JP7127891B2 - virtual air service system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to virtual reality technology, and in particular to technology for providing a virtual travel experience.

The joy of traveling is to get an experience different from everyday life. In the case of air travel, a passenger reserves a seat on a passenger plane, goes to the airport before the departure time, goes through check-in procedures, boards the passenger plane, takes off, flies, and lands. do. Moreover, sharing the same space at the same time with a large number of travelers on a passenger plane that departs at a fixed time deepens the interest of travel.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-87181

Currently, travel demand is plummeting due to the impact of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The sharp decline in travel demand has dealt a heavy blow not only to the airline industry, but also to airport retailers.

The present invention is an invention completed based on the above background, and its main purpose is to provide a travel experience using virtual reality technology.

A virtual airline service system in one aspect of the present invention refers to a flight schedule predetermined for a virtual passenger plane, and receives a boarding request from a user's communication terminal before the departure time of the virtual passenger plane. a boarding processing unit that registers the user who requested boarding to the virtual passenger plane as a passenger of the virtual passenger plane; and a boarding experience providing unit that provides a common boarding experience to multiple passengers on the virtual passenger plane. And prepare.

A communication terminal according to one aspect of the present invention includes an input unit that accepts a boarding procedure from a user on the condition that it is before the departure time of the virtual passenger plane for a virtual passenger plane having a predetermined flight schedule, and an input unit that accepts boarding procedures. a transmission unit that transmits a boarding request together with a user ID to an external air management server; and after receiving permission to board the virtual passenger aircraft from the air management server, a virtual space image representing the interior of the virtual passenger aircraft. a receiving unit for receiving
a display unit for displaying an image of the virtual space on a screen.
The display unit displays an avatar, which is a character corresponding to another user who has completed boarding procedures for the virtual passenger plane, inside the virtual passenger plane.

According to the present invention, virtual reality technology can provide users with an experience similar to a real trip.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of a virtual trip; FIG. It is a schematic diagram for explaining the itinerary from Haneda Airport to the clock tower via New Chitose Airport. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a virtual air service system; FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an airline management server and user terminals; FIG. It is a screen figure of an airplane search screen. It is a screen figure of an airplane reservation screen. 4 is a data structure diagram of passenger information; FIG. It is a screen figure which shows the boarding gate of Haneda Airport. FIG. 4 is a screen diagram showing the interior of a virtual passenger plane; It is a screen diagram showing the vicinity of a virtual store in New Chitose Airport. It is a screen view showing the vicinity of the clock tower.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of a virtual trip.
In the present embodiment, a user is provided with a travel experience (hereinafter also referred to as “virtual travel”) to which virtual reality technology is applied. Specifically, a virtual space simulating an airport, a passenger plane, and a tourist spot is generated by three-dimensional computer graphics. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the virtual space simulating an airport will be referred to as "airport space", "virtual airport" or simply "airport". The same applies to passenger planes and tourist spots. In addition, when explicitly indicating that the airport actually exists, it is appropriately referred to as "existing airport". The same applies to passenger planes and tourist spots.

As an example, Haneda Airport, New Chitose Airport, and Kyoto Airport are constructed as virtual spaces. For Haneda Airport and New Chitose Airport, the premises of real airports are reproduced as a three-dimensional virtual space using computer graphics. However, the airport sales outlets in the virtual airport need not be the same as the airport sales outlets in the real airport. Kyoto Airport does not exist. Therefore, the virtual Kyoto Airport can be arbitrarily designed by the designer.

A user can walk around the premises of a virtual airport by moving a character (hereinafter referred to as an "avatar") acting as an alter ego of the user in the virtual space with an operation feeling similar to that of a game. The experience of the virtual airport through the user's avatar is hereinafter referred to as "airport experience".

Although the details will be described later, the user accesses the flight management server from a communication terminal such as a smartphone, and is provided with an airport experience at Haneda Airport by the flight management server. The user boards the virtual airliner by performing boarding procedures through the avatar at the virtual Haneda airport. During boarding, a “boarding experience” is provided in the virtual passenger plane space.

After about 20 minutes of boarding experience (flight) by the virtual passenger plane, the virtual passenger plane lands at another virtual airport such as virtual New Chitose Airport. A flight management server provides the airport experience of a virtual New Chitose Airport. The user can also enjoy shopping at a virtual store opened in the virtual airport by operating the avatar.

A virtual airport is associated in advance with a plurality of virtual sightseeing spots. The virtual New Chitose Airport is associated with sightseeing spots such as the famous statue of Dr. Clark in Hokkaido, Sapporo Clock Tower, and Goryokaku. Virtual Kyoto Airport is associated with Kinkakuji Temple, Ginkakuji Temple, and Fushimi Inari Shrine, which are famous in Kyoto. Virtual spaces are also built in advance in these tourist spots. The user can enjoy walking around the virtual clock tower by moving to the virtual Sapporo clock tower (hereinafter referred to as "virtual clock tower" or simply "clock tower"). Hereinafter, the experience of a tourist spot through the user's avatar will be referred to as a "sightseeing experience".

For example, a user cannot enjoy sightseeing at the clock tower unless he/she completes check-in procedures at Haneda Airport and lands at New Chitose Airport by plane. In other words, completing the procedures to go from Tokyo to Hokkaido is a condition for enjoying the clock tower sightseeing. By sequentially experiencing the process (flow) of the trip in the virtual space, the user can enjoy the feeling of traveling in the virtual space.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the itinerary from Haneda Airport to the clock tower via New Chitose Airport.
A user first selects a character to be his or her avatar from a plurality of types of characters. Each of the users selects an avatar, and the users interact through the avatars in a common virtual space. An avatar may be a character that faithfully reproduces an actual human being, a character that simplifies, omits, or emphasizes human characteristics, or a non-human creature such as a robot or an animal. It may be a character imitating a living thing.

A user accesses an airline management server, decides on a departure schedule, and purchases a ticket (airline ticket) for a virtual airliner. The virtual passenger plane in this embodiment, like a real passenger plane, has an operation schedule (departure airport (hereinafter referred to as "departure airport"), departure time, arrival time, destination airport (hereinafter referred to as "arrival airport"). )) and boarding capacity are decided. Users must register in advance. The flight management server preliminarily registers information about users such as user IDs, names, addresses, credit card numbers, bank account information, and the like. When a user purchases a ticket, the airline management server deducts the ticket fee from the user's bank account.

When the departure time of the virtual airliner approaches, the user who has obtained the ticket accesses the flight management server again and enters the virtual space of Haneda Airport, the departure airport. In the Haneda Airport space, users can make their avatars walk around using operating devices such as mice, joysticks, keyboards, and trackballs. There is also a virtual store inside Haneda Airport where you can purchase products for a fee. A purchase mark 102 in FIG. 2 indicates that there is an opportunity to purchase a product.

The user moves the avatar to the boarding gate in Haneda Airport space and presents the ticket to complete the boarding procedure for the virtual airliner. The avatar moves into the airliner space and takes a seat. The virtual airliner takes off at the determined departure time. At this time, an animation of the takeoff scene of the virtual passenger plane is displayed on the communication terminal of the user.

After boarding, the user enjoys a 20 minute flight through the avatar. In the space of an airliner, a user can receive various services from a character acting as a flight attendant (hereafter referred to as a "flight attendant character"). Crew characters are also sold in-flight. The user selects a product object to be purchased from the product objects brought by the crew character. At this time, the flight management server settles the product price and arranges delivery of the product (real object) previously associated with the selected product object (virtual object) to the user's home. For example, when a user purchases a "stuffed toy (virtual object)" from a flight attendant character, the same type of "stuffed toy (real object)" is delivered to his/her home at a later date.

As the scheduled arrival time approaches, the virtual airliner prepares for landing. At this time, an animation of the landing scene of the virtual airliner is displayed on the communication terminal of the user.

After landing, the avatar enters the New Chitose Airport space. There are also many virtual stores in the New Chitose Airport space. A virtual store at New Chitose Airport features a variety of Hokkaido-specific products from local Hokkaido vendors. In other words, the virtual store at New Chitose Airport sells products unique to Hokkaido that are not sold at other regions, such as the virtual store at Haneda Airport.

The avatar moves to the virtual clock tower among the sightseeing spots pre-associated with New Chitose Airport. In the virtual clock tower, a virtual space similar to the actual Sapporo clock tower is constructed, and the user can enjoy sightseeing in the virtual space through the avatar. Also, there are many virtual shops around the clock tower.

A store manager can purchase merchandise listing rights for a virtual store located at Haneda Airport, an airliner, New Chitose Airport, or a clock tower, and sell their own merchandise to users. When the user purchases the product, the payment for the product is transferred from the user's bank account to the store manager's bank account. The store manager actually ships the product to the user when the company's product sells in the virtual space.

An advertisement space is provided in advance in the virtual space. Operators of flight management services sell advertising space in virtual space. A large number of avatars gather in a virtual space such as Haneda Airport. The user visually recognizes many advertisements in the virtual space through the avatar. Advertisers can purchase advertising space and paste images of their own advertisements here.

Advertisement fees are revenues for operating air management services. For example, a small business that cannot advertise at the real New Chitose Airport may be able to advertise at a lower price at the virtual New Chitose Airport. In this way, by selling advertising space at low prices at virtual airports, sightseeing spots, passenger planes, etc., it becomes easier to provide a wide range of advertising opportunities to local industries that are not known to general users.

FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the virtual air service system 100. As shown in FIG.
The virtual airline service system 100 includes an airline management server 200 , user terminals 300 , payment system 108 , advertiser terminals 104 and store terminals 110 . The flight management server 200, the user terminal 300, the payment system 108, the advertiser terminal 104 and the store terminal 110 are interconnected via the Internet 106. The user terminal 300 is a communication terminal used by the user who receives the virtual aviation service, and is any computer having a communication function and a display function such as a smartphone, tablet computer, desktop PC, laptop PC, VR (Virtual Reality) goggles. I wish I had. Also, the user terminal 300 may be a dedicated device installed at a game center or the like.

The flight management server 200 provides various services related to virtual travel to the user terminals 300 . As described above, the user registers in advance with the flight management server 200 . At this time, the user registers his/her name, address, bank account information, credit card number, etc. in the flight administration server 200, and the flight administration server 200 assigns a user ID to each user.

The settlement system 108 is a server operated by a financial institution. The flight management server 200 transmits a payment instruction to the payment system 108 when the user purchases a ticket for a virtual airliner or makes a purchase at a virtual store, and the payment system 108 settles the fare. The advertiser terminal 104 is a communication terminal used by an advertiser. The advertiser transmits the advertisement data (image), the place where the advertisement is to be placed, and the information on the advertiser from the advertiser terminal 104 to the flight management server 200, and the flight management server 200 sends the specified advertisement in the virtual space. Paste the advertising image in the space.

The advertiser registers as an advertiser with the flight management server 200 as a user. The flight management server 200 sets advertising space information such as the posting period, posting fee, payment method, posting qualification, etc. for each advertising space, and notifies the advertiser applicant of this. As a posting qualification, for example, it is conceivable to specify that only residents of Hokkaido can post advertisements in the advertising space at New Chitose Airport.

The advertiser notifies the air management server 200 of the advertisement space in which the advertisement is to be placed, while referring to the advertisement space information. The flight management server 200 withdraws the advertising fee from the bank account of the advertiser and publishes the advertisement in the virtual space by pasting the advertisement image data provided by the advertiser to the designated advertisement space.

The store terminal 110 is a communication terminal used by a store operator. The store operator transmits the information of the virtual store where the product is to be exhibited, the product list, and the store operator from the store terminal 110 . The flight management server 200 installs product objects (virtual objects) corresponding to the product list at the specified virtual shop. Note that the store operator may purchase the product listing right for a part of the space of the virtual store, or may purchase the entire virtual store.

The user selects a product object in the virtual shop and instructs purchase. The flight management server 200 withdraws the product price from the user's bank account and deposits the product price into the store operator's bank account. At the same time, the flight management server 200 notifies the store operator of the user's address and the name of the purchased product, and the store operator delivers the actual product to the user's address. That is, the user enjoys shopping in the virtual space, and the actual product arrives at his/her home several days later. The product delivery may be of an anonymous delivery method in which the operator of the flight management server 200 acts as an escrow and does not notify the store operator of the purchaser's personal information.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the flight management server 200 and the user terminal 300. As shown in FIG.
Each component of the flight management server 200 and the user terminal 300 includes computing units such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and various co-processors, storage devices such as memory and storage, and wired or wireless communication connecting them. It is realized by hardware including lines and software stored in a memory device and supplying processing instructions to the computing unit. A computer program may consist of a device driver, an operating system, various application programs located in their higher layers, and a library that provides common functions to these programs.
Each block described below represents a functional block rather than a hardware configuration.

(Flight management server 200)
The flight management server 200 includes a communication section 202 , a data processing section 204 and a data storage section 206 .
The communication unit 202 is in charge of communication processing with the user terminal 300 , the payment system 108 , the advertiser terminal 104 and the store terminal 110 . The data storage unit 206 stores various data such as virtual space image data, characters, information about users, information about advertisers, and information about store operators. The data processing unit 204 executes various processes based on data acquired by the communication unit 202 and data stored in the data storage unit 206 . Data processing unit 204 also functions as an interface for communication unit 202 and data storage unit 206 .

The communication unit 202 includes a transmitting unit 208 that transmits various types of information to an external device such as the user terminal 300, and a receiving unit 210 that receives various types of information from the external device.

Reception unit 210 includes boarding request reception unit 212 and reservation reception unit 214 .
The boarding request receiving unit 212 receives a boarding request for a virtual passenger plane from the user terminal 300 . The reservation reception unit 214 receives a boarding reservation for a virtual passenger plane from the user terminal 300 .

The data processing unit 204 includes a boarding processing unit 216, a reservation processing unit 218, a conversation processing unit 220, a boarding experience providing unit 222, a sightseeing experience providing unit 224, an airport experience providing unit 226, a payment processing unit 228, a mileage management unit 230 and an advertisement. A management unit 232 is included.
The boarding processing unit 216 executes processing related to boarding procedures when the avatar arrives at the boarding gate in the airport space. The avatar purchases a ticket for the virtual passenger plane in advance and boards the virtual passenger plane on the condition that the boarding procedure has been completed in the airport space.

The reservation processing unit 218 executes reservation processing for a virtual airliner. The reservation processing unit 218 issues a ticket (airline ticket) to the user when the virtual passenger plane is reserved by the user. The conversation processing unit 220 performs conversation processing between users. In this embodiment, the user can converse in a chat system. The boarding experience providing unit 222 provides the user with a virtual airplane boarding experience. The sightseeing experience providing unit 224 provides the user with a sightseeing experience of the virtual sightseeing spot. The airport experience providing unit 226 provides the user with an airport experience of a virtual airport.

The settlement processing unit 228 executes settlement processing by issuing instructions to the settlement system 108 . The settlement processing unit 228 executes settlement processing when purchasing a ticket for a virtual airliner, purchasing a product at a virtual store or in-flight sales, and collecting an advertisement fee when an advertisement is published.

The mileage management unit 230 manages mileage points for each user. When the user boards the virtual airliner, the mileage management unit 230 gives mileage points to the user. A user can receive a discount service at the time of ticket purchase or merchandise purchase with mileage points. The advertisement management unit 232 manages the advertisement space in the virtual space. The advertisement management unit 232 manages the advertisement space ID, the advertiser, the advertisement image, the posting period, and the posting fee in association with each other, and deletes the advertisement image whose posting period has passed. Also, when a new advertisement is to be posted in the advertisement space, the payment processor 228 is instructed to collect the publication fee.

(User terminal 300)
User terminal 300 includes user interface processing section 302 , communication section 304 , data processing section 306 and data storage section 308 .
A user interface processing unit 302 receives user operations via input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, joystick, and touch panel, and is in charge of user interface processing such as image display and audio output. The communication unit 304 is in charge of communication processing with the flight management server 200 . A data storage unit 308 stores various data. The data processing unit 306 executes various processes based on the input from the user interface processing unit 302 , data received by the communication unit 304 and data stored in the data storage unit 308 . The data processing unit 306 also functions as an interface for the communication unit 304 , the user interface processing unit 302 and the data storage unit 308 .

User interface processing section 302 includes an input section 310 and an output section 312 .
A user interface processing unit 302 receives various inputs from the user. A user operates an avatar in a virtual space using an input device through a user interface similar to that of a computer game. Hereinafter, the avatar corresponding to the user himself/herself will be referred to as a ``personal avatar'' when indicating that the avatar is to be operated by the user, and will be referred to as a ``another avatar'' when indicating that the avatar is operated by another user.

The output unit 312 outputs various information to the user. The output unit 312 displays various information on the monitor and outputs various sounds.

In the following, similar to the flow shown in FIG. 2, the user interface will be mainly explained along the flow from the avatar boarding the virtual airliner, arriving at New Chitose Airport from Haneda Airport, and visiting the clock tower. do.

FIG. 5 is a screen diagram of the airplane search screen 120. As shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, multiple virtual airliners are in operation. An operation schedule is set in advance for the virtual airliner. A user who wishes to take a virtual trip accesses the flight management server 200 after completing user registration. At this time, the transmission unit 208 of the flight management server 200 transmits the airplane search screen 120 to the user terminal 300 as a web page.

The user selects a departure airport in departure airport field 122 and an arrival airport in arrival airport field 124 . In FIG. 5, "Haneda Airport (Tokyo)" is selected as the departure airport, and "New Chitose Airport (Sapporo)" is selected as the arrival airport.

The user then selects the desired departure date in the departure date column 126 . In FIG. 5, a virtual airliner departing on "January 31, 2021" is designated. After setting the departure airport field 122, the arrival airport field 124 and the departure date field 126, the search button 128 is touched. At this time, the user terminal 300 transmits a search request including the input information of the airplane search screen 120 to the flight management server 200 .

FIG. 6 is a screen diagram of the flight reservation screen 130. As shown in FIG.
When a search request is received, the reservation processing unit 218 refers to the operation schedule of virtual passenger planes registered in the data storage unit 206, and generates an airplane reservation screen 130 showing a list of virtual passenger planes that meet the search conditions. . According to the flight reservation screen 130 of FIG. 6, there are five virtual passenger planes that meet the search conditions of "departure airport: Haneda", "arrival airport: New Chitose", and "departure date: January 31, 2021".

The flight number column 133 indicates the flight number of the virtual airliner. Flight numbers are set for virtual passenger planes in the same way as for real passenger planes. The flight number serves as the identity of the virtual airliner. In addition, the appearance, interior, crew capacity, and the type and number of crew characters of the virtual airliner differ from one virtual airliner to another.

The time column 135 shows the departure time and estimated arrival time. The number of passengers column 136 indicates the number of passengers/capacity of passengers. For example, a virtual airliner (JBL501) departs virtual Haneda Airport at 6:30 on January 31st and arrives at virtual New Chitose Airport at 6:40. The capacity is 180 people, and since 15 people are currently reserved, up to 165 more people can be reserved. A user who has reserved a virtual passenger plane (JBL501) must enter the virtual Haneda Airport space by 6:30 on January 31st and complete the check-in procedures described below.

The virtual passenger plane (ANB67) has a capacity of 200 people, but it is full. Therefore, even if you make a reservation, you will be on a waiting list.

The user touches the reservation button 138 corresponding to the virtual airliner he wishes to board. Here, it is assumed that a virtual airliner (JBL527) has been reserved. A virtual passenger plane (JBL527) departs at 18:30 and has a boarding capacity of 210 people (15 seats remain vacant). The input unit 310 of the user terminal 300 transmits a reservation request including the user ID and the flight number to the flight management server 200 when the reservation button 138 is touched. The reservation reception unit 214 receives the reservation request. The reservation processing unit 218 registers the user as a "passenger" of the virtual passenger plane (JBL527) on condition that there are vacant seats on the virtual passenger plane (JBL527).

A maximum of 210 users can board the virtual airliner (JBL527). Users can also share the same virtual airliner with friends and family. Since it is a virtual airliner, passengers do not have to physically gather at Haneda Airport. For example, a family member in Osaka Prefecture and a grandparent in Fukuoka Prefecture can share the same virtual passenger plane via their own user terminals 300 .

In this embodiment, payment is made at the time of booking the virtual airliner. Specifically, the reservation processing unit 218 transmits the ticket information to the user terminal 300 and instructs the payment system 108 to withdraw the boarding fee from the user's bank account registered in advance. The payment system 108 performs a debit from the user's bank account and transfers the boarding fee to the operator's bank account of the virtual air service system 100 . With the above, the reservation process is completed.

FIG. 7 is a data structure diagram of the passenger information 140. As shown in FIG.
Passenger information 140 is stored in the data storage unit 206 of the flight management server 200 . The passenger information 140 is a list of passengers for each virtual airliner. The reservation processing unit 218 updates the passenger information 140 each time a reservation is received. The passenger information 140 shown in FIG. 7 indicates the passenger list of the virtual airliner (JBL527). Seat numbers are set for the seats of the virtual airliner.

The user can also collectively register a plurality of users as a "group" at the time of reservation. The reservation processing unit 218 assigns a group ID to the group. The reservation processing unit 218 may set boarding seats so that members belonging to the same group, such as family members, are seated close to each other. Alternatively, when making a reservation, the user may select a boarding seat from the available seat chart in the same way as when making a reservation for an actual airliner.

In the passenger information 140 of FIG. 7, "Yuko Shifumi (user ID: 004)" seated in seat (1A) and "Michiko Takigawa (user ID: 017)" seated in seat (1B) belong to the same group. . On the other hand, "Kiyoshi Ebe (user ID: 126)" seated in seat (1C) is a solo traveler.

FIG. 8 is a screen diagram showing a boarding gate at Haneda Airport.
A user who has reserved a virtual passenger plane (JBL527) logs into the flight management server 200 before the departure time (18:30 on January 31, 2021). The airport experience providing unit 226 transmits a three-dimensional image of Haneda Airport space to the user terminal 300 . The user operates the person's avatar to move around Haneda Airport. Since the reservation has already been made, the avatar himself has a ticket. There are also many other avatars in the Haneda Airport space. The user can also have a conversation with another person's avatar using a chat method.

The user moves the avatar to the boarding gate in Haneda Airport space. When the avatar arrives at the boarding gate, the user terminal 300 transmits a boarding request including ticket information to the flight management server 200 . The boarding request receiving unit 212 receives the boarding request, and the boarding processing unit 216 executes boarding processing. Specifically, the boarding processing unit 216 confirms the user's ticket information (flight name, departure time, etc.) and passenger information 140, and guides the avatar to the virtual airliner (JBL527). The avatar moves to a virtual space showing the interior of a virtual airliner (JBL527).

If the boarding procedure is not completed by 18:30, which is the departure time of the virtual passenger plane (JBL527), boarding will be cancelled. At this time, the boarding processing unit 216 instructs the settlement system 108 to refund all or part of the airfare to the user. In this way, the user has to carry out the boarding procedure at the boarding gate of the virtual Haneda Airport so as not to be late for the departure time of the virtual airliner in the same way as the actual boarding procedure.

FIG. 9 is a screen diagram showing the interior of the virtual airliner.
After boarding the virtual airliner (JBL527), the boarding experience providing unit 222 provides the user with a boarding experience. The boarding experience providing unit 222 transmits a three-dimensional image of the cabin space of the virtual passenger plane. The user operates the avatar himself/herself to move to his seat and sit down. When the departure time arrives, the virtual passenger plane automatically takes off and departs for New Chitose Airport, which is the arrival airport. Twenty minutes after departure, the virtual passenger plane lands at New Chitose Airport. The boarding experience providing unit 222 provides the user with various boarding experiences during the 20 minutes.

Other passenger avatars 148 of other passengers are also displayed in the virtual airliner. In the case of a virtual airliner (JBL527), about 200 users will share a boarding experience in the same cabin space at the same time slot.

The boarding experience providing unit 222 displays an in-flight space screen 144, which is a three-dimensional image of the cabin, and a conversation screen 142 in an overlapping manner. The user can have a text conversation with another person's avatar on the conversation screen 142 . For example, a user may converse with other users belonging to the same group. The conversation processing unit 220 relays the conversation by transferring the text message input by the user to the conversation screen 142 of another user belonging to the same group. Note that the user may converse with other users by voice through input/output devices such as microphones and earphones.

The user can also converse with other users (other avatars) who do not belong to the same group. For example, when the distance between the main avatar and the other avatar is within a predetermined range, the main avatar calls out to the other avatar, and when the other party responds to the call, the conversation processing unit 220 enables conversation between the two. can be controlled to

One or more crew characters 146 are also displayed in the cabin space screen 144 . The boarding experience providing unit 222 causes the crew character 146 to circulate within the cabin space screen 144 . The crew character 146 also has a function as a chatbot and can enjoy conversation with the user. When the distance between the crew member character 146 and the principal avatar is within a predetermined range, it becomes possible to have a conversation with the crew member character 146 .

The user can ask the crew character 146 to take a "commemorative photo". If the crew character 146 approves, the boarding experience providing unit 222 generates commemorative photo data in which the principal avatar and the crew character 146 are shown, and transmits this to the user terminal 300 . When taking a commemorative photo, a plurality of avatars and crew characters 146 can be photographed at the same time.

The data storage unit 206 of the flight management server 200 stores data of a plurality of types of crew characters 146 in advance. The boarding experience providing unit 222 schedules which virtual passenger plane among a plurality of virtual passenger planes each flight attendant character 146 is to board and when. Therefore, the user does not know which flight attendant character 146 he/she will meet until he or she gets on the virtual airliner. The user is provided with the pleasure of meeting various flight attendant characters 146 when boarding the virtual airliner. In other words, the enjoyment of collection is provided by boarding a large number of virtual passenger planes and collecting commemorative photographs with a large number of crew characters 146 .

The flight attendant character 146 may provide guidance about tourist spots around the arrival airport. The guidance may be a text message or an audio announcement. Also, the advertiser may purchase the right to have the crew character 146 introduce the company's products as a kind of advertisement. The flight attendant character 146 sells products in-flight, but the method of purchasing the products is the same as purchasing products at a virtual store, so the details will be described later with reference to FIG. 10 below.

The boarding experience providing unit 222 provides various surprise events as boarding experiences. For example, flight attendant character 146 may host a bingo game. A prize may be provided for the bingo game. The settlement processing unit 228 instructs the operator to deliver the prize to the winner's home at a later date. The prize may be mileage points.

Passengers may play a rock-paper-scissors tournament among themselves. Alternatively, the passenger and crew character 146 may play rock-paper-scissors. The flight attendant character 146 may quiz the passenger. As described above, in the virtual passenger plane of this embodiment, various events that cannot be performed in the actual passenger plane can be executed. Through such events, it is possible to encourage interaction among passengers.

FIG. 10 is a screen diagram showing the vicinity of a virtual store at New Chitose Airport.
After the virtual passenger plane (JBL527) has landed at New Chitose Airport, the airport experience providing unit 226 provides the user with an airport experience. The airport experience providing unit 226 transmits a three-dimensional image of the virtual space inside New Chitose Airport to the user terminal 300 . The user operates an avatar and strolls through the New Chitose Airport space. A large number of virtual stores are installed in the New Chitose Airport space. Advertisement images are displayed on the walls and the like.

The user moves the avatar and enters the virtual store of interest. A virtual store has a large number of product objects. A product object is a three-dimensional virtual object that has the same shape as the actual product and is pasted with the same design image as the actual product. Product description information is associated with the product object in advance. The product description information includes arbitrary information related to the product, such as the product name, manufacturer name, content, amount of content, and price. When the avatar selects a product object, the transmission unit 208 of the flight management server 200 transmits product description information to the user terminal 300 .

The user brings the product object that he/she wants to purchase to the checkout area set up in the virtual shop. When the avatar moves to the settlement area, the settlement processing unit 228 purchases and delivers the product. The payment processing unit 228 first identifies the product ID associated with the user ID and the product object, and the store operator associated with the product ID. Next, the settlement processing unit 228 instructs the settlement system 108 to transfer the product price from the bank account of the user (purchaser) to the bank account of the store operator. The settlement system 108 transmits a settlement completion notification to the flight management server 200 after completing the transfer.

The settlement processing unit 228 , upon receiving the settlement completion notice, transmits a product delivery instruction to the store terminal 110 . The delivery instruction includes the user's (purchaser's) address and product ID. When the store terminal 110 receives the delivery instruction, the store operator takes out the corresponding product from its own warehouse, packs the product, and mails the product to the user's address.

In this way, the user selects a product object and brings it into the checkout area at the virtual shop in the space of New Chitose Airport, in other words, by indicating the purchase intention, the flight management server 200 makes a payment for the product. It is possible to receive delivery of the actual product corresponding to the product object.

When purchasing a product object, a discount service can be obtained by using mileage points. In this case, the mileage management unit 230 may discount the product price based on the mileage points owned by the user, and the operator of the virtual air service system 100 may compensate for the discount by himself.

FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing the vicinity of the clock tower.
The user can select a destination from sightseeing spots associated with New Chitose Airport. Assume that the user has selected the clock tower. The sightseeing experience providing unit 224 provides the user with a sightseeing experience of the clock tower. Specifically, the sightseeing experience providing unit 224 transmits to the user terminal 300 a three-dimensional image of a virtual space that reproduces the area around the clock tower. The user operates the avatar and strolls around the clock tower. There are many virtual shops around the clock tower. Advertisement images are also displayed on walls around the clock tower.

Commemorative photography is also possible at tourist spots. For example, a family of four (four avatars) can tour the clock tower and take a commemorative photo with the clock tower as the background. Four avatars and a clock tower (virtual image) are reflected in the commemorative photo. In this way, even in a virtual space, by providing a commemorative photo that can only be obtained by visiting the virtual clock tower with four people, the user can have a sightseeing experience similar to that of a real clock tower. can be enjoyed.

Various product objects are also displayed in the virtual stores around the clock tower by store operators unique to Hokkaido. By preparing limited products (product objects) that can only be purchased at virtual shops around the virtual clock tower, the enjoyment of sightseeing can be further enhanced.

[Summary]
The virtual airline service system 100 has been described above based on the embodiment.
According to this embodiment, many users can share the virtual space as a three-dimensional model provided by the flight management server 200 via avatars. The flight management server 200 may provide images of the virtual space as stereoscopic images. The user can also enjoy a more immersive feeling in the virtual space by using a stereoscopic communication terminal such as VR goggles.

The virtual trip shown in this embodiment is designed to be easier to enjoy than the actual trip, but to burden the user with a certain amount of "time and effort" such as ticket purchase, boarding procedures, and a 20-minute flight. By making the user take such time and effort, it is possible to provide the user with an emotion peculiar to travel, which is an extraordinary experience obtained by overcoming the troubles associated with travel.

In particular, the virtual airliner in this embodiment has an operation schedule determined in the same way as the actual airliner. The user decides the itinerary according to the operation schedule. By setting an operation schedule, a plurality of users can have a sense of sharing a place and time in a virtual airliner. In other words, it is possible to make a plurality of users, who are not physically located at the same location, feel a sense of "sharing a place". Therefore, even people living in remote locations can enjoy the feeling of traveling together on a virtual airliner. The virtual air service system 100 makes travel more accessible.

Virtual stores allow store operators to expand their revenue opportunities. In addition, by providing or advertising the product, it is possible to increase the chances of recognizing the product. Through the avatar, the user can purchase various products through in-flight sales on a virtual airliner or through shopping at a virtual store.

So-called Internet shopping is difficult for elderly people who are not used to computers. In addition, for businesses that sell products unique to Hokkaido, simply providing the products on the Internet may lead to the deterioration of the brand of the products. Because it is a limited-edition product that can only be purchased in Hokkaido, it is worth protecting. In this embodiment, the user spends a lot of time traveling to Hokkaido on a virtual airliner, and then moves an avatar in a virtual store such as a virtual Chitose airport to select products in the same way as in an actual shopping experience. can be purchased at Users recognize Hokkaido products as ``things they bought while traveling'' and ``things they can only buy while traveling,'' making it easier to maintain product brands. According to the virtual air service system 100, the rarity of various commodities can be ensured and the profit opportunities thereof can be expanded.

Compared to physical stores, virtual stores are cheaper to operate, so there is a possibility that the store opening fee can be reduced or even eliminated. Even small stores that are known only in a part of Hokkaido and do not have the means to actually open a store at New Chitose Airport will find it easier to open a store if they have a virtual store. Through the virtual store, it will be easier to deliver the charm of Hokkaido, which is not generally known, to a large number of users.

The virtual air service system 100 allows users to travel to virtual Hokkaido more easily than in reality. By experiencing Hokkaido virtually, the user may want to visit the real Hokkaido. Through the experiences provided by virtual airline services, it is possible to boost travel demand.

Even tourist destinations that are not as famous as Hokkaido may be able to raise their awareness through virtual travel. For example, Akita City has fewer tourists than Sapporo City, but by providing a sightseeing experience of Akita City through the virtual air service system 100, more users can learn about the charm of Akita City. In addition, providing a sightseeing experience using the virtual air service system 100, especially to foreigners who do not know much about Japan, is expected to contribute to an increase in the number of tourists visiting Japan and an improvement in the repeat rate.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and can be embodied by modifying constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention. Various inventions may be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments and modifications. Also, some constituent elements may be deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the above embodiments and modifications.

[Modification]
An information center may be set up at the airport. The user may move the avatar to the information center, and the airport experience providing unit 226 may transmit the airport premises map to the user terminal 300 . The location of the virtual store or the product list may be added to the premises map. Similarly, an information center may be set up at a tourist spot. The sightseeing experience providing unit 224 may transmit a map of tourist spots to the user terminal 300 . This map may also include information about virtual shops or tourist attractions.

You can do sightseeing tours. For example, a guide character may be prepared at New Chitose Airport, and the guide character may recruit participants for the clock tower tour. By applying for a tour to this guide character, several users who ride together in the virtual passenger plane may take a stroll around the clock tower following the guidance of the guide character. The sightseeing experience providing unit 224 may guide an avatar to a guide character to guide the tourist spot.

The crew character 146 may also serve as the guide character. The crew character 146 may get off the virtual airliner with the avatars at New Chitose Airport and guide the passengers to the clock tower or the like.

The user may add a mechanism to show "approval" such as "Like" to the tourist spot guide or advertisement of the tourist spot. Aggregating the number of "likes" for each tourist spot or advertisement makes it easier to check the popularity of the tourist spot. Similarly, the user may write a comment on a tourist spot guide or a tourist spot advertisement. According to such a control method, it is possible to know not only the popularity of a tourist spot but also the reasons (expectations and impressions), which is considered to contribute to the development of tourism resources.

The user terminal 300 may be a dedicated device installed in department stores, Internet cafes, game arcades, and the like. This device may completely shield the user like a cockpit, and by tilting the seat, it may express the feeling of acceleration and deceleration during landing and takeoff of the virtual passenger plane.

In this embodiment, domestic travel is described, but the present invention can also be applied to overseas travel. For example, virtual trips abroad may be realized by reproducing cities such as Dublin and Amsterdam in virtual space.

In this embodiment, it has been described that the boarding time of the virtual airliner is 20 minutes. The boarding time of the virtual airliner can be set arbitrarily. Regardless of the actual distance, the boarding time may be fixed, or the boarding time may be changed according to the distance. For example, by setting the boarding time from Haneda Airport to Naha Airport to 30 minutes and the boarding time from Haneda Airport to Changi International Airport (Singapore) to 1 hour, the flight distance may be expressed by the boarding time.

The mileage management unit 230 may change the mileage points given to the user according to the flight distance or boarding time. For example, the mileage management unit 230 may award 10 mileage points for travel from Haneda Airport to Kyoto Airport, and 20 mileage points for travel from Haneda Airport to Okayama Airport. Similarly, ticket prices may be set according to flight distance.

A user can freely choose an avatar. The flight management server 200 may provide paid products such as clothes and accessories for the avatar on the avatar selection screen (not shown). The user can freely coordinate the clothes of the avatar that is the alter ego of the user. When a paid product is purchased, the settlement processing unit 228 executes settlement processing. Avatars can take a commemorative photo at a virtual airliner or at a tourist spot. Therefore, by dressing up the avatar during the virtual trip, the user can appear in a commemorative photo in a beautiful appearance. Also, in the virtual airliner, the flight attendant character 146 may speak to the avatar's attire. For example, if the flight attendant character 146 praises the avatar, saying, "That's a cute brooch!", the user will be more motivated to coordinate the avatar.

If necessary, boarding procedures at the boarding gate may be skipped. For example, when the user inputs a "one-shot boarding instruction" upon arrival at Haneda Airport, the boarding processing unit 216 may allow the avatar to board without going through the boarding gate. Similarly, when the departure time of the virtual passenger plane is not in time, the user inputs "one flight instruction", and the boarding experience providing unit 222 moves the avatar to New Chitose Airport without going through the virtual passenger plane. good too. A one-shot boarding instruction or one-shot flight instruction may be a paid option.

Airports may have a "teleport area". When an avatar holding a ticket to New Chitose Airport enters the teleport area of Haneda Airport, the boarding processing unit 216 may teleport the avatar to a predetermined area of New Chitose Airport without experiencing boarding. .

Similarly, direct movement to a virtual shop in Hokkaido may be enabled. For example, when the user selects "virtual store X at New Chitose Airport" from the virtual store list presented by the flight management server 200, the airport experience providing unit 226 may guide this user's avatar to the virtual store X. . The user can enjoy shopping at the virtual store X without traveling by virtual airliner. The sightseeing experience providing unit 224 may similarly enable the direct movement of the avatar for the virtual shop Y located in the sightseeing spot. The flight management server 200 may present only virtual stores that the user has visited in the past in a selectable manner.

Real and virtual fusion services may be provided through actual local guides. For example, a contract is made in advance with a local guide at the Kushiro Washo Market (existing). The user moves the avatar from the virtual Haneda Airport to the virtual New Chitose Airport, and further from the virtual New Chitose Airport to the virtual Kushiro Washo Market. A local guide (actual) uses a video camera to shop at the actual Kushiro Washo market on behalf of the user. The user gives voice instructions to the local guide through a headset or the like. The local guide will ship the purchase to the user at a later date. According to such a control method, after arriving at the virtual Kushiro Japanese market, the user can enjoy the atmosphere of the real Kushiro Japanese market through the local guide's video camera.

100 virtual air service system, 102 purchase mark, 104 advertiser terminal, 106 Internet, 108 payment system, 110 store terminal, 120 airplane search screen, 122 departure airport field, 124 arrival airport field, 126 departure date field, 128 search button, 130 airplane reservation screen, 133 flight number column, 135 time column, 136 number of passengers column, 138 reservation button, 140 passenger information, 142 conversation screen, 144 cabin space screen, 146 crew character, 148 other avatar, 200 flight management server, 202 communication unit, 204 data processing unit, 206 data storage unit, 208 transmission unit, 210 reception unit, 212 boarding request reception unit, 214 reservation reception unit, 216 boarding processing unit, 218 reservation processing unit, 220 conversation processing unit, 222 boarding Experience providing unit 224 Sightseeing experience providing unit 226 Airport experience providing unit 228 Payment processing unit 230 Mileage management unit 232 Advertising management unit 300 User terminal 302 User interface processing unit 304 Communication unit 306 Data processing unit 308 data storage unit, 310 input unit, 312 output unit

Claims (2)

a boarding request receiving unit that receives a boarding request from a communication terminal of a user to the virtual passenger plane before the departure time of the virtual passenger plane by referring to a predetermined flight schedule for the virtual passenger plane;
a boarding processing unit that registers a user who has made a boarding request to the virtual passenger plane as a passenger of the virtual passenger plane;
a boarding experience providing unit that provides a common boarding experience to a plurality of passengers on the virtual passenger plane ;
A conversation processing unit that processes a conversation between a flight attendant character corresponding to a flight attendant and a passenger,
The flight schedule of the virtual passenger plane is set independently from the flight schedule of the real passenger plane,
The virtual passenger plane regularly operates between a plurality of virtual airports set in advance in the virtual space ,
The boarding experience providing unit transmits an image of a virtual space representing the interior of the virtual passenger aircraft to the communication terminals of the plurality of passengers, and displays the crew character in the virtual space representing the interior of the aircraft,
The conversation processing unit uses a chatbot function associated with the crew character to process a conversation between the passenger and the crew character,
When the passenger makes a statement requesting the crew character to take a commemorative photo, and the crew character makes a statement of approval, the boarding experience providing unit provides an avatar that is a character corresponding to the passenger. A virtual air service system, wherein an image including both of said crew member characters is generated, and said generated image is transmitted to said passenger's communication terminal. a boarding request receiving unit that receives a boarding request from a user's communication terminal for boarding a virtual passenger plane;
a boarding processing unit that registers a user who has made a boarding request to the virtual passenger plane as a passenger of the virtual passenger plane;
a boarding experience providing unit that provides a common boarding experience to a plurality of passengers on the virtual passenger plane ;
A conversation processing unit that processes a conversation between a flight attendant character corresponding to a flight attendant and a passenger,
The virtual passenger plane, unlike a real passenger plane, operates between a plurality of virtual airports preset in the virtual space,
the plurality of virtual airports include airports unique to virtual space for which no corresponding real airport exists ;
The boarding experience providing unit transmits an image of a virtual space representing the interior of the virtual passenger aircraft to the communication terminals of the plurality of passengers, and displays the crew character in the virtual space representing the interior of the aircraft,
The conversation processing unit uses a chatbot function associated with the crew character to process a conversation between the passenger and the crew character,
When the passenger makes a statement requesting the crew character to take a commemorative photo, and the crew character makes a statement of approval, the boarding experience providing unit provides an avatar that is a character corresponding to the passenger. A virtual air service system, wherein an image including both of said crew member characters is generated, and said generated image is transmitted to said passenger's communication terminal.

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