JP7488745B2 - Information Presentation System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technology for presenting information based on information relating to local customs, rules, standards, etc. that are unique to a region and that can be compared between regions (hereinafter referred to as "local information").

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that extracts gaps (differences) between customs such as traffic rules in the area where the user lives and customs in the area the user is about to visit, and presents the extracted gaps to the user.

JP 2020-86580 A

However, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, unless a user reads the content of the presented gap, they cannot tell whether it is a good gap for the user (hereinafter referred to as a "positive gap") or a bad gap for the user (hereinafter referred to as a "negative gap"). This is because, basically, people know local information about the area where they live, but are not aware of local information about other areas that are presented as gaps.

For example, suppose a user living in a first area visits a second area, which is another region, and while walking around the second area, suddenly needs to use the restroom. Here, the public restroom situation in the first and second areas is as follows:

The public toilets in Area 1 are all cleaned regularly. And many people who have used them agree that they are clean. Also, toilet paper is provided in the public toilets in Area 1. And everyone can use the public toilets in Area 1 for free. In other words, it is normal for public toilets in Area 1 to be clean, have toilet paper provided, and be free.

On the other hand, the public toilets in Area 2 are not regularly cleaned. Many people who have used them admit that they are dirty. Furthermore, toilet paper is not provided in the public toilets in Area 2. In Area 2, in addition to the public toilets that can be used for free, there are paid toilets. The paid toilets are regularly cleaned and kept clean. Toilet paper is provided in the paid toilets. In other words, for people in Area 2, it is normal for public toilets to be dirty and not provide toilet paper, and if they want to use a clean toilet that has toilet paper, they normally use a paid toilet.

In this case, by utilizing the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, gap information regarding toilets can be provided as the gap between the first and second areas. In other words, the gap information provided can include the following: in the second area, there are free public toilets and paid toilets, the public toilets are dirty and toilet paper is not provided, and the paid toilets are clean and toilet paper is provided.

However, in an emergency situation, rather than reading the gap information provided, the user may first use a map app to search for toilets in the user's current area. The user may then go to a public toilet as close to their current location as possible. In other words, even if the user is presented with gap information, they may not read it if they do not know whether the gap information is a positive gap or a negative gap.

The present invention aims to provide an information presentation system that can present information by clearly indicating whether the gap information of the comparison area is good or bad for the user.

(1) In order to achieve the above object, an information presentation system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a local information database, an acquisition unit, an extraction unit, a determination unit, a generation unit, and a presentation unit. The local information database stores a plurality of local information. The local information is information that associates area information that identifies a predetermined area, category information that identifies a predetermined category, attribute information that identifies an attribute of the category, content information that indicates the content of the attribute, and a parameter value that indicates the characteristics of the content information. The acquisition unit acquires a query that identifies first area information that is area information that identifies a first area including a location where a user resides, and second area information that is area information that identifies a second area to be compared. The extraction unit extracts, from the local information database based on the query, first local information that is local information that associates the first area information, and second local information that is local information that associates the second area information. The determination unit calculates a difference between a first parameter value, which is a parameter value associated with the extracted first local information, and a second parameter value, which is a parameter value associated with the second local information, and determines gap attribute information indicating whether the information is good or bad for the user based on whether the difference is positive or negative. The generation unit generates gap information that associates the second local information with the gap attribute information. The presentation unit presents information that clearly indicates the gap attribute information based on the gap information as a response to the query.

(2) In order to achieve the above object, an information presentation system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a local information database, a POI information database, an acquisition unit, an extraction unit, a determination unit, a generation unit, and a presentation unit. The local information database stores a plurality of local information. The local information is information that associates area information that identifies a specified area, category information that identifies a specified category, attribute information that identifies an attribute of the category, content information that indicates the content of the attribute, and a parameter value that indicates the characteristics of the content information. The POI information database stores a plurality of POI information related to points. The POI information is information that associates location information of the point, category information, attribute information, content information, and a parameter value. The acquisition unit acquires a query that identifies first area information, which is area information that identifies a first area including a location where the user resides, and second area information that indicates a comparison target area. The extraction unit extracts, based on the query, first local information, which is local information associated with the first area information, from the local information database, and extracts, from the POI information database, POI information associated with location information included in the comparison area indicated by the second area information. The determination unit calculates a difference between a first parameter value, which is a parameter value associated with the extracted first local information, and a second parameter value, which is a parameter value associated with the POI information, and determines gap attribute information indicating whether the information is good or bad for the user based on the positive or negative difference. The generation unit generates gap information that associates the POI information with the gap attribute information. The presentation unit presents, as a response to the query, information clearly indicating the gap attribute information by superimposing it on a point on the map image indicated by the location information associated with the POI information based on the gap information.

(3) In one aspect of the present invention, in the information presentation system of (1) or (2) described above, the determination unit may further determine the gap attribute information indicating that the information has no gap for the user when the difference is 0.

(4) In one aspect of the present invention, the information presentation system of (3) may further include a user information database and an identification unit. The user information database stores a user ID for identifying a user and the first area information in association with each other. The query includes the user ID as information for identifying the first area information. The identification unit identifies the first area information associated with the user ID from the user information database based on the query.

(5) In one aspect of the present invention, in the information presentation system of (2) above, the second area information may be information that identifies the area indicated by the map image presented by the presentation unit.

(6) In one aspect of the present invention, the information presentation system according to any one of (1) to (5) above may further include a reception unit. The reception unit receives the designation of gap attribute information. The presentation unit further presents content information that clearly indicates the designated gap attribute information based on the gap information.

(7) In one aspect of the present invention, in the information presentation system of (6) described above, the reception unit may further receive a designation of category information. The presentation unit further presents content information corresponding to the designated category information based on the gap attribute information.

By applying this invention, it is possible to clearly show the user whether the gap information presented for the comparison area is good or bad.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information presentation system 10 according to a first embodiment. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication terminal 1 according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI screen of the communication terminal 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server 2 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of local information. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of local information. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence table of parameter values 35 relating to attribute information 33. FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of gap information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation flow of the communication terminal 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation flow of the server 2 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information presentation that clearly indicates gap attribute information based on gap information. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information presentation that clearly indicates gap attribute information based on gap information. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information presentation that clearly indicates gap attribute information based on gap information. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI screen of a communication terminal 1 according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server 2 according to a second embodiment. 4 is a diagram showing an example of user information stored in a user information database 25. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of POI information stored in a POI information database 26. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of POI information stored in a POI information database 26. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of gap information. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an operation flow of the communication terminal 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation flow of the server 2 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information presentation that clearly indicates gap attribute information based on gap information. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information presentation that clearly indicates gap attribute information based on gap information. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information presentation that clearly indicates gap attribute information based on gap information.

First Embodiment
An information presentation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the information presentation system 10 includes a communication terminal 1 and a server 2. Although not shown, there may be a plurality of communication terminals 1. The communication terminals 1 and the server 2 communicate with each other via a network 3. The network 3 is an IP (Internet Protocol) network and includes various wide area communication networks. The network 3 also includes wireless communication networks conforming to high-speed wireless communication standards, such as a mobile phone network and a wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

As shown in FIG. 2, the communication terminal 1 includes a terminal control unit 101, a terminal storage unit 102, a display unit 103, an audio output unit 104, a presentation unit 105, a reception unit 106, and a terminal communication unit 107. The functional units of the communication terminal 1 are connected via a bus. The communication terminal 1 is a computer equipped with a communication function. For example, a smartphone owned by the user is preferable, but it may also be a tablet, a notebook computer, or a desktop computer.

The terminal control unit 101 performs overall control of the communication terminal 1. Although not shown, the hardware of the terminal control unit 101 is composed of a CPU and memory. The terminal control unit 101 performs overall control of the communication terminal 1 by using the CPU and memory to execute various programs stored in the terminal storage unit 102. The terminal storage unit 102 stores various programs and various information. For example, it stores gap information received from the server 2 and a program for presenting information based on the gap information. The hardware of the terminal storage unit 102 is preferably a non-volatile memory, but may be other storage media such as a hard disk.

The display unit 103 has a function of displaying a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen and various information generated by the execution of the program as images. The audio output unit 104 has a function of outputting various information generated by the execution of the program as audio.

The presentation unit 105 is composed of the display unit 103 and the audio output unit 104. The presentation unit 105 may present information by combining information presented by video display on the display unit 103 and information presented by audio output on the audio output unit 104, or may present information using either the display unit 103 or the audio output unit 104.

The reception unit 106 has a function of receiving input of various instructions by user operation. Although not shown, for example, the communication terminal 1 may be equipped with a touch panel display. When the communication terminal 1 is equipped with a touch panel display, the display unit 103 displays, on the touch panel display, a GUI screen generated by the terminal control unit 101 executing a program. The reception unit 106 also receives input of various instructions based on input operations performed by the user on the GUI screen.

An example of a GUI screen used to present gap information according to the first embodiment is shown in FIG. 3. The GUI screen is provided with a drop-down menu for accepting the designation of first area information, second area information, category information, and gap attribute information, and a search button. The drop-down menus for the first area information and second area information display the names of cities that can be designated. The user designates the name of a city that includes the location where the user resides as the first area information, and the name of a city to be compared as the second area information. When the user presses the search button after designation, the terminal control unit 101 generates a query that includes the designated first area information and second area information, and performs control to transmit the query to the server 2.

The server 2 generates gap information based on the received query and transmits it to the communication terminal 1. The communication terminal 1 presents information that clearly indicates the specified gap attribute information based on the gap information received from the server 2.

The category information drop-down menu shows a list of selectable category information, and the user can select the desired category information from the list. The display unit 103 presents information limited to gap information related to the category information selected by the user.

The gap attribute information drop-down menu allows the user to specify one of three types of gap attribute information: "Positive," "Negative," or "Equality." "Equality" is gap attribute information that indicates that there was no gap in the comparison of local information between areas.

The display unit 103 presents gap information including gap attribute information specified by the user. Specific display examples of gap information will be described later.

The terminal communication unit 107 has a communication function to transmit a query generated by the terminal control unit 101 to the server 2 via the network 3 and to receive gap information from the server 2 as a response to the transmitted query.

As shown in FIG. 4, the server 2 includes a server communication unit 21, a control unit 22, a server storage unit 23, and a local information database 24. The control unit 22 includes an acquisition unit 221, an extraction unit 222, a determination unit 223, and a generation unit 224. The functional units included in the server 2 are connected via a bus. The server 2 is a computer with a communication function. The server 2 may be composed of a single computer, or may be composed of a group of multiple computers.

The server communication unit 21 has a communication function of receiving a query from the communication terminal 1 via the network 3 and transmitting the gap information generated by the generation unit 224 to the communication terminal 1.

The control unit 22 performs overall control of the server 2. Although not shown, the hardware of the control unit 22 is composed of a CPU and memory. The server storage unit 23 has a function of temporarily storing a control program that controls each functional unit included in the server 2, and queries received from the communication terminal 1. The hardware of the server storage unit 23 is composed of a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk.

The local information database 24 has the function of storing multiple pieces of local information. Local information is information related to customs, rules, standards (levels), etc. that are unique to a region. The hardware of the local information database 24 is composed of a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk. The local information database 24 stores, updates, and deletes local information under the control of the control unit 22. The storage of local information may be performed based on an input operation by the server administrator to the server 2, or may be performed by inputting local information generated by another device to the server 2.

The local information will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 7. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the local information is information that associates area information 31, category information 32, attribute information 33, content information 34, and parameter values 35.

Area information 31 is information that identifies a specific area. Area information 31 is, for example, a place name such as a city name, island name, prefecture name, or country name. Area information 31 may be in any form as long as it is identification information that can identify a specific area. For example, it may be identification information composed of numbers and symbols rather than the place name itself.

Category information 32 is classification information that indicates what the local information is about. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, category information 32 includes toilets, buses, trains, taxis, etc. It is possible to set multiple pieces of category information 32 for one area. If there is no local information for the target area that belongs to the classification indicated by category information 32, then no category information is set. For example, there are no trains on Shodoshima, so the local information for Shodoshima does not include category information 32 for trains.

Category information 32 can be a variety of information that can be compared between areas. For example, store information such as banks, coffee shops, and restaurants can also be category information 32.

Attribute information 33 is information that identifies the attributes of category information 32. For example, "fee," "paper provided," and "cleanliness" are set as attribute information 33 for category information 32 "toilet." For example, "fee" in attribute information 33 is associated with content information 34 indicating one of multiple states of attribute information 33, such as whether the toilet is free, whether there is a fee, or whether there are both free and paid toilets. "Paper provided" in attribute information 33 is associated with content information 34 indicating whether "paper provided" is available, not available, or available in the case of a paid toilet.

Category information 32 for public transportation such as buses and trains is associated with attribute information 33 such as fares, congestion levels, delay levels, and cleanliness levels. Category information 32 for taxis is associated with attribute information 33 such as the initial fare and reliability. Another example of category information 32 not shown in the figure is a store such as a bank, and attribute information 33 set in the store's category information 32 may be associated with, for example, opening hours, availability of restrooms, and availability of barrier-free access.

Content information 34 is information indicating one of multiple states of attribute information 33. For example, in the case of attribute information 33 relating to toilet fees, the multiple states of attribute information 33 are "free," "free and paid," and "paid." Content information 34 is associated with parameter values 35 as shown in FIG. 7.

Parameter value 35 is a value that indicates the characteristics of content information 34. As shown in the correspondence table in FIG. 7, parameter value 35 is associated with multiple content information 34 in order from left to right, with the numerical values "4", "3", "2", and "1". The content information 34 is arranged in order from left to right in terms of information that is good for the user. In other words, content information 34 associated with a parameter value 35 having a high numerical value is information that indicates a better state for the user than content information 34 associated with a parameter value 35 having a lower numerical value.

For example, if the content information 34 of the attribute information 33 for the "fee" of a toilet is "free," the parameter value 35 is set to "3," if it is "free and paid," the parameter value 35 is set to "2," and if it is "paid," the parameter value 35 is set to "1." This is based on the value that a free toilet "fee" is better for the user than a paid toilet.

For example, if the content information 34 of the attribute information 33 for the "cleanliness" of a toilet is "very clean", the parameter value 35 is set to "4", if it is "clean", the parameter value 35 is set to "3", if it is "dirty", the parameter value 35 is set to "2", and if it is "very dirty", the parameter value 35 is set to "1". This is based on the value that a clean toilet is better for the user than a dirty toilet.

For example, if the content information 34 of the attribute information 33 indicating the bus fare is "less than $1", the parameter value 35 is "4", if it is between $1 and $3, the parameter value 35 is "3", if it is between $3 and $5, the parameter value 35 is "2", and if it is between $5 and $10, the parameter value 35 is "1". This is based on the value that a cheaper bus fare is better for the user.

Furthermore, in some areas, when non-local foreigners use taxis, there is a possibility that they may develop into incidents such as rip-offs and robberies. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to include the reliability of taxis as a target of local information. If the content information 34 of the attribute information 33 indicating the reliability of a taxi is "no problem", the parameter value 35 is "4", if it is "average", the parameter value 35 is "3", if it is "beware of rip-offs", the parameter value 35 is "2", and if it is "dangerous for non-locals", the parameter value 35 is "1". This is based on the value that a problem-free reliability of a taxi is better for the user than a dangerous one.

In this way, the parameter value 35 is set to a high value for content information 34 that generally indicates a good state for the user, and is set to a low value for content information 34 that indicates a bad state. Note that the values shown as examples are not fixed, and the user's perspective on what is good and bad can be changed as appropriate.

The content information 34 and parameter values 35 are set based on word-of-mouth information, questionnaire information, etc. from users. Therefore, if the user's evaluation changes, the content information 34 and parameter values of the local information also change. The content information 34 and parameter values 35 may be updated periodically by the administrator of the server 2, or a system may be established that automatically tallys up the word-of-mouth information entered by each user, so that the content information 34 and parameter values 35 are updated automatically each time the server 2 tallys up the word-of-mouth information.

The control unit 22 includes an acquisition unit 221, an extraction unit 222, a determination unit 223, and a generation unit 224. Each functional unit included in the control unit 22 is realized by the control unit 22 executing various control programs stored in the server storage unit 23. The acquisition unit 221 has a function of acquiring a query received by the server communication unit 21. The query includes first area information and second area information.

The extraction unit 222 has a function of extracting first local information associated with the first area information and second local information associated with the second area information from the local information database 24.

The determination unit 223 has a function of calculating the difference between the parameter values included in the first local information and the second local information, and determining the gap attribute information 42 indicating the attribute of either "positive", "negative", or "equality" based on whether the difference is positive or negative and whether the difference is zero.

The generation unit 224 has a function of generating gap information that associates the gap attribute information 42 determined by the determination unit 223 with the content information of the second local information corresponding to the gap attribute information.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of gap information generated based on the local information of Kobe City shown in Figure 5 and the local information of Bangkok City shown in Figure 6. The gap information is information that associates a gap ID 40, category information 32, attribute information 33, content information 34, difference 41, and gap attribute information 42.

The gap ID 40 is identification information that is assigned when the generation unit 224 generates the gap information. The content information 34 is the content information 34 included in the second local information of the second area to be compared. The difference 41 is the value obtained by subtracting the parameter value 35 of the first local information of the corresponding attribute information 33 from the parameter value 35 of the second local information.

Gap attribute information 42 is information that is uniquely determined based on whether difference 41 is positive or negative and whether the difference is 0. If difference 41 is, for example, -1, the sign is negative and gap attribute information 42 is determined to be "negative." If difference 41 is, for example, 2, the sign is positive and gap attribute information 42 is determined to be "positive." If difference 41 is 0, gap attribute information 42 is determined to be "equality."

For example, if the toilet attribute information 33 "cleanliness" of the first local information has content information 34 of "very clean" and a parameter value of "4," and the toilet attribute information 33 "cleanliness" of the second local information to be compared has content information 34 of "dirty" and a parameter value of "2," the difference is 2-4=-2. In this case, since the sign is negative, the determination unit 223 determines the gap attribute information 42 to be "negative."

The operation of the information presentation system 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 9 and 10. The symbol "S" used in the description of the operation means a step.

First, the operation of the communication terminal 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the reception unit 106 receives designation of the first area information, the second area information, the category, and the gap attribute based on the user's input operation (S1). Following the process of S1, the terminal control unit 101 generates a query including the first area information and the second area information, and the terminal communication unit 107 transmits the query to the server 2 (S2).

After the process of S2, the terminal communication unit 107 receives gap information from the server 2 as a response to the query (S3). After the process of S3, the terminal control unit 101 generates information indicating the gap attribute based on the received gap information and the specified category and gap attribute, and the presentation unit 105 presents this (S4). After the process of S4, the communication terminal 1 ends its operation.

The operation of the server 2 will now be described. As shown in FIG. 10, the server communication unit 21 receives a query, and the acquisition unit 221 acquires it (S11). Following the process of S11, the extraction unit 222 extracts, from the local information database 24, the first local information associated with the first area information included in the query, and the second local information associated with the second area information (S12).

After the process of S12, the determination unit 223 calculates the difference 41 between the first parameter value, which is the parameter value 35 associated with the first local information, and the second parameter value, which is the parameter value 35 associated with the second local information. The determination unit 223 determines the gap attribute information 42 based on whether the calculated difference 41 is positive or negative and whether the difference 41 is 0 (S13).

After processing of S13, the generation unit 224 generates gap information that associates the gap attribute information 42 determined by the determination unit 223 with the content information 34 of the second local information corresponding to the gap attribute information 42 (S14).

After the process of S14, the server communication unit 21 transmits the gap information generated by the generation unit 224 to the communication terminal 1 (S15). After the process of S15, the server 2 ends its operation.

Here, specific examples of information presented by the presentation unit 105 will be described with reference to Figs. 11 to 13. As shown in Fig. 11, when the user specifies the category as "toilet" and the gap attribute as "negative", the presentation unit 105 extracts and presents information in which the category information 32 is "toilet" and the gap attribute information 42 is "negative" based on the gap information.

The content of the information presented by the presentation unit 105 is generated by the terminal control unit 101 based on the content information 34. The content of the information presented by the presentation unit 105 is "Bangkok toilet negative gap information: There are paid and free toilets. Paid toilets have toilet paper. They are dirty."

The information presentation system 10 presents the negative gap information desired by the user, clearly indicating that it is negative, so that the user can read and utilize the presented information after understanding that it is negative gap information even before reading the presented information.

Note that because different users live in different areas, even if the second area information to be compared is the same, the gap information presented will vary as to whether it is a positive gap, a negative gap, or an equality gap depending on the specified first area. In other words, the presentation example shown in FIG. 11 is negative gap information for a user living in Kobe City, but may not be presented as a negative gap for residents of other areas. For example, for a resident living in an area that only has paid toilets, the existence of both paid and free toilets may be presented as a positive gap.

Also, as shown in FIG. 12, when the user specifies the category as "taxi" and the gap attribute as "all", the presentation unit 105 presents gap information about taxis in Bangkok based on the gap information. The content of the information presented by the presentation unit 105 is "Bangkok taxi gap information <Positive gap>: The minimum fare is between 1 dollar and 3 dollars. <Negative gap>: Be careful of rip-offs."

When the user specifies "all" as the gap attribute, the information presentation system 10 presents the gap information divided by gap attribute, so that the user can easily understand the advantages and disadvantages for the user.

Also, as shown in FIG. 13, when the user specifies "all" as the category and "equality" as the gap attribute, the presentation unit 105 presents equality gap information for all categories in Bangkok based on the gap information. The content of the information presented by the presentation unit 105 is "Equality gap information for Bangkok: Bus congestion is crowded. The minimum train fare is between 1 dollar and 3 dollars. Train congestion is crowded. Train delay is slightly delayed. Train cleanliness is clean."

When the user specifies "all" as the category, the information presentation system 10 presents gap information regarding all comparable categories common to the first and second areas. When the user specifies "equality" as the gap attribute, the presentation unit 105 presents content information 34 associated with the gap attribute "equality," so that the user can easily find services for the comparison area that are equivalent to those in the user's residential area.

Second Embodiment
Hereinafter, an information presentation system 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that descriptions of functional units having the same reference numerals as those in the information presentation system 10 according to the first embodiment will be omitted.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the following five points.
(1) The user registers information related to the user's attributes (hereinafter referred to as "user information") in advance in the server 2. The user information is information that associates a user ID with first area information that is the user's residential area. The server 2 includes a user information database 25 that stores multiple pieces of user information. When the registration of the user information is completed, the communication terminal 1 receives the user ID from the server 2 and stores it in the terminal storage unit 102.
(2) The server 2 identifies the first area information from the user information stored in the user information database 25 based on the user ID included in the query received from the communication terminal 1 .
(3) The second area information to be compared is specified by a map image displayed on the GUI screen of the communication terminal 1. The range of the map image is specified based on a user operation.
(4) Gap information is generated by comparing the first area information with POI (Point Of Interest) information included in the second area information.
(5) Information that clearly indicates gap attribute information based on gap information is superimposed on a map image of second area information designated by the user and presented as a part of POI information.

An example of a GUI screen used to present gap information according to the second embodiment is shown in FIG. 14. The GUI screen is provided with a map image of the second area information specified by the user, a drop-down menu for receiving specification of category information and gap attribute information, and a search button. The second area information can be specified using a known range specification display technique for map images.

For example, the user can specify the desired second area information by touching the touch panel display of the communication terminal 1 with his/her finger and moving the map image in the direction the finger traces, or by touching two fingers to the touch panel display and tracing the two fingers in different directions so as to spread apart to enlarge the map image, or vice versa, tracing the two fingers in a direction bringing them closer together to reduce the map image. Note that if the communication terminal 1 is equipped with an input device such as a mouse or a cross key controller, the user may specify the desired second area information using this input device.

When a user presses a search button while a desired map image is displayed on the touch panel display, the terminal control unit 101 generates a query including a user ID associated with the user information and second area information that specifies the range of the displayed map image, and controls transmission of the query to the server 2. The second area information is, for example, longitude and latitude information that specifies the range of the displayed map image.

The configuration of the server 2 according to the second embodiment is shown in FIG. 15. It differs from the server 2 according to the first embodiment in that it further includes a user information database 25, a POI information database 26, and an identification unit 225.

The user information database 25 has the function of storing multiple registered user information. The hardware of the user information database 25 is composed of a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk. The user information database 25 stores, updates, and deletes user information under the control of the control unit 22. User information is stored by the user himself/herself entering information into the communication terminal 1 that he/she owns. The entered user information is transmitted from the communication terminal 1 to the server 2 and stored in the user information database 25.

As shown in FIG. 16, the user information stored in the user information database 25 is composed of information about user attributes such as a user ID 50, area information 31, language 51, gender 52, and age group 53. The user ID 50 is identification information for identifying each piece of user information. The user ID 50 is assigned when the user information is stored.

Language 51 is information that identifies the language used by the user. Gender 52 is information that identifies the gender of the user. Generation 53 is information that identifies the generation including the age of the user. Note that user information is not limited to the above items, and any information related to the attributes of the user can be included as an item. Furthermore, user information may be composed of only user ID 50 and area information 31.

The POI information database 26 has the function of storing multiple pieces of POI information. POI information is information that associates various pieces of information that people are interested in as location information. For example, the name of a store located at that location, business hours, and information on the services offered may be associated. In addition, local information on customs, rules, standards, etc. unique to the area may be associated as part of the POI information. For example, it is also possible to associate category information 32 included in the local information with category information 32 associated with existing POI information.

The hardware of the POI information database 26 is composed of a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk. The POI information database 26 stores, updates, and deletes POI information under the control of the control unit 22. POI information may be stored based on an input operation by the server administrator to the server 2, or may be stored by inputting POI information generated by another device to the server 2.

The identification unit 225 is a functional unit included in the control unit 22. The query acquired by the acquisition unit 221 includes a user ID 50 as information for identifying the first area information. The identification unit 225 has a function of identifying the first area information associated with the user ID 50 from the user information database 25.

POI information will be described with reference to FIG. 17. As shown in FIG. 17, POI information is information that associates a POI ID 60, location information 61, category information 32, attribute information 33, content information 34, and parameter value 35.

The POI ID 60 is identification information that identifies the POI information. The location information 61 is information that specifies the location of a point, and is expressed, for example, by longitude and latitude. The category information 32, attribute information 33, content information 34, and parameter value 35 are the same as the local information described in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 18, the POI information may be information that associates a POI ID 60, location information 61, category information 32, and area information 31. This allows the attribute information 33, content information 34, and parameter value 35 of the local information identified from the area information 31 among the local information stored in the local information database 24 to be associated with the POI information.

Figure 19 is a diagram showing an example of gap information generated based on the local information of Kobe City shown in Figure 5 and the POI information shown in Figure 17 or Figure 18. The gap information includes a gap ID 40, a POI ID 60, location information 61, category information 32, attribute information 33, content information 34, a difference 41, and gap attribute information 42.

The operation of the information presentation system 10 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 20 and 21. First, the operation of the communication terminal 1 will be described. As shown in Fig. 20, the reception unit 106 receives the designation of the second area, category, and gap attribute based on the user's input operation (S21).

Following the processing of S21, the terminal control unit 101 generates a query including the user ID 50 and the second area information, and the terminal communication unit 107 transmits the query to the server 2 (S22).

After the process of S22, the terminal communication unit 107 receives gap information from the server 2 as a response to the query (S23). After the process of S23, the terminal control unit 101 generates information indicating the gap attributes based on the received gap information and the specified category and gap attributes, and the presentation unit 105 presents this by superimposing it on the map image (S24). After the process of S24, the communication terminal 1 ends its operation.

The operation of the server 2 will now be described. As shown in FIG. 21, the server communication unit 21 receives a query, and the acquisition unit 221 acquires it (S31). Following the process of S31, the control unit 22 identifies, based on the user ID included in the query, first area information included in the user information associated with the user ID from the user information database 25 (S32). Following the process of S32, the extraction unit 222 extracts first local information associated with the first area information (S33).

Following the processing of S33, the extraction unit 222 extracts POI information contained in the second area from the POI information database 26 (S34).

After the process of S34, the determination unit 223 calculates the difference 41 between the parameter value 35 included in the first local information and the POI information. The determination unit 223 determines the gap attribute information 42 based on whether the calculated difference 41 is positive or negative and on the fact that the difference 41 is 0 (S35).

After processing of S35, the generation unit 224 generates gap information including the gap attribute information 42 determined by the determination unit 223 and the content information 34 of the POI information corresponding to the gap attribute information 42 (S36).

After the process of S36, the server communication unit 21 transmits the gap information generated by the generation unit 224 to the communication terminal 1 (S37). After the process of S37, the server 2 ends its operation.

Here, specific examples of information presented by the presentation unit 105 will be described with reference to Figs. 22 to 24. As shown in Fig. 22, when the user specifies the category as "toilet" and the gap attribute as "negative", the presentation unit 105 extracts and presents information in which the category information 32 is "toilet" and the gap attribute information 42 is "negative" based on the gap information.

The content of the information presented by the presentation unit 105 is generated by the terminal control unit 101 based on the content information 34. The presentation unit 105 displays a speech bubble displaying "Paid toilet" at the location of the paid toilet on the map image, and a speech bubble displaying "Very dirty, no paper" at the location of the public toilet on the map image, superimposed on each other. The speech bubble displays a background color indicating that it is a negative gap. The word "Negative" may be displayed in text within the speech bubble.

The information presentation system 10 according to the second embodiment presents the negative gap information desired by the user by superimposing it on a map image and clearly indicating that it is negative, so that the user can utilize the presented information after understanding that it is a negative gap even before reading the presented information.

For example, when gap information is presented as shown in FIG. 22, even if there is a public toilet near the user, the user can decide to go to a paid toilet.

Also, as shown in FIG. 23, when the user specifies the category as "toilet" and the gap attribute as "positive", the presentation unit 105 presents that there is no corresponding toilet based on the gap information. In other words, the user can see that there is no toilet that is positive for the user within the range shown in the map image.

Also, as shown in FIG. 24, when the user specifies the category as "toilet" and the gap attribute as "equality," the presentation unit 105 presents toilets with attributes equivalent to those of the first area based on the gap information. In other words, toilets with attributes equivalent to the user are presented, so the user can easily find a toilet without a gap.

The first and second embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the functional configuration and processing of the above information presentation system are not limited to the first or second embodiment.

For example, by including category information and gap attribute information in the query, the gap information generated by the server 2 may be narrowed down to the category information and gap attribute information and transmitted to the communication terminal 1. This is effective when the amount of data in the gap information is large.

The information presentation system 10 may be realized by a single computer having the functional units of the communication terminal 1 and the server 2, without using the network 3, or may be realized by a group of multiple computers connected by a dedicated communication line.

The present invention can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the spirit of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriate combinations of the multiple components disclosed in the above embodiments.

The present invention may, for example, be a combination of all the components shown in the embodiments, or a combination of additional components. For example, in the first embodiment, the first area information is specified by the specification input by the user to the reception unit 106, but the present invention also includes an information presentation system 10 in which the user does not need to specify the first area information by registering user information in the user information database 25 in advance, as in the second embodiment.

Needless to say, various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The present invention can be applied to an information presentation system that presents information about gaps in local information.

Reference Signs List 1 Communication terminal 2 Server 3 Network 10 Information presentation system 21 Server communication unit 22 Control unit 23 Server storage unit 24 Local information database 25 User information database 26 POI information database 31 Area information 32 Category information 33 Attribute information 34 Content information 35 Parameter value 40 Gap ID
41 Difference 42 Gap attribute information 50 User ID
51 Language 52 Gender 53 Age 101 Terminal control unit 102 Terminal storage unit 103 Display unit 104 Audio output unit 105 Presentation unit 106 Reception unit 107 Terminal communication unit

Claims (5)

A local information database for storing a plurality of pieces of local information;
the local information is information that associates area information that identifies a predetermined area, category information that identifies a predetermined category, attribute information that identifies an attribute of the category, content information that indicates the content of the attribute, and a parameter value that indicates a characteristic of the content information;
an acquisition unit that acquires a query that identifies first area information that identifies a first area including a location where a user resides and second area information that identifies a second area to be compared;
an extracting unit that extracts, from the local information database based on the query, first local information that is the local information associated with the first area information and second local information that is the local information associated with the second area information;
a determination unit that calculates a difference between a first parameter value, which is the parameter value associated with the first local information, and a second parameter value, which is the parameter value associated with the second local information, and determines gap attribute information indicating whether the information is good or bad for the user based on whether the difference is positive or negative;
a generating unit that generates gap information that associates the second local information with the gap attribute information;
a presentation unit that presents information indicating the gap attribute information based on the gap information as a response to the query.
Information presentation system. A local information database for storing a plurality of pieces of local information;
the local information is information that associates area information that identifies a predetermined area, category information that identifies a predetermined category, attribute information that identifies an attribute of the category, content information that indicates the content of the attribute, and a parameter value that indicates a characteristic of the content information;
a POI information database for storing a plurality of pieces of POI information relating to points;
the POI information is information that associates the location information of the point, the category information, the attribute information, the content information, and the parameter value;
An acquisition unit that acquires a query that identifies first area information, which is the area information that identifies a first area including a location where a user resides, and second area information that indicates a comparison target area;
an extraction unit that extracts, based on the query, from the local information database, first local information that corresponds to the first area information, and extracts, from the POI information database, the POI information that corresponds to the location information and is included in the comparison area indicated by the second area information;
a determination unit that calculates a difference between a first parameter value, which is the parameter value associated with the first local information, and a second parameter value, which is the parameter value associated with the POI information, and determines gap attribute information indicating whether the information is good or bad for the user based on the positive or negative value of the difference;
a generating unit that generates gap information that associates the POI information with the gap attribute information;
a presentation unit that presents, as a response to the query, information clearly indicating the gap attribute information by superimposing it on the point on a map image indicated by the position information associated with the POI information based on the gap information.
Information presentation system. The information presentation system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination unit further determines the gap attribute information indicating that the information has no gap for the user when the difference is 0. a user information database that stores a user ID for identifying the user and the first area information in association with each other;
The query includes the user ID as information for identifying the first area information, and the device further includes an identifying unit that identifies the first area information associated with the user ID from the user information database based on the query.
The information presentation system according to claim 3 . The second area information is information that identifies an area indicated by the map image presented by the presentation unit.
The information presentation system according to claim 2 .