JP6393377B1 - Robot, information providing method and information providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

A robot, an information providing method, and an information providing system capable of outputting advertisement information according to a visitor are provided.
SOLUTION: Automobile mobile means 12, photographing unit 13 for capturing video of store visitor, and output of advertisement information corresponding to authentication result based on authentication result obtained by authenticating store visitor by video Output unit 15.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot that provides advertisement information, an information providing method, and an information providing system in a store or the like.

  In a store, a system for displaying a commercial CM of a store using a robot has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-225941 A

  However, in the system proposed in the past, when the robot moves to a predetermined place in a store or the like, the CM of the product in the vicinity of the predetermined place is displayed. On the other hand, it was not necessarily effective advertising.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention made in view of the above problems is to provide a robot, an information providing method, and an information providing system capable of outputting advertisement information according to a store visitor.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
A mobile means capable of autonomous movement;
A filming unit that shoots video of customers,
Based on the authentication result obtained by authenticating the store visitor by the video, an output unit that outputs advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result;
Is provided.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
The advertisement information is received from a server.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
The video captured by the imaging unit is transmitted to the server, and the server authenticates the store visitor based on the video.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
The advertisement information is related to the current position of the robot.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
The advertisement information is related to user information of the store visitor specified based on the authentication result.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
The user information includes at least one of the purchase history or preference information of the store visitor.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
The user information is created based on the member registration information of the store visitor, and the robot further includes an input unit that receives an input of the member registration information.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
The face image of the store visitor is photographed by the photographing unit at the time of member registration.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
Based on the current location of the photographed customer, the customer's preference information is estimated.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
Stop outputting advertisement information that has been output a predetermined number of times.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
When the photographing unit recognizes a predetermined gesture of the store visitor, the output of the advertisement information is stopped.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
When it is determined that there are a plurality of customers, the advertisement information for the plurality of customers is output.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
When it is determined that there are a plurality of customers, the advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result is output based on an authentication result obtained by authenticating a customer whose height is within a predetermined range among the plurality of customers. .

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is
When shooting the video, the moving speed of the robot is set to a predetermined speed or less.

An information providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
An information providing method by an autonomously moving robot,
The robot
Taking a video of the visitor,
Based on the authentication result obtained by authenticating the store visitor by the video, outputting advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result;
including.

An information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
An information providing system including an autonomously moving robot and a server,
The robot is
A filming unit that shoots video of customers,
Based on the authentication result obtained by authenticating the store visitor by the video, an output unit that outputs advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result;
With
The server
A server transmission unit configured to transmit the advertisement information to the robot;

  According to the robot, the information providing method, and the information providing system of the present invention, it is possible to output advertisement information according to the store visitor.

1 is a block diagram of an information providing system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram of the robot of FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that the robot is arrange | positioned in the predetermined position in a shop. It is an enlarged view of a cyclic marker. It is another example of a cyclic marker. It is an example of the marker which shows a home position. It is a block diagram of the server of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a person authentication database. It is a figure which shows an example of an advertisement information database. It is a figure which shows a mode that the robot moved from the predetermined position in a shop. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the information providing system according to the first embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an information providing system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information providing system 10 can be used in a store such as a bookstore, a convenience store, a drug store, a shopping mall, and the like, and the case where it is used in a bookstore will be described below. An information providing system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a robot 1 that moves autonomously and a server 2. The robot 1 and the server 2 are connected by a network N such as the Internet. In FIG. 1, five servers 2 are shown, but the number of servers 2 is not limited to this, and an arbitrary number of servers 2 may be provided, or one server 2 may be provided.

  As an outline, the information providing system 10 according to the present embodiment continuously captures images while the robot 1 circulates in the bookstore, and transmits the images captured by the robot 1 to the server 2. The server 2 is an information processing apparatus such as a server apparatus managed by, for example, an operator of the information providing system 10, and performs a store visitor authentication process using an image received from the robot 1. The server 2 transmits a result of the authentication process (hereinafter referred to as an authentication result) to the robot 1, and the robot 1 provides advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result. In this way, the information providing system 10 capable of providing advertisement information according to the store visitor is realized by the cooperation of the robot 1 and the server 2. Hereinafter, each component of the information provision system 10 is demonstrated concretely.

(Configuration of robot 1)
First, the robot 1 will be described. The robot 1 is preferably a humanoid robot and includes a head including a face, a torso, and an arm. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the robot 1. The robot 1 includes a communication unit 11, a moving unit 12, a photographing unit 13, an input unit 14, an output unit 15, a storage unit 16, and a control unit 17. The communication unit 11, the moving unit 12, the photographing unit 13, the input unit 14, the output unit 15, the storage unit 16, and the control unit 17 are connected by a bus 18.

  The communication unit 11 is an interface that communicates with an external device wirelessly or by wire and transmits and receives information. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 11 can transmit and receive information to and from the server 2 via the network N. The communication unit 11 appropriately performs solid authentication processing (login processing or the like) of the robot 1 when communicating with the server 2. Thus, when there are a plurality of robots 1, the server 2 grasps which robot 1 is accessing from. If the login is not regular, access to the server 2 is appropriately blocked.

  The moving means 12 moves and rotates the main body of the robot 1 in all directions (front and rear, left and right), and is, for example, an omni wheel. The omni wheel is a tire that can move in all directions, and has a plurality of rotatable rollers. By controlling the rotation of the roller, it is possible to move in any direction, and it is also possible to rotate. Since the robot 1 is used in a store, it is preferable to move slowly so as not to collide with a store visitor or the like. For example, the maximum value of the moving speed by the moving means 12 is 2 km / h. The moving means 12 is not limited to the omni wheel, and any moving means can be adopted.

  The photographing unit 13 photographs a customer or the like, and includes, for example, at least one 2D camera and photographs a video with a predetermined screen resolution and frame rate. The screen resolution is, for example, full high vision (1920 × 1080 pixels). The frame rate is 30 fps, for example. For example, the number of 2D cameras is two, and they are provided at different positions (for example, the position of the forehead and the mouth) of the face of the robot 1. When 2D cameras are placed at different positions and one of the 2D cameras cannot shoot a visitor etc. (for example, there is a shielding object in front of the forehead and part or all of the shooting range is blocked by the shielding object) ), The other 2D camera can take a picture of a visitor or the like. The imaging unit 13 also images a marker (hereinafter referred to as a traveling marker) for the robot 1 to travel around the store in addition to the store visitor. Processing related to the shooting of the traveling marker and the traveling will be described later.

  The robot 1 detects the presence of the store visitor based on the video imaged by the 2D camera. Specifically, the in-store video is constantly taken by the 2D camera, and the taken video is transmitted to the server 2 by the communication unit 11. The video may be a still image or a moving image. When the server 2 detects that the store visitor is included in the captured video, the server 2 transmits a movement instruction to the robot 1. When the robot 1 receives a movement instruction via the communication unit 11, the robot 1 moves autonomously so as to approach the store visitor by the moving unit 12. Preferably, the photographing unit 13 transmits the compressed video to the server 2. For example, the vertical and horizontal directions of the video are compressed to ¼, and the output video is 480 × 270 pixels. Also, the frame rate is compressed to ½ to 15 fps. As a result, it is possible to improve the efficiency of communication resources related to video transmission and the storage capacity of the server 2.

  Here, after the moving means 12 moves autonomously so as to approach the store visitor, when the photographing unit 13 photographs the store visitor, the robot 1 sets the movement speed to a predetermined speed or less (for example, 0.5 km / h). The predetermined speed may be 0. In this case, the robot 1 stops. When shooting is performed by the shooting unit 13 as described above, by slowing or stopping the moving speed, it is possible to suppress blurring of the image shot by the shooting unit 13 and to prevent deterioration of the quality of the shot image. When the robot 1 can swing the head (when the face can be moved up, down, left, and right), the operation may be stopped when the photographing unit 13 performs photographing. Similarly, in this case, it is possible to suppress blurring of an image captured by the imaging unit 13 and to prevent deterioration of the quality of the captured image.

  Furthermore, the distance to the object can be measured by the photographing unit 13. For example, the photographing unit 13 may include at least one 3D camera. The 3D camera can acquire the distance to the object by irradiating the infrared line of sight and detecting the reflected light. The 3D camera acquires 3D video (video including distance information) at a predetermined screen resolution (for example, 320 × 240 pixels) and a predetermined frame rate (for example, 20 fps). For example, the number of 3D cameras is two, and they are provided at different positions (for example, positions of both eyes) of the face of the robot 1. By placing 3D cameras at different positions, if one 3D camera cannot capture a visitor (for example, if there is a shield in front of the right eye and the shooting range is blocked by the shield), the other Visitors can be photographed by a 3D camera (a 3D camera provided at the position of the left eye). The robot 1 detects the distance to the object using a 3D camera, and moves autonomously by the moving unit 12 based on the detected distance.

  The input unit 14 is a device that accepts voice input and operation input. For example, the input unit 14 collects the voice of the store visitor's conversation. Further, the input unit 14 receives an input operation such as a touch by a visitor. For example, the input unit 14 includes a microphone and an input sensor such as a touch sensor.

  The output unit 15 is a device that displays audio output and screens, images, videos, and the like. For example, the output unit 15 includes a speaker and a display. The display is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The output unit 15 outputs advertisement information received from the server 2 via the communication unit 11. The advertisement information is a product CM, product description, notification information, and the like. The target product of the advertisement information includes products handled at the bookstore where the robot 1 is arranged. The target product is not limited to this, and may be a product or service of another store. For example, it may be related to products / services of another store adjacent to the bookstore, and when a coffee shop is installed adjacent to the bookstore, the menu or service of the coffee shop may be targeted for advertisement information. By doing in this way, the cooperation of the service in different stores, between industries, etc. can also be aimed at.

  In the present embodiment, a touch panel is provided on the chest of the robot 1. The touch panel is an input device that accepts an input operation of a store visitor and an output device that displays various screens, images, videos, and the like. In the present embodiment, the function of the input unit 14 is realized by a touch panel and a microphone, and the function of the output unit 15 is realized by the touch panel and a speaker. Therefore, in this embodiment, the robot 1 outputs advertisement information through at least one of the touch panel and the speaker.

  The storage unit 16 includes, for example, a primary storage device and a secondary storage device, and stores various information provided from the server 2 and programs necessary for information processing. For example, the storage unit 16 stores a robot application of the information providing system 10 (hereinafter referred to as a robot application). The robot application can be acquired from a predetermined distribution server via the network N, for example. The operation according to this embodiment of the robot 1 is realized in a state where the robot application is executed (activated).

  The control unit 17 includes a dedicated or general-purpose processor. The control unit 17 controls the operation of the entire robot 1 using the robot application. For example, the control unit 17 transmits and receives information through the communication unit 11. Specifically, for example, the control unit 17 transmits the video imaged by the imaging unit 13 to the server 2 by the communication unit 11. In addition, the control unit 17 transmits the store visitor's voice collected by the input unit 14 to the server 2. Further, when the store 17 is detected (when a movement instruction is received from the server 2), the control unit 17 autonomously moves so as to approach the store by the moving unit 12. Further, the control unit 17 approaches the store visitor by the moving unit 12 and photographs the store visitor by the image capturing unit 13. That is, the robot 1 photographs the store visitor at a closer distance. By doing so, it is possible to photograph the face of the visitor more clearly.

  In addition, the control unit 17 controls the processing of the robot 1 for cyclic movement. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the robot 1 is arranged at a predetermined position in the store. As shown in FIG. 3, a cash register 4 and a plurality of book shelves 5 a to 5 h are arranged in the bookstore, and the robot 1 is usually located at a home position near the entrance 6. In FIG. 3, two store clerk 7 a and 7 b are arranged at the cash register, and the robot 1 photographs the store visitor 8 who enters the store from the entrance 6. By setting the home position to the position shown in FIG. 8, the customer 8 entering from the entrance 6 can be reliably photographed. In the bookstore, the above-mentioned traveling marker is arranged. A plurality of cyclic markers M <b> 1 to M <b> 31 (hereinafter referred to as cyclic marker M when they are not distinguished from each other) are arranged along a route that the robot 1 circulates. The arrangement in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and an arbitrary number of cyclic markers M may be arranged at an arbitrary place. FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of the cyclic marker M. As shown in FIG. 4, the traveling marker M adopts a shape that imitates the foot of an animal. The color of the cyclic marker M is, for example, black, and a size that fits in a 10 cm square range. By adopting the shape and size, it is possible to reduce the uncomfortable feeling on the floor in the store and to show the robot circuit. The color and size of the traveling marker are not limited to this, and may be changed as appropriate according to the color of the floor, the size of the store, and the like.

  Here, the traveling marker M has a shape that can uniquely identify the traveling direction. In the traveling marker M shown in FIG. 4, the direction from the heel portion of the foot to the toes is the direction of traveling, that is, the direction of the positive y-axis direction. The traveling marker M is not limited to the foot of an animal, and may have any shape as long as the traveling direction can be identified. FIG. 5 shows a case where an arrow shape is used as another example of the cyclic marker. In this case as well, the positive direction of the y-axis corresponds to the circulating direction.

  The robot 1 captures a video including the cyclic marker M by the imaging unit 13 and recognizes the cyclic marker M from the video. Then, the robot 1 patrols the inside of the store by the moving means 12 based on the taken traveling marker M. When the number of 2D cameras mounted on the robot 1 is two and the robot 1 is provided at different positions on the face of the robot 1 (for example, the position of the forehead and the mouth), the lower part is photographed obliquely by the camera provided at the mouth. Thus, the cyclic marker M is photographed. The control unit 17 of the robot 1 recognizes the cyclic marker M included in the captured video. The control unit 17 determines the direction of circulation based on the circulation marker M. Based on the determination result, the control unit 17 makes a circular movement by the moving unit 12. The robot 1 can determine the current position from the taken cyclic marker M. The robot 1 transmits current position information to the server 2. As a result, the server 2 can grasp the current position information of the robot 1.

  Here, the marker M0 indicating the home position may have a sense of unity with the traveling marker M. FIG. 6 shows a marker M0 indicating the home position. As shown in FIG. 6, the marker M0 has a shape in which two cyclic markers M are combined. The robot 1 can photograph the marker M0 by the photographing unit 13, and can recognize the position of the home position by the marker M0. In this way, by providing the marker M0 and the cyclic marker M with a sense of unity, the markers (the marker M0 and the cyclic marker M) can be installed while further reducing the sense of discomfort to the floor.

  When the traveling marker M is blocked by the customer, there is a possibility that the traveling marker M cannot be photographed. In this case, the robot 1 moves a predetermined distance from front to back and from side to side. When any of the traveling markers M can be photographed, the traveling direction is determined based on the traveling marker M, and the traveling unit 12 performs the traveling movement.

(Configuration of server 2)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a server according to an embodiment of the present invention. The server 2 includes a server communication unit 21, a server storage unit 22, and a server control unit 23. The server communication unit 21, the server storage unit 22, and the server control unit 23 are connected to each other by a bus 24.

  The server communication unit 21 is an interface that communicates with an external device wirelessly or by wire and transmits and receives information. In the present embodiment, the server communication unit 21 can transmit and receive information to and from the robot 1 via the network N.

  The server storage unit 22 includes, for example, a primary storage device and a secondary storage device, and stores various information and programs necessary for providing and controlling the information providing system 10.

  The server control unit 23 includes a dedicated or general-purpose processor and performs various processes. The server control unit 23 controls the operation of the entire server 2. For example, the server control unit 23 transmits and receives information using the server communication unit 21. Specifically, for example, the server control unit 23 receives video and audio transmitted from the robot 1 by the server communication unit 21. The server control unit 23 stores the received information (video and audio) in the server storage unit 22. The stored information is stored for a certain period after being stored, and then deleted. The certain period is, for example, one month. The amount of data stored in one month is about 1 TB when storing images from one robot 1 (10 hours / day, 30 days operation). The server storage unit 22 has a necessary storage capacity.

  Further, the server control unit 23 authenticates the store visitor based on the received video. Hereinafter, the store visitor authentication process will be described in detail.

  When authenticating the store visitor based on the received video, the server control unit 23 extracts the store visitor's face image included in the video and performs face authentication based on the person authentication database 221. Artificial intelligence technology is used as appropriate for face authentication, and the accuracy of authentication is improved by machine learning. The person authentication database is a database that stores information related to the store visitor (hereinafter also referred to as user information), and is stored in the server storage unit 22. FIG. 8 shows an example of the person authentication database 221. The person authentication database 221 shown in FIG. 8 includes user information such as a user ID, name, face image, gender, age, membership card ID, and preferences. The user ID is an identifier for uniquely identifying a store visitor. The person authentication database 221 stores user information such as the name, face image, gender, age, membership card ID, and preferences of the store visitor associated with the ID in association with the user ID. The user information may include other information, for example, a mobile phone number. In addition, information such as purchase history of other stores may be associated as appropriate based on the information of the mobile phone. In this case, it is possible to use various types of information related to visitors such as purchase history at other stores. The server control unit 23 accesses the server storage unit 22 to search whether there is a record that matches or is similar to the face image of the store visitor included in the video received from the robot 1 and performs face authentication.

  Further, the server control unit 23 selects advertisement information corresponding to the obtained authentication result based on the advertisement information database 222. The advertisement information database 222 is a database that stores advertisement information provided by the robot 1 and is stored in the server storage unit 22.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the advertisement information database 222. The advertisement information database 222 shown in FIG. 9 includes information such as advertisement ID, product name, advertisement content, and location. The advertisement ID is an identifier for uniquely identifying the advertisement. The advertisement information database 222 stores information such as a product name (book name in this case), advertisement content, and location related to the ID in association with the advertisement ID.

  The advertisement content information is content data such as a moving image, an image, and a sound related to the advertisement. The location information represents a location where the corresponding product exists. In the advertisement information database 222, the location information is specified by the position of each traveling marker M. That is, for example, products with product names A and B exist in the vicinity of the traveling marker M1. In addition, for example, products with product names C, D, and E exist in the vicinity of the traveling marker M2.

  The server control unit 23 selects advertisement information based on the authentication result. The criterion for selecting the advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result is whether or not the advertisement information is likely to attract the store visitor. Therefore, the selected advertisement information is related to the user information of the store visitor specified based on the authentication result. The user information used at the time of selection includes at least one of the purchase history or preference information of the store visitor. For example, the advertisement information related to the purchase history is advertisement information such as a product recently purchased by the user, a product related to the product, a product purchased periodically. In addition, it is good also as advertisement information of the goods which passed the predetermined period since the last purchase as advertisement information of the goods purchased regularly. For example, if a visitor regularly purchases a magazine that is issued once a month and one month has passed since the previous purchase, the advertisement information related to the magazine should be selected. Also good.

  The selected advertisement information may be related to the current position of the robot 1. That is, the advertisement information is selected from the advertisement information in which the location information in the advertisement information database 222 matches or is close to the current position of the robot 1. By doing in this way, the advertising information regarding the goods in the vicinity of the robot 1, that is, in the vicinity of the visitor is provided, and the advertising effect can be enhanced.

  The server control unit 23 transmits the selected advertisement information to the robot 1 through the server communication unit 21. The robot 1 outputs the received advertisement information by the output unit 15 and provides the visitor with the advertisement information.

  Preferably, the person authentication database 221 and the advertisement information database 222 are encrypted. By encrypting, even if information leaks to the outside, information such as a face image, nomination, and age can be substantially unrecoverable, and privacy can be appropriately protected.

  FIG. 10 shows an example in which the robot 1 moves from a predetermined position in the store and provides advertisement information received from the server 2. Here, the robot 1 patrols the store and is located in the vicinity of the patrol marker M26. The bookcase 5h is assumed to be a bookcase related to “sports / outdoors”, for example. The visitor 8 exists in the vicinity of the area 5ha of the book shelf 5h. It is assumed that books related to “fishing” and “mountain climbing” in “sports / outdoors” are arranged in the area 5ha. Further, it is assumed that the customer 8 is interested in “fishing” and “fishing” is recorded as preference information in the person authentication database 221. In this case, the robot 1 provides the advertisement information of the book relating to “fishing” based on the preference information obtained from the authentication result of the store visitor 8 among the advertisement information related to the traveling marker M26 that is the current position. .

  Next, the operation of the information providing system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the robot 1 images the traveling marker M by the imaging unit 13 (step S10). Next, the robot 1 makes a patrol using the moving unit 12 based on the patrol marker M photographed by the photographing unit 13 (step S20). Specifically, the control unit 17 of the robot 1 determines the direction of circulation based on the cyclic marker M, and moves cyclically by the moving unit 12 based on the determination result.

  Subsequently, a store visitor detection process is performed (step S30). Specifically, the robot 1 always shoots a video in the store by the shooting unit 13 and transmits the shot video to the server 2 by the communication unit 11. The server 2 detects the presence / absence of a visitor from the video. If a visitor is detected, the process proceeds to step S40. If not detected, the bookstore is visited based on the traveling marker M.

  When a store visitor is detected in step S30, the robot 1 autonomously moves so as to approach the store visitor (step S40). Specifically, when the server 2 detects that a store visitor is included in the video, the server 2 transmits a movement instruction to the robot 1. When the robot 1 receives the movement instruction, the robot 1 autonomously moves so as to approach the store visitor by the moving means 12.

  Subsequently, the robot 1 sets the moving speed to a predetermined speed or less (step S50). The predetermined speed may be 0. In this case, the robot 1 stops.

  Subsequently, the robot 1 photographs the store visitor by the photographing unit 13 (step S60). That is, the robot 1 photographs the store visitor at a closer distance. The robot 1 transmits the captured video to the server 2 through the communication unit 11.

  Subsequently, a store visitor authentication process is performed (step S70). Specifically, the server 2 authenticates the store visitor based on the video taken by the robot 1. The server 2 selects advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result based on the authentication result obtained by authenticating the store visitor based on the advertisement information database 222, and the selected communication information is sent to the robot 1 by the server communication unit 21. Send. The robot 1 receives advertisement information from the server 2.

  Subsequently, the robot 1 outputs the received advertisement information, that is, the advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result, by the output unit 15 (step S80). Then, the process ends.

  As described above, according to the information providing system 10 according to the first embodiment, since the robot 1 outputs the advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result obtained by authenticating the store visitor, the advertisement information corresponding to the store visitor can be output. . Thereby, for example, various advertising factors such as the visitor's preference and purchase history can be taken into consideration for effective advertising.

  In addition, according to the information providing system 10 according to the first embodiment, the robot 1 circulates in the store and moves autonomously to shoot the video of the store visitor. Can provide advertisement information. For this reason, the store visitor can receive information without having to take any special action such as approaching the robot 1.

  Further, according to the information providing system 10 according to the first embodiment, the moving speed of the robot 1 is set to be equal to or lower than the predetermined speed when shooting an image in step S50. For this reason, it is possible to suppress blurring of the image of the store visitor photographed by the photographing unit 13 and to prevent deterioration of the quality of the photographed image.

  The predetermined speed can be changed as appropriate according to the performance of the photographing unit 13. In addition, for example, when the photographing unit 13 has high performance or when a video with sufficient quality can be photographed even at a normal moving speed due to brightness in the store, the moving speed of the robot 1 may not be limited. In this case, step S50 may be skipped. Further, the store visitor may be authenticated based on the video taken in step S30, and in this case, step S40 to step S60 may be skipped. That is, the process in which the robot 1 approaches the detected store visitor and the process of setting the moving speed to a predetermined speed or less are arbitrary processes, and the process may not be performed.

  Further, according to the information providing system 10 according to the first embodiment, the person authentication database 221 and the advertisement information database 222 are stored in the server 2. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the robot 1 with a large-capacity storage unit. Further, the addition, update, and deletion of records in the person authentication database 221 and the advertisement information database 222 may be performed by the server 2, and it is not necessary to change the setting of the robot 1.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the authentication process of the store visitor is executed in the server 2 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of authenticating the store visitor by the server 2, the robot 1 may authenticate the store visitor. In this case, it is not necessary for the robot 1 to transmit a video image of the store visitor to the server 2. In this case, the robot 1 may store the person authentication database 221, or the robot 1 may query the person authentication database 221 stored in the server 2.

  When the robot 1 performs the authentication process, the robot 1 may select advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result. In this case, the advertisement information database 222 may be stored in the robot 1, or the robot 1 may refer to the advertisement information database 222 stored in the server 2.

  As described above, the robot 1 may perform the store visitor detection process instead of using the server 2. In this case, in step S30, the robot 1 does not need to transmit the captured video to the server 2.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the advertisement information is selected from those related to the current position of the robot 1 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the advertisement information provided by the robot 1 may not be related to the current position. In this case, the robot 1 outputs advertisement information based on the authentication result of the visitor regardless of the current position of the robot 1.

  The user information in the person authentication database 221 may be created based on the member registration information of the store visitor. Further, the robot 1 may perform processing related to member registration. In this case, the input unit 14 of the robot 1 receives input of member registration information. That is, the robot 1 accepts input of information such as nomination, sex, age, and preference from the store visitor via the touch panel. As the membership card information, it is preferable that information of a membership card to be issued to the store visitor is input in advance. The membership card may be a physical card or a card installed on a customer's mobile phone. The robot 1 transmits the accepted member registration information to the server 2. The server 2 adds a record relating to the new member to the person authentication database 221. Since customer service by robots is not so popular yet and is unusual, it can be expected that the number of registered members by robot 1 will increase and user information will be collected efficiently.

  Further, when the input unit 14 of the robot 1 accepts the input of member registration information, the face image of the visitor may be photographed by the photographing unit 13 of the robot 1 at the time of member registration. The face image photographed by the photographing unit 13 of the robot 1 may be displayed on the touch panel of the robot 1. In this case, the customer may be asked to confirm whether or not to register the face image as user information. For example, the robot 1 displays input information, a photographed face image, and an approval button on the touch panel. When there is an input to the approval button, the input information and the captured face image are transmitted to the server 2. You may do it. Then, the server 2 adds information related to the face image to the person authentication database 221. At the time of member registration, the store visitor faces the imaging unit 13 in order to perform an operation on the touch panel. Therefore, the front image of the visitor can be taken naturally. By obtaining the front image of the store visitor in this way, the accuracy of the store visitor authentication can be improved.

  The robot 1 may estimate the visitor's preference information based on the current location of the photographed visitor. The robot 1 transmits the estimated preference information to the server 2. The server 2 adds the preference information to the person authentication database 221. Visitors to the bookstore are more likely to be in the vicinity of the bookcase that suits their interests than they are in other locations. Therefore, the preference information of the store visitor can be estimated from the location of the store visitor who has taken the image. By storing the information in the person authentication database 221, it is possible to effectively carry out advertisements for store visitors.

  Note that the robot 1 may receive an input of a product (in this case, a book name) that the visitor is looking for by the input unit 14 and output information related to the product by the output unit 15. Specifically, the robot 1 accepts a store visitor's input operation through the touch panel, and displays a menu screen of a book search application on the touch panel. Based on the touch operation by the store visitor, the corresponding books are displayed in a list by book name, author name, genre, keyword, and the like. When a touch operation (selection operation) on any book in the list is detected, information about the book (book name, author name, book shelf position, inventory number, etc.) is displayed. The robot 1 executes the search application by communicating with the server 2 (or a book database server) as appropriate. Instead of accepting an input operation using the touch panel, a book name that the store visitor is looking for may be accepted by voice input using a microphone. Moreover, you may output the information which concerns on an applicable book with a speaker instead of displaying a result with a touchscreen.

  Further, in this case, information on a product that the store visitor is looking for may be used for selection of advertisement information. For example, search history information related to products input by a store visitor using a touch panel or voice input using a microphone may be recorded as user information in the person authentication database 221. Then, the advertisement information may be selected based on the search history information. Further, the customer may explicitly show the robot 1 the products that the customer is interested in. For example, the photographer 13 of the robot 1 photographs a book of an author that the visitor likes. The robot 1 or the server 2 recognizes the author name, title, and the like by OCR as appropriate based on the photographed product image. Then, the obtained information may be recorded as user information in the person authentication database 221. Based on the information, the robot 1 can provide the store visitor with, for example, new publication information of a favorite author of the store visitor.

  Note that the robot 1 may count the number of times each piece of advertisement information has been output (hereinafter referred to as the number of advertisement provisions). Then, the robot 1 may stop outputting the advertisement information that has been output a predetermined number of times or more based on the number of advertisements provided. The predetermined number is, for example, 20 times. By doing in this way, it can avoid that the robot 1 provides the same advertisement information many times, and the fall of the interest with respect to the advertisement provision by the robot 1 can be suppressed. The number of advertisements provided may be counted for each place or for each visitor. When counting for each place, it is possible to prevent the same advertisement information from being provided many times in a certain place. Moreover, when counting for every visitor, it can prevent that the same advertisement information is provided many times with respect to the same visitor. Note that the robot 1 may count the number of store visitors to whom each advertisement information has been output, instead of the number of advertisements provided. Then, the robot 1 may stop the output of the advertisement information output to a predetermined number or more based on the number of store visitors.

  The robot 1 may stop the output of the advertisement information when the photographing unit 13 recognizes a predetermined gesture of the customer. As the predetermined gesture, any gesture can be adopted, for example, “shake the hand twice to the left and right”, “was up and down twice”, “cross both hands”, and the like. When the predetermined gesture is recognized, the robot 1 stops outputting the advertisement information. In this case, the robot 1 may output different advertisement information. The output unit 15 of the robot 1 may display guidance about the gesture. The visitor can make a predetermined gesture based on the guidance and stop the output of the advertisement information. By doing in this way, the advertisement information which a visitor does not want to provide can be changed or stopped. For example, when there are a plurality of customers in the surrounding area and there is a possibility that the customer information of his / her preferences etc. is known and the advertisement is not desired to be seen by other people, the advertisement information Can be stopped.

  Further, when it is determined that there are a plurality of customers, the robot 1 may output advertisement information for a plurality of customers. The advertisement information for a plurality of customers is, for example, an advertisement for a new product. Alternatively, it may be the latest advertisement information of a product related to the current position of the robot 1. In this way, when there are a plurality of customers, instead of providing advertisement information based on user information of a specific customer, it provides advertisement information that a relatively large number of customers may be interested in. . By doing in this way, advertising information can be provided efficiently to a plurality of visitors. In addition, when there are a plurality of customers, it is possible to prevent a customer from knowing user information such as his / her preferences. Note that the robot 1 may also provide advertisement information for a plurality of store visitors when the store visitor cannot be authenticated. By doing in this way, advertisement information can be efficiently provided also to the visitor who could not be authenticated.

  Here, a plurality of visitors may be a family. When the robot 1 determines that there are a plurality of customers, and there is a customer whose height is within a predetermined range among the plurality of customers, the robot 1 is based on the authentication result obtained by authenticating the customer. The advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result may be output. The predetermined range is, for example, 110 cm or more and 150 cm or less. This range is roughly the height range of elementary school students. By setting the predetermined range to the range, the robot 1 outputs advertisement information suitable for the elementary school user information based on the authentication result obtained by authenticating the primary school student visitor. Among family members, elementary school children tend to be most interested in the robot 1. In addition, there is a tendency in the family to purchase products for elementary school children. Therefore, by providing advertisement information focusing on elementary school visitors, it is possible to provide necessary information to the family. In addition, member card ID and preference information can be set suitably among the user information concerning the visitor of an elementary school student. When the visitor of the elementary school is not registered as a member, the member card ID of the guardian may be substituted. In this case, the robot 1 can select the advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result by referring to the purchase history (for example, children's books, learning reference books, comics, etc.) for children in the purchase history of the guardian. Good. In addition, when the elementary school student is registered as a member, the information of the member card ID may be associated. The height of the robot 1 may also be within the predetermined range. By doing so, it is possible to provide information according to the eyes of the elementary school students, and to improve the familiarity with the robot 1.

  Since the robot 1 constantly shoots the inside of the store, it also functions to prevent shoplifting in the store. Here, the store visitor recorded in the person authentication database 221 is unlikely to be a shoplifter. Therefore, the person authentication database 221 may be used as a white list. That is, the robot 1 may exclude the store visitor listed in the person authentication database 221 from the shoplifting prevention monitoring target.

(Embodiment 2)
The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The information providing system 10b according to the second embodiment is different from the configuration according to the first embodiment in that a plurality of robots are arranged. Other components and processes are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  An information providing system 10b according to Embodiment 2 includes a robot 1b in addition to the robot 1. The configuration of the robot 1b is the same as that of the robot 1. The robot 1 b can communicate with the robot 1 via the network N and the server 2. Although an example in which two robots are arranged is shown here, the number of robots is not limited to this, and three or more robots may be arranged.

  When a plurality of robots are arranged, for example, communication between the robots causes the robot 1 and the robot 1b to autonomously move so that the distance between the robots becomes a predetermined distance or more. By doing in this way, it can prevent that the imaging range of each robot overlaps, and can expand the area which always image | photographs.

  When there are two robots, two home positions are provided according to the number of robots. A priority may be set for the plurality of home positions. For example, the priority of one home position is higher than the priority of the other home position. Therefore, when one robot leaves the home position, the other robot autonomously moves to a home position with a higher priority. By doing in this way, the probability that any robot exists in a home position with high priority can be raised. Thereby, the store visitor who enters a store appropriately can be photographed. In addition, since the robot at the home position is more likely to detect the store visitor more frequently, the processing load between the robots can be leveled. Note that the absence of a robot at a home position with high priority may be determined based on an image captured by the imaging unit 13 of the robot, or may be determined based on the current value of each robot.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the functions included in each means, each step, etc. can be rearranged so that there is no logical contradiction, and a plurality of means, steps, etc. can be combined or divided into one. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1b Robot 2 Server 4 Cash register 5a-5h Book shelf 6 Entrance 7a, 7b Clerk 8 Visitor 10 Information provision system 11 Communication part 12 Moving means 13 Image pick-up part 14 Input part 15 Output part 16 Storage part 17 Control part 18, 24 Bus M0 marker M1 to M31 Traveling marker 21 Server communication unit 22 Server storage unit 23 Server control unit 221 Person authentication database 222 Advertising information database

Claims (17)

An imaging unit that captures a plurality of patrol markers and a visitor's video in a shape that can uniquely identify the direction of patrol,
It is a moving means that determines a patrol direction based on the patrol marker photographed by the photographing unit and can move autonomously so as to approach the store visitor, and when the patrol marker cannot be photographed by the photographing unit, Moving means for moving a predetermined distance and photographing one of the traveling markers, determining a direction of traveling based on the traveling marker, and traveling ,
Based on the authentication result obtained by authenticating the store visitor by the video and the traveling marker photographed by the photographing unit, an output unit for outputting the authentication result and advertisement information corresponding to the traveling marker;
Robot equipped with.   The robot according to claim 1, wherein the robot receives the advertisement information from a server.   The robot according to claim 2, wherein the robot transmits an image captured by the imaging unit to the server, and the server authenticates the store visitor based on the image.   The robot according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement information is related to a current position of the robot.   5. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement information is related to user information of the store visitor specified based on the authentication result.   The robot according to claim 5, wherein the user information includes at least one of purchase history or preference information of the store visitor.   The robot according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the user information is created based on member registration information of the store visitor, and the robot further includes an input unit that receives an input of the member registration information.   The robot according to claim 7, wherein the robot captures the face image of the customer at the time of member registration by the imaging unit.   The robot according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the robot estimates the visitor's preference information based on the photographed current position of the visitor.   The robot according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the output of the advertisement information output a predetermined number of times or more is stopped.   The robot according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein, when the predetermined gesture of the store visitor is recognized by the photographing unit, output of the advertisement information is stopped.   The robot according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which outputs advertisement information for a plurality of customers when it is determined that there are a plurality of customers.   If it is determined that there are a plurality of visitors and if it is determined that there is a visitor whose height is within a predetermined range among the plurality of visitors, the height is obtained by authenticating a visitor whose height is within the predetermined range. The robot according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result is output based on the authentication result.   The robot according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein when moving the image, the moving speed of the robot is set to a predetermined speed or less.   The robot according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein when the video is photographed, the neck motion of the robot is stopped. An information providing method by an autonomously moving robot,
The robot
Shooting a plurality of tour markers and store visitor images in a shape that can uniquely identify the direction of patrol by the photographing unit;
The moving means determines a patrol direction based on the patrol marker photographed by the photographing unit and patrols, and autonomously moves so as to approach the store visitor, and the patrol marker cannot be photographed by the photographing unit. In this case, moving a predetermined distance, photographing any of the cyclic markers, determining a direction of patrol based on the cyclic markers, and patroling ;
Based on the authentication result obtained by authenticating the store visitor by the video and the traveling marker by the output unit, outputting the advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result and the traveling marker;
An information providing method. An information providing system including an autonomously moving robot and a server,
The robot is
An imaging unit that captures a plurality of patrol markers and a visitor's video in a shape that can uniquely identify the direction of patrol,
It is a moving means that determines a patrol direction based on the patrol marker photographed by the photographing unit and can move autonomously so as to approach the store visitor, and when the patrol marker cannot be photographed by the photographing unit, Moving means for moving a predetermined distance and photographing one of the traveling markers, determining a direction of traveling based on the traveling marker, and traveling ,
Based on the authentication result obtained by authenticating the store visitor by the video and the traveling marker, an output unit that outputs advertisement information corresponding to the authentication result and the traveling marker;
With
The server
A server transmission unit for transmitting the advertisement information to the robot;
Information provision system.

Images