WO2010023963A1

WO2010023963A1 - Avatar display method, avatar display device, and recording medium

Info

Publication number: WO2010023963A1
Application number: PCT/JP2009/004278
Authority: WO
Inventors: 千原晋平
Original assignee: 日本電気株式会社
Priority date: 2008-09-01
Filing date: 2009-09-01
Publication date: 2010-03-04
Also published as: JPWO2010023963A1; JP5310729B2

Abstract

An avatar display device (10) is a display device that displays an avatar, which is a character image that corresponds to a user, on a display device (21). The avatar display device (10) is equipped with a location acquisition part (100), which acquires position data for a user, and a user selection part (210), which selects a user for which an avatar is displayed on the display device (21) based on the positional relationship between the user and the display device (21).

Description

Avatar display method, avatar display device and storage medium

The present invention relates to an avatar display method, an avatar display device, and a storage medium.

Recently, a system for displaying information related to users existing around a display device on a large display device installed in a space has been studied.

The system under consideration can easily talk to an unfamiliar user by using information displayed on the display device as a clue even when a non-familiar user is next door.

In such a system, activation of communication between an unspecified number of users can be realized.

Therefore, an example of such a communication support system is proposed in Patent Document 1.

The communication support system described in Patent Document 1 is a system using a large display device such as a plasma display panel (PDP) or a liquid crystal panel.

In the system described in Patent Document 1, when a user who carries a terminal having a wireless function such as infrared rays exists within a range in which communication with the large display device is possible, individual users are displayed on the display device. The corresponding animated character (also called avatar) is displayed. Then, the user displayed on the display device has a conversation with another user via the animation character.

This conversation between animated characters is based on the user's interest and behavior history corresponding to each animated character.

Therefore, the users who are watching the conversation between the animated characters around the large display device can guess each other's information based on the content of the conversation, so even if they are unfamiliar, they can talk easily. .
JP 2001-195430 A

However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, when a large number of users are present at a distance that allows communication between the display device and the mobile terminals of individual users, avatars corresponding to all the users are displayed. It will be displayed on the device at the same time.

In such a case, the system described in Patent Document 1 does not consider any control related to avatar display.

Therefore, when the number of users in the vicinity of the display device increases, the number of avatars displayed on the display device increases, and the avatars are displayed overlapping each other or exceed the number of avatars that can be displayed on the display device. Therefore, there arises a problem that the display device cannot display.

Also, it can be considered that all avatars can be displayed by reducing all avatars and displaying them. However, in that case, there is a problem that all avatars are difficult to see.

In these systems, the positional relationship between the user and the display device is not considered for the selection of the avatar displayed at the top or the selection of the avatar displayed on the display device in the system described in Patent Document 1, It will occur.

For this reason, in the system described in Patent Document 1, even if the user is close to the display device, the user's avatar is not displayed on the display device. There has been a problem that an avatar is displayed and the like, and appropriate information cannot be presented to the user.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an avatar display method, an avatar display device, and a storage medium that can perform appropriate information presentation to a user. .

According to the present invention, an avatar display method in an avatar display device that displays an avatar that is a character image associated with a user on a display device,
A location information acquisition step of acquiring location information of the user;
A user selection step of selecting a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device based on a positional relationship between the user and the display device;
The avatar display method characterized by including this is provided.

According to the present invention, an avatar display device that displays an avatar, which is a character image associated with a user, on a display device,
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the user;
User selection means for selecting a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device based on the positional relationship between the user and the display device;
An avatar display device characterized by comprising:

According to the present invention, a storage medium for storing a program for causing an avatar display device to display an avatar, which is a character image associated with a user, on a display device,
A location information acquisition procedure for acquiring location information of the user;
A user selection procedure for selecting a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device based on a positional relationship between the user and the display device;
A storage medium is provided that stores a program for causing the avatar display device to execute the program.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an avatar display method, an avatar display device, and a storage medium that can appropriately present information to a user.

The above-described object and other objects, features, and advantages will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments described below and the accompanying drawings.
It is the conceptual diagram which showed notionally the structure of the avatar display device which concerns on this Embodiment. It is the schematic block diagram which showed schematic structure of the avatar display system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a structural example of the database memorize | stored in the user information storage part which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a structural example of the database memorize | stored in the display information storage part which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a structural example of the database memorize | stored in the avatar image memory | storage part which concerns on this Embodiment. It is the sequence diagram which showed the whole operation | movement of the avatar display system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the whole operation | movement of the position acquisition part in the avatar display system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the whole operation | movement of the display user determination part in the avatar display system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the whole operation | movement of the display position determination part in the avatar display system which concerns on this Embodiment. In the avatar display system which concerns on this Embodiment, it is explanatory drawing which showed an example in case an avatar image is displayed on a display apparatus. It is a structural example of the database memorize | stored in the display information storage part in the avatar display system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a structural example of the database memorize | stored in the avatar image memory | storage part in the avatar display system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is the sequence diagram which showed the whole operation | movement of the avatar display system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the whole operation | movement of the display user determination part in the avatar display system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a structural example of the database memorize | stored in the display information storage part in the avatar display system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is the sequence diagram which showed the whole operation | movement of the avatar display system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the whole operation | movement of the display user determination part in the avatar display system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the whole operation | movement of the display position determination part in the avatar display system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. In the avatar display system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment, it is explanatory drawing which showed an example in case an avatar image is displayed on a display apparatus. It is a structural example of the database memorize | stored in the display information storage part in the avatar display system which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is the sequence diagram which showed the whole operation | movement of the avatar display system which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the whole operation | movement of the display user determination part in the avatar display system which concerns on 4th Embodiment. In the avatar display system which concerns on 4th Embodiment, it is explanatory drawing which showed an example in case an avatar image is displayed on a display apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description will be omitted as appropriate.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram conceptually showing the configuration of the avatar display device 10 according to the present embodiment.

The avatar display device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a display device that displays an avatar, which is a character image associated with a user, on a display device (display device) 21.

The avatar display device 10 in FIG. 1 is a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device 21 based on a position acquisition unit (position information acquisition means) 100 that acquires user position information and the positional relationship between the user and the display device 21. And a user selection unit 210 that selects as a component.

The position acquisition unit 100 acquires user position information. Then, the position acquisition unit 100 sends the acquired user position information to the user selection unit 210.

The user selection unit 210 acquires user position information from the position acquisition unit 100, and selects an avatar user displayed on the display device 21 from a plurality of users based on the acquired user position information.

The display device 21 displays an avatar on the screen by a PDP display device, an LCD (liquid crystal display) display device, a projector, or the like.

Thereby, the avatar display device 10 is displayed on the display device 21 as a virtual space from a plurality of users based on the positional relationship between the user and the display device 21 using the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 100. Avatar users can be selected.

From the first embodiment to the third embodiment, which is the present embodiment, the display user determining unit 200 calculates the distance based on the position information acquired by the position acquiring unit 100. explain.

In the fourth embodiment, the display user determination unit 200 sets a plurality of display target ranges based on the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 100, and assigns a priority order to the plurality of display target ranges. An embodiment in which the user selection unit 210 selects a user of an avatar displayed on the display device 21 will be described.

Here, the avatar display device 10 shown in FIG. 1 can have the following configuration in order to explain the configuration and operation.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an outline of the avatar display system according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the avatar display system according to the first embodiment includes an avatar display device 10, one or more terminal devices 20, one or more display devices 21, and a position management device 30. And a network 40.

The avatar display device 10 manages each user information, display information, and avatar image. Further, the avatar display device 10 controls the display device 21 that displays the avatar and the display method of the avatar based on the position information of the user acquired by the position management device 30.

The terminal device 20 is a device having a computer function such as a notebook personal computer or a desktop personal computer, and is connected to the avatar display device 10 via the network 40. Further, the terminal device 20 receives the image information and display position of the avatar to be displayed from the avatar display device 10 and outputs the avatar image to the display device 21.

The location management device 30 has a function of acquiring user location information. Specifically, the location information of the wireless device carried by the user was captured by a method using a wireless LAN (local area network), infrared, RFID (radio frequency identification), ultrasound, or a surveillance camera. Any positioning method, such as a method for identifying user position information by image recognition from an image, can be applied.

In the present embodiment, the location management device 30 identifies a user by an identifier assigned to each user, and transmits the user location information and an identifier associated with the user location information to the avatar display device 10. .

In the functional block diagram of FIG. 2, the position management device 30 is provided outside the avatar display device 10, but the present embodiment is not limited to this, and position management is performed in the same device as the avatar display device 10. You may comprise so that the apparatus 30 may be provided.

The network 40 connects the avatar display device 10 and the terminal device 20, and may be wired or wireless as long as the network can be constructed.

Moreover, in this Embodiment, although the display apparatus 21, the avatar display apparatus 10, the terminal device 20, and the position management apparatus 30 are comprised as another apparatus, in the same apparatus as the display apparatus 21, it is an avatar. You may comprise so that the display apparatus 10, the terminal device 20, and the position management apparatus 30 may be provided. In this case, the network 40 becomes unnecessary.

Next, the function of each part constituting the avatar display device 10 shown in FIG. 2 will be described below.

The avatar display device 10 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a position acquisition unit 100, a display user determination unit 200, a display position determination unit 300, an avatar display unit 400, a user information storage unit 500, and a display information storage unit 600 (display). Information storage means) and an avatar image storage unit 700.

In addition, the avatar display device 10 stores user information storage unit 500 that stores position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 100 and an identifier associated with the position information, and display control information that controls the display device 21. Display position of avatar displayed on display device 21 based on display information storage unit 600, display control information stored in display information storage unit 600, and position information and identifier stored in user information storage unit 500 And a display position determination unit 300 for determining the display position.

The position acquisition unit 100 acquires user position information from the position management device 30 and notifies the display user determination unit 200 of the user position information.

The display user determination unit 200 includes a user selection unit 210, and selects a user of an avatar to be displayed on the display device 21 from the user position information acquired from the position acquisition unit 100 and the user information acquired from the user information storage unit 500. decide.

Further, the display user determination unit 200 reads the position information and the identifier from the user information storage unit 500, and based on the user corresponding to the read identifier and the read position information, the user and the display device 21. And the distance is calculated.

The display position determination unit 300 determines the user's avatar to be displayed on the display device and the display position based on the user information of the user determined by the display user determination unit 200 and notifies the avatar display unit 400 of the determination.

The avatar display unit 400 acquires a corresponding avatar image from the avatar image storage unit 700 based on the avatar notified from the display position determination unit 300 and the display position thereof, and the avatar is displayed on the display device 21 via the terminal device 20. indicate.

The user information storage unit 500 is a database that stores the current location information of the user acquired from the location management device 30 by the location acquisition unit 100.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of a database stored in the user information storage unit 500.

The configuration example of the user information storage unit 500 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a user ID 510 that is a parameter for identifying a user, and position information 520 that is a parameter indicating current position information of each user.

In the configuration example shown in FIG. 3, the registration information in the parameters of the position information 520 shows an example in which the position information is expressed in the form of local two-dimensional coordinates that are valid only within the same system.

However, in addition to this, any other format can be used depending on the format of the location information acquired by the location management device 30, such as a coordinate system such as latitude and longitude, or logical information such as a room name and address. .

The display information storage unit 600 is a database that stores display information necessary for avatar display control with respect to each display device 21.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of a database stored in the display information storage unit 600.

The configuration example of the display information storage unit 600 shown in FIG. 4 includes a display ID 610 assigned to each display device 21, installation position information 620 that is a parameter indicating the installation location of the display device 21, and each display device 21 is an avatar. A display target range 630 of a parameter indicating an area to be displayed and a maximum display number 640 that is a parameter indicating the maximum number of users' avatars to be displayed simultaneously.

In the configuration example illustrated in FIG. 4, the values of the information registered in the installation position information 620 and the display target range 630 are the same as the position information 520 and the display target in the user information storage unit 500 illustrated in FIG. 3. An example is shown in which a range is expressed in the form of local two-dimensional coordinates that are valid only within the same system.

When the user's position information is handled as coordinate information, by registering the range of coordinate values registered in the display target range 630 as shown in FIG. When obtained, it is possible to determine whether or not the user is within the display target range.

On the other hand, when the position information is handled as a position name such as a room name or an address, by registering all the position names included in the display target range 630 in a list format, the position name indicating the current position of the user can be obtained. It is possible to determine whether or not the user exists within the display target range depending on whether or not it exists in the list.

The avatar image storage unit 700 is a database for managing the correspondence between individual users and avatar images.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of a database stored in the avatar image storage unit 700.

The configuration example of the avatar image storage unit 700 shown in FIG. 5 includes a user ID 710 that is a parameter for identifying a user and an avatar image file 720 that is a parameter indicating an avatar corresponding to each user.

In the present embodiment, the position acquisition unit 100, the user selection unit 210, and the display device 21 have the same functions described in FIG.

Next, the overall operation of the avatar display system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the overall operation of the avatar display system in the present embodiment.

7, 8, and 9 are flowcharts showing operations of the position acquisition unit 100, the display user determination unit 200, and the display position determination unit 300.

In addition, the same process number is attached | subjected about the location which performs the same process of the sequence diagram of FIG. 6, and the flowchart of FIG.7, FIG8 and FIG.9, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the avatar display system according to the present embodiment, first, when the position management device 30 detects a change in the position information of the user, the position acquisition unit 100 is notified of the changed position information of the user ( Step A-1).

Then, the location acquisition unit 100 updates the location information of the user registered in the user information storage unit 500 (step A-2), and displays the user information (user ID, location information) of the user as a display user determination unit. 200 is notified (step A-3).

In Step A-1, the change in the user location information is shown as being detected by the location management device 30. However, the location acquisition unit 100 periodically acquires the location information of all users from the location management device 30. A method in which the position acquisition unit 100 detects a change in the position information of the user by comparing with the position information of each user registered in the user information storage unit 500 may be applied.

When the display user determination unit 200 acquires the user ID and position information from the position acquisition unit 100, the display user determination unit 200 searches the display information storage unit 600 based on the acquired user ID and position information (step A-4), and Display information (display ID, installation position information, display target range, maximum display number) of the display device including the position information in the display target range is acquired (step A-5).

In the flowchart of FIG. 8, when the display information is registered (Yes in Step A-5A), the process proceeds to Step A-6. On the other hand, when the display information is not registered (Step A- 5A No), indicating that the process is to be terminated.

Then, the display user determination unit 200 searches the user information storage unit 500 for the user IDs and position information of all users existing within the display target range of the display information (step A-6), and displays the display information of the display information. User IDs and position information of all users existing within the range are acquired (step A-7).

Note that the processing of steps A-6 and A-7 performed by the display user determination unit 200 holds a database that records user IDs and user position information of all users existing within the display target range of each display device. Alternatively, it may be realized by a method of searching this database.

When the number of pieces of user information acquired in step A-7 exceeds the maximum display number of the display device (Yes in step A-7A), the display user determination unit 200 determines that the display user determination unit 200 Based on the position information of each user and the installation position information of the display device, the distance between the user and the display device is calculated (step A-8).

Regarding the distance calculation method in step A-8, when the user position information and the installation position information of the display device 21 are registered as coordinate information, the length of the straight line connecting the two points is calculated. It can be calculated by obtaining.

On the other hand, if the location name such as a room name is registered, a separate database for recording each location name and the corresponding coordinate information is prepared, and this is searched to correspond to each location name. A method of acquiring coordinate information and calculating a distance may be applied.

Then, the user selection unit 210 selects users up to the number determined by the maximum display number in the order from the shortest distance calculated by the display user determination unit 200 (step A-9).

If there are a plurality of users having the same distance between the user and the display device 21 and the number of users cannot be narrowed down within the maximum display number by the distance alone, the location information is updated in the user information storage unit 500. The number of users may be narrowed within the maximum number of displays by making it possible to manage the time and preferentially selecting the users whose position information update time is new.

Then, the display user determination unit 200 notifies the display position determination unit 300 of the user information of the selected user and the display information of the display device (step A-10).

On the other hand, if the number of pieces of user information does not exceed the maximum display number (No in step A-7A), the display user determining unit 200 does not perform the processes in step A-8 and step A-9, but in step A-7. At -10, the display position determination unit 300 is notified of all user information.

The display user determining unit 200 performs processing from step A-7 to step A-10 for each piece of display information when a plurality of display information is obtained in step A-6. And

And the display position determination part 300 will acquire the user's avatar image displayed on a display apparatus, if display information (display ID, installation position information) and user information (user ID, position information) are acquired from the display user determination part 200. The avatar image is searched from the avatar image storage unit 700 (step A-11), and an avatar image corresponding to all user information acquired from the display user determining unit 200 is acquired (step A-12).

The display position determining unit 300 determines the display position on the display device of each user's avatar image to be displayed on the display device 21 based on the acquired user information (step A-13).

The display position determination unit 300 then displays the avatar image of each user, the display position of the individual user's avatar image determined in step A-13 and the display ID of the display device 21 that displays the avatar image. 400 is notified (step A-14).

And the avatar display part 400 determines the display apparatus 21 to display based on the display ID managed inside, and the IP address of the terminal apparatus 20 to which the corresponding display apparatus 21 is connected. The avatar image is displayed on the corresponding display device 21 (step A-15).

Note that all or part of the processing of each component of the avatar display device 10 described in the sequence diagram of FIG. 6 and the flowcharts of FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 may be realized by hardware, or You may implement | achieve with the program (or program code) which makes a processor perform a process. The processor reads and executes the program from a recording medium such as a nonvolatile memory.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing an example of a case where an avatar image is actually displayed on the display device 21 based on the present embodiment.

The users (User00001 to User00004) existing in the space of FIG. 10 quote the registration information of the users (user ID: 00001 to 00004) described in the configuration example of the user information storage unit 500 shown in FIG. It shall be.

Further, the display device 21 installed in the space of FIG. 10 quotes the registration information of the display device (display ID: D10001) described in the configuration example of the display information storage unit 600 shown in FIG. It shall be.

That is, in the example of FIG. 10, the display target range 22 is a range from 0 to 10 in both the X coordinate and the Y coordinate, and there are four users in the display target range 22. It is shown that.

However, since the maximum display number of the display device 21 registered in the display information storage unit 600 (FIG. 4) is 3 (see display ID: D10001), the three users are arranged in order from the installation position of the display device 21. Only (User00001-00003) is selected, and only the avatar image of the user is displayed on the display device.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user display system may display the user's avatar preferentially in the order closest to the distance between the display device 21 and the user, thereby viewing the display device 21. A user's avatar with a high can be displayed preferentially.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the user display system can present appropriate information to the user.

As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings. However, these are exemplifications of the present invention, and various configurations other than the above can be adopted.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment according to the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the second embodiment, even when the resolution, the screen size, and the size of the avatar image of each display device 21 are different, the size of the avatar image that is actually displayed on the display device 21 is displayed with a certain size or more. A possible method will be described.

In the first embodiment, selection of the user to be displayed is a number within the range of the maximum display number 640 registered in advance in the display information storage unit 600 (FIG. 4), and in order of decreasing distance from the display device 21. An example to be determined is shown.

However, in the first embodiment, when the resolution and the screen size are different for each display device 21 and the avatar image is also individually different in size, the maximum display number cannot be defined in advance.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, the user's avatar to be displayed is selected in the order of the distance from the display device 21 within the range of the display area of the display device 21 without preliminarily specifying the maximum display number, An embodiment that can be displayed will be described.

In that case, at least one of the screen size, resolution, size of the avatar image, and the minimum display size of the avatar image that is actually displayed is considered. Further, these may be combined and considered. The minimum display size of the avatar image is the minimum display size that can be visually recognized by the user, and is a value that can be arbitrarily set by the user.

FIG. 11 is a configuration example of the display information storage unit 650 according to the second embodiment.

The display information storage unit 650 shown in FIG. 11 has a screen resolution 641 and a screen size 642 instead of the maximum display number 640.

In the second embodiment, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 11, the unit of the screen resolution 641 is registered in pixels, and the unit of the screen size 642 is registered in inches (1 inch = 2.54 cm). To do.

FIG. 12 is a configuration example of the avatar image storage unit 750 in the second embodiment.

In the configuration example of the avatar image storage unit 750 shown in FIG. 12, compared to the avatar image storage unit 700 (FIG. 5) shown in the first embodiment, a file size 730 indicating the size of each avatar image, The difference from the first embodiment is that a minimum display size 740 defined as a minimum display size when actually displayed on the display device 21 is added.

In the second embodiment, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 12, the unit of the file size 730 is registered in pixels, and the unit of the minimum display size 740 is registered in cm.

In the second embodiment, the other configurations of the avatar display system and the configuration of each storage unit are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the overall operation of the avatar display system according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the overall operation of the avatar display system in the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the display user determining unit 200.

In FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

First, in step A-3, the display user determination unit 200 that acquired the user information of the user whose position information has changed searches the display information storage unit 650 (step A-4), and displays the user's position information as a display target. Display information (display ID, display target range, screen resolution, screen size) included in the range is acquired (step B-5).

In the flowchart of FIG. 14, when the display information is registered (Yes in Step B-5A), the process proceeds to Step B-6. On the other hand, when the display information is not registered (Step B- 5A No), indicating that the process is to be terminated.

Then, the display user determination unit 200 searches the user information storage unit 500 for user information of all users whose current positions are registered within the display target range of the acquired display information (step B-6), and applies. User information is acquired (step B-7).

Then, the display user determination unit 200 searches the avatar image storage unit 750 for the avatar image, file size, and display size corresponding to all the acquired user information (step B-8), and the corresponding avatar image, file size, and The display size is acquired (B-9).

Then, the display user determining unit 200 calculates the distance between each user and the display device 21 from the all user information acquired by the display user determining unit 200 in Step B-7 (Step B-10).

Then, in the display user determining unit 200, the user selecting unit 210 selects a user having the closest distance between the user and the display device 21 (step B-11-1).

Then, from the file size of the user's avatar image, the minimum display size, the screen size and the screen resolution of the display device, whether or not the minimum display size is satisfied when the avatar image is displayed on the display device. Verification is performed (step B11-2).

In this case, for example, verification can be performed by performing the file size of the avatar image × (screen size / resolution) ≦ minimum display size with respect to either or both of Width and Height. If the minimum display size is not satisfied (No in step B-11-2), the enlargement ratio of the avatar image is determined so as to satisfy the minimum display size (step B-11-3).

On the other hand, if the minimum display size is satisfied (Yes in step B-11-2), the process in step B-11-3 is not performed.

Then, the display user determining unit 200 verifies whether or not the display area remains (Step B-11-4).

This verification can be obtained from the file size of the user's avatar image already determined as the display user and the screen resolution of the display device. If the display area remains (Yes in step B-11-4), this user is determined as the display user (step B-11-5).

Then, the user with the next shortest distance between the user and the display device is selected (step B-11-6), and the processing from step B-11-2 to step B11-6 is performed until the display area is insufficient. repeat.

Then, when it is determined that the display area is insufficient (No in Step B-11-4), the user who has been determined as the display user until then is determined as the user who displays the avatar.

After determining the display user, the display user determination unit 200 displays the user information of the selected user, the avatar image, the enlargement ratio of the avatar image (only the avatar image that needs to be enlarged), and the display ID to the display position determination unit 300. Notification is made (step B-12).

Then, the display position determination unit 300 determines the display position based on the acquired user position information (step A-13), and displays the avatar image displayed on the avatar display unit 400 and the enlargement ratio of the avatar image (needs expansion). (Only avatar images) Notify the display position (step B-14).

Upon receiving the notification of the display position, the avatar display unit 400 determines the display device 21 to display, and displays the avatar image on the display device 21 via the terminal device 20 (step B-15).

At this time, the avatar image for which the enlargement rate is specified is enlarged and displayed based on the enlargement rate. Note that the processing in step A-13 is the same as that in the first embodiment, so that the same reference numerals are given and detailed description thereof is omitted.

As described above, in the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the display screen size of the display device 21, the resolution, the size of the avatar image file to be displayed, and the requested display size of the avatar The avatar image can be displayed with the requested display size by at least one of them.

Thereby, according to 2nd Embodiment, since this user display system can display an avatar on the display apparatus 21 with the optimal size with respect to a user, more appropriate information presentation can be performed. it can.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the system described in Patent Document 1, when the number of avatars to be displayed increases, it is possible to fit all the avatars in the screen by reducing the size of all avatars. There was a problem that it was difficult to see.

Therefore, in the third embodiment, a method for controlling the size change of the avatar according to the distance between the user and the display device will be described.

In the third embodiment, a user's avatar having a high probability of watching a display device (close to the display device) is displayed without being reduced, and a probability of watching the display device is low (display). The user's avatar (which is far from the device) can be reduced and displayed.

The configuration of the avatar display system in the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the parameter configuration of the display information storage unit 660 is different.

Therefore, descriptions of functions and operations other than the display information storage unit 660 are omitted.

FIG. 15 is a configuration example of the display information storage unit 660 according to the third embodiment.

15 has a maximum display size 645 including a display size (100%) 643 and a display size (50%) 644 instead of the maximum display number 640. The display information storage unit 660 shown in FIG.

In the third embodiment, each display device, when displaying a user's avatar image, selects one of two display sizes, a display size (100%) and a display size (50%), to display the avatar image. Is displayed.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, in the third embodiment, the parameter of the maximum display number is registered separately into two types of parameters of display size (100%) 643 and display size (50%) 644. Yes.

Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing the overall operation in the present embodiment. 17 and 18 are flowcharts showing the operations of the display user determining unit 200 and the display position determining unit 300.

Note that the operation of the position acquisition unit 100 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 16, FIG. 17, and FIG. 18, parts that are the same as the operations shown in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

As shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 16, the processing from step A-1 to step A-8 is almost the same as the operation shown in the first embodiment.

However, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17, the display user determination unit 200 acquires the user information in step A-7, and then calculates the distance between each user and the display device 21 (step A-8). Whether or not the number of user information exceeds the maximum display number (the sum of the values of display size (100%) 643 and display size (50%) 644) (step A-8A). Is exceeded (Yes in step A-8A), only user information up to the maximum number of displays is selected in order of increasing distance from the display device (step C-9).

On the other hand, when the number of acquired user information does not exceed the maximum display number (No in Step A-8A), the processing in Step C-9 is not performed and all user information is used.

And the display user determination part 200 displays the display information (display ID, installation position information) of the display apparatus which should display an avatar on the display position determination part 300, user information (user ID, position information), and each avatar, The display position determination unit 300 is notified of which display size should be displayed (step C-10).

At this time, the display size of each avatar is determined based on the displayable number of each display size and the proximity between each user and the display device.

That is, the display size (100%) 643 is allocated in the order of the distance from the display device, and after the displayable number of the display size (100%) 643 is exceeded, the display size (50%) 644 is allocated. Can do.

When the display position determination unit 300 obtains display information (display ID, installation position information), user information (user ID, position information), and the display size of each avatar from the display user determination unit 200, the avatar image is stored in the avatar image. The search is performed from the unit 700 (step C-11), and an avatar image corresponding to all user information acquired from the display user determining unit 200 is acquired (step C-12).

The display position determination unit 300 determines the display position based on the acquired user position information (step A-13), and notifies the display size in addition to the avatar image displayed on the avatar display unit 400 and the display position. (Step C-14).

Upon receiving this notification, the avatar display unit 400 determines the display device 21 to be displayed, and based on the display position and display size notified to the display device 21 via the terminal device 20 in step A-13. The avatar image is displayed (step C-15).

Specifically, the user avatar image designated as the display size (100%) 643 is displayed as it is without modification of the size, while the user avatar image designated as the display size (50%) 644 is displayed. Is displayed in a state reduced by 50% from the original image size.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the display size of the avatar is divided into two stages such as the display size (100%) and the display size (50%) is shown, but the present embodiment is limited to this. Instead, it can be divided into smaller units.

Also, in the avatar image storage unit 700, a plurality of avatar images corresponding to each display size are prepared for each user, and when the display device display is performed, the avatar image is not enlarged or reduced. It is also possible to select and display an avatar image corresponding to the determined display size.

It should be noted that the maximum display number is not fixed for each display size, the total size does not exceed the specified size, and the number of avatars with the largest display size is maximized as much as possible. It is also possible to determine the number dynamically.

Specifically, for example, when the maximum number of avatars displayed is 5 and the total maximum display size of all avatars is 400, X avatars with a display size (100%) and display sizes (50 %) Avatars are displayed, and the number of avatars assigned to each display size can be determined by X and Y satisfying the following expression.
(Equation 1)
X + Y ≦ 5, 100 × X + 50 × Y ≦ 400 (1)

Using this formula (1), for example, all avatars can be displayed in the display size (100%) up to 4 avatars, and when the number of avatars is 5, the display size (100%) It is possible to increase the number of avatars displayed in the largest possible size such as 3 and the display size (50%) is 2.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a case where an avatar image is actually displayed on the display device 21 based on the third embodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 19, it is assumed that the same user information (registered information in the configuration example of the user information storage unit 500 in FIG. 3) as that in FIG. 10 is cited.

On the other hand, regarding the registration information in the display information storage unit 660, the registration information (display ID: D10001) shown in FIG. 15 is cited.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the third embodiment, it can be seen that the user 00004 avatar image that was not displayed in the first embodiment is displayed with the image reduced.

Thus, in the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce and display a user's avatar image that is far from the display device 21.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, there is a high probability that the display device 21 is viewed by the method of controlling the size change of the avatar according to the distance between the user and the display device 21 (display device). The user's avatar is displayed without being reduced, and the user's avatar having a low probability of looking at the display device 21 (the distance from the display device is far) is reduced and displayed. Appropriate information can be presented.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the first to third embodiments described so far, there has been a form for obtaining the distance between the user and the display device 21, but in this embodiment, it is necessary to calculate the distance between the user and the display device 21. The method that is not performed will be described.

Specifically, in the display information storage unit 600 (FIG. 4), the display target range 630 managed for each display device 21 is prioritized in order from the display device 21 and classified into a plurality of ranges and managed. A user who exists in a range close to the display device 21 is selected as a user who displays an avatar in preference to a user who exists in another range.

FIG. 20 is a configuration example of the display information storage unit 670 according to the fourth embodiment. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 20, in the fourth embodiment, the display target range 630 (FIG. 4) of the display information storage unit 600 is classified into a plurality of ranges such as a display target range A631 and a display target range B632. I manage. In the description of the present embodiment, the display target range A631 will be described as an example in the case where the priority for displaying the avatar is higher than the display target range B632.

In the present embodiment, coordinate information is used as registration information of the display target range A631 and the display target range B632. This is a case where the position information obtained from the position management device 30 is coordinate information. If the position information obtained from the position management device 30 is, for example, a zone ID or a zone name for identifying individual areas, the information registered in the display target range A631 and the display target range B632 is also in the format of zone ID and zone name. Can be registered.

Next, the operation of the fourth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram showing the overall operation in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the operation of the display user determining unit 200.

In addition, about operation | movement of the position acquisition part 100 and the display position determination part 300, since it is the same as 1st Embodiment, the description is abbreviate | omitted. 21 and 22, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those shown in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 21, the processing from step A-1 to step A-4 is the same as the operation shown in the first embodiment.

As shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 21, the display user determining unit 200 displays the display information (display ID 610, display target range A631, display target range B632, maximum display) stored in the display information storage unit 670 in step D-5. Equation 640) is acquired.

Then, the display user determining unit 200 searches the user information storage unit 500 and finds user information existing in the display target range A631 having a high priority for displaying the avatar (step D-6).

Further, the display user determining unit 200 acquires the user information existing within the found display target range A631 from the user information storage unit 500 (step D-7).

Here, when the number of acquired user information is less than the number registered in the maximum display number 640 of the display, that is, when the acquired number of user information does not satisfy the maximum display number 640 ( In step D-7A, the user information storage unit 500 is searched, and user information existing in the display target range B632 is found (step D-8).

Then, the display user determination unit 200 acquires user information existing in the found display target range B632 from the user information storage unit 500 (step D-9). If the maximum number of displays 640 is satisfied, the processing of steps D-8 and D-9 is not performed.

Next, the display user determination unit 200 selects a user who displays an avatar from users having the acquired user information (step D-10). Here, when the total number of acquired user information exceeds the maximum display number, a user existing in the display target range A631 having a high priority for displaying an avatar is preferentially selected.

If there are users exceeding the maximum number of displays in the same display target range, and the users cannot be narrowed down only by the priority of the display target range, the update time of the position information is set in the user information storage unit 500. The number of users may be narrowed down within the maximum number of displays by enabling management and preferentially selecting users with new update times.

Then, the display user determination unit 200 notifies the display position determination unit 300 of the user information of the selected user and the display information of the display device (step A-10). Since the subsequent processing is the same as the operation of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a case where an avatar image is actually displayed on the display device 21 based on the present embodiment.

23. Assume that the users existing in the space of FIG. 23 quote the user registration information described in the configuration example of the user information storage unit 500 shown in FIG. Further, the display device 21 installed in the space of FIG. 23 quotes the registration information of the display device (display ID: D10001) described in the configuration example of the display information storage unit 670 shown in FIG. It shall be.

That is, in the example of FIG. 23, the display target range 23 indicates a range registered in the display target range A 631 of the display device 21, and the display target range 24 is registered in the display target range B 632 of the display device 21. The range is shown.

Also, it can be seen that there are three users in the display target range 23, one user in the display target range 24, and a total of four users.

However, in the present embodiment, since the maximum number of displays of the display registered in the display information storage unit 670 is three, only the three user avatars existing in the display target range 23 with high priority are displayed. Is displayed on the display device 21.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the display target range 630 (FIG. 4) managed for each display device 21 is prioritized in order from the display device 21 and classified into a plurality of ranges and managed. As a user who displays an avatar in preference (display target ranges A631 and B632 in FIG. 20), the user existing in the display target range close to the display device 21 is given priority over the users present in other display target ranges. By selecting, it is possible to preferentially display the user's avatar close to the display device 21 without calculating the distance between the display device 21 and the user.

In this embodiment, the case where the display target range is divided into two has been described. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the case where the display target range is divided into three or more is similarly divided into three stages. By allowing the display information storage unit 650 to manage the parameters of the display target range that have been prioritized more than that, it can be realized in the same manner.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention.

The various components of the present invention do not necessarily have to be independent of each other. A plurality of components are formed as a single component, and a single component is formed of a plurality of components. It is possible that a certain component is a part of another component, a part of a certain component overlaps a part of another component, and the like.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-223982 filed on September 1, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein.

Claims

An avatar display method in an avatar display device for displaying an avatar that is a character image associated with a user on a display device,
A location information acquisition step of acquiring location information of the user;
A user selection step of selecting a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device based on a positional relationship between the user and the display device;
An avatar display method comprising:
The user selection step includes:
The avatar display according to claim 1, wherein a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device is selected based on a distance between the user and the display device as a positional relationship between the user and the display device. Method.
A user information storage step for storing the position information acquired in the position information acquisition step and an identifier associated with the position information;
A display information storage step for storing display control information for controlling the display device;
Display position determination for determining the display position of the avatar displayed on the display device based on the display control information stored in the display information storage step and the position information and identifier stored in the user information storage step And further comprising a step,
The display position determining step includes:
The avatar display method according to claim 1, wherein the selected avatar is displayed at the display position.
The user selection step includes:
In the range that can be displayed in the display area of the display screen of the display device, select the user whose avatar is displayed on the display device in the order of the distance from the display device,
The display position determining step includes:
Based on at least one of the screen size and resolution of the display device and the image size of the user's avatar, the display size of the avatar when actually displayed on the display device is set to a predetermined size or more. The avatar is displayed on the display device. The avatar display method according to claim 3.
The user selection step includes:
The user who is relatively far from the display device determines the magnification of the display size of the user's avatar so that the display magnification becomes smaller,
The display position determining step includes:
The avatar display method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the user's avatar is displayed on the display device based on the magnification.
An avatar display device that displays an avatar, which is a character image associated with a user, on a display device,
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the user;
User selection means for selecting a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device based on the positional relationship between the user and the display device;
An avatar display device comprising:
The user selection means includes
The avatar display according to claim 6, wherein a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device is selected based on a distance between the user and the display device as a positional relationship between the user and the display device. apparatus.
User information storage means for storing the position information acquired in the position information acquisition means and an identifier associated with the position information;
Display information storage means for storing display control information for controlling the display device;
Display position determination for determining the display position of the avatar displayed on the display device based on the display control information stored in the display information storage means and the position information and identifier stored in the user information storage means Means further comprising:
The display position determining means includes
The avatar display device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the selected avatar is displayed at the display position.
The user selection means includes
In the range that can be displayed in the display area of the display screen of the display device, select the user whose avatar is displayed on the display device in the order of the distance from the display device,
The display position determining means includes
Based on at least one of the screen size and resolution of the display device and the image size of the user's avatar, the display size of the avatar when actually displayed on the display device is set to a predetermined size or more. The avatar is displayed on the display device. The avatar display device according to claim 8.
The user selection means includes
The user who is relatively far from the display device determines the magnification of the display size of the user's avatar so that the display magnification becomes smaller,
The display position determining means includes
The avatar display device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the avatar of the user is displayed on the display device based on the magnification.
A storage medium for storing a program for causing an avatar display device to display an avatar that is a character image associated with a user on a display device,
A location information acquisition procedure for acquiring location information of the user;
A user selection procedure for selecting a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device based on a positional relationship between the user and the display device;
A storage medium storing a program for causing the avatar display device to execute the program.
In the user selection procedure,
As a positional relationship between the user and the display device, a program for causing the avatar display device to select a user whose avatar is displayed on the display device based on a distance between the user and the display device is stored. The storage medium according to claim 11.
A user information storage procedure for storing the location information acquired in the location information acquisition procedure and an identifier associated with the location information;
A display information storage procedure for storing display control information for controlling the display device;
Display position determination for determining the display position of the avatar displayed on the display device based on the display control information stored in the display information storage procedure and the position information and identifier stored in the user information storage procedure And further comprising a procedure,
In the display position determination procedure,
The storage medium according to claim 11 or 12, wherein a program for causing the avatar display device to display the selected avatar at the display position is stored.
In the user selection procedure,
In the range that can be displayed in the display area of the display screen of the display device, select the user whose avatar is displayed on the display device in the order of the distance from the display device,
In the display position determination procedure,
Based on at least one of the screen size and resolution of the display device and the image size of the user's avatar, the display size of the avatar when actually displayed on the display device is set to a predetermined size or more. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein a program that causes the avatar display device to display the avatar on the display device is stored.
In the user selection procedure,
The user who is relatively far from the display device determines the magnification of the display size of the user's avatar so that the display magnification becomes smaller,
In the display position determination procedure,
The storage medium according to claim 13 or 14, wherein a program for causing the avatar display device to execute display of the user's avatar on the display device based on the magnification is stored.