Information processing system, information processing method, and computer program product

• US 8,229,877 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2009
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Sugihara, Ryohei, Tatsuta, Seiji, Iba, Yoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Holmes, Michael B
• Application Number:
  US12/561,725
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070456A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• Field of Search: 706/54
• US Class Current: 706/54
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

An information processing system includes a state estimation section that estimates a state of a user based on information that includes sensor information from at least one of a behavior sensor that measures a behavior of the user, a condition sensor that measures a condition of the user, and an environment sensor that measures an environment of the user, a historical information storage section that stores state historical information about the user, a usualness level evaluation section that evaluates a usualness level of the user, and a write section that writes the usualness level of the user evaluated by the usualness level evaluation section in the historical information storage section so that the usualness level is linked to each state of the user indicated by the state historical information about the user.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising:

a state estimation section that estimates a state of a user based on information that includes sensor information from at least one of a behavior sensor that measures a behavior of the user, a condition sensor that measures a condition of the user, and an environment sensor that measures an environment of the user;

a historical information storage section that stores state historical information about the user;

a usualness level evaluation section that evaluates a usualness level of the user; and

a write section that writes the usualness level of the user evaluated by the usualness level evaluation section in the historical information storage section so that the usualness level is linked to each state of the user indicated by the state historical information about the user.

2. The information processing system as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a content information storage section that stores a plurality of contents; and

a content selection section that selects a content presented to the user from the plurality of contents stored in the content information storage section based on the usualness level of the user linked to each state of the user indicated by the state historical information about the user.

3. The information processing system as defined in claim 2,

the content selection section preferentially extracting the state of the user that is linked to a low usualness level from the state historical information stored in the historical information storage section, and selecting the content that corresponds to the extracted state of the user.

4. The information processing system as defined in claim 2,

the content selection section preferentially extracting the state of the user that is linked to a high usualness level from the state historical information stored in the historical information storage section, and selecting the content that corresponds to the extracted state of the user.

6. The information processing system as defined in claim 2,

the state estimation section predicting a future state of the user based on schedule information about the user;

the usualness level evaluation section evaluating the usualness level of user with respect to the predicted future state of the user; and

the content selection section selecting the content presented to the user based on the usualness level of user with respect to the future state of the user.

7. The information processing system as defined in claim 2, further comprising:

a presentation control section that causes a robot to present the content selected by the content selection section to the user.

8. The information processing system as defined in claim 7,

the content information storage section storing scenario data that includes a plurality of phrases as the content presented to the user;

and

the presentation control section causing the robot to speak a phrase included in the scenario data selected as the content.

9. The information processing system as defined in claim 2, further comprising:

a presentation control section that presents the content selected by the content selection section to the user using a digital photo frame.

10. The information processing system as defined in claim 2, further comprising:

a presentation control section that presents the content selected by the content selection section to the user using a wearable display.

11. The information processing system as defined in claim 2,

the usualness level evaluation section evaluating a first usualness sublevel that is a usualness level evaluated based on a first evaluation target item, and evaluating a second usualness sublevel that is a usualness level evaluated based on a second evaluation target item that differs from the first evaluation target item, and

the content selection section selecting a content corresponding to the first evaluation target item when selecting a content based on the first usualness sublevel, and selecting a content corresponding to the second evaluation target item when selecting a content based on the second usualness sublevel.

12. The information processing system as defined in claim 11,

the first evaluation target item and the second evaluation target item including at least one of time information, place information about the user, behavior information about the user, condition information about the user, and schedule information about the user.

13. The information processing system as defined in claim 2,

the state estimation section specifying a place of stay of the user;

the usualness level evaluation section evaluating the usualness level of the user with respect to the place of stay of the user; and

the content selection section selecting the content based on the usualness level of the user with respect to the place of stay of the user.

14. The information processing system as defined in claim 13,

the state estimation section determining whether the user stays within an area or a spot, the spot being smaller than the area,

the usualness level evaluation section evaluating the usualness level of the user with respect to the area when the state estimation section has determined that the user stays within the area, and evaluating the usualness level of the user with respect to the spot when the state estimation section has determined that the user stays within the spot, and

the content selection section selecting the content based on the usualness level of the user with respect to the area when the state estimation section has determined that the user stays within the area, and selecting the content based on the usualness level of the user with respect to the spot when the state estimation section has determined that the user stays within the spot.

15. The information processing system as defined in claim 14,

the content selection section selecting the content preferentially based on the usualness level of the user with respect to the spot when the state estimation section has determined that the user stays within the spot within the area, and selecting the content based on the usualness level of the user with respect to the area when the state estimation section has determined that the user stays within a place within the area other than the spot.

16. The information processing system as defined in claim 14,

the state estimation section determining whether the user stays within the area or the spot based on a standard deviation of a position of the user within a given period.

17. The information processing system as defined in claim 16,

the state estimation section determining whether or not the user stays within the area based on whether or not the standard deviation of the position of the user within the given period is equal to or less than a given first threshold value, and determining whether or not the user stays within the spot based on whether or not the standard deviation of the position of the user within the given period is equal to or less than a given second threshold value, the given second threshold value being smaller than the first threshold value.

18. The information processing system as defined in claim 1,

the usualness level evaluation section evaluating the usualness level of the user based on the state of the user estimated by the state estimation section.

19. The information processing system as defined in claim 1,

the state estimation section including a state identification section and a state prediction section;

and

the usualness level evaluation section evaluating the usualness level of the user by comparing a state of the user predicted by the state prediction section with an actual state of the user identified by the state identification section.

5. An information processing system comprising:

a state estimation section that estimates a state of a user based on information that includes sensor information from at least one of a behavior sensor that measures a behavior of the user, a condition sensor that measures a condition of the user, and an environment sensor that measures an environment of the user;

a usualness level evaluation section that evaluates a usualness level of the user;

a content information storage section that stores a plurality of contents; and

a content selection section that selects a content presented to the user from the plurality of contents stored in the content information storage section based on the state of the user and the usualness level of the user.

20. An information processing method comprising:

estimating a state of a user based on information that includes sensor information from at least one of a behavior sensor that measures a behavior of the user, a condition sensor that measures a condition of the user, and an environment sensor that measures an environment of the user;

storing state historical information about the user in a historical information storage section;

evaluating a usualness level of the user; and

writing the usualness level of the user obtained by the evaluation in the historical information storage section so that the usualness level is linked to each state of the user indicated by the state historical information about the user.

22. A computer program product storing a program code that causes a computer to execute the information processing method as defined in claim 20.

21. An information processing method comprising:

estimating a state of a user based on information that includes sensor information from at least one of a behavior sensor that measures a behavior of the user, a condition sensor that measures a condition of the user, and an environment sensor that measures an environment of the user;

evaluating a usualness level of the user;

storing a plurality of contents in a content information storage section; and

selecting a content presented to the user from the plurality of contents stored in the content information storage section based on the state of the user and the usualness level of the user.

23. A computer program product storing a program code that causes a computer to execute the information processing method as defined in claim 21.