JP7143874B2 - Information processing device, information processing method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program.

Conventionally, there are technologies such as so-called WEB conferences, in which participants share voices and moving images via a network. However, in such a web conference, even a slight delay in communication often hinders smooth communication. Therefore, in many cases, maintenance of communication status and selection of a communication method are issues.
For example, a technology has been proposed that allows selection of a communication method according to the volume of noise acquired from a client (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2019-117998 A

However, only with the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is only possible to select a communication method according to the volume of noise, and it is not possible to select a communication method according to the type and nature of conversation. Furthermore, the communication method mentioned in Patent Document 1 mentioned above merely provides an alternative means such as communication by text sentences when noise or the like occurs, and a sufficient communication method is provided. It is difficult to say that we have a choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a more convenient and easy-to-use communication means for communication between users.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
An information processing apparatus for a communication system that can be used for communication between a first user and a second user using a virtual space,
a positional information obtaining means for obtaining, as positional information, information relating to the positions of the first user and the second user in the virtual space;
input information acquiring means for acquiring, as input information, information relating to the instruction operation or input in the virtual space of the first user or the second user;
communication method determination means for determining a communication method for realizing the communication based on at least one of the acquired position information and the input information;
Prepare.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a more convenient and easy-to-use communication means for communication between users.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server in the information processing system of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration for executing a communication method determination process among the functional configurations of the server of FIG. 2 and the user terminal of FIG. 1; BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of conventional technology related to an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed to a user via the user terminal of FIG. 3; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed to a user via the user terminal of FIG. 3, and showing an example different from the example of FIG. 5. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of communication method determination processing among the processing of the server having the functional configuration of FIG. 3;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Here, before describing FIG. 1, services to which an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this system") is applied will be briefly described. A service to which this system is applied is hereinafter referred to as this service.
This service is a communication method determination service that determines an appropriate communication method based on a predetermined standard regarding virtual space in a communication service that uses virtual space (hereinafter referred to as "WEB conference service"). .
Specifically, for example, this service can determine a communication method and communication system suitable for the situation based on the situation in the virtual space, and realize communication by that method.

Here, the server related to this service determines an appropriate communication method from among the first communication method and the second communication method shown below.
A first communication method is a method of transmitting and receiving information via another server. In this first communication method, since information is transmitted and received from the server to the user, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of communication even when a large number of people communicate. On the other hand, the first communication method may cause a delay or the like because it goes through the server. Furthermore, the first communication method incurs server management costs for the service provider.

The second communication method is a method of transmitting and receiving information by directly communicating between users by a method such as P2P (Peer to Peer) without going through another server. As the second communication method, typically, for example, WebRTC (Web Real Time Communication) provided as open source may be adopted.
This second communication method, especially when communicating with a small number of people, is capable of stable communication with little delay because there is no server to go through. Further, in the second communication method, since the user communicates directly, the server management cost of the service provider can be reduced. On the other hand, in the case of the second communication method, when a large number of people communicate with each other, a load is applied to the terminals of the users and the total amount of communication increases.
To summarize the above, this service can select the appropriate communication method and communication method according to the situation in the virtual space, and provide the optimum opportunity for communication. As a result, users who receive this service will not only be able to engage in a wide variety of communications using virtual space, but will also be able to comfortably communicate with each other with little delay or loss of information.

Next, the configuration of this system will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, this system includes a server 1 and user terminals 2-1 to 2-n (n is an arbitrary integer value of 1 or more). The server 1 and user terminals 2-1 to 2-n are interconnected via a network N such as the Internet. Note that the network N is not necessarily an essential component, and for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), Wi-Fi, LAN (Local Area Network), etc. may be used.
Further, in the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the user terminals 2-1 to 2-n individually, they are collectively referred to as "user terminals 2".

The server 1 is, for example, an information processing device managed by a provider of this service. The server 1 communicates with each of the user terminals 2 via the network N, and executes various processes to be described later.

The user terminal 2 is, for example, an information processing terminal operated by a user who wishes to receive this service. Note that the user terminal 2 is configured by, for example, a general-purpose smart phone, tablet, or personal computer.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a server in the information processing system of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG.

The server 1 includes a control unit 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input/output interface 15, an output unit 16, an input unit 17, and a storage unit 18. , a communication unit 19 and a drive 20 .

The control unit 11 is composed of a microcomputer or the like including a CPU, GPU, and semiconductor memory, and executes various processes according to programs recorded in the ROM 12 or programs loaded from the storage unit 18 to the RAM 13 .
The RAM 13 also stores data necessary for the control unit 11 to execute various processes.

Control unit 11 , ROM 12 and RAM 13 are interconnected via bus 14 . An input/output interface 15 is also connected to this bus 14 . An output unit 16 , an input unit 17 , a storage unit 18 , a communication unit 19 and a drive 20 are connected to the input/output interface 15 .

The output unit 16 includes a display, a speaker, and the like, and outputs various information as images and sounds.
The input unit 17 is composed of a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and inputs various kinds of information.
The storage unit 18 is composed of a hard disk, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), or the like, and stores various data.
The communication unit 19 communicates with another device (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 1) via a network N including the Internet.

A drive 20 is provided as required. A removable medium 31 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory is mounted in the drive 20 as appropriate. A program read from the removable medium 31 by the drive 20 is installed in the storage unit 18 as necessary. The removable medium 31 can also store various data stored in the storage unit 18 in the same manner as the storage unit 18 .

Here, the hardware configuration of the user terminal 2 can be basically the same as the hardware configuration of the server 1, so the explanation is omitted here.
Various types of processing in the system can be executed by cooperation of various hardware and software that constitute the system, including the server 1 and the user terminal 2 .

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration for executing a communication method determination process among the functional configurations of the server of FIG. 2 and the user terminal of FIG.
Here, as described above, the user terminals 2-1 to 2-n are used by n users who wish to transmit and receive (communicate) voice information. Therefore, each of the user terminals 2-1 to 2-n has the functional configuration shown in FIG. For the user terminal 2-E used by the user terminal 2- As for F, "F" is attached to the end of each functional block. In addition, in the example of FIG. 3, the dotted line means that the functional block itself does not function, although the functional block itself is provided. That is, in the example of FIG. 3, since the user terminal 2-E is used only for transmitting voice information, the output information management section 223-E does not function.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 11 of the server 1 executes various programs and the like to obtain a transmission voice information acquisition unit 60, a virtual space management unit 61, an object conversation management unit 62, and a normal conversation management unit. 63 , a communication method determination unit 64 , and an output information generation unit 65 .
The transmission voice information acquisition unit 60 of the server 1 receives information (hereinafter referred to as “transmission voice information”) related to the voice that the caller wishes to transmit, which is transmitted from the user terminal 2-E, via the communication unit 19. get.

The virtual space management unit 61 generates a virtual space that can be presented to each user based on image information stored in a database (not shown) or the like, and information about the generated virtual space (hereinafter referred to as “virtual space information”). ”) is transmitted to each of the user terminals 2-E and 2-F. The virtual space information acquired by each of the user terminals 2-E and 2-F is presented to each user via a display unit (not shown).

Here, each of the users presented with the virtual space information can place an icon corresponding to the user at an arbitrary position in the virtual space according to the situation in the virtual space, the purpose of communication, and the like. The positional information of each icon arranged in this manner in the virtual space (referred to as “icon positional information”) is transmitted to the server 1 from each of the user terminals 2-E and 2-F.
Therefore, the position information management section 80 of the virtual space management section 61 acquires, via the communication section 19, the icon position information of each icon transmitted from each of the user terminals 2-E and 2-F. The virtual space management unit 61 identifies the position of each icon in the virtual space based on the acquired icon position information.
Note that the relationship between the position of each icon in the virtual space and various types of communication will be described later with reference to FIG. 4 and the like.

The object conversation management unit 62 acquires information (hereinafter referred to as “instruction operation information”) regarding the instruction operation or input in each virtual space of the user.
That is, the object conversation management unit 62 acquires, via the communication unit 19, instruction operation information transmitted from each of the user terminals 2 and including whether or not the user has performed a click operation on a predetermined object. .
Then, the object conversation management unit 62 determines whether or not an instruction operation is performed on the object based on the acquired instruction operation information.
Here, an object is an icon designed to imitate a notebook computer, a projector, or the like, for example, in this service and the above-described WEB conference service. In this embodiment, an object is statically arranged at a predetermined position in the virtual space, and is used, for example, for mode switching and communication method determination in this system. Details of the object will be described later with reference to FIG. 5 and the like.
Further, when the communication method determination unit 64 (to be described later) determines the communication method to be the "object conversation mode", the object conversation management unit 62 selects the object conversation mode and the first communication mode for each of the target users. Executes various processing related to the method.

When the communication method determination unit 64, which will be described later, determines the communication method to be the “normal conversation mode”, the normal conversation management unit 63 instructs each of the target users about the normal conversation mode and the second communication method. Executes various processing.
The distance calculator 90 calculates the distance of each icon in the virtual space based on the icon position information acquired by the position information manager 80 . Note that the distance between each icon is used as a condition for correction (sound volume, etc.) when output information is generated in the output information generation unit 65, which will be described later.

The communication method determination unit 64 implements a method of communication provided to the user and the communication based on the icon position information acquired by the position information management unit 80 and the object pointing operation information acquired by the object conversation management unit 62. Decide which communication method to use.

Specifically, for example, the communication method determination unit 64 determines either the “object conversation mode” or the “normal conversation mode” as the communication method provided to the target user.
The object conversation mode is, for example, a mode in which users corresponding to icons connected via objects are uniformly treated and conversations are realized. Specifically, for example, the server 1 identifies, as a communication target, a user who has performed an instruction operation on an object installed in the virtual space, and connects each of the corresponding user terminals 2 by the first communication method. .
On the other hand, the normal conversation mode is a mode in which conversation is realized by changing the volume of the output voice according to the distances of the icons corresponding to the user. Specifically, for example, the server 1 identifies, as a communication target, a user corresponding to an icon arranged in a close position in the virtual space without performing the above instruction operation, and each of the corresponding user terminals 2 is identified. Connect using the second communication method. Details of the object conversation mode and the normal conversation mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, respectively.

The output information generation unit 65 generates information (hereinafter referred to as “output information”) to be output by each of the user terminals 2 based on the transmission voice information acquired by the transmission voice information acquisition unit 60 and the like. In addition, the output information generation unit 65 transmits each generated output information to each of the user terminals 2 .

Next, an example of the functional configuration of the user terminal 2-E will be explained.
As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 200-E of the user terminal 2-E executes various programs and the like to create a virtual space management unit 220-E, an operation information management unit 221-E, a transmission voice information It functions as a management section 222-E and an output information management section 223-E.
The virtual space management unit 220-E of the user terminal 2-E acquires the virtual space information transmitted from the server 1 via the communication unit 203-E. Also, the virtual space management unit 220-E displays the acquired virtual space information on the output unit 201-E.

The operation information management unit 221-E receives instruction operation information related to an instruction operation or an input operation by the user to whom the virtual space information is presented via the output unit 201-E. Further, the operation information management unit 221 -E transmits the received instruction operation information to the server 1 .

The transmission voice information management unit 222-E acquires information (hereinafter referred to as “transmission side voice information”) regarding voice that the user (originator) desires to transmit. The transmission voice information management unit 222 -E transmits the acquired transmission side voice information to the server 1 .

Here, as described above, in principle, the user terminals 2-E and 2-F can have the same functional configuration, but the output information manager 223-E does not function in the user terminal 2-E. On the other hand, in the user terminal 2-F, the transmission voice information management section 222-F does not function, but the output information management section 223-F functions.
Therefore, only necessary parts of the functional configuration of the user terminal 2-F will be described. The output information management unit 223-F acquires the output information transmitted from the server 1 via the communication unit 203-F. Also, the output information management unit 223-F outputs the acquired output information via the output unit 201-F.

Next, an example of a web conference service related to this service will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an overview of conventional technology related to an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 4, a virtual space (hereinafter referred to as "office space") imitating a conference room in the real world is displayed. In the example of FIG. 4, icons A to D corresponding to each user are displayed at predetermined positions in the office space.
In the above-described web conference service, for example, the volume of output audio is adjusted according to the distance between icons in the office space.
In the example of FIG. 4, the icons A and B are arranged close to each other, whereas the icons A and C are arranged relatively apart from each other. The icon A and the icon D are arranged at further separated positions.
Therefore, in the above-described WEB conference service, for example, the voice input by the user corresponding to the "A" icon is output in a large size at the user terminal 2 of the user corresponding to the "B" icon, and the voice corresponding to the "C" icon is output. The user terminal 2 of the user who does the output is small.
Note that the dotted line in FIG. 4 indicates, for example, the audible range of the user's voice corresponding to the "A" icon. Therefore, the user terminal 2 of the user corresponding to icon "D" does not output the voice of the user corresponding to "A".

Here, in the above-described WEB conference service, each user can freely move the icon corresponding to the user within the office space by, for example, dragging the icon.
Therefore, for example, if a user wishes to have a conversation with another user, the user can place an icon near the user who wishes to have the conversation and have a conversation with the user. On the other hand, for example, if the user wants to concentrate on his/her work, the icon may be intentionally placed far away from other users (out of the audible range) so that the voices of other users are not output.
That is, in the above-mentioned WEB conference service, each user arranges an icon corresponding to himself in an arbitrary place in the virtual space, and according to the position (positional relationship) of the icon arranged in the virtual space, , it is possible to realize a wide variety of forms of communication, just like communication in the real world.
This service proposes the optimum communication system and communication method according to the situation in the virtual space in the WEB conference service using such a virtual space.

Next, the object conversation mode in this service will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
5 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed to the user via the user terminal of FIG. 3. FIG.

Looking at FIG. 5, each of the icons T1 to T3 is associated with an object P placed in the virtual space via an arrow. In the example of FIG. 5, each user corresponding to each of the icons T1 to T3 wishes to have a conversation in the object conversation mode using the object P. This is the situation that is being done.
Therefore, the communication method determination unit 64 of the server 1 determines to have conversations in the object conversation mode with the users corresponding to the icons T1 to T3. In object conversation mode, all users can have a conversation regardless of the position of their icons. Therefore, voice input by an arbitrary caller (eg, the user corresponding to icon T1) can be transmitted to the user terminals of other users (eg, users corresponding to icons T2 and T3) regardless of the distance between the respective icons. 2, the sound is output as it is at the same level as the input sound volume.

In contrast, in the example of FIG. 6, each of the icons T4 to T6 is not particularly associated with an object within the virtual space. In such a case, the communication method determination unit 64 of the server 1 determines that the conversation will be conducted in the normal mode with the users corresponding to the icons T4 to T6.
Specifically, in the example of FIG. 6, the icons T4 and T5 are arranged close to each other in the virtual space, while the icon T6 is arranged at a position distant from the other icons. Here, in the example of FIG. 6, the user corresponding to the icon T4 is the caller, and the dotted line displayed in the figure indicates the audible range of conversation. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 6, the voice information input by the user corresponding to icon T4 is not output from the user terminal 2 of the user corresponding to icon T6.

One of the important points here is that in the object conversation mode, conversation is possible regardless of the distance between icons, so it is assumed that a relatively large number of people will have a conversation. On the other hand, in the normal conversation mode, only users corresponding to icons arranged in close proximity in the virtual space have conversations, so conversations with a relatively small number of people are assumed. Based on this way of thinking, the communication system determination unit 64 adopts the first communication system in the case of the object conversation mode, and adopts the second communication system in the case of the normal conversation mode.
In other words, in a communication system using a virtual space, the communication method determination unit 64 proposes a suitable conversation method and accompanying communication method for a situation assumed from the situation of the virtual space. This makes it possible for this service to efficiently reduce delays and omissions of information and realize communication according to the user's wishes (operations in virtual space, etc.).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the flow of communication method determination processing among the processing of the server having the functional configuration of FIG.
In step S1, the virtual space management unit 61 generates a virtual space that can be presented to each user based on image information stored in a database (not shown) or the like, and sends the generated virtual space information to the user terminal. 2-E and user terminal 2-F.

In step S<b>2 , the position information management unit 80 acquires icon position information transmitted from each of the user terminals 2 .
In step S2, the virtual space management unit 61 identifies the position of the icon corresponding to each user in the virtual space based on the acquired icon position information.

In step S<b>3 , the object conversation management unit 62 acquires instruction operation information transmitted from each of the user terminals 2 .

In step S4, the object conversation management unit 62 determines whether or not the user has performed an instruction operation on a predetermined object based on the instruction operation information acquired in step S3.
Here, when the object conversation management unit 62 determines that the user has performed an instruction operation on a predetermined object, it is determined YES in step S4, and the process proceeds to step S5.
On the other hand, if the object conversation management unit 62 determines that the user has not performed an instruction operation on the predetermined object, it determines NO in step S4, and the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S5, the object conversation management unit 62 determines whether or not the target user terminal 2 is set to block the conversation (hereinafter referred to as "mute setting").
Here, when the object conversation management unit 62 determines that the mute setting is not set, it is determined as YES in step S5, and the process proceeds to step S6.
On the other hand, when the object conversation management unit 62 determines that mute is set, the process proceeds to step S11 in step S5.

In step S6, if it is determined that an object pointing operation has been performed in step S4, and if it is determined in step S5 that mute setting has not been performed, the communication method determination unit 64 selects the object conversation mode using the first communication method. decide to carry out the conversation. When the process of step S6 is thus completed, the process returns to step S2.
Various processes related to the object conversation mode and the first communication method may be executed by the object conversation manager 62 .

In step S7, the distance calculation unit 90 calculates the distance of each icon based on the position in the virtual space of the icon corresponding to each user identified in step S2.

In step S8, the normal conversation manager 63 determines whether the distances between the icons calculated in step S7 are within a predetermined distance (for example, within the audible range).
Here, when the normal conversation management section 63 determines that the distances between the icons are within the predetermined distance, it is determined YES in step S8, and the process proceeds to step S9.
On the other hand, when the normal conversation management unit 63 determines that the distances between the icons are not within the predetermined distance, it is determined NO in step S8, and the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S9, the normal conversation management unit 63 determines whether or not the target user terminal 2 is set to mute.
Here, when the normal conversation management unit 63 determines that the mute setting is not set, it is determined as YES in step S9, and the process proceeds to step S10.
On the other hand, when the normal conversation management unit 63 determines that the mute setting has been made, NO is determined in step S9, and the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S10, the communication method determination unit 64 selects the second communication method when it is determined in step S8 that the distances between the icons are within the predetermined distance, and when it is determined in step S9 that mute is not set. Decide to carry out the conversation in the normal conversation mode used. When the process of step S10 is thus completed, the process returns to step S2.
Various processes related to the second communication method and the normal conversation mode may be executed by the normal conversation manager 63 .

In step S11, the communication method determination unit 64 determines not to communicate with each user terminal 2 when it is determined in each step that the various conditions described above are not satisfied. When the process of step S11 is thus completed, the process returns to step S2.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention are included in the present invention. be.

Further, for example, in the above-described embodiments, communication is conversation and the object of information to be transmitted and received is voice, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this.
That is, communication may be any means of communication other than conversation, and information to be transmitted and received may be not only voice but also various information such as text information and image information.

Further, for example, although the description is omitted in the above-described embodiment (especially the embodiment shown in FIG. 6), the concept of field of view (orientation) may be adopted for the various icons described above.
Specifically, for example, in the example of FIG. 6, small triangular icons (hereinafter referred to as "field-of-view icons") are displayed near the icons T4 and T5. These field of view icons indicate the "field of view (orientation)" of the respective icons T4 and T5. In the example of FIG. 6, the field-of-view icons face each other's icons, and can be considered, for example, as in the real world, where users are looking at each other and talking to each other. In such a case, for example, each user terminal 2 corresponding to each icon may output a loud sound to each other. Conversely, when the icons do not face each other, each user terminal 2 may output a soft sound.

Also, for example, in the above-described embodiment (particularly, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5), only a simple explanation was given, but the concept of the object will be supplementarily explained.
Objects are, for example, fixedly placed at arbitrary positions in the virtual space and used to encourage all users to use common content. That is, the object can be used not only for realizing a common conversation among users who have performed an instruction operation (such as clicking) as in the above-described embodiment (especially the embodiment shown in FIG. 5), but also for example, moving image , participation in various games (Shogi, Othello, Werewolf game, etc.), sharing video images (camera images, PC images, etc.), playing advertisements, etc. good.
Here, the use of such an object includes the element of using and enjoying by oneself, as well as the meaning of realizing interaction with others. That is, for example, when adopting a game that is assumed to be played by one person as an object, the main purpose is to have fun. On the other hand, in the case of games or screen sharing that are premised on playing with others, the main purpose is to realize interaction with others.
As a result, each of the users who have received the service can realize various communications that are closer to the real world.

Furthermore, objects can include dynamic objects or static objects, depending on, for example, what content is set.
In other words, the dynamic object may be an object such as a television or a projector whose set contents can be changed frequently. On the other hand, the static object may be an object such as a large signboard or information board, whose set contents are rarely changed. As a result, each of the users who have received the service can realize various communications that are closer to the real world.

Also, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the web conference service is described as adjusting output audio and determining various communication methods according to the distance in the virtual space, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this.
In other words, the WEB conference service, which is highly relevant to this system, does not necessarily need to be processed based on the distance in the virtual space, nor does it need to use icons corresponding to each user. etc. is optional.

Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the communication method determining unit 64 of the server 1 determines the method of conversation (communication) and the communication method based on whether or not an instruction operation is performed on an object, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this.
The communication method determination unit 64 may determine the conversation (communication) method and communication method based on any criteria regarding the situation in the virtual space. For example, the communication method determination unit 64 may determine the conversation (communication) method and communication method according to the order of IDs displayed in the virtual space (or display space, etc.), the type of group, and the like.

Also, for example, in the present service and the web conference service, engineering techniques related to virtual space, such as AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality), may be applied.

Further, for example, in the present service and the web conference service, in addition to the icons shown in the above-described embodiments, although not shown, icons representing megaphones, microphones, doors (entrances), etc. may be arranged at arbitrary positions.
Specifically, for example, a megaphone is an icon that is used when it is necessary to deliver voice to all users other than users who are entering the conference room. Also, the microphone is an icon that is used when switching the muting of the voice emitted by itself between ON and OFF. A door is an icon used when leaving the office space and moving to a lobby (not shown).

Also, for example, in the above-described WEB conference service or services related to this system, an office space is adopted as a virtual space, but it is not particularly limited to this. Any other virtual space may be employed. Specifically, for example, various virtual spaces such as event halls, party rooms, restaurants, and meeting halls may be employed.
Here, supplementary details will be provided when an event venue is adopted as the virtual space to which this service is applied. In general, at an event site, many users perform arbitrary actions, so a wide variety of communications occur in real time. With this service, it is possible to reproduce in real time such a wide variety of communications that can occur in real time in the real world, using only an intuitively recognizable UI.

Also, for example, the system configuration shown in FIG. 1 and the hardware configuration of the server 1 shown in FIG. 2 are merely examples for achieving the object of the present invention, and are not particularly limited.

Also, for example, the series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or by software.

Further, for example, the number and users of various types of hardware (server 1 and user terminal 2) that make up this system are arbitrary, and the system may be configured including other hardware. Furthermore, the same computer or the like may be employed for the various types of hardware described above.

Further, for example, when a series of processes is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed in a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer built into dedicated hardware.
Also, the computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, such as a server, a general-purpose smart phone, or a personal computer.
That is, for example, any computer, any mobile terminal such as a smart phone, or the like may be freely adopted as the various hardware (the server 1 and the user terminal 2) in the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, any combination of types and contents of various input units and various output units may be employed.
Furthermore, the various hardware described above may be a computer or the like, and is not particularly limited.

Further, for example, a recording medium containing such a program is not only constituted by a removable medium (not shown) that is provided separately from the device main body in order to provide the program to the user, but also is pre-installed in the device main body. It consists of a recording medium, etc. provided to the user in the

In this specification, the steps of writing a program recorded on a recording medium are not only processes that are performed chronologically in that order, but also processes that are not necessarily chronologically processed, and that are performed in parallel or individually. It contains the processing to be performed.
Further, in this specification, the term "system" means an overall device composed of a plurality of devices, a plurality of means, or the like.
Further, in the flow chart shown in FIG. 7, communications may be processed separately on the receiving side and the transmitting side, and all or some of the processes described may, for example, be communicated only on the receiving side or on the transmitting side. good too.

In summary, the information processing system to which the present invention is applied can take various embodiments having the following configurations.
That is, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is
An information processing apparatus for a communication system that can be used for communication between a first user and a second user using a virtual space,
a positional information acquiring means (for example, a positional information management unit 80) for acquiring, as positional information, information relating to the positions of the first user and the second user in the virtual space;
input information acquisition means (e.g., transmission voice information acquisition unit 60) that acquires, as input information, information relating to the instruction operation or input in the virtual space of the first user or the second user;
communication method determination means (for example, a communication method determination unit 64) that determines a communication method for realizing the communication based on at least one of the acquired position information and the input information;
Prepare.

moreover,
The communication method is
a first communication method including a server to be passed through;
a second communication method configured without including a server to go through;
including at least
The communication method determining means can determine a communication method including at least one of the first communication method and the second communication method.

moreover,
The input information acquisition means can include information about an instruction operation by the first user or the second user on a predetermined object placed in the virtual space.

moreover,
The communication method determination means can determine the communication method in consideration of the number of the users or the second users who are assumed to perform the communication.

1 server 11 control unit 60 transmission voice information acquisition unit 61 virtual space management unit 62 object conversation management unit 63 normal conversation management unit 64 communication method determination unit 65 output information generation unit 80 position information management unit 90 distance calculation unit 2-1 to 2 -n User terminals 200-1 to 200-n Control units 220-1 to 220-n Virtual space management units 221-1 to 221-n Operation information management units 222-1 to 222-n Transmission voice information management units 223-1 thru|or 223-n output information management part

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus for a communication system that can be used for communication between a first user and a second user using a virtual space,
a positional information obtaining means for obtaining, as positional information, information relating to the positions of the first user and the second user in the virtual space;
input information acquiring means for acquiring, as input information, information relating to the instruction operation or input in the virtual space of the first user or the second user;
communication method determination means for determining a communication method for realizing the communication based on at least one of the acquired position information and the input information;
Information processing device. The communication method is
a first communication method including a server to be passed through;
a second communication method configured without including a server to go through;
including at least
The communication method determining means determines a communication method including at least one of the first communication method and the second communication method.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The input information acquisition means includes information about an instruction operation by the first user or the second user on a predetermined object placed in the virtual space,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The communication method determination means determines the communication method in consideration of the number of the first users or the second users assumed to implement the communication.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. An information processing method executed by a computer according to a communication method of a communication system that can be used for communication between a first user and a second user using a virtual space,
a position information obtaining step of obtaining position information of the first user and the second user in the virtual space;
an input information obtaining step of obtaining , as input information, information relating to an instruction operation or input in the virtual space by the first user or the second user;
a communication method determination step of determining a communication method for realizing the communication based on at least one of the acquired position information and the input information;
Information processing method including. A computer according to a communication method of a communication system that can be used for communication between a first user and a second user using virtual space,
a position information obtaining step of obtaining position information of the first user and the second user in the virtual space;
an input information obtaining step of obtaining , as input information, information relating to an instruction operation or input in the virtual space by the first user or the second user;
a communication method determination step of determining a communication method for realizing the communication based on at least one of the acquired position information and the input information;
A program that executes a process including

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