Method and System for Providing Information in Virtual Space

• US 20090083627A1
• Filed: 04/02/2008
• Published: 03/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Kano, Izua, Yamada, Eiju, Onda, Yasushi, Yamada, Kazuhiro, Murakami, Keiichi, Kamiya, Dai
• Granted Patent: US 8,904,297 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/708
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/305 for providing a graphical or textual hint to the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5573 player location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/918 Location
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/921 Spatial

Abstract

In an information providing system 100, a virtual three-dimensional space (virtual space) is established by an information management server 40. A user of a mobile communication terminal 50 moves in the virtual space, and browses, posts, and searches message information items by manipulating an avatar representing the user. The information management server 40 manages the message information items and responds to searches requested from mobile communication terminals 50. The information management server 40 specifies an area where the number of message information items relevant to a search word specified by a user of a mobile communication terminal 50 is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. The information management server 40 outputs a guide information item for indicating a direction or route toward the specified area from the position of an avatar. Based on the guide information item, the mobile communication terminal 50 displays an image of an arrow pointing a direction or route toward the specified area as a target area.

Claims

1. An area guide device comprising:

a storage unit that stores a plurality of display information items each associated with a position in a virtual space, a plurality of keywords, and a plurality of position information items associated with the keywords, each of the plurality of display information items being associated with one of the plurality of keywords and one of the plurality of position information items;

an obtaining unit that obtains a search word;

an extraction unit that extracts any of the plurality of position information items associated with a keyword relevant to the search word obtained by the obtaining unit, from among the plurality of position information items stored in the storage unit;

a first specifying unit that specifies an area where a number of position information items extracted by the extraction unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined number;

a calculation unit that calculates a degree of relevance between the area specified by the first specifying unit and the search word, on the basis of a number of position information items included in the area specified by the first specifying unit;

a second specifying unit that specifies an area where the degree of relevance calculated by the calculation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined level; and

an output unit that outputs a guide information item indicating the area specified by the second specifying unit.

2. The area guide device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs a guide information item which indicates a direction or a route toward the area specified by the second specifying unit from a start point which is a position in the virtual space.

3. The area guide device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs a guide information item for changing at least a part of a display style of the area specified by the second specifying unit

4. The area guide device according to claim 2, wherein

the output unit outputs a guide information item including an outer-appearance information item which visually indicates the direction or route, and

the output unit includes a determination unit that determines a display style of the outer-appearance information item, depending on the degree of relevance calculated by the calculation unit for the area specified by the second specifying unit.

5. The area guide device according to claim 4, wherein the determination unit determines the display style of the outer-appearance information item, depending on the degree of relevance calculated by the calculation unit for the area specified by the second specifying unit, and depending on a distance or a route length from the area to the start point.

6. The area guide device according to claim 4, further comprising a position obtaining unit that obtains a position indication information item indicating a position of the start point, wherein

the determination unit changes the display style of the outer-appearance information item, depending on the position of the start point indicated by the position indication information item obtained by the position obtaining unit.

7. The area guide device according to claim 2, further comprising a position obtaining unit that obtains a position indication information item indicating the position of the start point, wherein

the output unit further outputs a notification information item indicating that a distance or a route length from the position included in the area specified by the second specifying unit to the position of the start point indicated by the position indication information item obtained by the position obtaining unit is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, if the distance or the route length is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

8. The area guide device according to claim 1, wherein

the storage unit stores weight information items respectively for the plurality of display information items, the weight information items indicating weights to be applied to the plurality of display information items, respectively, and

the calculation unit further calculates a degree of relevance between the area and the search word by using the weight information items.

9. The area guide device according to claim 8, wherein

the display information items each include a data set to be downloaded by a plurality of external terminals, and

the storage unit stores, for each of the plurality of display information items, a count information item indicating a number of times the data item has been downloaded, as the weight information item.

10. The area guide device according to claim 8, wherein

the display information items each include a data set to be displayed by a plurality of external terminals, and

the storage unit stores, for each of the plurality of display information items, a time information indicating a time length for which the data has been displayed, as the weight information item.

11. The area guide device according to claim 8, wherein

the plurality of display information items each have been generated, triggered by a data set which was input from a user of an external terminal, and

the storage unit stores, for each of the plurality of display information items, a property information item indicating a property of the user who has input the data set which triggered generation of the each of the plurality of display information items.

12. A computer program product causing a computer to execute a process comprising:

obtaining a search word;

extracting any of a plurality of position information items associated with a keyword relevant to the obtained search word, from a storage unit that stores the plurality of display information items each associated with a position in a virtual space, a plurality of keywords, and a plurality of position information items associated with the keywords, each of the plurality of display information items being associated with one of the plurality of keywords and one of the plurality of position information items;

specifying an area where a number of the extracted position information items is equal to or greater than a predetermined number;

calculating a degree of relevance between the specified area and the search word, on the basis of a number of position information items included in the specified area;

specifying an area where the calculated degree of relevance is equal to or greater than a predetermined level; and

outputting a guide information item indicating the specified area where the calculated degree of relevance is equal to or greater than the predetermined level.