Information collection support apparatus, information collection support method, and information collection support program

Abstract

To provide incentives to a user so as to continue collecting information for a long time.SOLUTION: An information collection support apparatus includes an information acquisition unit, a summary creation unit, a report creation unit, an information notification unit, and an information recording unit. The information acquisition unit acquires measurement information which is information measured by a measurement instrument, action information which is information on action of a user, and general-purpose information which is information provided by an external information source. The summary creation unit creates and outputs information selected by the user, as summary information. The report creation unit creates and outputs report information including the information acquired by the information acquisition unit. The information notification unit creates and outputs notification information when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The information recording unit records the measurement information, the action information, and the general-purpose information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information collection support device, an information collection support method, and an information collection support program for collecting information for analysis. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, IoT (Internet of Things) systems that can collect sensor information in real time via the Internet have been playing an important role in various industrial fields. These systems collect large amounts of information and use it for analysis, learning, etc. There are many inventions related to information collection, and for example, Patent Document 1 is known as prior art. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-244137 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In order to analyze the behavior of users (workers) in the agriculture and fisheries industries (particularly aquaculture) and the reasons for their behavior, it is necessary to collect a large amount of information. However, there is a problem in that users need to continue collecting information over a long period of time. The present invention aims to provide an incentive for users to continue collecting information over a long period of time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The information collection support device of the present invention comprises an information acquisition unit, a summary creation unit, a report creation unit, an information notification unit, and an information recording unit. The information acquisition unit acquires measurement information, which is information measured by a measuring device, behavioral information, which is information about the user's behavior, and general information, which is information provided by an external information source. The summary creation unit creates and outputs summary information based on the information selected by the user. The report creation unit creates and outputs report information including the information acquired by the information acquisition unit. The information notification unit creates and outputs notification information when predetermined conditions are met. The information recording unit records the measurement information, behavioral information, and general information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the information gathering support device of the present invention, the summary creation unit and information notification unit can provide the user with the information they want to know at the appropriate time, providing an incentive for the user to continue collecting information over a long period of time.In addition, the information recording unit can collect information for analyzing the user's behavior and the reasons for it. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information collection support device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a summary creation unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a report creation unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information notification unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a performance reflection support unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the information collection support device. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of a summary creation unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of a report creation unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of an information notification unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow for collecting customer information by the customer reflection support unit. [Figure 11]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow for modifying and adding functions of the preference reflection support unit. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a console of the behavior information acquirer. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a console of a summary setting device. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an output document from the summary creation unit when the target period is one day. [Figure 15] A diagram showing an example of providing summary information through video. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of output from the report creation unit 400 when the target period is one day. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first example of notification by an information notification unit. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of notification by the information notification unit. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a computer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. Components having the same functions are given the same numbers, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. [Example]

[0009] Fig. 1 shows an example of the functional configuration of an information collection support device, Fig. 2 shows an example of the functional configuration of a summary creation unit, Fig. 3 shows an example of the functional configuration of a report creation unit, Fig. 4 shows an example of the functional configuration of an information notification unit, and Fig. 5 shows an example of the functional configuration of a preference reflection support unit. Fig. 6 shows an example of the processing flow of the information collection support device, Fig. 7 shows an example of the processing flow of the summary creation unit, Fig. 8 shows an example of the processing flow of the report creation unit, Fig. 9 shows an example of the processing flow of the information notification unit, Fig. 10 shows an example of the processing flow of customer information collection by the preference reflection support unit, and Fig. 11 shows an example of the processing flow of function modification / addition by the preference reflection support unit. Information collection support device 10 comprises at least an information acquisition unit 100, an information recording unit 200, a summary creation unit 300, a report creation unit 400, and an information notification unit 500.

[0010] The information acquisition unit 100 acquires measurement information measured by a measuring device, behavioral information related to the user's behavior, and general information provided by an external information source (S100). For example, the information acquisition unit 100 may include a measurement information acquirer 110, a behavioral information acquirer 120, and a general information acquirer 130. The measurement information acquirer 110 acquires measurement information from a measuring device (e.g., a sensor) connected to the information collection support device 10 (S110). If the user's behavior is harvesting crops, the measurement information may include air temperature, humidity, soil temperature, soil moisture, and soil EC (fertilizer concentration in the soil). The measurement information may also include the production results of the crops (e.g., harvest volume and sugar content of the harvest). The behavioral information acquirer 120 acquires behavioral information related to actions performed or planned to be performed in the target environment, whether manual or automatic, such as watering or ventilating a greenhouse in the case of agriculture (S120). An example console for the behavioral information acquirer 120 is shown in FIG. 12. The general-purpose information acquirer 130 acquires public information such as weather forecasts and harvest prices, and schedule information of individuals or organizations managed by other systems (S130).

[0011] The user's planned activities can be input into the schedule function provided by the information collection support device 10. For example, in the case of agriculture, this function can provide an interface that makes it easy to input anticipated tasks such as watering and fertilizing. Tasks can be divided into "planned" and "executed," and scheduled tasks that are not performed are not counted as actual work. Specifications can be made so that tasks that are not scheduled can also be entered as "executed." In addition, if the harvest yield can be input as measurement information during the harvest season, input information (measurement results and action results) and output information (harvest yield) for the crops can be collected.

[0012] The summary creation unit 300 creates and outputs summary information based on the information selected by the user (S300). For example, the summary creation unit 300 may include a summary generator 310, a summary selector 320, a summary setter 330, a summary adjuster 340, and a summary output unit 350.

[0013] The summary generator 310 generates information processed based on measurement information or general-purpose information as candidate summary information (S310). In the case of time-series information such as measurement information or weather forecasts, the summary generator 310 can summarize the information into a single value, such as an average value, maximum and minimum values, an integrated value, or a time gradient over a target period. On the other hand, behavioral information and schedule information do not need to be summarized. The user sets the candidate summary information to be selected by the summary selector 320 from the summary setter 330 (S330). An example console for the summary setter 330 is shown in FIG. 13. The summary selector 320 selects summary information from the candidate summary information based on the setting made by the summary setter 330 (S320).

[0014] The summary adjuster 340 selects the length of the text to be created, the tone and speed of the voice when converting the text to speech, and the avatar when converting the text to video, according to the settings of the summary setter 330 (S340). The summary outputter 350 saves the setting information for outputting the summary information determined above on the cloud and notifies the user by email or other means at a pre-set time that the summary has been created (S350). Figure 14 shows an example of an output document from the summary creation unit 300 for a one-day target period. In Figure 14, in addition to summarized measurement and behavioral information, a comparison with the previous day, weather information for the next day, an introduction to expected events, and the user's schedule are provided. Using this information, the user can understand the environmental conditions during the target period, review their behavior, and, if necessary, revise their schedule, and then input their planned activities into the behavioral information acquirer 120. Figure 15 shows an example of providing summary information using video.

[0015] Summary information is considered to play a central role in the information collection support device 10. For example, it is a value obtained by summarizing the measurement results of various sensors over a target period (e.g., one day) using an integrated value. The purpose of summarization is to represent the measurement results of various sensors over a target period with a single value, and selecting an appropriate calculation formula for each sensor facilitates the user's understanding of the information. For example, in agriculture, this calculation formula can express solar radiation or temperature not simply as average or maximum values, but as integrated values ​​to include time. In the case of soil moisture, it can express the rate of water evaporation by showing the amount of change over time. It can also verify the optimal watering time by comparing the amount of solar radiation, carbon dioxide concentration, and the time when soil moisture reached its maximum. In addition, by comparing the summary measurement results from the most recent past, when knowledge is still fresh in the user's memory, the user can deepen their understanding of the measurement results over the target period.

[0016] The summary information may also include a weather forecast for the immediate future and the user's planned activities. The weather forecast is obtained from an external site, and a trend forecast of each measurement result based on the weather forecast is also provided. For example, in the case of agriculture, the trend forecast may include increases or decreases in solar radiation and temperature, and increases or decreases in the rate of soil moisture evaporation.

[0017] Summary information can also be defined as information that provides the greatest contact point with users through periodic delivery for each target period. The delivery method may be, for example, text delivery via email, with the addition of audio delivery via access to the information collection support device 10 or video delivery using avatars, etc. If the user can select these information items, the selection status can be collected as user preference information. Then, by modifying or adding functions based on this information and providing it to the user again, the user's experience value can be continuously improved. Points can also be awarded for entering schedules and actions or watching videos, and increasing the points can lead to avatar growth or cash back, thereby motivating users to continue using the service.

[0018] The report creation unit 400 creates and outputs report information based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 100 (S400). For example, the report creation unit 400 may include a report generator 410, a report selector 420, a report setter 430, and a report outputter 440. The report generator 410 generates numerical values ​​for all information, graphed diagram data, and the like (S410). The user sets the report information to be selected by the report selector 420 from the report setter 430 (S430). The report selector 420 selects report information to be output from the report information generated by the report generator 410 based on the setting of the report setter 430 (S420). The report outputter 440 outputs the report information output by the report selector 420 in accordance with a predetermined format (S440). The output may be stored on a cloud. FIG. 16 shows an example of output from the report creation unit 400 when the target period is one day.

[0019] The report information should be detailed information that organizes the measurement results without summarizing them, with the aim of reducing the effort required for users to create records. Note that, since the original information for both summary information and report information is recorded separately, it is possible to avoid using unnecessary storage space by not storing the information itself, but only storing the settings for providing the information.

[0020] The information notification unit 500 creates and outputs notification information when predetermined conditions are met (S500). For example, the information notification unit 500 may include a notification generator 510, a notification setter 520, an information extractor 530, and a notification outputter 540. The user sets notification conditions in advance using the notification setter 520 (S520). When output information from the information acquisition unit 100 meets the conditions previously set in the notification setter 520, the notification generator 510 outputs a notification type to the information extractor 530 and the notification outputter 540 (S510). The notification type includes, for example, an alert when the temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature, as well as an action plan, such as watering, that the user previously set in the action information acquisition unit 120.

[0021] The information extractor 530 outputs information to be added to the notification to the notification output unit 540 according to the notification type output from the notification generator 510 (S530). The additional information may be, for example, the current temperature in the case of a temperature warning, or the temperature and soil moisture content in the case of a watering schedule, allowing the user to determine whether or not to carry out the schedule. The type of additional information output by the information extractor 530 may also be selectable by the notification setter 520. The notification output unit 540 transmits the notification type and additional information to the user via email or the like in accordance with a predetermined format (S540). Examples of notifications from the information notification unit 500 are shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. The information notification unit 500 performs real-time processing, providing information notifications in real time when some event, such as an alert or a schedule, occurs. The usefulness of the information can be enhanced by notifying related information when an event occurs.

[0022] The information recording unit 200 records at least measurement information, behavioral information, and general information. If there is sufficient storage space, the information recording unit 200 may also record summary information, notification information, and the like. For example, information may be collected until the amount of information recorded in the information recording unit 200 is sufficient to analyze the causes of success or failure in agricultural production or aquaculture. The information collection support device 10, using the summary creation unit 300 and the information notification unit 500, can provide users with the information they want to know at the appropriate time, thereby providing an incentive for users to continue collecting information over the long term. Furthermore, the information recording unit 200 can store information for analyzing user behavior and the reasons for it, making it easier to analyze the causes of success or failure that the user may not be aware of. The information collection support device 10 can also be used to visualize the know-how of experienced users. Furthermore, it can also be used to collect learning data to utilize expert know-how using artificial intelligence.

[0023] The information collection support device 10 may also include a preference reflection support unit 600. The preference reflection support unit 600 acquires and outputs information, including information about settings for creating summary information, as preference information (S600). The preference reflection support unit 600 can collect information that the user is interested in. The preference reflection support unit 600 may include, for example, a customer information collector 610 and a function modification / addition unit 620. The customer information collector 610 collects and outputs information, including at least information about settings for creating summary information (settings of the summary setter 330) (S610). The collected information may also include information about settings for creating report information (settings of the report setter 430) and settings for creating notification information (settings of the notification setter 520), as well as behavioral information and summary information itself. Based on this information, the system provider of the information collection support device 10 can learn the information that the user is interested in, allowing them to plan, develop, and propose function modifications and additions to suit the user's needs. The function modifier / adder 620 mainly modifies or adds functions to the summary generator 310 (S620). If there is information to be added to the measurement information, this may involve adding measurement equipment (sensors, etc.).

[0024] The information collection support device 10, which also includes the preference reflection support unit 600, can improve the user experience by improving the ease of recognizing information, making the provided information more useful by linking it to external information, and allowing users to reflect their preferences in the provided information and maintaining this reflection on a continuous basis. It also makes it possible to provide two types of information, summary information and report information, and to notify users of information in real time and reflect their preferences in the information provided.

[0025] [Processor, program, recording medium] The functions performed by the components described herein may be implemented in circuitry or processing circuitry, including general-purpose processors, application-specific processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), a CPU (a Central Processing Unit), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, programmed to perform the described functions. A processor includes transistors and other circuits and is considered to be circuitry or processing circuitry. A processor may also be a programmed processor that executes programs stored in memory.

[0026] In this specification, a circuitry, unit, or means is hardware that is programmed to realize or performs the described functions, which may be any hardware disclosed herein or any hardware known to be programmed to realize or perform the described functions.

[0027] If the hardware is a processor considered to be a type of circuitry, the circuitry, means, or unit is a combination of the hardware and software used to configure the hardware and / or processor.

[0028] The various processes described above can be implemented by loading a program that executes each step of the above method into the recording unit 2020 of the computer 2000 shown in Figure 19, and operating the control unit 2010, input unit 2030, output unit 2040, display unit 2050, etc.

[0029] The program describing the processing contents can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, which may be, for example, a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, a semiconductor memory, or any other suitable recording medium.

[0030] The program may be distributed, for example, by selling, transferring, lending, etc. a portable recording medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM on which the program is recorded. Furthermore, the program may be stored in a storage device of a server computer, and then transferred from the server computer to another computer via a network, thereby distributing the program.

[0031] A computer that executes such a program may first temporarily store the program recorded on a portable recording medium or transferred from a server computer in its own storage device. Then, when executing a process, the computer reads the program stored on its own recording medium and executes the process in accordance with the read program. Alternatively, the computer may read the program directly from a portable recording medium and execute the process in accordance with the program. Furthermore, the computer may execute the process in accordance with the program each time a program is transferred from a server computer to the computer. The server computer may not transfer the program to the computer, but may instead execute the process through a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) service, which realizes the processing function by issuing an execution instruction and obtaining the results. Furthermore, the server computer may execute the process on a terminal using a so-called SaaS (Software as a Service) service, which allows users to use part of the server computer along with the program. In this embodiment, the program includes information used for computer processing that is equivalent to a program (such as data that is not a direct instruction to the computer but has properties that define computer processing).

[0032] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the device is configured by executing a predetermined program on a computer, but at least a part of the processing contents may be realized by hardware. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 10 Information collection support device 100 Information acquisition unit 110 Measurement information acquisition device 120 Behavioral information acquisition device 130 General-purpose information acquisition device 200 Information recording unit 300 Summary creation unit 310 Summary generator 320 Summary Selector 330 Summary Setter 340 Summary Adjuster 350 Summary Outputter 400 Report Creation Unit 410 Report Generator 420 Report selector 430 Report setter 440 Report output device 500 Information notification section 510 Notification generator 520 Notification setter 530 Information extractor 540 Notification output device 600 Customer Reflection Support Department 610 Customer Information Collector 620 Function Modification / Addition Device

Claims

1. an information acquisition unit that acquires measurement information, which is information measured by a measuring device, behavioral information, which is information related to user behavior, and general-purpose information, which is information provided by an external information source; a summary creation unit that creates and outputs summary information of information selected by a user; a report creation unit that creates and outputs report information based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit; an information notification unit that creates and outputs notification information when a predetermined condition is met; an information recording unit that records the measurement information, the behavior information, and the general information; An information collection support device comprising:

2. 2. The information collection support device according to claim 1, The summary creation unit has a summary generator that generates information processed based on the measurement information or the general information as summary candidate information that is a candidate for the summary information. An information collection support device characterized by:

3. 3. The information collection support device according to claim 2, Furthermore, a preference reflection support unit that acquires and outputs information including information related to settings for creating the summary information as preference information. An information collection support device comprising:

4. 4. The information collection support device according to claim 3, The function reflection support unit has a function modification / addition unit that modifies or adds functions of the summary generator. An information collection support device characterized by:

5. 5. The information collection support device according to claim 1, The notification information includes notification type information indicating a type of notification and additional information that is information associated in advance with the notification type information. An information collection support device characterized by:

6. An information collection support method using an information collection support device including an information recording unit, an information acquisition step of acquiring measurement information, which is information measured by a measuring device, behavioral information, which is information related to user behavior, and general-purpose information, which is information provided by an external information source; a summary creation step of creating and outputting summary information of the information selected by the user; a report creation step of creating and outputting report information based on the information acquired in the information acquisition step; an information notification step of creating and outputting notification information when a predetermined condition is met; an information recording step of recording the measurement information, the behavior information, and the general information in the information recording unit; An information gathering support method comprising:

7. 7. The information collection support method according to claim 6, The summary creation step includes a summary generation substep of generating information processed based on the measurement information or the general information as summary candidate information, which is a candidate for the summary information.

1. An information gathering support method comprising:

8. 8. The information collection support method according to claim 7, Furthermore, a preference reflection support step of acquiring and outputting information including information related to settings for creating the summary information as preference information. An information gathering support method comprising:

9. 9. The information collection support method according to claim 8, The improvement reflection support step includes a function modification / addition substep for modifying or adding a function of the summary generation substep. An information gathering support method comprising:

10. 10. The information collection support method according to claim 6, further comprising: The notification information includes notification type information indicating a type of notification and additional information that is information associated in advance with the notification type information. An information gathering support method comprising:

11. 5. An information collection support program for causing a computer to function as the information collection support device according to claim 1.

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