Information providing device and information providing method

• US 10,006,775 B1
• Filed: 12/05/2017
• Issued: 06/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Keiko, Koga, Ko, Yamada, Takuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Application Number:
  US15/832,178
• Publication Number:
  US 20180156621A1
• Time in Patent Office: 203 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/635 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies

Abstract

A proposal subject determination unit selects, from multiple users, a combination of users of which the degree of affinity is a first degree-of-affinity threshold value or greater and determines that the users included in the selected combination are subject to the trip proposal. A proposal execution unit sets a location in which a degree of interest of a first one of the subject users is greater than or equal to a predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value as a destination of the trip proposal and provides the trip proposal having the set location as a destination to the subject users. The proposal execution unit gives a first trip proposal or a second trip proposal to a second user in accordance with a degree of affinity between the subject users, a degree of interest of the second user in the set location, and a trip preference of the second user.

Claims

1. An information providing device configured to propose a trip to multiple users in parallel, the information providing device comprising:

a degree-of-affinity estimation unit configured to estimate a degree of affinity of each of the users with respect to another one of the users;

a proposal subject determination unit that selects, from the multiple users, a combination of users of which the degree of affinity is greater than or equal to a first degree-of-affinity threshold value and determines that the users included in the selected combination are users that are subject to the trip proposal;

a degree-of-interest estimation unit configured to estimate a degree of interest in each of a plurality of locations that are destination candidates for each of the subject users;

a trip preference estimation unit configured to estimate a trip preference that is an index indicating a degree of preference for taking a trip for each of the subject users; and

a proposal execution unit configured to set a location in which the degree of interest of a first one of the subject users is greater than or equal to a predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value as a destination of the trip proposal and provide the subject users with the trip proposal in which the location is set as the destination,

wherein the proposal execution unit is configured to provide a second one of the subject users with a first trip proposal if the degree of affinity between the subject users is greater than or equal to a second degree-of-affinity threshold value, which is greater than the first degree-of-affinity threshold value, when the degree of interest of the second user in the set location is greater than or equal to the predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value and the trip preference of the second user is greater than or equal to a predetermined trip preference threshold value,

the proposal execution unit is configured to provide the second user with a second trip proposal if the degree of interest of the second user in the set location is less than the predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value or if the trip preference of the second user is less than the predetermined trip preference threshold value, and

in the second trip proposal, a degree of recommendation of the trip proposal is increased from the first trip proposal.

2. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the trip preference estimation unit is configured to

store data related to burden on each user when taking a trip in a storage unit in association with each situation of the user,

read from the storage unit and compare the burden of the users when taking a trip under the same situation, and

estimate the trip preference based on the comparison so that the trip preference of a user having a relatively large burden is relatively small.

3. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein when providing the second trip proposal, the proposal execution unit is configured to add a destination that is a location in which a user provided with the second trip proposal has a relatively high degree of interest and the location is within a predetermined range from the location originally set as the destination.

4. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the proposal execution unit is configured to provide the second user with the second trip proposal including information recommending the location obtained from the first user when the degree of interest of the second user in the set location is less than the predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value.

5. The information providing device according to claim 4, wherein the proposal execution unit is configured to provide the second trip proposal including the recommendation information for the location obtained from the first user under a condition that the degree of affinity between the subject users is greater than or equal to the second degree-of-affinity threshold value.

6. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein when at least one of the subject users has a difficulty in traveling to the location that is set as the destination, the proposal execution unit is configured to present a traveling means that copes with the difficulty of the user when providing the trip proposal.

7. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the proposal execution unit is configured to

acquire data related to a social relation between the subject users,

compare trip-related privileges of the subject users based on the acquired data related to the social relation, and

provide a user having a relatively low trip-related privilege with a trip proposal including a message from a user having a relatively high trip-related privilege.

8. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the proposal execution unit is configured to acquire a response from the subject user to the trip proposal and update at least one of the degree of affinity between the subject users, the degree of interest in the location set as the destination, and the trip preference based on the acquired responses.

9. The information providing device according to claim 8, wherein

when the trip proposal is not accepted by at least one of the subject users, the proposal execution unit is configured to determine whether or not to change the trip proposal content based on the updated data of the degree of affinity, the degree of interest in the location set as the destination, and the trip preference, and

the proposal execution unit is configured to provide the at least one of the subject users that did not accept the trip proposal with a changed proposal content when determining that the proposal content has been changed.

10. An information providing method for proposing a trip to multiple users in parallel, the method comprising:

estimating a degree of affinity of each of the users with respect to another one of the users;

selecting, from the multiple users, a combination of users of which the degree of affinity is greater than or equal to a first degree-of-affinity threshold value and determining that the users included in the selected combination are users that are subject to the trip proposal;

estimating a degree of interest in each of a plurality of locations that are destination candidates for each of the subject users;

estimating a trip preference that is an index indicating a degree of preference for taking a trip for each of the subject users;

setting a location in which the degree of interest of a first one of the subject users is greater than or equal to a predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value as a destination of the trip proposal and providing the subject users with the trip proposal in which the location is set as the destination;

providing a second one of the subject users with a first trip proposal if the degree of affinity between the subject users is greater than or equal to a second degree-of-affinity threshold value, which is greater than the first degree-of-affinity threshold value, when the degree of interest of the second user in the set location is greater than or equal to the predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value and the trip preference of the second user is greater than or equal to a predetermined trip preference threshold value; and

providing the second user with a second trip proposal if the degree of interest of the second user in the set location is less than the predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value or if the trip preference of the second user is less than the predetermined trip preference threshold value,

wherein in the second trip proposal, a degree of recommendation of the trip proposal is increased from the first trip proposal.

11. An information providing device configured to propose a trip to multiple users in parallel, the information providing device comprising circuitry configured to:

estimate a degree of affinity of each of the users with respect to another one of the users;

select, from the multiple users, a combination of users of which the degree of affinity is greater than or equal to a first degree-of-affinity threshold value and determine that the users included in the selected combination are users that are subject to the trip proposal;

estimate a degree of interest in each of a plurality of locations that are destination candidates for each of the subject users;

estimate a trip preference that is an index indicating a degree of preference for taking a trip for each of the subject users;

set a location in which the degree of interest of a first one of the subject users is greater than or equal to a predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value as a destination of the trip proposal and provide the subject users with the trip proposal in which the location is set as the destination;

provide a second one of the subject users with a first trip proposal if the degree of affinity between the subject users is greater than or equal to a second degree-of-affinity threshold value, which is greater than the first degree-of-affinity threshold value, when the degree of interest of the second user in the set location is greater than or equal to the predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value and the trip preference of the second user is greater than or equal to a predetermined trip preference threshold value; and

provide the second user with a second trip proposal if the degree of interest of the second user in the set location is less than the predetermined degree-of-interest threshold value or if the trip preference of the second user is less than the predetermined trip preference threshold value,

wherein in the second trip proposal, a degree of recommendation of the trip proposal is increased from the first trip proposal.