JPH09135826A - Judgement method for concentration degree, eye fatigue judgement method and control method for difficulty - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a concentration judgement method allowing an easy measurement and ensuring freedom from constrained feeling. SOLUTION: The value of [1-(L1 /L]×100 is calculated from a distance relationship between a follow-up point P to be traced and a current trace point P1, and a factor α is obtained, depending on the range of a distance L2 . Then, the expression is multiplied by the value of α. As a result, a concentration degree is given by the equation, [1-(L1 /L)]×100×α (provided that the value of α is larger than 0, but equal to or less than 1), and a tracer's concentration degree is judged by use of a value obtainable from the equation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a concentration degree determining method for determining a concentration degree by tracing work, an eye fatigue degree determining method for determining presence / absence of eye abnormality by a blink of a subject, and a player's biometric information. The present invention relates to a difficulty level control method for controlling a play difficulty level.

[0002]

[Prior art]

<Prior Art 1> The following is a concentration degree determination method for determining the concentration degree of a player who plays a game. Detecting the alpha wave of the brain wave and obtaining the power value of the alpha wave Observing the Fmθ wave of the brain wave <Prior Art 2> Conventionally, excessive blinking of a video game or the like reduces the blinking of the child, resulting in deterioration of the eyesight An eye disorder that presents with symptoms such as dry eye is a problem. <Prior Art 3> For example, as a conventional method for controlling the difficulty level of a game machine, a game player himself / herself selects a desired level from several levels before starting the game, or according to a game result. There is something that can be advanced to the next stage only after clearing the situation.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

<Problem 1> In the conventional technique 1 described above, in all of the conventional concentration determination methods, it is necessary to detect an electroencephalogram that is particularly complicated to measure even in physiological information, which gives a feeling of restraint to the subject. There's a problem. Furthermore, the method requires a relatively large-scale arithmetic device to calculate the power value of the α-wave, and the method also has a problem that a skilled specialist is required to read the brain wave. There is also a problem that physiological quantities such as brain waves do not necessarily reflect feelings such as emotions. <Problem 2> In the above-mentioned conventional technique 2, with respect to symptoms such as a decrease in visual acuity and dry eye, a guide is provided so as to take a rest for several minutes after playing a game continuously for a certain period of time. Whether or not the game is executed according to the guide is up to the recognition of the game player himself. However,
Especially for children, self-management is difficult, so the reality is that they are not protected according to the guide. Also, for example, in a game that requires reflexes, you have to gaze at the screen, but in a game that requires thinking power, this is not so much.
As described above, the occurrence of blinks varies depending on the type of game, and there is a problem that it is not appropriate to simply provide a certain rest depending on the play time. <Problem 3> In Conventional Technique 3 described above, the conventional difficulty level control method for a game machine has a problem that the difficulty level cannot be changed in the middle of the game even if the game content is too easy or too difficult for the player. There is a problem that it is not possible to develop from a situation of a certain situation to the previous stage depending on the mastery of the skill.

Therefore, the present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned conventional problems <problems 1 to 3>, and the first object thereof is to make measurement easy in view of the problem 1. An object of the present invention is to provide a concentration degree determination method that does not give a sense of restraint. In view of the problem 2, a second object of the present invention is to provide an eye fatigue degree determination method capable of effectively preventing an eye disorder of a player.

In view of the problem 3, a third object of the present invention is to provide a difficulty level control method capable of appropriately controlling the difficulty level of the play according to the player's play skill.

[0006]

In order to achieve the first object, the method of determining the degree of concentration according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises:
Trace the reference symbol according to a predetermined rule, compare the traced symbol (trace symbol) with the reference symbol,
It is characterized in that the deviation of the trace of the trace symbol with respect to the reference symbol is obtained, and the degree of concentration of the tracing operator is determined according to the deviation amount.

According to this method of determining the degree of concentration, physiological measurement of brain waves or the like is not required, so that the subject is not restricted and
Concentration can be easily measured. In order to achieve the second object, the eye fatigue level determination method according to claim 2 of the present invention detects a blink of a subject, and the detected change pattern of the blink is blinked in a normal state. It is characterized in that the presence / absence of eye abnormality according to the subject is judged based on the comparison result.

According to this eye fatigue determination method, the presence or absence of abnormality in the eye of the subject is determined by the blink of the subject.
It is possible to accurately determine the eye abnormality having a large individual difference according to the individual and prevent the eye abnormality of each person. Further, by performing the abnormality determination for each type of game (claim 3), the abnormality determination is performed according to the type of game (reflexes game, thinking game, etc.) The abnormality of can be determined more accurately.

In order to achieve the third object, a difficulty control method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention detects a skin impedance level from a potential signal of a living body of a player, and at the same time, a variation pattern of the skin impedance is detected. Calculate,
It is characterized in that the emotional change of the player is determined from the obtained variation pattern of the skin impedance, and the difficulty level of the play is controlled based on the emotional change.

According to this difficulty level control method, the difficulty level of the play is controlled according to the emotion of the player, that is, the difficulty level of the play is automatically increased / decreased according to the mastery of the player. It is possible to present a play development with a lot of interest depending on the physiological condition from time to time.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on embodiments. First, an embodiment of the concentration degree determination method according to claim 1 will be described. This concentration determination method is
First, a subject is made to trace a predetermined reference symbol according to a predetermined rule. There are various methods for this tracing work. FIG. 1 shows an example of this, and shows a tracing operation according to a mirror image drawing. That is, it shows a result (trajectory) obtained by tracing a previously presented figure (here, a star) as a reference symbol in a state opposite to the normal state and the left and right states. A mouse, a trackball, a joystick, or the like is used as a means for performing the tracing work. As can be seen from FIG. 1, in the normal state, the trace can be traced with a trace substantially similar to the presented figure, but in the case of the left-right reversed state, the deviation of the trace locus with respect to the presented figure is considerably. It is longer and the time required for tracing is longer than in the normal state.

The difficulty of the tracing work is, for example, Low in the normal state, Medium in the upside-down state, and High in the upside-down state or the left-right state, and these settings can be changed appropriately, and the presented figure is complicated. Or by rotating the figure arbitrarily, the left and right or upper and lower straight line portions can be made oblique. In this way, the traced result (trajectory) is compared with the reference figure, the deviation of the trace of the trace figure with respect to the reference figure is found, and the degree of concentration of the tracing operator is determined according to the deviation amount. There are the following methods for evaluating the degree.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the degree of concentration in the initial state at the point before the trace of the figure is started (the distance between the figure and the figure is minimum) is 100. Virtual figures of similar shapes are shown by broken lines inside and outside the reference figure to be traced, and the degree of concentration is set to 0 when the area surrounded by the broken line figures inside and outside is exceeded. Then, the amount of deviation (distance) between the figure traced by the worker and the reference figure
Then, the degree of concentration at the current trace point is calculated every moment in the range of the degree of concentration 0 to 100.

However, only by calculating the degree of concentration from the amount of deviation between the trace figure and the reference figure, there is no element related to the tracing work time, and it is impossible to distinguish between slow and careful tracing and the degree of concentration. Therefore, it is preferable that, for example, the color of the line of the displayed reference figure be changed in order and the tracing work be performed so as to follow the change in the color. That is, in FIG. 3A, the tip P of the thick line is the tip of the color change (point to be followed), and tracing is performed so as to follow this point P. However,
The actual trace point P ₁ is deviated from the follow-up point P. The difficulty level can also be changed by changing the speed of color change.

In this case, the follow-up point P and the trace point P ₁
Also, the difference in the distance between the trace figure and the reference figure is detected, and the coefficient α (0
Multiply by <α ≦ 1) and display it as the degree of concentration. From the above, the specific degree of concentration is calculated as follows. In FIG. 3B, the following equation (1) is calculated from the distance L ₁ between the trace point P ₁ and the line (thick line) of the reference figure.

{1- (L ₁ / L)} × 100 (1) Further, the distance from the intersection of the perpendicular line from the trace point P ₁ and the thick line to the follow point P By obtaining the coefficient α according to the extent of the range of L ₂ and multiplying the coefficient α by the above equation (1), the degree of concentration is given by the following equation (2). Concentration degree = {1- (L ₁ / L)} × 100 × α (2) (0 <α ≦ 1) Changes in concentration degree calculated at regular intervals at the time when the trace work is completed , Average value, variation (standard deviation), coefficient of variation, maximum / minimum value, etc. are further calculated and output as the final result.

According to this output result, not only can the average value of the degree of concentration during the entire tracing work and the variation of the degree of concentration over time be known, but also the goal is to reduce the variation and variation coefficient. In other words, it is also effective as training to train the degree of concentration by setting concrete numerical targets. It is also possible to classify the physiological state of the tracing operator based on various output results and evaluate the behavioral characteristics. In other words, by not only simply comparing the values of the degree of concentration but also by knowing the variation pattern as described above, whether the degree of concentration is relatively maintained even if the average degree of concentration is the same. It is also possible to see whether or not the concentration level has been repeated periodically.

[0018] For example, the distance between the trace point P and the reference figure (L _1), when considering the relationship between the distance between the tracking point P trace point P ₁ (L _2), physiological state as shown in FIG. 4 Or, the personality trait can be estimated. Even in each of the personality ranges shown in FIG. 4, it can be determined that the tendency becomes stronger as it approaches the origin or as it gets further away. Moreover, the setting condition of the range of the personality characteristics naturally changes depending on the work target person and the work difficulty level, but this condition is accumulated while collecting data of many workers by age, gender, and difficulty level. , It can be determined from the degree of concentration calculated from the average value and the variation.

Although the above is a description of tracing a figure, it may be applied not only to a figure but also to tracing of a maze or the like, and the tracing operation itself may be applied to a game in which a maze is targeted. . That is, if the center line is presented in advance in the displayed maze and the center line is traced, the concentration level is set to 0 when the lines on both sides of the center line are crossed, as in the above-mentioned example. The upper part should be regarded as 100. In addition,
When the tracing operator's intention and the tracing state such as left-right reversal, upside-down reversal, rotation, etc. are changed, it can be arbitrarily performed without any problem if it is presented on the screen.

In the case where the color of the center line in the maze is changed to follow the operator as in the previous example, a simple and simple maze does not cause much problem, but a complicated maze guides the path. It loses its interest as a game. In that case, due to the length of the working time, the coefficient β (0 <β ≦ 1) corresponding to the difference with the working time calculated based on the results of the work performed by many workers is multiplied to obtain the degree of concentration. Good.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a concrete apparatus for calculating the degree of concentration as described above. This device includes a work presenting unit 1 for presenting a reference symbol such as a graphic to be traced on a screen, an operator operating unit 2 for a tracing operator to trace with a mouse, a trackball, etc., and a tracing state of a presented graphic. A work control unit 3 for changing the color to reverse, upside down, rotation, etc., and a work result calculating unit 4 for calculating the amount of deviation between the trace graphic and the reference graphic.
And a result determination and evaluation unit 5 that determines the degree of concentration, character, etc. from the calculated work results, and an evaluation result storage unit that accumulates the results that have been determined, for example, at regular time intervals and evaluates the whole from the accumulated results. 6 and 6. Further, the work control unit 3 is controlled based on the result of the evaluation result storage unit 6.

Next, an embodiment of the eye fatigue level determining method according to claim 2 will be described. This eye fatigue determination method detects the blink of the subject, compares the detected change pattern of the blink with the change pattern of the blink in the normal state, and based on the comparison result, the eye corresponding to the subject. The presence or absence of abnormality is determined. Therefore, the nictation sensor that detects the nictation is important, and an example of the nictation measurement unit is shown in a block diagram of FIG.

The blink measuring section 10 in FIG. 6 includes a sensor section (electrode) 11 attached to the skin and an EOG (electro-oculograph).
m: electrooculogram) detection amplifier 12, an eye blink detection unit 13 that detects an eye blink from the obtained signal, and a detected eye blink change pattern is compared with an eye blink change pattern in a normal state. ,
It comprises a blink pattern determination unit 14 that determines the presence / absence of an eye abnormality according to the subject based on the comparison result, and an output / warning unit 15 that outputs / warns the eye abnormality pattern determination unit 14 when the eye abnormality is determined. Further, the signal transmitted from the blink measuring section 10 is received by the CPU 21 of the game machine, taken in, and displayed on the presentation section 22 such as a display.

As shown in FIG. 7, the blink measuring section 10 includes a band 31 wound around the head of the subject M, and the band 31.
Attached to the body 32, an electrode for blink measurement (not shown) arranged on the forehead contact portion of the band 31, an electrode 33 for blink measurement to be worn on the earlobe, and a forehead of the band 31. Electrode 34 for measuring skin impedance arranged at the contact portion
And The main body 32 is the blink pattern determination unit 1 described above.
4 and the output / warning unit 15 and the like, and also serves as a transmitter for transmitting to the CPU 21 of the game machine.

FIG. 8 shows an algorithm for detecting the blink and calculating the interval between the blinks in such a device. In step (hereinafter abbreviated as ST) 11, the potential signal (EOG waveform) obtained from the living body (forehead) is differentiated (ST12), the waveform is sliced (ST13), and the blink interval is calculated ( ST14). By the way, the nictation measured by the nictation measuring unit 10 also changes depending on the type of game. FIG.
Changes the blink rate during five types of games at rest (Rest), the difficulty level of the game (Low: Low, Medium: Medium,
High: High). During the game, the blink rate is greatly reduced compared to at rest. However,
Depending on the type of game and the level of difficulty (for example, Δ), the blink rate may not be reduced so much. This is because depending on the game, for example, in a game that requires thinking power, it is not necessary to pay close attention to the screen. Therefore,
It is not appropriate to simply set the rest based on the playing time of the game.

FIG. 10A shows the distribution of the logarithmic conversion value of the blinking time interval at rest, but in the normal case, the distribution is close to the normal distribution. On the other hand, during game play, the distribution of (a) moves to the right as a whole at the same time as the frequency itself decreases because of the decrease in blinking. Furthermore, when the eyes are tired by continuing the game, clustered blinks in which many blinks with a short time interval between blinks occur frequently occur. At this time, the number of blinks slightly increases, but the distribution pattern becomes bimodal as shown in FIG. In (b), the distribution A ₁ is the result of the eyes becoming tired and the clustered blinks occur, and the distribution A ₂ shows that the blinks are suppressed by watching the game screen and the blinks with long time intervals are displayed. This is the result.

The number of blinks varies greatly among individuals,
It is generally said that the average value is about 20 times per minute, but some people have several times / minute, and some people have 60 to 100 times / minute. When the number of blinks decreases and it is not preferable for the eyes to continue the game any longer, the output warning unit 1
Although the warning is given by 5, the warning method is as follows.
First, before starting the game, be careful not to close your eyes and keep your eyes closed for a few minutes.
Thereby, the blink occurrence characteristic of the individual in a resting state can be known.

If the blink rate is a / minute and the distribution is a normal distribution, the blink rate will decrease after the game starts as described above, but the degree of decrease will differ depending on the type of game. FIG.
Indicates the blink rate at rest and the blink rate during the game, and the degree of decrease in the blink rate varies depending on the type of game. The game showing the blink rate a / x ₁ has a low degree of blink suppression, the game showing a / x ₂ has a medium degree of blink inhibition, and the game showing a / x ₃ shows the blink rate. High degree of eye suppression.

Here, the index I indicating the degree of suppression of blinking is as follows: 1 <x <4/3: I _Low ( _low suppression) 4/3 ≦ x <2: I _Medium (suppression) In the case of x ≧ 2: I _High (the degree of suppression is high). However, since the blink rate a varies considerably among individuals, for example, 100 times / minute → 50 times / minute, 10 times / minute → 5.
When there are two persons per turn / minute, the number of blinks in the former person tends to decrease, so x is multiplied by the correction coefficient α depending on the range of the blink rate a. The result of multiplication by this correction coefficient α is shown in FIG.

As a timing for actually issuing a warning, for example, by monitoring the blink suppression degree every minute, Low (1 point), Me
It may be set to dium (2 points) and High (3 points), and may be performed when the cumulative score exceeds a certain value. Alternatively, instead of using such a simple scale as a reference, the blink rate for each minute is calculated, and the value obtained by multiplying the blink rate by the elapsed time is compared with the blink rate at rest × elapsed time, for example, It may be performed at the time when it becomes 20% or less.

However, as described above, as the game play time becomes longer, the number of blinks may increase slightly, but when considered in combination with the blink occurrence pattern, the distribution tends to approach that at rest. In the case of, no warning is required, but if the clustered blinks are increasing (when the bimodal distribution tends to be clear), eye fatigue is reflected, so a stronger warning should be given. To do. Depending on the frequency and strength of the warning, the game is temporarily stopped or ended to finally protect the eyes of the game player.

Next, an embodiment of the difficulty control method according to claim 4 will be described. In this difficulty control method, the skin impedance level is first detected from the potential signal of the player's living body, but the skin impedance has a direct current component (SIL) and an alternating current component (SIR) as shown in FIG. FIG. 13 shows changes in the skin impedance of the palm portion. According to this, the SIL level is high and the SIR waveform is not recognized before, for example, a game is started as a play. When the game starts, the SIL decreases and the SIR appears. When you finish the game, SI
L rises again and SIR disappears.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged SIR waveform.
When the amplitude and peak latency of each waveform or the appearance frequency of SIR are examined in detail as an evaluation index, when the difficulty level of the game increases, the appearance frequency and amplitude of SIR increase, and the peak latency tends to shorten. is there. After detecting the skin impedance, the variation pattern of the skin impedance is calculated, and the emotional change of the game player is determined from the obtained variation pattern of the skin impedance. The emotion determination is performed as follows.

In the normal case, if the difficulty level of the game is appropriate for the player, the skin impedance change of the palm is as shown in FIG. However, when the game level is too high or the opponent is too strong, the SIL remains relatively low as shown in FIG. 15 (a), while the SIR appears. Frequency and amplitude increase and peak latency decreases. This reaction continues as long as the player stays focused and strives to continue the game or is in a panic. However, when the concentration is interrupted and the person gives up, SIR
, And the SIL also tends to increase slightly.

On the other hand, if the game level is too low,
In the case where the opponent is too weak, as shown in FIG. 15B, the above reaction continues while the player maintains the concentration, but the concentration is interrupted, and the user gets tired or bored. When it comes to the state of being activated, SIL rises and the frequency of appearance of SIR decreases. The states shown in (a) and (b) of FIG.
Although they look the same in terms of phenomena, at least the concentration is high in the initial state (immediately after the start of the game).
R has appeared. After this initial state, FIG.
In the case of, the SIL increased and the SIR appearance decreased as the next stage after further reduction of SIL, further increase of SIR appearance, increase of SIR amplitude, and shortening of peak latency. In case of (b), increase in SIL and SIR
The decrease in appearance gradually manifests itself.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of an apparatus for implementing this difficulty level control method. This device determines the degree of concentration and excitement from the measurement results of skin impedance,
The difficulty level of the game machine is controlled based on the determination result. This apparatus includes a sensor unit (electrode) 41 attached to the skin, a skin impedance calculation unit 42 that calculates SIL and SIR from a potential difference between the sensors, and a calculated S
It is composed of a concentration / excitement determination unit 43 that determines the concentration / excitement from IL and SIR, and an energization controller 44 that controls the current applied to the skin. Further, the SIL and SIR signals are transferred to the CPU 51 of the game machine, the concentration level / excitement level is also determined there, and the game presenting section 52 controls / presents the difficulty level of the game based on the determination result. It is also possible.

In this device, the sensor section 41 has a plurality of (here, three) sensors for energizing the skin,
The sensor uses a slightly convex circular stainless steel electrode so that the sensor can be used repeatedly and easily and has good adhesion to the skin. Various forms of the sensor unit having these three stainless steel electrodes are shown in FIGS. A sensor unit 60A shown in FIG. 17 is applied to a glove 61, and a belt 62 having breathability and elasticity is provided on the glove 61, a main body 63 is attached to the belt 62, and a wrist portion inside the glove 61 is provided. Two electrodes 64a and 64b are
One electrode 64c is attached to the finger (thumb) portion. The belt 62 is a hook-and-loop fastener type, and can be easily worn by anyone regardless of the arm thickness of the game player. When the player fits this glove 61, the three electrodes 64a, 64b, 64c will naturally come into contact with a predetermined part of the skin.

The sensor portion 60B of FIG. 18 is similar to the case of FIG. 17 in that it has a belt 62 to which a main body 63 is attached, but one electrode is a ring type electrode 65. or,
Although not shown, the remaining two electrodes are provided inside the belt 62 so as to contact the wrist. The ring-shaped electrode 65 does not necessarily need to be attached to the thumb, and may be attached to another finger.

Sensor portions 60A and 60B shown in FIGS. 17 and 18
Are examples of measurement using the palm of a part where the most stable measurement output is obtained, but other measurable parts include a foot, a forehead, and the like. FIG. 19 shows an example in which the foot is the measurement site. In this sensor unit 60C, a belt 62 with a body 63 is attached around the ankle, and another belt 66 provided with three electrodes 64 is attached around the arch. It is like this. FIG. 20 shows an example in which the forehead is used as the measurement site. In this sensor unit 60D, the belt 62 is attached with the main body 63 and the three electrodes 64, and by attaching the belt 62 to the forehead, the three electrodes 64 are attached.
Touches the forehead. However, one of the three electrodes 64 is attached to the back side of the main body 63. Also in these sensor units 60C and 60D, the belts 62 and 66 are of a surface fastener type so that they can be easily worn regardless of the size of the foot or the forehead. Note that the sensor unit 60C in FIG.
The present invention may be applied to socks so that it can be worn by wearing socks, or the sensor unit 60D in FIG. 20 may be a hat type and can be worn by wearing a hat.

The skin impedance is measured by mounting such a sensor unit on the body and energizing the skin through the electrodes. The measurement principle will be described with reference to FIG. The skin impedance Z is calculated as Z = | Z | ε ＾ (− j
θ) (however, − (− jθ) represents a power exponent). O
Generate a sine wave of √2 A · sin ωt at SC,
into a constant current of √2 I _O · sinωt at nt driver. This constant current is applied to the skin through the electrodes. Measurement potential V detected by the differential amplifier using the electrodes as potential electrodes
_S is, V _S = √2 | Z | a _{I O · sin (ωt-θ} ). When this output signal and the oscillation signal from the OSC are mixed by a multiplier (Mixer), the output is as follows. _{V S · √2 A · sinωt =} √2 | Z | I O · sin (ωt-θ) · √2 A · sinωt = 2 | Z | AI O · sinωt · sin (ωt-θ) = 2 | Z | _{AI O · sinωt · (sinωt ·} cosθ-cosωt · sinθ) = 2 | Z | AI O (sinωt 2 · cosθ-sinωt · cosωt · sinθ) = 2 | Z | AI O {cosθ · 1/2 · (1- cos2ωt) −1 / 2 · sin2ωt · sinθ｝ = | Z | AI _O ｛cosθ · (1−cos2ωt) −sin2ωt · sinθ｝ = | Z | AI _O ｛cosθ− (cosθ · cos2ωt + sin2ωt · sinθ) ＝ = | Z │AI _O ｛cosθ-cos (2ωt-θ)｝ Therefore, cos (2ωt-
Removal of the high-frequency component of the theta), the DC component of skin impedance variations which is the output (SIL) is, SIL = AI _O | was cosθ, and the energization current I _O and the oscillation signal amplitude A from the OSC coefficient | Z The real number (pure resistance) of the skin impedance Z is determined. Further, a high-pass filter (HPF) is used to change the fluctuation component (SI
R), SIR = ΔAI _O | Z | cos θ

However, in an actual device, the multiplier, L
The PF and HPF are performed by digital calculation in the CPU, and a 20 Hz sine wave is generated and controlled by the CPU. The skin impedance calculation unit 42 detects the potential difference output from the sensor unit 41 by the analog differential amplifier and A / D converts it according to the above-mentioned measurement principle, and then imports it into the CPU, performs multiplication processing and LPF processing inside the CPU, and SIL. Get the value. or,
The SIR waveform is extracted from the SIL waveform by HPF.
Furthermore, the SIR impulse-like waveform is identified by peak extraction, and the SIR impulse appearance frequency is obtained.

FIG. 22 shows changes in skin impedance in the game player after a rest. The section immediately after the start of the game is in the initial state and is considered to have a high degree of concentration. Consciousness and excitement are further increased in the subsequent sections (increase in SIR), but increase in SIL and SI in the section.
The degree of concentration is decreasing due to a decrease in R frequency. This is because I got used to the game. If you increase the difficulty level at the end of the section (marked with *), the concentration level will increase again in the section (decreasing SIL, frequent SIR), and that state will be maintained for a while, but will gradually decrease (SIL increase). , S
IR decrease).

The overall tendency is that the above patterns are repeated, and in FIG. 22, the degree of difficulty is increased by the mark *. However, it can be seen that in the section, the appearance pattern of the SIR changes, that is, the SIR frequency decreases and variation in the appearance interval increases, and the concentration decreases. In this case, the difficulty level has increased too much, and as a result, the motivation has been impaired. Therefore, if the difficulty level is lowered (marked with a star), the degree of concentration will increase again. This is because the difficulty level was lowered according to the physiological condition at that time, and the motivation was generated again.

Until I finally get to rest, I maintain a certain level of concentration at that level, but the SIR frequency is generally lower than in the first half of the play, and my concentration level drops a little. There is. In other words, the difficulty level has decreased, and the necessary concentration has also decreased. For this reason, if players continue to play as they are, they may get tired and lose their motivation, and their concentration may be further reduced. It is considered necessary to increase the difficulty level if the game is continued.

To actually obtain the degree of concentration and the degree of excitement based on the skin impedance and control the difficulty level of the game according to the result, for example, the flow chart shown in FIG. 23 is used. The example of FIG. 23 is for changing the game speed. Immediately after starting the game, SIL and SIR of the skin impedance in the initial state are measured (ST21), and SIL and SI are measured.
The change in R is sequentially measured (ST22). So SIL
If there is no change between SIR and SIR, it is treated as no change (ST
24), if there is a change (ST23 or ST25), S
If IL is rising and SIR frequency is decreasing, that is, S
If YES in T23, it is determined that the level of the game is too easy (ST26), the interrupt process is performed by the timer,
Speed up the game (ST27) and return to ST21. On the other hand, if the SIL is decreasing and the SIR frequency is increasing, that is, if the answer is YES in ST25, it is determined that the game level is too difficult (ST28), the interrupt process is performed by the timer, and the game speed is reduced. (ST2
9) Return to ST21. In the case of NO in ST23 and 25, the process returns to ST21 and SIL and SIR from the initial state.
Measure the change in.

[0046]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. (1) In the concentration degree determining method according to the first aspect, since the concentration degree is determined by tracing the symbols, it has the following effects. Since it is not necessary to perform physiological measurements such as brain waves, it is possible to easily measure the degree of concentration without giving the subject a feeling of restraint. Since the degree of concentration is determined only from the performance, it can be used as a game itself. You can train your concentration through tracing. Depending on the performance classification, the behavioral characteristics at that time can be known. (2) In the eye fatigue level determination method according to the second aspect, the presence or absence of the eye abnormality is determined from the blink pattern, and therefore has the following effects. Blinks are detected and a warning is given according to the change pattern, so that objective evaluation is possible. Since it is not just a play time, it is possible to issue a warning according to the type of game. Although the blink pattern originally has a large individual difference, since it is evaluated after recognizing the characteristic peculiar to the person, it is possible to give a warning according to the player. If the warning method is incorporated in, for example, the CPU of a game machine, the game itself can be forcibly interrupted or terminated depending on the number and frequency of warnings, and the eyes of a player such as a child who is difficult to manage can be protected. By determining the presence or absence of abnormality for each type of game (claim 3), it is possible to prompt the player to manage the eyes more accurately depending on the game, such as a game that requires reflexes or a game that requires thinking. You can (3) In the difficulty level control method according to the fourth aspect, the difficulty level of play is controlled from the variation pattern of the skin impedance, and therefore the following effects are obtained. It is possible to detect emotional changes of the player who is playing (e.g., panic and giving up if it is too difficult, concentration at an appropriate level, and tiredness if too easy). You can present rich play development. Since the determination can be made only by measuring the skin impedance of the palm, the play control is simple and does not affect the player's play operation. The skin impedance response reflects emotional changes very quickly, so you can control the difficulty in near real time,
This is especially effective for games that require reflexes. In addition to the game as a play, it can be used, for example, in learning / education software to set the difficulty level according to the understanding level.

[Brief description of the drawings]

[Figure 1] When tracing a figure according to a mirror image
It is a figure which shows the trace result in a normal state and the trace result in a right-and-left reverse state.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of determining a degree of concentration based on a deviation amount between a reference figure and a trace figure.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view (a) showing a deviation between a reference figure and a trace point, and an enlarged view (b) showing a distance relationship between a trace point and a follow-up point to be traced.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where a personality characteristic is estimated from a deviation amount between a reference figure and a trace figure.

FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram showing an example of an apparatus for implementing the concentration degree determination method according to claim 1.

FIG. 6 is a configuration block diagram showing an example of an apparatus for carrying out the eye fatigue degree determination method according to claim 2;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which the device configured by the block diagram of FIG. 6 is attached to a subject.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing algorithms for blink detection and blink interval calculation.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing changes in blink rate during five types of games.

FIG. 10 is a diagram (a) showing a distribution of logarithmic conversion values of blinking time intervals at rest and a diagram (b) showing a distribution pattern of bimodal clustered blinks.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a blink rate with respect to a rest and a game type.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a result of multiplying an index I indicating a degree of blink suppression by a correction coefficient α based on a blink rate a.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing changes in skin impedance at the palm portion.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the SIR waveform of skin impedance.

[FIG. 15] SIL and SIR at the start / midway / end of the game
4A and 4B are views showing changes in the above.

FIG. 16 is a configuration block diagram showing an example of an apparatus for carrying out the difficulty control method according to claim 4;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the form of a sensor unit in the device configured by the block diagram of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another example of the form of the sensor unit in the same apparatus.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing still another example of the form of the sensor unit in the same apparatus.

FIG. 20 is a view showing still another example of the form of the sensor section in the same device.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the principle of calculating the DC component and AC component of skin impedance fluctuation in the same apparatus.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing changes in skin impedance during game play after rest.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the process of game difficulty control.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Minato Nakanishi 24, Yamanouchi Yamanoshitamachi, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City Omron Life Science Research Institute Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A reference symbol is traced according to a predetermined rule, a traced symbol (trace symbol) is compared with the reference symbol, a deviation of a trace symbol trace with respect to the reference symbol is obtained, and the deviation is determined according to the deviation amount. Concentration degree determination method characterized by determining the degree of concentration of a tracing operator. 2. A subject's nictation is detected, the detected nictation change pattern is compared with the nictation change pattern in a normal state, and the presence or absence of eye abnormality according to the subject is based on the comparison result. A method for determining the degree of eye fatigue, which comprises: 3. The eye fatigue degree determination method according to claim 2, wherein the presence or absence of the abnormality is determined for each type of game. 4. A skin impedance level is detected from an electric potential signal of a player's living body, a variation pattern of the skin impedance is calculated, and an emotional change of the player is judged from the obtained skin impedance variation pattern, and the emotion is changed. A difficulty level control method characterized by controlling the difficulty level of play based on a change.