank information extracted by the rank information extraction unit 124 to each of the four divided blocks in ascending order from the lower layer to the upper layer. That is, “2F” is assigned to the first block 62, “4F” is assigned to the second block 64, “10F” is assigned to the third block 66, and “12F” is assigned to the fourth block 68.

  In each of the four blocks assigned to the floors “2F”, “4F”, “10F”, and “12F”, the facility image of the facility provided on the floor is pasted by the stereoscopic image generation unit 132. . That is, the facility image 61 of the “ABC” facility is in the first block 62, the facility image 61 of the “DEF” facility is in the second block 64, the facility image 61 of the “GHI” facility is in the third block 66, the fourth block A facility image 61 of the “JKL” facility is attached to 68. In addition, the facility image 61 shown in this figure is the same image uniformly, and all are the facility images A.

  On the other hand, the columnar image shown in FIG. 6B is divided into blocks of the number represented by the highest floor specified by the floor specifying unit 150. However, the floors for which there is no corresponding floor information are hatched, and the boundaries in them are omitted. For example, if the data shown in FIG. 5 is used, since the highest floor number is specified as “12F” by the floor number specifying unit 150, the data is divided into 12 blocks by the sorting unit 160.

  Among the 12 divided blocks, each of the 4 blocks assigned to the floors “2F”, “4F”, “10F” and “12F” has a facility image of the facility provided on that floor. Is pasted by the stereoscopic image generation unit 132. That is, the facility image 61 of the “ABC” facility is in the first block 62, the facility image 61 of the “DEF” facility is in the second block 64, the facility image 61 of the “GHI” facility is in the third block 66, the fourth block A facility image 61 of the “JKL” facility is attached to 68.

  In addition, the facility image is not affixed to the shaded blocks other than the four blocks to which the facility image is affixed as shown in FIG. This is because the address information including the floor information indicating the floor to be assigned to the hatched block could not be acquired from the website. The hatched block is an image of a columnar image itself, for example, a gray color image.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which a map image including a columnar image with a facility image attached is displayed on the screen. Specifically, the columnar image 60 to which the facility image of each facility is attached is arranged at the position indicated by the latitude and longitude values on the map image 70 specified by the address information of the building including the facility. As shown in FIG. 7, the columnar image 60 is arranged, for example, in a rectangular area having a predetermined size centered on the position indicated by the latitude and longitude values. As another example, if the map image held in the map image holding unit 102 is originally partitioned into a plurality of regions, the columnar image may be arranged in a region including the position indicated by the latitude and longitude values. For example, if the map image is a satellite photograph or aerial photograph generated by shooting from the sky, the area indicating the bottom of the building specified from the sky can be set on the map image, and as a result, the area Columnar images can be placed inside.

  In addition, in the vicinity of a block that divides the columnar image 60 arranged on the map image 70, for example, a block to which “12F” is assigned, a website on which information related to the facility associated with the block is posted is accessed. Possible URLs are displayed on the display unit 190. As another example, information for promoting a visit to a facility such as a store, for example, coupon ticket or event guide information may be displayed in the vicinity of the block. When the three-dimensional map image generation apparatus 100 receives a website reference request from the user, the display unit 190 displays a website on which information related to the facility is posted to the user. Thereby, a user who is interested in the facility indicated by the facility image can be guided to a website transmitted by the facility.

  FIG. 8 shows a flow of processing for generating a 3D map image according to the first embodiment. The capturing unit 120 captures the content posted on the website via the communication network 12 regularly or irregularly, for example, once a day (S10). The content captured by the capture unit 120 is stored in the content storage unit 106.

  The address information acquisition unit 122 refers to a plurality of address information included in the content acquired from the website via the communication network 12, identifies address information representing the same building, and uses the identified address information. Obtained from the content holding unit 106 (S12). Specifically, the address information acquisition unit 122 sets the address information held in the position information holding unit 104 as a search word, and acquires address information including the set keyword from the content holding unit 106.

  For example, if the search word “1 in 1-chome Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima-ken” is set, the address information acquisition unit 122 expresses the same building “XX building”, “Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima Address information indicating “1F building 2F at 1-chome address 1” and address information indicating “1F building 4F at 1-chome Chuo-cho, Kagoshima city, Kagoshima prefecture” are acquired. The address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122 is held in the address information holding unit 108.

  The attribute specifying unit 126 acquires facility information associated with the address information acquired by the address information acquiring unit 122 from the content holding unit 106, and specifies the attribute of the facility (S14). For example, if a keyword such as “hair” or “shampoo” is extracted from the facility information, the attribute specifying unit 126 specifies that the attribute of the facility is “barber shop”.

  The facility image association unit 128 associates the identified facility attribute with the facility image of the facility (S16). For example, the attribute information “barber shop” indicating the attribute of the facility is associated with the facility image A of the facility. The correspondence relationship between the facility attribute information generated by the facility image associating unit 128 and the facility image is held in the address information holding unit 108.

  The floor information extraction unit 124 extracts floor information indicating the floor number from the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122. For example, if the address information is “1 Building 2F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture”, floor information “2F above ground” is extracted (S18).

  The floor specifying unit 150 specifies the highest floor of the building based on the floor indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extracting unit 124 (S20). For example, if the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 are “2F above ground”, “4F above ground”, “10F above ground”, and “12F above ground”, the floor specifying unit 150 may include the top floor of the building. The floor number is specified as “12F above the ground”.

  The stereoscopic image generating unit 132 generates a stereoscopic image having a height corresponding to the highest floor specified by the floor specifying unit 150, for example, a columnar image. For example, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 generates a gray-colored columnar image having a height corresponding to the highest floor number “12F on the ground” (S22).

  The three-dimensional image generation unit 132 refers to the map image holding unit 102 and the position information holding unit 104, and the generated columnar image is a position on the map image identified by the position information associated with the address information of the same building. (S24). The position information holding unit 104 holds a correspondence relationship between address information indicating the address of the building and position information indicating the position on the map image indicated by the address information. For example, the latitude and longitude values on the map image of “latitude 31 degrees 36 minutes, longitude 130 degrees 31 minutes” are associated with the address information “1 in 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture”. .

  For example, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 refers to the map image holding unit 102 and the position information holding unit 104, and if the address information of the same building is “1 in 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture”, the address It is arranged at a position on the map image specified by the latitude and longitude values of “latitude 31 degrees 36 minutes, longitude 130 degrees 31 minutes” associated with the information.

  The counting unit 162 classifies the floor information extracted by the floor information extracting unit 124 into one or more groups for each floor indicated by the floor information, and counts the number of the classified groups. The dividing unit 160 divides the columnar image generated by the stereoscopic image generating unit 132 into a hierarchical structure into blocks equal to or larger than the number counted by the counting unit 162 (S26).

  For example, when the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 are “2F”, “4F”, “10F”, and “12F”, the count unit 162 divides the four floor information into four groups. Classify. In this case, the classification unit 160 may classify the columnar image generated by the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 into four blocks.

  The allocating unit 130 allocates the floor indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extracting unit 124 to the blocks divided by the dividing unit 160 (S28). For example, the allocating unit 130 assigns the number of floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extracting unit 124 to each of the four blocks partitioned by the partitioning unit 160 in ascending order from the lower layer to the upper layer, for example, “2F ”,“ 4F ”,“ 10F ”, and“ 12F ”.

  The three-dimensional image generation unit 132 attaches the facility image associated with the identification information of the facility to the floor block associated with the facility information (S30). Specifically, for example, when the address information acquisition unit 122 acquires the address information of the facility “ABC” “1 Building 2F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture”, the stereoscopic image generation unit 122 132 affixes “facility image A” associated with the identification information of the facility “ABC” to the block of “2F” rank. The map image including the columnar image to which the facility image is pasted by the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 is displayed to the user via the display by the display unit 190 (S32). If there is no facility image to be pasted, a gray columnar image with no facility image pasted is displayed as it is.

  According to Embodiment 1, a 3D map image including a columnar image that represents a building in the real world can be automatically and easily generated based on content posted on a website. In addition, by continuously collecting content, it is possible to automatically update the columnar image height. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time and effort of the operator when generating the 3D map image. Note that the technical idea according to Embodiment 1 does not require the strictness that a virtual world that is completely identical to the real world must be formed when a three-dimensional map image including a columnar image is generated. In other words, the technical idea according to the first embodiment is based on the content posted on the website, so that a columnar image can be generated first, and then it should be completely matched with the real world. The height of the columnar image is finely adjusted. In that sense, the technical idea according to the first embodiment is to first provide a 3D map image creator with the basis of the 3D map image.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the columnar image is arranged at a position on the map image specified by the position information associated with the building address information. However, in the second embodiment, the columnar image is associated with the building address information. It is arranged at the position of the underground part on the map image specified by the obtained position information.

  FIG. 9 shows a configuration of the three-dimensional map image generation device according to the second embodiment. The same components as those in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. The configuration of the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 according to the second embodiment is the same as the configuration of the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 shown in FIG. 2, but the floor specification unit 150 according to the second embodiment further includes an underground determination unit 152. Is provided.

  The underground determination unit 152 determines whether the floor indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 is an underground floor. Specifically, when the underground determination unit 152 determines that at least one floor is an underground floor, the floor identification unit 150 determines the lowest floor among the floors determined to be an underground floor, Identified as the lowest floor of the building. For example, if the floor information indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 is “1F underground”, “2F underground”, “10F above ground”, and “12F above ground”, the floor number is determined to be “underground”. Of the “basement 1F” and “basement 2F”, “basement 2F” which is the lowest floor is specified as the lowest floor of the building. The basement determination unit 152 determines the number of floors according to whether or not there is a symbol such as “B” or a character such as “basement” in the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124. It is determined whether or not the floor indicated by the information is underground.

  The stereoscopic image generating unit 132 generates a columnar image having a height corresponding to the lowest floor specified by the floor specifying unit 150, and specifies the generated columnar image by position information associated with the building address information. It further has a function to arrange at the position of the underground part on the map image. For example, the three-dimensional image generation unit 132 generates a gray columnar image having a height corresponding to the lowest floor of “basement 2F”, for example, 20 pixels in height.

  FIG. 10 shows a state in which the columnar image with the facility image attached is arranged at the position of the underground portion on the map image and displayed on the screen. Specifically, the columnar image 60 on which the facility image of each facility is pasted by the stereoscopic image generating unit 132 is the underground portion indicated by the latitude and longitude values on the map image 72 specified by the address information of the building including the facility. It is arranged at the position. As shown in FIG. 10, roads on the ground are represented by chain lines in order to clearly indicate that the columnar image 60 is arranged in the underground portion of the map image. A switching icon 74 for switching to the ground portion of the map image is superimposed on the map image 72 by the display unit 190. Here, when a switching instruction from the user is received by pressing the switching icon 74, the display unit 190 switches to a map image of the ground portion where the columnar image is arranged, for example, the map image shown in FIG. To do.

  According to the second embodiment, a virtual environment that more realistically reproduces the real world can be formed by expressing not only the ground part of the building existing in the real world but also the underground part in a virtual environment called a three-dimensional map image. .

(Embodiment 3)
In the first embodiment, the same image as the facility image is pasted on the block. However, in the third embodiment, different types of images are pasted on the block as the facility image according to the attribute of the facility.

  The configuration of the 3D map image generation device 100 according to Embodiment 3 is the same as the configuration of the 3D map image generation device 100 shown in FIG. 2, but the facility image association unit 128 further includes the following functions. In addition, the same code | symbol is provided to the structure equivalent to FIG. 2, and description is abbreviate | omitted suitably.

  The facility image association unit 128 further has a function of associating different types of facility images according to the facility attributes specified by the attribute specifying unit 126. Specifically, for example, the facility image associating unit 128 uses the facility image B if the facility attribute specified by the attribute specifying unit 126 is “barber shop”, while the facility attribute specified by the attribute specifying unit 126. If “is a fashion store”, the facility image C is associated. The correspondence relationship between the facility attribute information generated by the facility image association unit 128 and the facility image is held in the address information holding unit 108.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of the data structure of the address information holding unit according to the third embodiment. Compared with the address information holding unit 108 shown in FIG. 5, the address information holding unit 108 shown in FIG. 11 stores different types of facility images according to the types of facility attributes.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of a display mode of a columnar image to which a facility image is attached. Specifically, FIG. 12 shows a columnar image generated using the data structure shown in FIG. That is, FIG. 12 is an example of a columnar image generated when the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 are “2F”, “4F”, “10F”, and “12F”.

  In each of the four blocks assigned to the floors “2F”, “4F”, “10F”, and “12F”, the facility image of the facility provided on the floor is pasted by the stereoscopic image generation unit 132. . That is, the facility image 63 of the “ABC” facility is in the first block 62, the facility image 65 of the “DEF” facility is in the second block 64, the facility image 67 of the “GHI” facility is in the third block 66, the fourth block A facility image 67 of the “JKL” facility is attached to 68. Here, the facility image 63 indicates the facility image B indicating the attribute of “barber shop”, the facility image 65 indicates the facility image C indicating the attribute of “fashion store”, and the facility image 67 indicates the facility image D indicating the attribute of “restaurant store”. It is.

  According to the third embodiment, by displaying a facility image that differs for each facility attribute on the map image, the user can grasp the difference in the facility attribute at a glance from the image.

(Embodiment 4)
The three-dimensional map image generation device 100 according to the first embodiment generates a columnar image in which one facility image is pasted to a block assigned to a certain floor number. The three-dimensional map image generation device 100 according to the fourth embodiment A columnar image in which a plurality of facility images are pasted on a block assigned to a certain floor is also generated. For example, if there are a plurality of facilities (for example, a barber shop or a fashion store) on a certain floor, one block is divided into a plurality of floor spaces (sub-blocks), and the respective facility images are pasted.

  FIG. 13 shows a configuration of a 3D map image generation apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. The same components as those in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Compared with the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 shown in FIG. 2, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 according to the fourth embodiment is further provided with a determination unit 134.

  The determination unit 134 refers to the plurality of floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 and determines whether or not there are a plurality of facilities on the same floor. Specifically, the determination unit 134 first determines whether or not the same floor is included in the plurality of floors indicated by the plurality of floor information. When the same floor is included, it is determined that there are a plurality of facilities on that floor. Thereafter, the determination unit 134 acquires the facility name of the facility associated with the address information including the floor information indicating the same floor number from the address information holding unit 108, and identifies the facility.

  For example, if the floors indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124 are “2F”, “2F”, “10F”, and “12F”, the determination unit 134 may include a plurality of floors “2F”. It is determined that there is a facility.

  The sorting unit 160 further includes a function of sorting the blocks assigned to the floors determined by the determining unit 134 to have a plurality of facilities into smaller rooms. Specifically, the sorting unit 160 calculates the number of facilities existing in the floors determined to be the same floor, and divides the rooms into the calculated number of rooms. For example, if there are two facilities in “2F”, the sorting unit 160 sorts the block assigned to “2F” into two small rooms.

  The three-dimensional image generation unit 132 pastes facility images of a plurality of facilities existing in the floor determined by the determination unit 134 to each of the rooms generated by the sorting unit 160. For example, when it is determined that the “ABC” facility and the “DEF” facility exist in “2F”, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 places the facility of the “ABC” facility in a room in the block assigned to “2F”. The facility image of the “DEF” facility is pasted in the other room. Below, some aspects of the room classification method and the facility image pasting method are listed as specific examples.

  (A) When a block is roughly divided into a plurality of rooms and the facility images of each facility are attached to each of the substantially equally divided rooms.

  In this case, the sorting unit 160 roughly divides blocks assigned to the number of floors determined by the determining unit 134 as having a plurality of facilities into smaller rooms. For example, the sorting unit 160 calculates the number of facilities existing in the floors determined to have the same floor, and divides the number of the facilities into approximately equal parts, for example, two equal parts or three equal parts. The stereoscopic image generation unit 132 affixes facility images of a plurality of facilities existing in the floor determined by the determination unit 134 to each of the substantially equally divided rooms.

  (A) With reference to the information on the relative positional relationship of each facility existing on the same floor, a room is generated so as to realize the relative positional relationship in the block, and the generated room is assigned to the room. When pasting facility images of assigned facilities respectively.

  In this case, the sorting unit 160 refers to the information that determines the relative positional relationship of each facility existing in the floor determined to be the same floor, and in the block assigned to the floor, You may further provide the arrangement | positioning determination part (not shown) which determines the arrangement position of each room produced | generated in order to set a facility image.

  Further, the sorting unit 160 may include a room allocation unit (not shown) that allocates a room generated by itself and a facility image to be set in the room for each room. In the block assigned to the floor determined to be the same floor, the sorting unit 160 generates rooms for the number of facilities existing in the floor at the layout position determined by the layout position determination unit. The stereoscopic image generation unit 132 attaches the facility image assigned to the room to the room generated by the sorting unit 160 for each room.

  Here, the information for determining the relative positional relationship of each facility is, for example, each facility such as azimuth information indicating the direction of the place where each facility exists, or floor plan information indicating the floor plan where each facility exists. Location information indicating the location of the. For example, if there is azimuth information “XX Building 2F East” in the website on which information related to the “ABC” facility is posted, the sorting unit 160 moves to the east side (upward on the screen) in the block assigned to 2F. If is north, the room is generated at the position on the east side of the screen on the right. The stereoscopic image generation unit 132 attaches the facility image of the “ABC” facility to the room generated by the sorting unit 160.

  (C) Referring to the information on the relative size relationship of each facility existing on the same floor, a room is generated in the block so as to realize the relative size relationship, and the generated room is assigned to the room. When pasting facility images of assigned facilities respectively.

  In this case, the sorting unit 160 refers to information for determining the relative magnitude relationship of each facility existing in the floor determined to be the same floor, and within each block allocated to the floor, You may provide the size determination part (not shown) which determines the size of each room produced | generated in order to set a facility image.

  Further, the sorting unit 160 may include a room allocation unit (not shown) that allocates a room generated by itself and a facility image to be set in the room for each room. The sorting unit 160 generates as many rooms of the size determined by the size determining unit as the number of facilities existing in the floor in the block assigned to the floor determined to be the same floor. The stereoscopic image generation unit 132 attaches the facility image assigned to the room to the room generated by the sorting unit 160 for each room.

  Here, the information for determining the relative size relationship of each facility includes, for example, sales information indicating sales of each facility, popularity information indicating popularity, reliability information indicating reliability of each facility, and the like. It is done. For example, the degree of popularity regarding a facility is set to a higher value as the number of access counters in a website that publishes information regarding the facility is larger. In addition, the reliability of a facility is set to a higher value as the establishment date of the facility in the website that publishes information about the facility is older.

  The room allocation unit in the sorting unit 160 refers to the popularity information of each facility, for example, and allocates the room of the maximum size to the “ABC” facility having the largest popularity information among the facilities. May be. The stereoscopic image generation unit 132 pastes the facility image of the “ABC” facility in the room of the maximum size generated by the sorting unit 160.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of a columnar image in which a plurality of facility images are pasted on a block assigned to a certain floor. In order to avoid the complexity of the figure, only the floor portion assigned to the block to which a plurality of facility images are attached, for example, only the “2F” portion of the columnar image is illustrated. The block 80 assigned to “2F” is divided into two rooms of the first room 82 and the second room 84 by the sorting unit 160. The first room 82 is assigned a first facility, such as an “ABC” facility, that exists in the floors determined to be the same floor, while the second room 84 has a second facility, For example, a “DEF” facility is assigned.

  Furthermore, the facility image 86 of the facility associated with the name “ABC” of the facility assigned to the room is pasted to the first room 82 by the stereoscopic image generating unit 132, while the facility image 86 of the facility is attached to the second room 84. The facility image 88 of the facility associated with the facility name “DEF” is pasted.

  According to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to represent a plurality of facilities on the same floor by pasting a facility image representing each facility on the same block on the columnar image, and as a result, reproduce the real world more realistically. Virtual environment can be formed.

(Embodiment 5)
In the embodiment, a stereoscopic image having a height corresponding to the highest floor specified by the floor specifying unit 150 is generated. However, as a modification, in a case of a predetermined condition, the height corresponding to the floor of the first floor is used. Automatically generate a 3D image.

  FIG. 15 shows a configuration of a 3D map image generation apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. The same components as those in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Compared with the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 shown in FIG. 2, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 according to the fifth embodiment is further provided with a floor information presence / absence determination unit 136. Note that the address information held in the position information holding unit 104 is not necessarily partitioned to the address level that can uniquely identify the building located at the address indicated by the address information. The building may be partitioned up to an address level that can identify a building.

  The address information acquisition unit 122 further includes a function of acquiring address information expressing the same address. Here, for example, the address information “1st Chuo-cho, 1-chome, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima-ken,” and the address information “1st chuo-cho, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima,” are 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima, Kagoshima. This is address information expressing the same address “No. 1”.

  The floor information presence / absence determination unit 136 determines whether the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122 includes floor information indicating the floor. For example, if the acquired address information is “1 Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima, 1-chome,” it is determined that the floor information is not included, whereas “1 Building, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima. 3F ”, it is determined that the floor information is included.

  The stereoscopic image generation unit 132 further has a function of generating a stereoscopic image having a height corresponding to the number of floors on the first floor when the floor information presence / absence determination unit 136 determines that the floor information is not included. Specifically, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 generates a columnar image corresponding to, for example, 10 pixels in the vertical direction, corresponding to “the first floor above the ground”. The number of pixels expressing the height of the first floor may be stored in advance in a database (not shown) in the three-dimensional map image generation device 100. The number of pixels expressing the height of the first floor is somewhat, for example, about 20%, depending on the building area of the facility represented in the stereoscopic image (land exclusive area of the building) and the material (wooden, reinforced concrete, etc.) It may be adjusted up and down within the range. If the building area is unknown, the floor area may be used instead for convenience. For example, the number of pixels is increased or decreased according to the total area occupied by the facility. The building area can also be calculated from the outline of the building described in the detailed image of the area.

  Next, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 generates the position at a position on the map image specified by the position information associated with the address information determined that the floor information is not included by the floor information presence / absence determination unit 136. It further has a function of arranging a stereoscopic image. For example, if the address information determined not to include the floor information is “1 Chuocho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture 1”, the three-dimensional image generation unit 132 “latitude 31” associated with the address information. It is arranged at a position on the map image specified by a latitude and longitude value of “degree 36 minutes, longitude 130 degrees 31 minutes”.

  If there is a plurality of pieces of address information determined by the floor information presence / absence determination unit 136 that the floor information is not included in the address information representing the same address, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 performs the following processing.

  (A) The three-dimensional image generation unit 132 generates a three-dimensional image having a height corresponding to the number of floors of the first floor for each address information determined by the floor information presence / absence determination unit 136 that the floor information is not included. Each generated stereoscopic image is arranged at a position on the map image specified by the position information. For example, the three-dimensional image generation unit 132 determines the position on the map image specified by the latitude and longitude values of “latitude 31 degrees 36 minutes, longitude 130 degrees 31 minutes”, respectively, as the three-dimensional images having heights corresponding to the number of floors on the first floor. To place. For example, they are arranged in a rectangular area of a predetermined size centered on the position indicated by the latitude and longitude values. As another example, if the map image held in the map image holding unit 102 is originally partitioned into a plurality of areas, the columnar image may be arranged in an area including the position indicated by the latitude and longitude values. As another example, even when the map image held in the map image holding unit 102 is not divided into a plurality of regions, the position on the map image specified by the latitude and longitude values forms a predetermined range. If there is, each columnar image may be arranged in each of a small range obtained by roughly dividing the range.

  (A) The stereoscopic image generating unit 132 generates one stereoscopic image having a height corresponding to the number of floors on the first floor, and the generated stereoscopic image is converted into floor information by a plurality of blocks, for example, the floor information presence / absence determining unit 136. Are divided into blocks corresponding to the number of address information determined not to be included. For example, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 generates one stereoscopic image having a height corresponding to the number of floors on the first floor, and the stereoscopic image is represented by a latitude and longitude value of “latitude 31 degrees 36 minutes, longitude 130 degrees 31 minutes”. Place it on the specified map image. Next, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 divides the arranged stereoscopic image into a plurality of blocks, and affixes the facility image of each facility to each of the plurality of blocks.

  According to the fifth embodiment, when the floor information presence / absence determining unit 136 determines that the floor information is not included, a stereoscopic image having a height corresponding to the floor number of the first floor can be automatically generated. It is possible to reduce the labor of an operator when generating an image. In addition, when the floor information presence / absence determination unit 136 determines that the floor information is not included, a stereoscopic image having a height corresponding to the floor number of at least the first floor is automatically generated, so that there are many in the real world. A house with a relatively low floor can be represented in the virtual environment as much as possible. In Europe and the United States, compared to Japan, there are more houses with lower floors than buildings with higher floors, so the technical idea according to this embodiment is particularly useful in Europe and the United States. On the other hand, in Japan, a stereoscopic image having a height corresponding to the number of floors such as the second floor and the 1.5th floor may be automatically generated instead of a stereoscopic image having a height corresponding to the number of floors on the first floor.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. The embodiments are exemplifications, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention. . Hereinafter, modifications will be described.

  The address information acquisition unit 122 according to the embodiment sets the address information held in the position information holding unit 104 as a search word as it is, but as a modification, sets the name of the building as a search word, You may acquire the address information to express. For example, if the search word “XX building” is set, the address information acquisition unit 122, as in the example shown in the first embodiment, reads “1 Building 1F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima Prefecture. And address information indicating “1F Building 4F, 1-chome, Chuo-cho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima-ken” can be acquired. Note that the search word “XX building” may be acquired as a result of searching with the keyword “building” from the content holding unit 106 or a telephone directory database operated by an external server.

  In the embodiment, based on the content posted on the website, the columnar image with the facility image attached is generated. As a modification, the address of the facility in the real world held in the external telephone directory database is used. A columnar image to which a facility image is attached may be generated based on address content indicating information. In this case, the capturing unit 120 captures the address content in the external telephone directory database into the content holding unit 106 regularly or irregularly via the communication network 12. Next, the address information acquisition unit 122 acquires address information representing the same building from the content holding unit 106. The subsequent processing is the same as in the embodiment. According to this modification, a three-dimensional map image including a columnar image representing a building in the real world can be automatically and easily generated based on address contents in the telephone directory database.

  The floor identification unit 150 according to the embodiment identifies the top floor of the building based on the floor indicated by the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124. As a modification, the floor identification unit 150 It may be determined whether or not the number of floors indicated by the information is valid, and the top floor number of the building may be specified based only on the number of floors determined to be valid. For example, when the maximum floor threshold “100F” is preset in the 3D map image generation apparatus 100 and the floor indicated by the floor information exceeds the maximum floor threshold “100F”, the floor specifying unit 150 The floor number indicated by the floor information is determined to be invalid.

  The maximum floor threshold value may be set to a different value for each area such as a prefecture or a city. Further, the maximum floor threshold value may be determined in consideration of the floors of other nearby buildings. For example, if there are no buildings with three or more floors in the vicinity, it can be determined that 50 stories is lacking in credibility, so such floor information is excluded. As another example, the maximum floor threshold value may be set to a different value depending on the size and material of the floor area of the facility. In this case, the floor specification unit 150 refers to the size and material of the floor area in the facility information associated with the address information including the floor information extracted by the floor information extraction unit 124. For example, if the floor area is 100 square meters, “100 floors” is set as the maximum floor threshold for the number of floors of the building including the facility. If the material is wooden, “4th floor” is set as the maximum floor threshold of the floor of the building including the facility.

  According to the present modification, first, by removing those whose floor numbers indicated by the floor information are not appropriate from the specific target of the maximum floor, it is possible to provide the user with a 3D map image that satisfies a certain standard in terms of quality.

  In the embodiment, the height of the block that divides the columnar image is constant. However, as a modification, the height of the block may be adjusted according to the attribute of the facility. In this case, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 further includes an adjustment unit (not shown) that adjusts the height of the block that divides the columnar image according to the attribute of the facility to be expressed.

  Specifically, the adjustment unit refers to the facility information associated with the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122, so that the attribute of the facility associated with the address information, for example, the floor area or Specify the material. The adjustment unit adjusts the height of the block assigned to the floor to which the facility belongs, based on the attribute attribute of the identified facility, for example, the floor area or material. For example, when the floor area of a facility is larger than a predetermined threshold (for example, when the facility is a gymnasium), the adjustment unit increases the height of the block assigned to the number of floors to which the facility belongs than the normal height. . If the normal block height is, for example, 5 pixels long, the height of the block assigned to the floor to which the facility belongs is increased to 6 pixels long.

  As another example, if the material of the facility is wooden, the adjustment unit makes the height of the block assigned to the floor to which the facility belongs smaller than the normal height. If the normal block height is, for example, 5 pixels long, the height of the block assigned to the floor to which the facility belongs is reduced to 4 pixels long.

  According to this modification, a virtual environment that more realistically reproduces the real world can be formed by adjusting the height of the block in accordance with attributes such as the floor area and material of the facility.

  In the embodiment, the map image holding unit 102 is provided inside the three-dimensional map image generating device 100. However, as a modification, an external server may include the map image holding unit 102. In this case, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 may acquire the map image held in the map image holding unit 102 in the external server via the communication network 12 shown in FIG. Thereby, the structure of the three-dimensional map image generation apparatus 100 whole becomes more compact.

  In the embodiment, the columnar image representing the building is arranged on the map image. However, as a modification, a device equipped with a positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System) or a person carrying the device is further displayed on the map image. You may arrange in. Specifically, the position information indicating the position of the device on which the positioning system is mounted is acquired via the communication network 12 shown in FIG. 1, and the device is provided at the position indicated by the position information on the map image. An image representing the subject is further arranged. The three-dimensional map image generation device 100 determines whether the moving subject is a vehicle or a person according to the moving speed of the device. As a result, a real-world vehicle equipped with GPS or a person holding a mobile phone can be represented on the map image, and a virtual environment that more realistically reproduces the real world can be formed.

  Further, if it becomes possible to represent an actual person in the virtual environment, it is possible to communicate with a person who lives far away or a store manager or staff in the store via a communication channel on the three-dimensional map image generation device 100. You can also exchange messages and conversations.

  In the embodiment, the columnar image to which the facility image of the facility is pasted is generated. However, as a modification, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 acquires position information indicating the position of the product in the facility, and The position in the block in the columnar image indicated by the position information may be specified, and a product image indicating the product may be further pasted on the facility image at the specified position. Here, the position information indicating the position of the product in the facility indicates, for example, azimuth information such as an east shelf or a north wall in the facility.

  Specifically, when an IC tag having a wireless communication function is affixed to each product, this IC tag can also be used to manage the position of the product. Then, the position information is collected on a server provided in the facility. Next, the server transmits the collected product position information to the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 via the communication network 12 shown in FIG.

  The three-dimensional image generation unit 132 in the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 receives the position information transmitted from the server in the facility, and determines the position in the block specified by the position information of the product. For example, if the position information of the product is “east shelf in the facility”, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 displays the east side in the block (if the upward direction on the screen is north, the right direction on the screen is on the east side). Determine the position. Furthermore, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 attaches a product image indicating the product from the facility image to the specified position. Thereby, for example, it becomes possible to reproduce the positional relationship of the products provided in the facility in the real world on the three-dimensional map image, and it is possible to form a virtual environment in which the real world is reproduced more realistically.

  Regardless of whether the facility located at the address indicated by the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122 is a store in the real world, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 according to the embodiment is the facility of the facility. Although the image has been pasted, as a modification, if the facility located at the address indicated by the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122 is not a store in the real world, the facility image of the facility is not pasted . For example, even if a large amount of address information is collected from an online shopping mall, many of them include many shops that are not open in the real world stores. Information on these shops is excluded. In other words, the virtual space implemented here (the inventor calls it Mirrearth: Mirror Earth) is a partial reflection of the real space from the viewpoint of actual live activity, We try to eliminate things that do not exist as much as possible. Such a kind of interface to the real society is easy to use for people who do not have technical skills, such as elderly people, and has the effect of reducing the so-called digital divide problem.

  In this case, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 further includes a real store determination unit that determines whether a facility located at the address indicated by the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122 exists in the real world as a store. . Specifically, the real store determination unit refers to the facility information associated with the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122, and the facility located at the address indicated by the address information becomes a store in the real world. Determine if it exists. For example, the real store determination unit determines whether or not the facility information includes real store information indicating that the facility exists in the real world as a store. Examples of actual store information include guide information and guide maps for guiding customers to the store facility, access information such as parking information and maps, business hours information indicating opening and closing times, coupon tickets and event guides Information for promoting visits to store facilities. In addition, even if there is a facility office in the address information, if there is no window for general customers, the actual store determination unit can also assume that there is no actual store. On the contrary, even in such a case, it can be considered that an actual store exists in an area where there are few facilities in the vicinity.

  When the actual store determination unit determines that the facility located at the address indicated by the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122 does not exist as a store in the real world, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 has the facility of the facility. Perform a process that does not attach an image. Generally, a person who actually exists as a store in the real world is considered to be more reliable than a case where the store does not actually exist in the real world. In this way, a collection of columnar images that represent only the facilities that actually exist as stores in the real world are formed by not pasting the facility images of facilities that do not actually exist as stores in the real world to the columnar images. It is possible to provide a user with a three-dimensional map image that satisfies a certain standard in terms of reliability.

  There is also another method for improving the reliability. For example, consider address information indicating that a shop exists in a building. If there are many other shops in the building, it is likely that the shop actually exists in the building. Conversely, if there are no other shops in the building, the shop is unlikely to actually exist in the building. Therefore, reliability can be improved by using the number of shops in the building as one of the materials for determining whether or not the shop actually exists in the real world.

  Further, the reliability of the information may be judged using a method for evaluating the reliability of the web page described in the specification of International Application No. PCT / JP2005 / 015770, which is a patent application filed by the present applicant. it can. That is, if the reliability of the web page corresponding to the facility information does not satisfy a certain level, the reliability can be improved by not using the information.

  The display unit 190 according to the embodiment displays a 3D map image representing the current real space to the user. As a modification, the display unit 190 displays a 3D map image representing the real space of the age specified by the user to the user. To do. In this case, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 is further provided with an establishment year specifying unit described later.

  In this modification, the map image holding unit 102 holds a different map image for each age. For example, the map image holding unit 102 holds map images for each year from 1500 to the current year. The establishment year specifying unit refers to the facility information of the facility located at the address indicated by the address information acquired by the address information acquiring unit 122, and specifies the year in which the building including the facility was established.

  For example, first, the establishment year specifying unit specifies the year in which the facility was established with reference to the establishment date of the facility included in the facility information. Next, the establishment year specifying unit, if there is one address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122, that is, if there is one facility in the same building, the year the facility was established, Identifies the year in which the building was founded. If there is a plurality of address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit 122, that is, if there are a plurality of facilities in the same building, the building including the facility is established with the oldest year among the respective establishment years of the plurality of facilities. Specify year. Of course, if the establishment date of the building including the facility is directly described in the facility information, the establishment year specifying unit may adopt the year as the establishment year of the building.

  The stereoscopic image generating unit 132 acquires a map image associated with the year specified by the establishment year specifying unit from the map image holding unit 102, and arranges a columnar image representing the building on the acquired map image. It further has a function. For example, if the establishment year of the building is 1970, a columnar image representing the building is arranged on a map image after the 1970s. The map image in which the columnar images are arranged is held in the database of the three-dimensional map image generation device 100. When the display unit 190 receives a reference request for a map image of the age specified by the user, the display unit 190 acquires the map image of the specified age in which the columnar images are arranged from the database and displays it to the user.

  In addition, the three-dimensional map image in which the columnar images are arranged may represent not only the past and present real spaces but also the future real spaces. In this case, the establishment year specifying unit refers to the facility information of the facility located at the address indicated by the address information acquired by the address information acquiring unit 122, and specifies the age at which the facility is scheduled to be established. For example, if “scheduled to be established in 2050”, the age at which the facility is scheduled to be established is specified as “2050”. The stereoscopic image generating unit 132 further acquires a map image associated with the year specified by the establishment year specifying unit from the map image holding unit 102, and arranges a columnar image representing the building on the acquired map image To do. For example, if the establishment date of the building is 2050, a columnar image representing the building is arranged on the map image of 2050.

  The stereoscopic image generation unit 132 may further arrange an image of a famous person in the past or present on the map image of each year in which the columnar image is arranged. Specifically, first, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 acquires lifetime information indicating the lifetime of the person from the website, and specifies the lifetime and birth place of the person. For example, if the website says “Takamori Saigo, 23-1, Kajiya-cho, Kagoshima-ken, Kagoshima-cho, was born in 1827, died in 1877”, the stereoscopic image generating unit 132 is “Kagoya-cho, Kagoshima-shi, 23-1” An image representing the person may be attached to the position on the map image for each year from 1827 to 1877 specified by

  According to this modified example, by displaying a 3D map image representing not only the present but also the past and future real spaces to the user, the user can feel as if time slipped in the past and future real spaces. Can do.

  In the embodiment, when there are a plurality of facilities on the same floor, the block assigned to the floor is divided into a plurality of rooms, but as a modification, there is no facility among the plurality of facilities. In such a case, the room associated with the facility that no longer exists may be integrated into another room. Compared with the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 shown in FIG. 2, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 according to this modification is further provided with an integration unit (not shown).

  The integrating unit integrates one room among the plurality of rooms divided by the dividing unit 160 into another room. Specifically, the integration unit first refers to the content held in the content holding unit 106 and detects the presence / absence of a facility associated with the room generated by the sorting unit 160 for each room. Next, the integration unit integrates the room associated with the facility determined not to exist with the room associated with the other facility determined to exist. According to this modification, the space of the room in the block can be optimized.

  In the embodiment, the image generation processing method in the case where the content is mainly composed of text data has been shown. However, as a modification, the content is electronic data other than text data, for example, image data, moving image data, or audio data. An image generation process in the case where it is configured with is also possible. For example, the 3D map image generation device 100 analyzes the map image by an analysis method including processing by OCR (Optical Character Recognition) when the address information is indicated by a map image, for example. Then, it may be converted into address information of text data once. Also, if a building image or video is posted, it is possible to directly generate a columnar image by analyzing it.

  Next, a typical usage pattern of the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 will be described, and a specific example implemented as a web server 100 as shown in FIG. 16 will be shown. The web server 100 is connected to the Internet and is implemented by a general-purpose computer (for example, a workstation, a personal computer, etc.), and usually includes a CPU 100a, a memory 100b, an HDD 100c, a bus (not shown), and other control circuits 100d. Yes. In this example, a user can communicate with the web server 100 by connecting to the Internet via a base station or the like using a smartphone or other mobile communication device 101 having a GPS receiver and a built-in camera. In FIG. 16, reference numeral 105 indicates a web server that is a provider of facility information, and reference numeral 103 indicates a desktop personal computer that can be used in the same manner as the mobile communication device 101 of the present invention.

  That is, first, the web server 100 receives a map image request message together with GPS position information from the mobile communication device 101 used by the user. In response to this request message, the web server 100 generates a two-dimensional map image corresponding to the area around the position indicated by the GPS position information, for example, the map image M1 as illustrated in FIG. Then, the image data is transmitted to the mobile communication device 101. In the two-dimensional map image M1, the user himself / herself is indicated by a humanoid icon as shown. The mobile communication device 101 receives the image data and displays a two-dimensional map image M1 on the screen on the screen. In this two-dimensional map image, the outline of the building that exists in the area (only one is shown here) is shown, and icons and symbols are pasted. In this example, restaurants, coffee shops, clinics and empty tenants -Facility types such as spaces are indicated by icons and symbols. From this two-dimensional map image, the user can know what type of service is provided there. When the mobile communication device 101 includes an electronic compass, the mobile communication device 101 can transmit azimuth information together with GPS position information. When receiving a request message including such direction information, the web server 100 generates a two-dimensional map image viewed from the direction and transmits the two-dimensional map image to the mobile communication device 101.

  Here, the two-dimensional map image viewed from the direction is displayed, for example, when the user is facing south, that is, when the direction information indicates south, the upper direction of the map is the south direction. It is an image. Alternatively, when a humanoid icon is included as in the two-dimensional map image M1, the direction in which the humanoid icon is pointing is the direction indicated by the orientation information (leftward in the map image M1). You may make it match. That is, the orientation of the humanoid icon is adjusted so that the humanoid icon is walking on the map in the same manner as the user is walking in the real world. In this case, the orientation of the map image may be adjusted so that the direction in which the humanoid icon is walking is always upward. In this specification, when the map image is displayed so that the relationship between the direction of the displayed map image and the direction the user is viewing can be correctly understood, The expression “map image” is used.

  The building image of the two-dimensional map image M1 includes a hyperlink. In this example, the building image itself is set as a hyperlink. Therefore, if desired, the user clicks the hyperlink with a finger, a stylus pen, or a mouse, or operates a keyboard or the like to open a three-dimensional map image M2 as shown in FIG. Can see. In addition, the user may wish to display details of one floor (in this example, the fourth floor).

  For example, when the floor is displayed by being divided into sub-blocks (rooms) for each facility, hyperlinks for detailed display are set in the sub-blocks. Further, hyperlinks for detailed display can be set on icons, symbols, and the like displayed in the three-dimensional map image M2. In this example, icons and character strings corresponding to facilities function as hyperlinks. The details of this floor can be displayed by clicking a hyperlink displayed on the screen of the mobile communication device 101. That is, as shown in FIG. 17, several contents obtained corresponding to the facilities allocated to the fourth floor are displayed on the enlarged three-dimensional map image M3 by the method as described above. Is displayed.

  Further, on the enlarged three-dimensional map image M3, hyperlinks for accessing the websites of the facilities are set in the floor spaces of the facilities. For example, the floor space allocated to the coffee shop functions as a hyperlink to the coffee shop home page. By clicking on the floor space assigned to the coffee shop, you can open the coffee shop home page (if it exists). In addition, if you set a hyperlink for the character string of the coffee shop store name instead of the entire floor space allocated to the coffee shop and set the color of this character string as the link color, erroneous operations can be reduced. it can.

  As described above, the method of displaying the map image step by step from the two-dimensional map image M1 to the three-dimensional map image M2 and the more detailed three-dimensional map image M3 is particularly effective in the case of a mobile communication device. Is. This is because a mobile communication device usually has a limited display screen size.

  Further, the web server 100 may include a member registration system or a login system. For example, a coffee shop owner can edit his store design in the three-dimensional map image M3 by registering as a member of the system. After logging into the system, new images and content can be uploaded and replaced with old ones. Thus, the owner can attract new customers by updating and improving his store design.

  In this case, for example, the web server 100 generates the first design of his store by selecting one of the floor design templates and applying it to the assigned floor space according to the type of business. To do. The floor design template is provided in advance on the web server 100 side for each type of facility, and visually displays typical layouts of industries such as a catering facility and a hairdressing facility (as shown in FIG. 18). To express. These templates can be provided, for example, in X3D. This X3D is a file format for expressing XML-based three-dimensional computer graphics defined by ISO. Further, the web server 100 can paste the content collected from the website of the facility by the above method to this template. The registered user can edit the template more attractively and update the information. For example, a coffee shop owner can add a coupon icon as illustrated in FIG.

  By clicking the coupon icon, the user of the map image can open a coupon screen on the homepage of the coffee shop and obtain a discount coupon or the like.

  Unlike the conventional Internet virtual world, that is, the well-known Internet virtual world consisting of virtual objects designed and developed completely separate from the real world, the virtual space of the present invention has a specified range (eg, current location). It is a virtual world as a simplified version of the real world that contains information about actual facilities in the vicinity. Thus, virtual space not only adds interest to mobile computing, but also provides practical benefits.

  According to the present invention, any type of Internet information is indexed and databased as long as it is associated with address information. Then, it is visualized in a three-dimensional map image, and the user can effectively use geographical information.

  Refer to FIG. 17 again. An image representing a building in the map image M2 includes a symbol “vacant”. This symbol means “There is a vacant tenant”. This symbol also contains a hyperlink to the URL of this information source. Users can check the authenticity or validity of this information by clicking on this symbol or assigned floor space and opening a URL. A large amount of real estate information can be collected in the manner described above using related search terms such as “real estate”, “price”, “location”, and “tenant”. The validity of the information can be maintained by periodically updating the database as described above.

  In addition, with the development of Internet-related technologies, various information providing services can be used. The present invention can be more effectively implemented using such a service. For example, the stereoscopic image generation unit 132 can use a web map service that provides a 360 ° panoramic street level view. This web map service provides users with a view of the surrounding street corners as seen from the ground when the region is selected, and can be used to create office buildings, dome buildings, spherical buildings, etc. A stereoscopic image to be expressed can be generated. That is, by performing image processing on the 360 ° panoramic street level view by image processing, it is possible to obtain three-dimensional information of the building and to determine the three-dimensional shape of the building on the map image.

  In addition, the 360 ° panoramic street level view can be used to determine which direction the user is facing. That is, even if the mobile communication device 101 does not have an electronic compass, the user can view a map image corresponding to the scenery he is actually looking on the screen of the mobile communication device 101. More specifically, when a user sends a map image request message together with GPS position information, an image taken by a camera mounted on the mobile communication device 101, for example, an intersection viewed from the user's viewpoint Are also transmitted to the web server 100 of the present invention. Upon receipt of the request message, the web server 100 executes an image processing process to display the video of the intersection viewed from the user's viewpoint in four directions at the intersection obtained from the 360 ° panoramic street level view. Compare with video. The orientation of the user viewpoint is determined by comparison with images in four directions. The web server 100 transmits a map image including a video of the determined direction at the intersection to the mobile communication device 101. Then, the user can see a map image corresponding to the scenery he is actually looking on the screen of the mobile communication device 101. However, information on the inside of the building is displayed on the map image on the screen.

  Furthermore, even when the mobile communication device 101 does not include a camera, a map image corresponding to the scenery that the user is actually viewing can be represented on the screen of the mobile communication device 101. In this case, the user needs to perform GPS measurement while traveling straight ahead for a while before transmitting the map image request message. A map image request message is transmitted together with the direction information obtained from the GPS measurement result along the user's movement path. When the request message is received, the web server 100 returns a map image of the direction. Then, the user can see a map image corresponding to the scenery he is actually looking on the screen of the mobile communication device 101.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the three-dimensional map image generation device 100 uses a database that is built in advance and stored in the map image holding unit 102, the position information holding unit 104, the content holding unit 106, and the address information holding unit 108. A three-dimensional map image is generated. However, instead of building a database in advance, it is also possible to dynamically generate a three-dimensional map image in response to a request from the user terminal.

  That is, the web server 100 has a three-dimensional map image generation program mounted thereon, and the three-dimensional map image generation program receives an external web page each time a request message for a three-dimensional map image is received together with address information. Based on the information obtained by accessing the map server and an external Internet search engine, a three-dimensional map image corresponding to the address information is generated. This three-dimensional map image generation program is stored in a storage medium in a computer-readable format, and when executed, the web server 100 performs the following steps. That is, a map image request message is received together with geographical data (address or latitude / longitude value). Next, a map image around the position specified by the geographical data is obtained from a web map server available via the Internet. Moreover, the facility information relevant to these addresses is searched using the Internet search engine using the keyword corresponding to the address in a map image. Then, a visual display such as a symbol, icon, or character string representing the facility corresponding to the facility information is pasted on the position of the map image corresponding to the address of the facility. Then, a map image with a visual display is presented to the user.

  In a typical usage pattern, first, the web server 100 receives a map image request message together with GPS location information from the mobile communication device 101 used by the user. In response to the request message, the web server 100 transmits a map image request message together with the position information to the web map server 105 available via the Internet, and is specified by the GPS position information. Get a map image of the location. Further, the web server 100 searches for content including facility information related to the address included in the map image using an Internet search engine. On the other hand, by using a method as described above, for example, using a symbol or template prepared in advance, a visual display representing the facility corresponding to the facility information as shown in FIG. 17 is generated, and the address of the facility is handled. Display at the position of the map image. The web server 100 transmits the map image with the visual display attached thereto to the mobile communication device 101. The mobile communication device 101 displays this map image for the user.

  Note that this dynamic three-dimensional map image generation process does not necessarily require an external web server (for example, the web server 100). In this case, the three-dimensional map image generation program is installed in the mobile communication device 101 and operates as follows. First, the user inputs a map image or a map image request to the mobile communication device 101 using a touch panel or buttons. The mobile communication device 101 transmits a map image request message together with GPS location information indicating the current location of the user to the web map server 105 that can be used via the Internet, and is specified by this location information. Get a map image near the location. In addition, the mobile communication device 101 searches for content including facility information related to the address included in the map image using an Internet search engine. On the other hand, by using a method as described above, for example, a symbol or template prepared in advance, a visual display representing a facility corresponding to the facility information as shown in FIG. 17 is generated, and the address of the facility is handled. It is displayed at the position of the map image. The mobile communication device 101 displays a map image with a visual display attached to the user.

  That is, the process of dynamically generating a three-dimensional map image can be executed in any of the web server 100 and the mobile communication device 101 in principle. Technically speaking, this is a problem with the processing capability of the mobile communication device 101. If the processing capability of the mobile communication device 101 is not so high, the dynamic three-dimensional map image generation process must be executed outside the mobile communication device 101.

  According to such a three-dimensional map image generation process, it is not necessary to construct a database, and the map image is generated from the latest available data. Often, however, the user may wait for a reasonable amount of time until the map image is fully displayed.

  Next, an implementation example for reducing this waiting time as much as possible will be described. FIG. 19 shows a web server that provides a 3D map image, a user terminal that receives a 3D map image from the web server, a map server that provides a flat map, and a general Internet web search. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing messages and information exchanged between a search engine that performs a search, a street level view server that provides a 360-degree street level view, and a facility website.

  First, in step S1, the user terminal transmits a request message to the web server. This request message specifies the latitude / longitude and size of the position of the current location, and requests facility information corresponding to the area. Here, the size is designated by the number of pixels in the X direction and Y direction of the display image of the region and the resolution (scale). Upon receipt of this request message, the web server searches in its own database for the address corresponding to the area in step S2, and this address (for example, “1 in Chuocho, 1-chome, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima Prefecture”). ) As a search term, a request message requesting a search is sent to the search engine. In step S4, the search engine returns the search result to the web server.

  After transmitting the request message to the web server in step S1, the user terminal creates another connection and transmits the request message to the map server in step S3. This request message specifies latitude / longitude and size, and requests a map image corresponding to the area. In response to this request message, the map server attaches a map image corresponding to the area to the response message and returns it to the user terminal in step S5.

  The web server that has received the search result in step S4 analyzes the search result in step S6, obtains facility information, attaches the facility information to the response message, and returns it to the user terminal. As described above, the facility information is a business type, a store name, and a floor number associated with the address. The user terminal that has received the map image in step S5 and has received the facility information in step S6 displays the map image on the display, and displays the symbol indicating the type of business and the store name at the corresponding position on the map image.

  Steps S2, S4, and S6 are repeated while changing the address of the search term. That is, the address corresponding to the designated latitude / longitude is first processed, and the process is repeated while changing the address of the address within a range determined by the size. Depending on the designated position and size, the process is repeated within the above range while changing not only the address but also the town name. Each time the user terminal receives a search result (facility information), the facility information is displayed in order on the map image displayed on the display. Therefore, the user can see the state in which the facility information is gradually superimposed and displayed on the map image, and the feeling of waiting is reduced. Typically, the user terminal superimposes a symbol indicating a business type on a two-dimensional map image as in an image M1 in FIG.

  Furthermore, after waiting for a response from the search engine after the above steps S2, S4, S6 or between the above steps S2 and S4, the web server performs the facility information at steps S7 and S8. Based on this, content such as various facility images will be acquired. That is, in step S7, a request message is transmitted to the corresponding website, and the content requested in step S8 is received from the website. For example, images and the like are acquired by tracing pages included in the homepage of each facility.

  In parallel with this, the web server transmits a request message to the street level view server in step S9. This request message specifies latitude / longitude and size, and requests a street level view corresponding to the area. In response to this request message, the street level view server returns a street level view corresponding to the area to the web server in step S10. The web server performs image analysis of the street level view and generates a columnar image representing the building. In an area where the street level view cannot be used, a columnar image representing a building is generated by the method described in the above embodiment.

  Thereafter, if the user desires, a request message of information (columnar image representing a building) necessary for generating a three-dimensional map image is transmitted to the web server in step S11 by an operation on the user terminal. In response to the request message, in step S12, the web server transmits a columnar image (stereoscopic image) representing the building together with the position to the user terminal. The user terminal superimposes the received columnar image and moves the viewpoint to generate a three-dimensional map image. Thereby, for example, a three-dimensional map image as shown in the image M2 in FIG. 17 is displayed on the display of the user terminal.

  Further, by a user terminal operation, a detailed image request message can be transmitted to the web server in step S13 to request the web server for an image of a specific floor of a specific building. In response to this request message, the web server transmits a three-dimensional map image (floor image) in which various contents are arranged to the user terminal in step S14. Receiving this, the user terminal displays an enlarged three-dimensional map image such as the image M3 in FIG. 17 on the display.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present invention can be implemented as modified and changed modes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the description of the scope of claims. Therefore, the description of the present application is for illustrative purposes and does not have any limiting meaning to the present invention.

  12 communication network, 60 columnar image, 61, 63, 65, 67, 86, 88 facility image, 62, 64, 66, 68, 80 block, 70, 72 map image, 82, 84 rooms, 100 3D map image generation device , 100a CPU, 100b memory, 100c HDD, 100d control circuit, 101 mobile communication device, 102 map image holding unit, 104 location information holding unit, 122 address information acquisition unit, 124 floor information extraction unit, 126 attribute specifying unit, 128 facility Image association unit, 130 allocation unit, 132 stereoscopic image generation unit, 134 determination unit, 136 floor information presence / absence determination unit, 150 floor identification unit, 152 underground determination unit, 160 sorting unit, 162 count unit

Claims (8)

A program for generating a three-dimensional map image using information on the Internet,
Receiving a plane map from the map server by sending a request message to the map server by designating an area on the map input by the user to the user terminal;
Receiving a 360 ° panoramic street level view corresponding to the area on the map by sending a request message to the street level view server corresponding to the area on the map;
Generating a columnar image representing a building included in the area on the map by performing image processing on the 360 ° panoramic street level view;
Generating a landscape CG whose viewpoint can be freely changed in a virtual three-dimensional space corresponding to an area on the map by superimposing the columnar image on the planar map;
Causing the user terminal to execute a process of displaying the landscape CG corresponding to the area on the map on the screen of the user terminal;
The three-dimensional map image generation program for causing execute computer. A program for generating a three-dimensional map image using information on the Internet,
It consists of a program executed on the user terminal and a program executed on the web server side.
The program executed on the web server side responds to the request message specifying the area on the map transmitted from the user side terminal, and responds to the area on the map with the street level view server. A step of receiving a 360 ° panoramic street level view corresponding to the region on the map by transmitting a request message; and image processing of the 360 ° panoramic street level view. Generating a columnar image representing a building included in the web server,
The program executed in the user terminal transmits a request message designating an area on the map to the web server, and designates an area on the map and sends a request message to the map server. by transmitting the steps of receiving receiving a flat surface maps that are provided by the map server, providing columnar images representing buildings included from the web server to the region on the map, the Generating a landscape CG that can freely change the viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space corresponding to the region on the map by superimposing the columnar image on a planar map; and the landscape corresponding to the region on the map three-dimensional map, characterized in that to execute a step of displaying the CG on the screen of the user terminal, to said user terminal Image generation program.   The program executed on the web server side receives a 360 ° panorama street level view corresponding to the designated area from the street level view server by specifying latitude / longitude and size. 3. The three-dimensional map image generation program according to claim 2, which is executed by a web server.   The program executed on the web server side causes the web server to execute a step of receiving a map image corresponding to the designated area from the map server by designating latitude / longitude and size. The three-dimensional map image generation program according to claim 3. A system for generating a three-dimensional map image using information on the Internet,
Means for receiving provision of a planar map from the map server by designating an area on the map inputted by the user to the terminal on the user side and sending a request message to the map server;
Means for receiving provision of a 360 ° panoramic street level view corresponding to the area on the map by sending a request message to a street level view server corresponding to the area on the map;
Means for processing the 360 ° panoramic street level view to generate a columnar image representing a building included in the area on the map;
Means for generating a landscape CG whose viewpoint can be freely changed in a virtual three-dimensional space corresponding to an area on the map by superimposing the columnar image on the planar map;
Means for causing the user terminal to execute processing for displaying the landscape CG corresponding to the area on the map on the screen of the user terminal;
A three-dimensional map image generation system comprising: A system for generating a three-dimensional map image using information on the Internet,
In response to the request message specifying the area on the map transmitted from the user terminal, the request message is transmitted to the street level view server corresponding to the area on the map, thereby A columnar image representing a building included in the area on the map is generated by processing 360 ° panoramic street level view corresponding to the area and image processing of the 360 ° panoramic street level view. A web server including means,
The terminal on the user side transmits a request message designating an area on the map to the web server, and sends a request message to the map server by designating the area on the map. means for receiving a flat surface maps that are provided by the map server, means for receiving the provision of the columnar images representing buildings included from the web server to the region on the map, the columnar to said plane map Means for generating a landscape CG capable of freely changing the viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space corresponding to the region on the map by superimposing an image, and the landscape CG corresponding to the region on the map to the user side terminal screen including three-dimensional map image generation system and means to execute the steps, to the user terminal to display the.   The web server includes means for receiving a 360 ° panoramic street level view corresponding to a specified area from a street level view server by specifying latitude / longitude and a size. 3D map image generation system.   8. The three-dimensional map image generation system according to claim 7, wherein the web server includes means for receiving a map image corresponding to a designated area from the map server by designating a latitude / longitude and a size. .