JP7428427B2 - Electronic devices, information collection methods, and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device, an information collection system, an information collection method, and a program.

In recent years, the use of SNS (social networking service) applications has been increasing. When using a service such as SNS using an electronic device such as a mobile terminal device, if you want to connect with family, friends, or colleagues, you can search on the service or bring the device nearby and use a unique ID that identifies the individual. Registration is done by directly conveying information to the other party.

Patent Document 1 describes a registration device that acquires object identification information for identifying an object from a reading device and registers a user as a member. The registration device described in Patent Document 1 stores the terminal identifier of a communication terminal that has started wireless communication with a communication device that has a wireless communication area that includes the installation position of the reading device within a first period determined based on the time of acquisition. , and register the terminal identifier in association with the object identification information. The registration device described in Patent Document 1 can be used by a store that installs the registration device to automatically register members.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-053798

However, when using a service such as SNS using an electronic device, if you want to connect with family, friends, or colleagues, the above-mentioned registration method is adopted, which requires time and effort to register. Furthermore, as the use of SNS increases, many incidents and accidents are occurring due to impersonation accounts and friends registration with accounts with the same name and name, so security measures are required to prevent such occurrences.

The present inventor considered the use of the registration device described in Patent Document 1 for registration processing in services such as friend registration processing in SNS. However, with the registration device described in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to select users from the store side, and unregistered users cannot have their object identification information read by the reading device and perform wireless communication within a certain period of time. Basically, any user can be registered as a member. Therefore, even if the registration device described in Patent Document 1 is used for registration processing in the above-mentioned services, untrustworthy persons will also be registered, resulting in a security problem.

Therefore, it would be beneficial if a system could be constructed that registers friends, members, etc. so that when using a certain service, the service can be used only with reliable devices or devices used by reliable persons. To this end, a system that can easily collect reliable device information is required.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic device, an information collection system, an information collection method, and a program that solve the above-mentioned problems. The above problem is that it is not possible to easily collect reliable device or user information and execute membership registration.

An electronic device according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires characteristic information indicating a usage method of a nearby device, which is a device located nearby, using an imaging device; a calculation unit that calculates the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information of the nearby device; and a storage unit that stores the reliability calculated by the calculation unit, and the user of the electronic device An application that communicates with other users using other electronic devices via the storage unit is executable, and based on the reliability stored in the storage unit, communication between the application and the other electronic devices is implemented. A restriction on communication is determined, and the communication is communication between a store using the electronic device and a customer using the nearby device, and the restriction is whether the customer registers as a member of the store or not. The limitation is that the application has a function of registering as a member.
An electronic device according to a second aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires user information indicating a user who uses the nearby device from a nearby device that is a device located nearby, and the user information acquired by the acquisition unit. A calculation unit that calculates reliability for each user indicated by the information, and a storage unit that stores the reliability calculated by the calculation unit. An application that communicates with other users who use the device is executable built in, and a restriction on communication with the other electronic device in the application is determined based on the reliability stored in the storage unit, and The communication is between the store side using the electronic device and the customer side using the nearby device, the restriction is a restriction on whether or not the customer registers as a member of the store, and the restriction is a restriction on whether the customer registers as a member of the store. The application has the function of performing member registration.

An information collection method according to a third aspect of the present disclosure is an information collection method for an electronic device, in which feature information indicating characteristics of a usage method of a nearby device that is a device located near the electronic device is collected from an imaging device. a calculation step of calculating the reliability of the neighboring device according to the characteristic information of the neighboring device obtained in the obtaining step, and storing the reliability calculated in the calculation step. and a determining step, the electronic device having an executable built-in application that allows a user of the electronic device to communicate with other users using other electronic devices via a network. , the determining step determines a restriction on communication with the other electronic device in the application based on the reliability stored in the storing step, and the communication is with a store using the electronic device; The communication is with a customer using the nearby device, the restriction is a restriction on whether or not the customer registers as a member of the store, and the application has a function of registering as a member. be.
An information collection method according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is an information collection method in an electronic device, in which user information indicating a user using the nearby device is collected from a nearby device that is a device located near the electronic device. an acquisition step of acquiring, a calculation step of calculating reliability for each user indicated by the user information acquired in the acquisition step, a storage step of storing the reliability calculated in the calculation step, and a determination step. , wherein the electronic device has an executable built-in application that allows a user of the electronic device to communicate with other users using other electronic devices via a network, and the determining step includes: Based on the reliability stored in the step, a restriction on communication with the other electronic device in the application is determined, and the communication is limited to the store side using the electronic device and the customer side using the nearby device. The restriction is a restriction on whether or not the customer registers as a member of the store, and the application has a function of registering as a member.

A program according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to perform an information gathering process, and the information gathering process is a method of using a nearby device that is a device located near the computer. an acquisition step of acquiring characteristic information indicating the characteristics of the nearby device with an imaging device; a calculation step of calculating the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information of the nearby device acquired in the acquisition step; and the calculation step. a storing step of storing the reliability calculated in the above, and a determining step, wherein the computer uses another electronic device that is different from the computer through a network. An application that communicates with other users is executable incorporated therein, and the determining step determines a restriction on communication with the other electronic device in the application based on the reliability stored in the storing step. The communication is between a store using the computer and a customer using the nearby equipment, and the restriction is a restriction on whether or not the customer registers as a member of the store. , the application has a function of performing membership registration.
A program according to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute information collection processing, and the information collection processing is performed from a nearby device that is a device located near the computer to the nearby device. an acquisition step of acquiring user information indicating a user who uses the , a calculation step of calculating reliability for each user indicated by the user information acquired in the acquisition step, and a calculation step of calculating the reliability calculated in the calculation step. an application in which a user of the computer communicates via a network with another user using another electronic device that is a different electronic device than the computer; is executable incorporated therein, the determining step determines a restriction on communication with the other electronic device in the application based on the confidence level stored in the storing step, and the communication is configured to limit communication with the other electronic device. The communication is between the store side using the device and the customer side using the nearby device. It is something that has the function to perform.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an electronic device, an information collection system, an information collection method, and a program that solve the above problems. That is, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an electronic device, an information collection system, an information collection method, and a program that can easily collect reliable device or user information and execute membership registration.

1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic device according to a first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information collection system including an electronic device according to a second embodiment. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of information collection processing in an information collection system including an electronic device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of time zone information of another terminal collected by a certain terminal in the information collection system of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a software stack in each smart device in the information collection system of FIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the smart device of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a database format in the smart device of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a reliability calculation formula applied to the smart device of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a reliability graph calculated by the smart device of FIG. 5. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an electronic device.

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that in the embodiments, the same or equivalent elements may be given the same reference numerals and redundant explanations may be omitted.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of an electronic device according to a first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 1 according to this embodiment includes an acquisition section 1a, a calculation section 1b, and a storage section 1c. Examples of the electronic device 1 include mobile terminal devices such as mobile phones (including those called smartphones), tablet terminals, and mobile PCs (Personal Computers), but are assumed to be stationary devices such as stationary PCs. You can also do that.

The calculation unit 1b can be included in a control unit that controls the entire electronic device 1, for example. Note that the acquisition section 1a or a part thereof can also be included in this control section. This control unit can be realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a working memory, a nonvolatile storage device that stores a program for controlling the entire electronic device 1, and the like. This storage device can also function as the storage section 1c. Further, this control section can also be realized by, for example, an integrated circuit.

The acquisition unit 1a acquires characteristic information indicating the characteristics of the usage of a nearby device (nearby device) that is a device located (existing) nearby. Here, the device can be an electronic device of the same type as the electronic device 1, but for example, when the electronic device 1 is portable (transportable), the nearby device is an installed type. , the opposite application example can also be adopted.

Further, the above-mentioned characteristic information can refer to characteristic information (feature amount) regarding the usage method (way of use) and usage state of the nearby device, and a specific example thereof will be described later. Whether the device is located nearby can be determined based on, for example, whether the acquisition unit 1a can acquire the characteristic information of the device. In other words, devices whose characteristic information can be acquired by the acquisition unit 1a can be treated as neighboring devices. Since the acquisition unit 1a monitors such nearby devices and collects characteristic information, it can also be called a collection unit, a monitoring unit, or the like.

The acquisition unit 1a can include, for example, a wireless communication unit that wirelessly communicates with nearby devices. This wireless communication unit can be configured to perform wireless communication based on, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) standard. Additionally, this wireless communication unit may be configured to perform wireless communication based on other wireless communication standards including the IEEE 802.15 standard, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), etc. can. Note that Bluetooth includes Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR) and Bluetooth Low Energy (LE). Therefore, the wireless communication unit may be configured to perform wireless communication using, for example, short-range wireless communication technology such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). Moreover, this wireless communication unit can also be configured to perform wireless communication based on multiple types of wireless communication standards.

However, the acquisition unit 1a may include, for example, a wired communication unit other than the wireless communication unit, and may also include a photographing device such as a still image camera or a video camera. When the acquisition unit 1a is a wired communication unit, characteristic information can be acquired using devices within the same wired LAN as nearby devices. When the acquisition unit 1a includes a photographing device, it can be configured to include an extraction unit that extracts characteristic information of nearby devices from data photographed by the photographing device. Further, the acquisition unit 1a may be a combination of various examples as described above, and the calculation unit 1b, which will be described later, can select the optimal configuration as appropriate depending on the characteristic information necessary for calculating the reliability. Just adopt it.

The calculation unit 1b calculates the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information of the nearby device acquired by the acquisition unit 1a. For example, the reliability can be defined as a higher value as the frequency with which the device is located in the vicinity is higher, but the reliability is not limited to this.

The storage unit 1c can include a storage device such as a memory. The storage unit 1c stores the reliability calculated by the calculation unit 1b. In reality, the storage unit 1c stores information indicating reliability (reliability information). The storage unit 1c can be configured to store reliability for each nearby device. However, the calculation unit 1b or the like may be provided with a function to specify a user, and the storage unit 1c may be configured to store reliability for each user (for each user information).

As described above, the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment can acquire characteristic information from nearby devices, calculate and store reliability regarding the characteristic information. In this way, according to the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment, it becomes possible to easily collect reliable device information.

Then, based on the reliability stored in this way, the electronic device 1 can identify reliable devices (devices) from the feature amounts of nearby devices. In addition, the electronic device 1 can identify reliable users by storing reliability for each user. In other words, according to the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment, a reliable device or user (for example, a user account) is derived from the behavior record of the actual device (the behavior record of the user who moves with the device). be able to.

As a result, when using a new service, for example, the electronic device 1 uses this reliability as information to automatically determine whether the device (or user) is reliable, and (or users) can be registered. Therefore, for example, when registering for a service for communicating using the electronic device 1, it is possible to automate the registration of devices or users that the user can trust, and omit troublesome authentication processing. That is, the electronic device 1 can be configured to automatically register trusted users and devices using the reliability level, and security at the time of friend registration can be improved.

Further, in this embodiment, an information collection system including a plurality of such electronic devices 1 can be constructed. This information collection system is a system in which a plurality of electronic devices 1 located near each other memorize each other's reliability, and one electronic device treats the other nearby electronic device as the electronic device 1. The reliability of the neighboring devices is stored.

Further, the acquisition unit 1a can be configured to include a detection unit that detects a nearby device (detects that a nearby device exists nearby). This detection unit can be realized by keeping the above-described wireless communication unit, wired communication unit, photographing device, or a combination thereof in operation at all times and periodically performing detection. In other words, in the case of the acquisition unit 1a having a detection unit, when a device is located near the electronic device 1 and becomes a nearby device, characteristic information of the nearby device is acquired, and the reliability of the nearby device is Information can be collected from.

In this way, by providing the detection unit in the acquisition unit 1a and constantly monitoring devices located nearby, the electronic device 1 can collect information about the status of nearby devices on a regular basis, and based on some characteristic information, A value (reliability) indicating whether or not it is reliable can be held.

<Embodiment 2>
Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 9, focusing on the differences from Embodiment 1, but various examples described in Embodiment 1 can be applied. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of an information collection system including an electronic device according to a second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the information collection system according to the present embodiment includes an electronic device 10 in which a setting section 1d and a transmitting section 1e, which will be described later, are added to the electronic device 1, and an electronic device ( (nearby device) 20. The acquisition section 2a, the calculation section 2b, the storage section 2c, the setting section 2d, and the transmission section 2e in the nearby device 20 are the acquisition section 1a, the calculation section 1b, the storage section 1c, the setting section 1d, and the transmission section in the electronic device 10, respectively. It can have the same functions as 1e. The number of nearby devices 20 whose reliability is to be stored in the electronic device 10 is not limited to one, but may be multiple devices.

The acquisition unit 1a obtains, as characteristic information, location information of the nearby device 20, time zone information indicating a time zone in which the nearby device 20 is located near the electronic device 10, the intensity of radio waves emitted from the nearby device 20, and the nearby device 20. The configuration may be such that at least one of the accelerations is acquired.

The acquisition unit 1a acquires position information (latitude and longitude information) acquired by a position information acquisition unit using a GPS (Global Positioning System) system or Wi-Fi (registered trademark) technology provided in the nearby device 20 as the position information. can be obtained. Further, the acquisition unit 1a can also calculate position information from an image taken of the nearby device 20 with a photographing device.

The acquisition unit 1a also obtains, as characteristic information, position information in a situation where the nearby device 20 is not located near the electronic device 10, and position information in a situation where the nearby device 20 is located near the electronic device 10. It can be configured to acquire at least one of the information. At least in the former case, the acquisition unit 1a can acquire location information (in this case, past location information) from the nearby device 20 through communication. By taking past position information into account, the calculation unit 1b can calculate the reliability based on the movement of the nearby device 20, not only when it is located near the electronic device 10.

The acquisition unit 1a can acquire time zone information from the nearby device 20, but is not limited thereto. For example, the acquisition unit 1a may obtain information (for example, device information) indicating that the device is located nearby, and may add time to the information and use it as part of the characteristic information. That is, the acquisition unit 1a can acquire, for example, the time when the acquisition unit 1a was able to acquire some information such as location information from the value of the internal clock as the time zone information. Note that the acceleration can be, for example, information acquired by an acceleration sensor provided in the nearby device 20.

Further, the calculation unit 1b can be configured to calculate reliability for each device or for each user. That is, the calculation unit 1b can be configured to calculate the reliability for each nearby device 20, and the storage unit 1c can be configured to store the reliability for each nearby device 20. In this case, the storage unit 1c stores the device information of the nearby device 20 and the reliability calculated for the device information in association with each other. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 1a acquires user information indicating the user of the nearby device 20 for which characteristic information is acquired, the calculation unit 1b calculates the reliability for each user indicated by the user information, and the storage unit 1c calculates the reliability for each user. It can be configured to store the reliability level. In this case, the storage unit 1c stores the user information of the nearby device 20 and the reliability calculated for the user in association with each other.

Therefore, the acquisition unit 1a may be configured to acquire device information or user information at the same time when acquiring feature information. The device information may be any one or more pieces of information, such as a serial number, a MAC (Media Access Control) address, or a telephone number, as long as it can identify the device.

The user information may be any information such as a name that allows the user to be identified. When the nearby device 20 is a device into which an application program can be installed, it is preferable that the acquisition unit 1a acquires the application ID list as user information. Here, the application ID list refers to a list of IDs (user IDs) used in each application installed in the nearby device 20. A certain application can be an application program that is executed to use a certain service. It is desirable that this application ID list includes IDs of applications for executing communication services.

The setting unit 1d sets at least one of the type of feature information to be acquired by the acquisition unit 1a and the type of reliability to be calculated by the calculation unit 1b (such as which information is considered to be preferentially reliable). Although the electronic device 10 does not need to include the setting section 1d, it is better to include the setting section 1d, since the settings related to collection of reliability can be changed, so that the reliability can be stored in a manner that better matches the intention of the user of the electronic device 10. can be done.

The transmitter 1e collects information about its own device and voluntarily distributes the information to a nearby electronic device (nearby device 20 in this example), or transmits the information in response to a request from the acquirer 2a. The information about the device itself can be characteristic information or its source information, such as a MAC address, location information, application ID list, and the like. By including such a transmitter 1e, the electronic device 20 can also acquire characteristic information regarding the electronic device 10 and store reliability regarding the electronic device 10.

The transmitting unit 1e can be configured to have a wireless transmitting unit, and in that case, and when the acquiring unit 1a is equipped with a wireless communicating unit, the wireless communicating unit can be used. Note that even if the electronic device 10 does not include the transmitting section 1e, information collection on the electronic device 20 side is possible because the electronic device 20 has a photographing device or the like as the acquiring section 2a.

It has been explained that it is desirable that the application ID list includes IDs for applications for communication services. In this case, the electronic device 10 has an executable built-in application that allows the user of the electronic device 10 to communicate with other users using other electronic devices via a network such as the Internet.

In that case, it is preferable that the electronic device 10 determines restrictions on communication with the other electronic devices in the application based on the reliability stored in the storage unit 1c. Here, the communication restriction can refer to at least one of whether communication is possible and the degree of restriction. This makes it possible to automatically register friends in the communication application, such as registering only highly reliable users as friends. Furthermore, the degree of restriction can include group restrictions and the like.

In this way, restrictions on communication between the electronic device 10 and other electronic devices can include whether communication with the other electronic devices is possible. That is, the electronic device 10 can determine whether communication with the other electronic device in the application is possible based on the reliability stored in the storage unit 1c. In the electronic device 10, if the application has a function of registering the user of the other electronic device determined to be capable of communication as a communication target user, it is possible to perform the automatic registration process as described above. .

Regarding the determination of restrictions, for example, the application can determine restrictions on communication with other electronic devices based on the reliability stored in the storage unit 1c, and based on this determination, automatic friend registration processing, etc. processing can be executed. Alternatively, the electronic device 10 may be configured to provide the application with information indicating restrictions on communication with other electronic devices determined based on the reliability stored in the storage unit 1c.

In addition, restrictions on communication with other electronic devices should be restrictions on communication with the user (user ID, etc.) of the other electronic device, in other words, such user restrictions may impose restrictions with the device. can.

In this way, the electronic device 10 can automatically establish a certain service relationship by using the reliability of the nearby devices 20. In the form of storing reliability for each user, the electronic device 10 can determine the relationship with that user in the service for each user. In a configuration in which reliability is stored for each neighboring device, the electronic device 10 can determine the relationship with that device in the service for each device.

A specific example of the friend registration process as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of information collection processing in an information collection system including an electronic device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of time zone information of other terminals collected by a certain terminal b in the information collection system of FIG.

The information collection system shown in FIG. 3 is a system used in a world where six communities 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106 exist, A to F. The community expressed here means a collection that shares position information with small errors for a certain period of time. The descriptions in parentheses in FIG. 3, ie, homes 1 to 3, school, workplace, and circle, are examples of concrete representations of communities.

There is no specific information about the community itself, but it is a concept formed between devices that share location information with small errors for a certain period of time. Here, terminals as examples of the electronic devices 10 and 20 can be smart devices such as smartphones and wearable terminals. For example, terminal a (111) of community A (101) also belongs to communities D (104) and F (106). This represents a case where terminal a (111) belongs to each community in different time zones. Additionally, FIG. 3 illustrates terminal b (112), terminal c (113), terminal d (114), and terminal e (115).

In addition, for example, in community A (101) in FIG. 3, smart devices 121 that are not described with a, b, etc. do not share position information with small errors with other terminals a and b for a certain period of time. Shows the terminal. Smart devices 122, 123, and 124 are also similar to smart device 121. In this way, even if a user enters a certain community, it can be determined that the user does not belong to that community, that is, it can be stored as having low reliability.

FIG. 4 shows community affiliation information in a certain week based on the location information of each terminal. For example, information 202 of terminal c (113) and information 203 of terminal d (114) indicate that they belong to the same community from night to dawn (211) on weekday. Further, information 201 of terminal a (111), information 203 of terminal d (114), and information 204 of terminal e (115) indicate that they belong to the same community on Thursday evening (212). Note that the hatching in FIG. 4 indicates the hatching shown inside each of the communities 101 to 106 in FIG. 3, and represents the time period belonging to each community. In this way, each smart device can express its membership status to a certain community at a certain time based on location information.

Here, a certain terminal (for example, terminal a) also stores its own location information, so that even if terminal a moves, it can determine other terminals belonging to that community for each community it moves to. can do. In other words, a terminal can be configured to calculate the reliability of other terminals for each piece of its own location information (actually, for each piece of location information that has a certain range). More specifically, the terminal can be divided into groups based on its own location information, and can calculate and store reliability for each group (that is, for each belonging state).

Next, an example of a software stack in the electronic device 10 exemplified as a smart device will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a software stack in each smart device in the information collection system of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 5, a smart device 301, which is an example of the electronic device 10, can include an application layer 302, a middleware layer 303, a driver layer 304, and a hardware layer 305. The collection module 306 as a scope of software related to information collection related to the acquisition unit 1a, the calculation unit 1b, the storage unit 1c, the setting unit 1d, and the transmission unit 1e corresponds to the following part. That is, the collection module 306 includes a setting screen 307 of the application layer 302, a controller 308, a database 309, an event handler 310, a producer 311, and a configuration (configuration information) 312 of the middleware layer 303.

The setting screen 307 can have a graphical user interface (GUI) regarding the setting section 1d. Controller 308 provides overall control of collection module 306 . The database 309 stores collected feature information and device information (or user information) and reliability information calculated therefrom. The event handler 310 controls a proximity sensor driver 314 (described later) to acquire characteristic information of nearby devices and passes it to the controller 308. The controller 308 temporarily or semi-permanently stores this characteristic information in the database 309. The producer 311 calculates the reliability by referring to the feature information in the database 309 according to the configuration 312 that describes the settings set from the settings screen 307, and stores reliability information indicating the reliability in the database 309. The configuration 312 is information that describes settings set from the settings screen 307.

Further, the hardware layer 305 may include a proximity sensor 313, and the driver layer 304 may include a proximity sensor driver 314, which function as an example of the acquisition unit 1a. The proximity sensor 313 detects devices located nearby based on, for example, Bluetooth.

The communication application can be held executable as a plurality of applications 315, 316, etc. in the application layer 302. Each of the applications 315 and 316 can access the database 309, and each performs a process of registering friends and the like by referring to reliability information, and stores the result in the database 309.

Next, an example of the operation of the smart device 301 in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the smart device 301. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the database 309, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a reliability calculation formula applied in the smart device 301, and FIG. 9 is a reliability graph calculated by the smart device 301. It is a figure showing an example.

The user 401 of the smart device 301 specifies activation of the nearby device (nearby terminal) search function from the setting screen 307 (step S11). After specifying the enablement, the collection module 306 stores the setting for enabling the nearby terminal search function in the configuration 312 (step S12), and starts the producer 311 and controller 308 (steps S13, S16).

Controller 308 activates event handler 310 to receive events from proximity sensor driver 314 (step S14). The activated producer 311 refers to the configuration 312 and checks the setting of the nearby terminal search function (step S17), and if it is valid, periodically monitors the nearby terminals.

First, the producer 311 collects information (MAC address, location information, application ID list) distributed by its own terminal (step S18). After that, the producer 311 reads information (MAC address, location information, application ID list, reliability) of the terminal (denoted as "A" here) that was close to the current time from the database 309 (step S19), and information is obtained (step S20).

The database 309 is held in a format as shown in FIG. 7, for example. Here, to simplify the explanation, it is described using KVS (Key-Value Store). However, the database 309 may be written in other formats such as RDBMS (Relational DataBase Management System).

The format shown in FIG. 7 has two lists, a reliable device list (reliable_devices) 5001 and a likely reliable device list (candidate_devices) 5002, respectively. The elements in both lists 5001 and 5002 have the same constituent elements. This component includes a terminal's MAC address (mac) 5011, registered time (registered_at) 5012, updated time (updated_at) 5013, and estimated time period (approx_period) 5014. Furthermore, this component has latitude (lat) 5015, longitude (lng) 5016, previously calculated latitude difference (d_lat) 5017, previously calculated longitude difference (d_lng) 5018, and reliability (reliability) 5019.

The estimated time period (approx_period) 5014 is in a map format and holds a start time (begin) 5101, an end time (end) 5102, and a continuity (continuity) 5103.

Continuity 5103 counts how many times it appears consecutively in the estimated time period. Continuous counting for a certain period of time serves as a basis for determining whether a terminal moves (transitions) from the likely reliable device list (candidate_devices) 5002 to the reliable device list (reliable_devices) 5001.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 6. Since the estimated time period in which a certain terminal A is considered to have been close is held as the estimated time period (approx_period) 5014 in the database 309, processing is performed for the terminal group that includes the current time. The producer 311 transmits the collected information (information on terminal A) to terminal A (step S21). The producer 311 can receive the latest characteristic information (information including location information and application ID list) of terminal A as a response (step S22).

Furthermore, when the event handler 310 receives the characteristic information (information including location information and application ID list) of the terminal A as a response to step S21 (step S23), it delegates the operation to the controller 308 (step S24). The controller 308 refers to the database 309 to check the status of the terminal A (step S25), calculates the reliability from the time and position information, and updates the database 309 to that value (step S26).

As a method for calculating reliability, for example, the formula shown in FIG. 8 can be applied. In this formula, reliability can take a value in the range of 0≦Reliability≦1.

For example, if the amount of change in two elements (latitude and longitude) is within the allowable value, the reliability of each can be calculated as 1. As illustrated for latitude in FIG. 9, if the value exceeds the tolerance value and is below the threshold value, the reliability decreases. If the threshold value is exceeded, the respective reliability can be calculated as 0. The same applies to longitude. In the formula in Figure 8, a _i is the slope of each element function, and can be made different depending on latitude and longitude. If other elements are also adopted, the slopes of those elements can also be made different. .

Further, the producer 311 can also transmit the information about the own terminal collected in step S18 to nearby terminals (step S27). When the event handler 310 receives the response from the unknown terminal (denoted as "B" here) (step S28), the event handler 310 delegates the operation to the controller 308 (step S29). The controller 308 checks the status of the terminal B with reference to the database 309 (step S30), and if it does not exist in the reliable_devices 5001, registers it in the candidate_devices 5002 (step S31). If the continuity 5103 of the approx_period 5014 of terminal B exceeds a certain period (for example, two weeks (14 days)), the information of terminal B is moved to reliable_devices 5001.

That is, the controller 308 calculates the reliability of terminal B from time zone information such as time and location information, checks it with the database 309, and updates the reliability as necessary. Of course, it is not necessary to compare the information acquired in step S30 with the information in the database 309 and calculate the reliability if it is unnecessary (if the information is the same).

As described above, the smart device 301 manages, for example, the estimated time zone (start/end time, number of continuations) of nearby devices, and calculates the reliability ( It is possible to register whether the device is reliable, or whether the device is likely to be reliable, etc. Furthermore, the smart device 301 can update the reliability based on newly acquired feature information. Further, the smart device 301 can have a function of automatically registering the nearby device 20 as a friend when the communication application is installed, if the device is a reliable device.

When installing a new community application, there are many troublesome points such as having to manually search for friend information registration or registering while physically present. However, by applying this embodiment, it is possible to easily collect information on reliable devices, and by continuing to have highly reliable devices in the own device, it is possible to easily collect information on reliable devices, and by continuing to have highly reliable devices in the own device, it is possible to easily collect information on reliable devices. , Friend registration can be completed automatically.

Furthermore, when a plurality of different applications are executable built into the electronic device 10 such as the smart device 301 as exemplified by the applications 315 and 316, the following restrictions can be applied. That is, first, the calculation unit 1b calculates the reliability of nearby devices according to the characteristic information acquired by the acquisition unit 1a for each predetermined time period. Then, the electronic device 10 determines restrictions on communication with other electronic devices for each application based on the reliability for each time period stored in the storage unit 1c. In other words, the electronic device 10 can determine the type of community, such as a family, based on the reliability for each time period, and determine restrictions on communication.

For example, by estimating the specific nature of the community based on the time period in which the community is formed, it is possible to set the community to a group that is generally realized within a communication application. For example, if a community is formed every weekday from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM, that community can be estimated to be a "family." Also, if it is possible to obtain the acceleration of the device, if the amount of change in acceleration is almost 0 during late night hours, it is more likely that it is a "family" (when the device is left alone and is going to bed) It can be estimated that Therefore, the terminal can divide into groups according to time zone information among the characteristic information of nearby terminals, calculate and store reliability for each group, and decide whether each group is reliable or not. .

More specifically, the application 315 can be a communication application, and after being installed on the smart device 301, refers to reliable_devices 5001 in the database 309 in the terminal. Terminals existing in the reliable_devices 5001 are considered to be terminals that have maintained a high degree of reliability with the community to which they belong for a certain period of time, so they can be automatically registered as friends. The application 316 is also similar to the application 315, but can perform friend registration processing based on the reliability of different groups (reliability calculated for different time zones).

In this way, it is preferable that the calculation unit 1b calculates the reliability of the nearby terminal according to the characteristic information acquired by the acquisition unit 1a within a predetermined period. Whether or not the acquisition was possible within a predetermined period (for example, a predetermined time period) can be obtained from time zone information as one of the characteristic information, but even with other types of characteristic information, it is difficult to confirm and store the acquisition time. All you have to do is By providing a certain period of time for measuring the reliability of nearby terminals in this manner, terminals or users can be divided into groups.

Furthermore, in this case, the electronic device 10 such as the smart device 301 can further include a period setting section that sets the predetermined period. For example, this period setting section can be provided in the setting section 1d.

Furthermore, the applications 315 and 316 can be configured to perform friend registration processing using mutually different thresholds for a common reliability level, in which case one of them may be registered as a friend more than the other. Become.

Furthermore, the degree of communication restriction can include group restriction as described above. Group restrictions can also be implemented by grouping based on a common reliability (reliability for each device or for each user) and setting restrictions for each group. Alternatively, as described above, the electronic device 10 divides itself into groups based on its own location information, calculates and stores reliability for each group (that is, each belonging state), and determines whether or not each group is reliable. can be determined. Furthermore, both time zone information and location information can be used for grouping.

<Embodiment 3>
Embodiment 3 will be described with a focus on differences from Embodiment 2. However, the various examples described in Embodiments 1 and 2 can be applied to Embodiment 3 as appropriate.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the communication described in Embodiment 2 is communication between a store using the electronic device 10 and a customer using a nearby device. The communication restriction may be a restriction on whether or not the customer registers as a member of the store. The application used in this case has a function of performing customer registration (membership registration, regular customer registration, etc.). Thereby, according to the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment, the store can perform processing such as automatically registering customers who frequently visit the store as members.

Also in this embodiment, the calculation unit 1b can calculate the reliability of nearby devices according to the characteristic information acquired by the acquisition unit 1a within a predetermined period. Thereby, according to the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment, the store can perform processing such as automatically registering customers who often visit the store within a certain period of time as members. On the other hand, from the customer's perspective, the electronic device used by the customer may be configured to enable/disable this function. That is, in this embodiment as well, the electronic device 10 and the electronic device on the customer side can be provided with the setting section 1d. This allows stores to set whether or not automatic registration is enabled, and customers can disable it to avoid unauthorized registration, or enable it to register as a member without having to register. You can benefit from various services. Also in this embodiment, the setting section 1d can include a period setting section.

<Embodiment 4>
Embodiment 4 will be described with a focus on differences from Embodiment 2. However, the various examples described in Embodiments 1 to 3 can be applied to Embodiment 4 as appropriate.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the communication described in Embodiment 2 is a notification at the time of failure or loss. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the nearby device is an installed device, and the electronic device 10 is moved by the user in his or her possession. In other words, it is assumed that the electronic device 10 according to this embodiment is a device that circulates.

In the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment, the acquisition unit 1a attempts to acquire characteristic information about the highly reliable neighboring devices stored in the storage unit 1c, and when the acquisition fails, the notification unit notifies the user of the characteristic information. Furthermore, it is equipped with. This notification section only needs to be a notification to the user of the electronic device 10, and the sending section 1e can also send the notification to other devices.

In this embodiment, for example, all the terminals (terminals that can be nearby devices) are fixedly installed, and one circulating terminal, the electronic device 10, automatically registers and moves. If a certain terminal was registered as a reliable_device at a certain location, but its existence cannot be confirmed, it is likely that the terminal is out of order or lost. Furthermore, if the electronic device 10 can acquire radio waves from a nearby device, its presence can be confirmed, but by detecting that the radio field strength is different from normal, it can be detected that the nearby device has “disconnected and fallen”. You can guess. Therefore, the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment calculates and stores the reliability, and issues a notification when such a failure or loss occurs according to the reliability. It is considered to be effective for equipment such as IoT devices installed in the mountains, at sea, in piping, etc.

Also in this embodiment, the calculation unit 1b can calculate the reliability of nearby devices according to the characteristic information acquired by the acquisition unit 1a within a predetermined period. Further, the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment can also include a setting section 1d, and the setting section 1d can also include a period setting section.

<Embodiment 5>
Embodiment 5 will be described with a focus on differences from Embodiment 2. However, the various examples described in Embodiments 1 to 4 can be applied to Embodiment 5 as appropriate.

The electronic device 10 according to this embodiment performs the following processing. That is, the acquisition unit 1a acquires the characteristic information with the electronic device 10 installed. Furthermore, the calculation unit 1b calculates the reliability of a nearby device having a higher frequency of acquisition of feature information by the acquisition unit 1a. The electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a notification unit that issues a warning notification to highly reliable nearby devices as devices that are often located near the installation location of the electronic device 10.

The electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment is configured to only register nearby devices (does not distribute information about its own device), and is installed in a location where crimes are likely to occur. Thereby, the police using the electronic device 10 can grasp a suspicious electronic device (nearby device) and issue a warning or use it for investigation.

Also in this embodiment, the calculation unit 1b can calculate the reliability of nearby devices according to the characteristic information acquired by the acquisition unit 1a within a predetermined period. Thereby, the police using the electronic device 10 can grasp suspicious electronic devices in places and times when crimes are likely to occur, and issue a warning or use the information for investigation. Further, the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment can also include a setting section 1d, and the setting section 1d can also include a period setting section.

<Other embodiments>
[a]
In each of the embodiments described above, the functions of each part of the electronic device have been described, but it is sufficient that the electronic device can realize these functions. Supplementally, a case will be described in which there is only one device that can be a nearby device of an electronic device in the information collection system. In that case, the electronic device can be configured to calculate the reliability of one nearby device and update it. Thereby, the electronic device can be configured to perform a process such as executing a predetermined process when the reliability of a nearby device exceeds a predetermined value.

[b]
The electronic device according to each embodiment can have the following hardware configuration. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of an electronic device according to each embodiment. Note that the same applies to the other embodiment [a] above.

Electronic device 1000 shown in FIG. 10 includes a processor 1001, a memory 1002, and a communication interface 1003. Communication interface 1003 includes a wireless communication interface. The functions of each unit described in each embodiment are realized by the processor 1001 reading a program stored in the memory 1002 and executing it using the communication interface 1003.

In the examples above, the program can be stored and provided to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media includes various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (eg, floppy disks, magnetic tape, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (eg, magneto-optical disks). Furthermore, this example includes CD-ROM (Read Only Memory), CD-R, and CD-R/W. Furthermore, this example includes semiconductor memories (eg, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (Random Access Memory)). The program may also be provided to the computer via various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can provide the program to the computer via wired communication channels, such as electrical wires and optical fibers, or wireless communication channels.

[c]
Furthermore, in the various embodiments described above, as the procedure of information collection processing in an electronic device or an information collection system is illustrated, the present disclosure can also take the form of an information collection method in an electronic device. This information collection method includes the following acquisition step, calculation step, and storage step. The acquisition step acquires characteristic information indicating characteristics of usage of a nearby device that is a device located near the electronic device. The calculation step calculates the reliability of the nearby device according to the feature information of the nearby device acquired in the acquisition step. The storage step stores the reliability calculated in the calculation step. Note that other examples are as described in the various embodiments described above.

Further, the above program can be said to be a program for causing a computer such as a general-purpose computer such as a PC or a computer inside an electronic device to execute the above-described information gathering method. Note that the nearby device in this case is a device located near the computer, for example, a device located near the electronic device (that is, near the computer inside the electronic device).

Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the various embodiments described above, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit. Further, the present disclosure may be implemented by appropriately combining the respective embodiments.

Part or all of the above embodiments may be described as in the following additional notes, but are not limited to the following.
<Additional notes>

(Additional note 1)
an acquisition unit that acquires characteristic information indicating characteristics of usage of a nearby device that is a device located nearby;
a calculation unit that calculates the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information of the nearby device acquired by the acquisition unit;
a storage unit that stores the reliability calculated by the calculation unit;
Electronic equipment with.

(Additional note 2)
The acquisition unit includes a detection unit that detects the nearby device.
Electronic equipment described in Appendix 1.

(Additional note 3)
The acquisition unit includes, as the feature information, location information of the nearby device, time zone information indicating a time zone in which the nearby device is located near the electronic device, the intensity of radio waves emitted from the nearby device, and the neighborhood. obtaining at least one of the accelerations of the device;
Electronic equipment described in Appendix 1 or 2.

(Additional note 4)
The acquisition unit may obtain, as the feature information, location information in a situation where the nearby device is not located near the electronic device, and location information in a situation where the nearby device is located near the electronic device. obtain at least one of the
Electronic equipment described in Appendix 1 or 2.

(Appendix 5)
The calculation unit calculates the reliability for each of the nearby devices,
the storage unit stores the reliability for each of the nearby devices;
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4.

(Appendix 6)
The acquisition unit acquires user information indicating a user of the nearby device from which the characteristic information is to be acquired;
The calculation unit calculates the reliability for each user indicated by the user information,
the storage unit stores the reliability for each user;
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 5.

(Appendix 7)
An application is executable embedded therein for allowing a user of the electronic device to communicate with other users of other electronic devices via a network;
determining a restriction on communication with the other electronic device in the application based on the reliability stored in the storage unit;
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 6.

(Appendix 8)
The restriction on communication with the other electronic device includes whether communication with the other electronic device is possible,
The application has a function of registering a user of the other electronic device determined to be capable of communication as a communication target user.
Electronic equipment described in Appendix 7.

(Appendix 9)
A plurality of applications that are different from each other are executable incorporated,
The calculation unit calculates the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information acquired by the acquisition unit for each predetermined time period,
determining a restriction on communication with the other electronic device for each application based on the reliability for each time period stored in the storage unit;
Electronic equipment described in Appendix 7 or 8.

(Appendix 10)
The communication is communication between a store side using the electronic device and a customer side using the nearby device,
The restriction is a restriction on whether or not the customer registers as a member of the store,
The application has a function of performing membership registration,
Electronic equipment described in Appendix 7 or 8.

(Appendix 11)
The calculation unit calculates the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information acquired by the acquisition unit within a predetermined period.
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 10.

(Appendix 12)
further comprising a period setting section for setting the predetermined period;
Electronic equipment described in Appendix 11.

(Appendix 13)
further comprising a setting unit that sets at least one of the type of the feature information to be acquired by the acquisition unit and the type of reliability to be calculated by the calculation unit;
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 12.

(Appendix 14)
further comprising a transmitter that transmits information about the own device to the nearby device;
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 13.

(Appendix 15)
The nearby device is an installed device,
The electronic device further includes a notification unit that attempts to acquire the characteristic information in the acquisition unit for the nearby device with high reliability stored in the storage unit, and notifies you if the acquisition fails. Ta,
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 6.

(Appendix 16)
The acquisition unit acquires the characteristic information with the electronic device installed,
The calculation unit calculates the reliability of the nearby device with a higher frequency of acquisition of the feature information by the acquisition unit,
The electronic device further includes a notification unit that issues a warning notification to the highly reliable nearby device as a device that is often located near the installation location of the electronic device.
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 6.

(Appendix 17)
The calculation unit calculates the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information acquired by the acquisition unit within a predetermined period.
The electronic device according to appendix 15 or 16.

(Appendix 18)
further comprising a period setting section for setting the predetermined period;
Electronic equipment described in Appendix 17.

(Appendix 19)
further comprising a setting unit that sets at least one of the type of the feature information to be acquired by the acquisition unit and the type of reliability to be calculated by the calculation unit;
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 15 to 18.

(Additional note 20)
An information collection system comprising a plurality of electronic devices according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 14, wherein the plurality of electronic devices located near each other memorize the reliability of each other.

(Additional note 21)
A method for collecting information in electronic equipment, the method comprising:
an acquisition step of acquiring feature information indicating characteristics of usage of a nearby device that is a device located near the electronic device;
a calculation step of calculating the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information of the nearby device acquired in the acquisition step;
a storage step of storing the reliability calculated in the calculation step;
A method of collecting information.

(Additional note 22)
to the computer,
an acquisition step of acquiring characteristic information indicating characteristics of usage of a nearby device that is a device located near the computer;
a calculation step of calculating the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information of the nearby device acquired in the acquisition step;
a storage step of storing the reliability calculated in the calculation step;
A program to run.

1, 10, 1000 Electronic device 1a Acquisition unit 1b Calculation unit 1c Storage unit 1d Setting unit 1e Transmission unit 2a Acquisition unit 2b Calculation unit 2c Storage unit 2d Setting unit 2e Transmission unit 20 Electronic device (nearby device)
101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 Community 121, 122, 123, 124 Smart device 301 Smart device 302 Application layer 303 Middleware layer 304 Driver layer 305 Hardware layer 306 Collection module 307 Setting screen 308 Controller 309 Database 310 Event handler 311 Producer 312 Config 313 Proximity sensor 314 Proximity sensor driver 315, 316 Application 1001 Processor 1002 Memory 1003 Communication interface

Claims (10)

An electronic device,
an acquisition unit that uses the imaging device to acquire characteristic information indicating characteristics of usage of a nearby device that is a device located nearby;
a calculation unit that calculates the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information of the nearby device acquired by the acquisition unit;
a storage unit that stores the reliability calculated by the calculation unit;
Equipped with
An application is executable embedded therein for allowing a user of the electronic device to communicate with other users of other electronic devices via a network;
determining a restriction on communication with the other electronic device in the application based on the reliability stored in the storage unit;
The communication is communication between a store side using the electronic device and a customer side using the nearby device,
The restriction is a restriction on whether or not the customer registers as a member of the store,
The application has a function of performing membership registration,
Electronics. The acquisition unit acquires user information indicating a user of the nearby device from which the characteristic information is to be acquired;
The calculation unit calculates the reliability for each user indicated by the user information,
the storage unit stores the reliability for each user;
The electronic device according to claim 1. The user information is an ID used in an application for using the communication service,
The electronic device according to claim 2 . The restriction on communication with the other electronic device includes whether communication with the other electronic device is possible,
The application has a function of registering a user of the other electronic device determined to be capable of communication as a communication target user.
The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . A method for collecting information in electronic equipment, the method comprising:
an acquisition step of acquiring characteristic information indicating characteristics of usage of a nearby device that is a device located near the electronic device, using an imaging device;
a calculation step of calculating the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information of the nearby device acquired in the acquisition step;
a storage step of storing the reliability calculated in the calculation step;
a decision step;
Equipped with
The electronic device has an executable built-in application that allows a user of the electronic device to communicate with other users using other electronic devices via a network,
The determining step determines a restriction on communication with the other electronic device in the application based on the reliability stored in the storing step,
The communication is communication between a store side using the electronic device and a customer side using the nearby device,
The restriction is a restriction on whether or not the customer registers as a member of the store,
The application has a function of performing membership registration,
Information collection method. The acquisition step acquires user information indicating a user of the nearby device for which the characteristic information is to be acquired;
The calculating step calculates the reliability for each user indicated by the user information,
The storing step stores the reliability for each user.
The information collection method according to claim 5. The user information is an ID used in an application for using the communication service,
The information gathering method according to claim 6. A program for causing a computer to perform information gathering processing,
The information gathering process includes:
an acquisition step of acquiring characteristic information indicating characteristics of usage of a nearby device that is a device located near the computer, using an imaging device;
a calculation step of calculating the reliability of the nearby device according to the characteristic information of the nearby device acquired in the acquisition step;
a storage step of storing the reliability calculated in the calculation step;
a decision step;
including;
The computer has an executable built-in application that allows a user of the computer to communicate with another user using another electronic device different from the computer via a network,
The determining step determines a restriction on communication with the other electronic device in the application based on the reliability stored in the storing step,
The communication is between a store side using the computer and a customer side using the nearby equipment,
The restriction is a restriction on whether or not the customer registers as a member of the store,
The application has a function of performing membership registration,
program. The acquisition step acquires user information indicating a user of the nearby device for which the characteristic information is to be acquired;
The calculating step calculates the reliability for each user indicated by the user information,
The storing step stores the reliability for each user.
The program according to claim 8. The user information is an ID used in an application for using the communication service,
The program according to claim 9.

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