WO2024047717A1 - 疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御装置、疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御方法、及びコンピュータプログラム - Google Patents

疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御装置、疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御方法、及びコンピュータプログラム Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024047717A1
WO2024047717A1 PCT/JP2022/032461 JP2022032461W WO2024047717A1 WO 2024047717 A1 WO2024047717 A1 WO 2024047717A1 JP 2022032461 W JP2022032461 W JP 2022032461W WO 2024047717 A1 WO2024047717 A1 WO 2024047717A1
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Prior art keywords
player character
data
pseudo
metaverse
virtual
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PCT/JP2022/032461
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English (en)
French (fr)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
健志 加畑
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Adlib Ltd
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Adlib Ltd
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Application filed by Adlib Ltd filed Critical Adlib Ltd
Priority to PCT/JP2022/032461 priority Critical patent/WO2024047717A1/ja
Priority to JP2022566398A priority patent/JP7235376B1/ja
Priority to PCT/JP2023/005508 priority patent/WO2024047899A1/ja
Priority to JP2024543765A priority patent/JPWO2024047899A1/ja
Publication of WO2024047717A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024047717A1/ja
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
    • G06T19/00—Manipulating three-dimensional [3D] models or images for computer graphics

Definitions

  • the present invention provides a player character, which is a character that has conventionally existed in a virtual three-dimensional space generated by a metaverse management device and whose motion is controlled by a human user, and whose motion is controlled by the metaverse management device.
  • the present invention relates to a technique for making a new character other than a non-player character appear and controlling its motion.
  • the metaverse generally refers to a virtual three-dimensional space constructed by a computer system or a service that provides a virtual three-dimensional space to users.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space is generated by the metaverse management device.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space in the Metaverse can be modeled after, for example, a city that exists on Earth, and the user can create a virtual three-dimensional space in the Metaverse by sending his or her own character into the virtual three-dimensional space. You can perform the actions you want within the space (or you can make the character you control perform the actions you want).
  • the motions are imitated by motions that humans can perform, such as interacting with other characters or moving within a virtual three-dimensional space.
  • Metaverse which has traditionally been an extension of play and games
  • commercial use has been put into practical use, such as a specific company promoting sales of its own products and services within the virtual three-dimensional space of the Metaverse.
  • a large number of companies have set up booths in a virtual three-dimensional space, and each company's products and services are introduced to visitors (player characters). Attempts are also being made to hold large-scale virtual exhibitions in space.
  • a character operated by each user usually exists in a virtual three-dimensional space in a conventional metaverse. Since the character operated by each user is sometimes referred to as a player character, such a character will be referred to as a "player character" in this application.
  • the player character is usually an avatar selected or created by the user. Users can download motion data for moving their player characters in three-dimensional space via the Internet from their own user terminals (desktop computers, notebook computers, smartphones, tablets, stationary game consoles, etc.). and sends it to the metaverse management device. The metaverse management device causes the player character to move based on the motion data. This allows the user to operate his/her own player character as desired.
  • non-player character is a character placed under the management of the metaverse management device.
  • the non-player character is configured to perform predetermined actions by the functions of a computer program installed in the metaverse management device.
  • the metaverse is used commercially as exemplified above.
  • the character be a player character under the control of the company that is trying to promote sales.
  • the player character operated by for example, an employee of the company can give appropriate answers to questions from the player character operated by a user who is a customer or a customer candidate.
  • a player character operated by a user who is a customer or a customer candidate to be guided to an appropriate booth at an exhibition by a player character operated by, for example, an employee of a company.
  • the above-mentioned customer service provided to the player character using the player character is not much different from person-to-person customer service, except that it is performed in a virtual three-dimensional space, and can provide detailed responses. becomes.
  • Metaverse When using the Metaverse commercially, a company's primary goal is to increase sales of products and services, but at the same time, it is also aimed at reducing costs. If the Metaverse cannot be used commercially unless a large number of personnel are secured, the meaning of using a player character operated by a company employee to provide customer service to a player character operated by a user will be diminished.
  • non-player character under the management of the metaverse management device provide customer service to the player character operated by the user. Since the non-player character is operated by the metaverse management device, there is no need to secure personnel to have the user's player character serve customers. However, the non-player characters are controlled by the functions or commands of a computer program installed in the metaverse management device in advance. Therefore, the person who creates the computer program regarding the non-player character is the administrator of the metaverse management device. However, for example, when a non-player character serves a customer, the administrator of the metaverse management device generally does not know what kind of action is preferable for the player character to perform.
  • the above-mentioned new character could be used as such a character, and if that character could provide guidance tailored to the user's preferences and mood at the time, it would be of great help to users of Metaverse services. This will lead to an increase in the number of users of the Metaverse.
  • the above-mentioned new characters can also be applied to characters that act together with the player character operated by the user in the three-dimensional space of the metaverse, or simply act as a conversation partner. Moreover, if the player character operated by the user and the new character acting behave according to the user's preferences and personality, the user's satisfaction level will increase.
  • the above-mentioned characters which are neither player characters nor non-player characters, can be applied to the various uses described above, and are expected to greatly contribute to the spread of the Metaverse.
  • the characters that can appear in the virtual three-dimensional space in the Metaverse are limited to player characters and non-player characters, and no practical method for realizing characters other than these is known.
  • a player character, a non-player character, and a person other than the administrator of the metaverse management device have a certain level of high quality of movement, and the cost for creating the character is suppressed.
  • the purpose of this project is to introduce new characters that can do the same thing and provide technology to control their movements.
  • the present invention has a function of constructing a virtual three-dimensional space in which a plurality of player characters, which are characters operated by a plurality of users, exist, and a space construction unit that constructs the virtual three-dimensional space.
  • a receiving unit that receives operation data, which is data for operating each of the plurality of player characters, from a user terminal operated by each user via the Internet; It is used in combination with a metaverse management device comprising a character control unit that causes the player character to move within the virtual three-dimensional space, and has a function of controlling the pseudo player character within the virtual three-dimensional space.
  • This is a pseudo player character control device having the following functions.
  • the pseudo player character control device includes a motion determining unit that determines an action to be performed by the pseudo player character, and a motion determining unit that causes the pseudo player character to perform the motion determined by the motion determining unit.
  • a pseudo operation data generation unit that creates pseudo operation data, which is data, in the same data format as the operation data; and a transmission unit that transmits the pseudo operation data to the receiving unit of the metaverse management device via the Internet.
  • the pseudo player character control device of the present application is used in combination with a metaverse management device.
  • the metaverse management device may be an existing one.
  • the metaverse management device includes a space construction unit that constructs a virtual three-dimensional space, and operation data that is data for operating each of a plurality of player characters, and a user terminal (desktop computer, notebook computer, It is equipped with a receiving unit that receives data from PCs, smartphones, tablets, stationary game consoles, etc. via the Internet.
  • the operation data is data for moving the player character's body, for example, to move within a virtual three-dimensional space, or for causing the player character to speak.
  • the data format of the operation data is determined by the metaverse management device or its administrator, and the operation data arranged in that data format is sent from the user terminal to the metaverse management device.
  • the metaverse management device is configured to cause each player character to operate within the virtual three-dimensional space according to the received operation data.
  • a character control section within the metaverse management device controls the actions of the player character.
  • a pseudo player character control device used in combination with such a metaverse management device includes a motion determining unit that determines the motion to be performed by the pseudo player character, and a pseudo player character control device that determines the motion to be performed by the pseudo player character determined by the motion determining unit.
  • a pseudo operation data generation unit that creates pseudo operation data, which is data for a player character to perform, in the same data format as the operation data; and transmitting the pseudo operation data to the receiving unit of the metaverse management device via the Internet. and a transmitting section.
  • the action determining unit determines an action to be performed by the pseudo player character.
  • the action determining section generally determines an action that is appropriate for the pseudo player character to perform as the action to be performed by the pseudo player character.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit generates pseudo operation data.
  • the pseudo operation data is data for causing the pseudo player character to perform the action determined by the action determining unit, and is data in the same data format as the operation data that the user terminal sends to the Metaverse management device via the Internet. .
  • the pseudo player character control device includes a transmitter, and the pseudo operation data generated by the pseudo operation data generator is sent from the transmitter to the receiver of the metaverse management device via the Internet.
  • the metaverse management device causes the user's player character to perform an action based on the operation data sent by the user from the user terminal and received by the receiving unit.
  • the metaverse management device operates the pseudo player character based on the pseudo operation data sent from the pseudo player character control device and received by the receiving section. Since the pseudo operation data has the same data format as the operation data as described above, the metaverse management device cannot distinguish the pseudo operation data from the operation data, or at least there is no need to distinguish between the pseudo operation data and the operation data.
  • the character control unit in the metaverse management device that has received the pseudo-operation data executes the exact same process that moves the player character when it receives the operation data, thereby creating a virtual three-dimensional image based on the pseudo-operation data.
  • a pseudo player character can be made to move within the space. This means that when the pseudo player character control device is used in combination with the metaverse management device, no modification is required on the metaverse management device side. This leads to cost reduction.
  • the quality of the movement of such a pseudo player character is basically determined by the computer program and data set installed in the pseudo player character control device. Such a computer program can also be created by the administrator of the pseudo player character control device.
  • the administrator of the pseudo-player character control device may have to download the computer program for determining the actions of the pseudo-player character from an external company (for example, a company that wants the pseudo-player character to serve customers, or a company that wants the pseudo-player character to provide directions for the player character).
  • an external company for example, a company that wants the pseudo-player character to serve customers, or a company that wants the pseudo-player character to provide directions for the player character.
  • the pseudo-player character control device accepts a pseudo-player character from a company, etc. that wants to make the pseudo-player character perform an action
  • the pseudo-player character is sent into the virtual three-dimensional space of the Metaverse, and the person who wants the pseudo-player character to perform an action, that is, the pseudo-player
  • the person who knows best what actions he or she wants to make can create a computer program and data set for making the pseudo player character move.
  • this pseudo player character control device which is provided separately from the Metaverse management device, it is not only possible to send the pseudo player character into the virtual three-dimensional space generated by the Metaverse management device. , it becomes possible to improve the quality of the motion of the pseudo player character without incurring excessive costs. Furthermore, this pseudo-player character control device provides a new service that ⁇ allows pseudo-player characters that perform high-quality movements to be sent into the Metaverse world without any modification to the Metaverse management device.'' It is hoped that this will become a platform for realizing this goal. As mentioned above, the quality of the movement of the pseudo player character is basically determined by the computer program and data set installed in the pseudo player character control device.
  • the quality of the motion of the pseudo player character is determined by the degree of elaboration of the motion determining section that determines the motion of the pseudo player character.
  • the function of the action determining unit can be performed in multiple pseudo player character control devices without any modification to the multiple metaverse management devices. Since it is possible to reuse the computer program and data set that determines the operation, there is no need to spend money on creating the operation determination unit (more precisely, the computer program and data set that specifies the processing to be executed by the operation determination unit). Can be done. This leads to improving the quality of the motion of the pseudo player character while suppressing costs.
  • the action determining section in the pseudo player character control device of the present invention determines the action to be performed by the pseudo player character.
  • the motion determining section may determine the motion of the pseudo player character in the following manner.
  • the pseudo player character control device includes an acquisition unit that obtains environmental data, which is data about the environment around the pseudo player character in the virtual three-dimensional space, from the metaverse management device, and information about the movement pattern of the pseudo player character. and an operation pattern recording section that records the data.
  • the motion determination section determines, based on the environmental data received from the acquisition section and the data recorded in the motion pattern recording section, the pseudo player character behaves in a manner appropriate for the environment indicated by the environmental data. may also be configured to determine.
  • the motion pattern recording section records data for causing the pseudo player character to perform motions.
  • the motion determining section is configured to determine, based on the environmental data received from the acquiring section and the data recorded in the motion pattern recording section, the motion of the pseudo player character that is appropriate for the environment indicated by the environmental data. can do. By doing so, the motion determining section enables the pseudo player character to perform motions appropriate to the surrounding environment.
  • the environmental data which is data about the environment around the pseudo player character, includes, for example, first-person or third-person perspective images and sounds provided from the Metaverse management device to the user terminal when the pseudo player character is a player character. etc. (or data extracted therefrom).
  • the range "around" the pseudo player character is not limited to the above range, and can be set to a wider or narrower range that may affect the actions of the pseudo player character.
  • the environment data may include the content of a conversation between a player character and a player character who is having a conversation with the pseudo player character. Regardless of its purpose, the pseudo player character imparts knowledge and fun to the person operating the player character by contacting and communicating with the player character.
  • the motion of the pseudo player character determined by the motion determining section becomes more appropriate.
  • the motion determining section may determine the motion of the pseudo player character in the following manner.
  • the pseudo player character control device may include an acquisition unit that obtains environmental data that is data about an environment around the pseudo player character in the virtual three-dimensional space from the metaverse management device. The contents of the environmental data acquisition section are as described above.
  • a motion artificial intelligence may be recorded in the motion pattern recording section.
  • the behavioral artificial intelligence is an artificial intelligence that, when the environmental data is input, outputs a motion of the pseudo player character that is appropriate for the environment indicated by the environmental data.
  • the motion determining section determines the motion output from the motion artificial intelligence when the environmental data received from the acquisition section is input to the motion artificial intelligence recorded in the motion pattern recording section.
  • the motion of the pseudo player character may be determined as being appropriate for the environment indicated by the environment data. By doing so, it becomes possible to make the actions performed by the pseudo player character appropriate and of high quality.
  • the motion artificial intelligence may be a trained artificial intelligence obtained by performing learning in advance using the environment data and motions adopted by the player character in the environment as teacher data.
  • the player character used to obtain training data in the process of creating a motion artificial intelligence that is a trained artificial intelligence is operated by a predetermined user. For example, when trying to create artificial intelligence for a pseudo player character that performs "customer service" as described in the background technology section, a player character operated by a company employee or the like is used to perform customer service for the player character operated by the user. By doing so, you can obtain training data for detailed customer service.
  • motion AI is not limited to pseudo player characters suitable for customer service. If you want to create a behavioral artificial intelligence suitable for guiding a pseudo-player character in a virtual three-dimensional space, you can use suitable teacher data for learning. In other words, in order to create motion artificial intelligence that corresponds to the motion that you want the pseudo-player character to perform, it is sufficient to prepare training data appropriate for the purpose.
  • the motion pattern recording section may be capable of recording a predetermined motion artificial intelligence.
  • the motion pattern recording section may be able to record multiple motion artificial intelligences, and the motion pattern recording section may be able to add or delete motion artificial intelligences.
  • the motion artificial intelligence recorded in the motion pattern recording section may be rewritable. By doing so, for example, it becomes possible to port the motion artificial intelligence created in a certain pseudo player character control device to the motion pattern recording unit in another pseudo player character control device. By doing so, the behavioral artificial intelligence once created can be used by a plurality of pseudo player characters, so it becomes easy to reduce the cost of creating the behavioral artificial intelligence.
  • the inventor of the present application also proposes, as an aspect of the present invention, a trained artificial intelligence that can be used as a behavioral artificial intelligence by incorporating the behavioral artificial intelligence into a pseudo player character control device that records the behavioral artificial intelligence in its motion pattern recording section.
  • the trained artificial intelligence is a trained artificial intelligence obtained by performing learning in advance using the environment data and the actions adopted by the player character in the environment as teacher data. Such trained artificial intelligence produces the effects described above. Therefore, this trained artificial intelligence has value in itself and can be traded.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit in the pseudo player character control device is scheduled to receive the pseudo operation data in the reception unit of each of the metaverse management devices to which the pseudo operation data is transmitted.
  • the pseudo operation data may be generated in the same data format as the operation data.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit adjusts or converts each of the pseudo operation data sent to each metaverse management device into the same data format as the data format of the operation data accepted by the metaverse management device that receives the pseudo operation data. It may be possible to do so.
  • one pseudo player character control device can send pseudo operation data to a plurality of metaverse management devices, and each of the plurality of metaverse management devices can control the motion of the pseudo player character.
  • the present inventor also proposes a method executed by a pseudo player character control device as one aspect of the present invention.
  • the effects of this method are equivalent to the effects of the pseudo player character control device according to the present invention.
  • the method which is an example, has a function of constructing a virtual three-dimensional space in which a plurality of player characters, which are characters operated by a plurality of users, exist, and constructing the virtual three-dimensional space.
  • a space construction unit a reception unit that receives operation data, which is data for operating each of the plurality of player characters, from a user terminal operated by each user via the Internet; and the operation data received by the reception unit.
  • the pseudo-player character control device has a function of This is a method to be executed (pseudo player character control method).
  • the method includes a motion determining process that determines the motion that the pseudo player character is to perform, and a pseudo operation that is data that causes the pseudo player character to perform the motion determined by the motion determining process.
  • a pseudo-operation data generation process of creating data in the same data format as the operation data; and a transmission of transmitting the pseudo-operation data to the receiving unit of the metaverse management device via the internet via the transmitting unit. process.
  • Each of these processes is executed by the control section.
  • the inventor of the present application also proposes, as one aspect of the present invention, a computer program for causing a predetermined, for example, general-purpose computer to function as a pseudo player character control device.
  • a computer program for causing a predetermined, for example, general-purpose computer to function as a pseudo player character control device.
  • the effects of such a computer program are equivalent to the effects of the pseudo player character control device according to the present invention, and another advantage is that it becomes possible to cause a predetermined computer to function as the pseudo player character control device according to the present invention.
  • the computer program which is an example, has a function of constructing a virtual three-dimensional space in which a plurality of player characters, which are characters operated by a plurality of users, exist, and constructs the virtual three-dimensional space.
  • a space construction unit for operating each of the plurality of player characters; a reception unit for receiving operation data, which is data for operating each of the plurality of player characters, from a user terminal operated by each user via the Internet; and the operation received by the reception unit.
  • the device is used in combination with a metaverse management device comprising a character control unit that causes the player character to move in the virtual three-dimensional space based on data, and the device controls the pseudo player character in the virtual three-dimensional space.
  • This is a computer program for causing a predetermined computer to function as a pseudo player character control device having a control function.
  • the computer program includes an action determining unit that determines an action to be performed by the pseudo player character, and a motion determining unit that causes the pseudo player character to perform the action determined by the action determining unit.
  • a pseudo operation data generation unit that creates pseudo operation data, which is data to be performed, in the same data format as the operation data; and a transmission that transmits the pseudo operation data to the receiving unit of the metaverse management device via the Internet. function as a department.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a metaverse system according to an embodiment.
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a user terminal in the metaverse system shown in FIG. 1; 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the user terminal shown in FIG. 2.
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing functional blocks generated inside the user terminal shown in FIG. 2.
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of functional blocks generated inside the pseudo player character control device shown in FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually showing data recorded in the motion pattern recording section shown in FIG. 5.
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of functional blocks generated inside the metaverse management device shown in FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of a preferred embodiment of a metaverse system including a pseudo player character control device of the present invention.
  • the metaverse system according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of user terminals 100, a plurality of user terminals 100, a plurality of metaverse management devices 200, and a pseudo player character control device 300. It is configured. Although not limited to this, the number of metaverse management devices 200 and pseudo player character control devices 300 in this embodiment is the same; 300 is three each. The same number of metaverse management devices 200 and pseudo player character control devices 300 are in one-to-one correspondence in this embodiment, although the number is not limited to this.
  • the user terminal 100, the metaverse management device 200, and the pseudo player character control device 300 are all connected to a network 400, which is the Internet. They are configured to be able to communicate with each other. Data exchanged between the user terminal 100, the metaverse management device 200, and the pseudo player character control device 300 will be described later.
  • the metaverse management device 200 is for generating a virtual three-dimensional space, which is the world of the metaverse, and providing metaverse services to users.
  • a virtual three-dimensional space there are a player character operated by a user and a pseudo player character operated by pseudo player character control device 300.
  • there may be other things in the virtual three-dimensional space such as roads, buildings, various objects and creatures, non-player characters, etc., but the ones that are related to this application are basically Since only the player character and the pseudo-player character are described, in the following description, description of other things existing in the virtual three-dimensional space will be basically omitted.
  • the metaverse management device 200 is configured to generate metaverse image data regarding a metaverse image, which is an image in the virtual three-dimensional space of the metaverse, and send it to the user terminal 100.
  • the user terminal 100 in this embodiment functions as an interface for users to enjoy Metaverse services.
  • the user terminal 100 functions as an input device for operating a player character, which is a character operated by a user and sent into a virtual three-dimensional space as an incarnation of the user. Further, the user terminal 100 functions as a viewer for users to enjoy Metaverse services.
  • the user terminal 100 includes a display as described later, and an image based on the above-mentioned metaverse image data received by the user terminal 100 from the metaverse management device 200 is displayed on the display.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 is a device that controls a pseudo player character, which is a player character that is not operated by a user, and its motion. In other words, the pseudo player character control device 300 has a function of operating the pseudo player character. As described above, the pseudo player character control device 300 has a one-to-one correspondence with the metaverse management device 200.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 is configured to operate a pseudo player character in a virtual three-dimensional space created by the metaverse management device 200 linked thereto.
  • the details of the user terminal 100, the metaverse management device 200, and the pseudo player character control device 300 will be described below in order.
  • User terminal 100 includes a computer. More specifically, the user terminal 100 in this embodiment is configured by a general-purpose computer device. Although not limited to this, the user terminal 100 is a computer owned by each user. The user terminal 100 may be any device that can receive metaverse services. Specifically, the user terminal 100 is a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a smartphone, a tablet, a stationary game console, or the like. All of them must be able to communicate via the network 400, and by installing a computer program to be described later, the functional blocks described later can be generated therein, and the processes described later can be executed. is required, and if it is possible, other specifications are not particularly important.
  • the user terminal 100 includes a display that is either integrated or externally attached. As will be described later, an image of a three-dimensional space in the metaverse will be displayed on the display.
  • the external display may be a general stationary display, but may also be a head-mounted display.
  • the user terminal 100 as a smartphone may be, for example, an iPhone (series product) manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC
  • the user terminal 100 as a tablet may be, for example, an iPhone (series product) manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC.
  • the iPad (series product) manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC may be used. Note that "Apple Japan,”"iPhone," and "iPad” are all trademarks.
  • FIG. 2 shows an example of the appearance of the user terminal 100.
  • the user terminal 100 includes a display 101.
  • the display 101 is for displaying images, which are still images or moving images, and may be a publicly known display or a known display.
  • the display 101 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.
  • User terminal 100 also includes an input device 102 .
  • the input device 102 is used by the user to make desired inputs to the user terminal 100.
  • As the input device 102 a known or well-known device can be used.
  • the input device 102 of the user terminal 100 in this embodiment is of a button type
  • the input device 102 is not limited to this, and it is also possible to use a numeric keypad, keyboard, trackball, mouse, etc.
  • the input device 102 may be a keyboard, a mouse, or the like.
  • the input device 102 is generally a dedicated controller.
  • the display 101 is a touch panel, the display 101 also functions as the input device 102, which is done in this embodiment.
  • the hardware configuration of the user terminal 100 is shown in FIG.
  • the hardware includes a CPU (central processing unit) 111, a ROM (read only memory) 112, a RAM (random access memory) 113, an interface 114, and a mass storage medium 115, which are interconnected by a bus 116. It is connected.
  • the CPU 111 is a calculation device that performs calculations.
  • the CPU 111 executes the processing described below by executing a computer program recorded in, for example, the ROM 112, the RAM 113, or the mass storage medium 115.
  • the ROM 112 records computer programs and data necessary for the CPU 111 to execute processes to be described later. The same applies to the mass storage medium 115.
  • the mass storage medium 115 is, for example, an HDD (hard disk drive) or an SSD (solid state drive).
  • the computer programs recorded in the ROM 112 or the mass storage medium 115 include programs necessary for making the user terminal 100 function as a smartphone, such as calls and e-mails.
  • general computer programs and data for realizing communication via the Internet 400 or the Internet 400 are recorded.
  • the user terminal 100 is also capable of viewing homepages based on data received via the network 400, and is equipped with a known web browser to enable this.
  • the RAM 113 provides a work area necessary for the CPU 111 to perform processing. In some cases, for example, part of the computer program or data described above may be recorded.
  • the interface 114 is for exchanging data between the CPU 111, RAM 113, etc. connected via the bus 116 and the outside.
  • the above-described display 101 and input device 102 are connected to the interface 114.
  • the operation details input from the input device 102 are input to the bus 116 from the interface 114.
  • image data for displaying an image on the display 101 is outputted to the display 101 from the interface 114.
  • the interface 114 is also connected to a transmitting/receiving mechanism (not shown), which is a known device for communicating with the outside via a network 400, which is the Internet, so that the user terminal 100 can communicate with the outside via the network 400. It is possible to send data over the network 400 and to receive data over the network 400.
  • Transmission and reception of data via such network 400 may be performed by wire or wirelessly.
  • user terminal 100 is a smartphone, such communication will typically be performed wirelessly.
  • the configuration of the transmitting/receiving mechanism may be publicly known or known.
  • Data received by the transceiver from network 400 is adapted to be received by interface 114, and data passed from interface 114 to the transceiver is transmitted via network 400 to an external source, e.g., to another user. It is configured to be sent to the terminal 100. Details of the data that each user terminal 100 sends and receives via the network 400 using the sending and receiving mechanism will be described later.
  • FIG. 4 When the CPU 111 executes the computer program, functional blocks as shown in FIG. 4 are generated inside the user terminal 100. Note that the following functional blocks may be generated by the functions of a single computer program for causing the user terminal 100 to function as the user terminal of the present invention, but the computer program, the OS installed on the user terminal 100, and other may be generated in cooperation with a computer program.
  • the user terminal 100 in relation to the functions of the present invention, at least an input section 121, a control section 122, an image control section 123, and an output section 124 are generated, as shown in FIG. Of these, the input section 121 and the output section 124 correspond to the interface 114 when viewed as hardware, or are realized by the functions of the interface 114.
  • the input section 121 and the output section 124 conceptually correspond to a connection section between the interface 114 and the bus 116.
  • the control unit 122 and the image control unit 123 correspond to the CPU 111 which is an arithmetic unit in terms of hardware, or are realized by the functions of the CPU 111.
  • the input unit 121 receives input from the interface 114.
  • Data input from interface 114 includes data input by input device 102 .
  • Other data that can be input to the input unit 121 from the interface 114 is data input from a transmitting/receiving mechanism via the interface 114 .
  • Data input from the input device 102 and the transmitting/receiving mechanism will be described later.
  • the input unit 121 receives these, it sends them to the control unit 122 or the image control unit 123.
  • the control unit 122 has a function of generating data necessary for receiving metaverse services or pseudo player character services.
  • Examples of data generated by the control unit 122 include account data, which is unique information for identifying the user who operates the user terminal 100, data for logging into Metaverse services, and data about the player operated by the user.
  • Examples include character data, which is data for generating a character, and selection data, which will be described later, which is data for selecting a pseudo player character that acts together with the player character operated by the user.
  • the control unit 122 also generates operation data when the user is receiving metaverse services (the user is using the metaverse).
  • the operation data is data for operating a player character, which is a character operated by a user in the metaverse.
  • the operation data generated by the control unit 122 may be, for example, as in the past, instructing the player character to perform movements such as movement imitating the actions performed by a human, or may be data for causing the player character to have a conversation. do.
  • the data format of the operation data that each metaverse management device 200 can accept differs from metaverse management device 200 to metaverse management device 200, although it depends on the case.
  • the operation data generated by the control unit 122 is in a data format that can be accepted by the metaverse management device 200 that manages the metaverse in which the user receives services.
  • the control unit 122 may also generate player character data, which is data for the metaverse management device 200 to generate a player character operated by a user.
  • the control unit 122 is configured to send various types of generated data including operation data to the output unit 124.
  • the image control unit 123 generates image data for an image displayed on the display 101.
  • the image control unit 123 may generate image data for an image displayed on the display 101 based on metaverse image data generated by the metaverse management device 200 as described later.
  • the metaverse image which is an image based on the metaverse image data, reflects the situation around the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space generated by the metaverse management device 200, as will be described later.
  • Metaverse image data is data that specifies such a metaverse image. Note that, although the metaverse image data is called "image data," it may also include audio data, and in this embodiment, although not limited to this, it is included.
  • the image control section 123 is configured to send the generated image data to the output section 124.
  • the output unit 124 outputs data to the interface 114.
  • the data that the output unit 124 outputs to the interface 114 includes various data including operation data received from the control unit 122 and image data received from the image control unit 123.
  • the output unit 124 outputs all of these data to the interface 114.
  • the data received by the output unit 124 from the control unit 122 is sent to the transmitting/receiving mechanism via the interface 114, and from the transmitting/receiving mechanism to the metaverse management device 200 or the pseudo player character control device 300 via the network 400. ing.
  • Image data received by the output unit 124 from the image control unit 123 is sent to the display 101 via the interface 114.
  • the display 101 displays an image according to image data. Data regarding the audio included in the image data is sent to a speaker (not shown), and the speaker outputs audio based on the audio data included in the metaverse image data.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 may be an existing publicly known or well-known server device. Further, its hardware configuration may be a general one.
  • the hardware configuration of the pseudo player character control device 300 is the same as the hardware configuration of the user terminal 100 shown in FIG. 3 in relation to the present invention.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an interface, and a large-capacity storage medium connected via a bus.
  • the configurations and functions of the CPU, ROM, RAM, interface, bus, and mass storage device included in the pseudo player character control device 300 are the same as those in the user terminal 100.
  • the interface provided in the pseudo player character control device 300 includes a transmission/reception mechanism for communicating with devices outside the pseudo player character control device 300 via the network 400, similar to that provided in the user terminal 100. It is connected.
  • an input device similar to that included in the user terminal 100 is connected to the interface provided in the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • Input devices include, for example, a keyboard and a mouse.
  • a display similar to that provided in the user terminal 100 may also be connected to the interface of the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • a computer program for causing the server to function as the pseudo player character control device 300 is recorded in, for example, a ROM or a mass storage medium of the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • This computer program may be pre-installed on the server serving as the pseudo player character control device 300, or may be post-installed.
  • This computer program may be installed on the server via a predetermined recording medium such as a memory card or CD-ROM, or via a network such as a LAN or the Internet.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 includes at least an input section 321, a control section 322, a motion determining section 323, a motion pattern recording section 324, and a pseudo operation.
  • a data generation section 325, an output section 326, and an image analysis section 327 are generated.
  • the input section 321 and the output section 326 correspond to an interface when viewed as hardware, or are realized by the function of the interface. More specifically, the input section 321 and the output section 326 conceptually correspond to a connection section between an interface and a bus.
  • the control section 322, the operation determination section 323, the pseudo operation data generation section 325, and the image analysis section 327 correspond to a CPU, which is an arithmetic unit, in terms of hardware, or are realized by the functions of the CPU.
  • the operation pattern recording unit 324 is constituted by a recording medium for recording data as hardware, and more specifically, is realized by a ROM, a RAM, or a large-capacity storage medium.
  • the input unit 321 receives input from the interface.
  • the data input from the interface to the input unit 321 includes data input from a transmitting/receiving mechanism via the interface.
  • the data sent to the input unit 321 from the transmission/reception mechanism includes, for example, operation data sent from the user terminal 100, selection data, and metaverse image data sent from the metaverse management device 200, which will be described later.
  • the input unit 321 is configured to send metaverse image data among the data received from the transmitting/receiving mechanism to the image analysis unit 327, and other data to the control unit 322.
  • the control unit 322 not only controls the entire pseudo player character control device 300 but also has functions equivalent to some of the functions that the control unit 122 of the user terminal 100 has.
  • the control unit 122 of the user terminal 100 had a function of generating data necessary for receiving metaverse services.
  • the control unit 322 also has a similar function.
  • the data generated by the control unit 322 includes account data for identifying each pseudo player character operated by the pseudo player character control device 300, and data for generating pseudo player characters operated by the pseudo player character control device 300. There is character data and login data. As will be described later, from the perspective of the metaverse management device 200, the player character operated by the user (operated by the user terminal 100) and the pseudo player character operated by the pseudo player character control device 300 cannot be distinguished, or at least cannot be distinguished.
  • the account data, character data, and login data generated by the control unit 322 are all equivalent to the account data etc. generated by the control unit 122 of the user terminal 100. .
  • the control unit 322 is designed to send the generated account data and login data to the operation determining unit 322, and may also be sent to the output unit 326 as described later.
  • the control unit 323 is configured to send the generated character data and login data to the output unit 326.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 is basically for automatically moving (operating) the pseudo player character.
  • the pseudo player character is operated by pseudo operation data that is automatically generated by the pseudo player character control device 300 and will also be described later.
  • the administrator of the pseudo player character control device 300 operates the pseudo player character using operation data generated in accordance with data input from an input device.
  • the control unit 322 generates operation data based on data input from an input device and received via the interface and input unit 321.
  • the operation data generated by the control unit 323 is in a data format that can be accepted by the metaverse management device 200 linked to the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the data format is the same as the data format of the operation data sent from the user terminal 100 to the metaverse management device 200 linked to the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the control unit 322 is configured to send the generated operation data to the output unit 326.
  • the action determining unit 323 has a function of determining the action to be performed by the pseudo player character.
  • the operation determining unit 323 may receive account data from the control unit 323 as described above.
  • the action determining unit 323 determines the action to be performed by the pseudo player character linked to the account, and generates action data that is data specifying the action.
  • the motion determining section 323 uses data recorded in the motion pattern recording section 324 and environmental data sent from the image analyzing section 327, which will be described later, when determining the motion to be performed by the pseudo player character.
  • the image analysis unit 327 has a function of generating environmental data based on metaverse image data. However, when learning the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A (for example, when the pseudo player character control device 300 sends operation data to the metaverse management device 200 instead of pseudo operation data), the image analysis section 327 It generates not only environmental data but also operational data, which will be described later.
  • the image analysis unit 327 receives metaverse image data from the input unit 321 as described above.
  • the metaverse image which is an image based on the metaverse image data, reflects the surrounding situation of the pseudo player character in the virtual three-dimensional space generated by the metaverse management device 200, as will be described later.
  • the image analysis unit 327 is configured to generate environmental data, which is data about the environment around the pseudo player character, from the metaverse image data.
  • the metaverse image data in this embodiment also includes audio data.
  • the image analysis unit 327 may be configured to generate data regarding the surrounding environment of the pseudo player character, including audio, based on the metaverse image data, and this is done in this embodiment.
  • Environmental data includes, for example, the position in the virtual three-dimensional space where the pseudo player character exists, whether there is a player character nearby, and if there is a player character nearby, the relative positional relationship with the pseudo player character, and the player character.
  • These are feature points of a metaverse image (including audio) that are specified by metaverse image data such as character characteristics and the content of words uttered by the player character. In order to extract these feature points, the image analysis unit 327 may use artificial intelligence.
  • the image analysis section 327 is configured to send the generated environmental data to the motion determination section 323.
  • the image specified by the metaverse image data is normally a moving image.
  • the image analysis unit 327 may continue to generate environmental data in real time and continue to send the generated environmental data to the motion determination unit 323 in real time.
  • the environmental data may be generated in batches at intervals, and the environmental data may be sent to the operation determining unit 323 each time the environmental data is generated.
  • the image analysis unit 327 generates environmental data when a predetermined event occurs as a result of analyzing the metaverse image data, and sends the environmental data to the operation determining unit 323 each time it generates the environmental data. It's okay to be.
  • the timing of generating the environmental data and transmitting it to the operation determining unit 323 can be a combination of the timings exemplified above.
  • the image analysis unit 327 sends the environmental data to the action determining unit 323, but in some cases (for example, when causing behavioral artificial intelligence to perform learning), the image analysis unit 327 sends the environmental data to the action determining unit 323. It may also be sent to the pattern recording section 324.
  • the image analysis unit 327 When the image analysis unit 327 sends environmental data to the motion pattern recording unit 324, the image analysis unit 327 generates motion data, which is data indicating what kind of motion the pseudo player character performed, from the metaverse image data. It also generates data and sends the motion data to the motion pattern recording section 324.
  • This motion data like the motion data generated by the motion determining section 323, is data that specifies the motion of the pseudo player character. The case in which the image analysis section 327 sends the environmental data to the motion pattern recording section 324 will be described later.
  • the motion pattern recording section 324 records data for determining the motion pattern that the pseudo player character should perform.
  • the data recorded in the motion pattern recording unit 324 may be, for example, something like a table that is a set of multiple data sets in which environmental data and motion pattern data are linked to each other. If such a table exists, the action determination unit 323 that receives the environmental data from the image analysis unit 327 reads the data of the action pattern linked to the environmental data, and determines what the pseudo player character should perform.
  • a motion can be determined from data of the motion pattern. For example, a table as described above may be prepared for each pseudo player character.
  • the action determining unit 323 is sent account data that is in one-to-one correspondence with the pseudo player character, in other words, is unique information for identifying the pseudo player character.
  • the operation determining unit 323 can use the table that has been linked to the account data received from the control unit 322. It becomes possible to determine an action appropriate for the pseudo player character associated with the player character based on the environmental data. However, it is also possible to link one table with data of a plurality of accounts, thereby making it possible to determine the actions of a plurality of pseudo player characters using one table.
  • motion artificial intelligence is an artificial intelligence.
  • there are a plurality of motion artificial intelligences and each motion artificial intelligence is prepared in equal numbers to the number of pseudo player characters controlled or operated by the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • FIG. 6 conceptually shows data recorded in the motion pattern recording section 324.
  • a plurality of motion artificial intelligences 324A are recorded in the motion pattern recording unit 324.
  • each of the behavioral artificial intelligences 324A has the characters "ID” written in it, but the characters that are written next (for example, the characters "123XX” in the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A in the upper left) are , shows the account linked to the operating artificial intelligence 324A.
  • the motion artificial intelligence 324A is an artificial intelligence that, when environmental data is input, outputs motion data regarding the motion of a pseudo player character suitable for the environment specified by the environment data.
  • the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A is a trained artificial intelligence obtained by performing learning by deep learning in this embodiment. More specifically, the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A uses environmental data and a pseudo-player character in the environment (at this point, the pseudo-player character is effectively a player character because it is being operated by a person called the administrator).
  • the motion artificial intelligence 324A thus obtained becomes an artificial intelligence that, when environmental data is input, outputs motion data regarding the motion of the pseudo player character appropriate for the environment specified by the environment data. How to obtain the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A, that is, how to cause the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A to perform learning will be described later.
  • the action determining unit 323 determines the action to be performed by the pseudo player character, and at that time, it uses the data recorded in the action pattern recording unit 324 and the data sent from the image analysis unit 327. use More specifically, the motion determining section 323 determines, among the motion artificial intelligences 324A recorded in the motion pattern recording section 324, those to which an account corresponding to the account data received from the control section 322 is attached. For example, after reading out the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A and recording it in, for example, a RAM or other recording medium, the environmental data received from the image analysis section 327 is inputted, and operational data is obtained as output from the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A that has performed the input.
  • the motion determining unit 323 determines the motion specified by the motion data thus obtained as the motion that the pseudo player character should perform.
  • the motion determining section 323 is configured to send the above-mentioned motion data generated using the environmental data and the motion artificial intelligence 324A to the pseudo operation data generating section 325.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit 325 has a function of generating pseudo operation data.
  • the pseudo operation data generating section 325 receives the motion data from the motion determining section 323, as described above. Upon receiving the motion data, the pseudo operation data generation unit 325 generates pseudo operation data that is data for causing the pseudo player character specified by the account data described above to perform the motion specified by the motion data. It is supposed to be done.
  • the pseudo operation data is data in a data format that can be accepted by the metaverse management device 200 to which the pseudo player character control device 300 is associated. Generally, the input device used by the user to operate the player character is different for each metaverse management device 200.
  • the user plans to use a keyboard and mouse when operating the player character, while in other metaverse management devices 200, the user plans to use the touch panel when operating the player character. I'm planning on using it.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit 325 specifies that the pseudo operation data generated and sent to the metaverse management device 200 is in at least a data format that can be accepted by the metaverse management device 200 (that is, a data format that the metaverse management device 200 is scheduled to accept).
  • the pseudo operation data is generated so that the data format is the same as that of the operation data.
  • the pseudo operation data generation section 325 is configured to send the generated pseudo operation data to the output section 326.
  • the output unit 326 is configured to receive account data, character data, login data, and operation data from the control unit 322. Further, the output unit 326 is configured to receive pseudo operation data from the pseudo operation data generation unit 325. The output unit 326 is configured to send the received data to a transmitting/receiving mechanism. Upon receiving the data, the output unit 326 sends the data to the metaverse management device 200 linked to the pseudo player character control device 300 via the network 400.
  • the metaverse management device 200 may be an existing publicly known or well-known server device. Further, its hardware configuration may be a general one.
  • the hardware configuration of the metaverse management device 200 is the same as the hardware configuration of the user terminal 100 shown in FIG. 3 in relation to the present invention.
  • the metaverse management device 200 has a CPU, ROM, RAM, interface, and large capacity storage medium connected via a bus.
  • the configurations and functions of the CPU, ROM, RAM, interface, bus, and mass storage device included in the metaverse management device 200 are the same as those in the user terminal 100.
  • the interface provided in the metaverse management device 200 is connected to a transmission/reception mechanism for communicating with devices outside the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400, similar to that provided in the user terminal 100. .
  • the interface provided in the metaverse management device 200 may be connected to a display and input device similar to those provided in the user terminal 100, but the description thereof will be omitted since it is not related to this application.
  • a computer program for causing a server to function as the metaverse management device 200 is recorded. This computer program may be pre-installed on the server serving as the metaverse management device 200, or may be post-installed.
  • This computer program may be installed on the server via a predetermined recording medium such as a memory card or CD-ROM, or via a network such as a LAN or the Internet.
  • the metaverse management device 200 includes at least an input section 221, a control section 222, a virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223, and a player character data recording section 224, as shown in FIG. , a metaverse data recording section 225, a metaverse image data generation section 226, and an output section 227 are generated.
  • the input section 221 and the output section 227 correspond to an interface when viewed as hardware, or are realized by the function of the interface. More specifically, the input section 221 and the output section 227 conceptually correspond to a connection section between an interface and a bus.
  • the control unit 222, the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223, and the metaverse image data generation unit 226 correspond to a CPU, which is an arithmetic unit, in terms of hardware, or are realized by the functions of the CPU.
  • the player character data recording section 224 and the metaverse data recording section 225 are configured of a recording medium for recording data as hardware, and more specifically, a ROM, RAM, or a large capacity storage medium. realized by
  • the input unit 221 receives input from the interface.
  • Data input from the interface includes data input from a transmitting/receiving mechanism via the interface.
  • Examples of data sent from the transmission/reception mechanism to the input unit 221 include account data, login data, character data, and operation data sent from the user terminal 100 and data sent from the pseudo player character control device 300. There are account data, login data, character data, operation data, and pseudo operation data.
  • the input unit 221 is configured to send the above-mentioned data received from the transmitting/receiving mechanism to the control unit 222.
  • the control unit 222 has a function of executing processing as a prerequisite for the user to receive metaverse services via the user terminal 100.
  • the prerequisite process is that the user terminal 100 or the pseudo player character control device 300 logs into the virtual three-dimensional space generated by the metaverse management device 200 or the metaverse service provided by the metaverse management device 200. It is processing. This process will be described later.
  • the prerequisite processing includes processing for generating a player character or a pseudo player character.
  • the control unit 222 may receive account data and character data sent from the user terminal 100 from the input unit 221. If received, the control unit 222 generates player character data to be used by the user to whom the received account data is allocated.
  • the player character's characteristics such as gender, name, height, body type, facial features, and clothing, can be arbitrarily selected.
  • the character data specifies each of these characteristics.
  • the control unit 222 generates a player character based on the received character data, links it with account data, and records the player character data, which is data of the player character, in the play character data recording unit 224. There is.
  • the control unit 222 may receive account data and character data sent from the pseudo player character control device 300 from the input unit 221 . When receiving it, the control unit 222 generates a player character by executing the same process from the input unit 221 as when receiving the account data and character data sent from the user terminal 100.
  • the player character generated based on the character data sent from the pseudo player character control device 300 is the same as the player character generated based on the character data sent from the user terminal 100. They cannot be distinguished, or at least they do not need to be distinguished. However, since the player character is not a person but is basically operated or made to move by the pseudo player character control device 300, it becomes a pseudo player character in the present invention.
  • the control unit 222 inputs the account data received from the input unit 221.
  • the data is sent to the virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223.
  • the control section 222 controls the input section.
  • the account data received from 221 is sent to virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223.
  • the control unit 222 also sends the operation data sent from the user terminal 100 received from the input unit 221 to the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223. ing.
  • the control section 222 also converts the operation data or pseudo operation data received from the input section 221 and sent from the pseudo player character control device 300 into a virtual The data is sent to the three-dimensional spatial data generation section 223.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 creates a virtual three-dimensional space that the metaverse management device 200 provides to the user by calculation, and also generates virtual three-dimensional space data that is data that specifies the virtual three-dimensional space. It is.
  • the virtual three-dimensional spatial data generation unit 223 can be said to form the basis of the Metaverse service provided to users.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223 uses the operation data sent from the user terminal 100 received from the control section 222 and the control section 222.
  • the player character data associated with the account specified by the account data sent from the control device 300 and the metaverse data recorded in the metaverse data recording unit 225 are used.
  • the metaverse data is data regarding all objects other than the player character, which is necessary for the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 to generate a virtual three-dimensional space.
  • All targets include, for example, natural objects such as the ground, mountains, and rivers that exist in a virtual three-dimensional space, roads and buildings, furniture and fixtures in buildings, artificial objects such as exhibition booths and products, non-player characters, etc. It may include data for specifying, and data for specifying their position and orientation in a virtual three-dimensional space. Furthermore, data regarding dynamic objects such as weather and means of transportation in the virtual three-dimensional space may also be included.
  • the metaverse data recording unit 225 records all data other than those related to the player character in the metaverse as metaverse data. When generating a virtual three-dimensional space, the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 reads metaverse data from the metaverse data recording unit 225 and generates a virtual three-dimensional space within a necessary range.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223 stores the user's player character read out from the player character data recording section 224 and a pseudo player character for the pseudo player character control device 300 in the virtual three-dimensional space. Place the player character. Then, the motion of the player character is determined based on the operation data received from the control unit 222 and sent from the user terminal 100. Further, the motion of the pseudo player character is determined based on the operation data or pseudo operation data received from the control unit 222 and sent from the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the technique used by the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 to generate the virtual three-dimensional space may be a known or well-known technique.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 can generate a virtual three-dimensional space within a certain range in which the player character and the pseudo player character exist.
  • the actions performed by the player character are those intended by the user, and the actions performed by the pseudo player character are based on the operation data or pseudo operation data sent from the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • Data specifying the virtual three-dimensional space generated in this way is virtual three-dimensional space data.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223 is configured to send virtual three-dimensional space data to the metaverse image data generation section 226.
  • the virtual three-dimensional spatial data generation unit 2263 continuously sends virtual three-dimensional spatial data to the metaverse image data generation unit 226 in real time.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 has a function of generating metaverse image data, which is data about metaverse images.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 receives virtual three-dimensional space data as described above.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data is data that specifies a predetermined range of the virtual three-dimensional space that includes the player character and the pseudo player character.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 performs calculations based on the virtual three-dimensional space data, the metaverse image data generation unit 226 generates a first-person viewpoint that includes at least one of the player character and the pseudo-player character viewed from a certain viewpoint.
  • Metaverse image data Data about a metaverse image, which is an image of a virtual three-dimensional space in a certain range from a third-person viewpoint, that is, metaverse image data is generated.
  • a metaverse image is generated for each player character or each pseudo player character.
  • the position of the viewpoint in each metaverse image, whether it is a first-person viewpoint or a third-person viewpoint, and the range in the virtual three-dimensional space drawn in the metaverse image are sent from the user terminal 100 as is publicly known or well-known. It can be selected (or changed) depending on the data. However, since such technology is rather well known, a detailed explanation of this point will be omitted.
  • the metaverse image data is sent to at least one of the user terminal 100 and the pseudo player character control device 300, but it is specified by the metaverse image data sent to both when the metaverse image data is sent to both.
  • Metaverse images may, and usually are, different from each other in terms of viewpoint positions and ranges, for example.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 generates metaverse image data as moving image data.
  • the metaverse image data generation section 226 is configured to send the generated metaverse image data to the output section 227.
  • the output unit 227 is configured to send the received metaverse image data to the transmitting/receiving mechanism.
  • the transmission/reception mechanism is linked to the user terminal 100 of a user who has an account linked to the player character that triggered the generation of the metaverse image data, and the pseudo player character that triggered the generation of the metaverse image data. and the pseudo player character control device 300 that has the account.
  • the metaverse image data sent to both parties may be different from each other as described above.
  • the user When a user uses the Metaverse system, the user first registers an account with the Metaverse management device 200 that provides the Metaverse service that the user uses, and also registers the player character that the user uses. Similarly, the pseudo player character control device 300 also registers an account with the metaverse management device 200 to which the pseudo player character control device 300 is linked, and the pseudo player character controlled by the pseudo player character control device 300. Register.
  • the account and player character registration performed by the user and the account and pseudo player character registration performed by the pseudo player character control device 300 can be performed independently of each other, and are performed at the same time regardless of which one is performed first. I don't mind.
  • the process for a user to register an account and a player character can be realized by a publicly known or well-known method.
  • the user connects the user terminal 100 to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400 using, for example, a browser function installed in the user terminal 100.
  • the user inputs his or her account using the input device 102.
  • the input account is input from the input device 102 to the control unit 122 via the interface 114 and the input unit 121.
  • the control unit 122 generates account data that is data that specifies an account.
  • the account data is sent from the control unit 122 to the output unit 124 and then to the transmitting/receiving mechanism.
  • the sending/receiving mechanism sends account data to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400.
  • the metaverse management device 200 receives account data through a transmission/reception mechanism.
  • Account data is sent from the transmitting/receiving mechanism to the input section 221 via the interface, and further to the control section 222.
  • the control unit 222 records data for that account.
  • the account of the user who uses the user terminal 100 is recorded in the metaverse management device 200. Since many users register their accounts, the accounts of many users are recorded in, for example, the control unit 322 of the metaverse management device 200.
  • the account registration is completed, the user registers the player character that he/she will use. Registration of a player character does not need to be performed consecutively with registration of an account. For example, it is possible to register the player character after the login process described below is performed.
  • the user uses the input device 102 to input character data.
  • the user uses the input device 102 to input data for selecting characteristics such as gender, name, height, body shape, facial features, and clothing of the player character. If there is a player character prepared by default by the metaverse management device 200 and the user selects it, the user may only need to make an input indicating that this character is to be selected.
  • the input data is input from the input device 102 to the control unit 122 via the interface 114 and the input unit 121.
  • the flow of data from the input device 102 to the control unit 122 is the same hereafter, although the explanation may be omitted.
  • the control unit 122 generates character data that is data indicating the characteristics of the player character.
  • the character data is sent from the control unit 122 to the output unit 124 and further to the transmitting/receiving mechanism.
  • the sending/receiving mechanism sends account data to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400.
  • the data flow until the data generated by the control unit 122 reaches the metaverse management device 200 is the same from here on, although the explanation may be omitted.
  • the metaverse management device 200 receives character data through a transmission/reception mechanism.
  • the character data is sent from the transmitting/receiving mechanism to the input section 221 via the interface, and further to the control section 222.
  • control unit 222 receives the character data, it generates a player character that reflects the characteristics of the character, and also generates player character data that is data that specifies the player character, and sends it to the player along with the previously received account data.
  • the character data is sent to the player character data recording section 224.
  • player character data recording section 224 player character data is recorded in a state where it is linked with account data. If a large number of users register player characters, the number of player character data linked to account data will increase.
  • the process in which the pseudo player character control device 300 registers an account and a player character can be realized by a method similar to the process in which a user registers an account and a player character using the user terminal 100.
  • the administrator of the pseudo player character control device 300 connects the pseudo player character control device 300 to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400 using, for example, a browser function installed in the pseudo player character control device 300. Connect via. Then, the administrator of the pseudo player character control device 300 inputs his or her account using the input device.
  • the input account is input from the input device to the control unit 322 via the interface and input unit 321.
  • the control unit 322 generates account data that is data that identifies an account.
  • the account data is sent from the control unit 322 to the output unit 326 and then to the transceiver mechanism.
  • the sending/receiving mechanism sends account data to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400.
  • the metaverse management device 200 receives account data through a transmission/reception mechanism.
  • Account data is sent from the transmitting/receiving mechanism to the input section 221 via the interface, and further to the control section 222.
  • the control unit 222 records data for that account.
  • the account of the pseudo player character control device 300 is recorded in the metaverse management device 200.
  • the account of the pseudo player character control device 300 cannot be distinguished from the user's account, or at least does not need to be distinguished.
  • the number of accounts registered with the metaverse management device 200 from one pseudo player character control device 300 is usually large. For example, in the control unit 222 of the metaverse management device 200, accounts for a large number of pseudo player character control devices 300 are recorded.
  • an administrator of the metaverse management device 200 registers a pseudo player character that is a player character operated by the metaverse management device 200. Similar to the case of registering a player character from the user terminal 100, registration of a pseudo player character does not need to be performed consecutively with account registration, and can be performed multiple times for one account.
  • the administrator of the pseudo player character control device 300 inputs character data using an input device.
  • the user uses an input device to input data for selecting characteristics of the player character.
  • the input data is input from the input device to the control unit 322 via the interface and input unit 321 .
  • the flow of data from the input device to the control unit 322 is the same hereafter, although the explanation may be omitted.
  • the control unit 322 generates character data that is data indicating the characteristics of the player character.
  • the character data is sent from the control unit 322 to the output unit 326 and further to the transmitting/receiving mechanism.
  • the sending/receiving mechanism sends account data to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400.
  • the data flow until the data generated by the control unit 322 reaches the metaverse management device 200 is the same from here on, although the explanation may be omitted.
  • the metaverse management device 200 receives character data through a transmission/reception mechanism.
  • the character data is sent from the transmitting/receiving mechanism to the input section 221 via the interface, and further to the control section 222.
  • the flow of data from the transmitting/receiving mechanism to the control unit 222 is the same hereafter, although the explanation may be omitted.
  • the control unit 222 receives the character data, it generates a player character as a pseudo player character that reflects the characteristics of the character data, and also generates player character data that is data that specifies the player character.
  • the player character data is sent to the player character data recording section 224 along with the account data. In the player character data recording section 224, player character data is recorded in a state where it is linked with account data.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 when the pseudo player character control device 300 registers an account and a character as a pseudo player character to the metaverse management device 200, the administrator of the pseudo player character control device 300 manually registers the character. Although these have been registered, it is also possible to have the pseudo player character control device 300 automatically perform the above registration by adding a predetermined computer program to the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the administrator of the metaverse management device 200 may Of course, it is also possible to adopt processes different from the above-mentioned processes, such as recording the data of multiple accounts at once, or recording a large number of sets of account data and player character data in the player character data recording section 224 at the same time. possible.
  • the user can use the user terminal 100 to receive the metaverse service provided by the metaverse management device 200.
  • the user can use the user terminal 100 to receive the metaverse service provided by the metaverse management device 200.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 can now send a pseudo player character, which is a player character operated by itself, into the virtual three-dimensional space generated by the metaverse management device 200.
  • learning of the motion artificial intelligence 324A which is the main function of the pseudo player character control device 300 for automatically operating or moving the pseudo player character, is not performed. Therefore, the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A is made to perform learning.
  • a user logs into the metaverse management device 200.
  • the user connects the user terminal 100 to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400 using, for example, a browser function installed in the user terminal 100.
  • the user inputs his or her account using the input device 102.
  • the control unit 122 generates account data that is data that specifies the account.
  • the user also inputs information to log in.
  • the control unit 122 receives the input and generates login data.
  • Account data and login data are sent from the user terminal 100 to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400.
  • the metaverse management device 200 receives account data and login data.
  • the account data and login data are sent to the control unit 222 of the metaverse management device 200.
  • control unit 222 When the control unit 222 receives the account data and login data, it determines whether the account specified by the account data matches any of the accounts recorded in the control unit 222. As a result of this determination, if the account specified by the received account data matches one of the many recorded accounts, the control unit 222 sends the account data and login data to the user terminal 100 or its user terminal 100 that sent the account data and login data. Login of the user operating the user terminal 100 is permitted. When the login is approved, the control unit 222 sends the account data to the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223. Upon receiving it, the virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223 reads out the player character data linked to the account specified by the account data from the player character data recording section 224.
  • the player character specified by this player character data is the player character of the user who has the account data described above.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 reads metaverse data from the metaverse data recording unit 225 as data necessary to create a virtual three-dimensional space. Based on the metaverse data and player character data, the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 generates virtual three-dimensional space data that is data about the virtual three-dimensional space.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data is a certain range of data about a virtual space in which the user's player character described above exists. Portions of the virtual three-dimensional space other than the play and characters are specified by metaverse data, and the player character is specified by player character data.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 can also use data other than metaverse data when generating portions of the virtual three-dimensional space other than the player character data. This is the same in all cases where virtual three-dimensional spatial data is generated, which will be described below.
  • the metaverse management device 200 can collect appropriate data from the network 400 by crawling or other known or well-known techniques, and can also use that data to generate a virtual three-dimensional space. For example, you can match the weather in a certain area in the real world with the weather in a certain area in a virtual three-dimensional space, or match the results of a certain game in a professional soccer league in the real world to a soccer stadium in a virtual three-dimensional space.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223 sends the generated virtual three-dimensional space data to the metaverse image data generation section 226.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 generates a metaverse image based on the received virtual three-dimensional space data, and generates metaverse image data that is data about the metaverse image.
  • the metaverse image in this case is as described above, and is, for example, an image of a certain range of virtual three-dimensional space including the player character seen from a certain viewpoint.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 sends the generated metaverse image data to the output unit 227.
  • the metaverse image data is sent from the output unit 227 to the transmitting/receiving mechanism, and further transmitted via the network 400 to the user terminal 100 for which login has been approved.
  • the user terminal 100 receives metaverse image data through its transceiver mechanism.
  • Metaverse image data is sent from the transmission/reception mechanism to the image control section 123 via the interface 114 and input section 121.
  • the image control unit 123 Upon receiving the metaverse image data, the image control unit 123 generates image data that is data for displaying an image in a virtual three-dimensional space on a display.
  • the image data is sent to the interface 114 via the output section 124 and further to the display 101.
  • the display 101 displays an image based on image data.
  • the image based on the image data is an image in a virtual three-dimensional space generated by the metaverse management device 200. By viewing the image displayed on the display 101, the user knows that he/she was able to log in to the metaverse management device 200.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 logs into the metaverse management device 200.
  • the administrator of the pseudo player character control device 300 or a person related to a company that promotes the product (sales promoter) logs into the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • Perform 300 operations Of course, such operation may be performed by remotely operating the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the promoter inputs account data that is data associated with a pseudo player character for specifying the pseudo player character to be sent into the virtual three-dimensional space when the pseudo player character control device 300 logs in.
  • the sales promoter also inputs information to log in.
  • the control unit 322 receives the input and generates login data. Account data and login data are sent from the pseudo player character control device 300 to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400.
  • the following processing performed within the metaverse management device 200 is the same as when a user logs in to the metaverse management device 200 using the user terminal 100. From the perspective of the metaverse management device 200, the user terminal 100 and the pseudo player character control device 300 cannot be distinguished, or at least there is no need to distinguish between them. In other words, the metaverse management device 200, which is intended to be used in combination with the user terminal 100, does not require any new modification or remodeling when combined with the pseudo player character control device 300. At least no major changes or modifications are required.
  • the metaverse management device 200 uses virtual tertiary data that is a certain range of data about the virtual space in which the pseudo player character associated with the account specified by the received account data exists.
  • Original spatial data is generated, and further, based on the virtual three-dimensional spatial data, a metaverse image for metaverse image data is generated.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223 sends the generated virtual three-dimensional space data to the metaverse image data generation section 226.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 generates a metaverse image based on the received virtual three-dimensional space data, and generates metaverse image data that is data about the metaverse image.
  • the metaverse image in this case is, for example, an image of a certain range of virtual three-dimensional space including the pseudo player character seen from a certain viewpoint.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 sends the generated metaverse image data to the output unit 227.
  • the metaverse image data is sent from the output unit 227 to the transmitting/receiving mechanism, and further sent to the pseudo player character control device 300 via the network 400.
  • the metaverse image or metaverse image data in this case is usually different from that sent to the user terminal 100.
  • the processes performed by the metaverse management device 200 from receiving operation data from the pseudo player character control device 300 to sending metaverse image data back to the pseudo player character control device 300 are as follows: This process is the same as the process performed by the metaverse management device 200 when sending image data back to the user terminal 100.
  • the metaverse image data received by the transmission/reception mechanism is sent to the image analysis section 327 via the interface and input section 321.
  • the image analysis unit 327 generates environmental data by extracting various feature points from the image. As described above, the environmental data are feature points of the metaverse image (including audio) specified by the metaverse image data. In order to extract these feature points, the image analysis unit 327 estimates feature points of the environment around the pseudo player character from metaverse image data including audio data.
  • the feature points include, for example, the position in the virtual three-dimensional space where the pseudo player character exists.
  • position estimation can be realized, for example, by a combination of grasping the map of the virtual three-dimensional space of the metaverse and a position estimation engine that is an artificial intelligence that estimates the position of the pseudo player character.
  • the feature points may also include whether there is a player character nearby, and if there is a player character nearby, what the relative positional relationship is with the pseudo player character.
  • Such feature points include, for example, whether the player character is reflected in the metaverse image specified by the metaverse image data, and if the player character is reflected in the metaverse image, what is the size and orientation of the player character?
  • the image analysis unit 327 may use a plurality of artificial intelligences. For example, a plurality of artificial intelligences used by the image analysis unit 327 to generate environmental data can be used in common when generating environmental data for all pseudo player characters.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 can understand that the login to the metaverse management device 200 has been successful. It has been stated above that the pseudo player character control device 300 basically does not require a display, but when the pseudo player character is operated by a person such as a sales promoter, it is necessary to In order to do this, the pseudo player character control device 300 should also be provided with a display similar to the user terminal 100. Then, as in the case of the user terminal 100, an image based on the metaverse image should be displayed on the display.
  • a user has logged in to the metaverse management device 200 from the user terminal 100, and a sales promoter has logged in to the metaverse management device 200 from the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • a player character operated by a user using the user terminal 100 and a pseudo player character operated by a sales promoter using the pseudo player character control device 300 exist simultaneously. ing.
  • the user performs input for generating operation data from the input device 102.
  • the input contents are sent to the control section 122.
  • the control unit 122 generates operation data according to the received input content.
  • the operation data is data for causing the user's player character to perform actions desired by the user.
  • the operation data is sent from the control unit 122 to the transmitting/receiving mechanism via the output unit 124 and interface 114, and further via the network 400 to the metaverse management device 200 being logged in.
  • the operation data is received by the transmission/reception mechanism of the metaverse management device 200, sent from the transmission/reception mechanism to the control section 222 via the interface and input section 221, and further sent to the virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 causes the player character of the logged-in user in the virtual three-dimensional space to move according to the operation data.
  • the actions include movement of the player character, change in posture, or utterance of words.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 generates virtual three-dimensional space data again and sends it to the metaverse image data generation unit 226.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 generates a metaverse image and metaverse image data again based on the virtual three-dimensional space data.
  • the metaverse image data is sent from the metaverse management device 200 to the logged-in user terminal 100.
  • an image based on the image data generated by the metaverse image data is displayed on the display 101, and the pseudo player character included in the image is moved according to the operation data in the video. perform the action.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 the sales promoter inputs from the input device 102 to generate operation data.
  • the input contents are sent to the control section 322.
  • the control unit 322 generates operation data according to the received input content.
  • the operation data is data for causing the pseudo player character operated by the promotion person to behave in a manner desired by the promotion person.
  • the operation data is sent from the control unit 322 to the transmitting/receiving mechanism via the output unit 326 and the interface, and is further sent via the network 400 to the metaverse management device 200 being logged in.
  • the operation data is received by the transmission/reception mechanism of the metaverse management device 200, sent from the transmission/reception mechanism to the control section 222 via the interface and input section 221, and further sent to the virtual three-dimensional space data generation section 223.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 causes the pseudo player character operated by the logged-in sales promoter in the virtual three-dimensional space to operate according to the operation data. This action also includes the movement of the pseudo player character, a change in posture, or the utterance of words.
  • the virtual three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 generates virtual three-dimensional space data again and sends it to the metaverse image data generation unit 226.
  • the metaverse image data generation unit 226 generates a metaverse image and metaverse image data again based on the virtual three-dimensional space data. As described above, the metaverse image data is sent from the metaverse management device 200 to the logged-in user terminal 100.
  • the image analysis unit 327 generates environment data again.
  • the environmental data is sent to the motion pattern recording section 324.
  • an image based on the image data generated by the metaverse image data will be displayed on the display connected to the pseudo player character control device 300, and the pseudo player character included in the image will be displayed on the display connected to the pseudo player character control device 300. Then, perform the operation according to the operation data.
  • the user operating the user terminal 100 can cause his or her player character to operate as desired in the virtual three-dimensional space provided by the metaverse management device 200.
  • the promoter who operates the pseudo player character control device 300 can make his pseudo player character move as he desires in the virtual three-dimensional space provided by the metaverse management device 200.
  • a player character and a pseudo player character meet in a virtual three-dimensional space.
  • a pseudo player character whose purpose is to promote sales of a certain product is waiting for the player character operated by the user at an appropriate location in a virtual three-dimensional space to promote sales of the product, so there is a certain probability that the pseudo player character will An encounter between the character and the pseudo player character occurs in the virtual three-dimensional space.
  • the promotion person uses the pseudo player character to guide the player character operated by the user to the location of the product in order to show the product that he/she is promoting.
  • the promoter operates the input device of the pseudo player character control device 300 and sends operation data to the metaverse management device 200 in order to cause the pseudo player character to perform appropriate actions.
  • the metaverse management device 200 continues to generate metaverse image data, and transfers the generated metaverse image data to the user terminal 100 and the pseudo player character control device 300. I will continue to send it to you.
  • the user further operates the user terminal 100 to cause the player character to operate, and the promoter operates the pseudo player character control device 300 to cause the pseudo player character to operate.
  • communication occurs between the player character and the pseudo player character, or between the user who operates them and the promoter.
  • the communication may be such that the pseudo player character returns the answer a to the question A from the player character, or the pseudo player character returns b to the question B from the player character, or the pseudo player character returns the answer b to the question B from the player character.
  • the pseudo player character responds to the request C with an action c.
  • the metaverse management device 200 continues to generate metaverse image data and continues to send the generated metaverse image data to the user terminal 100 and the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the image analysis section 327 continues to generate environmental data, and the environment data continues to be sent one after another from the image analysis section 327 to the motion pattern recording section 324.
  • the image analysis unit 327 uses, in addition to the environmental data, data to specify what kind of motion the pseudo player character has performed. It also generates operational data. Therefore, in this case, what is sent one after another from the image analysis section 327 to the motion pattern recording section 324 is a pair of environmental data and motion data.
  • the environmental data and motion data that are sent one after another from the image analysis section 327 to the motion pattern recording section 324 are input to the motion artificial intelligence 324A recorded in the motion pattern recording section 324 as teacher data.
  • the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A progresses in learning based on the environmental data and behavioral data.
  • the paired environment data and motion data sent one after another from the image analysis section 327 to the motion pattern recording section 324 are linked with the pseudo player character that triggered the generation of the environment data.
  • the information is input one after another to the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A.
  • the motion artificial intelligence 324A learns motion data to be output when certain environmental data is input.
  • the motion data input as teacher data is based on the surroundings of the pseudo player character specified by the environmental data input at the same time as the motion data is input. It is environmentally friendly. Therefore, the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A, which is recommended to learn by successively inputting such a set of environmental data and behavioral data, is suitable for the well-known environment of the pseudo player character specified by the environmental data. Learning will proceed in such a way that it will be possible to output accurate motion data. Note that learning by the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A is not necessarily performed only when communication between the pseudo player character and the player character occurs.
  • the learning of the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A does not need to be performed in real time while the pseudo player character is logged into the virtual three-dimensional space created by the metaverse management device 200, but, for example, at the timing when a certain amount of training data has been accumulated. For example, the process may be performed at a time when the pseudo player character is not logged in. Such learning may be performed for all motion artificial intelligences 324A. However, it is not necessary for all the motion artificial intelligences 324A to undergo learning within the pseudo player character control device 300 through the process described above. For example, there is artificial intelligence that can be used as the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A, such as behavioral artificial intelligence generated by another pseudo player character control device 300 or behavioral artificial intelligence data generated by some other method.
  • the learned behavioral artificial intelligence 324A in the motion pattern recording section 324 by recording it in the motion pattern recording section 324.
  • a recording medium on which such learned behavioral artificial intelligence data is recorded may be inserted into a reading/writing device for a recording medium (for example, a DVD-ROM) connected to the interface of the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the learned artificial intelligence data does not need to be input to the pseudo player character control device 300 via a recording medium, and may be input to the pseudo player character control device 300 via the network 400.
  • the motion pattern recording unit of a certain pseudo player character control device 300 may store data (computer program and data set) of the learned motion artificial intelligence 324A generated by another device (another pseudo player character control device 300). It is possible to install it on 324.
  • the pseudo player character was operated by a person called a sales promoter.
  • the pseudo player character is basically automatically operated or made to move by the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • a case in which the pseudo player character is automatically operated by the pseudo player character control device 300 will be described below.
  • the pseudo player character may be operated by the pseudo player character control device 300 instead of the promoter.
  • the player character meets a pseudo player character.
  • the control unit 322 sends the account data of the pseudo player character currently logged in to the metaverse management device 200 to the action determining unit 323 before and after the pseudo player character logs in to the metaverse management device 200.
  • the user further operates the user terminal 100 to make the player character move, and as described above, may ask questions or make requests to the pseudo player character who is trying to promote sales of a certain product.
  • the metaverse management device 200 continues to generate metaverse image data and continues to send the generated metaverse image data to the user terminal 100 and the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the image analysis unit 327 in the pseudo player character control device 300 continues to generate environmental data (in this case, the motion of the pseudo player character is automatically controlled by the pseudo player character control device 300, and the motion artificial intelligence 324A learning is not being performed), it is not necessary for the image analysis unit 327 to generate motion data).
  • the contents of the environmental data and the method for generating the environmental data are as described above.
  • the generated environmental data is sequentially sent from the image analysis section 327 to the motion determining section 323 instead of the motion pattern recording section 324.
  • the motion determining section 323 reads out, from among the motion artificial intelligences 324A recorded in the motion pattern recording section 324, those assigned an account corresponding to the account data received from the control section 322. Then, the environmental data received from the image analysis unit 327 is input to the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A, and operational data is obtained as an output for the environmental data from the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A that has performed the input.
  • the motion artificial intelligence 324A functions as a motion estimation engine that estimates what kind of motion is appropriate for the pseudo player character to perform in a certain environment. Then, the motion determining unit 323 determines the motion specified by the motion data obtained as the output of the motion artificial intelligence 324A as the motion that the pseudo player character should perform.
  • the motion determining unit 323 does not have to use the output from the motion artificial intelligence 324A itself as data to determine the motion to be performed by the pseudo player character.
  • appropriate data is collected from the network 400 by crawling or other known or well-known technology, and the output from the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A is changed based on the collected data, and the changed data is converted into a pseudo player character. It is possible to use the data to determine the action to be performed. Thereby, it is also possible to make the movements of the pseudo player character more natural, for example, in accordance with the circumstances in the real world (weather, current events, trends, etc.).
  • the above-mentioned data collected through crawling etc. is applied to the various artificial intelligences mentioned above used in the image analysis unit 327 to generate environmental data. It is also possible to use other measures such as reflecting the information or reflecting it on the behavioral artificial intelligence 324A.
  • the motion determining unit 323 sends the above-mentioned motion data generated using the environmental data and the motion artificial intelligence 324A to the pseudo operation data generating unit 325.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit 325 Upon receiving the motion data, the pseudo operation data generation unit 325 generates pseudo operation data, which is data for causing the pseudo player character specified by the account data described above to perform the motion specified by the motion data. do.
  • the pseudo operation data is data in a data format that can be accepted by the metaverse management device 200 to which the pseudo player character control device 300 is associated.
  • the pseudo-operation data generation unit 325 may include artificial intelligence for adjusting the pseudo-operation data so that the pseudo-player character performs natural movements.
  • the motion of the pseudo player character that is operated under the control of the metaverse management device 200 that has received the pseudo operation data becomes natural. For example, even if a pseudo-player character who is walking straight in a virtual three-dimensional space turns left, it would be extremely difficult for the pseudo-player character to suddenly turn at a right angle in a certain place, considering the way humans normally walk and turn. It's unnatural. Humans usually bend while drawing a curve with a certain radius.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit 325 has artificial intelligence that makes such adjustments (that is, artificial intelligence as an operation estimation engine that estimates operations performed by the user using the input device 102), The movement of the pseudo player character becomes natural. Such artificial intelligence does not need to be different for each pseudo player character, and can be common when generating pseudo operation data for all pseudo player characters.
  • the pseudo operation data generation section 325 sends the generated pseudo operation data to the output section 326.
  • the pseudo operation data is sent from the output unit 326 to the transmitting/receiving mechanism, and further sent to the metaverse management device 200 via the network 400.
  • the metaverse management device 200 receives the pseudo operation data through its transmission/reception mechanism.
  • the pseudo-operation data is sent from there to the control section 222 and further to the three-dimensional spatial data generation section 223.
  • the pseudo operation data has the same data format as the operation data sent from the user terminal 100. Therefore, the three-dimensional space data generation unit 223 that has received the pseudo-operation data generates the pseudo-player character according to the pseudo-operation data in the same way as it causes the player character to perform an action according to the operation data when receiving the operation data.
  • the object is made to perform an action according to the pseudo operation data.
  • the subsequent processing is as already described.
  • the metaverse management device 200 generates metaverse image data and sends it to each of the user terminal 100 and the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • An image based on the metaverse image data is displayed as a moving image on the display 101 of the user terminal 100 that has received the metaverse image data.
  • the pseudo player character performs actions according to the pseudo operation data.
  • the user may not know whether the pseudo player character is being operated by a human being or by a machine called the pseudo player character control device 300. However, that's okay.
  • the user can experience communication between the player character that he or she operates and the pseudo player character, at least without feeling any discomfort.
  • the pseudo player character was intended to promote sales of a certain company's products.
  • the pseudo player character may be one that provides guidance within a virtual three-dimensional space.
  • the guidance provided by the pseudo player character may be, for example, focused on food, scenery, or buildings, depending on the preferences of the user or the player character operated by the user. .
  • By preparing an appropriate motion artificial intelligence 324A that determines the motion of the pseudo player character it is possible to make the motion of the pseudo player character desired.
  • the pseudo player character and the player character communicate in a one-to-one relationship, but the two may also communicate in a one-to-many or many-to-one relationship. Of course it could happen.
  • the pseudo player character does not necessarily have to have a clear purpose as described above.
  • the pseudo player character may simply serve as a conversation partner for the player character operated by the user in the virtual three-dimensional space. If the user desires such a pseudo-player character, the user should want to meet the same pseudo-player character in the virtual three-dimensional space whenever he or she desires.
  • the motion artificial intelligence 324A associated with the pseudo player character may predict the player character's behavior or the player character's preferences when the player character has acted together with the player character in the past in a virtual three-dimensional space. If the player character has learned through processing using environmental data such as The action is likely to be desirable for the user or the player character operated by the user.
  • the user or the player character operated by the user already knows the accounts in the virtual three-dimensional space provided by the metaverse management device 200. It becomes possible to call a fixed pseudo player character.
  • the user operates the input device 102 of the user terminal 100 to input an input for calling a certain pseudo player character.
  • the input includes, for example, account data of a pseudo player character to be called up.
  • the control unit 122 selects a pseudo player character and generates selection data that is data for calling the selected pseudo player character.
  • the selection data is sent from the user terminal 100 to the pseudo player character control device 300 via the network 400.
  • the selection data is received by the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the selection data is sent to the control section 322.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 that has received the selection data performs a login process to the metaverse management device 200 using an account corresponding to the account data included in the selection data. By doing so, the pseudo player character associated with that account will appear in the virtual three-dimensional space created by the metaverse management device 200. Thereby, the player character operated by the user and the pseudo player character called by the user can meet up in the virtual three-dimensional space.
  • devices such as adding position information in the virtual three-dimensional space where the player character is currently located to the selection data. may be appropriately adopted according to publicly known or well-known techniques. If the user calls a plurality of pseudo player characters, the user's player character can communicate with the plurality of pseudo player characters in the virtual three-dimensional space.
  • FIG. 8 shows an outline of a metaverse system including a modified pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the metaverse system of the modified example has most points in common with the metaverse system described in the embodiment. The difference is that in the modified example, there is only one pseudo player character control device 300, compared to three in the embodiment.
  • each of the plurality of metaverse management devices 200 and the same number of pseudo player character control devices 300 as the metaverse management devices 200 have a one-to-one correspondence, and each metaverse management device 200 creates a virtual tertiary character.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 linked to each metaverse management device 200 was configured to send a pseudo player character into the original space.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 according to the modified example sends pseudo player characters to all of the virtual three-dimensional spaces respectively generated by a plurality of metaverse management devices 200 (in this modified example, three metaverse management devices 200). It is designed to operate.
  • the configurations, functions, operations, etc. of the user terminal 100 and the metaverse management device 200 in the metaverse system of the modification are the functions of the control unit 122 of the user terminal 100 of the modification and the functions of the control unit 122 of the user terminal 100 of the embodiment. Everything is the same as that described in the embodiment except for slight differences as described below.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 in the modified metaverse system is different from the pseudo player character control device 300 described in the embodiment. However, the difference is slight.
  • the functional blocks generated in the pseudo player character control device 300 according to the modified example by the computer program for causing the server to function as the pseudo player character control device of the present invention are as shown in FIGS. There is no difference from what was explained in the form. Further, the functions of the functional blocks generated in the pseudo player character control device 300 of the modified example are the same as those in the embodiment, except for the control section 322 and the pseudo operation data generation section 325.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit 325 in the modified example differs from the embodiment in that it can generate pseudo operation data in a data format that can be accepted by the metaverse management device 200 to which the generated pseudo operation data is sent. Its function is different from the pseudo operation data generation section 325 in the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • the pseudo-operation data generation unit 325 of the modified example is capable of generating pseudo-operation data in three different data formats.
  • the user uses the user terminal 100 to register an account and player character in any one of the three metaverse management devices 200.
  • One user can register accounts and player characters with multiple metaverse management devices 200.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 performs the same processing as described in the embodiment on the three metaverse management devices 200 to register accounts and pseudo player characters.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 of the modified example also manages which account is registered in which metaverse management device 200. For example, if account data is recorded in the control unit 322, information that specifies in which metaverse management device 200 the account data is registered is added to the account data. be done. For example, if three metaverse management devices 200 are distinguished by giving identification numbers 1, 2, and 3, the identification numbers will be recorded in the control unit 322 along with the account data.
  • operation data sent from the user terminal 100 to the metaverse management device 200 for operating the player character, and operation data sent from the pseudo player character control device 300 to the metaverse management device 200 for operating the pseudo player character. have the same data format as long as they are sent to the same metaverse management device 200.
  • operation data is sent from the user terminal 100 to the metaverse management device 200 for operating the player character
  • pseudo operation data is sent from the pseudo player character control device 300 to the metaverse management device 200 for operating the pseudo player character.
  • the principle for setting the data format of the pseudo operation data to the same data format as the operation data scheduled to be accepted by the metaverse management device 200 to which it is sent is as follows, for example. For example, when logging in to the metaverse management device 200 with the pseudo player character control device 300, the control unit 322 sends the identification number of the metaverse management device 200 to which the login is performed to the pseudo operation data generation unit 325, for example.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit 325 records the data format of operation data that each metaverse management device 200 can receive in a state that is linked to the identification number of the metaverse management device 200.
  • the pseudo operation data generation unit 325 generates pseudo operation data in a data format associated with the received identification number based on the operation data. Thereby, the data format of the pseudo operation data becomes the same data format as the operation data scheduled to be accepted by the metaverse management device 200 to which it is sent.
  • a user calls a pseudo player character from the pseudo player character control device 300 into a virtual three-dimensional space generated by the metaverse management device 200 to which the user's own player character is logged in.
  • the user sends selection data from the user terminal 100 to the pseudo player character control device 300.
  • this selection data included data on the account of the pseudo player character to be called.
  • the selection data sent from the user terminal 100 to the pseudo player character control device 300 includes, in addition to account data, a virtual three-dimensional space in which the user wishes to call a pseudo player character.
  • the identification number of the metaverse management device 200 currently in use is included.
  • the pseudo player character control device 300 can grasp which pseudo player character the user desires to send into the virtual three-dimensional space generated by which metaverse management device 200.
  • the subsequent processing is as already described.
  • a pseudo player character desired by the user is sent from the pseudo player character control device 300 into a virtual three-dimensional space where a player character operated by the user exists, and in that virtual three-dimensional space, a player character operated by the user and a pseudo player character are sent.
  • the pseudo player character operated by the player character control device 300 will meet up. Thereafter, communication between the player character and the pseudo player character is performed.
  • the data format of the pseudo operation data sent from the pseudo player character control device 300 to the metaverse management device 200 for operating the pseudo player character was scheduled to be received by the metaverse management device 200 through the above-described process.
  • the data format is the same as the operation data.

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PCT/JP2022/032461 2022-08-29 2022-08-29 疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御装置、疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御方法、及びコンピュータプログラム Ceased WO2024047717A1 (ja)

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JP2022566398A JP7235376B1 (ja) 2022-08-29 2022-08-29 疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御装置、疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御方法、及びコンピュータプログラム
PCT/JP2023/005508 WO2024047899A1 (ja) 2022-08-29 2023-02-16 疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御装置、疑似プレイヤキャラクタ制御方法、及びコンピュータプログラム
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