Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and recording medium

• US 9,560,485 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2015
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takaoka, Tomohisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Nealon, William
• Application Number:
  US14/851,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20150382146A1
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds

Abstract

There is provided an information processing apparatus including a positional relationship information acquirer that acquires information indicating a position relationship between a first user and a second user, a nearness determiner that determines whether or not the first user and the second user are near each other, on the basis of the information indicating the position relationship, and a contact manager that sorts, on the basis of a result of the determination, a contact list which is provided to the first user and which includes contact information for the second user.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to

obtain position information of a first user and a second user,

determine, based on the obtained position information, whether or not the first user and the second user are separated by less than a first threshold distance from each other and by equal to or greater than a second threshold distance from each other,

calculate, based on the determination, a time period when the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other, and

modify, based on the calculation, display information of the first user which includes user information of the second user,

wherein the circuitry is further configured to periodically obtain the position information of the first user and the second user in order to periodically determine whether or not the first user and the second user are separated by less than the first threshold distance from each other and by greater than or equal to the second threshold distance from each other, and

wherein the circuitry is further configured to modify the display information of the first user by sorting a contact list, which includes the user information of the second user, in a manner that the second user is raised to a higher place on the contact list in a case where the first user and the second user have been within the first and second threshold distances from each other for a longer time on the basis of the periodic determination, as compared to a case where the first user and the second user have been within the first and second threshold distances from each other for a shorter time on the basis of the periodic determination.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display information of the first user is modified to exclude the user information of the second user from the display information of the first user, or to reduce a placement priority position of the user information of the second user within the display information of the first user, when the first user and the second user are determined to be less than the second threshold distance from each other.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to obtain the position information of the first user and the second user from a position information sharing service on a network.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to obtain the position information of the first user and the second user based on a result of a short-range communication of data between a first terminal device carried by the first user and a second terminal device carried by the second user, in order to determine whether or not the first user and the second user are less than the second threshold distance from each other based on the result of the short-range communication of the data.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the circuitry is further configured to

acquire a response from the second terminal device that is transmitted from the second terminal device in response to a query transmitted from the first terminal device, and

determine that the first user and the second are less than the second threshold distance from each other, upon the acquisition of the response.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the query contains information identifying the first user on a social networking service, and

the response is transmitted from the second terminal device in a case where the query is received by the second terminal device, and the first user and the second user exist in a friend relationship on the social networking service.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to, following settings set by the first user, change weighting of the calculated time period during which the first user and the second user have been within the first and second threshold distances from each other on a per-time-period basis.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry calculates the time period when the first user and the second user are less than the first threshold distance from each other based on the result of the periodic determination, and sorts the contact list in a manner that the second user is raised to a higher place in a case where a current time is in a time period prior to the calculated time period.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry calculates the time period when the first user and the second user are less than the first threshold distance from each other based on the result of the periodic determination, and categorizes the second user who is less than the first threshold distance from the first user during a shared first time period into a first group on the contact list.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the circuitry makes the determination when the contact list is provided to the first user, and sorts the contact list in a manner that the second user is raised to a higher place in a case where a time during which the contact list is provided to the first user is referred to as the first time period, and the second user categorized into the first group is not within the first and second threshold distances from the first user.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to estimate a position where the first user and the second user are less than the first threshold distance from each other based on the result of the periodic determination, and categorize the second user who is less than the first threshold distance from the first user at a shared second place into a second group on the contact list.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to categorize the second user into a group on the contact list based on the result of the periodic determination, and categorize a user other than the second user who has contact information included on the contact list into the group in accordance with an operation by the first user.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine whether or not the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other when a contact list, which includes the user information of the second user, is provided to the first user.

14. An information processing apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to

obtain position information of a first user and a second user,

determine, based on the obtained position information, whether or not the first user and the second user are separated by less than a first threshold distance from each other and by equal to or greater than a second threshold distance from each other,

calculate, based on the determination, a time period when the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other, and

modify, based on the calculation, display information of the first user which includes user information of the second user,

wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine whether or not the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other when a contact list, which includes the user information of the second user, is provided to the first user, and

wherein the circuitry is further configured to sort the contact list in a manner that the second user is dropped to a lower place on the contact list or the second user is not displayed within the contact list in a case where the first user and the second user are less than the first threshold distance from each other when the contact list is provided to the first user.

15. An information processing apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to

obtain position information of a first user and a second user,

determine, based on the obtained position information, whether or not the first user and the second user are separated by less than a first threshold distance from each other and by equal to or greater than a second threshold distance from each other,

calculate, based on the determination, a time period when the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other, and

modify, based on the calculation, display information of the first user which includes user information of the second user,

wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine whether or not the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other when a contact list, which includes the user information of the second user, is provided to the first user, and

wherein the circuitry is further configured to modify the display information by sorting the contact list in a manner that the user information of the second user is raised to a higher place in the contact list in a case where the first user and the second user are separated by a distance equal to or greater than the second predetermined distance, and by sorting the contact list in a manner that the user information of the second user is dropped to a lower place or the user information of the second user is not displayed in a case where the first user and the second user are separated by a distance less than the second predetermined distance.

16. An information processing apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to

obtain position information of a first user and a second user,

determine, based on the obtained position information, whether or not the first user and the second user are separated by less than a first threshold distance from each other and by equal to or greater than a second threshold distance from each other,

calculate, based on the determination, a time period when the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other, and

modify, based on the calculation, display information of the first user which includes user information of the second user,

wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine whether or not the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other when a contact list, which includes the user information of the second user, is provided to the first user, and

wherein the circuitry is further configured to categorize the second user, who is determined to be within the first and second threshold distances from the first user, into a first group on the contact list.

17. An information processing method executed by at least one processor, the method comprising:

obtaining position information of a first user and a second user;

determining, based on the obtained position information, whether or not the first user and the second user are separated by less than a first threshold distance from each other and by equal to or greater than a second threshold distance from each other;

calculating, based on the determination, a time period when the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other;

modifying, based on the calculation, display information of the first user which includes user information of the second user;

periodically obtaining the position information of the first user and the second user in order to periodically determine whether or not the first user and the second user are separated by less than the first threshold distance from each other and by greater than or equal to the second threshold distance from each other; and

modifying the display information of the first user by sorting a contact list, which includes the user information of the second user, in a manner that the second user is raised to a higher place on the contact list in a case where the first user and the second user have been within the first and second threshold distances from each other for a longer time on the basis of the periodic determination, as compared to a case where the first user and the second user have been within the first and second threshold distances from each other for a shorter time on the basis of the periodic determination.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having embodied thereon a program, which when executed by a computer causes the computer to execute a method, the method comprising:

obtaining position information of a first user and a second user;

determining, based on the obtained position information, whether or not the first user and the second user are separated by less than a first threshold distance from each other and by equal to or greater than a second threshold distance from each other;

calculating, based on the determination, a time period when the first user and the second user are within the first and second threshold distances from each other;

modifying, based on the calculation, display information of the first user which includes user information of the second user;

periodically obtaining the position information of the first user and the second user in order to periodically determine whether or not the first user and the second user are separated by less than the first threshold distance from each other and by greater than or equal to the second threshold distance from each other; and

modifying the display information of the first user by sorting a contact list, which includes the user information of the second user, in a manner that the second user is raised to a higher place on the contact list in a case where the first user and the second user have been within the first and second threshold distances from each other for a longer time on the basis of the periodic determination, as compared to a case where the first user and the second user have been within the first and second threshold distances from each other for a shorter time on the basis of the periodic determination.