JP6165507B2 - Computing to detect that a person with a mobile device is in a specific place - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to computing for detecting that a person with a mobile terminal is in a specific place. As a typical application, the present invention confirms that a person with a mobile terminal has come to a specific store and carries it. This is computing applied to a service that provides a store visit point to a terminal.

  Recently, NTT DoCoMo, Inc. was named “Shoplat”, and Spotlight, Inc. was named “Sumapo” (registered trademark) to provide a point-of-sales point service platform that functions as follows: I started.

  A person who wants to receive a store visit point installs a specific application program (also referred to as an application) on his / her mobile terminal such as a smartphone and registers as a member. When the app is activated near the member store, information on the nearby member stores is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal by computing using GPS (Global Positioning System).

  When the user enters the store of the member store, the microphone of the mobile terminal picks up the ultrasonic signal from the oscillator installed in the store, and the app notifies the predetermined server in response to this signal, and the server A process of giving a store visit point to the terminal and a process of recording that the terminal user has come to the member store are performed.

=== Summary of Invention ===
The reason for creating this invention was to enable the same point-of-sales point service as described above to be implemented in the computing platform without installing an oscillator that generates the ultrasonic signal in a member store. As a result, as described in detail below, this led to the development of an application development that differs from point-of-sales point services.

  To briefly explain the features of the present invention, it is convenient to take an example of application to the point-of-sales point service as described above. The merchants do not have an oscillator that emits ultrasonic signals. When you enter a store with a mobile device (such as a smartphone) and activate a specific app, the mobile device's microphone picks up the ambient sound in the store and the app pre-processes the sound signal into digital data in a predetermined format. After being processed (this is used as environmental sound data), it is transmitted from the portable terminal to a predetermined server. At this time, the portable terminal also transmits position information (terminal position data) acquired by the GPS function to the server.

  The server receives terminal position data B and environmental sound data C from the portable terminal A. The server has a member store database. In this database, location information of a large number of member stores existing over a wide area is collected. Based on the terminal position data B received from the mobile terminal A, the server specifies a plurality of member stores existing in the vicinity of the mobile terminal A.

  The information collected in the database includes environmental sound sample data for each member store. The environmental sound sample data is digital data in which the environmental sound collected in the store of the member store is analyzed and processed with a predetermined algorithm and the characteristics of the environmental sound are expressed in a predetermined format.

  The server compares the environmental sound data C received from the mobile terminal A with the environmental sound sample data of a plurality of member stores specified based on the terminal position data B, and has the highest similarity with the environmental sound data C. One environmental sound sample data is specified, and it is determined that the mobile terminal A exists in the member store corresponding to the sample data.

=== The core of the invention ===
In the above description, the application example to the store visit point service has been described. However, the present invention is an invention that can be grasped by abstracting the following various application examples.

  The member store is abstracted from the target location. The server includes a target database in which information on a plurality of target locations scattered in a wide area is aggregated. In this database, position information of each target location is aggregated, and environmental sound sample data for each target location is aggregated.

  A specific application is installed on the user's mobile terminal. A user activates the application of the mobile terminal A at a certain target location. Then, the terminal position data B acquired by the GPS function is transmitted from the portable terminal A to the server. In addition, the microphone of the portable terminal A picks up the environmental sound at the target location, and the environmental sound data C obtained by preprocessing the sound signal by the application is transmitted to the server.

  The server receives the terminal position data B and the environmental sound data C from the mobile terminal A, and compares and contrasts the received data with the information in the target database, so that the mobile terminal can be selected from a plurality of target locations registered in the database. One target location where A exists is specified.

  Several embodiments and applications of the above computing are described in detail below.

Example of environmental sound sample data divided by the time zone of a member store

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

=== Application example for store visit authentication ===
An application example of computing for authenticating that a person with a mobile terminal has visited a member store like the store visit point service described so far will be described in detail. As explained earlier, a user installs a specific application on a well-known portable terminal (such as a widely used ordinary smartphone or tablet terminal), and enters the merchant with the portable terminal. To launch the app.

  Then, the microphone of the portable terminal picks up the environmental sound in the store, and the sound signal is preprocessed by the application to create environmental sound data in a predetermined format. The environmental sound data and the position information (terminal position data) acquired by the GPS receiver of the portable terminal are transmitted from the portable terminal to the authentication server specified by the application.

  The authentication server has a member store database. As described above, in the member store database, for example, position information of a large number of member stores in a large-scale shopping mall is aggregated, and environmental sound sample data for each member store is aggregated. The environmental sound sample data for each member store in this embodiment is a set of a plurality of environmental sound sample data created based on each environmental sound collected in each store by changing the time zone and divided by time zone. ing. An outline of this data structure is shown in FIG.

  For example, the environmental sound sample data of a certain member store is sample data 1 created based on the environmental sound of the opening hours from 10:00 to 11:40, and from 11:40 to 13:30. Sample data 2 created based on the environmental sound in the time zone, sample data 3 created based on the environmental sound in the time zone from 13:30 to 16:00, and from 16:00 to 22:00 in the closing time It consists of sample data 4 created based on environmental sounds in the time zone. Of course, the time zone classification of the environmental sound sample data may be different for each member store. In addition, the closing hours of member stores are not subject to authentication.

  When the authentication server receives a message containing the terminal position data B and the environmental sound data C from the user's portable terminal A, the authentication server proceeds as follows. First, the member store database is searched based on the received terminal position data B, and a plurality of member stores existing in the vicinity of the terminal position data B are specified. Next, the environmental sound sample data of the plurality of member stores, the environmental sound sample data for the time zone corresponding to the current time (the reception time of the message) is extracted from the member store database. The environmental sound sample data is compared with the received environmental sound data C, the environmental sound sample data having the maximum similarity to the environmental sound data C is specified, and the mobile terminal A is assigned to the member store D corresponding to the environmental sound sample data. It is determined that there are users.

  When the authentication server determines as described above, the identifier of the portable terminal A, the identifier of the member store D, and the time stamp are associated with each other and recorded in the determination history book, and, for example, a store visit point is provided to the portable terminal A. For the mobile terminal A is created and transmitted.

=== Analysis, modeling and recognition of environmental sound ===
As described above in detail, the present invention creates environmental sound sample data based on environmental sound collected in advance, processes input sound collected by a microphone into environmental sound data of a predetermined format, The similarity between the environmental sound data and the environmental sound sample data is obtained, and the environmental sound sample data based on the environmental sound collected at a plurality of different locations is compared with the input environmental sound data. It is implemented by using environmental sound analysis / modeling / recognition computing technology, such as specifying the sampling location.

  Such environmental sound analysis / modeling / recognition computing, for example, has been published on pages 167-168 of the Acoustical Society of Japan 2002 Fall Meeting (September 26, 2002). Further, it is disclosed in detail in Japanese Patent No. 3987927.

=== Practical method for creating environmental sound sample data ===
It is practical and convenient to adopt the following method for creating / updating environmental sound sample data of each member store stored in the member store database. An administrator identifier is assigned to each member store, and the authentication server is accessed by an administrator computer (desktop or laptop computer, smart phone, tablet terminal, etc.) at the member store. By presenting, the environmental sound sample data processing of the member store can be started.

  When an administrator computer of a member store communicates with the authentication server and the environmental sound sample data processing is executed, the environmental sound in the store collected by the microphone of the administrator computer is converted into digital data and transmitted to the authentication server. . The authentication server performs calculation processing of analysis and modeling based on the environmental sound digital data sent from the member store, and creates environmental sound sample data. This can be stored as sample data of the member store in the database in the time zone. The manager of the member store can update the environmental sound sample data by executing the environmental sound sample data processing as described above when the acoustic environment in the store changes.

  In addition, in the actual operation state where the store visit authentication process is performed by the authentication server based on the environmental sound data transmitted from the user's mobile terminal as described above, the environmental sound data ( It is desirable that the environmental sound sample data of the member store stored in the member store database is sequentially updated by a learning process based on the information received from the user's mobile terminal) to improve the authentication accuracy. .

=== Applications installed on users' mobile devices ===
As is clear from what has been described so far, the specific application installed on the user's mobile terminal can be said to be a program for the mobile terminal specified by the following items (11) to (14).
(11) This program is downloaded and installed on a user's mobile terminal from a specific site on the network. (12) When this program is activated on a mobile terminal, the terminal is a terminal by a GPS receiver of the mobile terminal. Acquiring position data B (13) When this program is started in a mobile terminal, it collects environmental sound with the microphone of the mobile terminal and creates environmental sound data C (14) This program is Sending a message containing location information B and environmental sound data C to a predetermined authentication server

=== Other application examples ===
The present invention can be applied to various uses other than the use as a platform for point-of-sales point service, as named “computing for detecting that a person with a portable terminal is in a specific place”. For example, there are ways to use it like a stamp rally in a zoo. When the user goes to the gorilla display location and launches a specific application on the mobile device, an environmental sound including the voice of the gorilla is transmitted to the authentication server to detect and authenticate that the user is at the gorilla display location. . In the same way, go to the elephant exhibition place and get certified, go to the lion show place and get certified. In this way, you can get a present by authenticating that you have been to all the designated places.

Claims (7)

The method specified by the following items (1) to (6).
(1) A computing method executed by communication between a mobile terminal of a user in which a specific application program is installed and a specific server on the Internet. (2) The application program is activated on the mobile terminal. A process of acquiring terminal position data by the GPS receiver of the portable terminal, a process of processing a sound signal of the environmental sound collected by the microphone of the portable terminal into environmental sound data of a predetermined format, and the terminal position data And processing for transmitting the environmental sound data from the portable terminal to the server. (3) The server relates to a plurality of target locations scattered over a wide area, and includes position information for each target location and each target location. A target data base that aggregates environmental sound sample data and information on effective time zones for each target location. (4) The environmental sound sample data in the target database is created based on the environmental sound collected at the target location, and is digital data expressing the characteristics of the environmental sound. (5) The server includes: When the terminal position data B and the environmental sound data C transmitted from the portable terminal A are received, the position information of each target place in the target database is compared with the received terminal position data B, and the terminal position data B is in the vicinity. (6) The server performs a process of specifying a plurality of target locations that exist. The reception time of the terminal position data B and the environmental sound data C among the plurality of target locations specified in the target database is an effective time zone. A certain target location is compared, the environmental sound sample data of each target location is compared with the received environmental sound data C, and the similarity to the environmental sound data C Maximum environmental sound sample data to identify, to perform the process of determining a target location that is correspondence to the environmental sound sample data is current location of the mobile terminal A The method according to claim 1, which is specified by the following items (7) and (8).
(7) The environmental sound sample data for each target location in the target database is digital data created based on each environmental sound collected by changing the time zone at the target location and divided by time zone (8 ) In the process of the invention specifying item (6), the server receives environmental sound sample data corresponding to a plurality of target places specified based on the terminal position data B and corresponding to a time zone when the environmental sound data C is received. Determine the current location by comparing with environmental sound data C as a comparison target 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2 specified by the following item (9).
(9) When the server determines that the current location of the mobile terminal A is the target location D in the process of the invention specifying item (6), the server associates the identifier of the mobile terminal A with the identifier of the target location D and the time stamp. To record in the judgment history book The method according to claim 1, which is specified by the following item (10):
(10) When the server determines that the current location of the mobile terminal A is the target location D in the process of the invention specifying item (6), the server creates a message related to the determination and transmits it to the mobile terminal A The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is specified by the following items (11) and (12).
(11) The target database includes an administrator identifier for each target location. (12) The server communicates with an administrator computer that presents the administrator identifier and is sent from the administrator computer. Create or update environmental sound sample data for the target location corresponding to the administrator identifier based on the sound data   A server programmed to implement the method of computing according to any of claims 1-5.   The application program installed in a portable terminal so that the method of computing in any one of Claims 1-5 may be implemented.

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